What's wrong with this picture?

So what is wrong with this picture? The photo on the left is my home. Not my dream home, but my home. The photo above is the view from my home. It's a small photo but what you are looking at is the beach, the bay, and a small lighthouse in the distance. Okay, there are a couple of things wrong but I will start with my first pet peeve and unfortunately it has the same number of letters as my second pet peeve. Both have four letters. You win if you come up with either of the off the bat.

Largest pet peeve: YEWS. What is the purpose of yews? Who came up with this concept as something to grace the entrance of homes? Does it have something to do with low maintenance? Does anyone find them attractive? O, I have an answer to that. My neighbor finds them attractive. He has them too. He is so kind that he trims mine for me. I think that's because he doesn't want my yews looking shoddy next to his yews. I might add, since you can't really see them from the photo, that the yews are surrounded by white gravel.

Second largest pet peeve: LAWN. Do you know what you have to do to maintain an actual lawn at the beach? First you need to truck in soil. We live on sand. Then you have to use fertilizer and weed killer and all the things suburbanites use to keep their grass looking lush and green. And I've just written the worst third problem: why do we live at the beach and force our yards to look like we live in Greenwich, CT? Why aren't we striving to create the perfect beach living environment?

I want to start slow with my neighbor. I don't want to alienate him. So we've come to an agreement. I will start with the yews. They are a goner. I will give him the white gravel for his yew bed. I will do the first stage of my gardening in the 6' by 17' two formerly yew raised gardens for this year's flower and vegetable gardens. They will be contained and I won't be overwhelmed.  I will let him have his lawns. He can mow mine. I will cook for him.

In the future, I will create lawn paths through 4 gardens. That is if I find I have the time and do a good job with the two original gardens I plan to design. Additionally, I will plant a shade garden in the back of the house.

I hope removing the yews is not too cost prohibitive. That part remains to be seen. There are going to be some interesting environmental changes this spring and summer. I am looking forward to them. This has been energized by a beautiful 65 degree spring day today. Great day.

Easter

I don't know when I started to like Easter so much. I think it definitely started after moving to the Cape. Perhaps it's that the winters here are so quiet (which is a good thing) and then just as the crocus and daffodils begin to open, life here gathers a momentum that creates a lot of internal excitement. It's time to celebrate with your friends. And what is more charming than Easter? I've become a total sucker for the pinks, yellows, and baby blues. The little chicks, bunnies and, eggs, which you will not see in any photos because I didn't realize I was having Easter until yesterday and I didn't have time to pull out all the stops. I would like Easter to last a month.

The menu this year was the following: roasted potatoes with cumin & garlic; a lobster, leek, asparagus quiche; a spring green salad with Cara Cara oranges and sweet & sour dressing; tangerine & Cara Cara scones, and a large fruit salad. Coffee, juice, mimosas, Bloody Marys. Everything blended perfectly.

In my last minute shopping spree, last night at 8, there wasn't a daffodil to be had. Usually my Easter table contains a large bouquet of ranunculus, but they disappeared about 2 weeks ago. I never laid hands on one bunch. I had this smart little faux moss basket that I thought would be sweet filled with a few dozen daffs. Alas, I settled for sunflowers and I think it worked out nicely.

Everyone stayed the perfect amount of time leaving me to drive around, in vein, looking for pansies. Then I drove to the beach to see if I could spot the right whales who descend upon us each spring. We are very lucky in this regard. Right whales are very rare. Only 300 are left on the planet. Last year we had almost a third of the population visit us. I went to Herring Cove to check it out. The parking lot was full. I could see their spouts blowing in the distance. No flukes though. Still magical. I keep forgetting to put my binoculars in the car.

Then back home to enjoy the rest of my Easter Sunday without newspapers. I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies for my neighbor. He trimmed my yews. I didn't have the heart to tell him that as soon as I get some money, I'm having the yews pulled out and I'm building gardens. He loves the lawns, he loves the yews. This may as well be the suburbs, not the beach. While David was here he discovered that I have a lilac bush in the mess next to my driveway. I want a bunch of them. And hydrangea. I want a grape arbor.

I had this dream about a large house in some place like Romania. It was a friend's family house. In the foundation walls were these large niches set in deep all around the perimeter of the building. In each niche was a garden. They held a combination of herbs, vegetables and flowers. I distinctly remember one that had pale green cabbages banked by lovely dusty pink snapdragons. I thought it was the most beautiful arrangement. In fact all the gardens were a light green and dusty pink or rose. I'd love to recreate them out front. But truth be told, what will be is lusty, bright red tomatoes, dark green basil, Russian sage, a host of other herbs, and the flowers still need to be planned. There will be many spring bulbs planted (she swears), some annuals for persistent color, and other stuff that I hope my brother-in-law helps me figure out. I know I need violets, hostas and lilies-of-the-valley in the back. Ah, garden dreams I hope will come to fruition.

So, bless spring and all the hope that comes with it.