May Goeth All In White

I have no idea where that title comes from, but any knowledgeable blogista who can, without googling, tell the rest of us, is welcome to do so! Shakespeare, maybe? Jonson? Herrick? And it might be Spring, not May. Aside from that it's totally accurate and authentic.

Except that this year, pansies are on the menu. Closeup



and five echoing circles, two pots, two support tables and one glass top.



Chances are I'm the only person on earth who thinks this is cool, but oh well.

Today the houseplants, most of them, went outdoors onto the patio, their summer home, or camp, making the living room look a whole lot bigger. This is the allee of plants.



And this is the same allee from a different direction.



Just to make this more of a travel brochure, The Delights of the NJ Patio.

The green carpety looking stuff between the terracotta tiles is flower carpet, which is shade flowers this year, and I have high hopes. Usually that's where the impatiens goes, but I thought, hm, no law against changing that. Especially since this collection includes coleus seeds, which may become houseplants later on this year.

And here is a tour of the herb garden.



Three containers, one of new sage plant and the old one, about 20 years old and still hanging in despite the landscapers and the weather and floods and bitter cold and feet of snow. One container of basil seedlings, which will yield some good pesto in a couple of months. One container with thyme, rosemary and oregano.

Spearmint is all over the place, and it cracks me up when people want to know where to buy it to plant! I just instruct them to come over here and I'll yank some out from practically anywhere and present it to them. With the suggestion that it be planted in a pot, no scrap to escape and infest the neighborhood.

And, after the severe winter, the wild cherry tree, planted by birds long ago, is in major bloom, with squadrons of bees happily working it all day long and into the evening. They are putting in overtime this year.



I like very much that my tiny area is doing its bit for the bee population. It's never been sprayed and never will be. The scent is powerful, to me like honey, to other people not so much!

But the racket of all those bees working at once is a great illustration of that phrase from Yeats, I think, about the "bee-loud glade". Yes, clearly he'd been there, heard that.