Tulips

They're everywhere--the true sign of spring. First it was the daffodils, then the blossoms on the trees, and now the tulips! Shame on the person who picked some of ours--fortunately, we have so many, it barely made a dent. There is a true flower thief afoot in Newark, though. Grrr.

I've been gallavanting around with my Advanced Landscape Design Class--last week we visited the Sound Garden, sculptor and UD professor John Moss' garden of sculptures focused around sound. We also learned about native purple martins in Fair Hill. We've also visited Bucktoe Creek preserve, a privately owned property devoted to organic ecology research; spent time on-site at our three project sites (UD's Early Learning Center, the Delaware Department of Agriculture, and the Newark Farm); and talked a lot about Doug Tallamy's book, Bringing Nature Home, which makes the case for planting native plants as often as possible to continue to preserve habitat for native insects, birds, and other wildlife.

I'm definitely on board with native plants, but I also feel that well-managed bulbs and annuals can add seasonal beauty to a garden and warm a gardener's heart without becoming invasives like multiflora rose and Eucalyptus. Many would argue that I'm wrong, that seeds get carried to other locations and create a problem we won't be able to fix later, but for now, that's where I stand.

I feel a similar way about animals--this might be comparing apples to oranges, but at this point, I am incapable of killing the sparrow that seems to be taking over my birdhouse, though I know he's capable of assassinating baby bluebirds, a native bird.

But let's get back to spring. Supermom and Superdad visited last week, after Superman and I went to New Orleans for the American Chemical Society meeting (guess which one of us spent time visiting gardens and museums?). I took the 'rents to Simon Pearce on the Brandywine, Winterthur, Gibraltar, and Longwood Gardens. We also volunteered for the Colonial Market held in celebration of Newark's 250th anniversary and visited the Co-op an inordinate amount of times (four people drink a lot of milk, apparently). Great eats included an Amber Waves Bakery peach pie, scored at the aforementioned Colonial Market, lunch at the Simon Pearce restaurant, and lunch at The Whip Tavern in Coatesville, PA.

Fairfax was a major hit at Longwood. He was mobbed by children upon entry, and we met at least 50% of the garden's visitors that day, which we all loved. It's great to be able to share more about Guiding Eyes and guide dogs in general. It reinforces why we're doing this and makes us feel like we're doing a good job.

This week is all about work, as is May, since I have an exciting project due at the end of May.
Happy Spring!