spring cleaning.....outside!

Last night we had our first thunderstorm of the year. It rained for part of the morning and then got pretty nice out. Thomas and I spent some time clearing leaves out of my flower/herb garden by the garage and cutting back the dead growth from last summer. I am so happy that most things have came back! Each year I plant a handful of new types of perennials to grow to see if they will actually make it through a long, cold, Minnesota winter. It's always exciting to pull back the damp leaves in the spring and find new life under them!

I got out my gardening books this afternoon and did some reading. I am new to gardening and these books are excellent to help me know when and what I should be doing with my plants throughout the year. This spring several of my plants need divided which is something that I have never done before. I hope to get to that this next week after the kids and I have cleaned up the rest of the flower beds.

We are conveniently studying plants in science right now so all of this gardening fits so nicely into our school day.....it's hands-on learning! :)