Flower of the Rarest; Flowers of the Fairest!

I grew up Catholic and attended parochial schools throughout my grade school and high school years. I probably got a good education (other than the 3rd grade teacher from hell), but I was a reasonably bright, but lazy kid who got B+ grades without lifting a finger. I'm neither bragging nor complaining, just stating the facts as I recall them. One of the things that I always remember was the May altar. Students and teachers (and probably parents as I know now) brought in great armloads of garden flowers to decorate the 'Mary side' of the church. It was many years before I could stand the scent of lilacs, so prevalent were they in those heady days of spring when we would rather be out on the playground than attending daily Mass.

Now I love lilacs, though they have come and gone in my North Carolina mountain garden. I recently dug up some starts and distributed them to friends. But in those Ohio May days, it was lilacs, tulips, probably daffodils, even small bunches of Lilies of the Valley - though somehow I always liked their super sweet scent.

Here is a look at my garden from the front porch to the car, a distance of about 15 feet! I didn't go any farther and get my shoes wet! Just to the east of the door I have an overlarge American Holly, currently buzzing with bees, a very bedraggled rhododrendren and a lovely azalea, currently in full bloom in this remarkable orchid color. I love it!.

In the borders I have a healthy stand of day lilies, old fashioned orange 'road lilies' in the back with Stella d'Oros in the front. I always leave a space for annuals in the front. Early in the spring and late in the fall, it's pansy time, with their sweet little faces. Later I'll put wax begonias (or something similar) there as they get a bit of sun in that spot.

When I moved into this house, my neighbors gifted me with a number of plants including a white hydrangea and the aforementioned lilacs. Right now the hydrangea blooms are still green but in just a few days, they'll be white and fluffy. Here they are before they go bananas.

This spring we planted 6 blueberries on the hill to the west of the house. We'll be picking off the blossoms this year, but next summer we might have berries on our cereal. The red raspberries flourished last summer and they have come back nicely. I have a good stand of natives and a nice stand of 'modern' razzles. But they are at the back door, so I won't tell you about them.

Official fiber content:
I have spun everyday in April, in keeping with my Ravelry pledge, but I have been very bad at photographing my work and reporting my production. Just this very morning, I rinsed 6 lengths of roving (for the Etsy shop) and a skein of yarn (for me!) - about 70 yards - Hope it is enough for a hat!