last night, i pulled weeds. it was totally by choice, and it was a fabulous way to spend an hour or so in the evening. kenny and the boys were just over the hill walking the grounds and playing on the jungle gym, so i could hear the fun they were having even over the music playing on my ipod.

as i stated before, we inherited three larger-than-life flower gardens. if you'll remember, i was rather pregnant when we moved into this house a year ago, and then spent the summer with a newborn attached to me, staying in the shade. so gardening was the least of my priorities. but those flower beds grew and grew. the weeds overtook the flowers and we were left with huge weedy messes by fall. i vowed not to let that happen this year. so we're already starting. a bit late...but we're weeding!

by chance, the previous owner stopped by today and i asked her about a few of the flowers that are popping up already and what i should expect. i was hoping she wouldn't notice that i spent some time already digging up all the tulip bulbs that haven't produced a flower for the past two springs...and the daffodil bunches that also didn't bloom. i guess some bulbs get old? this seasons' weather wasn't much of a help either. but tthe cold and rain/snow didn't stop the weeds!

as i was happily weeding in the bed between the house and garage (something tha ti can see from teh kitchen window, so it willb e nice to have something lovely to look at this year!), i came across something very odd. i knew that moving to the country would increase our chance of seeing wildlife, but i never imagined i'd see something straight out of star trek.  i unearthed the most unearthly-looking things. kenny assures me they are merely perennials called "jack in the pulpits." here is what they look like right now:

here is a closer, more freakish look at these perennials:


i pulled all the surrounding weeds to allow sunshine and rain to water down on these alien horns. 

i pulled and scraped and raked and weeded some more and then i realized that i could be pulling out the beginnings of flowers and plants that i thought were weeds. i'm a novice gardener. (mom, if you're reading, please come up and help me soon.)

so i need to find some perennials to fill in what i might have pulled up. any suggestions? i love perennials. all you need to do is keep the weeds away and no replanting each spring and summer. here is our row of peonies that pop up without me doing anything (except plowing over them in the fall with the lawn tractor). and they're gorgeous. in a few weeks, they'll be full and green with light and dark pink flowers:


i am told this is primrose. whatever it is, i want more of it in this garden and less of what is growing around it. the color is not captured in this picture...they're stunning.

so...fill me in on what is in your perennial gardens. i know of a few...like the easy-peasy hostas and lily-of-the-vally. but i'd like to fill in these beds with color. so...hit me with your best suggestions, please!