This weekend, I got my hands deep into the soil, planting up some spring flowers and giving our strawberry patch a long-overdue upgrade. It felt like a true celebration of the season, coaxing life and color into our little corner of the world.

The two terra cotta-colored pots sitting in front of our porch have been calling for something fresh, so I indulged in a little instant gratification. Normally, I lean toward the patient route, choosing plants that will fill out over time and letting nature do its thing. But this time, I craved immediate beauty — a burst of color to greet us at the door. As I tucked each bloom into place, the pots transformed into little pockets Spring color. The plan is to move the plants into my in-ground beds once they outgrow their current home, but for now, they sit by the front porch, making me smile every time I walk past.

The bigger project, though, was the strawberries. For years, we made do with a small galvanized pot, about twenty inches across. It was our humble attempt at growing strawberries while renting, a reminder that sometimes you just have to bloom where you’re planted. That little pot surprised us with its determination — the plants grew strong and gifted us sweet berries despite their cramped quarters. But now, with a place of our own, it was time to give them the home they deserved.

The new raised bed stretches four feet long, a roomy upgrade for our berry plants. Moving them felt a little like moving old friends into a new house. These ladies have been with us for years, and seeing them thrive in fresh soil will be great. I even have plans to add more plants, imagining the bed brimming with berries in the coming months.

Another joy in my garden recently has been the daffodils. As a new homeowner, establishing flowering bulbs has been a labor of love, but really just a lot of digging and work, especially with soil as rocky as mine. Would you believe I planted over 50 bulbs in my little backyard butterfly garden? The first to bloom are the most precious, buttery yellow daffodils. I have been told that tulips do poorly here, but I’ll keep you updated.

Next up for me in my gardening life is to clean out and plan out the front yard garden bed, to weed the backyard butterfly garden consistently, and to get our raised bed gardens planted, or at least the seeds started that are destined for those places. I also need to FILL one of them with dirt. Who knew dirt could be so expensive?

Now, as a reward for reading my ramblings, photographic evidence of the beauty here: