Homestead Happenings: Flowers & Nature 4/27/26!

Pictured: Lady’s Slipper Orchids at Silver Creek Falls State Park 4/25/26

My blog went out before it was ready so I had to delete and start over! We had a wonderful trip to Silver Creek Falls State Park this past weekend.
Enjoy! Amy

Table of Contents:
~ Garden Guides! ~
~ Phenology: The Seasons Through Blooms! ~
~ Silver Creek Falls State Park Trip! ~
~ Thank You! ~

The blog is a sampling of all the photos I’ve taken this month.
Please head over to our social media to see the photo dumps!

~ Garden Guides! ~

I am going to change the moon phase planting guides in favor of using phenology more. I will research old folklore and share those pieces of gold once this year is complete!

I’ve compiled a list of planting dates for 2026 based on the moon phases:
2026 Planting Guide – Zones 7/8
Here is a sampling for this week:
After 7:32am Apr 24th to before 10:22pm Apr 30th – Plant outdoors: Hardy Alyssum, Phlox, Marigolds, Sunflowers
After 10:22pm May 1st to before 2:11am May 9th – Plant outdoors: chives, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, chrystanthemums for fall color. Prune – lilacs, rhododendrons and azaleas after bloom.

~ Phenology: The Seasons Through Blooms! ~

I noticed the Salt Cedar in our back yard started blooming on Wednesday so grabbed a quick photo:

I was too tired to go for the Woods Walk on Sunday so Shane brought back these photos for me to Share!
The Hawthorn is starting to bloom! More Crabapple, Camas, and Fawn Lily flowers too!

~ Silver Creek Falls State Park Trip! ~

Shane and I took a trip to Silver Creek Falls State Park for our 6 year anniversary. I was SUPER excited to see Lady’s Slipper Orchids! We used to have them here on the farm but haven’t seen them in years!

I took a 30 second video of Silver Creek from our trip Saturday. Shane got a video of a massive ant hill which seem to be everywhere down there!

~ Thank You! ~

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We’ll see you all again May 1st for our April Homestead Happenings: Livestock Edition, where pastures have opened up and cut back our feed bill!
Don’t forget, the next Homestead Happenings: Flowers & Nature will be May 4th, where there will be even more Garden guidance as planting starts to amp up and more will be blooming in the woods!