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a suprise!

Category: stuff in bloom | Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 4:11 pm

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things are really starting to crank in the garden. i had wanted to use my brother's new digital camera, but it seems everytime i connect it to my computer, my computer decides to give me a hard time about using it again,(it is old, and am working on a new one)so, back to the 35mm for a while.
i swear, sometimes things happen overnight! the baptisia is just about in full bloom, one of my clematis is flowering, the peonies opened all of a sudden as well. the weigelia is absolutely loaded with flowers this year (i even got a glimpse of a hummingbird visiting it! maybe she'll tell her friends about it)
a few years ago, my friend on the west coast sent me a bunch of seeds..lunaria, cleome, lupine and i mixed them with my cosmos, bachelor buttons and planted along the fence on the alley side of my yard.
i usually have good luck with the annuals, but don't have many perennials on that side of the fence with the exception of the black eyed susans. last year i noticed a lupine had taken and i am almost certain it had a blue/purple & white flower on it. i looked at it this year and was kind of shocked to see that the flower is pink & white! what a nice suprise. i also noticed that somehow a daisy had made it's way there as well. i'm always happy for volunteers.
speaking of daisies...the ones i transplanted are limping along...and i am confident they'll do fine in their new home.
i found 2 forget-me-not plants at the market on the dollar table.....they were so cute, and were perfect for the front bed. i planted 4 foxgloves last year, 2 made it through the winter, and i can't wait for them to flower. my toad lilies are really growing this year, and i hope i don't have to wait until september for them to bloom like i did last year. they were so tiny i almost didn't see them!

i love this time of year, when everything is blooming or starting to bloom.

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as it should be....mostly

Category: stuff in bloom | Posted: Sun May 20, 2012 12:49 pm

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another sunday morning! the sun is shining, already 65 degrees and it is supposed to get into the 80's! just about ready for planting seeds and annuals, put a lot of hard work in the yard this past week.
looking around the garden, i just love how everything has it's time..right now, the alliums are in bloom, along with the soapwort and sea thrift. i see the lupine is starting to flower as well and one of the clematis is full of buds, ready to pop. out front, the bleeding heart is showing off. yesterday, i dug all the tulips out of the front bed (moving them to the back yard) and planted the english daisies. they look so nice. (the front bed is almost always an experiment as it is very shady & dry...am always trying to amend the soil).
by the wagon, the sweet william is also loaded with buds and i expect one morning this week, i'll walk outside and it will be full of flowers. i also found a volunteer bachelor button growing there and it is loaded with buds as well. the bellflowers will probably open this week. peonies are going to be awesome, so many buds! i still get excited about it all.
my only disappointment was the lilac. it looked very promising, but mother nature had other plans, two freeze/frosts when it was loaded with buds, and when the few buds that did open, they looked already old and spent. oh, well..will give it a good pruning and hope for the best next spring.
as soon as i am finished writing, am going to start my watering walk and take my camera outside and get loads of pictures. better yet, i'll use my brother's camera & then i can upload them right away!


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check list

Category: one thing at a time | Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 12:30 am

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80% weeding....check
hollyhock gone....check
daisies moved....check
ditch lilies gone...check


i always have great plans, but sometimes other things happen. one plan i always have is weeding. got the big garden finished, just have to turn the dirt a bit and get ready for my zinnias (one annual i always purchase). sunflower spot is weed free. the gladiolas are coming up, and i've got nice fat buds on the peonies.
i had ditch lilies in a small bed in the front, and just got tired of them. (they are all over the neighborhood, and i do have some by my lilac bush). so, i'm digging out the lilies, and end i end up reworking the bed (it's only about 2'x3'), added new soil, then had to come into the back yard to dig out the penstemon (in a small spot by the fence near the fire pit). the poor thing looked absolutely wilted by the time i got in the ground, which could only have been 10-15 minutes. so while i'm putting it in it's new spot, i'm talking to it the whole time, telling it how sorry i am for ripping out of it's home and how happy it will be in it's new spot where it can spread it's roots and be happy. so it's water, water, water, and after about 3 days, it was starting to come around, and i'm optimistic. it may not bloom at all this year, but as long as it overwinters, it will be ok.
with that done, time to work on the back yard...the monster hollyhock...it's been fun, but time for it to go! what a monster! i really worked up a sweat digging that thing up. it's been there for about 8 or 9 years, and i didn't even plant it. (there is a smaller one in the empty lot next door, so i still get to see one). with that finally done, had to make a spot for the daisies...more weeding and new soil. getting the daisies out of the wagon wasn't hard, but i did have to be careful. the wagon is so old, rusted and brittle, i didn't want to break it. the daisies came out, and immediately to the new bed, and they proceeded to look wilted as well. and i talked to them the whole time (told them exactly what i told the penstemon). right now, i'm in the water, water, water stage...they are still alive, but need a few more days to bounce back some. i also planted some sweet william seeds in front of them to keep them company). now, with that done..my attention is turned back to the wagon. that needed weeding as well plus it had some grass i had to get out of there as well. added new soil and back out front to dig up my 3 daylilies (pandora's box) and bring them to the wagon, they fared much better in the move, plus i bought 3 more bare root daylilies (new toy) and put them in the wagon as well. i think they will look great there.
so, what is next on my check list?...the rest of the weeding, moving tulips from the front to the back, getting the bed ready for the cannas, but as i've learned, you can only do one thing at a time.....even when that one thing involves 2,3,4 or more steps!

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couldn't help myself!

Category: springtime stuff | Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 11:54 am

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yesterday was a rainy day. couldn't get much accomplished outside, so, thanks to uncle sam, went and did a little retail therapy at wal-mart. i had a few things i absolutely needed, but, always have to check out the gardening part this time of year. wasn't impressed with any live plants they had, but did find some small solar lights for a $1 each - bought 5. as i was wandering around, looking at just about everything from grills and tools to seeds and bare root plants, i was thinking how i wasn't that impressed with this store's set up. (there is a much better one elsewhere, but didn't feel like driving too far). but, i did get a couple of packets of perennial candytuft seeds, and a couple different kinds of lilies, namely a stargazer lily (5 roots) and a daylily called 'new toy'(3 roots-it looks like it's supposed to be a dark pink). i think the daylilies will be perfect in the wagon, which now has the daisies that are going to be moved to the corner of the shed where the holly hock is. i also have 3 daylilies in the front (pandora's box) which i will be moving to the wagon as well.each package was only $5.38. not a bad deal at all.
it doesn't matter how many plants i have, or how much room i do or do not have, i have to get at least one or two new plants every year. i also went wandering around the open air markets over the weekend, and saw a few plants i'm going to have to get for the front....good thing they're having a mother's day sale!

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