Blogs are good for something

I thought the bulbs I planted last fall had rotted in the ground over the winter, but no. I either planted them too deep or they simply appear later than tulips and daffodils. And as they popped up, I realized I did not know what they were or where they were. Thankfully, I remembered to blog about planting them. Now I wish I had also blogged about which hostas I moved where, as they have been popping up all over the place.

While downloading the praying mantis hatchlings photos, I found more pix I had forgotten about (do we see a pattern here?)

Potato grow sacks, on cardboard. I have had good luck growing both Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes in these grow sacks. I purchased mine from Gardeners Supply, but you can make your own using doubled up landscape cloth. When these wear out, and if I decide to continue to use grow sacks, I may try making them, as they have become rather expensive as their popularity grows. (The cardboard does a wonderful, if ugly, job suppressing weeds.)

Rabbit nest under the Japanese maple. I occasionally let my dog into the front yard, but once I discovered the mama mallard nesting under the peonies, I put a moratorium on that. It did not take long for a rabbit to feel safe enough to build a nest of her own.

Tomato cages for pea fence. I had been dreading the prospect of wrestling with poultry fencing to provide the peas with support. Then it occurred to me, since the only tomatoes I am growing this year are Romas, which I am not going to stake, I could repurpose the tomato cages. Very simple and very effective.

Golden Bells Carpet Daffodil. This is one of the bulbs I planted last fall. I missed getting a photo of the Winter Aconite - I barely noticed them, they are so short - but hopefully will remember to snap a pic of the Sunny Twinkles Allium.

So much for catching up. Onto the newer photos.

Frost damage on Japanese maple. Before we left for vacation, the temps dropped into the 20's. Two of the three redbuds in the backyard took a heavy hit from this, as did the Japanese maple.

Newly planted coleus. As I mentioned before, I usually plant impatiens in this flower box on the front porch, but decided to try something different this year. I have tried coleus in the past without much success, but now I know the secret: water. For some reason, I am resistant to watering anything outdoors, but obviously plants in pots and plants under roofs need help. Duh.

Abandoned duck nest. One of these days, I am going to walk down to our neighborhood pond, to see if mama mallard is there with her babies. She could take them there, or across the busy road fronting our addition, to another pond. There is also a larger pond a half mile away, but that seems like a horribly long walk for newborn ducklings. If I see any baby ducks in any of these locations, I am going to assume they are mine.