More shopping

Yesterday I stopped by Arbor Farms and arranged (with money) for two trees to be planted in my yard. One is a Triumph Elm (Ulmus 'Morton Glossy'), for the backyard, to shade the deck (someday). The other is a Winter King Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis 'Winter King'), for the front yard. I would have bought more, but one tree I wanted, Perfect Purple Flowering Crab (Malus 'Perfect Purple'), will not be available until midsummer. I'm fine with that, because I need to dig out the old fashioned lilac first anyway. I also considered a Tiger Eyes Sumac (Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'), to replace the grasses by the front porch, but there was a mature specimen at the nursery and it is not the kind of plant to go next to the house.

Then it was back to Stuckys, as my resistance to their Cardinal Vines had withered. I bought three, to put under the Redbud trees. I'm leaving them in their pots but burying them in the mulch - hope that works out okay. (Or maybe I should transplant them to clay pots? Hmmm.) I also picked up two more lantana for the pergola, plus three different pink petunias for my granddaughter to plant in her little plastic wagon. The petunias are to make up for the fact I accidentally broke the handle on the wagon. Bad grandma.

Meanwhile, I continue to chip away at the lost cause of a backyard I have. Most of the south shrub bed is edged and somewhat weeded and trimmed. I uncovered four out of five Blue Hostas I planted there a while back, plus a holly that is languishing amongst the weeds. There are three clumps of what I think of as ditch lilies, hidden from sight. There are additional holly plants equally languishing beneath the arborvitae. Now that my son has cleared out the area behind the garden, I am contemplating moving all the holly plants (they are still quite smallish) there, to provide some screening (assuming they ever recover and grow to their natural size).

Since the underground utilities will soon be marked for the planting of the trees, today my son and I cleared out the wilderness area where much of the marking will occur, including the pathway of the shallowly buried fiber optics cable. I also started some seedlings for squashes, cukes, and pumpkins. I used to direct seed these, but discovered I have better success this way. HOPEFULLY, this week I can transplant the tomatoes and direct seed the beans and corn. I did direct seed some zinnias where the transplants succumbed to a recent frost. (Stupid weather.)

Let's see - anything else? We weeded the blueberry patch and discovered that, although the rabbits had eaten the three remaining plants to the ground, they had recovered enough to make a showing. This year I WILL protect them with poultry netting. I've been wondering if situating the bird bath under the tulip tree has contributed to its sparrow problem, so I moved the birdbath. And speaking of birds, I was wrong about the sparrows and the blue bird boxes. Too bad.