Am I finished purchasing plants?

I made several (A LOT OF) impulse purchases this spring, mostly for the rain garden. Ditto seeds. I tend to go overboard. Unless something dies and needs to be replaced, I think I am done adding plants to the yard. Fingers crossed.

Any exceptions? I've talked myself out of raspberry plants. Maybe the hosta garden needs a fern? I'd like to add smooth penstemon to the rain garden, but that may happen yet this year. And if I get arches installed over the gates, some climbers may need to be added. AND THAT IS ALL! (Except for some asters? I'm hopeless.)

My daughter and I visited a new-to-us nursery near Churubusco this past week. I was interested in some hanging planters (because they don't count as plant purchases, right?) The fuchsia ones were sold out, so I snatched up the last of their fuchsia plants so I could make my own.

I paid attention to which of their hanging planters attracted bees and chose two lobelia. At first, the bees in my yard swarmed those planters, chasing each other off, but their initial enthusiasm has waned. Maybe it is not a good pollinator plant?

I stopped by a local farmers market the next day and could not resist this Black Eyed Susan vine. You may recall I have grown this myself in the past, but this one came ready-made.

And I found some purple basil, not for eating but for dyeing yarn. It's now potted in front of the strawberry bed, flanked by pineapple sage.

My daughter fretted about the possibility of a "flash drought" this summer. So far, the only part of the state that is under threat is the northwest (according to the Purdue Landscaping Report). This week has been less rainy - I went FIVE DAYS without mowing the lawn. I could have gone longer, but thunderstorms were predicted for the weekend. Half-inch of rain (so far); my gutters need cleaning.

What else is going on in the yard? Strawberries and tomatoes have appeared on their respective plants. The safflower has sprouted; I'm growing it to dye with. I planted some sunflowers amongst the milkweed. The big patch of dame's rocket by the strawberry bed is history. The stinky 'Blue Muffin' viburnum is done blooming; it's cousin 'Chicago Lustre' has taken over. The winterberry looks recovered from the winter and is blooming, but the blossoms are so tiny as to be practically invisible. The climbing rose is the opposite - almost gaudy. Weeds are still an issue.

Last June I picked some fruit off the serviceberries and froze it. Now that the berries are ripening, I put the frozen ones outside. We'll see if anything eats them. Just a little experiment.

Inside, I repotted several of my houseplants. I don't feed them at all, as then they would grow and need to be repotted more often. But eventually, I have to give in to their needs.

Yarden every darn day

That's been my motto lately, as I hustle to get all the plants I purchased installed in the yard. I'm not done yet, but getting there.

Sunday: planted bleeding heart and porch plants (coleus and black-eyed susan vine); cut back most of the daffodils; installed bluebird box; put zinnias on deck to harden off; set up latest addition to my flamingo collection.

Old-fashioned bleeding heart

Thunbergia 'Sunny Susy Amber Stripe' aka black-eyed Susan vine

Unknown coleus

Unknown coleus, leaf detail

Bluebird box installed (before baffle added)

It's a planter!

Monday: spotted the first catbird of the season; making clay toad houses and designing Beau-proof vases; purchased a cage for the "nesting" cylinder bird feeder to keep the starlings out (unfortunately, keeps the blue jays out as well); purchased a baffle for the bluebird nesting box.

Tuesday: lots of activity at the bluebird house (after I installed the baffle), but no takers so far; bird fight between two male bluebirds; cowbird at the birdbath; added the cage to the feeder with the "nesting" cylinder; after another inch of rain, the rain garden overflowed, which left standing water on the lawn and where I planted grass seed - it needs a berm at the north and northwest ends; mowed and trimmed.

Wednesday: planted the honeysuckle; hung the planters for the sweet potato vine (which involved a 2x4, hand tools and cable ties); sprayed for weeds; found an excuse to buy an Ego trimmer: the area behind the fence (where there is a lot of garlic mustard); I think a raccoon got into the robin nest behind the Japanese maple (found empty egg shell); replanted a brome sedge; positioned the metal heron and two flamingos by the "pond".

Thursday: saw a grackle at the feeders; SO helped me shore up the low end of the rain garden (I think I should have purchased top soil instead of garden soil); mowed because we are expecting days of rain; purchased an Ego trimmer.

Friday: planted catmint around trees in front yard and added some mulch (my aching back!); not much rain, until later - 0.5".

Saturday: finished planting catmint (in a pot); planted zinnias (in pots) - 'Cut and Come Again Mixed Colors'; top dressed containers with Black Kow; I think more of the rain garden needs a berm; pruned butterfly bushes.

Roots on zinnia seedlings

Zinnias, all in a row

I've been cutting back the flower stalks on the golden ragwort, as it is starting to go to seed. Lazy me just threw the stalks behind the blue star where they can decompose. Today, I noticed that all those flower heads turned to seed heads despite being removed from their mother plants. I hope that is not going to be a problem. I like the ragwort, but not *everywhere*.

Blue Star "hedge"

One aim of planting natives is to attract pollinators and their relatives, like this ladybug. Most insects won't stay still long enough for a decent photo, but this bug was very obliging.


Every time I plant a perennial, I think to myself, Hopefully, I won't have to do this again. My shoulders work great, but my back - not so much. I dream of the time when spring means adding a few annuals to the landscape, then enjoying the view from the deck, iced tea in hand.

Better late than never

The first year I grew Black Eyed Susan Vine, it did great. Since then, not so much. A combination of factors has worked against it - critters disturbing the directly sown seed, poor germination rates, etc. This year the problem was a mighty wind that severed the vines. I assumed that was that, but a few surviving plants regrew and climbed the trellis on the front porch and actually produced a handful of blooms.

I'm not giving up on Thunbergia alata. It grows fast, tolerates some shade, and looks good. Soaking the seeds may improve germination. Also, the clematis it is standing in for has had its own set of problems, so I still need something for that trellis.