It's hard to keep up

It seems every time I turn around, something else is blooming or about to bloom. Spring feels compressed into less time - today it is in the 80's - so while everything is taking its turn, there seems to be a bit of shoving going on in the line.

The creeping phlox is not only creeping across and down the castle block, it is putting on a nice show. Each year, once the bloom is done, I prune it back a bit. This year I will do that but also let it continue moving down the front of that bed, so that it is draped over all the castle block. It doesn't seem interested in moving under the shrubs there; probably too shady.

I'm very pleased with the 'Perfect Purple' crabapple. It is only one year old but blooming like an old hand. It has two means of support; I'll remove the one along the trunk this year, the rest next year (per the nursery's recommendation).

The apple trees are blooming now. When I planted them, I was all gung ho on growing my own fruit. Almost immediately after, I lost interest. I'll leave them be for now - the apples are quite tasty - but I have a feeling their days are numbered.

I know I posted a pic of the old-fashioned bleeding heart before, but it just keeps getting better and better.

Non-blooming trees and shrubs are leafing out, too. This is the view out my dining room window, where the Japanese maple provides nice dappled shade. The variety is 'Bloodgood'.

For the record, I've started transplanting seedlings. The coleus is in the box on the front porch. To keep my indoor-outdoor cat from using this planter as a litter box, I laid pine cones on the surface. For some reason, cats don't like trying to dig around pine cones.

Today I also transplanted marigolds to the marigold/pole bean raised bed, and started the beans plants in paper cups. I purchased poke milkweed to go where the butterfly bush was, in the milkweed patch, and as soon as I am done here, they will go into the ground.

My ongoing problem (one of several, actually) with the dogs is they trample stuff. I finally decided they could not have the run of the yard, so have been setting up some fencing to limit their turf. To protect the bed on the south side of the house, I moved some fence panels from the removed movable fence. To eliminate their access to the raised beds and the hosta bed, I strung electric fence wire but haven't charged it yet; I'm waiting to see how the configuration works out for my convenience. So far, the dogs seem to understand that the flimsy wire fence is meant for them.

I thought the spice bush was a goner and intended to replace it. However, my source had a similar problem this past winter, so wasn't selling them yet. She showed me how to check the cambium layer for signs of life. I didn't need to, though, as the little stick of a thing is sending out a leaf. We'll see how it fares. The mountain mint might be recovering as well (see trampling dogs above). And the dill reseeded itself, sprouting only *after* I purchased more seed. Of course.

Pinks and Blues

Except for the dandelions, the yellows of spring are starting to give way to the pinks and blues. Like the rhododendron, these bloomers are outdoing themselves this year. Apologies for the quality of the pictures (and please excuse the weeds).

If I have one major gardening regret, it is that I don't seem to have a central location for the proper names of the denizens of my yard. (And I'm too lazy to look them up.)

Redbud (one of three)

Sand cherry bush (with deceased asplenifolia to the left)

Grape hyacinth

Volunteer violets

Creeping phlox

Bleeding heart

This little vine is not blooming yet (obviously), but it deserves mentioning because, quite frankly, I had given up hope that it would survive. This poor thing has been planted and transplanted and eaten by bunnies in its short life. And yet, here it is. Life will out.

Clematis Niobe, risen from the dead

The results of all those April showers

Some May flowers are definitely here, with more in the wings.

This is actually a weed that most gardeners try to eradicate. I can't remember its name, but it is so pretty I let it grow some. It seems to favor the shadier parts of the lawn.



The pink creeping phlox grows in the bed with the asplenifolia and yucca and sand cherry. I have tried growing some white under the barberry but it is too shady there. I may expand that bed a bit and try again.



My old fashioned lilac is a bit droopy, thanks to an ice storm last winter, but it is putting on quite a show this year to make up for it.



The fragrance is divine!



The Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliant' aka chokeberry is in bloom. (I'm trying to use proper Latin names more.)



The first iris, with many more to come. Another sweet smell but definitely different than lilac.



Last summer I moved the bleeding heart to protect it from the construction crews, but I plan to move it back once it is done blooming. This year's blooms look kind of puny compared to previous years, due to the transplant shock no doubt.



The forget-me-not under the rhododendron pooped out, so I was very surprised to find this volunteer in the yard.



And my new Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' aka Japanese maple. The laceleaf one I bought last year from Lowes did not make it through the winter, and since I can get my money back on that one, I'm not too sad. The laceleaf version takes a lot of water and more care than I am inclined to give one plant. For only about $35 more, I picked up its replacement, which is four times as big, from Beverly Nurseries.



While at Beverly, I also picked up a Viburnum dentatum 'Chicago Luster' which is supposed to cross pollinate with the 'Blue Muffin'. My son is here this weekend. I hope he feels like digging a couple of big holes.

Other achievements this week include emptying out three big containers, mixing sphagnum peat, blood meal, and bone meal with the soil, and refilling them. One is going to become a salad bowl, with greens and radishes and green onions. Another I will populate with an 'Early Girl' tomato and some basil. Pot number three will probably be home to some herbs because I am redoing what was the herb garden last year. And it looks like another one of my colonnade apple trees bit the dust, so there may be a fourth pot to fill.

Re the mowing: I did mow the backyard with the electric mower and sort of liked it. My gas mower is self-propelled and the electric one is not, but the latter is very light so pushing it is not that difficult (that might be a different story were I to bag the clippings). Dealing with the cord took some coordination (ha) but again, not all that bad. As more of my lawn gives way to plants, when the time comes to replace the gas mower, I will definitely consider an electric one. Meanwhile, I took the Toro to the repair shop. It still had its tag from when they serviced it, which probably helped sway them to charging me nothing for what turned out to be a very minor repair. Thanks, Crescent Garden!

I hear a wren!

Wrens are the good news, plus a most perfect weekend weatherwise. The bad news is my mower choked to a halt, fortunately after I finished the front yard but unfortunately before I got very far into the backyard jungle. My SO brought his electric mower over, though, so I will give that a chance to prove itself. The more I garden, the less yard I have to mow, so maybe it is time to transition away from my not-so-trusty Toro to something quieter and less polluting.

Friday night I bit the bark and picked out a tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) to shade the West Wing. What is it about a nursery in the spring that makes me want to whip out my credit card and cry, "I'll take one of everything!"? The only thing that kept me to the one tree was my plan to visit another nursery for the other things on my wishlist. But I splurged on the tree - 2" diameter and they (Arbor Farms) will plant it. I can hardly wait!

I am dithering about what to do about the patio. It needs some shade, but I like seeing the sky out my patio door. I've considered a variety of trees, a pergola, an awning, a trellis for the kitchen window, insulated curtains for the patio door, etc. I just can't decide what would be most satisfactory. The patio is on the west side of the house and the afternoon sun will be brutal. Suggestions welcome!

Unable to mow yesterday, I turned to moving mulch. Believe it or not, I may need one more load. I also (finally) planted snap peas and mesclun. It was hard to put away my tools midafternoon to prepare for an evening out, but today my muscles and joints are thankful.

Yesterday's photos did not turn out - too bright - but here are some from this past week:

Creeping phlox...



... purpleleaf sandcherry...



... and volunteer violets.



Maybe I should replace my lawn with clover and violets.

Love Is in the Air

This morning, through bleary eyes, I thought I saw a pair of nuthatches playing tag in the brush by the shed, but something about them didn't look right. I fetched my binoculars to get a better peek, and discovered they were not nuthatches at all, but downy woodpeckers! They were doing their courtship dance, hopping around from branch to branch, then pausing to flutter their wings and spread their tales. It was quite the spectacle. Usually, I try to write in the morning and have my head bowed to the computer screen, but this morning I was lucky enough to be too tired to write. Otherwise, I would have missed this display.

Last night the temps dropped below freezing, so this is the last pic of the rhododendron.



Today its petals are dropping in brown puddles. The bumblebees are unhappy about that.

The sandcherry did not mind the cold, though.



Nor did the creeping phlox...



... or these late daffodils.



The blossoms on the serviceberry look iffy, though. Last year there were no berries at all, so I'm hoping some of the blooms survive. The robins love serviceberries.