We came, we saw, we bought... plants

My daughter and I took a trip to Hicksville, OH, to check out the plants at Strait Gate Greenhouses. Rumor has it that their prices are better than around here; see comments below. They had a LOT to choose from, too.

I have not been happy with the aster by the front walk, wanted to replace it with something. I considered a fancy redbud, but visually another tree does not fit there. Then I got hot 'n bothered to put a Rose of Sharon there ('Aphrodite' which does not reseed itself), but I think something yellow would work better. And voila - a 'Lemony Lace' elderberry came home with me.

Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace' (cultivar SMNSRD4)

Some of you may remember that I planted one of these in front of the picture window back in 2017. It's a good plant, but it was a bad location. And most plants deserve a second chance. (I notice that the price on this specimen is less than the price of the one in 2017. Score!)

Some plants deserve a third chance, like the ninebark. Instead of trying to find the same variety, I went with two of these 'Ginger Wine' ones. The price is less than half of what I paid for the 'Amber Jubilee' they are replacing. Another score!

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Ginger Wine'

One plant that has had its second chance is a Canadian hemlock that has been replaced once. In its place will go this 'Fluffy' western arborvitae. I had planned to find another big gold mop like I had in the front yard, but I think this one will do nicely. I might have found it cheaper elsewhere.

Thuja plicata 'SMNTPGF' 

I keep trying to find something that will thrive on the trellis by the front porch, despite the lack of sun in that location. Against my better judgment, I selected this 'Happy Jack' purple clematis. We shall see. Another bargain.

Clematis 'Zojapur'

I have tried petunias and sweet potato vine in the hanging basket on the shed in the past, decided to try something different, like these portulacas. It's a tough location, on the north side of the building, but midsummer sun still reaches it. We'll see how well they do.

Portulaca grandiflora

Coleus for the planter on the front porch has been an annual success story, so why mess with what works. This is ChargedUp Campfire.

Coleus scutellarioides

I've seen lantana growing in containers here and there and admired it. Now I have one, 'Hot Blooded Red'.

Lantana camara 'Hot Blooded'

An impulse purchase was a trailing snapdragon, something I had never seen. I considered putting it in the flamingo planter, but decided I still want to try a tuberous begonia there. The snapdragon will summer on the deck instead.

Asarina procumbens

And that's all for now. My schedule this week is tight, but maybe I can get a few plants in the ground each day. Step by step, hole by hole, slow and steady, etc. If it weren't for gardening, how would we make it through the winter?

I frequently hear bird strikes against my windows but rarely find any dead birds in the yard. Sadly, a white crown sparrow met its demise last week. I thought the mallards in this pic were dead, but they were just keeping a low profile.

My daughter, son, and daughter-in-law all have birthdays this month. We will celebrate with birthday pie tomorrow. Rhubarb, of course.

Have a happy Mother's Day!

April showers... and more!

We have had a very rainy week. The rain garden is so full, it is attracting mallards. If I had put out my rain gauge, I could tell you just how much rain my yard has received, but take my word for it - it's a LOT. I have even mowed the lawn, twice.

(Looking at the photo above makes me think surrounding the rain garden with daffodils would be pretty.)

The story behind my quasi obsession with flamingos is based in part on my dad. He was a chemist who at the end of his career landed at Foster Grant in Leominster, Massachusetts, the purported plastics capital of the world. Union Products, the manufacturer of plastic pink flamingos, was also located in Leominster. One day I got it into my head that I wanted some pink flamingos from the source, so I asked my dad to oblige. Three arrived in the mail shortly thereafter. Over the years, and with the help of my son and daughter-in-law, I have added to the collection.

Alas, I am one of those people who is not careful to take all my yard stuff in during the winter. Two of the original flamingos have lost their heads. I'm not one to be sentimental about my belongings, but I am a bit regretful about this little tragedy. The remaining flamingo will become an indoor ornament.

My cataract surgery was successful. I'm a little shocked at how bright everything is. Clio's eye surgery followed; her recovery is a bit more complicated, as she has to wear the "cone of shame". We both have eyedrops, which I administer four times a day.

I uncovered the strawberry plants a few days ago. It looks like they took a beating this past winter. I'm contemplating transplanting the survivors, from the raised bed into the ground proper. The garlic I planted with them seems to be okay, though.

The redbud at the back of the yard is trying to bloom. Too soon! Too soon! We may have a hard frost this week.

No Mow Maybe Not

I don't know who started the No-Mow May meme, but in general, it is not a good idea. My lawn is treated, mostly organically, so if I didn't mow, I would have foot-tall grass by now, as I have mowed four times already this season. And the non-grass spring plants that grew there before were mostly dandelions, which as you can read below, are not a good thing. (These quotes came to me via the Riverview Native Nursery newsletter that I receive by email.)

Rewilding Magazine: "...here’s what the little research done to date on dandelions tells us. Dandelion has allelopathic pollen, a scientific term that basically means the pollen of dandelions can reduce reproductive success in native wildflowers, disrupting the native plant communities it invades. Another study showed that queen bumblebees (some of the early emerging wild bees that pro-dandelion campaigns say dandelions help) resorted to eating their own eggs when fed a diet of protein-deficient dandelion pollen."
Benjamin Vogt of Monarch Gardens: "What you WILL get are a host of plants with marginal to little benefit to wildlife, and several that will be terribly aggressive: crabgrass, creeping charlie, barnyard grass. And of course invasive species placed on most city’s noxious weed list, like musk thistle or garlic mustard."
The Garden Professors: " Even better yet, you can reduce the amount of space in your landscape that is dedicated to a traditional turfgrass lawn and incorporate a flowering groundcover and/or a pollinator garden that hosts an abundant array of diverse floral resources that provide food for bees all season long!"
Iowa State: "Consider eliminating the lawn altogether and replacing it with plants or garden spaces that don’t require frequent maintenance and support native insects and wildlife. Replacing turf with perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees can reduce water consumption, pesticides, and fertilizers while increasing soil organic matter, building soil quality, and helping to retain and infiltrate stormwater"

While I have a nice bit of lawn front and back, I also try to provide natives for the pollinators. The only problem is I don't see very many pollinators these days, which I presume is due to neighbors treating their lawns with insecticide. I'm hoping my yard becomes a pollinator oasis.

My yard does seem to be an avian oasis. A pair of robins has built a nest in the same spot as last year: under the eave on top of a bend in the downspout behind the Japanese maple by the dining room window. I'm tempted to place a ladder there and take a weekly photograph.

And here is a photo of the mallards that stopped by last week. I'm surprised they don't pop in when the standing water is at its worst. It's hard to see, but the female is behind the fence in the photo below. They took off shortly after this pic was taken.

The 'Perfect Purple' flowering crab seems particularly laden with blossoms this year. The low branch on the right will have to be pruned, as it threatens my eyesight every time I mow.

Up close and personal.

The redbud trees seem to be underperforming this year, but it is early. They hit their peak in early May. And despite my wishing, it is not yet May. (The chair is an experiment, to see if I like sitting there, for a different view of the yard.)

Up close.

I've seen exhortations here and there that it is time to set up hummingbird feeders. Not so around here, as I rarely see them before June. The oriole feeder has not been visited yet, but from last year's blog, I see they did not show up until May.

Meanwhile, I've attended to a few spring chores, like cleaning the deck, some of the siding (until I ran out of cleaning solution), and renewing the stone mulch. What I love about this photo is the lack of crapola. There used to be a stack of cedar planks on the deck, plus some stray ones on the table. Things look a lot tidier now.

The installation of the rain garden is supposed to happen tomorrow, BUT one underground utility has yet to be marked: Frontier and their fiber optic cable. Ordinarily, I would not be too worried about this, BUT the cable is just a few inches below the surface and easy to damage. Will they show up today, a Sunday? Somehow, I doubt it.

Baby steps

The weather has been fairly temperate recently (except for the wind), so the garden is progressing appropriately. The onions are hanging in there, presumably putting down roots, as the tops look less than stellar. The garlic and rhubarb have made an appearance....

This past week, I planted peas, snap peas, spinach, lettuce, and radishes. And the daffodils are in bloom.

One problem with gardening in raised beds is perennials have a tougher time withstanding the winter weather since their roots are not deep within the earth proper. So far, I have not had a problem with garlic, which I mulch heavily. Last fall, I neglected to mulch the the asparagus and strawberries, both of which look not-so-good this spring.

I'm not happy with the strawberries anyway - the everbearing variety didn't everbear - so I am replacing them with a June-bearing variety. In all fairness, the strawberry bed probably did not receive enough sun, so it will also be relocated.

The asparagus may have bit the dust, as it is showing no signs of life. I'm not very experienced with asparagus; maybe it is too early? Regardless, I decided to plant more asparagus, a purple variety, which I did yesterday. I also gave the 25 new plants more elbow room room than I gave the previous 20 plants in the current bed. The new bed is also in a sunnier location.

In the never ending battles against rabbits and groundhogs, my SO is helping me build (and by "helping", he is doing most of the work) a garden fence. The idea is to run hardware cloth from the bottom to prevent digging and chicken wire from the top to prevent climbing. There will also be no posts set in the ground, so I can move the fence if need be. (I seem to change my mind a lot about the yard.)

Under the oh-ye-of-little-faith category, I am happy to report that all the indoor seedlings sprouted, with the exception of the 'Abe Lincoln' tomatoes, which I replanted yesterday.

I was planning to plant potatoes and transplant blueberries today, but "they" are predicting snow a few days from now. My gardening muscles are suffering a bit, but not as bad as I expected. Although the back of my neck felt like it was getting burned yesterday, it's not.

How does your garden grow?

April (snow) showers

Yesterday my backyard was so soggy I had mallards. Today it looks like Mother Nature scrolled back the calendar.



But the daffodils are still standing!

I Was Right

The mystery plant is keys of heaven. I planted three of them several years ago, and two were hiding in the spreading bee balm. The third is looking wilted, and I have no idea why. The 1.25" of rain Friday night didn't help.

I moved most of the bee balm today. Three little plants that had turned into three large clumps are now a dozen small clumps along the fence. I left a little bee balm around the keys of heaven, just in case that is why the rabbits haven't eaten it (yet).

Yesterday I started listing all the plants/shrubs/trees I have in my yard (see sidebar) and realized just how much I have planted over the years that has not survived. The rabbits do a fair share of damage, but sometimes things just don't make it through the winter around here. Dry summers and too much shade may be factors as well.

There is an incredible bird racket this afternoon. Some fledgling starlings are learning to fly. Yesterday a litter of young squirrels were playing follow the leader in the front yard - six of them! And last night, ducks were roosting on the house.



We came back from walking the dog and there were ducks on my roof!



And I think I forgot to mention that a week or two ago, I spotted a woodchuck scurrying into the culvert under a neighbor's driveway. I'm glad some of the creatures of the wild can coexist with us two-leggeds.

Besides moving bee balm, yesterday I moved the chives, after clearing out the bed formerly known as the strawberry pyramid.



I'm not sure why, but after several successful years, the strawberries disappeared. Probably a severe winter and lack of diligence on my part (I forgot to cover them with straw.)



Strawberry pyramids are okay, but I decided to try using this area for herbs instead. Besides the chives, in one quadrant I planted some cilantro, parsley, and sweet basil from seed. If they sprout, I'll make successive plantings in the other three-fourths.



I hope rhubarb likes chives and herbs.

The honeysuckle vines are putting out the welcome mat for hummingbirds, but I haven't seen any yet.



I don't know why the yellow is so much more robust than the yellow. Might be a shade thing, but both of them will get plenty of sun this year.

Traveling around the yard, we see that it is almost showtime for the climbing rose...



... while it looks like curtains for these peonies...



... but not this one, a later variety.



And - surprise! - Betty Corning is blooming.



I planted two of these clematis two years ago, and have been disappointed with their performance. But I think they are going to make up for it this year. Both plants are tall and bushy. Like they say, first year sleep, second year creep, third year leap!