Year of the violet

I can't believe how many violets I've seen this spring. I have quite a few in my front flower beds, but they are everywhere, especially in untreated lawns where they contrast nicely with the dandelions.

Last summer the lawn across the street sported a lot of clover. This year I called the lawn guy and told him, I miss my clover. His response was, No one has ever said that to me. So while I agreed to them applying a pre-emergent, I am going to spot treat the weeds myself, in the hopes that my yard will include wild strawberry, clover, and violets in the future. Next year we will probably skip the pre-emergent as well.

The redbuds have peaked weeks earlier than usual, much to the delight of a variety of bees that are usually stuck with creeping Charlie and dandelions this time of year. Flowering crab is everywhere, including in my backyard. A feast for the eyes.

One city park I like to visit in the spring is Foster Park. The flower beds are a riot of tulips. I don't consider myself a tulip person, but now I want to plant them in my yard.

My one bone to pick with the city parks department is they don't label plants, not even trees. I'm not very good at tree identification, especially before they leaf out, and would really like to know what this one is.

This pic is to remind me that I like blues and purples together, sort of like the violets and grape hyacinth in my own yard. I've grown forget-me-nots before, but they don't last. I'm surprised they are considered invasive in the Midwest.

I don't just sit around looking at pretty plants in the spring. There has been some spring cleaning - today was spent in the garage - and some clearing out of the old, to make room for the new. These old bones are not used to so much movement, though. I need some aspirin.

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!