Come on, come on

That's what I think every time I look out my bedroom window at the native plants along the privacy fence. There are a few coneflower, ironweed, and rudbekia just starting to flower. I'm inpatient to see them all in bloom.

Last fall, I purchased some "hardy" mums. In the past, I have planted such specimens in the fall, but they don't do well, pooping out before they can bloom again. This time I left them in their pots and overwintered them in the garage. They looked pretty pathetic by the time I brought them out into the sunshine, but perked up after a while. Yesterday, I transplanted them under the purple leaf smokebush; I plan to interplant some Stella d'Oro daylilies with them. In preparation for this effort, my granddaughter helped me expand the edging around the smokebush. (When a task involves a lot of bending, she is quite handy to have around.)

I also expanded the edging around the 'Golden Spirit' smokebush, as I plan to interplant something like coral bells with the 'Autumn Joy' that is there now.

Other plans include pruning the highbush cranberry that is taking over, obscuring this honeysuckle vine. The vine climbs over the fence; my neighbors actually like it. I want to plant more honeysuckle vines along the back fence, where I can see them better. But first, I have to get rid of the trumpet vine I regretfully planted there.

There are alot of volunteer sunflowers growing wherever I don't mow, including this row. I assume they are from the bird feeders. If I can't fill the feeders for a while, at least I can provide some alternatives for the birds.

The 'Betty Corning' clematis is done, but 'Avant-garde' is at its peak. The sweet autumn clematis has almost reached the top of the pergola already. There are a lot of volunteer morning glories from last year right behind it.

NEXT!

The blossoming continues. Unfortunately, the light is not always ideal and I am not the best photo editor around. So while I am documenting the progression of the flowering, some of the pics are not the most flattering. Not that the plants care.

I keep trying to capture the way the purple-leaf plantings in the front yard enhance the rest. An example is the hawthorn and the 'Crimson King' maple trees.

The hawthorn is peaking blossom-wise.

The 'Wentworth' highbush cranberry is coming on strong.

I love the delicate details of the flowers.

Behind the highbush cranberry is the easy-to-neglect 'Alabama Crimson' honeysuckle vine. It has been blooming for a while. I keep meaning to provide it with a trellis so it can show off more.

Just getting to the honeysuckle is a challenge.

The sad looking shrub on the right is the 'Aphrodite' Rose of Sharon. It is always late to the dance, but is looking particularly peaked this spring. I think I will cut it back severely and see if it recovers. And while it is in a smaller size, maybe I will get that trellis installed for the honeysuckle.

I am not sure if the catmint in the milkweed bed is 'Walkers Low' or 'Six Hills Giant'. If you look closely, you can see a milkweed plant sprouting in the midst of the catmint. By the way, I spotted a monarch today, fluttering around some milkweed on the south side of the house, but alas, it did not land.

I'm glad this catmint is doing so well because the Russian sage planted at the corners of the bed is not.

A few plants of dames rocket spot the yard. This is a non-native invasive that I have mistaken for some kind of phlox in the past. Sometimes there is a lot, sometimes a little. I let it hang around because I like it.

The false indigo gets bigger every year. When I planted it I had no idea just how big it would get. I'm happy with it, though.

There is some volunteer columbine mixed in with it this year.

This poor 'Niobe' clematis keeps trying but has never lived up to its reputation of being 8'-12' tall. It adds another shade of purple to the front yard, though.

Meanwhile, my efforts to get rid of the yucca is turning into a game of whack-a-mole. The roots keep sending up more shoots. I snip them off and they come back. I'm beginning to wonder if a yucca is forever.

My immediate goal (besides moving the giant pile of mulch in the driveway and keeping the lawn mowed) is to get the rest of the transplants into the ground. There are the ones I bought, which are waiting rather patiently. Then there are the ones I grew, which are moving on as best they can despite my starting them too early and transplanting them too late, like these Profusion zinnias.

For the record, three 'Luna Red' hibiscus are in their own raised bed; I started more plants, as I want at least four. Today I planted some zucchini and cucumber in paper cups, to get them off to a good start. Last year's hollyhock did not all come back - it looks like some of them rotted in the ground - so I transplanted some 'Torch' sunflowers into that bed, to keep the survivors company. I've neglected the alyssum I purchased earlier (and it shows), so I've been moving it and some of the Profusion zinnias to containers.

I was wrong about the climbing rose being dead, as it is sending up some new growth from its base; it probably heard me musing about planting a honeysuckle in its place. I whacked back the forsythia again, as it just won't stop growing. I'm beginning to wonder if forsythia is forever, too.

And I have been weeding, weeding, weeding, especially the Canada thistle. How about you?