Just So I Will Know Next Year

When most perennials and shrubs are bursting with life in the spring, there are always a worrisome few that are late to get started. I'm not talking about late bloomers. I'm talking late-to-show-any-signs-of-life-after-a-long-cold-winter. So here is proof that some of those ten o'clock flowers are still alive.

It is difficult to see in this shot, but the hibiscus survived.



It's surrounded by the Queen Anne's lace I let into the garden last year. (Big mistake.)

And the trumpet vine.



I planted this four years ago and it has yet to bloom. I think it doesn't get enough sun, but now that the silver maples are gone, maybe that will change.

In the foreground is the Rose of Sharon.



A neighbor a couple of blocks away has a larger specimen, and it is just as late as mine.

Now, onto the current bloomers.

Not a good shot, but this is thyme that is planted in the pot with a miniature apple tree.



It is just starting to bloom. We moved the apple trees to the north side of the backyard, so that they will be close to the other potted plants, just to make watering easier.

This is not a good shot, either, but it is yarrow that is starting to bloom.



I hope its neighboring bee balm holds off until I can get it moved. Tonight I pulled "weeds" where I want the bee balm to go, so maybe tomorrow I will move it. I read that bee balm is relatively shade tolerant, so it is going next to the fence and hopefully will block some of the invading catnip and nettles.

I have two peonies of one variety and one of another, so while the former are past their glory, the latter is just coming on.



This one is also more white than pink.

Some blossoms are easy to miss. These are on my asplenifolia.



They will turn into little orange berries that the sparrows love.

And the burning bush blooms as well.



I can't recall if there is resulting fruit. Probably. Mother Nature would not waste a perfectly good flower, would she?

Well, maybe she would, if it is true that the white onondaga blooms are sterile.



These photos show better the different stages of the blooms, from closed red to open pink to white border.



This is the best year ever for the onandago.

And for the "Blue Muffin" arrowwood viburnum as well.



This will be the first year I will get to see the blue muffin effect that earns this shrub its name. (Knock on wood!)

Now, what is this nestled amongst the bee balm?



Might be Keys of Heaven. I planted some but I don't think I have ever seen it bloom. I'll have to try not to disturb it when I move the bee balm.

And the columbine is still with us.



Tonight the weather is threatening. We really need a good soaking rain. Maybe if I wash my car....

Spring Is Sprung

The nights are still a bit cool for setting out tomatoes, but we are definitely enjoying some springlike weather.

Now, where was I before Blogger started misbehaving and would not upload photos?

Here is my nascent woodpile, what the tree service left behind for me. I don't use my fireplace very often, so this should last me a while. Last winter, a co-worker gave me some of his wood, since he had been removing dead trees from his property, and I have since added the last of that to this pile.



My yard usually sports a brush pile of some sort, and here is this year's. Technically, residents of our fair city are not supposed to have brush piles, but no one has complained to Neighborhood Code Enforcement... yet. The brush pile also provides fuel for my fire bowl, for when we get a hankerin' for roasting hot dogs. This pile is now a bit bigger, because my son trimmed back the privat that runs along the back of my lot so I can mow behind the fence.



Speaking of the mower, it's self-propelled and last Friday, it stopped self propelling. I took it to a new lawn equipment place that is relatively close to my house, but they have not yet called me about it. The claim ticket does not have their name or phone number on it, and they are so new, they are not in the phone book and I can't remember the name to look it up online. This morning I will be driving by, on my way to the dentist, so I will have to take a gander and at least get the name of the place. In fact, I may just stop by.

These blossoms are on the chokeberry viburnum, the poor thing. Its first winter in my yard, it got chewed up something fierce, so I put chicken wire around it. Something - a chipmunk? a groundhog? - still keeps pruning it. Now that it is blossoming, it seems to be safe, but once the berries set, watch out! I planted it for the wildlife, but they are supposed to take the berries, not whole branches.



This is viburnum sargenti, aka onondaga sargent viburnum. It, like several of my shrubs, is a little scrawny, thanks to rabbits and the dry weather we have experienced two out of the three summers since I planted them. I think it could use more sun, too.



And, finally, the bleeding heart continues to amaze. I wish these bloomed all summer long. I am enchanted by the lovely shape of the flowers.



I'm still not caught up with this blog, but today's entry is a start. This is the best way I know to keep a gardening diary, but ya gotta write stuff down on a regular basis. More later.