I was wrong

While contemplating what I to replace the dead azalea with, I decided upon a butterfly bush. I had one once upon a time, a 'Black Knight' that grew HUGE, then after a few years petered out. This time I chose 'Miss Violet' which is advertised as "compact" - 4'-5' tall and just as wide.

When I grabbed the azalea to yank it out, I realized it is NOT dead. New leaves are appearing. So I planted the butterfly bush where a blueberry bush had succumbed to rabbit damage. The spot is a bit too shady, but once I prune the nearby cherry trees and the neighboring redbud, it should be okay (she told herself optimistically).

Some butterfly gardeners do not approve of the butterfly bush because, while it attracts butterflies and provides them with nectar, it does not provide habitat. Despite the plethora of common milkweed in my yard, I have yet to see a single monarch caterpillar. Last year caterpillars of the milkweed tiger moth destroyed all the butterfly weed I had planted. Maybe the butterfly bush will convince monarch butterflies to join the party.

No pix today - too breezy.

A perfect day for gardening

The weather was just GORGEOUS today. If I had a sunfish sailboat and a place on a no-ski lake, that is where I would have been. Of course, as soon as I purchased a boat and a lake cottage, the weather would never be suitable for sailing ever again. Then the boat could keep my cross country skis company in the garage.

Ominous - it did rain a bit

The next best thing is a LONG walk with my daughter, granddaughter, and the three dogs we have between us. Mine is the least well behaved, but Watson was better today than on our last walk. It is only through repetition and exposure to a variety of environments that he will become the great dog I know he can be.

Happy hosta transplants

The NEXT best thing is working in the yard. The sun was a bit too intense for heavy duty gardening, but I did accomplish the following:

Mulched chokeberry and smooth hydrangea: I'm using Southern Pine bark this year.
Planted dahlia tubers: I've never grown dahlias before. In fact, I can't even say "dahlia" correctly. Betsy Beagle's name was originally Dahlia and I had to change it.
Transplanted hollyhock seedlings: These poor things were blown off the potting table onto the deck during one of our recent storms. Nine of them survived the trauma.
Started sunflowers, marigolds, and pole beans in peat pots: Using peat pots is a new strategy.
REstarted hibiscus: I am growing these from seed. Or I would be, if the seed would germinate. The first attempt was an epic FAIL.
Transplanted a few zinnia seedlings: I have lots of zinnias to brighten the yard.

Perky mountain mint

With all the rain we have had lately (3" last week, followed by 1.25" more), I have not had to worry about keeping earlier transplants watered. My broccoli seedlings succumbed to neglect, so I replaced them with some robust ones from a local nursery. I added some Walker's Low catmint to what is supposed to be the blueberry bed - common milkweed is taking over that space again. I'm down to two blueberry plants and the azalea didn't make it through the winter, so I just might let the milkweed have its way there.

Looks like lichen

I found this guy hiding under some transplants, on TOP of a table on the deck. I assume he hitched a ride from somewhere else. Sources tell me it is a Cope's or gray tree frog. I tucked him under the arborvitae. Hope he likes it here.

Ribbet!

Random acts of gardening

Sometimes I just want a lot of color in my yard, fast. This spring I grabbed some common annuals like geraniums and petunias at the local nursery for the defunct tulip containers. I even bought myself a pot of spill-fill-thrill at Kroger's. And that's okay. Not every plant has to be the latest-and-greatest or native or whatever. There are no gardening rules.

According to my SO, the front yard is now a "riot of color". A neighbor commented that my backyard must be a work of art, presumably based on what he sees out front. HA HA! It's a mess, but it's my mess. My SO did ask the other day if we are ever going to be done buying mulch/compost/potting soil. Um, NO.

One reason the front yard looks so colorful is the volunteer Canadian columbine that keeps popping up all over. It originated from a handful of plants I bought from Spring Hill Nursery oh-so-many years ago, a purchase that keeps on giving. There are fancier columbines, but I'll stick with this old classic.

Canadian columbine

Clematis 'Niobe' is supposed to grow 8'-12' feet tall and bloom all summer, but so far, it is lucky to even be alive. MY goal was for it to climb the front porch trellis, but it and the rabbits have had other plans. Maybe this year I will prevail.

Clematis 'Niobe'

In the backyard, I have been rearranging plants, moving some sad hostas to more shade and a few "ditch" lilies to more sun. Last year we whacked a couple of forsythia shrubs to the ground. They are still growing, but maybe I can keep them under control. The third forsythia received its whacking yesterday, so I finally planted the mountain mint I received at last years Garden Bloggers Fling, kind of behind where the forsythia was.

Catmint 'Six Hills Giant'

The above catmint is meant to fill the area behind a witch hazel, in front of some "ditch" lilies, between the forsythia and some viburnum. The variety is 'Six Hills Giant' and it does get big and wide.

Speaking of big and wide, 'Betty Corning' is again outgrowing its restraints. I need to come up with a better idea for supporting these. The blossom time is just beginning.

Clematis 'Betty Corning'

Another plant in need of proper support is the honeysuckle vine. It is making do with the privacy fence, but I would like to do better. One idea is mounting a trellis on the fence, to give it something to grab onto.

Honeysuckle 'Alabama Crimson'

Some iris came with the house and somehow I have managed not to kill it over the years. There is some in the hosta bed and some near the deck, and neither clump blooms much anymore. I keep saying, Come August, I will thin and transplant it, but August is also very hot and humid. I'm easily discouraged.

Iris of unknown origin (came with the house)

About the time I bought the above mentioned columbine, I also purchased a climbing rose. Over the years, I have often contemplated getting rid of it (and sometimes its thorns seem bent on getting rid of me), and yet it prevails. I think it has finally found its true calling, though.

Climbing rose of some sort

An arch! I have long admired archways in other gardens, but could never figure out how to pull one off in my own yard. Well, maybe I'll just try training this climbing rose to make my archway dream come true.

Incipient archway

It is my understanding that the climbing rose blooms best on horizontal branches. We'll see how that works out.

The fun stuff

I spent a good part of yesterday weeding while waiting on the underground utility guy to show up (he never did). By midafternoon, I was bushed. By evening I could barely move. My gardening muscles have certainly atrophied over the winter. If my SO was not scheduled to come help me today, I might have laid on the couch watching golf with my eyes closed. But he came and we worked. But it was mostly fun stuff.

One task that definitely took two was installing a Coolaroo sun shade over the pergola. But first I tended to the pergola planters: coir liners, potting soil, and Margarita sweet potato plants (Ipomoea batatas). Last year's effort to grow something that would shade the deck was a big FAIL. I think these vines will work better, but we added the sun shade as insurance.

We noticed the difference the sun shade made almost immediately. Purchased at Costco, it's 7'x13' while my pergola is about 10'x10'. The sun shade fits between the main cross pieces, then hangs over one side, the side the sun will be on later this summer. I'm looking forward to enjoying late afternoon iced tea on the "veranda".

Even though the underground utility guy didn't come to mark the electrical and FIOS, the gas guy did show up on Wednesday, so I was able to plant the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) and smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) shrubs I purchased earlier this spring.

I didn't take photos, but I also planted two more rattlesnake masters (Eryngium yuccifolium) in this corner of the yard. If I can ever get the creeping charlie under control, I think this area will be real purty someday.

I also didn't take photos of the madder (Rubia tinctoria) plant (the roots are used for dyeing fiber), nor did I document the removal of the yarrow from the native sampler bed on the south side of the house. My SO took one yarrow clump while I transferred the other to a raised bed where it presumably can't wander hither and yon. I moved what I presume to be a 'Husker Red' Penstemon into one of the yarrow holes.

I thought I had killed off all the Husker Red (by accident) a few years ago, but this one popped up in the sampler bed.

I know I said NO NEW BEDS in my last post, but I don't think this one really counts. Leftover lumber had been piled next to the deck, but that was not stopping the iris from trying to spread. We cleared it out and threw down a couple of delineating timbers. I'm not sure what I will do with this area other than reset some of the iris rhizomes come August. Daylilies? Sunflowers?

Elsewhere around the yard, the trees I planted last year are doing well, the Triumph Elm (Ulmus 'Morton Glossy') in the back and a hawthorn (Crataegus viridis 'Winter King') in the front.

I forgot that the hawthorn blooms. Pretty, but also pretty stinky. I don't care for the fragrance.

I need to mind the thorns when I mow around it. Yikes!

The tulip tree has been here since 2009 (?). It looks a little sparse in part because I have not yet lopped off the lower branches that the sparrows killed last year by stripping the bark for their nests. Actually, I blame the blue jays because they would wipe their beaks on the limbs, presumably damaging the tender bark. This spring the sparrows tried to pull off more bark but appeared to be unsuccessful. I also took a hiatus on feeding the birds; the jays can get their whole peanuts somewhere else.

Of greater concern is what I think is a weather crack. I first noticed this last summer. I'm hoping it does not prove to be fatal.

I wish I were better able to capture how bright and shiny the barberry is this year, a nice contrast with the gold mop. There used to be a burning bush where the flamingo is, on the left. You can't tell from this photo, but I cut out one of the barberry too. My hope is the gold mop will fill in the spaces.

I wasn't sure how the hostas would survive the fence installation last year, but I lucked out and two of them are on one side and the rest on the other side are just fine. There is a bit of volunteer rudbeckia growing around the 'Love Pat' on the right. The other hosta is a mystery.

I think this hosta is 'Golden Tiara' and I was afraid it was going to peter out a couple of years ago, the victim of home improvement. I shoveled some homemade compost on it a year (or two?) ago and it looks like it is recovering. I like it because of the small leaves.

There is still more planting to do, and some plant moving, which is almost as much fun as planting. Then it is back to the weeding and mulching.

No new beds!

At least, that is what I tell myself when I see a plant I WANT. Today it was Ninebark 'Ginger Wine' at the Home Depot. It needs full sun. The best location for full sun in my front yard is the southeast corner. I've contemplated creating a dogleg bed there. Wouldn't 'Ginger Wine' look nice, with a couple of 'Fire Chief' Globe Arborvitae and a ground cover of some sort? Maybe next year. I need to get the current beds under control.

The best bloomer right now is the blackhaw viburnum, a.k.a. Viburnum prunifolium. It needs a little pruning to get it out of the arborvitae's hair. There are also some interlopers trying to grow right along with it.

We had some frost a few nights ago, so the blossoms don't look so nice anymore. I hope that does not mean no fruit. That would be a repeat of last year.

When the privacy fence was installed last year, I asked the crew if they could raise the garden shed, to help discourage the resident woodchuck. They obliged, but a side affect was difficulty getting the push lawnmower in and out of the shed.

My SO is handy with power tools and there is an odd assortment of pressure treated lumber from various other projects, so he whipped together this ramp. As Red Green says, " If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." (My SO is handsome, too!)

The rain has abated for a few days, the gas lines were marked yesterday, and the other utilities will be marked tomorrow. THEN I will be able to plant the shrubs I purchased in April. Only gardeners get excited about digging holes.

What is that bright thing up in the sky?

Last Friday was a dry day, so much mowing and trimming ensued (plus a little pruning). This past Wednesday was also fit for non-ducks, so I did some weeding and mulching. Otherwise, it's been gray leaky skies, day after day, until today. Clear skies are going to result in frosty nights, though.

Since things were still rather soggy in the yard, I felt justified in spending part of the day attending the Rural Artist Studio Tour. I didn't purchase any art, but ironically I did come home with some plants. One stop was at the Beside Still Waters Greenhouse where I snatched up a tray of Sweet Alyssum (no plant tag, so the variety will remain a mystery), to use in the tulip containers. Then after the last stop of the tour, we were just down the road from Riverview Nursery, so I picked up a couple of Rattlesnake Master plants.

Then it was home to mow and trim. I don't know if I am a good example or a bad one when it comes to lawn care. The perfect turf of some of my neighbors looks lovely to this child of the suburbs, but what I would really like is a lawn mixed with low-growing flowers. I try to spot-treat the dandelions to keep them under control, but otherwise let the clover and violets and wild strawberry have their way.