So green!

The spring surge of flowering plants has slowed down, but with all the rain we have been having, everything is green, green, green. I have been mowing every three days - good thing I like to mow and good thing I have a riding mower. It's been difficult to get much of anything else done in the yard, though.

There are still plants to be planted. Today I installed a very root-bound spiderwort, Tradescantia 'Amethyst Kiss'. It was a impulse purchase, something I have never grown before, but very pretty blossoms. It's not fussy about light, should bloom all summer long, hopefully will tolerate my heavy clay. I placed it at one end of the rain garden. Once it has recovered, I'll post some pix.

Last week the cup plant and common milkweed went into the "meadow". I checked on them today. The cup plant looks great, but something - baby bunnies, I presume - has been nibbling on the milkweed. I didn't think anything would eat milkweed. The same something has been chomping on the coneflower that is in that area. I would have thought the fencing would keep the little boogers out, but it looks like I will have to wrap the area in hardware cloth.

The aster I planted last fall has also fallen prey to the rascally rabbits. *sigh*

Another impulse purchase was this potted Kalanchoe 'Mandala Red'. I knew nothing about this plant, had never heard of it, but I like red. It won't get much bigger than this (9"), but will bloom all season long. I wonder if I can bring it inside over the winter and treat it like a houseplant.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the yard, this honeysuckle vine, Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler', is getting out of control. Pruning only made it stronger. When the hummingbirds arrive, they will have plenty of nectar.

This early blooming catmint hybrid, Nepeta 'Cat's Pajamas', is doing just that.

Last fall, I brought home some bales of straw in the back of my CRV. When I cleaned out the car, I threw the bits and pieces under the Japanese maple in front. Lo and behold, it sprouted. So now I have a mini crop of wheat.

While I cut back most of the ragwort in front of the house, I left some standing and discovered that goldfinch like the seeds. I tried to put grape jelly out for the orioles and catbirds, but the rain keeps filling up the feeder. Oh, well. I'm sure they are finding plenty to eat this lush spring.

Plant fever

I was rather smug about my self-control over ordering plants from catalogs - just a few cup plants and a dozen common milkweed. But then I made in-person visits to two nurseries and came home with more than I intended. At one nursery, it was not crowded and I spent too much time wandering the aisles. At the other nursery, I felt rushed and grabbed plants without thinking. I'll list them all in a later post, as I'm a bit tired today from trying to get most of them planted.

Here is an example of an impulse purchase. I am not a fan of geraniums in general, BUT. Sometimes I find the intense color of their blossoms irresistable. This one caught my eye and followed me home.

And here is an example of what I planned to purchase: some coleus for the front porch planter. This is a "sun coleus" - the porch gets rather intense morning sun.

Last year I tried to grow ornamental sweet potato in hanging baskets with limited success. In fact, the success was limited to this planter on the north side of the shed. This year I decided to try "wave" petunias there instead. The vertical fish is a ceramic piece I made as a watering aid - water goes in the mouth and out some holes at the bottom.

And a few pix of some current blooms in the yard:

Columbine - up close and personal

Dame's rocket

I just read that there is a work day planned at a local preserve where they plan to eradicate dame's rocket. Of all the invasive plants to target, this one seems rather innocuous. Better to tackle ornamental pears and garlic mustard.

In the past few years, I have tried to grow perennials in containers, with some success. But I'm tired of having to water the containers and store the containers in the garage in the winter. And the plastic containers are starting to fall apart. Last summer I transplanted some penstemon, and it is doing quite well. Today I transplanted some catmint from one container into the coneflower bed where there was a bit of a gap. I also transplanted a miniature butterfly bush into the same bed where there was another gap. Interestingly, the root systems of these plants were not very developed. The remaining dirt in the pots went onto low spots in the lawn where water puddles after a rain.

I think I heard baby bird cheeps from the bluebird house today. While I have let all the other bird feeders run dry, I had planned to keep putting out mealworms for the bluebirds... until I saw that the sparrows are eating the mealworms. They don't usually do that, are probably gathering food for their young, but hey. Not allowed.