End of March Views

Ornamental plum is putting on quite a show this year.

 

These are all from my south-facing, back flowerbed:

 

Minis in front and full-sized in back.

I love the combination of sizes and colors!

 

The newly planted rose, 'Abraham Darby' next to a peony coming up.

Overview looking toward the deck.

Looking down toward the fence.

Perpetual Chore List: Spring is here!

UPDATED APRIL 30--GETTING CLOSER!

This is simply to get the list out of my head and somewhere where I can refer back to if need be! What's a garden blog for, after all?

1. Operation Berry Bliss, phase...4?
    A. Cut back all dead foliage on strawberry plants. DONE!
    B. Move blueberry bushes into pots. Yup, I've decided this is going to happen. The two that spent time on the back slope are still struggling, and the strawberries down on that end aren't thriving in the more acidic soil. So after the blueberry bushes are out, I need to re-amend the soil with regular garden soil and compost.
Or, I may do something drastic and just compost the 2 struggling blueberry bushes. It would be painful, though, so I haven't decided on that one yet. However, that would leave space for a new start.
   C. Prune the raspberries! DONE!
With as warm a winter as we've had, this could have been done a month ago, probably. It's definitely time now.

2. Perennial maintenance
    A. Finish dividing and moving daisies. DONE!
I got one patch done today that was all dead in the center, and even the side shoots transplanted already. Go me! There's another big patch in front that needs dividing as well, but the new leaves on it are still very tiny. I will probably wait on this one until this grow out a little more.  I'm not getting rid of my daises, per se, just trying to take white out of my front flowerbed. Some of them I'm giving away, some I'm putting up on the back slope (daisies are supposed to do well with clay soil), and some I would like to put in my new flowerbed (see below), which will have a color scheme of billowing whites and purples.
     B. Divide irises down front.
They must like it there; most have 2 if not three healthy rhizomes growing from the main center one I planted a few years ago.
     C. If my hydrangea down front has died, pull it out and figure out what to plant in its place. Or move something down to replace it. ** NOT DEAD! MOVED IT TO SHADIER SPOT.

3. New flower bed
   I've already talked about this in a previous post. I've narrowed in one what I want, now I just need to make it happen.
  The summarized version: 2 cherry trees, 3 lilac bushes (including one from the slope), and a flowerbed. Ready, set, go!
   PURCHASED 2 NEW SHRUBS FOR THIS BED, 2 MORE TO FIND.

4.  Roses!
    ENGLISH ROSES PLANTED.
   So I've got 4 English roses coming my way sometime this spring: 3 William Shakespeare, and 1 Abraham Darby. I'm really excited. The AB rose already has a place. I need to buy a trellis for it.
The 3 WS roses could go any number of places. As part of moving my daisies (above), I could either put a William Shakespeare rose each place I had a patch of daisies OR put them all together in the new flowerbed OR make another new flowerbed for them down by the driveway. Decision time is very near, as any new bed needs to be prepped now, so that it can be ready for when the roses come.
   Also, the Burgundy Iceberg rose in my front terrace needs to be moved to a location with more sun. [SWITCHED PLACES WITH THE HYDRANGEA THAT NEEDED MORE SHADE]

5. Top Terrace
  The master plan: Move daphne from the end, and replant with a boxwood to match the other one up there. I already pulled out the 'Watercolors' rose, and I plan to plant another elderberry there. I'm hoping more repetition will counteract the rather haphazard look I've got going on right now.
 Cut down the doggone pine tree up there! It's only been a year...and a few months since we sawed off the top for a Christmas tree. I mean, really? It's time. I'm sure the long-suffering neighbors would agree.

6. *sigh* the lawn [that isn't...yet]
  Fertilize the lawn so that at some future--perhaps mythical--date we can actually walk on it again.
My son did this and overseeded at the same time just last week (4/10-11). Maybe it will actually GROW!

7. Vegetable Garden
  Add compost and till in. Chit potatoes.
  Plant the spring veggies! (plus sweet peas)
I'm hoping to get these last two done this week!

And for all my spare time...

7. Prune the forsythia I just realized is growing at the tippy top of the slope. It's on our neighbor's side, but as we are great friends, I'm sure they won't mind. Yes, I'll ask first.

8. Purchase and plant a dwarf willow tree at the top of the slope to help cover the unsightly bare mud patch. It should love it up there due to the presence of an underground spring (we think)!

9. Plant all the bulbs we dug out in connection with the lawn project last fall and hope that they come back next year.

Daffodils and Rock Iris: Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

The first official day of spring is this Friday, but we have already welcomed it in around here!

I garden in Eastern Washington state, USA, zone 5b.

 

As usual, my south-facing flowerbed out back is at least 2-3 weeks ahead of the north-facing terraces in the front. I've decided I quite like having both, as it stretches out my favorite season: SPRING!

 

Out back: hyacinths in full bloom, several varieties of daffodils bursting forth.

I'm reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to my kids and we were giggling at how some of the characters called daffodils "daffydowndillies." It's more fun to say--try it!

Closeup of one patch of daffydowndillies.

 

These mini daffodils are so cheerful!

They're so bright, and I can just see them over the A/C unit from the back door, if I'm on tiptoe.

Love it!

 

Meanwhile, up front:

 

 This little patch of crocuses has been brightening our comings and goings for about a month now.

It's right by the driveway.

 Beauty under cover:

So we had a new porch built this winter, and I sort of forgot that I had planted a little patch of Iris reticulata next to the old porch. We added a platform (for a flowerpot!) between the porch and the house.

OOPS! 

Still not sure how I'm going to get them dug out of there, once they're done blooming.

They are quite lovely.

It's too bad you have to lay down on the driveway on your stomach to fully appreciate them.

The neighbors probably already think I'm weird, so no great loss there, I guess.

This group of rock iris came in a mixed bag, so I'm not sure which varieties they are, but I adore the 3 shades of purple coming around my little rock.

These are also out front, in the top terrace.

A few more Iris reticulata, plus one dainty snowdrop.

 

I think I'm going to have get more of the rock garden irises.

I say that every year about my spring bulbs, though.

Always room for a few more, right?

 

See what else is blooming this month at May Dreams Gardens.

 

Thanks for visiting!



Garden Blogger's Bloom Day: Crocuses!

Welcome, friends!

I'm a little bit late to the party this month, but these beauties are definitely early!

 

Crocuses blooming in February?

Unheard of around these parts.

Usually we're still under 2 feet of snow at this time of year.

I was looking back at last year, and these are a full month earlier than normal.

 

We're enjoying weather in the 50's most days, with it only freezing every now and then.

These were taken a few days ago.

There are even more now.

Even with a warm winter, crocuses cheer me right up every time I see them!

 

To see even more blooms today, go to May Dreams Gardens.

 

 

Winter Walk: Hibernating Ladbyugs

 

I use the term "winter" quite loosely, as this is the most mild winter we've had since moving here.

It hasn't even been freezing at night for the past couple of weeks.

We've been up in the 50's during the days.

 

Just look we found at the cattail park!

 

I've never really seen ladybugs hibernating like this.

It was amazing and wonderful!

There was a wood chip path, with this dead, weedy grass all along it, with these huge clumps of ladybugs all along it as well.

 

These little adventurers were thrilled!

(Mine is the one on the left in the heart sweatshirt.)

Plans Afoot: East Flowerbed

 

Over the past few weeks, my plans for filling in the east-side terrace have pretty much solidified.
 

view from the deck, looking toward the front

 

Here's the overall idea:

2 fruit trees, on semi-dwarf or dwarf rootstock, one on each end

** My top 2 choices are cherry or pear. I want cherry pretty bad, but looking at the list of diseases and pests is rather daunting. Pears would definitely be easier (probably).

What I like about either option is the versatility of the fruit.

We could eat them fresh, dried, or canned.

 

6-8 foot section of flowerbed

My vision for this is frothy, billowing type perennials, in all shades of purple with white accents. Perhaps some other pastels would also be allowed--pale pinks, etc.

Catmint, Queen Anne's lace, daisies, bellflowers, and so on.

 

view from the deck, looking toward the back

 

8-10 foot section for lilacs

I really want some height, and doggone it, I want some lilacs!

The poor long-suffering lilac on the slope will be moved down and given proper drainage. I'm not sure why I planted that on our clay slope in the first place. The only thing I can figure is that I must have thought adding compost to the planting hole would be sufficient to provide "well-drained" soil.

Obviously, that has not been the case. It has grown a few inches since I put it in 4 years ago. Maybe.

It has never flowered.

So, anyway, that will be moved down. I want to add 2 more, as well.

I plant to put them 3-4 feet apart. Not so close that they form a really dense hedge that I'll forever have to be pruning and clipping, but close enough to grow together around the edges.

 

I want to leave a generous area around the base of the trees, to provide room for picking as they grow, without tromping on flowers. Mulch under the trees will be bigger pieces of bark, the "medium" mulch I purchased accidentally last year.

 

the length of the bed, with garden in the background
 

So, jobs to do before this all happens:

1. Take out perennial weeds.

2. Rototill well. (Soil should be pretty good already. I will add grit or sand to the lilac planting area.) 

3. Purchase trees, and lilacs.

4. Decide what I've already got that could be used. Divide perennials, transplant lilac from slope.

4. Purchase flowers as needed to fill-in gaps.

5. Mulch all.

 

It has been so warm this winter!  If the weather holds out this week, I'm going to start on the weeding and rototilling.

Ready, set, go!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Bouquet

 

 

A bit on the gothic side, I'll admit.

 

My daughter picked this for me the other day:

Echinacea seed heads, dried rose stems, dead corkscrew rush

 

My husband didn't quite see the charm.

I believe he said something along the lines of, "Now we're putting dead things in vases?"

On the plus side, they don't require any water, and will probably last as long as I'm willing to keep them around. (I'll give them a few more days, before discreetly disposing of them.)

 

I have to chuckle, though, when I think about giving it to someone.

What sentiment would you derive from this lovely bouquet?