Free Plants!

This email just showed up in my inbox, from a friend of a friend:

    "We bought a mobile home, and the previous owner loved gardening. We, however, do not. I kill everything. I try a little each year, but fail every time. So the gardens are going to be tilled and have grass planted. I hate to see all the flower bulbs wasted though, so COME DIG THEM UP! They are free! There are daffodils, Tulips, purple puffball ones, (that's what's in bloom now) and lots more that will be blooming over the summer. She had it so there were different flowers throughout the season every year. I don't know what they all are, so it will be like a treasure hunt. Especially since they aren't all in bloom..."

Be still my heart! 

I am already thinking about containers to put things in, and which shovel to bring. Would it be entirely too greedy to drive the truck over?

 

She said (later on in the email) "come anytime, even if we're not home." 

Maybe she did not realize that a flower addict would be on the receiving end of this particular email.

Um...how early do you suppose would be too early to show up in the morning?

Casualties

The first 2 big casualties of the year:

 

'What a Peach' rose: dry and brittle

 

This rose was supposed to be the anchor down on the corner of the back flowerbed.

It put out 1 bright green shoot earlier in the spring that caught my leg every time I walked by.

So I snipped it off.

As it turns out, that was the only live part of the bush. Oops.

It's outta there!

Disappointing show, though, I must say. I just put it in last fall!

I won't be trying that variety again.

Now I have to figure out what to put in its place.

I'm still leaning toward a rose bush, because my mind likes the symmetry of one on each end.

The one I got for the other end is extra vigorous and taking over more than its allotted space.

This one has a few neighbors close by, so I need something a bit more restrained, but ALIVE, if you please. I'm even considering possibly a clematis or climbing rose...

Lavender bush: seen better days

 

This big old lavender bush is also getting the boot.

It has not sent out any new shoots this year.

 

I guess maybe that will force me to clean up this area between the steps and the house, since there won't be a bushy wall shielding the view.

 

I probably won't put anything else here, for now.

These steps need to be replaced and the chance of a new shrub taking a beating in that scenario is pretty high. Best limit my casualties as much as I can from the beginning.

Beauty all around: Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

Welcome friends!

I garden and live in Eastern Washington state, zone 5b.

We are in the middle of a May heat wave this week, with weather in the '70's.

I am surrounded by beautiful flowers today, and loving every minute of it!

 

'Mariette' tulips and 'Prairie Smoke' geum

When I put the geum in last summer, I didn't realize they would bloom at the same time as the tulips. I am pleased--I think they complement each other well.

I don't have this labeled anywhere.

Anyone recognize it?

 

Geum 'Totally Tangerine'

One advantage of our lawn being under construction for the 2nd year is that I get to enjoy these dandelions as much as I want to. And, I'm not trying to brag or anything, but our dandelions are some of the best I've seen. They have huge, vibrant 2-3 inch blooms, packed tightly together.

Yay dandelions! (for now....)

 I put in these tulips along the top of the garden wall just last fall, thinking they would give me a boost while I was waiting for vegetables to grow and fill in.

I was right.

Our neighbor said they look fake--they're too perfect. Ha!

I'm loving them up there.

I hope they come back again next year.

 



Brunnera, in the shade bed.

Daphne 'Carol Mackie' and daffodils

Those tiny pink flowers smell heavenly.

 

 I discovered these tulips when I started pulling everything out of this bed under the windows. They didn't bloom last year; must have been too choked out by the weeds.

I am planning to move them to the front flowerbed.

More tulips and daffodils.

[sigh] I love spring.

Mini tulips, with corkscrew rush in the background.

English laurel with blooms just beginning to pop.

 

Creeping phlox, muscari, and a few more mini daffodils.

The phlox was an addition last fall.

Candytuft and daffodils, front flowerbed.

 Deep purple columbine with more of those 'Mariette' tulips in the background.

 



Apple blossoms!

My son counted 21 apple blossoms this year.

I'm hoping that far fewer blooms will mean that some apples will actually grow to maturity this year. I know. Hope springs eternal.

 

Speaking of eternal hope...we've got all kinds of construction projects about half-way done right now--deck, garden expansion, shed porch, etc. Here's hoping they all get done in the next few months!

 

Makeshift Mud Pie Kitchen

One of my goals this year is to provide my kids with a place they can make their outdoor concoctions: soups, smoothies, cakes, etc.

 

But I've discovered kids are nothing if not resourceful.

In the absence of any kind of setup from me, they've taken to using the back wall along the shade garden as their makeshift mud pie kitchen.

 

From an old bread pan filled with bird seed and water, to a little bouquet in a 4-inch pot, they've got it covered.  They use scissors to snip everything up into small pieces for their smoothies and soups.

(When they're done with it, the compost pile welcomes the leftovers!)

"Granola with bananas (the rocks)"

"Noodles with some cake and some salad and some noodle sauce"

 

I would still like to come up with something for them out here. If nothing else, to corral all the various parts and pieces of their cooking utensils.

In the meantime, their imaginations have plenty of room to soar with what we've got, which officially, is odds and ends, castoffs, and nothing. Perfect!

Early May Flowerbeds: Front

So much in bloom, I had to do another flowerbed tour, even though I just finished the last one about 10 days ago! 

 

Top Terrace:

 

 

elderberry

 

Snowball bush forming buds!

I didn't expect it to bloom this year.

 

Middle Terrace:

 

tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils

  

 peony stalks shooting up add a vibrant color

 

Peony buds!

I can hardly wait for the show!

 

candytuft and more tulips

lamb's ear and columbine filling out



 

part-shade corner

 

One of three new columbines added to this corner of the terrace.



 

part-shade side tulips and daffodils

 

Sem False Spirea

I am loving this shrub!

The multi-colored foliage really brightens up this shady corner, and the fine texture is a great contrast to the spring bulbs' strappy leaves nearby.

 

Bottom terrace:

 



 In the bottom corner, grape hyacinths, iris foliage, and laurel provide a pleasing contrast.
 

daffodils behind the laurels

daffodils in the bottom terrace

 

by the mailbox

 

 

 

 

Heat Wave Bouquets

We had an early spring heat wave last week!

With temperatures in the 70's, I decided to pick some of the spring bloomers so we could enjoy them in the house before the heat finished them off.

 

The kids were very eager flower pickers.

They even were excited to help me arrange them in vases.

 

Bouquet 1: The Heat Wave

 (Otherwise known as, the short-stemmed pickings)

 

Bouquet 2: Spring Lady

 I probably should have added some greenery, but I love it as it is!

 

 

I'm glad we were judicious in our picking.

So far most of the blooms have withstood the heat, and this week we're back to our usual early May temps in the 50's and 60's.

Spring Veggies In!

Can I get a "hurrah!" for gorgeous weather?

I finally got my spring veggies planted and the weather was just perfect.

This is the latest I have ever been, in the 9 or 10 years that I have planted a vegetable garden.

It's kind of odd.

And oddly enough, I'm okay with it.

There was about a 2-day window a couple of weeks ago, which I missed.

It has been rainy, cold, and miserable ever since.

 So here we are, just skimming into May.

 

My husband asked if these would all be okay getting frosted.

Um, actually, they all coulda shoulda been planted a month ago. Ahem.

 

Once again, the garden will be expanded this spring.

So I put all these in on the right-hand side.

With the two terraces as options, I was able to rotate them all a little, at least.

 

Middle terrace, looking through the pea trellis.

So, we're going to have a whole mess of peas this year. I hope.

Rather than try for lines within my blocked-off area, my daughter and I just planted peas all throughout, about every 2 inches apart. Then I strung up 3 lines of trellising front to back in the terrace. I hoping that will take care of whatever comes up.

The front half is 'Oregon Sugar Pod II', boasting multiple disease resistance and heavy yields (seed from last year.)

Back half is 'Little Marvel Pea,' a shelling variety, new seed.

I think the shelling peas taste better, but the sugar pods are easier for the kids to munch on.

Neither variety claims to need staking, but I pretty much ignore those claims. Peas get to be such a tangled mess all over the ground otherwise.

Speaking of trellising, no pea tee-pee this year.

That didn't work out so well!

Instead, we put in some pavers as a little path front to back, for easy picking (and to avoid trampling other stuff that will be planted in a month.)

 

Carrots seeds were liberally sprinkled to fill in the whole block between the peas and the side of the terrace there. I expect to do a lot of thinning. That's okay, because the kids snap up those baby-sized carrots anyway.

The front half is 'Rainbow Blend': a mix of 'Atomic Red,' 'Lunar White,' 'Solar Yellow,' and 'Cosmic Purple.' The kids and I can hardly wait to see what comes up in front!

For the back half, I went with my favorite regular (i.e. boring) carrot: 'Scarlet Nantes.'

Even the baby helped sprinkle seeds for these.

Did I mention the thinning?

Yep, we'll be on top of that.

The bottom terrace has potatoes, beets and spinach.

 

I learned a few things about potatoes last year. Namely:

 

1. My kids won't eat the potatoes that have purple flesh.

Purple skin is cool, purple flesh--weird and yucky. Got it.

 

2. If the potato piece doesn't have actual roots coming out of the eye when you plant it, there's a good chance it will rot instead of growing.

Rotten potato slime is one of the nastiest, smelliest substances ever.

 

So I ended up with 5 hills/holes of 'Yukon Gold' and 4 of 'Viking.'

Viking on the left, Yukon Gold middle and right.

Every hole has at least 3 pieces with roots already growing out of the eyes, and 1-2 pieces with eyes that have not started growing yet. Insurance, I hope, for all 9 to produce healthy plants.

 

Beets are next. Not too big an area for them, about 2' wide.

My seed is 1-2 years old, so I don't know if we'll even get any.

Front half is 'Chioggia,' which is supposed to produce red and white stripey beets (what is it about unusual colors of vegetables? I'm such a sucker for those!)

Back half is 'Cylindra', supposed to be uniformly 6" long for easy slicing.

 

Finally, the section next to the terrace steps is spinach.

I made about 4 rows within the section.

In front I planted 'Tyee' again, to finish off the seed from last year. 

It's supposed to be extra-slow bolting.

In back I put 'Olympia Hybrid,' a smooth-leaf variety.

You'll notice: I didn't bother with onions this year.

I decided to use the space for what we love more.

I'll be interested to see how the later (but warmer) planting date affects the growth.