Onions, After All

 

Exhibit A

 

So, remember how I had sworn off planting onions?

They never get big so they're annoying to use, etc..

Well, as it turns out, my husband's coworker gave him a bunch of onion sets, which he brought home to me. I couldn't let them go to waste. I just didn't have it in me.

 

Here's to my reluctant onion patch.

May you far exceed my expectations in every way.

 

p.s. Any tips for growing 'em big? I'm all ears.



May Bloom Day: Geums and snowballs

Welcome, Bloom Day friends!

I don't know about you, but my list of spring chores just keeps growing, while my time to do them stays about the same.

 

I love the month of May!

Everything is so green and beautiful flowers are bursting open every day.

 

Here's a peek at my garden:

 

Back flowerbed:

 

My geum 'Totally Tangerine' really sparkles this month.

In fact, it pretty much carries the bed between tulip die-off and rose bloom.

Every year I think I need to fit a few more in back there.

 

Do you see what I see?

Huge fuzzy poppy buds! I'm so excited!

I watched a little girl the other day who, unbeknownst to me, picked some off. No doubt she was also delighted with their fuzziness. I was very sad when I found the buds on the deck later.

I have not yet reached poppy abundance, where the loss of a few buds doesn't matter, but I hope to get there someday!

Dwarf iris 'Bubbles' just starting to bloom, with hardy geranium in front.

Back flowerbed, long view looking toward deck.

The lilies in the foreground were a Mother's Day gift.

I can't remember the name offhand.

I'll have to check the tag and get back to you.

This iris is not supposed to be in the back flowerbed.

They all got moved up front, except this one.

I have no memory of deciding to leave it or plant it here.

Ah well. Now that it's blooming I guess it can stay for a few more weeks, at least.

Fruits and Veggies:

 



Strawberry blossoms.

June is coming!!

 

 

(above and below)

Tulips on the back slope.

They're all bent over following a rainstorm we had.

 

 Front flowerbeds:

 

Sem False Spirea (Sorbaria sorbifolia) with columbine.

The colors echo so nicely, it almost looks planned!

Front tulips, lamb's ears, and candytuft in the background.

These flowerbeds face north, so the bulbs here are about 2 weeks later than in back.

I like it--I get to enjoy the tulips longer this way.

Snowballs in spring.

This shrub is quickly becoming a favorite.

I'm impressed with how heavily it blooms here in its second spring.

 

A few mini daffodils.

I'm not sure which variety this is, but it is the latest to bloom of all my daffodils, by at least 10 days.

Wide view of front beds.

Okay, I had to include this shot, because you can see the iris buds better.

So close to blooming!

Any day now...

Front bed, next to the house:

My dicentra is still going strong.

It's right next to the front porch, so I get to check in on it several times a day.

 

Lovely little heuchera ('Sweet Tart', I think), with oakleaf hydrangea, astilbe, and euonymous foliage in the background.

 

I didn't include the shade bed this time, but I may get out there to take pictures for a separate post.

I have a volunteer forget-me-not blooming right now, which is just delightful!

 

To see what else is blooming around the world right now, click over to

May Dreams Gardens.

 

Thanks for visiting! See you again soon! 

Tulip Dilemmas

Dilemma #1:

 

Red tulips!

They're bright, and well, they're bright.

Also, red just doesn't have a place in any of my flowerbeds right now.

Granted, these are growing rogue near the steps (planted by previous homeowners), but that just means they will get mown down. Assuming the grass actually grows at some point.

 

I might see if I can pawn them off on my neighbor.

If she doesn't want them, I don't know.

There's got to be a place somewhere....

other neighbor?

 

Dilemma #2:

These lovely tulips along the top of the garden wall.

Along with all the tulips on the slope, in general.

Only about half of these came back this year.

I know it's a clay death trap for tulips up there.

I don't want to lose them entirely, but on the other hand, they're so pretty and cheerful peeking out amongst all the weedy grass.

 

So I go back and forth.

Dig them all up and put them in actual flowerbeds with decent soil?

Or just leave them and enjoy them as long as they last?

 

Still haven't decided for sure.

In the meantime, they sure are pretty up there.

Maybe I need to research spring flowers for clay soil and get something in to replace them that will love it. Then move them all down where they'll be happy in my flowerbeds.

Boxwood up on top

On the very end of the top front terrace, I used to have this:

 

a lovely little daphne shrub.

[picture from last spring]

 

However, I decided that I need more repetition along there.

Plus, now that we have a sprinkler system in, that corner gets sprayed regularly, and from what I've read Daphne's like it dry.

So I dug it up and gave it to my neighbor...

(Hey, I can still visit it! Wait--would that be weird? Ha!)

 

...and replaced it with this handsome fellow:

 

Another 'Green Mountain' boxwood, to match its neighbor 2 shrubs down.

It is quite small, but ever so much cheaper than the bigger ones.

They're the same variety. It will grow.

 

 

 

And as much as I liked Daphne individually, in this grouping I'm already liking Green Mountain better. Just that one replacement has made it much more cohesive.

 

Farewell, daphne.

Please don't die off any time soon at the neighbors!

April End of Month Views

Hello, friends!

I'm linking up to Helen's End of Month view meme, which can be found here:

https://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/end-of-month-view-april-2015/ 

 

Let's get started, shall we?

 

Back Flowerbed

 

Tulips are providing nearly all the color at this point with the mockorange giving some needed height.

 

Looking down toward the deck.

 

L-R: mockorange, 'Mariette' tulips, rose

Oh, and one random iris in front.

Geum is big and bushy.

More tulips surrounding mockorange bush.

Tulip distribution is a bit uneven, so that's something I would like to work on for next spring.

 

Vegetable Garden

overview

The bottom terrace is completely planted with spring veggies.

Obviously, nothing has come up yet.

The bright green on the bottom is oregano.

 Greenery on top are strawberries.

 

Pea sticks!

I planted some "Pole Sugar Snap Peas" this year, so I thought I would give pea sticks a try.

Those are dead aspen branches stuck into the ground for a trellis.

If the aspens come alive again and start growing in my garden, I'm going to be mad!

 (Knowing aspens like I do, I wouldn't put it past them!)

 

Shade Bed

 

It's all columbines and heucheras in the shade bed these days.

I haven't seen any sign of the hostas that used to be in here too.

Maybe they'll still come later...

 



 

 

Raspberries

 

Starting to fill out.

I need to get back over there to compost and weed.

 

 

Front Flowerbeds

 

Overview

 

Front: Middle Terrace (where most of the flowers are)

 



Tulips again giving most of the color.

If I can, I want to dig up the lighter-colored ones to put elsewhere, and get a few more of the vibrantly-colored ones.

The bright green on the left is a new delphinium I put in, to replace the phlox that was mostly dead.

I put in 3 and they're all in this middle terrace.

I'll try to point them out in the pictures.

They are all 'Blue Mirror' variety.

 

The tulips almost seem to glow in this picture, don't they?

On the right is one of my new 'William Shakespeare' English roses that I put in place of the daisies.

This photo should be named "Second Chances."

Those little spots of green in front are the hydrangea from the bottom front terrace, which I thought was completely dead until about 2 weeks ago. This spot gets more shade than the former, so maybe that will help it perk up.

The peony growing in back was transplanted from a friend's yard in the middle of last summer and pretty much looked dead the whole rest of the year. Surprise!

I will be really surprised if it blooms this year.

 

A few different varieties of muscari with phlox in the background.

Still on the middle terrace.

 

Sem False Spirea, with columbine, salvia, and of course tulips.

This lovely little shrub brightens up the shady corner here beautifully.

 

Front: Bottom Terrace

 

Grape holly (Mahonia aquifolium)

This is thriving in a tough spot, which I'm glad to see.

It has tripled in size since I planted it, and even had a few of its signature bright yellow flowers earlier this spring.

 

 

Boxwood, barberry in a pot, plus another barberry.

I need to decide where to plant this extra barberry.

It has not been doing so great down on the bottom terrace, so I replaced it with another one of my new roses.

 

 

Another 'William Shakespeare' rose, replacing the barberry, as mentioned above. I planted it good and deep, and I'm really hoping it takes off and adds a shower of deep crimson roses going up the wall.

 



Looking down the bottom terrace.

 

 Tulips by the mailbox.

I'm actually thinking of taking these out.

It's hard to keep this area weeded, with no real flowerbed here.

Plus, all the real flowerbeds are just a few feet away.

They would transplant nicely, I think, to the back flowerbed.

 



 

If you made it all the way through that, way to go!

This is my favorite time of year, with things changing daily, it seems.

 



Spring Veggies In!

I have no pictures for this post, because all you would see is bare dirt, at this point.

I'm only a week ahead of when I got everything planted last year.

I guess we'll get to see if that weeks makes much of a difference!

 

I planted the spring veggies in our bottom terrace.

Left to right, here's what I put in:

16 hills of potatoes

I had already chitted them, so next I dug a hole and planted the whole potato. They are spaced at least 12 inches apart. I will report back on this method at the end of the summer.

They were a mix of Yukon Gold, Viking Purple, and russet.

 

4 rows (front to back) of Rainbow Carrot blend [new seed]

supposed to be purple, white, yellow, and red

 

3-4 rows of Detroit Dark Red beets [new seed]

 

3-4 rows of Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' [new seed]

I've never grown (or eaten) swiss chard before, so this will be an adventure.

The seed packet suggests the small leaves are good in salad, and the larger leaves can be steamed or stir-fried. Cook stalks as you would asparagus.

Begin harvest when plant is about 8" tall. Pick outer leaves first or harvest entire plant.

A spring planting will produce all summer if it is kept picked.

Also: thin to 12", and should grow 36" high.

 

2 rows of spinach 'Olympia Hybrid'

[last year's seed]

 

2 rows (doubled seeded), 6 inches apart shelling pea 'Green Arrow'

Grows about 30" high, should not need staking. 

 

My plantings stopped at the oregano in the middle.

I've got more peas to put in, but I'll have to do that tomorrow. It was time to make dinner and you know, be the mom and stuff.

 

I have to say--the weather cooperated beautifully. It was cool and windy while I was rototilling and raking, then just as we started planting, it started to sprinkle. I think it's still raining some out there right now.

 

 



They made it!

 I revamped this small flowerbed next to the porch last summer, pulling out dead bushes and improving the soil, before adding some new plantings in: hydrangea, astilbe, a couple of hostas, and some heucheras.

I also put in one dicentra--bleeding heart.

I tried planting dicentras in my back shade bed a few years ago, but they didn't survive.

This poor thing was transplanted from a friend's yard to begin with, then moved AGAIN when I realized that it was too far out and would be walked on. I didn't get my hopes up.

 

By the end of last summer, I wasn't sure which of my new plantings had survived.

The astilbes had withered away to practically nothing, as had the dicentra, and the ferns.

I knew heucheras and hostas were as tough as nails and could take dry shade, so I wasn't too worried about them.

 

This spring I have been pleasantly surprised to see all of the plants in this bed coming back!

 

Well, well, well. What have we here?

Hooray!

This euonymous wasn't in danger of dying off, but I'm delighted to see how much new growth it is putting on this spring! It looks better than it ever has.

Astilbe! Yes!

Astilbe number 2 (in back), plus 'Lime Marmalade' heuchera.

Oh and a few dandelions. (ahem). I guess they made it too.

 

The 'Ruby Slippers' oakleaf hydrangea is also putting out new leaves.

 

May they all live long and prosper!

(Except the dandelions.)