A Year and a Week Later . . .

It's hard to believe all of last summer passed without an update here. Lots of dead things got pulled up and lots of new plants added, and that about sums it up. We went south just before Thanksgiving for what turned out to be a very mild winter here and all around the country. By the time we got back -- last week -- most of the spring flowers had come and gone. Azaleas and columbines are in bloom now, and some hellebores.
Today I found a summer helper for yard work, which pleases me no end. I do believe the surprise lilies will at last be banished or at least severely thinned.
I walked around the yard and snapped some photos of the current state of things. Someone is coming to blow the remaining leaves out of the flower beds, and then I can get down to sprucing up the gardens for the summer.

The Japanese maple has little bright red winged seeds for the first time.

The lily garden is choked with leaves but the plants seem to be doing fine. The fence has aged to a lovely silvery gray. It was the same color as the lattice when it was new.

 The azaleas are blooming! These are the kind that are supposed to bloom 3 times a year. Last year they didn't bloom at all. I figured it was because it was too shady where they're planted, and I believe I'm right. With the warm, warm early spring, they got a lot of sun. They're going to be moved to the front yard soon.

 The spring flowers under the big pin oak are coming along. The mayapples (the umbrella-shaped plants) are one of my favorites. I looked for them each spring in the woods near our house and the forest preserve when I was a child.  Each plant makes one lovely white blossom, which becomes an "apple". I don't know if they're edible.

This is the kidney-shaped flower bed at the back of the yard. I never finished weeding and mulching it last summer. Here's what's interesting: at the far end, weeded and mulched, the coral bells all seem to  have died out entirely or are very small. The coral bells in the neglected part are healthy and large. This tells me that maybe the coral bells don't like the mulch.

There is a nice mix of flowers and weeds around Precious. I'll pull out the sprouts of grass and the dandelions, but some of the other volunteers may have found a home.

 The mosaic needs a dose of 20-Mule Team Borax and a little sand to top it off.

This is the peonie bush that struggled against shade and wild lawn mowers -- "Huh? That was a flower?" -- when it grew along the back fence when we moved here five years ago. I moved it to this sunny location on the south side of the house, where it seems quite grateful. It's loaded with buds.

 Also along the south side of the house is the rose bush. It will be pruned way back and keep on blooming all summer long.

 The blue bottle marks the lilac bush. This little guy is in its third year. The first year an eager mower chopped it off, and then last summer I thought it had died from lack of water, but it's still hanging in there. The ornamental grasses need to have lastl year's foliage removed to make room for the new blades. The little foot bridge, like the fence, has weathered to a lovely silvery gray. We put the footbridge in to span the soggy part where the sump pump drains into the grass at the front corner of the yard.

 The Japanese quince had just two blooms left on it last week, and now it is finished for the season. The mums all need to have last year's twigs removed.

 I can't for the life of me remember what this is called. I planted it in front of the gas meter. It's not supposed to get much taller, so it won't block the meter reader's line of sight.

The baptisia bush that I thought I'd killed when I moved it last year is coming back. Silly me didn't know they put out incredibly strong horizontal tap roots, which I chopped when I dug it out. The top of the bush died out completely, and I thought it was a goner. Apparently it was busy concentrating on restoring the root system and jettisoned the above-ground bits to conserve energy. Smart plant; ignorant gardener. I moved it just about 18 inches, so it would be better positioned to overhang the outside sump basin.

The mound of leaves may be hiding new shoots of the Russian sage or it may have smothered them. We'll find out when the leaves are removed. The feathery growth in front of the sage is yarrow. It's coming back strong on both sides of the walk way.

The azaleas I put in last summer are blooming well on the left side of the front stairs. The tall dry stalks in front are some kind of tall white flower that will be blooming when the azaleas are finished.

The hollyhocks are coming in strong. I've forgotten the name of the plant to the right of the clump of grass, but it will have lovely flowers.

 The magnolia in the northwest corner of the yard bloomed long before we got home. I've tried to grow pachysandra at its base, but they all seem to have died out.

The crape myrtle that was but a twig a couple of summers ago is thriving. Look at all of the surprise lilies along the fence. They'll be for a surprise themselves. :)

 This dank corner is on the north side of the house. There's a hosta trying to come back. There used to be lilies of the valley, but they got mowed a few times and . . . A neighbor has offered more lilies of the valley. I may try again.

 This is the long view into the back yard with daylilies along the fence and bushy green surprise lilies paralleling them to the right. the Japanese maple, where this soujourn began, is at the far end of the row of surprise lilies. (You do know you can click on a photo to enlarge it, don't you?)

Didn't mean to post quite so many photos, but this does complete the circuit of the yard. I didn't show you the strawberries, which are in bloom and a few other details. I want to show you the artwork on the fence, thanks to my dear husband but will save it for the next post.

Spring Inventory April 11, 2010 - Side and Front Yards

The previous post covered the back yard. Here we are leaving the backyard along the south fence. The stepping stones need a little touch-up after a wet winter, less than I'd anticipated. One of the arbor vitae was dead before winter and will have to be replaced. The peony has buds! When we moved here 4-1/2 years ago, they were planted along the back fence, where they got no sun. To make matters worse, Lloyd managed to mow them down several times. "What? That's a flower?" Before we had the fence put in last summer, I transplanted the scrawny little things to the south side of the house, where they get a lot of sunlight. They seem to like it. :)

Moving toward the front, there is a bush rose already budding out and the red raspberry planted summer before last. Am hoping we'll get some fruit this year. It seems happy here as it is putting up new sprouts. Will have to put up some kind of a trellis for it and define its territory before it takes over the whole side of the house.

The south side of the front of the house has a new feature: a sump pump discharge pipe and gutter. It will be a challenge to plant around it. It has been in less than a week, and already it is apparent that we will have a small swamp right in the pathway from front to back. I'm in favor of a nice little bridge; Lloyd is ready to put in a water feature. Not much was planted here last year. The baptisia is coming in nicely, but the butterfly bush is still a no-show. This area doesn't get sun until early afternoon, so the ground near the house may not yet be warm enough to encourage growth. If the bush is a goner, I'm going to replace with with a much larger butterfly bush. I want to see it growing up and arching over the other sump pump cover beside the stairs. (Yes, an indoor sump and an outdoor sump, both discharging several time a day. Do you think our house may have been built over a spring?)

The southwest corner of the yard had gladiolus and mums last year. Not sure if the smaller mums are coming back; no show of green yet. And fairly certain the glads are goners as I didn't pick them up last fall. Yesterday I bought a Japanese quince for this corner. Will plant more mums if these don't come back so there will be color in the fall. Will also put in something for summer color, not sure what.

The beds along the sidewalk are coming back but looking ratty. Will put a lot more plants in here in a few weeks.

The north side of the front yard needs a lot of work. The flower beds need to be defined, and the middle area needs to be smoothed and seeded with grass. I'm tempted to have it and the south side sodded.

The magnolia in the northwest corner was lovely for about a day and a half, then heavy rains beat up. Beneath it, the pachysandra that dear friend Norma Jeane planted last summer has also taken a beating. I'm guessing only about 20% of the plants survived. There were three variegated plants from a mail order nursery; I see one of them. The rest came from NJ's yard. Will see how bad the damage really is when I get this corner cleaned out. (Which I could be doing right now if I weren't blogging!)

The grass is growing well outside the fence. This low spot in the brick walk needs to be repaired so dirt won't accumulate. I thought the repairs were to be done last summer, but I'll have to call the mason again to remind him.

There are no photos of the north side of the house. Not much happening there yet except for a lush crop of moss. Time to pull on the gloves and head outside!

Spring Inventory April 11, 2010 - Back Yard

Yesterday I walked around the yard with camera in hand to record early spring activities. The first three photos are wide shots of the back yard. Despite having snow on the ground three weeks ago, plants are growing all over the place. It's too early to plant tender new plants. That's okay. I still need time to do spring clean up. Please note the height of the grass in these photos. Have you guessed that the lawnmower we bought last fall is still in the box? Maybe today (she says optimistically).

You can poke the photos to see them larger. I should have used a larger font in the labels in many of the photos.

The lily garden is thick with leaves, but some lilies are already poking through them. I'm hoping the leaves were thick enough to protect the delicate lily bulbs from our few deep freezes last winter. If all goes well, a lovely vine with orange flowers (whose name escapes me) will come back to cover the trellis.

Last fall I planted some primroses bought at half price closeout. It looks as if about half of them survived the winter and are already blooming. I want to get more and plant them earlier this year so they'll have a better survival rate. I love the bright blooms this early!

The next shot was taken behind the tree in the photo above. It was cleared last year with Roundup but nothing was planted. My hope was that the wild violets would come back as a natural ground cover. They did! I'll be planting other perennials in the area and let the violets fill in between. I'm surprised to see so many white violets and some with purple & white blossoms. In previous years they were mainly purple. I wonder if the chemicals in the Roundup had anything to do with this, although the same thing is taking place in areas that weren't sprayed. The Japanese maple tree is going into its third summer looking very healthy. Lots of leaves unfurling.

Too bad I can't say the same about the dogwoods that were planted at the same time. The white dogwood (foreground) is dead. The pink one has leaves but will not be blooming this year. Between them can be seen mounds of coral bells leafing out. Most of them were purchased at the Powell Gardens plant sale last spring. I'm thinking about putting in a Japanese Rose (Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora') when the dogwood comes out.

There is no photo, but I'm sorry to report that all three of the Encore azaleas are dead. Found out from the Powel Gardens blog that only one variety -- Amethyst -- is hardy enough for Zone 6. You'd think the numbskull at the local nursery would have known that. Another nursery gets their Encore azaleas from a nursery farther north than we are; I asked them to order 3 more for me.

Along the north fence (looking toward the front yard), the daylilies from Lilywood Farms are poking through their covering of fall leaves. The long rows of green are surprise lilies (aka naked ladies) that were here when we bought the place. Apparently they plan to be here forever. All efforts to dig them up have fallen far short of goal! The foliage will yellow and dry in several weeks, then in August there will appear lovely pink lilies, one bloom per stalk -- naked without any foliage. I'm rationalizing that they make a nice border for the long bed of daylilies.The area by the "kissing tree" (a double pin oak) shows the hellabores leafing out. The witch hazel that was presumed dead yet put out a couple of leaves last fall again appears to be dead. The other two have leaves already. Always the optimist, I'll leave it in the ground for a while and see what happens. None of the ferns are showing green yet.

The Bradford pear has me a bit concerned. Instead of being solid white with flowers (as are the other Bradford pears around town), ours put out leaves with only a few flowers. I'm wondering if all of the spraying I did to kill off the invasive vines on the ground didn't mess with the tree. The container says it won't cause harm if not directly applied, yet so far as I know, this is the only difference between our tree and the others. We'll see what happens next year.

The last photo from the back yard is of the wild violets growing between the edge stones in the little plots beside the shed. Aren't they lovely? I don't understand why some people treat them as weeds. Look at the pansies! They were planted last fall and came back with colors flying high.

This is a long post. I'll report on the front and side yards in the next one.

The Garden Awakes

Today - March 21, 2010 - I braved the spring snow to trek out to the back of the garden to snap the first blooms of the season. One of the three witchhazel whips that were planted last summer has produced three blooms. The two whips on the other side of the oak tree show no signs of bloom. I hope they made it through the deep freezes we experienced this past winter. A walk around the garden before the snow revealed more signs of spring. The daylilies are poking up, some of the ground cover plants are turning green, the pansies left over from last fall are actually blooming, and the little red nubs of peony stems are showing. The surprise lilies (aka naked ladies) are going strong, but I would expect no less of them. :)

If Mother Nature can bless us with a few dry days, I'll be able to rake up the last of the autumn leaves. The ground is way too muddy to even consider it now.

A cactus for all seasons

These Christmas cactus plants spent the summer out on the screened porch, so I guess I can include them in a garden blog, even though they're primarily house plants. This photo was taken on November 14. Do you see why they're special?


What makes them even more special is that they also bloomed last spring, for Easter. Let's see ... Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving ... what holiday will they celebrate next?

With a note to the outside garden, we bought a rotary lawnmower yesterday. It's not self-propelled. I don't see much point in that, since the areas of grass are losing ground to the ever expanding flower beds. Why a power mower when I profess to enjoy using the non-motorized reel mower? Well, the reel mower won't chew up leaves and small twigs. When the rain stops and the leaves still on the ground have had a chance to dry out, I'll use the power mower to turn them into mulch to spread over the daylily and lily beds. I don't see much point in buying mulch to keep the plants cozy and prevent the frost from heaving them out of the soil.

Daylilies Planted!

It has been 18 days since the past post. There hasn't been much happening in in the garden until the past several days. The daylilies bought at Lilywood Farms were picked up over Labor Day weekend. There were nearly three dozen of them to be planted. The majority went in along the north fence. (Sorry for the bad photo -- it was late in the day, so the shadows were deepening and making for awkward contrasts.)

This bed reaches from the sunporch to the hosta and lily garden in the back corner. It's five feet wide and about 35 feet long. I turned over the dirt for about 10 feet and then gave up. The rest of the lilies were planted in decent sized holes dug out of the hard dirt. My shoulders couldn't take any more digging. I thought about renting a tiller but never got around to it. Three daylilies were planted along the north fence, just inside the entrance to the back garden. They've been mulched and look better now. This was taken just after they went in.

Four of the daylilies were planted up front, at the SW corner of the house. I'm hoping they'll grow up enough to help mask the hose connection. I'll put some other plants in front to give it some depth.

Several daylilies are planted in the maple island. You can't see much of them behind the ferns and hostas. I think they'll get enough sunlight there. I got 3 of each kind of daylily, but I didn't plant them together. When they start blooming, there should be a good mix of colors and styles.

I saw some pansies at a good price at Lowe's last week, so I bought a couple of flats for color and put most of them along the edge of the island for color. I put more of the pansies by the pink dogwood. The scrawny nasturtiums were pulled up. A couple of them managed to produce a single flower, but they weren't adding much to the yard decor.

Did I mention that last spring I bought three witch hazel bushes from Michigan Bulb and that one of them died? Well, it didn't! Just last week I noticed that the stalk has leaves on it! If this isn't a great reason for extreme procrastination, I don't know what is. I can't tell you how many times I nearly pulled up the stick and threw it away. It's hard to see the leaves against the grass, but they're there -- I swear! You can see the top part of the stem where it got so dry that it cracked and fell over. [Poke the picture to see a larger version.]

I'm proud to announce that we got the first beautiful, red, ripe tomato off the plants yesterday! There are probably a half dozen more that are very green but firm and healthy looking. I trimmed back some of the foliage so the fading sun can get to them. If they never turn red, I won't mind. I love fried green tomatoes. I'm just tickled that we got any at all.

I trimmed back all of the gladiolus foliage, which was getting pretty raggy looking. What green remains is mainly weeds. I think I'm going to mulch them well and leave them in the ground, although in Zone 6 we're warned to take them up for the winter. I'm banking on a warm winter and hoping for a warmer summer next year. If they don't do well next summer, they will be history. That one mum is looking good. I think I should get more to edge that flower bed in a semicircle from fence to fence. There are some later mums by the gate that are just beginning to show color.

Here are the hollyhocks. The slightly smaller ones in back (red arrow) were planted from seeds. The larger one up front (yellow arrow) was purchased from Michigan Bulb. They're not all that different in size, even though the seeds were planted fairly late in the season. There's a lesson here. They should make a lovely patch of tall color at that corner of the house next summer.

One of the arbor vitae bushes died. I need to go back to the nursery and find out if they guarantee them. The other one is showing a small patch of browning. I'm hoping it's just natural aging and not a sign of a serious problem.

I noticed the leaves on one of the dragon flowers by the front walkway had some white on it, almost as if it had been sprinkled with flour or plaster dust. You can see some of it on the leaves behind the flower. I noticed the same thing on a friend's flowers when we visited last week but thought they had just dusted it with an insectide or bone meal or something. Maybe not. I need to figure out what this is and if I need to do anything about it. So far this is the only plant I've seen with the problem.

The weather is holding nicely . I'm having fun getting the garden ready for winter, even if it does mean some awfully sore muscles at night!