Friday.

A few things blooming in the yard today.

Anise hyssop "Golden Jubilee"



Rudbeckia "Cherry Brandy"



A daylily from one of my customers. She brought it to me last year in exchange for a hardy hibiscus.



White Swan and Icicles.



Echinacea and Shastas.



Castor beans near the swing. These plants provide a quick, temporary summer screen. They grow to 10' or taller. Frost kills these plants in my zone. They outgrow the poke weed.





It's 72 degrees and hazy. The high today should reach the upper 80s. Chance of afternoon rain, 30%.

Burgundy

So it's not the color of passion, but it appears in various plants around the yard, usually in the form of foliage. There's also purple and pink.

Veronica spicata "Red Fox" with perilla.



Purple heart (or purple queen).



Etoile Violette clematis on the perennial bed arbor.



More bloody dock.



Thundercloud Plum.



Castor Bean.



Agastache "Golden Jubilee" and Perilla.



A sea of self sown Amaranthus and Crabgrass. Pink bee balm will bloom later in the summer.



Camellia sasanqua. This was the large pink flowering camellia that I cut down in the summer of 2008 to provide the backyard with more sunlight. It was probably 20' tall.



It's 63 degrees. The high today will reach the low 80s. No rain, plenty of sun.

Foliage and stuff.

It's 63 degrees at 10am. There will be no rain at least for the next week. This morning I found two squirrels digging in my potager where I had planted squash and bean seeds yesterday. One has no hair on its tail. The owls were after it yesterday evening. I'm hoping they achieve their goal soon.

The foliage tour begins in the basement. I stuck cuttings of my red camellia, black & blue salvia, Mystic Spires salvia, Russian sage, and White Profusion Butterfly bush. It's probably too early for the camellias, but the growth on the others were nice and firm. If I'm successful with the japonicas, I'll be taking another walk through the neighborhood early one morning next week.



Artemesia.



Hosta



This variegated weigela was rooted last spring. I plan to root several more very soon. I love the foliage. The white flowers are just an added bonus.



Wine & Roses weigela is more wine than roses at the moment.



Larkspur, Dame's Rocket, and a yellow climbing rose named Golden Showers at the perennial bed arbor.



Golden Jubilee, red clover, Bloody Dock, irises, and lots of weeds.



Proving that plants are forgiving things, the oakleaf hydrangea looks the best it ever has. I took a cutting yesterday. It may be too early. This one has buds at the ends of the two main stalks.



Eastern Redbud loves you too.



Ginkgo. Grown from seed, these were tossed late last spring when I figured there would be no germination. I noticed I missed another when I dug them out this winter and moved them before they leafed out. All three are doing well. The bright yellow foliage will be welcomed in the gully over the next 20 years as they mature. I'm learning patience.



Virginia creeper has latched onto the dead oak tree. It's over now.



While scouting for plants to pinch, I found this little gem. The first rudbeckia bloom of the year. R. triloba.



I saved the best for last. My favorite foliage of all comes in the form of gigantic trees that ring the backyard. The undergrowth has filled in. To compensate for the lack of foliage in winter, I've spread evergreens along the edge. Leyland Cypress, arborvitae, and soon, Foster Holly will provide enclosure and privacy in the years to come. I made a promise to one Leyland yesterday. No more moving. Maybe.

Foliage.

Butterfly bush in the shrub island.



A white spirea. This plant has been moved three times. It now resides in the shrub island.



Dame's rocket. A couple clumps are starting to push out stalks just a few feet away.



A mum, larkspur, and others at the arbor spanning the entrance to the perennial bed.



Golden Jubilee.



Yucca. I dug this one from my parents' property in SC. They grow wild in the woods here. I might regret that some day.



Something new that popped up next to the driveway. Any thoughts?



The new foliage of Ligustrum Howardii is tinged with gold.



More ditch lilies.



May Night Salvia. A clearance purchase last summer.



Elymus arenarius 'Blue Dune' grass. These are on the slope where I have knockouts and lavender.



Poppies, I think.



It's 48 degrees and cloudy. Today will be cooler reaching about 60 degrees. Tomorrow, the heat wave starts rolling in.



Majesty Palms and Peace lilies have arrived at the store just in time for Palm Sunday and Easter. The fragrant white lilies will be arriving in another week. Boston ferns are on the racks. Petunias will be available shortly. It's strange. We went from extreme cold to the middle of spring in just a couple of weeks. I'm not sure any of us were prepared for this. Obviously, the shoppers are happy about it, spending gobs of money just to be outside for a few hours. It's not a bad time to be paid to work outdoors.

Wintersown Germination.

In the hoophouse:

Ox Eye Daisy
Salvia Blue Queen
Dianthus Firewitch
Orlaya Grandiflora
Salvia officinalis
Dianthus knappi
Echinacea Harvest Moon
Rudbeckia triloba
Great Blue Lobelia
Dianthus Depford Pink
Monarda fistula
Ageratum
Penstemon Husker Red
Coreopsis Mahogany Midget
Pink Touch Me Not Impatiens
Siberian Wallflower
Lavendula Augustifolia


71 2-liters have germinated:

Chives
Red Mexican Hat - 2
Cardoon
Shasta Daisy White Knight
Diathus Firewitch - 2
Phlox Laura
Siberian Wallflower - 2
Chloeme - 2
Queen Anne's Lace - 2
Rudbeckia hirta brown - 2
Orlaya grandiflora
Rudbeckia hirta Cherry Brandy - 2
Drummond phlox
Potentilla
Evening Primrose
Ox Eye Daisy - 3
Red Lychnis
Great Blue Lobelia
Malva
Migonette
Lavendula Augustifolia
Bronze fennel
Buddleia White - 2
Obedient Plant
Helenium
Hardy Geranium Brookside
Gaillardia yellow
Fennel
Blue Flax
Foxglove
Echinacea purple - 6
viola tricolor
Touch Me Not
Buddleia purples
Golden Margureite
Chrysanthemum Robinson's Red
Amsonia
Marsh Mallow
Columbine purple
Rose Campion pink
Pearl Grass
Dianthus Depford Pink
Rose Campion white
Salvia Blue Queen
Culver's root
Garlic Chives
Double Red Monarda
Rudbeckia hirta
Hollyhocks
Bamboo white dragon
Verbena hasata
Malva mauritiana
Verbascum Wedding Candles
Verbascum Milkshake
Salvia Lady in Red
Dianthus knappi

Germination in the hoophouse has been good. I was expecting better, but I'm not going to complain. Just a quick count tells me that so far, assuming 4 hunks of seedlings per 2-liter and 8 containers of each in the hoophouse that should net at least two hunks, I've got about 556 holes to dig. This doesn't count the 125 Rudbeckia hirta cups that have sprouted and will need to be divided into at least 2 clumps at planting time. If I manage to get it all planted out, it will be beautiful. I still have about 100 tender/annual varieties to sow. I'm a long way from being done.

While checking on my containers, I moved the sprouted ones forward. I'll be watching for the second set of leaves before planting out. Doing this early reduces loss and makes for hardier plants. I used this same method last year with decent results.



I took some time this morning, after the wood was split, to pull back some of the leaves on the perennial bed. The soil is very wet. It needs to dry out a bit before I can plant. Hopefully, the sun shining on it with the light wind we're having will help. The low humidity certainly will. I shredded the leaves and scattered them in the meadow. This spring, I'll shred more leaves from across the street to put back down to reduce watering and continue to add to my organic mass.

I found two new crocuses under the leaves by the street.



Another Montauk daisy is coming back to life near the driveway.



Golden Jubilee at the birdbath is that beautiful purple that will turn lime green as it warms up. This one was self sown.



I planted all eleven of the penny nandinas. One was tossed into the woods. Five went into the beds behind the house. The other five went into the shrub island near the meadow. They all look sad right now, but each had fresh growth under the cold damaged leaves. One was suckering all around the edge of the pot.



I also planted out my cabbages. The carrots didn't germinate well, so I will probably wait until fall to try again. The peas didn't sprout either. I sowed the other half of the pack in place and covered the bed with plastic. The 8 plants in the background are Foster Hollies. They were a penny each too. The leaves are all brown, but the pith is still green. I'm going to wait before declaring them dead. Three tea olives were also part of that bunch. I've got them in part shade near the hydrangea bed beside the driveway.



Everything in the hoophouse and the 2-liter containers got a drink of water. I disturbed a couple of stowaways in the hoophouse.





It's 48 degrees and still sunny. I'm done. I need a nap.