Thundercloud

It's 45 degrees. The temperature will slowly rise to the low 60s this afternoon as the storms move in. We've got chances of thunderstorms and rain all evening and night.

In honor of the rain, the Thundercloud Plum has decided to bloom.





This plum tree has purple-red leaves and pink blossoms. It was transplanted in the fall from the perennial bed. It's about a week late in blooming this year. I suppose it could be the cold winter, or maybe the move. In any case, another few days will show it completely in bloom. Only a few scattered branches are showing any color yet.

The Belle of Georgia peach is still blooming away. The blossoms have turned a darker color. The leaves are coming on nicely.



Before work, I'll dig out the Lagerfeld rose in the Neighbor's Corner. I'm giving it to Marty, a customer at the store. She brought me beautyberry starts in the fall and seeds for a blue milkweed, Tweedia caerulea. I've already sown them. Soon, I'll start giving away the brugmansias to people who have asked about them. I also plan to sow the rest of my datura seeds in the new fragrant bed outside the basement door. I need to spread the broken bags of soil that have been sitting in the basement for weeks first.

9:11am - I've spread three bags of topsoil and a bag of pine mulch over the newest bed. For two weeks, I've been spraying the weeds and grass here with RoundUp. I'm sure the wire grass will continue to pop up through the season. It has in all the beds I've created along the retaining wall and basement door. I'll spot treat and pull whenever I see it. Datura, marigolds, and four o'clocks have been sown here.



A splash of rain passed through as I was digging the Lagerfeld for Marty. There was a bit of blue sky a few minutes later. The sun is shining now.



The "dead" Loropetalums are blooming.



The Eastern Redbuds are opening. They're pink. I don't know why they call them redbuds.



The first of 100+ muscari has pushed up a bloom stalk. There was supposed to be a blue stream amongst the daffodils on the front slope. So far, only a handful have pushed through the soil. This one is in the crape myrtle bed.



Peonies at the end of the driveway are up. I transplanted these from Virginia last March. I really hope they bloom a bit better this year. They don't like to be disturbed.



Larkspur by the perennial bed arbor.



It's still 45 degrees. We should start to climb soon. It's going to be a rough afternoon of storms from the looks of the radar.

Back to life.

It was a cool day after the wonderful temperatures we had this weekend. Later in the week, we'll be in the 70s again. It looks like my day off will be a nice one. As the clouds parted this afternoon, I snapped a shot of the evening sky. It's great getting home while it's still daylight.



The flowering quince growing around the chainlink fence that belongs to my neighbor is a welcome sight. No blooms on any of mine this year.



Nearby, what I think is an amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) may need to be removed this year. They can become very invasive. If it blooms soon, which it looks like it will, the yard will be full of fragrance for the first and last time.



The Loropetalum is coming in to bloom.



Azaleas are budding. This is a formosa purple that was here when I bought the house. I cut it down to the ground because it was so wretched.



The oakleaf hydrangea is sporting new growth and last year's leaves.



One of the three aucuba I rooted last summer. All three are showing growth. It'll be years before they fill in. I'll start pinching later in the season to get some bushier growth.



The Snowball viburnum cuttings are pushing out leaves. They were so tiny when I put them in last fall. I was afraid they wouldn't survive. All three made it. I will have to transplant these soon. There's no way these shrubs can grow where I put them for the winter.



It's currently 45 degrees. We're expecting to drop into the upper 30s tonight, maybe low 40s. Rain could come at any time, or not. Tomorrow, it should warm up a bit to the mid 60s. By Wednesday, we'll be back in the mid 70s. I plan to spend the day mowing and doing some more planting. My sinuses are stuffed. My nose is running. My throat is sore. Pollen has started to fall from the maples. The oaks will begin their assault soon.

Rock and Roll

In the back yard this spring, I dug two large rocks out of the ground. I don't know why I did it. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. For a while, they sat next to the hole they came out of. At some point during the summer, I moved them to the edge of the "lawn" to make mowing easier. The lavender crape myrtle lived there for a couple of months. The hole has been filled in with dirt. Red clover has germinated well there.

This morning, I decided to move those two rocks to the perennial bed. I couldn't have chosen a home any further away without putting them in the street. I used the hand truck and a lot of cussing to get them where I wanted them.

#1



#2



I actually moved three large stones, but one I was able to lift and place on the hand truck. They now reside along the new path I built a couple weeks ago around the back edge of the perennial bed. I probably destroyed the new grass seedlings. It won't be long before clover takes over anyway.





Consistency in design is something I have been taught by my instructors when I was in college. In architecture, consistency is necessary to help people understand movement, form, and texture. It can also be used to define spaces. Private and public spaces can be differentiated using different materials, lighting, or even color. So in my beds, I want some sort of consistency as well. All the tended beds will eventually have stone edging as I find it and place it. Along the edge of the former white bed, now known as the neighbor's corner, I picked up all the stone and finished the perennial bed as well as a good chunk of the gully bed. I'll explain later what I did this morning in the neighbor's corner and why I no longer need stone edging there.



Wheelbarrow #1



Wheelbarrow #2



Wheelbarrow #3 and done.



When I started, there was only about 6' of edging in place. This stone was dug from planting holes all around the yard.



From the upper yard behind the house, you can see the stone I laid around the edge of the gully bed.




Just about where the stone ends now, I transplanted the White Profusion butterfly bush from the neighbor's corner.



I also planted 4 purple Speedwell plants that I got for 50 cents each. The purple should go well with the echinacea and Icicle speedwell already there. Lots of baby echinacea from scattered seeds were seen.



As suggested, I made lots of changes to the neighbor's corner this morning. I won't go into detail now, but there are lots of shrubs there now including five Howardi Ligustrum (evergreen), two loropetalum, several rose of sharon seedlings, a couple of azaleas, two dwarf burning bush, and a couple snowball viburnum cuttings that I rooted months ago. It should provide color, interest, and privacy as it grows together. The only plants I purchased were three clearance ligustrums. I got them for less than $12 for all three. Woot!

I plan to let this corner become semi-wild again. When I cleared it out, I envisioned a beautiful corner with lots of white flowers and flowering shrubs. It hasn't turned out that way. It's too hot and dry in the summer for most perennials and the annuals I wanted there. I still lack privacy in the backyard from prying eyes, and a patio will be built somewhere someday. These shrubs and trees will be mulched with leaves. I'll allow the vinca minor to regrow, and let it spill softly into the edge of the yard where the lawnmower can keep it in check. Naturalized planting areas in the yard won't have stone edging. Only tended beds will need that treatment, cutting down on the amount of stone I'll need for the borders.

This afternoon, now that lunch is done, I plan to move a lot of the split firewood into the basement to continue drying.



It's 57 degrees, cloudy and cool. The wind has died down for the time being. No sign of the promised sunlight I was hoping for today.

Things Change

First off, let me thank FlowerLady for the new quote that I am using in my profile. It struck a nerve when I read it over at her blog a few days ago. I really thought it was quite poignant.

Originally I had planned a trip to Virgina today to help a friend with some work. Those plans changed early this morning so I was left wandering around the yard looking for something to do. I had asked advice on GardenWeb earlier in the week about my backyard. With the new arbor being constructed, I found that I had inadvertently created an axis from the street terminating at the Belle of Georgia peach tree I planted this spring. I wasn't too happy with the look.



I got lots of feedback and some great ideas. People love to give you suggestions when they don't have to lift a finger to dig a hole. Speaking of holes, I began transplanting some shrubs from various parts of the yard. They're all small, but they grow fast, especially given more sun than they were getting in their previous locations.

When I dig here, I hit stone a few inches down. I use all this stone to create my borders around the beds. This one will be no different.



Even a small hole 12" deep and 24" wide will turn up a lot of rock.



I've already started laying these stones along the back side of the driveway bed I built in March.



With a can of orange paint from my model making days, I laid out what I thought to be a nice shape. I'll be filling it with shrubs to provide some privacy through the arbor into the backyard. Today, I transplanted a white spirea, two loropetalum shrubs that were in poor sun exposure spots, two cherry laurels I started from seed this winter, and 5 rooted rose cuttings. These cuttings were broken from various roses when we received our first shipment in March. I brought them home instead of throwing them away. Almost a dozen cuttings were stuck. These 5 survived and rooted easily. They weren't planted when I took this photo, but I've since sprayed the grass with RoundUp and dug up several more rocks for the edge. I'm only using chemicals here because of the centipede and bermuda grass in the lawn. It's nearly impossible to kill using my normal half-baked lasagna method.



I'll get some cardboard from the store on Wednesday, pick up some leaf mulch from the landfill, and finalize the shape. Overnight, I should see some results from the spray.

While walking around this morning, there were several things I noticed.

I have a foxglove that's sending up a stalk.


Coreopsis Full Moon is about to bloom.


Lemon Mint Bee Balm is coming back nicely from the hack job I did on it a few weeks ago.


Four O'Clocks and KnockOut roses are the same color.


A brugmansia has several flower buds.


The Green Zebra tomato was picked and eaten with cucumbers my parents brought.


Butternut squash gets big.


Yellow squash gets even bigger.


Cucumbers in my own garden are coming on nicely.


The first mammoth sunflower has bloomed. Castor beans and cherry tomatoes in front.


The morning glory at the chimney is starting to climb the new trellis.


The lavender crape myrtle is happy again.


Wintersown Sea Holly is blooming, a year ahead of schedule.


So is the Queen Anne's lace.


I spent some time early this morning pulling weeds in the perennial bed. In the bare spots, I planted more squash with nasturtiums. I sowed some beans and cucumbers in various areas, too. I'd like to get two harvests this year. If we don't get some rain soon, I'll have to water the potager. Right now, only the perennial bed has needed water. I gave it an hour with the sprinkler on Saturday, and another hour today. It's 84 and sunny with no rain in the forecast until Friday evening.

It's been a long day. I'm about ready to call it quits and cook some squash and corn for dinner. Silver Queen from my parents' garden is in the crisper drawer. It's gonna be delicious.