Not all those who wander are lost.

I opted for a glass of tea this morning instead of coffee as I wandered around the yard. I had planned to post about the progress in the backyard, but it's not very pretty from a distance. There's a lot of green. It's at the same stage the perennial bed was last year at this time. Plants will grow and mature as the spring turns to summer, provided we receive enough rain. I can't keep dragging the hose all over the yard.

From yesterday, this is a closer view of the perennial bed arbor and beds. I'm very happy with the way it's turned out this year. It should only get better with each passing season.



Wintersown in 2008/9, Rose Campion has found a home in several spots. I've already planted out seedlings in the backyard from seeds sown this year. The scabiosa bloomed a little last year. There are lots of nice buds on the plants this time around. Stargazers will be the next plants to bloom in this area.



Rose Campion with Red Hot Pokers.



Another Rose Campion. I'll let these reseed and pull the unwanted ones later.



On the backside of the arbor, the Pink Maiden dianthus are really showing off this year.



They'll continue to bloom on and off all summer with another flush in the fall as the temperatures cool down. I'll be checking for seeds and probably take cuttings soon.



Self-sown petunias are blooming. I love the variations in color.



Someone sent me seeds of Cornus kousa. I sowed them all in a clump in the garden last fall when they arrived. I think they like the spot. Brugmansia from cuttings (pink and yellow) are in the background. Beyond that, two clearance hydrangeas have found a shady home behind the camellia.



Near the mailbox, in some of the driest, hardest soil in the yard, the first breadseed poppy has opened. More to come. No idea what other colors may arrive. There were some peony poppy seeds sown as well. I guess it will be a surprise. These too will be left to reseed with a little help from me.



Gold Flame Spirea in the Shady Corner is happy. The two small plants I picked up last year for cheap have not returned. I will take cuttings of this one once the blooms have faded. I'd like to scatter them in the crape myrtle bed for some foliage contrasts and the pink blooms work well with my color scheme there.



Salvia subrotunda seedlings were pulled from the perennial bed yesterday. I'll be setting these out in the upper meadow once we've gotten some rain. It's very likely over the next few days that something will fall. The other containers hold cuttings of Autumn Joy sedum and Montauk Daisy. The Montauks will be planted around the backyard for some late fall blooms. More cuttings will be made as soon as the S. subrotunda is planted out. The containers hold in humidity which helps the cuttings retain moisture. I leave these in the shade on the side porch. The sedums should root in a couple weeks.



From the photos I was planning to show, this is the driveway border I started last winter. There's rosemary, a couple Rosa chinensis, peonies, a yucca, the one surviving Honeycomb butterfly bush, a lilac, and weigela. I'm sure I am forgetting some things.



And what it used to look like on February 17, 2008. I like the way it's matured.



It's 72 degrees and mostly sunny. There's a haze in the sky as the humidity is up. Rain possible this evening after 8pm. The best chances seem to be Sunday and Monday at 50-60%. I wouldn't care if it rained all day.

These things aren't roses.

I've gone a little overboard with the hybrid teas lately. So here's what I've been neglecting.

Elymus arenarius 'Blue Dune' is blooming.





Fuchsia in a hanging basket. We had an abundance at the store. It was cheap. No, really.



Sweet william. Wintersown in 2008/9. From the same container. One clump on each side of the perennial arbor.





Just around the corner, Pinks Maiden dianthus. Wintersown in 2008/9. Bloomed a little last year.



Columbine. To be wintersown 2010/11. Lots of seed pods here. Dame's rocket is flopping all over. Seed pods are starting to form.



The first larkspur. These seeds came from Kathy in Texas. I tossed them out in the late fall. They germinated and held on through the rough (relatively speaking) winter. I noticed this one while Szylvia and I were walking the yard yesterday afternoon. I sent her away with tomato plants and a rooted cutting of the white butterfly bush.



Ditch lilies. Stella D'Oro clumps have formed buds too. The Coreopsis Moonbeam below them will not bloom for another month at least.



It's 72 degrees. The rainfall measurement reported by weather.com was 0.68". Parts of the yard are still dry. I'm going to spend the rest of the morning planting out Pineapple Sage and Sunflowers. I've already planted six ligustrum along the neighbor's chain link fence. They were on deep discount, $1 each. They'll need some recovery time before I show them. In a couple weeks, they should have new foliage. I've also planted two new hybrid teas. One is an unknown yellow with orange tones. The other is Gypsy.

One very positive note, NellJean was right again. The oakleaf hydrangea is regrowing from the roots already. It wants to live.

They were wrong.

Yesterday, the forecast called for less than 10% chance of rain. On Wednesday, the forecast was 60%. We got 1/16" that day. In less than 30 minutes, the rain gauge collected 3/4" of rain Friday. Someone had their days mixed up, I do believe.

In exchange for a rooted cutting of Turn of the Century, a customer at the store brought me 8 clumps of unidentified daylilies. She said I would be impressed next year when they bloom. I scattered them through the perennial bed yesterday after work. I also planted three clearance Black and Blue Salvia plants. They're past the bloom stage, but a little pinching should give me one or two blooms before the frost takes them down. Although we sell them as annuals, they're supposedly cold hardy to 0*F. We'll see.

For the top of the wall in yesterday's post, I like Nell's idea. I don't have Bath's Pink dianthus, but I have many clumps of Pink Maiden dianthus. They were wintersown and have bloom sporadically since spring when they put on their big show. Instead of saving seed, I scattered them around hoping for reseeders. I should be able to divide these clumps in the fall.



10:35am - lunch (breakfast). It drizzled a bit this morning at the store. No rain in the forecast. Partly cloudy now at 73 degrees. Very humid.

I collected seeds from the purple morning glory I tossed out around the China fir and along the edge of the gully. I also collected seeds from the red castor bean.



The green castor bean by the street is taller than the Thundercloud Plum.



Turn of the Century is blooming again. Magnus in the background.



The knockouts are flushing again too. Must be the rain.



Mr. Lincoln. I broke one of the blooms off accidentally last week. I've stuck it in soil to see if I can root it.



Coleus, impatiens, and hosta. All wintersown. Doing great.



Heading back to work. This evening I might try to till the corn/bean area for my fall veggies. Best planting days are August 17-18.