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.

Mother's Day and I am working.

My sister and I had portraits made for mom this year. She received them early this morning before I called. She loved them. My sister bought the pictures, I framed them. We had to be a little sneaky to get them done.

In the garden, the first Stella D'Oro has bloomed.



Red Hot Pokers by the street are growing straight and tall this year. I started this from seed two years ago. It was just tiny little grass like seedlings for a few months. I expected blooms last year, but none arrived. The one in part shade is growing crooked again. I might have to move it this fall.



Self sown petunias are blooming. The colors range from light pink to this nice magenta.



More magenta in the rose campion. I have clumps scattered through the perennial bed. Seeds will be tossed as they ripen in the crape myrtle bed.



Various larkspur plants are in bloom.



An unknown hybrid tea rose. It's not fragrant, but the color is nice. It fades to a pinkish orange as it ages.



It's cool and 66 degrees at 2:37pm. The power went out last night due to a tree crashing into a transformer a couple streets over. Still no rain. Maybe next week. I'll spot water after work again this evening. The newly planted seedlings have to be nursed a bit to survive what is quickly turning into a drought. Only 1" of rain has fallen in the past 4 weeks.

On my hands and knees

I did some weeding today in the perennial bed. It felt good to get my hands in dirt, even if I was wearing gloves. The soil is extremely wet. I lost a few things over the winter. The guara, for one, just doesn't tolerate wet feet. The soil hasn't dried out since the fall.

I collected a wheelbarrow of weeds and a few leaves with them.



That was just from the border along the edge of the street. I dumped it into the compost bin twice.



The most exciting thing that happened to me all day was finding the first crocus bloom. Spring really is coming, but not before a cold rainy weekend passes through.



Anise hyssop "Golden Jubilee" is coming back. This is a self sown plant that popped up last year.



Lots of rudbeckias are hanging around.







Coreopsis "Full Moon" is doing great. I planted 12 of my divisions in the backyard today.



Coreopsis "Moonbeam" has new growth too. I didn't see any along the retaining wall. I paid a whole dollar for those 15 plants last year. They'd better come back.



I saw new growth on a few clearance rack mums too. Ditch lilies are ready for spring, like me.



Montauk Daisy



Purple columbine



Rose campion. These were wintersown last year. I thought they were lambs ear for a few months. I was wrong.



Dianthus Pinks are holding their own. These are clumps I rooted from a bag full that Jim at Frogview Cottage sent me.



All over the yard, daffodils are popping up. I even saw the tip of one on the front slope where I planted 200 back in December. As usual, those around the oak tree in the front yard will be the first to bloom.



It's 45 degrees. The rain will be here soon. Plenty of wood has been hauled into the basement. Lunch has been eaten. It's time for that nap. The rest of the weeds can wait.

4:42pm - No nap yet. I just had to check on the hoophouse. The seedlings survived the cold nights last week just fine. Not much growth, but plenty of sprouts. They know what they're doing.

Rudbeckia hirta. I think I may have overdone it with these. I have 125 of these little cups and every seed sprouted.



Like little soldiers. Dianthus and several others have already sprouted. In another month, it should be a sea of green in there.



Behind the hoophouse, the sedums I rooted this summer are coming back. The variegated sedum was shy. Here's the red.

August 16th. Two thousand and nine.

This morning I spent a couple hours in the perennial bed. It is Sunday after all. I pulled all but the largest cosmos. I'm sick of them. I collected lots of seed and tossed the plants into the gully. I'm sure there will be some volunteers next year and I will weed them out of the perennial bed. In place of the cosmos, I dug the agastache from the white bed. There were 6 large clumps. I cut it way back and watered it well.



The Golden Jubilee was deadheaded too. I scattered the seeds all over the area.



I moved a rose campion to the perennial bed too. Lamb's ear got moved to the front bed along the top of the wall. In between, I'll plant dianthus to spill over the wall.

Nicotiana from the white bed also got moved. These are from seeds I've tossed out this summer, I assume. They're tiny and haven't bloomed yet. I pulled the sunflowers near the trellis. Too much rain, too much drought, and the goldfinches have really made a mess of them. Next year I plan to only sow seeds from black oil sunflowers found in bird seed mixes. The goldfinches love them and I like that they have more than 1 flower on each plant.

I watered all the things I've planted this week, the daylilies, the black and blue salvia, all the plants I shoveled into place this morning, and a few odds and ends that looked thirsty. I collected more seeds, pulled some weeds, and shovel pruned other things that have passed their prime. I can't remember now all that I did, but that's no problem.

When I was done, I took my camera with an empty memory card, and walked the entire length of the perennial bed making notes in my head, snapping an image every couple of feet. The images, necessary in late February when I get itchy to be in the garden again, will come in handy as I move things around and plant this year's wintersown seedlings. It's my way of record keeping. Not all of the pictures are pretty. Not all of them are in focus or have great composition. It's utilitarian in purpose and will be viewed over and over again during the winter.

Sunday's picture.



For those interested in the details, here's the August 16, 2009 slideshow. It's 77 degrees with 83% humidity. Cloudy and overcast, they say we've got a 40% chance of afternoon showers. Same forecast for the next 3 days. Off to work.