A to Z and things in between.

In my garden,

Agastache



Buddleia
Coreopsis
Datura
Echinacea
Foxglove
Guara
Helenium
Inula Grandiflora
Joe Pye Weed
Knifonia
Lirope
Monarda
Nasturtiums
Orlaya
Penstemon
Queen Anne's Lace
Rudbeckia
Salvia
Tradescantia
Ulmus
Veronica
Weigela
Xanthosoma (I cheated, it's actually Alocasia)
Yarrow
Zinnia



Yesterday afternoon, I was walking out the front door when I spotted something across the street. There's a huge pile of leaves out back of the rental house that's now empty. Poking up out of the pile, I saw huge leaves. I had to get a closer inspection. Are they bananas? They've got to be cold hardy. They still had red clay around their roots.



The fragrant bed is coming along nicely. The datura and four o'clocks open just as dusk begins to fall. The fragrance comes along shortly after.



Pink and yellow have joined the white. Zinnias are also planted here.



It's 77 degrees. The high today will reach the upper 90s. This weekend will be hot. I'm heading out of town. I need a break from the housework.

Growth

The fragrant border - May 16.



June 7.



The upper potager - May 18.



June 7.



The Perennial Bed - April 30.



June 7.



A container of sedums and sago palms by the basement door - May 18.



June 7.



I love to watch the gardens grow. I no longer take a picture a week of any area in the yard. The backyard is not filling in the way I expected. There was no huge flush of flowers once the crimson clover went to seed. The meadow bed does have tiny seedlings, probably weeds. A few cosmos have popped up here and there. I'll be working on that in the fall and next spring, moving, dividing, sowing more seeds. It's a work in progress.

More rain last night as thunderstorms rolled through the area. Within an hour, 1/4" of rain fell. Lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. Sleep came easy. It's 64 degrees this morning. 84 is the expected high.

Rain.

A heavy downpour that lasted about 15 minutes came through about 4pm. The sun came out shortly after. It got steamy. Now the temperature has fallen and our chance for rain is about 60% for the next 12 hours. Storms will be moving through all night. I'm happy again.



The fragrant bed is happy too. The seedlings have managed with the water I've been giving them, but now they should really take off. Datura, Four O'clocks, and other seeds were scattered weeks ago. I even tossed in some zucchini seeds I didn't have room for in the potager.



It's 77 degrees and drizzling.

Horse poo.

I made the 15 minute journey into the countryside for a truckload of poo this morning. I arrived about 8:15. Thirty minutes later, I was on the road back to the house. I was back home shortly after 9am.



It's good stuff, well rotted and aged since last fall. They use pine shavings in the barn for the horses, so there was plenty of brown to go with the greens when they tossed it into a pile.



Before I left, I had moved some soil from two of the beds to the third bed at the top of the picture. I pulled the cabbages. With the temperatures ranging above 80 for almost a week now, even the stone head cabbage was starting to bolt. I'll try again in the fall. The snow peas never had a chance.



I put six cubic feet of the manure in each 4' x 8' bed.



In the larger, 4' x 16' bed, I put twelve cubic feet. My wheelbarrow is 6 cubic feet. This stuff is very nice and fluffy. Before planting next week, I'll borrow a small tiller from Carla and use it to till the stuff into the soil. I also built 2 more teepees for pole beans. I think I have 6 varieties, so I'm not sure where the others will go just yet. Maybe on the fence to the backyard.



The remaining poo was spread in the area of the new fragrant garden. Yes, there is a joke in there, but this stuff smells great. It's got an earthy, woodsy smell. No hint of the original origin.



I pruned the peach tree a bit. I transplanted a few datura seedlings to the fragrant bed. I pinched a few butterfly bushes. I took pictures. Before it gets too hot, I plan to mow the yard. The view from the hammock will be decidedly better this afternoon than last week.



It's only 77 degrees.

3:39pm - The yard was mowed. The hammock was stretched. I planted out a few things in the shady spots. I sowed my sunflower seeds. I'm about to stretch the hammock again. Right now, it's not the humidity. It really is the heat.

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.

Wind day.

I'm off for two days starting just over an hour ago. It's been a long day. I left piles of things for others to get done while I'm not there. I don't expect much to be accomplished in that time. They're going to be too busy with temperatures in the mid 70s and sun in the forecast.

Out back, the red clover in the meadow has burst forth.



The peach tree is still blooming. I got buzzed by a couple of bees this afternoon.



The redbud is about to put on a show.



More periwinkle. The whole backyard is covered in blue flowers.



Out front, the daffodils are looking good. Over the next few years, I will add more each fall, either from purchases or through digging my own from The Wild. One day, I'll rebuild the ugly steps. I'm waiting for a sale on concrete.



In the perennial bed, lilies.



Clematis



The dark maroon tip of a stargazer has emerged from the leaves.



Green and variegated sedum foliage is holding up fine to both wind and cool nights.



Bloody Dock.



The only brown patch left in the yard is designed to be that way. Compost and leaf mulch will be spread soon over cardboard to create the new fragrant bed.



It's 64 degrees and sunny. The wind has been blowing all day. Tomorrow, 75. I can't wait. I already need a nap.

New beds to fill.

By my calculations, I should have about 1000 new seed grown plants to place around the property this spring. Lots more seeds have germinated over the past few days since it has warmed considerably. I need new beds to plant them all in.

On Sunday morning, Carla and I spent a few minutes laying out the edgers for two new potager beds. I moved one of the wooden beds I built last fall. There was a reason I never hammered the rebar. I now have 128 sq ft of space to grow tomatoes. They still need final setting, soil, and some adjustments. I've got a month to get that done.



For semi-shade loving plants, I have a shady corner where many of the rooted hydrangeas have disappeared over the winter. If they return, great. If not, I have plants.



The meadow will be home to things like Ox Eye Daisy, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, grasses, etc. Direct sown seeds will also be tossed out with an emphasis on orange cosmos.



The upper meadow, behind the upper potager, will hold orange and red blooming plants that should contrast nicely with the fall color I get from the maples back here. More cosmos, Salivas, and reseedings annuals will be sown here.



The front slope will become a butterfly garden. Buddleia, coneflowers, rudbeckia, and lantana will be the foundation for this bed. 200 daffodils are already pushing through the soil. Deadheading will be key to keep this bed blooming through the fall.



The final bed is new. The stones have been adjusted. The greenery has been sprayed. In a couple weeks, I'll add cardboard and leaf mulch. Scented plants like nicotiana, four o'clocks, datura, and brugmansia will be planted here. This is by the garage door where I enter and exit most of the time. Coming home at night will be a joy.



There's a lot of new growth out there today. The overwintering plants have been shuffled out, covered with a white bedsheet to minimize sunburn. It's already 61 degrees and warming quickly. We should see a high in the low 70s. The garden center is busy as can be. Our last three days have seen a significant increase in traffic. Perennials will begin arriving this week. Shrubs, trees, and cool weather annuals are already on the tables. In another week, it'll look like a true garden center again. Time passes quickly when you're busy.

When I get home, I might spend a couple hours trying to level and place the edgers for the lower potager beds. I'm loving the weather.