Reds.

Time marches on, and soon you realize it marches across your face. The sun turns my face red on hot days whether in the garden or at the store where I rarely find myself inside out of the heat and humidity. The reds are also starting to appear in the garden.

Another poppy bloom, same plant as yesterday.



Red spider zinnias. I was so disappointed by the less than impressive size of these flowers last year. When I ordered seeds, I expected huge swaths of large red daisy-like zinnias. The flowers are about the size of a dime. Later, they'll be the size of a quarter. They look good in mass plantings, and I allowed them to reseed last year scattering seeds here and there. So far, they've only come up where the original planting was.



Lilies. I don't know the variety. I planted them last spring where they grew to about 6" tall and did nothing else. This year, they shot out of the ground with vigor and are just starting to open. If you look closely, you can see a Rudbeckia bloom about to unfurl.



Gerbera Daisy. Only one of the two reds have returned. Several of the white are blooming along the back of the house. This is surprising since Gerbers aren't exactly fond of the cold weather we had in January, nor do they like wet feet in winter. But a few managed to survive. The purple violas behind the gerbers are going to seed. I had planned to collect a few and scatter them around, but I missed my opportunity. This fall, I'll just have to move plants like I did yesterday.



Over the past 2 days, we've received more than 2" of rain. More possible today. The potager is taking a liking to this new kind of weather. Water from the garden hose keeps things alive during dry spells, but real growth happens when it rains. The row on the left were the last ones planted out. They share the same first name as me and John Wayne.



The beans, squash, okra, cucumbers, and nasturtiums in the upper bed are growing too. It will warm up later this week. I expect to have squash in 4-6 weeks.



Finally, the fourth attempt at growing Oakleaf Hydrangeas has begun. The root of the mangled plant has put out new growth. My cuttings don't seem to be doing much. It's only been two weeks. There is still hope.



It's 57 degrees, cool and cloudy. Today I've got to work on the AC unit. A cheap part needs to be located and replaced. I'll do that after I've had another cup of coffee. I had hoped to mow the yard, but the hateful lawnmower detests wet grass. I'd probably slip and lose a foot anyway. It's best to just leave it alone until it dries out a bit.

More planting out.

Pineapple sage
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun
Achillea Summer Pastels
Culver's root
Pink Obedient plant
Four kinds of sunflowers
Monarda - annual and perennial
Sage
Milkweeds

and plenty more. From this



To this



Maybe 200 holes dug this morning going through 2 full charges on the cordless drill. The remainders are either too small or their locations aren't decided. I'll get around to them.

A bicolor California poppy has opened near the street.



The Mountain Bluet is going to seed. I scattered five seed heads around the backyard in beds that need early blooms.



Red hot poker.



Dianthus. It just glows in the garden on cloudy days.



A single white gerber daisy survived the winter.



Today's been just about perfect for working in the yard. It's 79 degrees. Mostly it's been overcast with a breeze. There is some humidity in the air, but it's tolerable. The first mosquito bites are itching.

I'm not dead yet.

Two posts in one day. I just wanted to make note of these things in the yard.

Redtwig dogwood.



Nandinas.



Oakleaf hydrangea. This plant is finally shaping up. I hope it really takes off next year. I moved it again this spring.



Cotoneaster in the orchard waiting for spring. It'll be planted on the former snake pit.



Still not ripe.



Gerbera.



White hyacinth bean and moonvine.



Korean lilac and alternanthera.



Crape myrtle.



Burford holly.



Purple queen.



Rudbeckia fulgida and purple lantana.



Nasturtium.

Clearance

Everything must go, right? We won't discuss my personal life, but at the store, I spent the better part of the morning clearing out and pricing all the distressed plants. Some were things that had just been there too long. A little trim here and there, and it will mostly be good as new. I marked everything 50-75% off. As I was preparing to leave, my boss announced that any item on the clearance rack would be 50 cents for the next few hours. Fine. I brought home $7 worth of plants.



I got hardy ferns, lamb's ear, and two hanging baskets of gerber daisies (white, of course). I kept the tags with their actual name, but they're downstairs. I'm not.
The worst damage was to the ferns.



I got my clearance hosta and ferns planted in the north bed.





The gerber daisies were separated into 8 plants with 4 placed on the sunny side of the white bed, and 4 to the rear of the house.



I've got veggie sprouts in the potager. Beans



cucumbers



The asparagus I planted last week has grown a single sprout.



Tiny seedless grapes. Either Mars, Reliance, or Himrod. The tags got misplaced when I moved them this winter.



TOMATO BLOSSOMS!!!!!!!




The Potager



Over in the perennial bed, the knockouts are living up to their name even with only a couple hours of sunlight a day.





Linaria in 6-7 hour sun.



Black Eyed Susans are pushing up stems.



Poppies



Echinacea



Datura metel bloom about to open. I need to walk outside after dark.



Daylily seedlings. Collected from trades and along parking lot medians in Bethany Beach, Delaware.



True leaves on my dogwood seedlings.



And finally, a single solitary sprout in my Japanese Maple container. These were collected from Jackie's house in Virginia. I sowed them in mid-November. This one will be red.



5:50pm - Everything got some water. Planted out Sue's hosta too. Planted from the cloner: 4 Persian Shield, 11 petunia, and the third lantana. The kongmansia is just starting to push roots. I found more seeds for the white garden. The nicotiana germinated during my trip. I may save them for next year. I've already planted cotton seeds on the 25th.