End of Season

We cleaned out the cantelope and cucumbers. We also cleaned up the deck boxes on the deck and the urns on the front porch. Things are looking rather spent now. Saturday we had a huge rain storm. The pond is filled up to the 1st pine tree. We look forward to doing some more work out there.

Fall is Here

We had a very, very dry summer. The fields were yellow and we had a struggle keeping the lawn green. However, we've had rain in the past couple of days...not a light rain, but a good drenching. Temperatures are cool. It's time to clean the cucumbers, cantelopes (only got one edible one) basil and onions out of the garden. We still have tomatoes ripening and peppers growing.

The black-eyed susans finally faded. Everything is pretty much gone. The ornimental grass in the front yard looks nice and we got another bloom of day lilies. It's time to do some reworking of the yard and some moving of plants.

Rain

It has been a very dry month again. Everything is yellow. We've kept things growing in the yard, but could use rain. It drizzled a little today, but we could use several days of lots of rain to green things up again.

Spirea Bonus

We got a second bloom on the spirea. It's not as big and showy as the first but it does add a little color and blossoms to a mostly bloomless front yard.

Last night I trimmed the big day lilies and veronicas and Wayne got the weds under control. We're just in a holding pattern until things go into dormancy.

Vegetables

Well, we had a bumper crop of zucchini and we are still harvesting. We've cooked, baked, sauteed and given it away. The cucumbers have really produced as well. We should get a few more there. The peppers are only now starting to produce. We finally got the pesky rabbits to leave the beans alone, but we haven't harvested anything yet. We've had three or four cherry tomatoes each night but nothing big so far. It's not been a good crop, but I'm hoping that by the end of September we will still get more tomatoes. There are two cantaloupes growing and I'm hoping to see those as well. We harvested several onions so they have been a success. Next year I'm going to do something a little different with those and put them on pots in the cart on the deck. The basil is over grown and we need to bring it in and try to dry it.

More Dry Weather

Everything is winding down this year. The day-lilies are expended. I still have campanulas growing but not much else in the front. Along the south side the new althea is blooming. I'm pleased with the progress of the roses and the small one has even shown signs of new growth. Another six weeks in the pots and we'll transplant them to the ground. I'm looking forward to fall and moving all sorts of plants. I'm going to try and put some of the new guinea impatiens in a small pot for the kitchen and I've managed to keep both the snow on the mountain and the oriental poppy alive.

More Rain

We had a little more rain in the afternoon on Sunday. Things are starting to get a little greener again.

More Needed Rain

We watched a storm move through from the north again. It rained quite a bit for more than an hour. Things are looking a bit more green and the weather is cooler

Needed Rain

We had more rain today--20 minutes in the afternoon and then a wonderful thunderstorm came from the north in the evening. We sat and watched it as we ate dinner and then moved into the house. Unfortunately it didn't stay long. We really need a whole night of steady rain. Everything here is so parched and dry right now.

Rain

It rained a little today, but hardly enough to soak the ground. Our neighbor to the south had the water on as well, watering our side as well. Little perks. Hopefully it will rain more.

Hot and Dry

Weather has been very hot and dry here. Because we had so much rain I failed to keep track of the last time it rained, but it's been weeks. Wayne has had to cart the hose around to water a lot. I think our system of watering this year is a little better. Still we have brown spots on the south side. Neither neighbor on either side is watering. I think with the price of gas, they can't afford it. However, it's not been too bad this year. We've had worse years where we've had to water all summer.

Having the roses in pots helps to control the water better. Bugs have found where we hid them so now we have to spray. Three of the four and doing well and have new growth. The red rose, though, while still green is not growing. That concerns me. I think we might lose that one after all.

New Roses

We received the new rose from Amity Heritage Roses to replace the floribunda that died. This is the Julia Child Floribunda. It has a wonderful fragrance but it has funny little fat dark yellow rose--not quite what I expected. This came as a live plant in a small little pot. The branches are very young unlike the roses from Jackson Perkins. It was $14.00 which is fairly cheap but the shipping/handling was $15.00. That was really steep, I thought. I guess they make their money through shipping. We watered it and then planted it immediately after dinner in the large pot and set it by the other roses, which are doing much, much better. We have a lot of new growth on them and are recovering nicely. Getting them up out of the bog and away from the critters has saved them.

New Guinea Impatiens

Name: New Guinea Impatiens
Type: Annual

We purchase one of these every year at the local nursery for the small table on our deck. They are a shade plant and so it works well, since the deck is shaded in the late afternoon. However, in the past these plants havent done extremely well. They usually produce a few flowers and look sort of nice. This year, however, the plant has done extremely well. We had rain every day for more than a week and in all that rain this plant has grown and bloomed. We discovered that it needs lots of water. We are now watering everyday rather than waiting for the soil to dry. It makes a big difference. This plant has tomato-red blooms and green foliage.

Day Lily

Name: Day Lily
Variety: Hemerocallis
Type: Perennial
Height: 3 feet
Light: Full sun
Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Early July

We dug this plant up at the church. It was one of those plants that were going to be removed and replaced so I got it for free. Unfortunately I have no idea what sub variety it is. However, it does bloom very well and this year was especially showy. The bloom season it short, but it is gorgeous. It's another one of those throw away plants that we rescued.

Balloon Flower

Name: Balloon Flower
Variety: Platycodon Grandiflora Sentiment Blue
Type: Perennial
Height: 12-14"
Light: Full Sun
Color: Blue
Bloom Time: Early July


I love these flowers. They get their name from the fact that the unopened flowers look like balloons. I think they are fun and whimsical. On top of that they have a wonderful show of flowers. I've had these several years and they never seem to disappoint.

Rain

We had a light rain yesterday, but it was enough to keep things watered.

Huge Rain

Last night a storm blew through. I was at the pool swimming. The rain came down in torrents. It sounded terrible on the fiberglass roof. But it was nice to be in the pool safe and relaxed. It finally let up enough to make a dash to the car, but it was still raining. It was dark and gloomy out even at 8 pm. It rained all night and supposed a lightening bolt hit close to the house (our renter said it shook the house). By morning the pond was fuller than we've ever seen it. It's up to the first pine tree and the small tree is partly underwater.

Bunny Rabbit Problems

Bunnies are cute. Bunnies are happy. Bunnies eat plants. Bunnies are killing my beans, roses and pinks. GRRRRRR. Saturday monring I looked out and saw Mr. Bunny eating on my moss phlox in the front yard. Ok. I'm not going to take special precautions there because I have tons and they could use a little pruning. However, this morning I saw one munching on the pinks. They are almost to the ground. We are spraying the beans with soapy water and the roses with insect killer. We're going to start on the pinks as well. Every night.....Stupid bunnies!!

New Plants

List of new plants in the garden:
1 spirea along the front walk
5 campanuals along the front walk
1 shrub althea by the south east corner of garage
4 roses by the new arbor
1 hydrangea by the deck steps
1 butterfly bush on the north east corner of the house
3 bridal spirea along the east side of the garden

Too Much Rain

We've had rain off and on for a couple of weeks. The ground is saturated and even the grass doesn't look great. Our vegetable garden is bogged. However, all the new plants are growing well.

Campanula

Name: Campanula
Variety: Campanula white clips
Type: Perennial
Height: 4-6"
Color: White
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Mid-Late July

I purchased these flowers many years ago when we lived in Saline. They were so impressive, growing in poor soil and having a very long bloom time. However, they were quite expensive so I only bought a few. They grew and did well. I decided to try them along the sidewalk border. I have not had a lot of luck with flowers there. I purchased 5 plants and all did fairly well. This year I purchased 5 more. Now I can get them for under two dollars so I will keep adding to them until I have a nice border.

Day Lilies

Name: Day Lilies
Variety: Hemerocallis Stella D'oro
Type: Perennial
Height: 12"
Color: Gold
Sun: Full sun
Bloom Time: Early June

These are shorter day lilies and the variety that is suppose to be continuously blooming. I purchased two pots several years ago and planted them by the larger day lily. They didn't do very well so this year we transplanted them into three areas. I purchased two more pots and we planted those as well. They are doing much better this year and I expect to see a lot of blooms over a longer period of time.

Daisies In Bloom

Name: Daisy
Variety: Chrysanthemum superbum
Height: 6-12"
Color: White
Type: Perennial
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Mid June

I purchased this daisy many years ago when we lived in Saline. Camilla's favorite flower is daisy and so she insisted that we dig them up and take them to the new house. So we put them in Martin and Jessica's yard until we had a place for them. About 5 years ago they dug up a piece, which I split in two. They have grown and flourished and now need to be divided again. These are shorter daisies than the normal shasta daisy and a little more compact. I wanted something to go in the front of the bed. These work wonderfully. If I dead head them, I can get a little longer bloom time.

Beans

Wayne planted two of the 8 bean plants that are growing. As of yesterday nothing had eaten them. The garden is looking better after a week of no rain. We've had very cool weather, though, so only the zucchini look like they are growing--still they aren't dying.

Spirea In Bloom

Name: Spirea
Variety: Goldflame
Type: Deciduous bush
Flower Color: Dusty Rose
Height: 3' by 3 ' wide
Sun: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Late May Early June


The spirea are in bloom. They are a lovely fushia flower and each of the 9 shrubs is covered with flowers. I clipped the blossoms off the newest one so that it would concentrate on roots not flowers. So far in the garden something has been in bloom since the daffodils in April.

Working

Last night Wayne mowed the lawn and I weeded around the garden. Our plants, which have large stems have yellow leaves--too much water. The garden is too far into the bog and we need to let this dry out. I'm also concerned about the honeysuckle vine--it too has yellow leaves. Hope we don't loose it and the vegetables and flowers. There was a short rainfall this morning.

Arbor With Gate

We once again tackled staining the arbor Wednesday night. The weather was perfect and we got quite a bit done. Tonight Wayne is out there again. Most of what was left was high stuff for him to do. It's looking really great.

Rain

Wednesday morning it rained quite hard until after lunch. Then the sun came out and things dried out a bit. Still the grass and garden was very wet.

Weigela

Name: Weigela
Variety: Weigela Florida Java Red
Color: Pink with dark leaves
Type: Shrub
Height: 5' x 4'
Sun: Full sun
Bloom Time: Mid May

We purchased this for about $6. It was a small shrub and has taken awhile to grow. It's suppose to get taller than the spirea, but right now it's smaller. Still it flowers out beautifully in the spring time and has interesting foliage in the summer. It doesn't have a good fall show.

Tulip Tree

Name: Tulip Tree
Variety: Liriodendron tulipifera
Type:Decidusous Tree
Height: Tall--70 to 90'
Light: Full sun
Flower: Yellow
Bloom Time: June
Location:  Front Yard parking strip 
Care:  Prune dead wood as needed.   Apply 2 fertilizer stakes for flowers in spring.

Summer Redbud

For every one of the beautiful flowers a seed pod developed. This is the first year that has happened. It was incredible. Wayne and I spent at least 15 min. pulling seed pods off the tree. I'm not certain what would have happened, but we don't want it to expend energy making seeds. We prefer it to grow up.

Summer Pear

The pear trees have also lost their flowers have fully developed leaves. They seem to be healthy. After nearly 5 years they are now over 10' tall.

Summer Lilac

The flowers now have died. There was a wonderful show. However, the leaves are always a lovely cool addition to the summer garden. Wayne clipped all the dead blossoms so as to direct the growth to the roots and to better flower production next year.

Rain

At 5 pm last night a huge storm blew through. In some places there were 70 mph winds. We got hit with strong winds and then a down pour. The plants weather the storm fine. Only one spirea looks a little ragged. Now it is terribly hot. The worst part was the fact that the power went out and still is not on.

More Working

Thursday we ran out to the new arbor and started to get it stained. I got behind the vine and so now we won't have to worry about it climbing up the unstained lattice. We only finished about 1/4 of the work.

We planted the new shrub althea on the south east corner of the garage. It looks healthy and we're not moving it.

We dug up the old butter fly bush and planted a new one--this is a compact and should be a little smaller. I carefully read the instructions. We did a better job of conditioning the soil. Hopefully this will live. I'm posting instructions so I don't forget what to do. I think this is a warmer climate plant and needs to be treated with more care--like roses.

We moved the wrong hydrangea to the south side behind the new peonies. Hopefully it will be shaded enough to grow and doesn't get transplant shock. The nightly rain will help it. We then planted the hydrangea to match the other two. It's all leafed and blooming. The other two are growing slowly. I think it takes awhile for them to wake up, but they do have healthy growth.

The roses roots are leafing out finally. We have good growth on all but the scrawny one. Still it has a few leaves.

We discovered that redbud tree was covered with seed pods. Rather than let them mature and fall, but pulled them off. There was a considerable amount.

Wayne put in the basil, finally. That just leaves the campanulas to plant.

We dug up the burning bush that is wilting. We augmented the dirt and raised it up. Wayne and also dug a ditch for water flow. We cannot imagine what has happened to it, but too much water. There was nothing on the web to help.

Rain

It rained a good deal Friday night and then last night we also had quite a bit of rain. The walks and roads were really quite wet. Good rain means we don't have to chug that hose around the yard---at least Wayne doesn't have to.

Rain

I started sprinkling yesterday afternoon, but stopped by 5 pm. However, shortly after I arrived home, there was a down pour for several hours.

Lots of Work

Last night Wayne mowed lawn and I planted more flowers. I did the big urns by the front door, park bench and the pots on the front steps. I still need to do the cala lilly. Next I planted the dianthus in small pots in the back. I had three extra so those went into the perennial beds in between the chedder pinks and the astilbe. They will be fine there until I can transplant the asters from the front.

I dragged the hose up the deck and thoroughly watered pots. Some plants were in distress--the hanging basket, the oriental poppy and the New Guinea impatiens. I washed off some chairs and tables but more cleaning needs to be done before it's set for the summer.

I also trimmed the veronicas a third . They get really leggy and do much better if they are trimmed.

After Wayne finished the lawn, we planted the red althea. It is healthy and hopefully will do well on the southeast corner of the garage. The soil is deep top soil and it will get plenty of sun, so it should.

The rose bush that had the water issues I was concerned about is leafing out already. The others have lots of new growth but no leaves yet. Maybe we should drown more of them.

Troubles

We discovered that one of the new burning bush was dying and the other was also withering. We've trimmed off all the dead but it hasn't stop the spread. Next thing is to dig it up and see what we can find. Are the roots too wet or is this bug?

Also we have problems with drainage around the roses. With the trench all the water drains into them from the lawn. We're going to need to dig another trench, fill with lava rock and then a french drain at the other end. It worked before, it will work again. I don't want to lose the roses.

Planting

On Friday afternoon we planted the following:
12 tomatoes
16 peppers
1 container small unions
4 cucs
4 cantelope
4 zuchinni
still to plant--beans
basil

Flowers:
16 impatients
1 new guinea impatient
4 petunias + 2 vines in each of the 4 deck boxes
4 petunias + 1 white ground + 1 spike in each square deck planter
6 begonias in 6 clay pots
4 tall and 4 short zinas in the kitchen window box
still to plant:
6 front boxes
4 small clay pots
large white deck pot

We purchased:
5 white campanulas
1 red althea
1 purple butterfly bush
1 orange poppy
1 dianthus chedder pink neon star

I didn't find any lamium, so I'm going to try and split the one I have.

Rain

After more than a week without rain, we had considerable Friday night. The lawn needed it.

Walmart Clematis

Name: Clematis
Variety: Clematis Polish Spirit
Color: Lavender
Type: Perennial Vine
Height: 6' or more
Sun: Shade or Part Sun
Bloom Time: Late May

I purchased this 3 years ago as a root at Walmart. It was rather cheap and I really wasn't out a lot if it didn't grow. The first summer it made progress but I was constantly tying it to the trellis. I did the same in 2006 and 2007. Each year it grew a little more. This spring, though, it is fabulous. It was my intention to have the trellis under the upper deck covered with clematis and now this has the start that is needed to meet my goal.

This is a lovely delicate blue with a large fuzzy middle. It's a little more ornate than the common clematis. My only problem is that when the flower dies back there is a fuzzy mess to clean up. However, it's a small price to pay for this gorgeous show of flowers, which can be seen so beautifully from the path behind the house.

Iris

Name: Iris
Variety: Bearded iris
Type: Tuber
Height: 2"
Sun: Full Sun
Flower color: Light Lavender
Bloom Time: Mid-May
Location:  Perennial garden west of garden; south of water fall bottom of hill


I have no idea what the variety of this iris is. It was given to me by a friend. Iris tubers are actually very expensive but they divide nicely and sharing is always a plus. These are a beautiful blue. Last year they came up but didn't do very well. This year they are up and blooming beautifully.

Hot Weather

We were gone over the weekend and came back to hot dry weather. It had been 83 degrees. Today was cooler but there is no rain. Our lawn was pretty dried out, but the worst part was that we had dead branches on one of the burning bush we planted last year and a little bit of dead leaves on the two bridal spirea that we planted two years ago. Those two plants have really struggled and I don't want to lose them. We clipped back what we could and then put the water on the whole area to see if we couldn't revive those that were in need.

Lamium

Name: Deadnettle
Variety: Lamium maculatum 'beacon silver'
Type: Perennial
Height: Ground Cover
Sun: Part Shade
Flower Color: Purple
Bloom Time: Mid-April through Summer
Location:  under the arborvitae on both the north and south sides of the deck stairs.
Care:   None

Walmart Hosta

Name: Hosta
Variety: Hosta undulata
Type: Perennial
Height: 14"
Light: Shade
Flower color: Lavender
Bloom Time: Early July

I purchased these as bare roots at Walmart and they were pretty cheap. They aren't as big as showy as the ones I bought a Home Depot but they do come up much earlier and as a result add a very pretty foliage to my spring shade garden. They tend to wither in the hot summer and seem to need more water.

Planting Roses

Last night we had a clear, although cool, evening and were able to get the holes prepared and the bare roots into the ground. The bare roots already have buds on them, so I have no doubt that they are all alive and growing. The trick this year is to make certain they grow a very strong root system.

Rain

A storm blew through last night. We received some rain in the night and some more today.

Planting Beans

On Monday I put 15 little pots on the cart on the deck and planted 15 bean seeds. I am trying, once more, to grow bush beans. This year I hope I can get a good enough start on them that they will not die in the garden.

Preparing for Roses

The roses came yesterday. I was really very excited. However, there were just 4 naked stems/roots in one plastic bag. They are tagged and there was a packing slip, but nothing about color or type. Yikes. I had to go to the web to find out what they were.
I got:
Floribunda--Moondance, white
Floribunda--Simply Marvelous, pink
Grandiflora--Southern Belle, yellow
Grandiflora--Wild Blue Yonder, deep fushia

I hope they look good together.

Wayne finished digging up the grass and putting down the edging on the south spot. Now both are ready for top soil and Miracle Grow garden soil. They will stay in the plastic bag until we can get dry enough weather to do this--not today and tomorrow Wayne has meetings. They will be ok in a cool dark spot, so hopefully they will make it until Monday because we might not get to them until then.

Rain

Steady showers for much of the day

Lilacs

Name: Lilac
Variety: Syringa Vulgar
Type: Shrub
Height: 8'
Sun: Full Sun
Flower Color: Deep Purple
Bloom Time: Late April
Location:  Front north of house, south of garage

I didn't keep the variety of lilacs other than the common vulgar. I'm not certain I ever had that information because these came from a local grower. They are doing so well. Last year the large bush had some sort of fungus so we pruned it out. Thanks to the internet I was able to save this beautiful bush. The smaller plant is also doing very well now that we've replanted it in better soil. I look for many many years of beautiful lilacs. These are a deep dark french purple and have a very light scent. I love seeing them very day as I drive home from work.

Candy Tuft

Name: Candy Tuft
Variety: Iberis Sempervirens Snowflake
Type: Perennial
Height: 8"
Sun: Shade
Flower Color: White
Bloom Time: Late April
Location:   North side of the deck in back yard

These are very prolific and flower profusely. They seem to be very hardy and have no trouble adapting or thriving. They are a wonderful accent to the bleeding heart in my shady corner of the garden.

Rain

It's raining lightly today, but if it rains most of the day, we should get a good soaking. I need to keep track so we don't let knew plants get into distress before we water them. Thus the trouble with living in a rainy climate that has bouts of dryness.

Removing Grass

Wayne spent an hour out tonight preparing the spots in front of the new arbor for the rose bushes. He has the north side done and looking really great. We will need to condition the soil, but they are ready for roses.

Today I purchased fertilizer stakes for the trees and shrubs. I bought 20 for fruit, 5 for regular and 10 for evergreen. It's a little short, so I hope I can make due.

Grape Hyacinths

Name: Grape Hyacinth
Variety: Muscari Blue Spike
Type: Bulb
Height: 6"
Flower Color: Blue going to purple
Sun: Full
Bloom Time: Mid April

Well, I've planted these in the wrong place. They are coming up and look nice, but they are behind the moss phlox and can't be seen. Unfortunately, they will have to be moved next fall. I think they need to go by the mailbox.

Barberry

Name: Barberry
Variety: Berberis thunbergii
Type: Shrub
Height: 5' x 6'

These are really filling out nicely--especially the one by the lilac bush. It had dead branches and upon pruning it, the branches filled out and grew very well. I've cut back the others to get the same kind of grown. They are in full leaf now. In the fall they will turn crimson.

Tulips

Name: Tulip
Variety: Maureen (white)
Mrs. John Scheepers (yellow)
Menton (peachy pink)
Type: Bulb
Height: 18"
Light: Full sun
Flower Color: See Above
Bloom Time: Late April
Location:  South side of garage

The three other varieties finally came up and bloomed. Actually I was more impressed with the Ad Rem variety that was sent as free. They bloomed sooner and were a lot more colorful. My only complaint was with the white ones. I had only 4 of the many bulbs I purchased come up. I think I will check with the store on that purchase.

Bleeding Heart

Name: Bleeding Heart
Variety: Dicentra Formosa
Type: Perennial
Height: 20"
Light: Shade
Flower Color: Pink with white drops
Bloom Time: Late April
Location:  North side of the deck

This particular plant was one purchase many years ago when our daughter was a teenager. She chose it as her special plant. When we moved we took it to our son's house and he nurtured it. Then when we were ready in our new house we took a piece. It grows and blooms and thrives. We have also sent a piece to our daughter in Wichita. Hopefully it will bloom there as well.

Moss Phlox

Name: Moss Phlox
Variety: Phlox subulata
Type: Perennial
Height: Ground cover
Light: Full sun
Flower Color: fushia
Bloom Time: Late April
Location:  Front under arborvitae by garage, in front of lilies, in back on the water hill.

These have been divided and transplanted many times. Right now they are in the front by the garage and in front of the daffodils. They are a wonderful way to bring color into spring.

Red Bud Tree In Spring

Name: Eastern Red Bud
Variety: Cercis Canadensis
Type: Deciduous Tree
Height: 35'
Light: Full sun
Flower: Neon Pink
Bloom Time: Mid April
Location:  North side of back yard
Care:  Trim dead wood and lower branches as needed.  Fertilize with stakes for flowering shrubs in spring.

Checking Things Out

I walked around a little tonight. The bleeding heart is growing nicely and the candy tuft is getting ready to bloom. We have moss phlox in bloom and the grape hyacinths are up although they are a bit disappointing. The daffodils have faded. The tulips are still growing and we're getting more colors.

The grass seemed very dry. We had very little rain in April, which was unusual. Wayne is going to have to water the lawn already in the year. I need to get out and get more pictures of plants. I also have a lot of weeding to do.

Cold Weather

The temperatures have turned cold although we've had no precipitation. Yesterday Wayne could not get out to finish the transplanting or removing more grass.

Tulips

Name: Tulips
Variety: Adrem
Type: Bulb
Height: 18"
Light: Full sun
Color: Reddish Orange
Bloom Time: Early April
Location:  South side of garage

So far only the orange and the apricot bulbs have come up. There are lots of unopened blooms and so I'm hoping that we'll soon see the yellow and white we bought. There are spots where the bulb did not bring forth full foliage. I'm a little disappointed in these although right now those that are up are very beautiful.

New Bridal Spirea

We purchased 3 new spirea. These are the large bushes that get 6' x 6'. This variety matches the older ones and are renaissance. Once they get bigger they should be filled with white bridal blossoms. We planted these along the north east side of the garden as the screen for our vegetable garden. We paid $25 each and purchased them at Plymouth Nursery. The older ones were purchase about 3 years ago and have not grown very much. I'm not certain what we can do better for them. But they keep coming back each year. My only hope is that after 5 or 6 years we'll see some more growth.

Spring Spirea Foliage

Name: Spirea
Variety: Goldflame
Type: Deciduous bush
Flower Color: Pink Fushia
Height: 3' by 3 ' wide
Sun: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Late May Early June

I love this variety of small spirea. They have these wonderful burnt orange leaves in the spring that gently turn yellow and then green. In fall they reverse the process and provide brilliant fall foliage. Plus in early summer they are loaded with pink blossoms. They are a wonderful find.

Cleveland Pear Spring Color

Name: Cleveland Pear
Variety: Pyrus Calleryana "Cleveland Select"
Type: Deciduous tree
Height:30-50'
Light: Full sun
Flower Color: White
Bloom Time: Early April
Location:  Front of house north and south side
Care:  Prune dead wood as needed.   Apply 2 fertilizer stakes per tree in spring.

 

Spring Garden Work

We spent some time in the back yard. I did a little weeding in my perrennial garden. The astilbe, iris and black eyed susan are up. I was really excited to see that. There are little signs that the balloon flowers are greening. I'm concerned about the poppies. My mother had rows of them. Why can't I grow poppies?

Wayne moved grass and we transplanted the large peony to it's permanent location east of the arbor. I have redesigned the arbor location many times and I still don't think we have it right yet.

We took pictures of the pear trees in bloom, the orange tulips and the spring color of the spirea. I saw that the grape hyacinths are coming and the regular hyacinths are in bloom.

Getting Out Deck Chairs

We spent some time last night getting out the chairs. The new ones we purchased last summer were a little rusted. They are enameled and not suppose to rust, but hopefully we can fix that. I noticed that the red bud tree is now budding and that the bleeding heart is well above the ground. The honey suckle vine that we transplanted is doing well and growing. Now we need to get a date to stain the new arbor before the vine grows too far up it.

Forsythia

Name: Forsythia
Variety: Forsythia Espinosa
Type: Shrub
Height: 6-8'
Light: Full sun
Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Early April
Location:  NE corner of lot

This is the first year that the forsythia bloomed really well. I'm not certain if it was the lateness of spring or just that they are now mature enough to do well. I'm certain that our neighbors appreciate the bright yellow view from their back doors.

Daffodils

Name: Daffodils
Variety: Dutch Master
Type: Bulb
Height: 18-20"
Light: Full sun
Color: Bright yellow
Bloom Time: Early April
Location:  Front of house 

The daffodils have bloomed gloriously. Every single bulb in both groups has come up with a bright yellow flower. I'm so pleased with the efforts and with the cost. It was worth it.

Crocus Disappointment

All five groups of crocuses came up. However, there was only one group that bloomed and of that I had 3 blooms for a very short season. I was really disappointed to say the least. I am going to dig those up and find a new place to plant crocuses. I think that around the mailbox might be ideal. It gets more sun and will do better.

A Weekly Walk About

Plants are still starting to come alive. The Walmart hostas are up. They are an earlier variety but not as nice as the others. The dogwood has swollen buds but nothing yet on the red bud. I'm a little concerned about the blue spruce. It looks like it has buds, but the color is not too good. I will look forward to seeing a change with some fertilizer.

The spirea we moved is doing well and has lots of buds. I'll happy with that progress. We moved two of the ornamental grasses. I really wanted to give them away, but have no one to give them to. They are really really hardy and Wayne did some work to get them out. We moved the little stella doro day lilies in their place. I think they will do better there. They were just too crowded with the big yellow day lily. While he did that I did some more dead heading on the spirea.

Raining and Cold

The weather turned wet and cold. Snow is expected over the weekend. I'm certain glad we got yard work done on the day we did.

Moving Plants

It was cooler than on Monday (which turned a high of 71 degrees) but still nice enough to get outside.

Wayne moved the stubby spirea in front that was next to the weigela to the area with the bayberries by the two other spireas. We had a spirea die there last year and this one will fill in the space. We will replace it with a nice spirea from the store, which we hope to purchase on Saturday. The root system was rather shallow and so hopefully it will survive. It was still fairly dormant although the buds on the spirea are beginning to show. It rained during the night and the ground is still very wet.

Wayne moved the Hal's honey suckle vine to it's permanent location outside the arbor. We will train it up the side. Now it's a race to get the staining done before it starts to grow. The root system was fairly extensive and we had to cut a big root. However, these are fairly hardy plants and propagate easily so I am optimistic it will survive.

I did a some dead heading on the spirea and cut the asters to the ground. Wayne trimmed a couple long branches off the forsythia.

We discovered one crocus in bloom. It looks like more are coming.

64 Degrees

Spring at last!! It is sunny, gorgeous, warm weather. Finally!! Plants should start popping now. I'm really impressed we got the crab grass control on just at the right moment.

Lawn Fert Day

It was a beautiful sunny day. I'm glad we got out of the house and drove to conference. Wayne applied the 1st application of fertilizer on the lawn--Scott's crab grass control. It is finally spring.

Cold, Wet Day

It is cold, dreary and rainy. Highs will be in the high 40s. Good news--it's not snow.

Touring the Garden

It was a beautiful day in the high 40's. We took a tour around the yard and found the many of the tulips up on the south side. On the east side we found evidence of the peony coming up and the bleeding heart is up above the ground. We dug up a piece of the peony, some of the candy tuft and some lavender to send to Melissa.

Along the north side things are still dormant. However, in the front of the house all of the daffodils are up and we see a few of the crocus and grape hyacinth. The day lilies are also starting to grow.

In the back the glove arborvitaes took a beating this winter. We may have to tie them up to get them to grow right again.

Warm Rain

It rained enough in the night to melt most of the snow. Everything around the yard is gone although there are still piles of snow in the church parking lot. This week temperatures should be in the 40s. It's time to think about crab grass control.

More Snow

It snowed about 3 more inches in the night. However, the weather is sunny and bright today. Hopefully the snow will melt before late afternoon.

It Is Spring Yet?

We've had a very loooonnng hard winter--the most snowfall since 1880. There are a few signs from the garden. The lilac buds are swollen and Wayne has seen the tips of the new tulips on the south side of the house. Temperatures are still quite low.