Peony

Name: Peony
Variety: Paeonia Lactiflora 
Color: White and pink
Type: Perennial
Height: 3'
Light:  Full Sun
Fragrance:   Strong 
Bloom Time: Late May Early June
Location:   North East side of arbor

We brought the white ones from Saline. They harbored in Martin and Jessica's yard for several years and then a piece was transplanted here. I got the light pink ones from Duane Laws. It somehow survived the transplant and a miserable year, but it is growing nicely now.

Vegetable Garden

This week we finished planting the garden. We purchased tomato cages and only planted 12 of them. That still should be plenty. We also put up a new stake for the cucumbers. Last years worked fine but fell apart.

Along with 4 zuchini, 12 peppers, 12 tomatoes, 4 cucs, we also planted, 12 beans, 2 cantaloupe. We sprinkled insect killer around the beans and planted onions surrounding them. So far the bugs and the rabbits have left them alone. Perhaps neither one like onions.

We had cucs, tomatoes, cantaloups left over and gave them to the Gray family.

Dark Purple Iris

Name: Iris
Variety: Iris
Color: Dark Purple Flowers
Type: Perennial
Height: 3-4'
Sun: Full sun
Bloom Time: Late May

This root was a request from Martin and Jessica. They brought it last year from their garden in June. It struggled last year, but this year I have one beautiful bloom. They grow rapidly so I look forward to a lovely flower bed some day.

Chives

Name: Chives
Variety : Allium schoenoprasum
Type: Perennial Herb
Height: 18" to 2'
Light: Full sun
Flower Color: Lavender
Bloom Time: Early June
Location:  East of the water fall on the hill side

We have had these chives since we moved into the house. We purchased them at Colemans and our idea was to have chives to dry and eat, although we have done very little of that. On the other hand the poor plant was covered for a long time in vines and then grass until last year when I moved them and dug the grass out of them. I really didn't think they would make it and really didn't care because they are cheap to purchase. But they survived and this year they bloomed. We still look to cut some and eat them, but mostly they will go in our waterfall garden someday and look beautiful as they bloom in June.

Mum

I purchased three more mums at Sells Nursery. These are Garden Mum (Chyrsanthimum) called Tabitha Scarlet. There is no specs on the plant, but these had buds on them, which I cut off. I will keep the buds cut off until July. The instructions also said to mulch in winter. We'll try that and see if we can get them to survive the winter.

Weekly Report

Front: The weigela is in bloom. Everything else has faded.

South: The cat mint are in full bloom. The lavender flowers looks wonderful. I still need to trim back the tulip stems. My new purple iris has one bloom on it. Also the chives are in bloom.

Back: The polish prince clematis is in bloom; the iris are in bloom; the pinks are starting to bloom. The bridal spirea are still in bloom. The small new ones are blooming too.

We planted the zuchinni and peppers last night.

Annual Flower Purchase

We got up bright and early and went to both Pinter's and sell. At Pinter's we purchase

18 wave petunias in white and purple
12 regular petunias
12 yellow marigolds
8 white verbina
8 dusty miller
8 regular petunias
8 snap dragons
5 coleius
20 impatience
1 new guinea impatience
8 zinnias

12 bags of mulch

We purchased at Sells

3 mums for planing in the front. I'm still trying to get these to grow as a perennial
8 tomatoes
4 cherry tomatoes
8 cucs
4 cantaloupe
4 zucchini
2 packs of onions

We came home and we able to plant all the annuals in their pots except the verbina, because we need to paint those pots again. We had three flowers left over, but they were essentially free and we didn't really need them. We discovered that we had purchased way too many wave petunias. Only three will fit in one deck box and 4 in each hanging pot. So Wayne went to get the other box and we put it up on the diagonal part of the upper deck and filled it too. It was a great idea and we hope everything grows and looks great.