Sweet Woodruff and Strawberries

I guess I didn't mention it before, but just in case I forget, I will probably not use peat pots again since the roots on some of the plants have a difficult time penetrating them. Will probably plant in plastic 3" containers the next time around or in plastic trays with individual cells (although it is sometimes difficult to lift out the seedlings). Maybe root trainers are a good idea. I ripped off the peat pots before planting the seedlings in the ground. Last year, the marigolds planted into the ground with the pots seemed a bit on the small size.

Yesterday I worked on creating a border bed on the left side of the house (looking at the front). Chives were placed around the rose bush to keep the Japanese Beetles away. Petunias were planted in a row with Johnny-Jump-Ups in front of them. I spaced the Petunias closer than I probably should, thinking that if they become too crowded, I can always pull some out. In case their growth is stunted because they were planted too late, then even if they are stunted by half, they should fill in nicely.

I really like the Johnny-Jump-Ups and the Pansy Plentifall. They are very cheerful looking.

The Pansies do not seem to be fragrant though, so I'm a little disappointed about that. Still, they are pretty and I would definitely plant them again though. I planted them in both sun and part shade and they seem to be doing well in both, although I think the ones in part shade seem a bit stronger.

Although I've planted Johnny-Jump-Ups in the back where there is part shade, they seem to take to the sun better and have more flowers. I was worried that the sun might cause them to wilt, but it seems that with regular watering, they are fine. Hmm, the Johnny-Jump-Ups are supposed to be fragrant too, but if they are, I can hardly smell anything. Still, I would plant these again too. They also look pretty when weaved into a braid.

For next year, use May as the last frost date. All of the cool weather plants were planted too late this year, it seems since the weather is already beginning to become very warm. I also lost some plants since they sat around too long before being planted and were too overgrown for their tiny peat pots. The Chinese Lanterns developed a spider mite problem and the Heliotrope's edges have browned a bit (from overcrowded conditions with unseparated peat trays?)I probably lost half of the strawberries I planted, if not more.

Oh, and sometime last week I planted a hosta called Fragrant Bouquet.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to weed the steps to the street and also plant the 2 or 3 Chinese Lanterns I have left. Not quite sure where to put them though. I was planning to plant them to the left and right of the stairs, but I think maybe catmint might look prettier there.

There is so much landscaping work to do with this property that it's overwhelming! Towards the back of the house, there are weeds which need to be controlled so that poor C isn't always cutting them down. We are planning on using newspaper to suppress the weeds and mulch to cover it up. It would give the back a more woodland feel, hopefully. The lilacs and holly also need pruning and I need to find out what sex the holly is, so that I can find a mate to make berries.

Visited Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve yesterday during their yearly spring plant sale and planted them today. I thought that I should record the information on the plant labels here for future reference.

Polemonium Reptans (Jacob's Ladder)
Perennial
Blue flowers, May
Moist soil, shade, self-seeds readily
1 ft

Polemonium Reptans 'Stairway to Heaven' (Variegated Jacob's Ladder)
Perennial
Blue flowers, April-May
Moist to average soil, sun to shade
1.2-2 ft

Athyrium Felix-Femina (Lady Fern)
Perennial
No flowers
Moist soil, shade, clump-former
2 ft

Matteuccia Struthiopteris (Ostrich Fern)
Perennial
Separate Fertile Fronds
Moist soil, part shade to sun
4 ft

Polygonatum Biflorum var. Commutatum (Great Solomon's Seal)
Perennial
White flowers, May
Moist soil, part shade to shade
3 ft

Baptisia Australis (Wild Blue Indigo)
Perennial
Blue flowers, May
Avg. moisture, sun, interesting dry fruit
4 ft

Hopefully they will do well in the shade garden, especially since they are native plants. Wanted to purchase Joe-Pye Weed also, but alas, not enough budget. Maybe next time. =)

Today was a sunny and warm day. Weeded and mulched Harlow Carr, mulched sweet peas, culinary garden and shade garden. Also watered primroses, pansies and Johnny-Jump-Ups put in yesterday. Bagged lilies that were pulled out weeks ago.

Today I worked on the shade garden against the north side of the house. It was much easier to use the fork to lift the top layer of soil and to unsettle the weeds than it was to pull the "weedlings" out by hand. Although I had mapped out where everything was supposed to go, I only loosely followed the plan and altered it when I thought it would look better. Some of the seedlings that went out are

Arctic Primroses
Drumstick Primrose
Johnny Jump Ups
Pansy Plentifall

I forgot to add sweet woodruff. Hopefully I will remember to add them tomorrow. I also added some of these to the culinary shade garden that I worked on yesterday.

To my surprise, I found that the bed had already been edged with large red bricks now covered over with grass. The bricks appear to be heavy and well worn, so maybe it was installed a while ago. I had brought some edging material, but the bricks would look so much better. After all the work with tilling the soil, working in a bag of compost and planting, I was too tired to clean up the edges. Maybe tomorrow I will have a bit more time.

I also have to look into getting larger plants to help landscape the bed. I hope to include some ferns, hostas, astilbes and azaleas. Bowman Hill Flower Preserve is holding their annual plant sale through this weekend. I think I would like to go and pick out a few plants: some ferns, baptisa, bleeding heart, Jacob's ladder.

I haven't added the mulch yet, so maybe I will do it this weekend.

Today was an overcast day (about 55F) with a forecast of rain. Seemed like a good day to get some plants into the ground since the rain will help to water them in for free.

Set out some strawberries (Alpine and Fresca), sweet woodruff (Blue Surprise), nasturtiums, parsley, cilantro and dill into the culinary part shade garden today. Amended with half a bag of compost. Fertilized with hydrolyzed fish and seaweed fertilizer.

Also set out sweet peas at the front of the house near the metal fence. They are too small to secure to the fence at the moment, but hopefully they will grow quickly. Fertilized with hydrolyzed fish and seaweed fertilizer. Did not add compost since I may later plant lavender there (lavender likes lean soil)

Gave Harlow Carr 2 gallons of water mixed with Miracle-Gro Rose fertilizer. There are some dark spots on the leaves, but not all are round. Pulled affected leaves off and discarded.

Set out Bleeding Heart and Lily-of-the-Valley pips in the shade garden on the north side of the house. I brought them from Home Depot a while back, so I'm not sure how they will do since they looked rather dry when I took them out of the bag. I watered them in but did not fertilize these since I'm not sure if they will even grow. Soil was amended with some compost.