Spring Rush

April 26, 2014

Cut ornamental grass in the driveway area.
Divided sedum, Autumn Joy and moved some to the bed along the road
Planted Evening Primroses, Echinacea Prairie Splendor
Creeping phlox
Moved a large hosta from under the pine tree to the back door area
Divided catmint, although it is looking pretty sad


April 27, 2014

Put out Lupine Sunrise under the pine tree near the mailbox (also added extra seeds in case the transplant does not go well)
Planted Rocky Mountain Penstemons near the lupines
Also planted one Foxglove

Two hostas are emerging from the ground by the pine tree. Right now the shaded area is pretty moist.
Peonies stems have come up. Planning to move it into a more well lit area probably in the front of the bed.
Planted Grecian Windflowers Anemone blanda next to the lavenders which do not look like they are coming back.

Planted Rutgers tomato seeds and stock
Sowed a tray of Linaria maroccana Fairy Bouquet
Direct sowed stock to the hosta area
Direct sowed Sweet Woodruff Blue Suprise (packed for 2013) near the back door

Easy Breezy Plants

There hasn't been too much rain this April, but it certainly is a windy and chilly month! I'm always awed when I think about how plants are able to cope with weather that would leave me shivering in my gardening boots! [Ok, I don't have gardening boots (yet), but it seemed like such a good turn of phrase that I wanted to include it. It's not all the time that I think of these things, ya'know!]

Just for the record, here are pictures of some spring plants waking from their long winter nap. The bleeding heart and King Solomon's Seal are from Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve's plant sale. The bleeding heart has gotten bigger and looks so nice in bloom that I am afraid to move it. I should probably find another one at this year's plant sale, so that I don't have to! The Muscari in the bottom right corner of the picture has sad, droopy leaves and is not as vibrant and full-of-life as those planted by the mailbox. I suppose it has something to do with the soil. Those by the mailbox are in a drier location. I should move this little guy over there once it is done for the season...

On the other hand... the King Solomon's Seal were moved. I unknowingly left a few behind, which is what you see in the picture below. Not bad for a plant that has been disturbed. I will probably use more native plants since they seem pretty resilient for a novice gardener like myself.

Bleeding Hearts
Dicentra spectabilis
(now known as Lamprocapnos spectabilis, according to Wikipedia)

King Solomon's Seal
Polygonatum

The daylilies and quince were planted by the previous owners. There are maybe 4 scraggly quince shrubs in the thicket near the garage. It would be nice to move the quince, but I don't know where... 

Daylilies

Quince

The garden gnome is an Easter gift from my mother-in-law, R. He's so adorable and I love the unusual pose! He's in the garden bed by the entrance door ready to help me with my garden. Hm... maybe he is trying to work his magic on that sad looking Muscari in front of him... 

A Lovely Easter Garden Gnome
from my Favorite Mother-in-Law R

Springtime Mailbox Planting

This picture was taken yesterday:

Muscari and the First Daffodil

Behind the mailbox are the irises I planted a year or two ago. I hope they will flower this year :)

Flowers in April

So far, the muscari by the mailbox has come up and is looking beautiful. The daffodils are getting ready to open. I should probably plant a different variety since the ones that are currently there seem to have week stems which don't support the flowers very well. I don't have pictures now, but hopefully I can take some pictures tomorrow.

Bleeding Hearts and Jacob's Ladder

Sweet Woodruff, Hyacinth and Primrose

Jacob's Ladder

It seems that the Jacob's Ladder that is planted in an area with part shade is doing a lot better than the one planted in full shade. Unfortunately, I'm planning to move it so that I can plant 3 Sweet Box (Sarcococca humilis Fragrant Valley) in that bed. Then again, maybe I'll just plant it near the wall, since it is supposed to do well in dry shady areas where it is difficult to grow many plants. Unfortunately, it seems to be a slow grower. Decisions, decisions! 

My shipment from Park Seed came yesterday. In the box were:

• Hydrangea All Summer Beauty (1)
• Sarcococca humilis Fragrant Valley (3)
• Gaultheria procumbens Creeping Wintergreen (1)

I'm hoping to get them in the ground this weekend. 

Another sweet surprise came from Uncle L and Aunt J who surprised us with a tall Persian Lilac shrub on Easter. I've been keeping it watered and trying to figure out the best place to put it. 

Roadside Flowerbed

Today was a good day to cut back the overgrown and overwintered grasses. Some of the cut grasses were used as mulch, to be covered next week (hopefully) by some store brought brown mulch. The lilies I brought last year have made it through the winter, and I'm hoping that there will be some flowers this year.

I also planted the Foxtail lilies (Eremurus) that I brought from the NJ Flower Show. It seems to be the perfect spot for this plant. Since we are on a hill, the site should have great drainage and the area receives a heavy amount of sun during the summer. However, when I planted them, the tops were left exposed and I learned later that they should have been covered by 2-3 inches of soil. I'll need to remember to run outside and cover them up tomorrow! From what I've read, they won't bloom this year, but should definitely bloom by the third year. By the fifth year, they should really take off.

It's not much now, but hopefully it will look good in the summer. 

A few days ago, I also brought a gardenia which I'm thinking of keeping in the back of the house. There are a bunch of buds on it already. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will do well this summer. 

Just Arrived! Echinacea "Prairie Splendor"

I received my shipment of 3 echinacea "Prairie Splendor" plants today. I was never a big fan of echinacea's large cones, but I had a change of heart once I saw them in Gardens Illustrated magazine. I love their cute button shaped centers and their drought-tolerance. They arrived from Jung's without pots, so I put them in plastic pots with some potting soil and gave them a good watering. Hopefully they will perk up again soon. I wonder where I should put them....

Also, most of the seeds have sprouted by now. In the future, I'm definitely not going to use the plastic covers to keep in the humidity. This year, they have done so much better without the cover and there was less damping off than in previous years, if any.