Moving Day

Cold, wet, mid 40s, overcast and soggy.  Where is spring?  Despite the cherry in full flower now and the forsythias too, it was too gray today to take pictures.  Maybe tomorrow.

I used Holly Tone on the yellow looking meserve hollies on the berm, and on the yellow leaved dwarf buddleia 'Blue Chip" in the pot.

Today was moving day.  I moved a bunch of plants around:

The male kiwi vines 
The pots in front of the meters do not work there.  One pot was in standing water, like the rosemary was, and despite reaming out the drainage hole, it wouldn't drain.  The potting soil smelled rank.  The white plastic trellis, stuck in the two pots, just wobbled around disturbing any roots.  So I took them out, moved them to the far side of the patio wall, under the 'Bloodgood' maple, and we'll see if they scramble along the brick wall. I had to take out a big clump of Becky shasta daisies (I moved those to the back of the berm where they may peek up above the hollies.)

can I get the two vines to scramble on the wall, and up the deck posts?

These poor male vines have been abused and misplanted and replanted twice now, and badly handled since I put them in last year.  The female vines (to the left of this picture at the porch), look great.

The irises
I moved the bearded irises ('Beverly Sills' and 'Immortality') to the Birch Garden, and divided them into about a dozen plants.  Boy, did they multiply in one season.  I then moved some of the languishing Siberian irises out of the Birch Garden and into the wet Meadow's Edge.  I also divided these.  We'll see what they do, if anything.

The goatsbeard
When I planted the Aruncus dioicus last year it just about up and died in the hot spring and summer.  There was literally no above ground growth on it when I dug it up, potted it, and brought it in to the porch for winter.  It survived and is putting on growth in its pot.  I planted it out by the creek bed. 

(I didn't think it would recover, and ordered another one from mail order. I guess I'll put that one in the new garden on the east side where it will get afternoon shade.  Then I can see which does better.  They are slow to establish, I know that.)

Then I moved some cushion moss to make a little vignette in the birdbath that always rusted:

some vermiculite and mosses.

Snake Shapes

Pleasant, in the low 60s today.  Nice in the morning, overcast in the afternoon with a chill wind.  Another good cool day for hard work cutting gardens.

The 'Okame' cherry is thinking about blooming. . . .  thinking, considering, maybe, might do.  It still hasn't burst into full bloom yet, but some pretty pink blossoms have opened.  The 'Lynwood' forsythia out by the road has burst into bloom, though.

We got over two inches of rain yesterday.  The rosemary in the big bowl had several inches of standing water in it --- fatal for any plant, but particularly for rosemary, which wants dry soil.  The holes at the bottom had become completely blocked by thick roots.  I tipped the bowl, used sticks to ream out the holes, and drained the pot.  No easy task; that's a heavy bowl, especially with water in it.

We finished cutting the new garden on the west side, but the shape is a little too snake-like.   I want to widen the very left most side, to accommodate a largish Pagoda dogwood, and I want to make the curve curvier to the inside on the right.

More work to do.  Jim did a fantastic job adding soil from the Envirocycle pile to this garden.

Refilled the hummer feeders today.

Secret Garden

Very cold today, in the high 30s and low 40s, but chilly, damp and with a biting wind.

Flowering trees and leafing shrubs will not open; still nothing but tight buds on the 'Okame' cherry.

A good day, though, to cut the new sweep of garden that will link the west side walkway plants with the Birch Garden further out.

The idea was to make a Secret Garden, enclosing the space in a circle of overlapping half moon gardens with some openings out into the yard.

What we ended up with is a big sweeping S mirroring the curves of the border along the bluestone walkway to the back.

It still needs some shaping to get real curves in it and to finish the edges.  It doesn't form an interior circle, but with low and high plants it will offer a space with some privacy.  Much more to do to shape it pleasingly!

Jim worked like crazy on it, and together we got most of the space cut, if not the final edges and shape refinement.

It was so unbelievably cold that I did all this hard work digging and hauling and getting up and down, in my parka.  My ski parka!  I didn't even work up a good sweat.  But boy am I tired tonight.

Just as we finished it started to rain.

I'm thinking shrubs and an anchor tree, not a flower garden.  Let the Birch Garden be the flowery cottage garden, and let this area grow woody plants for a sense of enclosure.

Tax Day

Abundant sunshine, cool, in the 50s.

April 15, tax day: the Golden Peep forsythia has burst into bloom.  The Lynwood forsythias and the Okame cherry are still waiting but almost there.

This remaining single specimen looks much better than the low raggy line of dwarf forsythias.

4/15/11, with the tiny newly planted boxwood next to it

I took all the strawberries out of the crowded pots where they have never done well and transplanted them to the garden under the sweetbay magnolia by the hatchway.

Today I ripped out the vole damaged bun shaped false cypresses along the front walk.  They had no roots.  And I took out the new little iteas, which came right up, rootless.  I see no signs of tulips this year, but a few onion bulbs are coming up.  Now it looks like this, kind of barren:

4/15/2011

The two pots next to the center one have gaura that likes hot dry sandy soil.  I may plant them in the ground, they're really pretty all summer and might add nice movement and color to the front walk, against the brick wall.

A year ago this strip looked like this in spring:

4/13/2010

We brought the deck furniture up (after Jim sanded the deck) and had a glass of wine in the cool evening (no breeze), sitting out there.

More New Plants

Almost 70 today, sunny with a cool breeze.  Another good day to cut edges and dig holes.

I planted the Serbian spruce behind the hazels and 'Elizabeth' magnolia. 

Divided some of the 'Weihenstephaner Gold' sedums along the front edge of Meadow's Edge to make more (took out a few more liriope).

Planted the 'Blau Doneau' hydrangea along the east side (will have to cover it if we get more frosts).  Also planted the 'Winter Gem' boxwood on the east side.

Half of the Whiteflower Farm order arrived today.. awfully early for planting.

• 6 Karl Foerster grasses
• 6 Violas 'Rebecca' (where to plant these?)
• 3 Astilbe 'Bridal Veil"

Getting really busy now!

New Plants

Cold rain all day.  Grim, gray, drizzly and chilly, although the bright spot is all the grass has completely greened up!  The best thing for such a day: new plants.

I got a Serbian spruce (Picea omorika) at Home Depot.  This will go between the Elizabeth magnolia and the witch hazels near the driveway.  It gets to be a big tree, but relatively narrow and there's just enough room between us and Olmstead's.  I think it will tie together the magnolia and the hazels, and offer a little definition and screening along the property line.

At Gledhill I got a little boxwood (Winter Gem) to go on the new east side, and a couple bunchberry plants to add to the small patch under the Bloodgood maple.

The plan for the east side: existing stewartia and existing forsythia, then the Winter Gem boxwood for evergreen structure.  Then the new goatsbeard that is coming mail order.  The viburnum, and then the transplanted Blau Doneau hydrangea.  I already moved the foxgloves.  I can put some of the dug up liriope under everything.

Yesterday I dug up one of the struggling Bosnian pines (Pinus nigra) that was up on the dry hillside.  It's a little deformed and hasn't grown much, but I put it in at the end of the Nishiki willows, to anchor that jutted-out corner by the drainage outlet, and to screen Scott's house a little (some day).

The forsythia are finally starting to bloom.  Not much to show in all this cold and rain but there is definite yellow.

First Warm Day

It reached the low 70s today and was quite warm and nice.  There was still a cool breeze, though, and it felt unsettled.  Rain tonight.

Got a lot done! 

Jim and I recut the small garden by the driveway to mirror the line of the driveway's edge.  Took out a ton of sod --- and it was hard work--- just to make it slightly bigger and straighter.  I removed the mums and planted them around the patio and behind the paperbark maple.

Unfortunately with the curve on the other side, it now looks like a giant footprint.

I'm tempted to cut 5 varying little gardens on the right and make it actually look like a giant foot.  Or maybe not.  I might just expand the left side curve a little more so the "heel' isn't so obviously foot shaped.

Here was the wiggly amoeba shape last fall:

I transplanted all the perennial foxgloves to the new east side garden.

While I was at it, I moved a sundrop from Meadow's Edge to the Birch Garden, I divided a nepeta and put it next to the bench under the birch, I divided one of the Husker's Red penstemons to fill in a spot nearby, and I moved and divided one of the Frosty Morn sedums to Meadow's Edge to "mass" with the others.  Fun moving things around and making more plants on a warm spring day!

You can see the grass is greening up, but still no forsythia or cherry blossoms yet.

Edging

In the 50s today, quite nice in the morning, but a cold sharp wind came up in the afternoon.

Another good early spring day to do hard work.  I spent the entire day edging and filling existing areas, and it took all day to cut, edge, remove the spreading grass (seemed like it was one blade at a  time!) and then fill with some fresh soil.  I only worked on the east side around the spruce and cotoneasters.

Jim and I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do with the area behind the top of the driveway. Design issues!  I want to create a secret garden with overlapping paths and multiple entrances... I think we can do it.

New East Garden

At last a lovely day.  Still cool, but it got into the low 60s and was very pleasant.  Just a light breeze.  Still the forsythia is just brown twigs, not quite ready, and the 'Okame' cherry has not opened up its buds yet.  Night time temps have been in the 20s.

I put out the hummingbird feeders for the first time, to attract the early scouts.  Last year I put them out April 2.

Jim did an incredible job of filling the newly empty east side today with the soil + compost from Envirocycle.  The strip is now raised up quite a bit (some undulations to accommodate the window well and the plants already there).

With the new level, the more expansive edged curve, and with the insulation along the foundation bottom now hidden, I like this a lot!

The plants by the porch (Rose of Sharon, Pieris, the small trellis with Actinidia climbing it) all look great.  There is a beautiful groundcover Deutzia gracilis next to the Rose of Sharon that I want to spread and surround the rock and the feet of the Rose of Sharon.  The Pieris will get much bigger (but check those blooms already!!)

In the long empty space I think I will plant:

1. Dawn viburnum, tall upright, vase shaped and narrow.  Woodland Gardens located a 15 gallon plant for me!  Can I even handle that?  It will go between windows to soften the flat expanse of windows and siding.
2. I'll take the Blau Doneau hydrangea out of the pot and put it near the gas vent (will it keep it warmer??)
3. The pale yellow perennial foxgloves will go near the existing round dwarf pine on the right.
4. Lilyturf.  I'll put in all the ones I dug up from the front of Meadow's Edge,
5. Should I add the Goatsbeard Aruncus diocious?  Too big?  Too wide?  Hmmm.

Other ideas?

Curvy Curves

50s again today, cool and overcast.

I spent the day cutting the edges of the strip along the east side, now that the Golden Peep forsythia are out.  It is so hard for me to make curvy curves!  I tend to cut S shapes that are like slalom courses, very tight and very unattractive.  I really want just a straight line under the windows, but I need very wide very gentle curves coming in from each side.

So difficult.

Still cool, and still very cold at night, below freezing.  No sign yet of forsythia blooms on the 'Lynwood' big ones out by the road, and no sign yet of 'Okame's' cherry blossoms.

Icy overnight temperatures.  Tweet!