Spring Fever

My husband said he wanted to buy me flowers for Easter.  I said I would rather have some flowers for my front yard.  Spring has been a long time in coming in Maple Valley.  We both had Friday off work and worked together along with our daughter, Soleia, to make the front yard beautiful.  Of course, the temperature dropped below freezing that night, so some of our plants look a little worse for wear, but over all the effect is lovely.  This annual is called Cineraria.  Another variety I am more familiar with is Dusty Miller which I have planted before.  I must say, the two plants don't look much a like.  I planted other varieties of this plant, and they don't look that much alike either.  This light blue variety didn't seem to be badly effected by the frost, but some of the others lost their flowers completely.  I am not sure if the plant is dead or will revive.  I plucked all the spent blooms hoping that will prompt it to grow more.

The yellow flower in this picture is called Leopard's bane.  Most of the others are Cineraria, just in different colors.  Leopard's bane is a perennial.  It is also known as arnica.  I have used arnica for years as anti-inflammatory.  I didn't realize this was the same plant.  It is really pretty.  We picked up these yellow flowers on our second trip to Home Depot because we needed a color that would tie the orange-red poppies with the blue and purple annuals.  We also added some white English daisies to this same bed for the same reason.

We chose a red cyclamen, though magenta were also available.  I had always thought cyclamen were for shad gardens.  I am interested to see how they do in the sun. They are also a perennial, though I don't think I have ever had one come back.

 This is an African Daisy.  It is referred to as a tender perennial, so we will see.  I thought the color was beautiful.

This baby is the new jewel of the front yard.  There were two ugly flowering shrubs that I hated in the front yard next to the road.  They filled in the space under the magnolia, but when that tree came down, now I had ugly shrubs to look at.  We dug and pulled and tugged and finally got the buggers out of the ground.  Then we planted two grasses on either side of this contorted fig.  The fig and the grasses should be less than 5' tall at their full mature height, and since they are planted already 2 feet lower than the rest of the yard, I think they will look really nice in this spot.  The wisteria on either side are somewhat contorted as well, so it should be a funky winter yard.  We planted another grass in the northeastern corner that should help to cover when the blooms die back on the crocosmia. 

The sweet scent of hyacinth.  I just love them.  The other day, the air was filled with this scent, though no flowers were blooming.  I don't know what it was.  But it made me smile.

When Soleia and I returned the second time to Home Depot, we saw this right by the check out stand.  Yes, I will admit is was a complete impulse buy, but I thought it was pretty.  It supposedly lights up at night, but I haven't seen it do so yet.  I  think it fits in my yard very well.

I was talking about finding secrets, whispers of spring in the yard.  These are gorgeous rich wine red lilies that will come up this summer.  They blend in with the bark and leaves, so they really are secrets at this point.

The next task is to get some compost.  When we pulled those shrubs out, we saw the soil was mostly clay.  It hasn't been amended since we've lived here, so that may be the original soil.  We do have patches of sandy soil in places in the yard, but I have added compost most years to all the beds and the yard.  I have more compost bins than anyone I know, but I rarely have enough for all my requirements.  Fortunately, Cedar Grove Compost is made locally and is easy enough to get.  I do wish I had a truck, however.  Years ago, my brother in law had a truck and I would borrow it to haul horse manure.  That was good the yard, but it not as good as finished compost.  But I can put the bags in the back of my car.  It will add to the wine barrel smell I am certain.

Growing, slowly

Between the time that I planted all the plants I received and today, it has snowed three times.  Spring snows are not unusual in this part of the world; if we wake up to white, it is gone by bedtime.  But, it has interfered with my hopes and dreams for my garden.  I am not certain of what died and what is still alive, though I have some good guesses.

This is one of the high bush cranberry that I planted in front of my porch.  The other is in a wine barrel in the driveway.  It looks alive, but it will be awhile before I see any buds I think.  The hyacinths at the base are beginning to bloom a bit.  I have other hyacinths in another flower bed that also look ready to bloom, but the stalks didn't grow much, so they are really short.  I am not sure what would cause that.

I love these plants.  They put off the most interesting textured leaves.  I bought them a year or so ago, so I have no idea what they are.  I have two bunches of them.  Even though they take ages to bloom, the leaves look so interesting for such a long time.  The little daffodils I picked up for free at Safeway one year while we were selling Girl Scout cookies.  Got to love the free stuff.

 These are some irises that I got from a man who was thinning his garden years ago.  I didn't know that you are supposed to plant irises very shallow, so I have yet to see them bloom.  Last spring, I replanted them in a sunnier location with that tuber showing.  I am still waiting for blooms.  This is the year they either bloom or I am yanking them from the ground.

This lovely twig is my Japanese Stewartia.  The buds are beginning to swell a bit, so I have hope that it survived any snow trauma. When it did snow, I would brush it off to keep it from freezing.  I don't normally baby my plants, but I have high hopes for this one.  I put it in a wine barrel after I put a large drain hole in the bottom.  I used Miracle Grow Moisture Control on top of old leaves to balance the quick release fertilizer that is Miracle Grow.  I friend of mine called it crack for plants.  Maybe it is, I don't know as this is the first year I have used it.  I am hoping to balance it with those partially composted leaves at the bottom, but who knows.  I was concerned about the growing medium as I am not terrific at remember to water.  I am going to be better about it this year with all my babies.

 I don't remember which plant this is.  It is the same size as it was a month ago, but I do think it is alive.

Another living thing that I am not sure what it is.  Both of these came from the bird sanctuary garden that I planted.  Also the same size as a month ago.  Sigh.

 This one is maybe not so lucky.  I am waiting to see.  Sure doesn't look like much yet.  I think it is the aronia because it is on the east side of the yard.

Promises promises with this baby.  I think this is the bee balm.  But I am not sure.  Maybe next year I will invest in Popsicle sticks so I can mark what I put in the ground.

This is the goji berry, I think.  The camera insisted on focusing on the rock.  Sorry about that.  I think it is alive, but it is hard to tell so far.  You can see in all these pictures just how wet the ground is.  Down right soggy.  The neighbor kids (and likely my own as well) keep traipsing through the beds.  I intend to threaten them so the no longer want to come see my kids.  Ok, maybe not, but the beds can't take too many foot steps.

I think I should be embarrassed about sharing these pathetic plantings, but they hold so much potential.  I am hoping that as the weeks slip by, I can show you how they are flourishing and not how I pulled them out of the ground.  I have discovered that my lenten rose is blooming and that I have a few crocus and snow drops blooming as well.  They are in the back yard, so I often miss what is going on back there.  I don't want to move them, because I want something to be blooming when I finally get around to wading through the tall grass that is too wet to mow.  I did opt to move my camellia to under a willow tree.  I think it will get a little more sun than in that back corner and I will be able to see it when it blooms.

I see shoots pushing up from a clematis and from the peony that I also had planted too deeply.  The columbine are beginning to fill out and some poppies are returning from last year.  So, there is life out there.  And with the trees down, I have so much more sun than I did before.  Of course, my windows are rain splattered without the tree protecting it.   But what is life if not balance.