Before the magic

I wanted to post some of the before pictures now that I have everything planted. All the bare roots plats have already started coming up and any that arrived as plants have settled into theri new homes nicely.
The first two are of the semi-rock garden - everything right now is so small but at least they are growing! I think in the next 2 years or so it will really be a beauty.
There are a few from the back yard with my bird and butterfly houses and again it looks like I am growing popsycle stick becasue nothing is big enough to see - but just wait until the full bloom season.
The last one is of the weeping cherry tree out front with the giant hyacinths. I just ordered 24 more bulbs the other day so that I can complete a ring around the tree.

Perennials a plenty and seeds a starting!

So I have planted all the perennials - with the exception of my coneflowers - they haven't arrived yet. I got in the three shrubs - the willow, the weigela and the beautyberry along with some additional purple wintercreeper under the sad looking forsythias.
This weekend I started my edamame, sage, lavender, and oregano seeds in the greenhouse. Last weekend I started the moonflowers and they are already a good three inches! Hopefully they take this year and I can add them as an annual ground cover in my rock garden.
I also planted some romaine and butter crunch lettuce seeds that I got from the garden last year. I covered them with a floating row cover just in case. I heard lettuce from seeds is not an easy task. I will wait a few weeks to see if anything comes up and if not, off to the nursery for plants I will go!
The past three days it has been over 60 degrees and close to 70 yesterday so hopefully we have shaken off the winter weather and spring has finally arrived.
Have lots of Spring bulbs blooming too - giant hyacinth, daffodils, and jonquils. The tulips are coming up and thankfully the new ones I planted aren't sterile, I can see the flower bulb inside the leaves. There are still plenty of sterile ones around the yard that I need to dig up. I heard if you dig them up and plant them with ones that actually do bloom they will not be sterile anymore. I have to remember that in the fall!
Pictures of the blooming beauties to follow. I was on vacation for the past week and have so much to rake, weed and basically take care of the pictures will just have to wait.

Perrennial Planting and Weed Control

So this weekend I put down my WOW Supreme to control weeds and also fertilize the lawn. I used 20 pounds for the front and side yards and I still need to take care of the back yard, but it really needs to be over seeded which is something I cannot do with the corn gluten that is in the WOW because it kills all seedlings, including grass.
I also got all of my plants in the ground - all 32 of them. I am still waiting for plenty more but I am headed out for vacation and needed to get them planted sooner rather than later. I finally got my pentasemon that I ordered last fall and I planted those out front as well.
I also started my rosemary and moonflower from seed indoors. Last year the moonflower did horribly - it never grew more than 2" and I think the squirrels dug what little I had anyway. Hopefully this year they will take.
I brought out all the painted bird and butterfly houses. They look really cute in the back. If it were even remotely sunny out at any given time this weekend I would have taken a picture to show - but it was overcast and misty the whole weekend - maybe when I get back!
The Katherine Hodgkins irises came up on April 1- they are so small and cute - again the picture will follow.
I also got a lot of outdoor decor the spruce up the place, and even without the sun or any blooms it really has helped!

Arbor Day is early this year

So I joined the Arbor Day Foundation and as a gift for joining I just received TEN trees!
2 Sargent Crabapples
2 Eastern Redbuds
2 Washington Hawthorns
2 White Flowering Dogwoods
2 Goldenraintrees
And as an added bonus I also got a fragrant lilac shrub. I have no idea where these are going to go, but my sister expressed interest in the crabappples and I am thinking of giving one of the dogwoods to another sister. Other than that, I am stumped (no pun intended) as to where the others are to go. I do have about two years to figure it out though. The foundation recommends planting them in a 'tree nursery' to get them started for a year or two and then transplanting them to their permanent location. Now I just need to find a spot to plant this nursery : )
And lastly - it snowed today. Ugh - when will it stop?!?

My lawn is #1 on the To Do list

Today I spent the day focused on my lawn. I aerated the front and side yards with my "Hound Aerator" that I just bought at Home Depot. There were so many ugly plugs all over the lawn which makes me think I did the right thing at the right time! After walking the Hound across the lawn I raked the HELL out of it to get up old growth and thatch (keeping in mind I held my core muscles the whole time for an extra work out)! The lawn looks better already - amazing what getting rid of the brown can do.
I also dug up the new portion of my garden, tilled the soil and added some compost. I am hoping to put in some scallions and lettuce seed within the next few week.
Yesterday I planted my Blue Girl Rose bush and am hoping that it isn't too early or cold - keeping my fingers crossed on that one!
The best thing I did today was help my neighbor (aka Mr. Scotts) order the organic material that he needs to take care of his lawn. I cannot even express the joy that I have that he has decided to go organic. I am really so proud of him because it takes a lot to get off of the 'drugs' to make this planet a better place. He is ordering from Garden's Alive and went for the WOW Supreme and some grub control. He is now so into the organic way that he is also ordering a tea composting kit! I LOVE IT! Now I have to hook up a system for tea composting too. I am looking for the 'passive' way which will require some stirring and manual labor because I don't want the thing sucking up the electricity for the aerating pumps.

Sping is SPRINGING!

You know Spring is on its way in New England when the crocuses make their appearance - and here are the first of mine to show their happy faces


The ground is nasty, tons of old mulch and fallen twigs but still they have arrived! Now keep in mind, I didn't plant these and they were not in this location last year! The nearest crocuses are in the front yard some 50 or so feet away, so I really have no idea how they got there, but whatever, they will be gone by the time what I did plant there shows up.
The kaleidescope and jimmy tulips I planted are coming up as well - we'll just have to wait to see if they really bloom though. My tulips are notorious for being sterile - lots o' green, no blooms. Hopefully the bulbs alive I sprinkled in the holes will help the blooming process!

Ah-Hah - so that's what that is!

So I went to the New England flower show today - the theme was Rhapsody in Green and it was all about organic gardening - right up my alley. I had quite the ah-hah moment while I was there when I saw this:
I have two of these in my yard and I had no idea what they were! I cut the heck out of one last year because it was way too overgrown and the other one sits next to my front porch steps. When I Googled it every site said it was a slow grower so I am assuming the ones I have growing have been around for a while. And it also says 'slight fragrance' HA! I think not those little white flowers smell like cat urine. I hate both of them! I would love to do away with them but I have so much going on right now they will receive a pardon for this year!
Oh - and before I headed off to the flower show I pruned my blueberry and rose bushes. They have both been here for years and never pruned! There was so much dead wood it's no wonder I never get berries or flowers! I am hoping that this was a good time to do it. Typically I have read late winer early spring so I am pretty much banking on this is that time!