Friday in the Garden

Did you ever just have one of those days when
every picture you took was blurry?
I walked around the garden yesterday to take
some pictures of what was in bloom or of interest
and when I got them uploaded about all of them
were blurry. I was so frustrated. Some days my
glasses and the camera lens just do not line up I
guess. LOL!
But since I was having one of my rough days
when the Fybro was getting to me and my energy was
low I just said “ this will have to do”.
So these are not going to be the best pictures for
Fertilizer Friday. Sorry Tootsie Girl, I will try harder
next week.

So everyone join in with us
and our wonderful hostess Tootsie from Tootsie Time
and “Flaunt Those Flowers”.

I noticed that the spiders are busy in the flower beds.
Miss Fairy needs to clean her wings.

The Alba Bleeding Hearts are still in bloom.
Since this was my first Spring with them in bloom
I am really surprised at how long they keep their blooms.

The berry vines along the woods are starting to
bloom now.

There are little peaches growing now on the old
peach tree in the back yard.

The oak leaves are getting bigger and those old fuzzy
blooms are laying all over everything in the yard.
They are messy things and I always come back to
the house with at least one of them in my hair.

The clematis vines are getting some big buds on them
now and will be blooming soon. This “Silver Moon” is
full of buds this year and usually does not bloom until the
last of May or first of June. Everything is early this spring
because of the little heat wave we had the first of April.

Likewise the rose bushes are full of buds also and will
be blooming earlier before their June blooming season.
I love the maroon leaves that comes with the new growth
of the “Crimson Bouquet” rose.

My red Rhododendron buds are getting ready
to burst open.I think it is pretty in this bud stage too.

And the Capistrano blooms are fading away.

The first of the Dame’s Rockets phlox are also
starting to bloom. Though some call them weeds
I welcome these volunteer blooms in my garden beds.
They are a native wild flower here and I think they are
beautiful. They will keep blooming down the stems as I
dead head them through the early summer.

The new Pasque Red Clock is happy in its new home
in the bed at the front porch.

The Diana Clare Plumonaria is getting her long graceful
leaves now and is so loaded with blooms. This plant has
been well worth her cost and I am glad I got it.

The Honey Locust trees around the garage in the woods
are starting to get their plumes of white blooms.
The bees and butterflies will be swarming to them
and a wonderful fragrance will fill the yard to take the
place of the lilacs.

The new Ornamental Strawberry plant has its first bloom
and seems to like the sunshine on the garage banking
near the middle bed side of the yard.

The new Pansies I added to last years pansies in the
window boxes are looking very blue.

I love the blues so seeds will have to be saved from
these two pansies.

I tried several times to get a close up of this tiny Hummingbird Moth that was sampling the creeping phlox but it kept well
away from me.

Stella de Oro lily has gotten her first bloom.

Happy Fertilizer Friday and
Happy Gardening Everyone !

Lona

The Blooms Are On Hold

 

It seems my garden is on hold right now.
Some plants are ending their blooms while others are
not quite ready yet.

This Primrose is still growing and adding some newer
blooms.

 

The tulips are all but gone now but the Athyrium
’Ursula’s Red’ Japanese Fern is growing fast now
to hide the tulip foliage.

 

And while the Tirella Foam Flower is blooming
her little heart out the Purple Palace Heuchera is
not quite ready yet for blooms.

 

The lilacs are fading fast now and I will miss their
fragrance and all of the activity that she caused from
the bees and butterflies.

The hyacinths are gone now and their seed
heads have been removed to add more energy
going to the bulbs.

All of the Daffodils are gone now and Echinacea
and Shasta Daisies are growing fast to hide the
daffodil foliage.

The peach blossoms are gone now and fruit
may be appearing but freeze and frost warnings
are out for tonight.

 

 

There are still some Spring Beauties blooming
along the woods and yard where the first mowing
of the grass did not reach and cut away.

 

The Bleeding Hearts are still going strong.

But the blooms from Jane Magnolia got knocked off
by the heavy rains we had the last two days.
I am not complaining about the rain though because
we really needed it. It had been a very dry April here.

 

 

Even the Brunnera has started loosing  the tiny
blue blooms with the rains but the leaves are just
getting more beautiful.

The Japanese Blue Wisteria vines are getting leaves and again
this year like all of the others it appears I will not
get one bloom from them. They will become
trellises for clematis now. Some good should come out
of all of that wasted space they are taking.
Believe me I have tried all of the tricks with these
stupid vines.
From shocking, moving, pruning and threatening.

 

So my garden is in a slump right now but the irises have
buds and so do the roses and astilbes so there will be
more blooms to take their place soon.

Black and White Muscovy

Happy Gardening Everyone !

  Lona

New Plants For The Garden

 

What does a gardener get for their birthday.
Of course they get new plants.
I decided to hit the nurseries this weekend to see
what they had in the way of plants and to treat myself
to some new plants. Bad decision maybe because I am
not safe around flowers. But what the hey.

So off I went to Rhoads Nursery which is nearby.
Things had changed since I was there last summer.
There were fewer perennials and more trees and shrubs
gearing them more toward the landscaping area.

They usually had tents filled with perennials and roses
at this time of the year but that day they only had a few
tables of them. Maybe they will have more later on near
Mothers Day.

 

Columbines, salvia’s, carnations, and spurge.

Heuchera, cintronella, and campanula.

I knew that last spring they had had Pasque Flowers in the
purple variety and I regretted afterwards at having not gotten
one then so that is one of the plants I was searching for this trip.

 

Not only did they have the purple flowering one but they
had a  “Red Clock’  variety so I got one of each .

Pulsatilla Red Clock

This was the other plant that I regretted not getting last
spring that they had, the Ornamental Strawberries, Fragaria
Pink Lipstick. It has the loveliest rose colored blooms as it
spreads. So I had the two items that I really wanted to add
to the flower gardens.
Then something else caught my eye.

 

Viola Labradorica  “Labrador Violet”

A Violet? With all of the wild ones in the yard why
would I buy a violet. But just look at the dark leaves
with burgundy highlights. It was the leaves that got me.
I am a sucker for dark foliage. So it went into the cart to
follow me home. Since it seeds readily some dead heading
will be done to it if it starts to get out of hand.

 

 

Isn’t this Veronica “Waterperry Blue” pretty?
I did not bring it home with me but it was a terrible
temptation with its tiny blue flowers.I almost got it last
spring also so I have a feeling it will get into the
garden eventually.
So I was happy with my purchases and went home to
plant them before it started to rain. When I arrived home
on the front porch was a box with some plants in it
that I had ordered from ‘Broadway Gardens’.
I had ordered  four plants from them after searching
for a Jacob’s Ladder “Stairway To Heaven” and finding
they had it in stock.

 

It has blue blooms with leaves of variegated green,
white and pink. I had saw it on another bloggers site and
loved the colors.
Looking at their inventory of plants I also purchased
a Coreopsis”Limerock  Ruby”.

Now this one was a stretch for me because of the color
orange but I thought it would look pretty beside of the
Meringue Echinacea I have.

A “Hot Papaya” Echinacea. Bright orange pompom
shaped flowers.
This is my attempt to add colors to the garden that I
generally stay away from.
Also an Achillea ‘Royal Tapestry” with purple blooms
was the last plant in the order.  I love achillea in the garden
for butterflies and bees and this was a new variety for
me at least.

I got all of them planted in their new places in the garden
and you know with the addition of new plants some older
ones need moving or divided.
So it was a fun afternoon of planting before the rain
fell last night. The rain will help get them a better start.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Gardening Everyone!