A Hocking Hill's Garden: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Oh, Hail! (& Roses)

Heavy sigh*** Can you see my bottom lip sticking out?
I was so pumped last week over the warmer weather and all the growing going on in in the flowerbeds then…….

this nasty stuff came along bringing with it winter again.
Even snow flurries are flying around here today just to remind us of Ohio’s fickle weather.
Kylee over at “Our Little Acre” says we gardeners are getting cranky. That is an understatement. I had been feeling like someone just stuck pins into my bouquet of balloons. LOL!

It is cold and dreary outdoors and the only green I am even
attempting to look at is the seedlings growing indoors.
The geraniums are growing up a storm and so are the petunias. The impatiens seeds I planted last week under the plastic lid are sprouting and look like they need a mowing.
Yes, I planted them that thick. I use so many of these shade loving flower cranker’s (Is that a word? LOL!) every year.
Other seedlings are just taking their own time about growing
but I am thankful they are growing.

But alas the only thing blooming indoors is the trusty violet.
You see I am really trying to think springtime thoughts by
putting out the chicks and bunnies. Its not working!

I was not so deflated that when the new rose bushes that I had ordered from Edmunds Roses came that I could not perk right up and get excited . I donned myself in a heavy jacket and gloves and worked in the Rose Garden while the sun was trying to peek through Monday.
You see you cannot just dig a hole and stick roses into a
rose garden you have to move things.
My favorite pastime is moving plants for those who
know me. I like to change things up like moving furniture around when you are tired of looking at it a certain way.
Good for a time or season but not so good for plants getting established.

My rose garden is on a banking along the garage so I wanted to divide and move in some cascading perennials to go around them. So having gotten my hands dirty and frozen the new rose additions were planted the banking rearranged and I had my gardening fix for the week. LOL!.
So meet the new ladies in the rose garden….

        Cruss An Aachen                          Burgundy Iceberg
       Antique Floribunda                          Floribunda

Pink Flamingo Grandiflora Melody Parfumee
Grandiflora

Sky’s The Limit Climbing Rose

The pictures are not mine but courtesy of Edmunds Roses.
I am not affiliated with them but do recommend them for wonderful bare root roses at reasonable prices.

So having planted and vented I feel better now. LOL!
What are you doing to cope with the fickleness of spring weather to get your garden fix?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Edmund's Roses,Roses,Spring,Hail,Geraniums,Pelargoniums

Monday, March 21, 2011

Grow Baby Grow !

Spring you are so welcome!

What a difference a few warm days can make.
Give us a few good days up to 70 degrees and everything
starts growing in leaps and bounds.

While taking a walk around in the yard today I was checking out what was growing and was surprised to see a few blooms.
The Heath has a few little pink blooms hanging onto it.
Not as many as it usually has but I moved it last year so it has to make its way back again.

I also found my first two Daffodil blooms. Wow did they come on fast.

And it looks like there will be many more in the near future.

The poor smashed primrose had two pretty blooms open for me with some buds and new growth coming on.
I love primroses because they start blooming as soon as they start growing.

My hyacinths look sad though with so few buds.
I fear they have run their course after so many years and new bulbs need to be planted this fall.

I found new growth starting everywhere, such as the Achillea.

The white peach-leaf campanula which stays green under all of the snow but is now sending up new growth.

Clematis Silver Moon is always the first of my clematis to bloom and it is sprouting out now.

The Lambs Ear is getting tiny fuzzy mouse sized ears.

And wonder of wonders the Resurrection Lilies that I thought was a goner and even told one of the blogger buddies that it was dead has really Resurrected.
Now I am wondering if it will give me some blooms.

Magnolia Jane is getting its fuzzy buds. Reminds me of giant pussy willow buds. Looks like the spiders are moving about also from the web stretched across.

The pruned back rose bushes are starting to grow.

The Ornamental Strawberry is looking good.

And so is Waterfall spreading campanula.

The Maple trees are flowering now.
Also growing are the: Irises, tulips, lilies, salvia, heuchera,
foxgloves,columbines, penstemon, candytuft and many more.

So things are looking up around here on the hill and I say, Grow Baby Grow!
Seeing everything starting to grow makes me one happy gardener.
Even as happy as I feel it seems a little selfish in someway
as I am my heart goes out to the people of Japan and their great lose and tragedy that they are having to go through now. May way offer prayers and aide to them now in their time of need.
And to others who are at war now trying to gain their freedom that we so take for granted everyday.

Until Next Time,
Lona

Friday, March 18, 2011

Flowering Shrubs to Brighten a Spring Landscape

I just love spring and when all of the garden is coming alive.
The grass turns a beautiful green that is not seen at any other time during the year. Some how it looks greener and brighter to me at least. Or is it that we long so to see green again after a hard winter that it makes us think it is greener.
Daffodils that were planted last fall are popping up along the woodland bed and tulips are growing fast now that we have had some warm days. The primroses are getting some new leaves and so is the pulmonaria and heuchera’s.
The fruit trees will soon be blooming in the neighborhood along with the Red Bud trees along the highways.
This is time of the year when all things come alive again, even this winter bound gardener.
What makes spring so welcome more than beautiful blooming shrubs. I have a small yard but there are some shrubs that can fit into any landscape. I have a few scattered around in my garden beds such as rhododendron, azalea, magnolia and lilacs which can be pruned to fit any size garden. Here are some beauties from the Garden Show.

I just love this Azalea. Although it does not show well in the pictures it was a deep purple.

Witch Hazel

‘Holden’ Rhododendron

Weeping Cherry

Pieris Japonica ‘ Dorothy Wyckoff ’

Rhododendron

Magnolia ‘Jane ’

We have been blessed with a few beautiful days in the sixties so I have been doing more cleaning up outdoors.
The winter decorations have been put away and the spring ones now grace the front porch.
Spring arrives Saturday and I am so glad to see it arrive even if they are trying to discourage us all with threats of more snow next week. The only consultation is knowing at this time of the year it will not be staying around long.

Today is Fertilizer Friday so join us with Tootsie at
“Tootsie Time” in Flaunting some of your Spring blooms.
Since I do not have any as yet in my garden I am using these last pictures from the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show.
I am sure everyone is getting tired of all the Garden Show pictures by now so it is a timely ending to them.

What spring blooming shrubs are your favorites?