Poppies! Poppies! Poppies!

    These poppies have taken over the yard!  Every year I pull them and every year they're back.  I really don't mind them as I plant things around them after they bloom. 

    It's Memorial Day weekend and the temperature got down to 36 degrees the other night.  It poured rain and the wind chill was down to 30.  Alot of my annuals are still sitting on the deck waiting to be planted.

                                                  A little beaten, but still going strong!

                                The sun is finally out this morning!  Time to finish planting.

Spring Flowers in May

    These are the most wonderful miniature Crested Iris!  They have so many blooms this spring.  They are about 5 inches high and one of my first plants to flower.  They grow best in partial shade.  I gave these to my sister as a graduation present when she graduated from college.  The next year she shared them with me and I have continued to share with others.  I think one of the best things about gardening is the sharing of plants and walking among them and remembering the people who gave them to you. 

    A few Tulips with some white Rockcress.  I didn't think I had much for color in the yard till I started taking pictures.  I think the heavy snow cover helped this year as everything out now seems to be blooming profusely.

    The ever present Johnny Jump-ups!  Although I noticed there weren't many left from last year.

     A new addition to the garden.  This one is much smaller then the one I had last year.  Maybe a baby?

    A small Azalea that has not done much in the 7 or 8 years I've had it.  Maybe a little more sun will do the trick. 

    This is a Lamium, or Dead Nettle.  It makes a great ground cover in shade.  Once established, it can withstand considerable drought.

    Another Lamium in a different color along with Sweet Woodruff, which has a wonderful fragrance.

Northstar Cherry Tree

    My Northstar Cherry Tree is flowering.  There is an Ash Tree that is shading it, but we had to have it cut back as it was on the roof and I was hearing the pitter patter of little feet this winter, in the attic.  Hopefully this will solve the problem of guests in the attic!  Ash Trees in Massachusetts are now dying of some disease and I was told this one doesn't have more than a few years left.  Now maybe I will get some cherries as this tree will have more sun.  These cherries are very tart, but great for jams and jellies.  Usually I let the birds have them because theres not enough to bother with.

    I've finally moved my portable greenhouse out to the deck.  It was 36 degrees when I got up this morning, with a frost on the front lawn.  This winter still doesn't want to let go!  I planted beets about a week ago and they're just starting to come up.  I added 4 heads of a red lettuce this week.  Morning temps look like they will be up this week, so I think I'll start planting my annuals next week-end.

Is Spring Finally Here?

    

  Well, Ellie, do you think they put this up for us?  I can't wait to jump up on the shelves and eat all those nice tender plants.




    I think I'll just lay here in the sun, Jake, while you get yourself into trouble yet again!!

    It feels good just to plant some seeds and do a few cuttings.  I've started taking cuttings from geraniums that were in the garage.  I bought an ivy at a local nursery and started cuttings from that.  Basil seeds, both green and purple, were planted and a list was done of starting dates for the rest of my seeds.  And then:

    Another 18 to 20 inches of snow!  This picture was taken 2 days after the storm, so it has already started to melt.  Thank goodness we decided to get a snowblower a few weeks ago.  Lets just hope this is the end of it!

    When I went out to take the picture of the snow, I looked down by the deck and saw my daylilies starting to pop up.  I think spring may finally be here!

New England Foliage

   Well, this is it!  We're waiting for Sandy to come up the coast and that will be it for all our fall colors.  I guess it'll be easier to clean up all the leaves at once instead of weekend after weekend.  A few more pictures before it's all gone.

    This Burning Bush sits under our large maple tree out front.  It gets no attention or water all summer.  This shrub is one of the first plants to start changing color.  From what I hear, it cannot be sold in Ma. because it has become so invasive.  I guess the birds eat the berries and spread seeds all over the place.  I've seen alot more plants that ought to be put on the list ahead of this one. 

   

    This Sedum, Autumn Joy, has turned from a pink to a nice rust.  The only thing I don't like about it, is how it falls over.

    Nice colors from a Spirea and another pink Sedum.  The Spirea comes up all over the yard and gets very large within a year or two.

                                                                Nice foliage!

    A nice little Fleurette Chrysanthemum that I picked up at the grocery store.  I don't know if it's hardy or not.  Nice colors though.

                                                   One last bloom from a potted Fushia.

Golden Japanese Forest Grass

    This grass looks amazing this fall!  A very slow grower, but once it takes off you will love the fall colors.  I can see why it was voted Perennial Plant of the Year in 2009.  I have two of them, and I've noticed that the one that gets more sun has more pink in it.  This one gets sun till about 2:00 p.m.  This gets to be about 12" to 18".  I have cut back my oat grass already because it was so tall it falls over and it seeds itself all over the yard.  In the spring I will dig it up and look for some less invasive grasses to replace it.  

A Gardeners Journal

    I've kept a gardening journal for over 16 years now.  The past few years I have written little in it.  In the earlier years I grew alot of vegetables and plants that I started with seeds and cuttings.  I have alot of information on length of germination, when to start, how they grew, and should I grow them again.  I also added in a lot of weather and sitings of different birds in the yard.  I guess this blog is my new journal.  Although it won't have detailed information, I will be able to look back and see what I planted and how it looked.  These pictures I took are some of the last color of the season. 

    I can always count on Dahlias!  As long as the bunnies don't eat them.  I planted alot this year and they seemed to do well.  I save my tubers and replant them in early spring, but I noticed they didn't flower very well.  I'm not sure if I will bother saving them this year.



    I also tried a red vinca.  It flowered all summer and is still going strong.  I had never seen a vinca in red.

    Chrysanthemums are just starting to pop.  The Dusty Miller is on it's second year, and I have some that is three years old.  They're sold as an annual, so I've always pulled them out.  A few years ago I didn't get a chance to do my fall clean up and was surprised to see new growth on it.  The second year they are bigger and get a small yellow flower on them.  I have decided I like purple Ageratum.  This has done very well for the past two years.  Marigolds have not done well and Impatients look like they rotted from the heat and humidity.

    It's too bad that it is so hard to find winter hardy Mums anymore.  I have a yellow one that wintered over from last year, but we had a very warm winter.

    This is the tomato I grew in compost.  It is mid September and all these tomatoes have yet to ripen.  I wish I had done a complete count of all the tomatoes I got from this one plant!  I know it produced over 30.  Will pick these green and wait till they ripen.  I usually dehydrate what we can't eat, for soups and sauces over the winter.



    Last, but not least, is the Begonias.  These always make a nicely mounded plant.  The bugs and the bunnies don't seem to bother them, and they come in so many colors.