Mulch is Good

Yes, it does look better with mulch.



Meanwhile, lots of things blooming or getting ready to. Check out the cotoneaster (with golden barberry in the background), thyme, and a pink knockout rose. Blooming flowers restore the soul.
















On the way, asian lilies and pyracantha.














Nice to see that my jasmine over-wintered nicely in the shed!

My New Babies

Yeah, I'd rather plant than weed. Between the creeping charlie, the dandelions, and the seedlings of who-knows-what, there are not enough hours in the day to rid my planting beds of all the weeds. Not that I can stop myself from pulling a bunch every time I walk by. Then again, I can make more planting areas. Now I just need to get some mulch!


First I put a spice bush by the rose of sharon. I hope they will be friends :)



Then I put two Stairway to Heaven Jacob's Ladders and a Jim Crockett Boltonia between the variegated willow and the weeping pussy willow, eliminating the grass in-between. Isn't that pale grey landscape cloth lovely?

Workin' in the Yard

The weekends just aren't long enough.

First, I tried out the new chipper/shredder. Yes, they do make electric ones :) I don't know that I have the patience to chop up the bulk of my leftover oak leaves (definitely easier to rake them out into the yard the day before the mowers go through!), but it did make lovely shreds of last year's fountain grasses. And now I have a large pile of said shreds.

Then, I added some composted manure and some regular compost from my composter to the veggie garden and mixed it in. Then turned the remaining compost.

Then, planted two new shrubs in the front. A pussy willow and a scotchbroom burkwood now flank my poor struggling crabapple. The deer rutted on the crabapple last fall and the damage was pretty thorough to the main tree, but the suckers are leafing out nicely, so I cut off the trunk. Too bad there was no mulch at the store where I stopped on the way home tonight, so I'll have to live with the bare landscape cloth until I get some...



Meanwhile, everything else keeps growing (especially the dandelions, but that is a whole other story). Tulips are fading, and the redbud is transitioning from pink to green, but the creeping phlox and bleeding hearts are beautiful, asian lilies are coming up, and the peonies are on the way (thank you, ants!).









Did a garden inventory tonight. Phew. I was keeping all the tags in an album, but it is getting too fat and messy. Now I just have to get the inventory entered into a nice database...

A Tulip 'Splosion!

Overnight, the tulips are abloom! Red ones in honor of Cincinnat Reds Opening Day (it wasn't enough), white ones, pink ones. Hopefully the pouring rain that just started won't pummel them too much.

Plenty more to come. So far only one bud was nipped off by some evil critter. That was just before I doused the area with Deer Scram and set up the twinkle lights through the row by the potting shed.

Oh yippee, now there's a tornado watch, too. Yea, spring!

Sunshine to Enjoy the Spring Blooms

Finally, a warming trend and a bit of sun! My yard is so wet, you can HEAR the water flowing into the ground and down the gentle slope of the backyard. Kind of an eerie sound. Meanwhile, the spring flowers are progressing. Crocuses are fading and daffodils and hyacinths are taking center stage. The tulips are just leaves so far. I love this time of year, allergies notwithstanding!

Note the cage around the forsythia -- trying to protect it from the lovely-but-destructive-deer. One for each little shrub that got eaten down to the ground last year. My efforts to screen out the neighbor's propane tank were set back quite a bit. I'm hoping the cages will give them enough protection to get established... I put them around my new berry bushes, too. Gardener's Supply loves me!

Food Revolution

Wow! Scary stuff. And so sad! How can so many not know what their food looks like before we process the heck out of it? Check out Jaime Oliver's show and sign the petition

Daffodils are on the way!

Maybe with a little sun, or even without. Spring is at that point where suddenly there is one flower or bud after another popping out all over the place. Even the late-planted bulbs in the pots by the garage are starting to poke through.

The weeping pussy willow is blooming (I guess that's "blooming"?), daffodils and hyacinths are close. One mini daffodil is open completely.




The rain is knocking everything over a bit, but not too bad.





Added a couple of additional columbines. The older ones are starting to come up, too. They seem to do well in that spot, so I'm running with it. No point in planting stuff that doesn't survive over and over (definition of insanity, eh?), but I really like these besides.


Yea, spring!

HAPPY St. Patrick's Day!

A beautiful sunny day (on the heels of a very dark walk to the 7 a.m. club at the Cock & Bull). Sunshine, crocuses, columbine, tulips, and rhubarb.


The existing rhubarb is poking through, plus I planted the three additional plants that came in yesterday's mail. The ground is still pretty damp, but didn't seem too bad. Also moved one of the existing plants to give them a bit more breathing room. Hopefully I'll get a good harvest this year. Lots of worms in the rhubarb bed, too, another good sign.



Did some cleanup in the beds, too. Cut back the dead stuff from the peonies and sedum, then started on the fountain grass, but ran out of steam!














This last picture is a tulip piercing through the detritus. Nature never ceases to amaze ;)

Garden Planning

Okay, I know it is way too early, but I'm just buying the seeds, not planting them!

First Crocus!

Yea!

That was yesterday. Two more yellow ones and a purple one are just opening today. I do love snow, but I am definitely ready for these friendly little flowers at this point.

Thyme for Spring!

Okay that's a groaner, but the thyme is visible now where the snow has melted. And some bulbs are starting to peek out. Supposed to hit 50 degrees today. It is very wet out, so I can't do much in the yard. Maybe a little cleanup here and there. Or maybe I'll just see whether the park trails are clear...



Last, but not least, a sweet little snowdrop peeking through the snow!

Don't Forget to Feed the Birds!

The bird feeders are pretty crowded these days! Oh, and the feeders are a little easier for me to reach with all that snow piled up below. Argh. What a mess that will be as it melts. But, it sure is pretty for now. Especially in the back yard where there are no ugly grey piles.
For some bird seed recommendations from the National Wildlife Federation, click here.

Groundhog says 6 more weeks...

Oh well, we haven't had that much winter yet here this season. I won't mind if we skip the whole ice storm thing this year, but I could do with a good snow. Just for fun. When I don't have to be somewhere. Too particular? A girl can dream.


Speaking of dreaming, this is what the back yard looks like in the bleak midwinter--I still say it is more bleak when there is no snow!--but I have my seed/plant catalogues--and a new vat of deer scram--at the ready.


Oh, and just to prove that I have not killed the rosemary this year, here she is. This in itself is a minor miracle for me. And, I am watching this paperwhite bulb sprout. One leftover, so I set it in some rocks :)

Fall Color

Fall is here. Along with more deer wreaking havoc in the yard. Rutting on my trees, raiding the bird feeders, stomping around in the mud. What a mess. See him peeking through the openwork? He doesn't wait for dark. And he doesn't scare off easily. Argh.
Otherwise, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and the fall flowers are in bloom!