Planted Hyacinth

Planted 12 hyacinth -- mixed colors -- today, a day that started at 39 degrees and go to 60 or so. Some light frost in October, but also went swimming in the Bay at the first of the month, so it's been a mixed fall. It followed a rainy summer and the fallout of two hurricanes, Florence and Michael. The first spawned tornadoes that had us sheltering at the library; the second took out that glorious oak at the top of Bryan Park.

One hydrangea still offers the stray blue bloom. The giant white hydrangeas were a little spindly but not bad after the severe pruning. The deutzia bent and snapped and will need lots of maintenance this winter.

Mom, for scale

May's Almost Done

Tomatoes went in a while ago, and there's been some lettuce, but that's it for veg. Picked up various annuals today: dianthus to replace gaps left by bunny-eaten ones. There was some red yarrow on sale, and since the ones that came with the house didn't survive as it got shadier in the back, I got two and planted them in the boxwood gap (Desert Eye Deep Rose) where there's also a balloon flower. Impatiens installed by the storks; marigolds to buddy up with the tomatoes. Nothing innovative; quietly happy.

It's possible I fertilized the bulbs twice, the second time being a week or so ago.

Mild Winter

With the exception of those 2 - 3 windy nights when it was in the teens, and when the pipes under the addition froze (even though I've had them insulated), it's been a mild winter. That cold snap seems to have damaged the gardenias pretty severely, and maybe the daphne? The latter might be from snow last winter coming off the garage roof onto it.

Mild weekends have meant some good pruning. This time I didn't top the deutzia; took the thinning approach, with emphasis on the lawn side. I'm hoping that help the lawn guy. Still taking dead wood out of blue hydrangeas; maybe half-done. Took some pop shots at other things - will do more next week, as 60s-70s to continue.

This week I realized what a great surprise present to myself planting bulbs in the fall is. And I again forgot about the dwarf iris, which began blooming yesterday.

Cut back monkey grass today - both by the smoke bush and under the azaleas. The azaleas got beat up by the roofers, alas. I do need to stay dry, though.

Mild March

Jan 25 2016

Despite one monster snow, it was a mild winter. Both camellia bloomed early and often, though they get cold-browned every week or so when the temps drop again. Bulbs I planted last fall surprised and delighted. Daffodils just now starting.

This last week or so I tackled some shrub pruning, with mock orange getting the best care and smoke bush is ok. Did half of the deutzia today.

Need to order mulch.

Late May

Finally got fertilizer and fertilized bulbs. Lettuce doing ok -- because of where it is, but it stays small. Green beans and tomatoes planted weeks ago.

Few peonies bloomed: most are in too much shade.

Planting

Last week I put in some lettuce starters: some in a pot, two by the back of the house. The same day I bought an entire flat of alyssum. Because it was there. A flat is enough to do: under the azaleas, along the edge by the front yard camellia, under the storks, and still have a couple for the front walk and a pot. Put some columbine that Mom gave me in the boxwood gap, by the fence where P. parks. The one I bought last year, that's by the storks, is ready to bloom. I've got marigolds to stick somewhere,  too.

Dogwood in full bloom, smaller azaleas about to pop, bulbs finishing, viburnum starting.

Saw a goldfinch.

Could Get Frost

Could get a freeze this weekend, so I picked the palest tomatoes (some still out there), all the sizable pimento peppers. Also snipped oregano for drying. It and the hydrangeas had such bad winters I thought they were goners most of the spring, but both came back strong. Blue hydrangeas beginning to bloom, but I don't think they will finish opening in the house. Worth a try?

Planted some crocus bulbs.

Bloom and Hack

Picked some flowers, finished hacking vines out of the smoke bush, gathered up most of the debris from cutting back perennials. I could take another pass at that chore, another day. I'd also like to move the yucca out from next to the front camellia, as it is too big to be there.

Viburnum seemed to get closer to blooming as I worked, and I swear leaves popped out for sure during the 3 hour session.

Bulbs Started Blooming; and it Snowed

On Sunday, I put some of our compost on the veggie garden, cut back annuals, pulled vines out of the smoke bush. I also cut a few things so they could bloom indoors while it snowed Sunday night and Monday.

Planted Some Daffodils

As well as 16 basic daffodils, I planted a flat of pansies yesterday. The former, of course, are nothing to photograph at this point, and the latter are pretty shrimpy. Also, it's raining today.

Yay!

Look what bloomed for the first time! My coworker gave me this two years ago, I believe, and I thought it hadn't made it. It's VERY weedy over there. I really got behind on that bed.

The peonies bloomed while we were in Massachusetts for a week and the deutzia will be open any minute now.

At Mount Holyoke

At Mount Holyoke

Weird Spring

This winter didn't feature sustained cold, and it kept reappearing with little March snow showers. Most early bloomers came out late this year. The sweet viburnum is just now ready to bloom, and the tulips started on the 9th, I think.

I planned to skip cutting back the variegated monkey grass this year, but the plants in the bed by the smoke bush looked so terrible, I went ahead and did them all, late (March 30, maybe?).

And then there's the sewer line work we had done. They were able to run new line through old and therefore did not have to take down the back steps, the willow oak, the patio. But the workers did dig a huge trench through the side of the lawn. They kindly set aside the hydrangeas I had moved over there to the right, but not plants. I discovered some of the catmint and put it back in the ground. I thought I found a clump of the lily of the valley, from Joy -- but now that she's given me freshly thinned sets, I remember that they do not come from bulbs. Surely I'd recognize onion grass bulbs, right?! Worried about the peonies.

March

converting previous owner's sandtrap to a veggie garden

daffodils and hellebores

hyacinths

Several weekends ago, we began digging sand out of the bunker; today we hauled in our first 8 (well, not quiet; I used some near the patio) bags of soil and manure to fill it back up. I threw down grass seed where the former box garden was; no signs of germintation today.

I used some of that in the space between the house and the patio. We pulled up the tall evergreens that were there this winter because when even a modest amount of snow would slide off the roof, it would bend them and pull them apart: they looked terrible. This year, I am going to put some early veg in there, and in the fall we can get new, low-lying shrubs. I didn't actually HAVE lettuce seeds at home, like I thought when we were at Lowe's, so there are just some snow peas in the ground now.

We're due for another rain-snow mix tonight. I lost track of how many we've had this last three months. It'll be 70 -- or at least 60s -- for a couple of days, then we hover in the 40s with rain, then it gets just cold enough for a snow mix. Rinse and repeat and that's this winter. (video below is  March 6)

February Already?

One of a few of January's light snows.

Hellebores starting to bloom!

How did I miss bulb-planting? How did I make such a fine start on cutting back perennials, then run out of steam well short of done? An erratic winter -- cold and very mild switching places often, and quickly -- perhaps doesn't help. And for two weeks I felt wiped out from a not-flu virus. And that brings us to early February, with the first bulbs preparing to bloom, the next pushing up, and so many weeds not killed back.

The (smelly) paperwhites or narcissus just started to bloom before our heaviest snow (2 inches? but it stuck around), and now look punk, unwilling to finish blooming. When I opened the bedroom blinds this morning, both snow flurries and a smear of red surprised me. The lenten roses have started blooming! The daphne bushes and spring beauty should be next up.

Contrasts

Here's an almost-forgotten photo of the snow we had on Monday, March 5. This is before work. We got lovely, wet, heavy flakes all morning, with only an inch or so accumulating. 

Big news this week is that the yard service for the organization next door pruned the crepe myrtles in that severe way that's often referred to as "crepe murder." This makes the west side of our house suddenly unscreened from their view, sunny, and hot.

Today I tried to get at the bad bits on the boxwood - take out the branches with that white stuff on it - but didn't get much done since whole hunks come out then they look sad. Also in the front yard I attacked some of the honeysuckle that infests the smoke bush.

I lightly trimmed the mock orange, just taking out the long up-shooty bits.

Lettuce I planted last week sprouted.

Here's what's been blooming - I think the tulips started opening mid-week. Around town, redbuds are blooming alongside forsythia (oops, didn't photograph ours) and Bradford pear; some dogwoods are nearly open, though ours lags a bit behind.

Early Blooms on a Snow Day

After another day with a 60 degree high yesterday, 2 or so inches of snow is predicted for today. Last Sunday we had a quick thundersnow dusting, followed by a day or two more of cold, and then by several mild days. Given that, the ground must be warmish, so if forecasters expect accumulation, it must be going to snow a whole lot, for even a little to stick, right?

I know the plants themselves will survive fine, but current blooms will look like heck after being snowed on, so I cut some things to enjoy in the house.

Daphne came into full bloom this week.
Spring snowflake just started to open.
Hellebore, especially plants on the west side, are blooming.
Both the light pink and the fuscia camellia are blooming.

As I snipped a few hellebore flowers, I saw that not only daffodil leaves were up - they hyacinths have also leafed and set their dark purple flowers! I threw loose leaves over them for protection; the daffodils are on their own.

Early

A mild winter means early blooms, everywhere. Our first hellebores are blooming (ivory ones) and the pink camellia in the front yard started blooming this week. Every day I head to work thinking I must remember to cut a few blooms when I get home, and every day until today I forget. (I just checked - it bloomed in mid-March last year!) As I walked to the garden group meeting, I spotted a few blooming daffodils, other camellias, and lots of crocus in neighborhood yards.

Our daphne is getting ready to bloom, and most regular daffodils are up an inch or two.

I guess this means I need to do more cutting back, soon. My allergies have terrorized me all winter and that makes me reluctant to do much in the yard. Had the gutters cleaned just this week, and will gladly pay him again after the oak blooms.

Look Who's Blooming

It's been mild-to-warm most of the last ten days or so, and so these bulbs have bloomed. This morning, rain is pouring down, the temperature will drop all day -- and I think I see that a viburnum bloomed, too, but I am not going out to see.

Tomatoes 2

 The tomatoes -- especially those under the dying elm tree -- continue to produce enthusiastically, undeterred by the earthquake, hurricane, and other heavy rains. Well, many, many of the cherries, especially, do split from too much water. We still have plenty to eat and share. I pick a pound or two every week.

Almost none of the slicing tomatoes have done well. The ones up front in the box wood have blossom-end rot, though a few fruits escape that fate and are quite tasty. I feel certain I did not replenish the soil in the box garden appropriately and that's why no veggies did well there. The cukes were pathetic, the snow peas blah. Nearly all of the green beans, which remain vigorous and producing, are planted in the ground outside the box.

I didn't water the leeks Vicki gave me and they are too small. She gave us some of hers and I made a soup, which turned out okay. She gave me sweet potatoes, too, which look promising now that we've had tons of rain. Below are the Monticello zinneas that self-sewed from last year.

Bought two new blackberry lily bulbs (corms? sets?) at Lewis Ginter's sale this month. I've been avoiding the garden as my allergies are painful this fall, but it's lovely today and I couldn't stop myself. I see that squirrels dug up one, but left it. I replaced it; hope it does okay.

Last Frost Date? Time to Plant!

Today we bought and planted:

1 hosta "blue umbrella"

8 or 9 tomatoes

some cucumbers

2 kinds of peppers

Also potted recently:

mint

basil

Last year's parsley and oregano wintered over - though I wont be surprised if the former fade in summer.

Fertilized bulbs, too.

Blooming: azaleas, amosina, what I think is a small variety of deutiza (by the stepping stones), the oak tree, viburnum (sweet are pretty much done).

Mulch comes this week, so: eek.

Also planted my ceramic mushrooms (a warning label came with them noting that they do drink up moisture, so a freeze could shatter them).