Planting Perennials

From Gilbert H. Wild and Son. Ordered 3 digitalis and received 1. Ordered 2 bee balm and received 5. Sent a e-mail and they responded promptly. Will send out the 2 digitalis and can keep the bee balm. Nice brunneras. The bee balms are tiny. Planted some perennials in the yard today. I wanted to get them in the ground so they can benefit from rain tonight and tomorrow.

The heat of July and August will tell how well they do in my yard. One planted in the fall is beautiful. Different sites have conflicting information. One said brunnera does well in dry shade and another said it likes moisture. Time will tell. I plan on watering my plants in the yard this summer. Added a lot of plants this season and don't want to see them die once it heats up. People normally water plants in the summer. In my yard, not usually not me once the heat arrives. As I always say. Only the tough survive. This summer will be different.

Planting hardy and woodland aster. Pressing the limits of what can grow in dappled shade with some hours of sun. Hopefully they'll do well.  Six asters, 2 brunnera, and one foxglove. Slugs ate my digitalis started in the house the last time I planted some in the yard. Hopefully this won't happen with these.

Digitalis. I tried sowing some twice indoors. Normally they do well but not this season. So I bought a few and hopefully they'll self seed.

Hardy Aster

They look good.

The yard is filled with fallen pollen, still falling from the trees. Leaves have emerged on the Norway Maples and soon shade.

The blooms are lasting a long time on the brunnera. Maybe throughout May. That would be nice.

Time to do something different in this spot. Liked it when I put it there but not anymore. I'll remove the stand which is a pot and place the container in another place in the yard after painting it. Ordered a square 31" wide planter for this spot with plans to plant, 1 Japanese fern, 1 hosta,
1 heuchera, flowering tobacco, and impatiens. Can't wait until it arrives so I can plant it. And maybe some cardinal flower if they aren't too tiny when they arrive.

Ostrich Fern is getting larger.

A perennial planted here in the fall didn't come back so I saved this space and another for 2 other perennials when they arrive. Aralia cordata (sun king) is emerging on the right. Wonder how large it'll get. This plant is supposed to get big. Hopefully it'll do well and finally produce berries for the birds in the yard. Since I stopped filling the bird feeders because the birds weren't getting any food, they've returned to the yard. Drinking and bathing in the bird bath. Cardinals courting, male and female. A large robin surveying the yard and eating earth worms. I also enjoyed it's bath yesterday. A large blue jay which I haven't seen in the yard in years. And doves, 2 types of sparrows, and birds whom I can't identify. If  I'd known that squirrels caused them to avoid the yard, I would have stopped filling the feeder sooner. Haven't heard the wood pecker yet this season.

Another space for a perennial.

Surprised anything came up in the containers after squirrels dug them up. Maybe some lettuce, broccoli, and mustard greens soon.

Should have labeled what I planted where. Seedlings are all looking the same.

Used to have a lot of native wild flowers in the yard before I knew much about gardening. I dug them up and they stopped coming. I miss the wild violets and fever few. Thinking this may be a fever few. They're several in the center of the yard which I'll leave this year and let them bloom. Ordered 2 wild violets, blue and yellow for the yard. My neighbor has a huge block of violets on the sidewalk in front of her house. I would love to dig them up since many people think they're weeds. The flowers are beautiful.

Love the purple color in the yard.

Sowed this a few days ago but seeds were old so I don't know if they'll come up.

I'm going to harvest the romaine lettuce.

Potted up Persain sheild until I decide if it'll be added to the window box.

Before cutting. Planted more lettuce seeds in there that didn't come up. Ordered fresh freckles lettuce seeds and will sow again.

Washed and dried and put in the refrigerator in a sealed bag until I eat it this week. Can't get fresher than this.

Brought a little table on the porch so I din't have to bend down to sow my seeds. Only did the herbs.

Tulips about done.

Cat grass for kitty, lemon basil, a mixed pack of different types of basil, and mesclun lettuce.

Lettuce

This picture was taken last week. No sun today. Overcast and expecting rain tonight and tomorrow. Sorry that the pictures aren't loading in the previous post. Don't know what happened. Will hopefully try to fix.

Spring

Tulips opened. Enjoying them before they're gone.

Muscari and lambs ear.

Lilies and another perennial coming up.

More perennials coming up lilies and something else I can't identify yet.

Pansies from fall still going.

Foxglove seeding from last spring.

Pink lilies emerging.

New England Asters growing.

Surprised come back because it didn't thrive. May be too much crowding for it.

Can't kill dusty miller. It over winters in this region.

Sedum

Purple aster hidden under tulip foliage. It will soon have light when the tulips finish.

It's started to grow some. 

My hyacinths are almost done now, time to remove them from the planter.

Topped blooms off the hyacinths and will put them later.

Lantana ordered in the fall arrived yesterday from Burpee. They look good.

Creeping Jenny

Planted a lot of narcissus but don't know what happened to the rest.

I've been working remotely and had to go in yesterday. My plants survive, someone watered them to my surprise. I brought them home.

Can't believe poka dot plant survived for 1 month. You know they look dead without water.

Shade soon arriving with tiny leaves from the canopy over the yard.

Found my lilies in the basement. I didn't know where I'd put them and they're ready to be planted.

The bulbs were still nice and firm.

Azaleas bought from the discount rack last fall are starting to bloom and putting on new foliage. Removed it from out front because kids playing football kept knocking it out of it's pot and broke many branches. It'll stay in the yard now and hopefully fill out some.

Planted 4 phlox in the yard. There's a frost warning tonight and hope it doesn't damage them. I already have phlox from last season blooming in the yard so they should do okay.

Planted one here and left it's tag so I know what it is after flowering.

Waiting for some other shade perennials to arrive from Monticello.

Hibiscus planted last fall starting to bud out. Thought it was dead.

Planted one there.

Plant one Solomon's seal last fall and now have 4. Can't wait to see how they multiply next spring. They must like my yard which is good because it's difficult getting plants to grown under trees competing with tree roots.

Columbine and the non blooming peony. Too much shade for it. I'll relocate it maybe this season.

Bleeding heart is making progress. I had another one. It bloomed for 3 seasons and then didn't come back. I guess perennial doesn't mean they'll live forever.

Ostrich fern emerging. Also planted Virginia chain fern in the fall but it didn't return and may not.

Brunnera seems to have a long bloom time. I'll be happy if the blooms last until the end of May. Ordered seeds of forget me knots to add more blue to the flower beds. I think they're biannual so they may not bloom the 1st year. My sister's garden bed is absolutely beautiful with them. I have to take some pictures of them while they're still in bloom.

The squirrel/raccoon saga. Dug up all the soil in each container. I pressed it down. Now to see if anything comes up. Looks like some seedlings are in one container.

They all look alike. That's why you label your seedlings.

Plant delivery last week of phlox, bee balm, achillea, and camomile.

Order from Select Seeds arrived today. Rex begonia, Persian shield, cardinal flower, asters, and fruschia. The asters and cardinal flowers are tiny.

Begonia vine and Persian shield.

Fruschia

Arrived in this box.

Rex begonia vine.

Lettuce starts grew quick. I sowed trout lettuce seedlings with them and they germinated quickly. Turns out after looking carefully it's not lettuce but nasturtiums. Where are lettuce seedlings. Should have germinated by now.

Trout Lettuce (no forgot I sowed nasturtiums). The lettuce never emerged. Will have to reseed with fresh seed.