In The Yard Day II

There was an ambitious plan to do everything that needed to be done in the yard today. I have to start being realistic. A little at a time. Today remove the cat poop, take up chicken wire. Clean the bed out some from the remains of last summer, and throw out pots of what I surely know is dead. Sit a minute and enjoy the beautiful day. I sat for more than a minute. Unfortunately rain is expected tomorrow, but its not supposed to be a constant rain so I may get to clean pots for the broccoli and plant the herbs. I don't know if it's time to plant herbs outside but they seemed to have survived being outside at the garden center.

Time to clean up and throw away some things.

The dead looking one on the top step is veronica. It doesn't look like it survived. I'll have a corner for plants that look dead to see what they do.

Mandevilla . It's not supposed to be hardy in zone 7 but it looks like I see some green. It'll be amazing after our frigid winter. It was supposed to be put on my porch for the winter. By the time I thought of putting it there, it had already been outside in too many below freezing nights. Lets see what happens as the weather warms up.

Looks like some green to me on the wood.

Hard to believe that chives survived. The pot needs to be cleaned and more fresh soil added.

This arborvitae took a beating. The top was bent down and not fully straight. Maybe by fall, but I'll help it out with some ties.

Should I cut the lirope. I've never cut it in the fall or spring. Something has to help it. It hasn't ever performed the way I thought it would. A trimming would need to be done soon. May already be too late.

Lost a lot of foliage removing the chicken wire. I tried to cut around the leaves but I still lost a lot of bulbs.

Squirrels actually didn't eat everything after all.

The pansies, broccoli, and lettuce made it to the yard. Now to get them planted.

The shrub made it through winter. Now to find a place for it and see what it does.

Thought the ornamental grass was dead, but there are some green blades.

Blueberry. Do I trim off the old wood?

It's already budding out.

Crape Myrtle. Is it alive?

Fig tree back to the yard. Removed the weeds. Made the mistake of leaving weeds in my lilies last year and they appeared to kill them . I'll see if they come back this year. Even after months on the porch covered in plastic, the first thing I saw when the plastic was removed was life moving in the soil. All that cold and insects still alive. The pot needs more soil and then I'll pray that it takes off this year. Now, lets get those pansies planted before dark. 

I didn't see life in the ornamental grass before I cut it. I sure hope it returns. Lets see what the squirrels do with this planter over night. Last year they ate all the plants in this container, all.

 Vinca is still in the container. Hopefully it'll grow out or I'll take some from the yard. It grows wild. Once planted it doesn't die.

Chicken wire removed. Now to find a space for the peony.

Sedum

Can't wait to see what these tulips look like.

My first attempt at cat control, cayenne pepper.

My second idea for cat control, chicken wire over openings. Of course cats can still jump fences. Lets see.

On The Porch and Planting Pansies Out Front

Every spring the porch is my holding place for plants and its no different this year. By the end of today many of the pansies should be planted and hopefully the broccoli and lettuce. I'm going to save 2 plants for my brother. I think he can handle broccoli. Nothing really to do except keep the worms off and in his yard, maybe the squirrels. I'm getting a late start. Went to visit my father first. He was first priority. It's beautiful today. The sky is blue and its in the 60's. Brisk wind is blowing making it feel cooler. Lets plant some pansies.

Soil for my containers in in the yard. I could have compost if I went to the recycling center in Fairmount Park and hauled some home. That's a plan this season. I'll drag along my daughter and Nephew. They don't know that yet.

When I see them I have trouble saying no. It would be nice if they lived beyond June. Of course they're cool season annuals and so they start to die in the heat and humidity. Not to fear, more available in the fall.

I had more. Went to plant the container on my mom's porch yesterday so I have some left that didn't fit in the container. The tulips are for me.

Purple basil.

All planted. That white mum sticking up is a piece I stuck in there to see if it will root.

I'll show the other planter later. The pansies will fill out.

First Day In The Yard

This is my first day in the yard since winter and It's starting to look like spring but still very cold. It's nice to be in the yard and lots of bulbs have emerged to my surprise. My favorite hyacinths, were not planted in the fall, but I see several that came back from last year and I'm thrilled.  Still have to wait to see what else  made it and wasn't eaten. If my anemone, cream irises, and fritillaria are gone, I'll be upset. There was only time today to look at what was coming up so tomorrow afternoon will be a full day outside planting pansies out front and getting started in the yard. 

It's time to take the chicken wire up. It'll have to be cut because bulbs have grown through the holes and taking it off would damage the foliage. It certainly served it's purpose and will return in the fall. I want to paint and fix the iron fence before more plants fill out the flower bed. I'll see how much can be done. The peony has already broke ground.  Today I bought broccoli and lettuce plants. Last years soil needs to be emptied and the containers washed first before planting them. Lugged home 3 bags of soil today. I'm excited to see what improvements can be made to the yard this season.

That little patch of crocus has been there since I moved here. It took years for them to multiply from 1 to 5. My bird feeder was on the ground when I came out. Not broken or rotted like I thought. The string broke. Possibly could have been the squirrel gnawing at it. It's been a while since I added seeds to it because squirrels and birds I didn't want to attract were eating more seed than other birds. I wanted to attract cardinals which we have a lot of. I used to see blue jays in the yard. Robins come frequently but not to the feeder. They pick insects from the ground. They don't seem too afraid of humans. We had a wood pecker for years. I haven't heard him yet pecking away. I do hear the sound of a dove every morning and we have tons of what I call sparrows or ghetto birds. Although not pretty, they're song birds and make beautiful music. They take over my yard and feeder though and have bird drippings everywhere. One year I had a swing in the yard . It rained one night and the next morning they all flocked to the water in the canopy of the swing. They were really enjoying themselves in the water, but they took over my yard and I stop putting food in the feeder. The squirrel visited and I saw him in every position imaginable trying to get seeds from the feeder. I have seen humming birds in the yard but they are only attracted to certain types of flowers.

Haven't taken down that Christmas wreath yet. The box wood has been in the pot for a couple of years. I think I'll put it in a container this year. I have 2 containers, one will go on each side in between the containers already there. They're wood so I'm going to spray them with a water repellent and line them with plastic first.

My acanthus doesn't look good but my aunt told me it's just dormant. Hope so.

Last fall I planted ornamental grass in the center. No signs of life yet. I have pansies for now. It'll be interesting to see if the squirrels eat the plants this year. One word,  cayenne pepper. Seems to be working in the pots outside. I'm learning that some perennials don't do well over the winter in containers and don't come back. I learn a little more each year.

Dicentra (bleeding heart) is already coming up.  It's amazing that the soil gets depleted each year. I guess there are living organisms in it. I'll top it off with fresh potting soil.

I didn't have many crocuses return this year. I'll have to buy more this fall. I like the yellow and white ones.

Tulips

Narcissus

Peony broke ground

Cut this in the fall. Curious to see what the new growth will look like. It looks better this spring than it did last year. Less burnt leaves.

Want some type of boarder around this.

Hydrangea. It was beautiful. Hopefully it will come back. I don't know a thing about them but I love them Time to start reading about them.

Arborvitae. This one did better that the other one.

Blueberry bush. Am I supposed to trim off the old branches?