The Weekend

Everything is putting on a show before the arrival of real heat in June. My container broccoli, lettuce, and Swiss chard is bursting from the small containers. Tulips are nearing their end with leaves extended wide. Other annuals await planting when the show is over. Squirrels haven't stop their rampage in the yard. Soil, and a over turned pot and a bulb stopped my first step down in the yard today. I put the bulbs outside during the week and squirrels have been curious. I smile because they couldn't do anything with that heavy bulb. It must doesn't taste good either because I didn't see where they ate any. Besides planting the window box this morning I'm supposed to be resting, but who said I can't take pictures.

Tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, and basil await planting. I'll get to them soon. My tomato actually already has a tomato in the pot it came in and another bloom. I need to clean out more pots and make another shelf for them to sit on up off the ground.

I need to find a place for the day lilies in the ground likely among the hosta since there's too much shade under the trees.

To be planted.

Shade arrived with leaves on the trees over a week ago in the yard.

Out Front. Coreopsis still hasn't filled out and the lambs ear is still emerging. I haven't cleaned it up yet. I actually haven't seen the ajuga. I said nothing could kill it. Lets see if it returns.

The shrubs have grown more than I wanted. They weren't dwarf. I'll think about what to do in the fall. I had huchera, sedum, corn plant, and lirope in this container and it did well for years. I may replant more when I seem them in the garden center because I liked the perennials better and it was lower maintenance.

They're so small I'm really surprised they bloomed.

Ten were planted in each container. This is the only one that survived with 5 tulips. I won't buy small tulips like this again. I ordered pink ones for fall. I hope they're not this small.

It's a beautiful tulip though.

Poppy and day lilies.

I wasn't sure what this was but I think it's a white daisy I planted last year. I thought it was dead. Time will tell.

The Shade Window Box

Lets get something in here. Shopped with reckless abandon with really no plan except for getting some rosemary. In the hope that the squirrels would hate the smell and the rosemary would grow and look shrub like since all the shrubs planted here have died. Anything that requires lots of water doesn't make it here. I bought what was on sale of course.

 I'll do the window box in the shade today and the other one on another day. Removed the bulbs that didn't come up.

Hosta, asparagus fern, geraniums, impatiens and rosemary. Smells good. Hope the squirrels hate the smell and maybe they'll stay out of it.

Rosemary. My daughter will ask. What is that smell?

Geranium (pelargonium), in shade! Lets see how they do. They may get a little sun and enjoy the shade in the heat of July and August.

I'll add some sweet potato vine if my seedlings are successful and some coleus. They had larger hosta for more money but not a bad price. But I wanted the smaller ones. They all catch up in size. I wonder if this will make it till next spring? I had lirope in here one summer. It didn't make it. Really thought it would. Neglect of watering in summer is part of the problem. I'll do better this summer I promise.

Now for the plants to fill out. 

Late Getting Summer Bulbs Started

Being quick to order bulbs is always not a good thing unless you can keep them from sprouting in the house and plan on planting them on time. This year I'm starting mine late. Planting up my order from Bluestone Perennials: canna, elephant ears, caladium, and lilies. Last years bulbs were soaked in water in the hope to put them directly in the ground but I didn't get around to it yesterday maybe today if I feel well enough to do it. I also started two ornamental sweet potato tubers but not in the ways I've read. Most people put the bottom in water and wait for the slips to grow on top. I also read that the potato can be cut in half and put cut side down into soil. I did place them in soil but didn't cut them in half. Last year I had one and I waited too late to put it into water. It had started getting soft and nothing grew. I got tired of emptying cloudy water and threw it out so I really didn't want to try this method. Lets see what happens. I was envious when I saw them at the garden center last week but I wasn't tempted to buy any. I was successful this winter keeping them till spring hard and firm. Now to perfect my technique so I don't have to buy any.

 Red dahlias purchased from Home Depot and Lilies went out front. When they start to emerge I'll stake them although maybe I should have placed stakes before planting so I won't injure the tubers later. I still have to find room for balloon flower tubers. They remind me of parsnips, the same color and shape. I wanted pink or white flowered ones but they only had blue at the flower show in March. The season is moving along quickly to me or maybe it's my spending lots of time in the garden this year planting, cleaning up, and trying to see what will work. Mulching still needs to be done when I think most of the perennials have emerged. Three astilbe in the flower bed are doing well but I want to move them to the cedar container because they like moisture and usually dry up in the heat of June, July, and August. They should love the moisture there. Hopefully they won't died from moving them.

I was less than thrilled when I planted the bare root plants purchased from the flower show. Some tubers were so tiny I'm worried they won't do anything. I planted shooting stars, Virginia bluebells, trillium, and fern. The trillium did have growth when I planted it but now has disappeared. Hopefully the roots are still alive and will show up next spring. I haven't even see the fern emerge yet and that may signal trouble because it should be up by now. When Prairie Moon Nursery has a sale, I plan on ordering some more and some other native plants. I wanted to try wild ginger this year but haven't seen it in garden centers yet. I may never see it in a traditional nursery. A native plant sale may be the way to go if I don't want to mail order it. I know Bartram's Garden has one every summer. I've never been there.

No attention has been given to the window boxes yet as I don't know what to do with them. I want something that will return year after year with little care and not spend lots on annuals every year. For the box in the shade I'm thinking of some large hosta and maybe fern and just a few colorful annuals and trailing vines. I still like the small shrubs because they give year round interest but have died the second time this year during winter. I don't know if I can commit to watering them all winter or even remembering to. I'll have to think about that before I spend more money on them and they would have to be discounted like the ones that died.

A rose bush, ornamental grass, blueberry, and blackberry are waiting to be planted. I need to decide on what containers to put everything in except the grass which will go in the flower bed. It has new blades of grass but probably would be doing better if it had already been planted. In the yard is a corner of plants, shrubs that haven't done anything yet, most maybe dead. My fig tree has not yet shown signs of life nor the crepe myrtle I purchased on sale in the fall. I have a camellia that appears dead. that will definitely go out in the trash next week as I waited a whole year hopeful that it would return as the fig tree did last year. Some annuals are also waiting to be planted. I bought pink impatiens but really wanted red which weren't out when I bought them. The color really pops in the garden. I may still get red ones and plant the pink in other areas. When the tulips finish their display I'm going to pull them up as they aren't perennial and other plants can be put in their place. I love the orange ones and may save them to replant and see if they return. In the fall I'll be planting some perennial ones so less planting every fall will be needed for a while and it will certainly cut down on cost. I hope your garden is coming along well and you're enjoying the spring blooms before the heat of summer. Happy gardening.

My  sweet potato tubers from last summer.

This is a trailing one so I planted it in the hanging container.

Begonias

Begonias. They were healthy and solid with eyes. Wasn't sure if to plant them eye side up or down.

Elephant Ear

Fressia 

I liked this potting soil.

Elephant ears. It was supposed to be 3 but 4 were in the pack. I planted 2 to a container.