It has been a long wait for the lilies to bloom this year. But yesterday, the first Asian lily bloomed in our townhome garden.
This morning, another very welcome set of new blooms
And yet another set will soon follow
A very wonderful time in the garden!
Something about the garden at the townhouse has me restless right now. I should be content to sit in the lawn chair on the patio and enjoy the view. The garden is lush and full. But I’m restless, looking and saying it needs adjustments.
Up north this would not bother me at all. But the scope here is so much smaller, drawing attention to planned symmetry and proportion that seems to be stretched this year.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been looking at new gardens, the refreshes that we’ve done in the association. They are at the start of their life and nothing is crowding anything. Nothing is blocking the view of anything. Their full potential is ahead of them.
That’s part of it. But there’s more. Things are looking good in parts of the garden here, but “missing” in others. Moving the aureomarginata out of our garden here last fall, and into other association garden refreshes, left an odd empty space now that the tulips and crocuses are fading – one I don’t like.
There are hostas I wish I had moved/divided last fall that are now overgrown in their current space and that I wish we had divided last fall and put as a post-tulip layer in place of the aureomarginata, like the ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ out front.
Under the tree is bothering me too. It feels hodge-podge this year. I love the ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ hosta there, but other hostas there feel crowded and random.
Maybe it just needs some daylilies to start blooming 😊
And then there are irrigation patterns that I need to consider, like how the sprinkler hits daylilies that have gotten tall. And there are mysteries – like why two ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylilies aren’t doing well this year, but everything around them is.
This weekend I know one decision for certain will drive some planting. The lavender I planted last year definitely didn’t survive.
There are two to be pulled out that will make way for the remaining two daylily seedlings from last year’s Purple D’Oro’ seeds. The other two I planted here are doing fabulously, and the two available spots are right around the corner, making a nice pattern.
Wait! Back up! Is that a new “mini rock feature”! Why yes, it is! The old two pavers at the bottom of the downspout were not enhancing that space, so I gathered a number of rocks we have collected and previously scattered in the garden, and put them together for a new look. Really liking that. We’ll see what else this weekend brings for ideas.
The clematis are beginning to bloom at the townhouse. First the white ones bloomed, and now a new pink volunteer we haven’t seen blooms on before is starting.
I had a few volunteers over the past few years that really took off this year, so I had to buy a couple extra trellises. Not easy in the current shopping environment, but it turned out ok.
Last weekend we went up north. I tell you! It’s amazing how fast things grow up there! You might say it’s wild – lol! The ferns that were fiddleheads last time were waist high!! We have thousands, and unfortunately some have to get cut back so we have a homesite/campsite that is reasonably free from ticks.
The butterflies and bumblebees were enjoying the dandelions. It was a fabulous sight to see. We don’t prevent dandelions up north so they have a nice supply of food.
A walk through the farther trails taught us we have an abundance of wild roses we didn’t know about, and even some scrubby maple trees. (I thought we were too far north for maples.)
By far, however, the big news is … the baby daylilies are doing well up north!! The deer are leaving them alone so far, and they are holding their own with just the natural rain. I am hopeful! The asparagus also survived the winter, and it looks like one asclepias. I cleaned up the raised beds, and put more black dirt in one. Man, I wish I had that $300 back! I don’t like the steel and boxy look nearly as much as I thought I would, and they heaved in the center so they look weird, but oh, well. Live and learn.
The fact that daylilies are doing well up there makes my harvesting decisions much easier going forward. It means I will probably harvest seeds from our townhome gardens again this year, and sow some in the ground up north as well as start seedlings in the winter again. Probably.
It’s also about this time of year, as the summer garden comes into full form, that I start to realise what fall divisions will be needed. The townhouse garden is getting pretty mature, and I will need to divide and split quite a bit this fall. This ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ hosta has definitely overgrown the space.
I love the coloring, and the leaves are a bit more tender, so I will keep the divisions at the townhouse.
I’m tempted, however, to try some of the ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hosta divisions up north, as the leaves are deer resistant.
So many ideas … but a bit of time to chew on them. For now, the daylily seedlings are all planted except two, which will go into the townhome garden in the next day or so. The lavender seeds are starting to sprout in pots – we’ll see how far they get – and the tulips are fading back and making way for the Asian lily blooms to come center stage next.
The cherry trees in the association stated blooming a couple weeks ago. Who doesn’t love their blooms?
They are stunningly beautiful for two-three weeks and then fade to the background to start building for next year’s show.
Similarly, the tulips take center stage at the ground level at about the same time. Immediately following the crocus, they put on quite a show.
I love it all! Here’s my dilemma – Unlike the cherry trees, the tulips are more of a “one and done” most years. Essentially they are fall planted annuals that bloom the next spring. In the years after the initial bloom year they are awesome at growing … leaves, but no blooms.
This spring, last years tulips looked like this.
As beautiful as the tulips are, I have another plan. I am going to dig them out, reclaim that real estate, and plant some of the baby Purple d’ Oro daylily seedlings in that spot. If they take off, in future years they would look absolutely lovely in front of the sedum.
Having repurposed that space, when the spring bulbs start showing up for order and purchase later this season, I have an alternate option. I have, in past years forced tulip, hyacinth, and crocus bulbs in large plant pots. Maybe I’ll do that this fall again.
I started the gardens at our townhome 17 years ago. They really transformed 8-9 years ago when I expanded the space, and expanded again. Back then, the gardens were maintained by the homeowners, and maintain them we did – my husband and I – outside our place. I went through a massive hosta phase. Lots of varieties. Then I started in with daylilies, and got hooked.
The hostas in the gardens here are starting to show their age. I have divided some and given them to neighbors. This year I need to divide my favorites – 9 ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hostas. They are getting fairy rings.
More decisions – where do the divisions go? Onto new areas here? To other gardens in our association? Up north? All of the above, I suspect. But for now they sit undisturbed until after bloom, which is highly anticipated, at least by me, every July.
It is finally feeling like garden season, and some hope after a tough few months for the whole world. The pandemic has brought so much fear and sadness, and our hearts go out to all the families who have been affected and all who have lost loved ones. It is sometimes hard to imagine it has only been a few months. The heartbreak is incredible, and it seems like much longer. I just couldn’t get motivated to share garden news amid all of the tough news. But as sad as this sounds, at some point I decided reading and listening to so much aweful news and fearful projections was not good. I started to trust it was ok to severely limit partaking in media coverage and updates. It took a few weeks, but now some joy is starting to overcome the awfulness of this pandemic. And as the gardening season is fully arriving, it is bringing some positivity, very much needed during this difficult time.
Through the winter I dreamed and planned gardens. The association board work took form and the garden refreshes for this spring, now being done by an incredible local professional, are underway – 22 gardens at homes, and removing bricks, pavers, plastic trim, and various rock and mulch from around 42 trees and putting in only mulch. We hear it is healthier for the trees. A couple larger gardens integrated around trees will remain with rock, to be done in future years. The garden outside our home is one of those, and our landscaper reports the tree is well established and very healthy. Mulch may come in future years.
From my personal overwintered plants, the hibiscus is now back outside, as is the green shamrock. The green shamrock has mostly gone through its spring die off. I watched as the robins do what they do every year – pluck the dead stems by the beakful, and fly them up to their nest. It is the annual cycle. The robins get their materials, and the shamrock gets hardy and fills out again.
Of over 100 daylily seeds I planted this winter in pods indoors, 13 daylily seedlings came up. 11 daylily seedlings survived. In previous years I have direct sown our harvested seed in the ground at the townhouse. A few lilies have grown from that and this year I am anticipating seeing what the pollinators produced three years ago. For the extra work, this winter’s results were not awesome (I don’t think?) but it was an experiment. We’ll see if I do a repeat.
The gardens here are popping back like crazy right now, and it looks like everything made it through the winter. It’s pretty full, so of the daylily seedlings from this winter, I’ve decided to keep the 2 ‘South Seas’ parentage seedlings here, and 4 of the ‘Purple d’Oro’ parentage seedlings. 5 ‘Purple d’Oro’ seedlings are going to be in the year 2 test garden up north, with chicken wire the first year, to give them a safe start. I am hoping they eventually naturalize, and am optimistic, as I see entire fields of lilies up north that have made it. We’ll see.
More to come.
The townhouse garden is all cut back and tucked in for the winter. It was a late finish this year. Between adding extra activities to our lives (time up north, going on our townhome association board) and fully enjoying all of the garden’s fall color, I finally finished up the cutback Sunday and the bulb planting yesterday. I was planting tulips and crocus in the snow!
The two 5′ hostas are now in other people’s gardens, and in each place are 9 yellow tulips and a dozen purple and white crocus bulbs. In the spring I will layer with daylily seedlings and see how they progress.
The fall color wrapped up about 3 weeks ago up north, and has now wrapped up at the townhouse. Our beautiful fall colors are no longer our natural decorations, but they were gorgeous and we enjoyed them tremendously! Soon we will have layers of the white fluffy stuff that stay for a few (5 at least!) months.
Starting our journey with the land up north this year really changed me. We have spent time up north for 20 years, and camping for many years before that, but something about managing and spend time on our own land changed me. It was partially the simplicity of hauling in our water, living in the small footprint of a 280 square foot camper, and having an outhouse, but it was more than that. We’ve done that, even primitive camped. It was deciding how to manage the slice of woods for which we are now responsible – how much wood to harvest, how much to clear, how much of the land to leave alone, how quickly things grew, how our little garden got overtaken, how the trailcams showed us deer and bear and wolves and coyotes that move through the land, how the area I thought I would develop into a wooded garden became a fern forest with an abundance of toads, and how wildflowers were everywhere. It made me stand in awe. Unlike in our townhouse garden, the horseflies bit hard and the wood ticks showed up in groups on the screen tent fly. But the vast beauty of uncultured, natural “gardens” got ahold of my “simpler” self. I gave up time in the townhouse garden in favor of time walking the land. Each now has its place, but they are very, very different.
Back at the townhouse I did not end up harvesting the hosta seeds this fall. Realistically, I know we have plenty of hostas. I am giving them away. Up north, the deer would just eat the seedlings. My seedling focus will be on daylilies next spring.
I did dig out the irises that never bloomed at the townhouse, and planted them up north to see how they do. Beyond that, up north we’ll see if the asclepias, the asparagus, the coneflowers, and the malva zebrina hollyhocks we planted make it through the winter. The hugelkulture gardens in raised bed forms turned into weed patches because we are not up north all the time, so we’ll see what survives. I will say I wish I had the money back from the raised bed frames and bags and bags of dirt. I would not do that again. That little garden area seems really out of place in its surroundings. Lesson learned.
Our old hibiscus ended up with dozens and dozens of buds in August, and is still blooming profusely indoors. It was over 5′ wide when we brought it inside, and it barely made it through the door. As the blooms on a stem fade, I am trimming it. It is lovely and just keeps on going.
I also saved the gladiola bulbs that I had in a large pot this year. They required chicken wire protection, but were beautiful!
For next year, I’m thinking I will continue to simplify, enjoying the established townhouse garden, seeing if I can get new daylily seedlings to grow, and continuing to enjoy the up north natural beauty.
Now energy turns to indoors at the townhouse – getting garden decorations stored, cleaning up the shamrock plants for the winter indoors, and then on to dispersing all kinds of items that we are no longer using in the house, getting them on to new homes. Our townhome is also small. We constantly need to work at keeping things cleared and as simple as possible.
Maybe this weekend we will be at a state where I can pull out the candles and put them in the windows. They are our only “outdoor” “holiday” lights, and I’m looking forward to having them up again.
And over the winter there will be time walking in the snowy woods up north, where the outdoor lights are solar, and probably covered til spring.
The gardens are in full fall color now.
Today as I was returning to the house on our daily dog walk I was once again in awe of the absolutely stunning array of colors on the ground from the fall leaves. I had this thought – “free fall decorating”.
Now maybe it’s because I am appalled by the amount of waste coming out of disposable decorations. Maybe it’s because we have worked very hard to simplify. Maybe it’s because we’ve had an eye opening 9 months of going up north to our undeveloped land and seeing that vast, very different in scale and style, beauty. But this year I cannot bring myself to put out our little scarecrow picks. I don’t want to buy pumpkins that we watch rot. I am enjoying seeing a wave of color pile up in our landscaping and on the lawn – before it gets swept away or cleaned up. It’s “free fall decorating”.
Over a week has gone by and we are enjoying beautiful days in the garden. The hibiscus had over 30 buds about a week ago and day after day we are getting treated to multiple blooms.
The sedum are really getting beautiful.
Even our butterfly friends cannot resist a visit.
while many parts of the garden begin their resting time.
Not me, though. Not a lot of resting here. I went on the association landscaping committee, then volunteered to fill an open spot on the board. If you’ve never served on a board, give it a try! You will not be bored – lol!
This coming weekend will be more garden trimming – probably starting to trim back some of the hostas that are starting to turn.
Susan's Daily Garden 