Category: Spring in Minnesota

Restless

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

 

Clematis blooming, settled on daylilies up north

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

Forget-me-nots and new pine growth

Many years ago I planted forget-me-nots when my father-in-law passed away.  Last year I stood in shock as I saw the lawn service for the association spray them and leave weeds alone.  They moved so quickly I couldn’t get there fast enough.  It was heartbreaking.

I understand I have to watch that they don’t get in the lawn, and I do.  But they are an absolute delight in the rock.

Here’s a few that survived.

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It is also the season that the pines get their new growth.  Such a wonderful sight!

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This year we think we have two nests in that particular pine.  We’ve watched a robin and a couple house finches fly in with a beak full of nesting material.  I leave small twigs and the shamrock die-back, and they take it like crazy.  We have a bird bath too and they really enjoy that.

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Hopefully we will soon hear the familiar chirping choruses of a nestful of hungry baby birds welcoming their food.  Such a wonderful time.

Bonus! Free nail filing!

Gardeners worldwide know that we don’t need a gym during the tending season.  But did you know that Amur Maples come complete with free spring nail filing?

Let me explain.  Our Amur Maple out front is delightful.  When it blooms it is heavenly.  No scent like it.  In the fall, the seed pods turn a lovely pink color, and the leaves form a multi-colored carpet.

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Then the seed pods fall and blow all over.  Helped by our squirrel friends, in the spring the seedlings can be found by the hundreds in the rock gardens and the lawn.  The pines have nothing on these guys.  Left to mature we could start a forest.

So every spring I get in garden shape, and also get a free nail filing, by going around and plucking out hundreds and hundreds of Amur Maple seedlings.  Bucketfuls.

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What the hey – may as well grab linden sticks and the occasional pine or cherry volunteer too.  But mostly Amur Maple seedlings.  Like these

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Is it a pain?  Yep.  If the Amur Maple had to be replaced, would I hope the replacement would be something less invasive?  Yep.  But I’m used to it.  I love the spring blooms, the fall color, watching the squirrels “harvest” the seeds, and the spring tradition of getting back in shape and getting a “plucking” nail filing!

Cherry trees and tulips

The cherry trees in the association stated blooming a couple weeks ago.  Who doesn’t love their blooms?

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

 

Spring again!

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.

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We’re running now – here and up north

As I enjoyed my “putz and pamper” time this past weekend, I had time to reflect on the gardens so far this year.

After a very long winter, and months of feeling like a horse at the gate, we are running quite fast now – both here and up north.

The cherry trees wrapped up their bloom here quite a while ago, but a pleasant surprise was that we got a  glorious “re-do” during one of our trips up north.  Such a treat to get multiple blooming schedules.

At the townhouse, sadly, my favorite long-lived bunch of purple tulips has faded.  They were an icon each spring.  I will try to find something just as iconic, but maybe a different species.  Not sure what yet, but it might be harvested daylily seeds.  Just thinking at this point.

The new tulips I planted here last fall were glorious this spring.

Now the blooming season of early clematis has also passed and the weigelia has hit it’s peak bloom.  Soon the asian lilies will start blooming.

What I did not expect was a hosta bloom so early – yet here it is, beginning to form.  And on the ground in that garden the forget-me-nots are beginning to pop up.

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To watch here this year – two plants from 2017 harvested daylily seeds – both from ‘South Seas’ – one of my favorites.  We’ll hopefully see a bloom or two on them this year, and discover what we got with the help of our pollinator friends. What I know for sure is that daylilies are deer munchies, so I have decided they will not be making the trip up north, as divisions or as seedlings.

In pots, the hibiscus and the gladiolas here are squirrel favorites.  I have put chicken wire around a number of the potted plants and bulbs – not a flattering look – but needed.

The Aureomarginata hostas here are gigantic again this year, the daylilies I added last year are looking good, and the Blue Mouse Ears are more full than ever.

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Which leads me to options.  Up north, the trail cams are showing us oodles of deer, a coyote, lots of bunnies, and a bear.  Makes sense – there’s lots to eat, including wild strawberries all over the property that just wrapped up their season.  I wanted to divide the Aureomarginata hostas and bring them up there but it’s probably not the smartest.  I will be fighting a munching battle that will only make me sad.

There’s also a sedum that has been crowded here for a couple years.  I wanted to bring it up north and put it in the sunny garden to let it shine.  But despite web lists that say sedum is on the list of “deer-resistant” plants, I am hearing reports that they too are tasty morsels up north.

What did work in the year one test garden up north is two types of seeds directly sown into the raised beds – malva zebrina hollyhock, and cinnamon mint.  Some free carrot seeds are also sprouting, and two asclepias plants have survived, so far. Coneflower seeds did not sprout, asclepias seeds did not sprout, and all of the kale and asparagus died back.  I think it needs more water than we can provide.  We are just depending on watering when we are up there, and rain.

And, after much deliberation, and my husband mentioning he doesn’t think he’d like the look, I have given up the idea of using a dog kennel as a critter-proof option.   Alas, I don’t like the look of chicken wire here.  I probably wouldn’t really like a dog kennel asthetic up north.

So the lesson so far is – some things will stay townhouse garden plants, and we will embrace what’s already on the land up north, plus seed sown additions that can survive with just rain, and that are not attractive to critters.

I heard lupines may be an option.  They do naturalize beautifully …

Our irises

When we bought the house we raised our kids in, my mother-in-law arrived one October day with a bucket of 40 iris tubers.  3 years later – I kid you not – 3 years later when I went to split them out there were over 400!  I did that again 3 years later!  And they bloomed like crazy!  One long full row of purple.

Here, not so much.  My sister gave me some of her irises.  No blooms – lots of greens but no blooms.

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I bought some from a local gardener – one year of blooms and no return the next year.  I bought some from a local, very reputable garden center – no blooms  the second year and no greens at all the third year.

So I have a plan, and a very good one I hope!  I am going to dig out the irises from my sister that don’t bloom here at the townhouse, and plant them at the land up north.  I think the soil up there is more like at our old house – rocky, gravelly.  Maybe they will bloom there.

First I have to solve my deer grazing dilemna up north, but then we should have a good test.