Tag: Garden

Survival Rates

Last Saturday was a springboard to glorious garden time days. I could not resist being out in the front gardens. Sunday morning the gardens out back also got some love.

The snow melted very fast and is now gone – even the giant snow plow pile. A very odd feeling after such a LONG SNOWY winter, but it is time! We may have another snow or two, but just like early fall, they melt pretty fast.

The perennial survival rates are good so far.

All of the sedum made it through the winter, and have new leaf buds forming. The non-productive tulips out front are also up, as well as one daylily.

Out back, the Purple D’Oro and Just Plum Happy daylilies are poking up, the two areas with productive tulips, crocus, and on one side hyacinth are up, and … the Blue Mouse Ears are starting to poke up!

Under the Linden, the Marque Moon daylilies are coming up.

No asian lilies, and no big hostas yet, but that is super normal.

With the Amur Maple situation out front, whether or not they replace the tree, our shade will be compromised, so I am very glad I did not put any Blue Mouse Ears divisions in front where there used to be shade.

Look super closely. A few days ago these were the Purple D’Oro daylilies. Just a tiny sprig of green.

Here they are a few days later.

Two days ago the South Seas daylily popped up.

And the Marque Moon daylilies are starting to come up.

Things will start filling in and covering the rock quickly now.

Tulips

The runner-up to the first green of the season was a clump of tulips out front, the one below I am guessing they are the ones that do not bloom, but maybe they will surprise us. Later on Saturday I found another tulip shoot up, and a tiny daylily shoot.

Then on Easter Sunday morning I found the snow had melted enough to uncover yesterday’s pics. So they got first sharing. Those will probably also bloom, if sir bunimous does not get them first. I have, hopefully, a solution for that. Post upcoming.

So what about those seeds?

So much has happened in the past 6 months. We decided the little house on the north shore, although a long-term bucket list experience, was not a long-term option, we condensed all the things we had up there and let go of a lot of that as well. Soon after, my husband went hunting and came home with a really bad case of influenza A that laid him up for weeks. In Feb we went on our first ever planned “down south” vacation, had an absolutely fabulous, peaceful, relaxing time – and then came home with COVID immediately after. I have heard it said, and it seems to be true, the “stories” are in the unusual, the unplanned, the whackadoodle.

Now it is spring, and it is time, once again for outdoor time. Thoughts turn again to the gardens. I am going to try out the whackadoodle theory with the daylily seeds.

Last year I once again harvested our pollinator created daylily seeds. Hundreds are viable and have been in the refrigerator for many weeks (for stratification). At the end of April/early May I will sow them directly into soil in pots, where they will stay, and hopefully germinate and grow, for the summer, in the covered seedling planter – because we have cute little diggers with grey furry tails. In the fall, whatever did well will graduate to our tiny little seedling garden here, and whatever seedlings from last fall made it through the winter and spring and summer will go — up north.

I know, I know. But they are bird and butterfly created, and I have decided I do not want to leave them in the townhouse gardens. So up north they will go, in a sunny spot, that gets a decent amount of natural watering, and hasn’t seemed to have attracted deer munching – at least on the bulbs we have planted there so far. The deer have plenty of osier, and we also have hundreds of pictures from our trail cams of the deer eating the abundant wildflowers. They LOVE them! I do have daffodils to deter eating in that area in spring, and I will plant other deterrents as well. If I can, I will see about a fence with a gate. But that may be down the road a bit. Short-term, I am letting them go, to blossom in their natural environment with woods floor mulch.

My joy with harvesting seeds is in the activity. The seeds, if left unharvested, would have become bird or squirrel food. They are progressing farther. And if something weird, or funny, or just plain whackadoodle happens along the way, I will share 🙂

Almost (Spring 2023)

Oh boy! Where do we start? I do indeed love our seasons, but this year, in my humble opinion, has been a very long winter. It probably doesn’t help that we took our first ever planned warm weather actual vacation this year, and I still have “beach” on my mind. But alas, beach gardening is not a thing, I don’t think, so no plans to move just yet 😉

I like to say I am a “Thursday” sort of girl – the whole (weekend) yet ahead, but right … almost … there … I feel that way right now. The snow is melting, and I do see the grass and garden emerging. I suppose in July I will miss all this snow. But for now, sooooo done with this view.

Wrapping up

The hummingbirds have been gone for a week and a half, the geese are flocking up and filling the skies with their wonderful honking, we have had our first frost, the shamrocks are out of the gardens and up by the patio, transitioning to their eventual move indoors for the winter, and the daylily seeds are almost all harvested, and in envelopes, safely stored until February stratification time.

We have also worked through a lot of what we brought back from the little house up north. Some was not worth sharing, but definitely needed purging. We are once again in a “manageable decluttered” state. Not perfect, but back to continual maintenance.

I recently planted the two hostas that were really struggling at that little house up north, back into the garden here, the last transitional piece. As a bonus, we hear from our former neighbors that the new homeowners are very nice. A match, and a blessing indeed. We were blessed to enjoy that wonderful home during its, and indeed our, transitional period, and had wonderful memories there to enjoy for a lifetime, including friendships we carry forward.

Now the fall things at the townhouse remain – cutting back the garden after the color is largely gone, balancing between enjoying the last bit, and getting winterized before significant snow flies. It is part of the cycle, and a good time to wind down the garden blog for the 2022 season.

So I bid you a fond adieu until the gardens pick up in spring 2023. I will post from time to time as “share worthy” things come up in the interim, and will catch up next spring for another garden season.

Take care!

A recent sunrise. I stood in awe!