Seedlings, hosta haircuts, the historic garden, and more daylilies bloom

The seedling planter is off the patio. It will soon go back into the garage until next spring. The seedlings are looking more and more like daylilies and are in pots in the “pepper garden” area, with the lavender. Oh yes, and a stray sunflower. Doggone bird seed! 🙂

They will stay there until fall and then find their new home. Their new home will probably not be the seedling garden from last year, as that does not get as much sun as it seems they may need. Hubs got a bigger grill that casts a larger shadow, and I need that area for hostas that are burning – with the tree gone in front and the clematis removed in back. Change, change.

The hostas are also getting love this weekend. I have made the decision not to harvest any hosta seed pods this year, so the ones that are done blooming got a haircut. Here’s an example.

The bees so love the blooms, so I left the few that were still in that category. But soon.

Trimming the hosta scapes as they go to seed will help them preserve energy for the plant. Not sure that is needed – hahaha – as they are getting huge, but just in case. And I may divide a few, if energy allows. We shall see.

The second side of the historic cemetery fence garden also got lots of love this weekend – 32 bags of mulch. Lots of love from way more than me – WAY more!

Removing rock, pulling plastic, laying landscape fabric, sourcing mulch, which is rapidly disappearing. Incredible effort!!! It looks SOOOOO good!!! This picture doesn’t even do it justice. It just goes on and on and on down the hilly slope.

7 more bags of mulch are in storage – in the back of my husband’s truck, which he wants back haha – to go on that side, and then quits for the season there. Mulch is getting harder and harder to find, and $5/bag is not my jam. Hopefully, fingers crossed, the 7 bags will do it.

Next up for the cemetery garden is iris transplanting. But talk is not do, so I will wait to share on that til I have pics of the completed pieces.

I will wrap up with more daylily love. Yesterday the Purple D’Oro had 7 (!) blooms.

Today 3

Today South Seas is also blooming.

Yesterday morning also brought early morning bloom pretties Tirzah and South Seas.

And Just Plum Happy was, well, Just Plum Happy!

Early morning walkabout

It is mid-July, and the daylilies surrounded by the hostas in the townhouse gardens are starting to roll. An early morning walkabout is the perfect wake-up.

Move candidates

The hostas under the linden tree are at the mature stage, and are now covering up portions, or sometimes all, of the Purple D’Oro daylilies. That was an error in planning on my part. When I planted those hostas a decade ago I truly did not believe they would get that big. I think they look great in that area, dancing in the breezes, but the daylilies do not care for the new developments one bit. I will need to move at least this one this fall. I have a spot for it. There is a hosta that used to have more shade from a clematis on a trellis but now needs to get out of the sun. A little reorganizing this fall after a good rain softens the soil should do them both good.

That’s ok, Gramma still loves you

We are Grandparents to one sweet 2 year old, another on the way, and 4 very sturdy dogs. The kind of dogs where they do not, at all, get the “garden” concept – lol. When you are a dog, plants are targets, and, to be successful, getting the right footing to hit the target just right is pretty dog-gone important! Right? Sometimes they have to step on stuff. Sometimes it doesn’t spring back, and then later gets hits by the mower.

That’s ok. Around here we love our Grand-dogs wayyyy more than a hosta leaf. For absolutely sure! And now the baby bunnies have an opening to quickly identify a place to run and hide when the raptors visit.

All is good.

Woodlands hosta?

I’ll be keeping my eyes on this one. We didn’t plant it, it sure is pretty, and, very importantly, the deer and hare are not eating it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Move me!

When the deer are creating something noone will recognize or appreciate, and you are pretty sure that will not improve in future years – it’s time to find them a tad safer home.

First Frost hosta

The First Frost hosta has formed seed pods. I am so tempted to harvest them. But knowledge tells me that if I want more First Frost hostas, I need to divide it. And I have no more room for hostas. And the deer just eat hostas to the stem up north.

I will give First Frost a haircut, and let the seed pods go.

Rainforest Sunrise

If I could have 100 Rainforest Sunrise hostas, I would be delighted.

Gorgeous all season, and late summer lavender blooms on red scapes.

Yes, please.

Can’t explain this – yet

A couple interesting things I noticed in the garden this year –

This very healthy hosta has a small area of variegation. I have seen this in years past pictures too. i’m wondering if one of our bee or bird friends accomplished something new next to the existing hosta, or if it has to do with sun exposure. It looks very healthy. That puckering has always been like that. It also easily gets things trapped on the leaves – but that has always been that way too. Some snowy day in January I will have to do more research.

This past week I also noticed the Ivory Queen hosta has a few white blooms with purple veining this year. Usually they are all purple. My husband even pointed it out.

Interesting. I don’t mind white blooms but I am curious.

I’m guessing sun exposure may play into that one as well. That hosta gets a lot of sun exposure, most intensely in mid June to mid July. I try to shield it with lawn chair placement during that time but eventually I will swap it out. Just not sure with what. A daylily would be too vulnerable there.

Maybe a low growing sedum would do well there. Maybe one of the breakage rootings.