timing

I was delighted and surprised this morning to find that one aspargus seed has germinated! It's so small the camera can barely focus. 

Also my green beans are emerging. Lined up under the mesh boxes on my window bench now.

This is a problem- it might be too early. They could get too big before it's warm enough to plant out. I'll have to see. I can't plant the green bean seed straight in the ground (as is usually recommended) because the squirrels watch me, dig them straight up and eat them. I have to sprout them indoors, plant outside as soon as they have first true leaves. It's tricky, but has worked for me in the past.

Here's hoping we don't get another hard frost predicted. Supposedly that was the last one, earlier this week.

And my asparagus are way late. I should have sowed them in Jan or Feb, ready to plant outside in March or early April latest. Now it's going to be May or June when I set them out and could get too hot for the young plants, but I'm not sure I haven't grown these before.

cold

Last night a serious freeze. All the more tender plants came inside again- 

tomatoes fill the cage

sharing space with some of the new things I haven't figured out where to plant yet- the asters, lobelia, blue-eyed grass and rattlesnake-master

In the smaller cage on the bench, seedling trays where summer savory

and hyssop- so very tiny!- have just come up. Basil also began to sprout

Outside I had already put in the ground some obedient plants, and they were very droopy so put cloches over- it helped them perk up immediately as you can see the next morning

and then I also covered them one more night to save from the freeze and they did fine

swap day

It made me feel so happy and satisfied to fill my car with plants for the local swap yesterday! I haven't done this in such a long time. I took to give: 

12 tomato plants 

5 fleabane 

1 rudbeckia 

1 St. John's wort 

2 hellebores 

2 large clumps of 'autumn joy' sedum 

1 almond (ha ha )

6 paper lunch bags full of echinacea seed

I came back with (one of each unless noted):

buttonbush

self-heal

rattlesnake master

white wood aster

American aster

ostrich fern

cutleaf coneflower

blue lobelia

narrow leaf blue-eyed grass

baby cedar tree

half a dozen obedient plants

Most of these I have not grown before, or didn't even know what they are- I just picked them up because they looked interesting or sounded familiar. Willing to give new plants a try though it is a learning curve for me now.

I only took a few photos so far- the buttonbush was bare root so that one I was anxious to get in the ground. I put it in a bare low spot back of the yard- where it's often damp and other things have failed- one of my rhodies finally died and the other two in that area look sad. I hope this plant is happy here and fills in the space-

like the spice bush nearby is finally doing- large enough to notice now!

I also put in the obedient plants- alongside the steps on the smaller sideyard, where tore out lots of vinca last week. And then one ostrich fern. The clump of them alongside the house on the larger sideyard, where they get quite a bit of sun, are looking grand. The few I put in around maples on the easement slope have always stayed small and sparse. I used to think it was too dry for them there, now wonder if it's just too dim. So this one I put closer to the edge of the tree shade- next to an iris that never blooms.

I liked the way the overlap looked in that picture, but it's not really that close to the iris-

And just because I like ferns and these are more have unfurled- lady ferns in the shade of japanese holly (the few I had in the back bed with hellebores near the echinacea patch have disappeared).

More photos later, when I put more stuff in the ground.

It's colder today, raining and tonight/tomorrow chance of frost. I am once again bringing plants inside, and shifting others into the greenhouse and coldframe for a bit of protection overnight. For the day, I moved all my 'keeper' tomatoes (they're the largest ones) into the greenhouse, bottom shelf with the middle one above propped up out of the way. 

Summer savory sprouted today! and a few hyssop are up- so tiny. They will start life out under plastic and cages in the window, until warmer in a few days can go out into the greenhouse. They don't like a chill.

moved around

I roughly tore up all the milkweed on the larger sideyard last year- it always looks kinda sickly, and no monarchs visit. I knew I wouldn't get it all and sure enough some are sprouting up again. Two also were higher up the slope among the obedient plants and turtlehead- must've come up from seed- I dug those and moved them to a blank spot against the house wall. Maybe they will do better in a different location.

The obedient plant patch is spreading- sideways into the walking path (which isn't paved yet, just grass and weeds I keep mowed short). I dug up a bunch along the edge and resituated them further down.

Also dug up some of the 'autumn joy' sedums from the front bed- giving more room to the pulmonaria I've put in that spot

Since learning that the daisy-looking plant with nice scented leaves (when you break them) is a native that feeds the pollinators, I've been rescuing the ones that come up in the lawn, moved them to a back area under a tree where I don't want yellow salvia anymore. The fleabane actually looks nice there. Here's some I put in pots to take to the plant trade, as well.

garden glory

pink clematis! (purple one just has fat buds and is all misshapen because I did a bad, hasty job of pruning it last year when not thinking straight) 

First columbine

Alliums are starting to open in the front bed

I thought my 'espresso' geranium was dead- but it's not! and blooming

Soon clary sage will too. One of my favorites.

progress in the garden

Tokyo bekana is big enough to eat now.

Same with the lettuces- 

and tatsoi- which is getting bitten however- probably flea beetles

I had sowed more beet seeds in the gaps and some are coming up now- smaller plants on either side of these larger ones

I really like sitting on the garden bench and looking at the light through the young beet leaves- with the red veins

Have mulched the turnips- though they probably don't need it - but it keeps the beds looking tidy and uniform.

Seems like just a week ago my peas were barely emerging-

and now they're climbing up

things growing

First true leaves of parsley!

My tomatoes have grown taller than the coldframe.

There's a few nights of frost still expected, I'll have to bring them in.

And move the plant cage again- it's now out on the deck protecting some things from my cat! I put a bit of fencing around the lower part of the deck railings, so the cats don't lean out so far looking like they'll jump. They really like hanging out on the deck with us now. But Eliza chomps all the plants. The foreground pot in here is of sprouted wheat I pulled out of the mulched beds and stuck in dirt for her- but I have to keep her from chewing it down to nothing, give her access to it only occasionally. Also protected are- thyme, chives (which she chewed a lot of) and dill. The mint pot is unsheltered, she leaves that one alone.

I also had to block her from getting onto the greenhouse shelves and biting plants in there. With the coldframe window.

The cats especially like being on the deck right now because there is a bird nesting under one corner of it- on top of that carpenter bee trap I hung.

Today I managed to get a few photos of it- I think they're house finches. The male has a rosy chest and head.

From above, you can put your eye to a crack between the boards and see straight into the nest- five small very pale blue eggs. I can't wait to see the baby birds hatch!