around the yard

I took photos of plants, just because they made me glad. The soft blue-green lamb's ears in front of green gladiola foliage

Deeper blue-green hostas- though I should have kicked off the sprinkling of dead leaves first.

Blue and purple salvias behind the lilac- again thinking of digging up and moving these, to clear around the skirts of the lilac. And just let the ajuga fill in. Maybe next year.

My peonies grew up quick- and already full of fat buds! To the right of it there, just out of picture- can see the mountain laurel is budding up too. I think moving that one was a success. 

I'm surprised at this plant- 'peach screamer' nicotiana. I thought wouldn't survive the winter, but would self-seed enough to keep a patch going year to year. I don't see any seedlings. They all grew back.

Plants are growing up to shroud the maple tree stump. The hostas don't show any damage from increased sun yet, though a lot of the yellow salvia have scorched leaves. Well, if they suffer a lot I will move them to more shaded areas next season, and let the turtleheads spread here.

Pink columbine!

Slope behind the large oak and the hellebores is full now- the monarda and echinacea crowd.

I'm liking how things turned out with the mayapples. They come up while the oakleaf hydrangea is still naked, and by the time the mayapples have hit their prime, oakleaf hydrangea is well-leafed out and fills in. When the mayapples fade I won't even notice because I'll be admiring the hydrangea instead.

Finally my rhododendrons are big enough to notice and actually look pretty! I would really like to put a fourth one in, where that pale narrower trunk is on the upper left. It's a small pine tree growing under the maple- overshadowed and rather scrawny anyway. In the foreground is the bayberry, which I thought was looking unkempt and sickly, but it has a sudden flush of new leaves now. 

Another I thought was doing badly- my 'limelight' coleus. I moved them too abruptly into their potted places, and they got leaf burn. 

The new emerging leaves look okay though, so I think they will adjust.

I know it wasn't cold damage because other coleus nearby that have been out overnight on the same schedule but in a more completely shaded spot, are fine.

outside plants

My rhubarb is flourishing since its move. Hope it continues to do well.

One that's not so well is the inkberry. I cut out all the dead branches and it is very reduced. I recently moved all the remnants of my old wild cherry tree- short trunk sections that have been sitting on-end here and there convenient for me to place things on- away from the under-deck area and across the yard for shrubs. They're starting to decay (which is probably why I've see the wren so often flitting about below the deck and through the garden- I bet it's feeding on insects in the old wood). I put most of the wood pieces on the downhill side of shrubs. Idea is that as they continue to decay will feed my bushes, and being on the downhill side, when rain sweeps down the hill maybe it won't push as much mulch down against the fence, but some will get caught and stay in place under the shrubbery. Well, the inkberry got a full circle because it needs the most help.

I do like foliage so I hope it makes it

The bayberry nearby is doing much better.

Pannacle hydrangeas each got a log piece too

and the rhodies

Also the little hollies.

My arum is springing up again in the cooler weather- among zinnia 

Center of that yellowed hellebore definitely looks more normal green, so I hope this one recovers

Joe pye weed had big poufy blooms and I didn't want it reseeding all over the yard, so cut them off. It's so grown through the pokeweed now, hard to distinguish between the them. Soon will cut that back, too.

some other things

I have not given much attention to the "yard plants" this season. Putting all the effort watering and weeding and pest control on the vegetable/herb garden, the other plants just have to survive on their own. I haven't watered the coleus I planted out front (they are small and poorly, whereas the mums are doing just fine in the heat) or the salvia around trees on the lawn, or even walked through the shady side yard much. 

Last week I did take a few photos, to note: Mayapple was still around, even in the heat

Bleeding hearts were about done for, but they'll be back next spring

Summersweet has grown tall enough to almost obscure the rear neighbor's little white fence- and it has way more blooms forming than last year!

My inkberry looks poorly now, while the bayberry is doing better.

Out front around the mailbox, the borage got all wilted and icky from bugs- I smashed quite a few japanese beetles- they didn't make their way to the garden in the backyard thank goodness. Pulled up that borage and scattered some flower seed (which I also got from the friend who gave me lamb's ears and joe pye and catmint). Watered for a while, now we're having scattered thunderstorms again. Lots of borage and celosia seedlings have come up in that spot, but not the new flowers yet.

I tidied up the sedum that grows over the old cherry stump, clipping off the dead flower heads which give it a brown crown in summer. That's nicer now. Need to figure out the lawn, sigh. The seed mix I used under the crabapple tree did fine, the nice bright green grass I planted by the driveway failed in the summer heat. Now it's all clover, wiry-stemmed weed and crabgrass taking over again (yeah, I didn't get rid of that so well as I had thought, yet).

beautiful shrubs

My husband was out pushing daughter on the swing and they both admired the yard- told me it actually looks like plants are in places on purpose and someone cares for it. That's me! Before I lived here, it was pretty much just grass, trees, and a muddy slope the bottom half. So I'm secretly tickled pink to have my hard work beautifying the yard noticed, and felt like taking tons of pictures...

Here's the brightest new thing- sunny sideyard, my mountain laurel in bloom. The color is much more vivid than I expected.

The flowers have just started to open, like pleated cups:

My northern bayberry is actually doing fine-

new foliage a nice fresh bright green

Behind it the summersweet is looking lovely too, but I didn't get a photo of that. My rhodies are blooming!

Lots of buds but the plants started opening flowers on just one side.

The third rhodie (next to the forsythia, which I just pruned) doesn't seem to have any flower buds. Lots of new tender leaves, though, which are slightly tacky.

I can't wait to see the new rose-of-sharons bloom later this year- they've grown amazingly.

I swear twice as big as when I planted them in fall. And look how lush:

young and green

Look- my lentils actually sprouted!

Finally a seedling has come up in the sunberry tray. Only one. Same with the peppers- still only have one.

Here's the first zucchini seedling!

Lots more purple pole beans sprouting. I marked the pots to differentiate between my saved seed and the bought seed. Saved seed germinated first.

Half unfolded

True leaves on beans:

Update on basil seedlings- the purple amaratto basil and sweet basil are showing their characteristics

'Mrihani' basil- with the slightly ruffled or scalloped edges on the leaves

Also new-to-me lemon basil is behind the others in growth-

Fenugreek is starting to grow too

And sculpit is a little further along-