up and up

My parsley came up yesterday! Doesn't look like much yet- little loops of stem unfolding.

More plants in the yard I am happy to see again- the mayapples I transplanted across the very back edge a year or two ago-

Lysimachia-

Pulled back some leaves to see the little shoots of late boneset-

Wild geranium trimmings I stuck in the ground various places the year before- are growing! (this one next to some ajuga)

And I'm trying to change how I feel about this plant- I now think it's some kind of fleabane, a native plant that provides early blooms for pollinators. There's a few clumps of it in the lawn that have annoyed me by coming back persistently every year- and they grow pretty fast after getting mowed over. I dug up and moved several into an area in the back around base of a shade tree- where I'd rather have something else not the yellow salvia anymore.

work!

I made a list of tasks for the garden, and surprised myself by getting more than half of them done today. Plus a few other things that I just started to do while out there. Spent much of the day outside, it felt great though my muscles are very sore now!

Broke apart a straw bale and spread it over the garden beds. I had four bales and was surprised that one was plenty for all eight beds- and a good two inches thick, at that. That stuff is really compact! I already like this better than dry leaves as winter mulch- it doesn't blow off and around the yard again when it's windy. Got to figure out how to store the other bales to keep dry. If I don't have any problems with the mulch (mildew, or tons of wheat sprouts ugh) I will happily use more on the beds in spring, around the plants.

I cleaned up the smaller sideyard today. Cut back joe pye weed where the dead leaves had blackened (from aphids I think). Pulled out flopped over gladiola foliage that was going through fence into the neighbor's space. My black-and-blue salvia is so lush and thriving over there! It had spread to almost completely cover the lamb's ears (which are nearly all gone- or dormant- only one sad plant could I find) and somehow, I don't care. I trimmed the blue salvia a bit, and gave it leaf mold mulch, and pulled up vinca around it much as I could.

Moved some plants around in the front bed, under the house windows. I dug up and moved forward the two small newer azaleas, and moved to the back the one young beautyberry that's doing great, and put in the same row two more beautyberries. They had been in the back side bed flanking panicle hydrangeas, and must've got too much shade or competition, because just thin slender bits compared to the one that's been in front. So hope they will grow more here, and grace my front yard, I can just picture them draping lovely over the edging onto the lower bed (it's two tiers kinda). There's two very cut back little evergreen shrubs in between the beautyberries, maybe they will show some green when I cut the beauties back. Or maybe they will get overwhelmed, not sure how that will work out.

I pulled up and cut back more yellow salvia in front (not so fond of it anymore). Yanked out some sensitive fern- likewise loosing my admiration for that plant. It just looks dead half the year- from heat especially it suffers. I mulched the two young arborvitae- they're actually doing well! Dug up and moved a few pulmonaria, and dug up and moved (divided also, to spread it out) the calamint  that was in front right by the porch (an azalea has taken its place now). I put it along side bed 4 in the garden. Except- there was something else there growing up new sprouts already. I don't remember what else I took cuttings of and stuck in the ground here. Wild geranium?

Broke up the bottom end of last year's leaf pile- the thick mulchy stuff that's (just like my compost pile) full of tree roots. I did a rougher job of it, this just for feeding plants. Gave plenty to the black-and-blue salvia (two bucketfulls), a bucketfull spread around the new redbud out front, and half a bucket each to the young trees on the larger sideyard (redbud and japanese maple hybrid). Also fed one rhodedendron, the smaller forsythia, spicebush, all the plants I moved around in the front, the larger established beautyberry (I had to prop up trailing branches off the ground- it's going to need a good cutback later this winter!), the row of boneset, the oakleaf hydrangeas, and my three surviving ferns in the way back. There's maybe two bucket's worth left to break up and decide who gets it.

I also cut back seedhead fluff off the larger 'chocolate' joe pye plants and the boneset, and scattered in places where I would like more to grow.

Sorry no pictures. Maybe I will get some tomorrow to add in.

around the garden

I've been doing some work on the garden structure- the bed edges and such. But too tired from that to write it all out now, so here's some incidental pictures from the past few days. More on the actual work tomorrow. Found an unknown caterpillar- black and spiky!- on the boneset plant.

Which is doing great- it grew so fast, 

already the height of my small camellia.

I want to get more of this plant, or the common one that blooms in summer. Near it is the yarrow- so thin and small- I really admired some yarrow in a relative's yard several states south this past weekend, where it's warmer- hers so bright and thick and feathery! I suspect now mine would do better if I move it to a sunnier location.

Funny though, the same gardener had arum growing here and there in her yard. She asked me what it was- they'd been pulling it out! I like the bright, exotic appearance. She thought it might be an objectionable plant. I shrugged and said: well, if you like it, leave it be- but if you don't want it around, you'll probably have to dig up the tuberous roots. Here's mine, regrowing in fall-

I dug up a few echinacea to take to the plant swap soon. Here with other potted extras on my little bench- several catmint, a few beautyberry, and two pots of the miniature geranium (which I've grown tired of).

Not sure I'm going to take the beautyberries to the swap, though. Half the larger ones I transplanted died, or look like they did. This one by the hydrangeas is just a few thin sticks with a few leaves- 

but it does have three clusters of bright purple!

The side bed it's in, starting to look a bit neater and more deliberate. I've dug the stones into their places in the ground, to make the edge. Pulled more grass from behind the edge, and transplanted some errant ajuga out of the lawn, back into the bed.

When I was doing that work (actually about a week ago) I trimmed a bit of the wild chrysanthemum, and just stuck the cuttings in the ground on the other side of the little ornamental cypress. Wasn't sure if they'd take- but not only did they survive, they're blooming! Hard to see in this photo, I'll get a better one soon.

how some things are doing

out there- these are some of the newer plants, from the last swap I went to, months ago. Coreopsis on the narrower side yard did okay- at least, it bloomed- but flopped over into a tangled cluster. Pretty sure it ought to look a bit more tidy?

The Liatris spicata has made interesting spikes topped with purplish-pink flowers- but they're so straight and tall, the few in the front bed feel out of place. And this one's leaning.

I'll move them to join these on the side later

The obedient plants are unimpressive- just greenery. So is the boneset, but it's grown so tall and healthy looking, actually done better than anything else I planted in that spot back near the fence yet. I would like to get another boneset, maybe an earlier-flowering one . . . 

I've got a volunteer baby evergreen back here, too- that escaped my attention when it was smaller (I usually pull them when just a few inches high)

Here's that dusty miller I always thought would die- it survived and grew a little more. I think because I've started pulling out and cutting back all the yellow salvia around the panicle hydrangeas. They're spreading and it's too much.

Still love my false indigo plant, and it has these odd, fat fuzzy gray-blue seedpods now

Black-eyed susans have spread to the other side of the walking path. So bright in that corner. My kid likes picking them.

My milkweeds are tall, tall! But no monarch caterpillars still. I'm disappointed at that. They've got heavy hairy seedpods on them now (not pictured) and quite a few are flopping over- I think probably because growing near the remnants of old maple stump under the ground, which might thwart the roots of new plants still?

Last of all to note, here's one of my redbuds that survived the deer so far (because I fenced it in). Funny, this is supposed to be an understory tree, but all the others which grow in shade are much smaller than this one, which is getting full sun more than half the day.

tidied up

grass edges around a few more beds today, and borders of the lawn where my husband mowed yesterday. I was trimming stuff and pulling (what I think is) japanese stiltgrass from around the milkweeds- still no monarch caterpillars though I did glance looking for them- and saw the hummingbird! It was inspecting my young hybrid japanese maple tree (wonder what attracted it to that) and then zoomed over to feed on a few blooms of gladiolas. Must be feeding on the black and blue salvia, too. I'm hoping the cardinal climbers will bloom soon and then I can see it on my deck. 

I do believe my echinacea patch looks healthier than ever this year.

I'd hope it's from measures I took the year before last, to cut back on disease- cutting out all stems that had white stickiness fuzz from mealy bugs, and when the plants died back, cleaning out as much of the dropped blackened leaf litter as I could- assuming it harbored aphid eggs. This year there seems to be far less diseased leaves. (I had the same sense about my borage patch in the front yard, but it could just be that I'm so glad to be out doing stuff in the yard again, everything looks better than ever, ha). 

I've seen what looks like a single pea vine among the echinacea in years past, this time I found it flowering- looks like a sweet pea but no scent.

The funny seed stalks of my arum are standing around.

I did see a swallowtail butterfly up close among the coneflowers, and stood a while just to watch it. Still pleased with my patch of lysimachia purpurea groundcover

- although it remains much less impressive through the camera eye.

Also happy with the sweet woodruff, even though I still remember how my youngest thought it was a weed! (The one that's really a weed is the creeping jenny- I regret putting that in now. I must start pulling it out).

The boneset plant is doing just fine here in the back corner- where nothing else had really thrived yet. It's near my camellia- here's a picture of that- which also looks better this year than ever.

I'm telling you, my vision is colored overly positive since recovery has allowed me to get outside and get my hands pleasantly dirty again! Only an hour or two a day so far, that's enough to tire me out still, but I'm happy with it.

days of grey

and drizzle, perfect for planting out the new stuff. I got all of them in the ground except the new england aster, and the solidago rugosa (below) which I gave away, as I realized it's in the goldenrod family and makes sprays of yellow flowers. Just not my favorite flower color.

Near the top of the second sideyard hill, where I'm trying to establish groups of flowering plants, I put the little brown-eyed susan on the side, uphill from the new daylilies.

Further downslope, the Liatris spicata.

Opposide side of those, flanking the gladiola bed, some obdient plants. I put a few near the garden in the backyard, too. Some of these not sure if I've spaced them out enough . . . 

Here's the top of that sideyard hill. I'm very pleased with the clary sage, it really stands out when nothing else is really blooming yet. That's older daylilies to the left of the pink clary, and turtlehead filling in between and behind. In front of them are the lyreleaf sage (shorter plants) and a bunch of volunteer violets. I also put in two or three coreopsis, but the foliage is so fine, can't hardly see them.

Here's a closeup of other coreopsis I planted on the first sideyard, near the steps.

In the back near the camellia, I put the late thoroughwort, or boneset.

These are the lady ferns, in where took out the small-leaved holly.

While doing all this, I found a small baby stinkin' hellebore on the second sideyard! It's probably too sunny for it there now, so I dug it up and moved to grow behind the lady ferns above. 

Also dug some sensitive ferns where they were encroaching on the walking space. Yanked out grass that always grows tall in this gap between the basketball hoop and the little patio, that I always have to cut by hand. Put them there. I think ferns will look nicer.

There's more pics and things to say, but another time.