Today's Work, Some Discoveries, and Tree Update

We had a wonderful 70 degree first day of spring, and I am pleased with the gardening that got done.  I had to quit around 6:30, because the back of my left leg was hurting.  I stretched, and have it propped up.  I hope it heals well so I can go back out tomorrow.  I have the week off, and am so excited to get the rest of winter put away, and start work at the veggie garden across the street.  I took these photos after I was finished with my work for the day.

I had Larry help me get started on putting chicken wire around the veggie garden to keep the rabbits out.  I used to not mind sharing with them, but they have gotten greedier and more destructive.  I have had enough.  I'll have to watch my flowers, but at least, most of them recover when rabbits munch on them.  The peas and beans don't.

We got it as far as the compost pile.  We'll have to work more on it this week.  Larry's knees were hurting, plus, I had other gardening I wanted to get done.  Much of what I planted so far is popping up.  I planted more lettuce, beets, spinach, and carrots.  I also planted peas.  Rabbits, you will not be eating these pea plants to the ground!  I did decide not to plant next to the fence, though.  I don't want you to eat from the other side.
 

Larry's parents had railroad ties on the other side of the fence.  They were in bad shape, so Larry and I replaced them with cement blocks last year.  The chicken wire is bent into the garden about 6 inches.  The information I've read said to turn the bottom the other direction, but we couldn't get it under the chain link.  We put landscape pins every foot or so, then, went ahead and covered the bottom part of the fence. You can see the green garden wire we used to attach the chicken wire to the chain link.

I cleaned out the dead growth from the area in front of the veggie garden after supper.  If my leg wouldn't have been hurting, I would have raked the leaves out.

I did not put the plants with lots of seedheads on the compost pile.  I need to turn it and put some green stuff in it so it can get warm and turn to compost.  It takes awhile when so much dry stuff is used.

 When we were almost finished in the garden, Larry commented what a mess the side of the garage was.  You most likely can't tell, but this is after I did some cleaning.  I have mints in some of those pots.  I want to see if they are alive, then put them into bigger pots.  I let sweet peas grow on the plant stands because I am trying not to plant in the smaller pots that would fit on them.  There is sand in the trash can.  I'm not sure what Larry plans to do with it.  I could put some in the garden, but I'm thinking you aren't supposed to add sand to clay soil, because it won't help improve the texture or something.
 

 I was pleased to see this blue blooming, smaller kind of comfrey I transplanted to a different flower bed survived the winter.

I forgot what these little bulbs are called, but this is their 3rd year here.

 Heidi  came over to see what I was talking about when I welcomed the bleeding hearts to spring.

This is a white blooming one.

Lady's Mantle:

The darker blooming hellebore has a couple buds.

The honeysuckle given to me by a neighbor lady when we first moved in is ready to grow.

This columbine is not in a good spot.  They aren't easy to move, so I should do it soon while it is small.

I keep showing these daffodils.  We are getting closer to having blooms!

It was cool to have a close view of the flower buds from the silver maple tree in the front yard.

The arborist said he would call tomorrow to set up a day this week to inspect the tree to see if it could be trimmed, or if it is unsafe and needs to come down.  When I told him we planned to get another opinion and estimate if he said it needs to come down.  He said if it needs to come down, they will be able to show us so we can understand that it does.

I'm not sure if I've gotten a photo or even noticed flowers like this on the tree.  I don't think they last long.  Soon, they will be those helicopter seedheads, that is, if the tree is still around.

While I was taking photos, I looked to see if I could see more holes.  I found a couple bigger ones.

I can't tell what that is inside the lower hole.  Is it some misshapen wood from the tree?  It's weird.

We've been enjoying the birds on the feeder.  The female cardinal does not stay around long enough for me to get a photo.  I saw what I think was a female black capped chickadee on the feeder today, but Larry said I scared it away when I was talking to it from inside.  I think I was telling it I wished my camera was close by, oh, and I was saying how I see that she's the female.  Well, I put the camera next to me, but only the male(s) came to eat.

Happy first day of spring!

The Pity Party is Over, & Yes, Short Toothed Mountain Mint is a Spreader

I had too many photos for one post for Foliage Follow-up, so I saved the grooming of the short toothed mountain mint for another day.  It's a good looking plant in all seasons.

I don't know if the birds eat the seeds, but I like the look of them dried.

This is either the 3rd or 4th spring for this plant.  Each spring, there have been attempts at spreading.  I used to think these were stems that had fallen down and taken root, but, I'm thinking they may be actual roots that sprouted on the surface.  I am hoping to continue my diligence in the spring of pulling them up.  It doesn't seem to do that later in the season.  (Added 4/20/11:  I just did some online research, and found out these are rhizomes, which are stems that grow on or under the ground, that have structures so roots can form to make new plants.  That means they are both of my theories at the same time.)

The plants are growing along the roots or stems, whatever they are.

They have a pretty good root system.

Here's the pile of roots/stems I pulled up.  We need to be taking the plants out of this egress window soon.  Once again, I forgot to water them, but if they get a drink soon, they should be OK. 



This clump was growing along the frame for the egress window.  I sure need to keep on top of that!

This was taken after I cut the whole plant back, getting it ready for a new growing season.

 

Yes, my pity party is over.  It's spring, and the new discoveries have started.

A few of the hellebores are blooming, and the others have new growth.  I think this is an 'Orientalis' one.
 

I love to take photos from under the blooms.

This is the 'Yellow Lady'.  Can you see the two buds at the base of the bloom?

The tag showed red splotches on the blooms.  I hope the other blooms on this plant do.

The crocus plants go from invisible under the leaves to full bloom!  This clump by the curb greeted me when I got home from work yesterday.

The hyacinths have greened up and formed flower buds now that the leaves are off of them, and they are getting some sun.

I can't remember what came out of my mouth when I discovered that my lisianthus plants survived the winter, but I greeted them very excitedly, as I have a few other plants when I came across them.  They are grown as annuals here in my zone 5b area.  Now, I'm trying to remember if there have been other years I didn't pull them up before spring.  Maybe they would have overwintered then, too.  I know the snapdragons do most years.
 

I will have to cut back the parts of some of the plants that did not survive.

The first planting of lettuce and such is coming up.

A radish seedling:

Spinach:

Garlic:

A few bachelor button volunteers have come up.

Larkspur:

I am thankful for the freedom to enjoy my gardening and worship as God leads me.  I am following the things going on in other parts of the world, and praying for those involved.

More Foliage Greening Up

Pam, at Digging, hosts a monthly Foliage Follow-up to GBBD, the 16th of the month.  I have much more foliage than I did blooms.  I am really pumped, because I just discovered some I hadn't seen yet this spring after raking some of the leaves out of the curb bed.  I pulled 2 of these tarp fulls of leaves to my compost pile at my garden across the street on the neighbors' property.  I didn't take all the leaves off, just the top layer.

The daffodils have grown taller than when I first posted a photo of them.  They look like they are about to form buds.  Some of the daffodils in other parts of the yard are coming up, too.

I need to check to see if I should take some of the older leaves off of the pigs squeak plants.  Some crocus grew right through a couple of the leaves.

The peach leaved bellflowers are up.  These are growing at the base of the big maple tree.  I pull them out when they grow past the area I have for them.  They are at the edge of a raised bed area, so that helps.  They are very aggressive, but I love the deep purple blooms.  The inspection of the tree is scheduled for March 30th, but I asked if they could come next week if possible, since I will be off work.  They are supposed to get back with me on that.

The 'Spooky' dianthus plants are up well.

The wood betony is ready for spring.

This clump of hyacinths should start greening up now that the leaves are off of it.  I have some more that are still covered.  I'm not sure what the green leaf on the right is.

I have several kinds of yarrows that are greening up.  This is a yellow blooming one that gets more water than it prefers in this spot.  I'm glad it survived winter.  I really should move it.

The basket of gold plants are one of the early bloomers in spring.

Every year I think I'm going to move or take out the 3 kinds of spiderworts I have on the east side of he house, but they come up and charm me in the spring with their pretty flowers, and I don't get them moved.  Sometimes, though, they die back in the summer, leaving an ugly spot.  I put a pot of flowers on them, at that point, thinking I'm going to put something different there next year.

I walked back to the area near the veggie garden to see if there was any foliage to see.  I'm glad the Autumn Joy sedum caught my eye.  I need to get last year's dead foliage off!

The daylilies are coming up.

The 'Octopus' bellflowers are coming up and getting ready for their annual attempt to take over the flower bed.  I'm ready to pull the ones up that go too far.

Shortly after taking off most of last year's leaves from the hellebores, new growth popped up.  I love the color of this plant!

I didn't get my money plant seed pods harvested to dry last year.  Since they are biennials, the seedlings will not have flowers this year, unless some of them started growing in the fall, and I didn't notice them.  That's OK, I can wait.

This is limonium, a statice that does well in my yard.  I dry these, too, but keep some on the plant, because they look good on the plant all season.

Knautia:

Stoke's aster:

The irises all over the yard are sending up nice new growth.

These are sedums of some kind that I got from a neighbor's yard when our street work was done.

I hope to see blooms on the grape hyacinths soon.

One of the geums, 'Prairie Smoke' is looking good.  The others are still under leaves.

Some of the stems of the drumstick alliums are broken off.  I'm not sure if rabbits have eaten on them, or what.

I say spring has started our way.  It's the time when new discoveries will be made each day, as the plants wake up from the long, cold winter, and the lettuce and such will be poking up out of the ground.  If it hasn't started where you are, keep up your hope.  It will come your way, too.