Flowers in the Yard

I finally found the packets of seed that I brought this year! Hopefully, it is not too late to start them. So much to do! This coming weekend I plan to divide the catmint, artemesia and yellow daylillies. It seems like the bearded irises near the back door need to be divided too since this year only 3 stalks of flowers have appeared.

The daylilies which I brought from White Flower Farms seem to be doing well in both the front and back of the house. Luckily, I brought an app which helps me to remember to water them, which I've done about once or twice. Mother Nature has also been helping me out by delivering rain these past few days.

I'm not sure how the vincas and lavender are doing, since I haven't been checking on them. Hopefully, they are okay.

It's nice to see that I have some peonies in the garden bed by the mailbox. The previous owner must have planted them there, but they never bloomed because of the shade. Last year, C cut back some of the excess trees, so the extra light encouraged them to bloom. Unfortunately I unknowingly planted an azalea right behind them last fall. I'll have to remember to move that too. The alliums are looking good, though I think I might try a variety with larger flowers for the next time. The daffodils around the mailbox post did not do well at all this season. There were only 3 flowers with heavy droopy heads despite the all the leaves that appeared.

Daylilies and Lavenders from White Flower Farms

Today I finally had a chance to put the lavenders and daylilies that I received from White Flower Farms into the ground. The package arrived last week just in time for the last frost date, but since I was stuck indoors filing out the tax forms, I didn't have a chance.

I planted the daylilies out in front of the house and also by the backyard so that they can be appreciated by us in this more actively used area. In the second picture, Big Daddy Hosta is rearing its head in the lower left. The bearded irises that were transplanted from last year can be seen in the lower right.

Then there were the lavenders. I planted those along the top of the wall, hoping to create a fragrant and pretty hedge. The site receives a lot of sun and since they are sitting on top of the wall, there should be very good drainage.

I'm hoping to clear out the grass and formalize the bed next weekend. At least right now, they are safe in the ground. 

There were also some willow twigs which grew small, but fragile roots while they were sitting in a shallow bucket of water. Many of the branches turned black at the tips, but I put them into the ground anyway to see if anything happens. 

The Top Hat blueberry is now in a clay container... 

And I repotted the orchid into a reticulated orchid pot...

It feels like I've been trying to grow Lilies-of-the-Valley forever! They were doing well indoors until I decided to put some moss over it in an attempt to try to give it a more woodland-sy look. The moss caused a bit of a mold problem, which in turn cause them to suffer. Poor things! Seeing that the bare root pips that I had planted outdoors earlier have not come up, I thought that maybe I would put the sickly ones out back. Maybe they just need some fresh air.

Not far away, the pink Easter azaelea that was given to us by Aunt Jo and Uncle Larry found a home. Unfortunately, I think I put it on top of the hosta that was there last season. Oh well! I think the azaelea might look nicer there anyway. 

Some of the plants from last year seem to be doing well. Here a shot of the spring flowers growing around the mailbox:

Unfortunately the daffodil flowers seem to be a bit too heavy for their stems... maybe I will stake them next year. The purple hyacinths seem to be doing well though and the hosta that was there last year has woken up. In the back, the irises are ready too. 

Some of the plants from Bowman Hill seem to be doing well....

Polygonatum Biflorum var. Commutatum (Great Solomon's Seal). I thought I moved these to the mailbox area, but it seems that perhaps the roots were still strong enough to produce plants this year. 

Polemonium Reptans (Jacob's Ladder). I moved these from the shady area right next to the house, to a spot where there is more sun. It seems to be doing better. 

I forgot where I got the bleeding hearts, but they never fail to make me happy when they make their spring appearance. I'm such a horrible gardener, that I am always very pleasantly surprised to see it come back. 

Happy Violas

I brought a flat of Violas from Lowe's and planted them last week. The purple and yellow ones are so cheerful with the delicate lines radiating from the center!

The purple crocuses are looking good too!