First crocus of spring

First crocus of spring,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

Finally a crocus in bloom! Spring can't be too far behind.

crocs

crocs,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

New purple crocs ready to go. The snow is melting. A couple of crocuses have bloomed. And my new crocs are ready for a workout. They're already getting lots of use walking around the muddy yard looking for new life. Bring it on!

Weird weather

January? 60 degrees and rainy? Odd. But not unheard of. Still this is a record high for the day. Noticed that my chrysanthemums are growing again. One rather long stem of 3-4 inches and lots of shorter growth. I watered them yesterday. I figured, why not. This might be one of those winters that they manage to live through. I wonder if I bury the window boxes in the top of the compost heap if they'll stay warmer? An interesting experiment to try.

Landscape master plan

In November, I contacted the Land Design Office in Wynantsill to draw up a plan for our garden. They did a wonderful job! John Kelly, the owner, came over and met with us to find out what we wanted to do with the garden and hardscape around the house. This was supposed to be a Christmas surprise for my husband, but I didn't plan carefully enough, he was still home when the landscaper arrived. Oh well, he got to put his 2 cents in as well!

John took lots of notes and returned later in the week to take pictures. A month later he presented us with a plan. He'd re-arranged lots of the shrubs and trees that we already have and re-grouped the perennials into better groupings. A number of plants that I've wanted to try were also incorporated.

The plan included hardscaping - a deck, patio area, new walkways, a spot for a small water feature and some good ideas for improving drainage near the house. There's also a raised bed area around the shed for my veggies and herbs. A major issue was to fill in the edge of our property with some shrubs and trees to create a border that will look good from our side and the neighbor's, yet give our garden a bit more privacy and hopefully deter the deer from eating my veggies! We like our neighbors too much to put in a tall fence. Though I must say, the tall hedges of England with very private back gardens really appeal, regardless of how friendly the neighbors are.

The plan looks terrific. He did a great job. We have a large scale architectural type drawing to work from, a small one for easy reference. Shopping lists for new trees and shrubs, a list of plants (new and old) with pictures and growing info. And tons more stuff on the CD that he gave us. My father had some fun going over the plans when we visited last week. I left one of the big drawings and the planting list for him to examine in more detail.

Now we just have to do the work! They are a design-only company, which is just what we wanted. We can make the changes ourselves over the next few years. First step - the new deck and pation. Hopefully this spring.

The big pineapple

The big pineapple,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

On top of a BIG Pineapple! In Nambour, Queensland. July 2005.

Tomato season has ended

Tomato season ended a few weeks ago - quite late for this area. Very late frosts and a protected spot for the plants kept them going much longer than normal. I picked all the green tomatoes and brought them in. So I'm still enjoying the ripening grape tomatoes as a snack and in yummy guacamole. The Juliet grape tomato plants were very productive. Tons of tomatoes.

As usual, I kept thinking I'd get around to trying some green tomato salsa recipes, but I keep putting it off and guess what? The green tomatoes are ripening. Oh well, they're still tasty. Not sure they were really any better than store bought grape tomatoes - heresy to say that I know! But it was fun to grow them and have tons to pick whenever I wanted.

Cuttings of impatiens and geraniums

I took tons of cuttings from the beautiful apple blossom double impatiens that were hanging on the porch all summer. The ones in a jug of water have rooted nicely and are actually blossoming too. Another batch in a pot of soil and perlite have also taken root, though no real signs of growth yet.

The geraniums - not so sure about them. They don't look like they're dead, but they're not really growing yet. Hopefully I can still salvage the plant from the porch. We haven't had long hard freezes yet, so I think it's still alive. They're ones that I've overwintered for several winters now.

Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs

Thank goodness for a warm day last week. There were over 100 crocuses, 50 bluebells and a few packages of tulips waiting to be planted. They'd all been sprayed with a good dose of Ropel a few week ago. Racing against the sunset, I planted everything in about an hour. Nothing was planted carefully! The crocuses were scattered around the back lawn where the new grass is coming up. Some leftover daffodils that I found in the basement went in there too.

The tulips are are in two or 3 clumps in the back garden. All ready to become part of the deer buffet in the spring. The bluebells are back there too, mixed in amongst the shade plants. Think the bluebells will ever look like an English woodland? (Amazing photography on this web site: Trek Earth)

The lawn...

... is in a sad state after all the construction vehicles tore it up this summer. The ruts through our neighbor's yard are substantial. They were terrific about letting us use their lawn for access, we couldn't have done the construction without their cooperation. We'll be fixing their lawn in the spring.

In the meantime, I raked up some of the construction debris and scattered a bag of grass seed on our back lawn. It came up in a checkerboard pattern! It took root nicely in the little ridges of soil that I created as I raked in a nice orderly fashion. Oh well, there will probably be more construction there next summer. Time to put in a deck and some patio landscaping.

Moving Plants

I moved lots of plants in September and October. There were tons of hostas and astilbes to be rescued from the apartment garden. They're now tucked in with the daylilies and daffodils at the back of the house garden.

Two small blueberry bushes (twigs really) went in next to the new shed. They were freebies from an order of Meyer Lemon trees from Wayside Gardens. The rhubarb plants also moved to the shed area. Hoping to have a raised bed veggie garden there next year.

Some hollyhock seedlings went in on the sunny side of the shed. Our neighbors should have a pretty view of those next summer and we should be able to see them out the dining room window.

Plants that I saw in England

Euphorbia - good shrub - saw lots of it in Barnesdale Gardens and all over in other gardens. Check it out.

Ruskington Garden Centre - Lavandula Christiana - very tall
Ruskington Garden Centre - Echinacea Vintage Wine - very purpley pink
Ruskington Garden Centre - Cosmos atrosanguineum

Daylilies & daffodils

The daylilies were blooming in the window boxes and temporary pots. They had to be planted. And planted they were. But first I dug holes for the 100 or so daffodils that survived the spring in the basement.

The daylilies are spread over the top of the daffodils. With room for some more plants here and there. The daylilies will need to be rearranged when I see what colors they are and how big they get. I have some more astilbe and iris I can move to that bed too. And maybe some hosta too. Yikes, I'm running out of room again.

Roses

The two roses by the front door are Angel Face and Iceberg - I think. Both have a wonderful scent. Iceberg seems much more disease and bug resistant. Angel Face is looking might sad at the moment. A bit of tlc is needed.

I wonder where

red daylily,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

this daylily got moved to? I'm sure I moved it out of the path of construction, but where did I put it?


Aug 4: I think I found it in the back garden. It should be safe till next year.

Salvia "Purple Rain"

Look for plants or seeds next year. Salvia verticillata Purple Rain. pic in july 2006 horticulture.

Pine Bush Plants

Pine Bush Lupine Festival was held today. A bit gray and dreary, with spitting rain, but still they seemed to have good turnout. And all the lupine plants were gone by the time I got there at 1:30. I should have realized that. Next year, earlier.

I did buy some "Great Blue Lobelia" or Lobelia Siphilitica. North Creek Nurseries has some nice pictures and cultural info. Odd, it's not really a sunny, dry, sandy soil kind of plant. Oh well, it's pretty, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Hopefully it will grow in the back garden.

Too many daylilies!

The Crescendo Daylily collection I ordered from White Flower Farm arrived last week. There were supposed to be 24 bare root daylilies. More like 30+!! And then there are the 300 daffodil bulbs that were on sale at Park Seed over the winter. They're all awaiting planting. But when????

Hydrangeas

Wayside garden has some nice hydrangeas. They white would look great against the red brick. Also in the back, it would glow from the partial shade.

Also Limelight hydrangea from Proven Winners looks like a good option.

Daffodils

Daffodils in bloom in North Carolina. Park Seed had a great special on daffodil bulbs this winter - $25 for 300 bulbs - plus one of those big lightweight pots that look like stone. Of course, I couldn't plant the 3oo bulbs in upstate NY in the dead of winter (though it was warm enough in January for about a week!) So they're stored in a box full of styrofoam packing peanuts. They'll go out as soon as the ground thaws and the garden will be awash with them next spring.

Blue Mountains View

Image10,
originally uploaded by pollyalida.

A lovely view in the Blue Mountains of Austalia. This was taken in July 2005, near Wentworth Falls. What a stunning spot and wonderful hiking.