What's happening in your garden?

[Manalto]

i need to find a different watering device.

You might want to look into an impact sprinkler but I don't know of any reasonably-simple system that isn't affected by water-pressure fluctuations. I can't recommend a brand because mine are old but there are a few choices out there. I prefer brass but note that I become a cranky curmudgeon when the topic of plastic comes up. (I recently read that plastic pollution is so ubiquitous in the environment that the average person ingests the equivalent of a credit card's worth of plastic every week.)

[Manalto]

We've had some great spring weather, albeit a little dry, and things are popping. Bicolor daffodils in the morning light today.

[MJ1987]

We've had some great spring weather, albeit a little dry, and things are popping. Bicolor daffodils in the morning light today.

My daffodils are exploding, too! Crocus was already here and gone Excited to try to get the lawn going this year. Sprinklers just got fired up and pre-emergent just got watered in. Also had to treat for grubs. When I skimmed the weeds off my area out by the curb it was LOADED with grubs. Hoping that the treatment proves effective so I can roll out a little sod in the coming month.

[Lily left the valley]

This week started out busier than I thought it would be, so playing a bit of catchup and quite glad for the nice weather. I'm doing my level best to at least start or do a bit each day on what I can until we're nearer to last frost. M-W was quick yard cleanup on the way to the compost bin and a bit after when I could. The green is starting to come out in more than just the tawny daylily bed, but it's slow to take over the tans and browns. The fall planted garlic is still trying to push through, and hopefully tomorrow I'll have more time to amend that bed so the garlic is deeper down and well covered.

I think I mentioned the minor tomatoes mishap that's also been keeping me busy because they're now taking turns at which one wants to play dead during the day in the south facing kitchen windowsill. I'm doing my level best to keep them alive since I'm the one that forgot to change the delivery date to later. So far...so good.

Found a few very nice rocks today when I finally dug in to make room in our wildling front yard for some flowers James offered when we went down to CT on Sunday. It was super nice meeting someone from the District to have a face to put with the name even with masks. Thank you again, James. It was also nice to see your family's garden even if some of it was still resting and awaiting their time in this growing season.

I set the rocks aside as well as some other bits buried within the winter grass bits for the moss garden beds. I still haven't slept and I have a community meeting tonight so I couldn't spare more time to work further on that. I particularly like that there's no rush on the transitions of those beds, and I have plenty of time to fiddle with the rock configurations and can always change them another year too.

We had the most birds overall I've seen yet at the same time outside my office window today. I tried to take a picture, but the camera focused on the screen, and by the time I realized that most of them had moved on and there wasn't as many grouped after that moment. Cardinals, juncos, sparrows, robins, chickadees and one other not so standout plumage type I haven't ID yet. I was hoping the tufted titmouse would be there too, but not today that I've seen. When I've been gathering up weather felled spent stalks from flowers last year, I've tried to give them a good shake by the office window in case there are any seeds left to help give the birds reason to keep coming back. I did put some more food out for them last when we were still going below freezing at night, but have been cutting back now that it's warming up again.

As I write this, one of the squirrels is pretending not to notice me as it scuttles about looking for any unclaimed fruit or seeds. Now it just stopped and is frozen, hearing the warning calls of the birds up and away from the ground, which means one of the neighborhood cats is nearby. I've started to learn the difference for some of them, though I can't always match the call to the bird species yet.

[Lily left the valley]

I was going to post some progress the other day of clearing out some died back plantage nearest the street level on the driveway side of the front yard in prep for the slope work I was hoping to do this weekend. Then they changed the forecast, and then despite several false forecasts of late that were waaaay warmer than previously predicted, this was taken at 1am last night (EDT). Going to be another fun spring. (Predicted to be back to 60°F by Monday.)

[Manalto]

You got much more snow then we in central Connecticut where a little bit of slush frosted the lawn and then got rinsed away.

I was pleased to receive from my next door neighbors a couple of photos of my garden in Alabama. It's remarkably nice how they share my enthusiasm and know that, since I'm away, I'll miss the display.

Daniel, who cuts my lawn, sent this photo.



Many years ago someone had lovingly planted this rose but when I arrived in 2017 it had been overwhelmed by wild growth surrounding it and was struggling to survive. I moved it to a sunnier location and occasionally chopped back a stray cane or two but didn't devote an inordinate amount of attention to it, so I was surprised to see this robust display. An easy rose - now that's a find.

Bruce, Daniel's father, sent me this photo.



During the last Ice Age, the ice cap stopped somewhere in the middle of Alabama, allowing some ancient plant species to survive. Among them are interesting deciduous azaleas. The British, avid gardeners that they are, hybridized these and adapted them to the UK climate. Martin Van der Giessen, our local plantsman, has returned these varieties to their homeland and re-adapted them to the southeast climate. Many are fragrant.

I got three of one variety of Martin's creations in a deep orange and planted them, as it turned out, at precisely the wrong time. They were stressed by a late-summer drought, hammered by hurricanes, and frozen in the record-breaking cold that swept the South earlier this year. I coddled them when I was there (between hurricanes and freeze) but didn't hold out much hope for their survival, so it was nice to see at least one of them soldiering on - and in bloom.

[Lily left the valley]

I'm still quite wishful that our azaleas were the hue of yours. Glad to see some of them made it through such a tough start! A friend of mine that is taking over a relative's house sent me a picture the other night of a shrub in the yard so I could help him ID it. (He's totally new to gardening--so to him I'm an expert.) I thought it was going to be hard to do, but it turned out to be the same Girard christina azaleas that we have, just in much better shape and larger in size. He's also down south, so not as much concern about getting snow dumped on them when it slides off the porch roof.

I deliberately didn't brush off the side porch rail just to see how high the heavy wet snow might go. I'd guess five-six inches from some knock down when the rains overtook the snow, when seven had been predicted. I already hear steady dripping from the bulky exit roof. 47°F predicted today, with scattered rain showers until tomorrow.

The tomato starts are still doing ok. The cherry start is already forming a new cluster of flowers, and I'm not sure if I should pinch those off as well, or press my luck and let them be. I took a peek under the winter cover baskets just before the snows. The lavender looks fine, it's too soon to tell how the ornamental sage fared, the rosemary...I have no idea because when I tried to brush around in the leaves without taking the cover off couldn't easily see or feel anything, yet was rather surprised to see an onion happily growing away under there, though the stalks are yellow (likely from lack of sun). So I have no idea if the rosemary (just a starter last year so very small) just laid low and I'll find out later when I fully brush back the leaves, or if it simply withered away despite the cover. The one local nursery we go to recently changed hands. I called last week asking if they'd have the rosemary variant Sean loves, and they will have it. The new owner (who answered the phone) isn't planning on making any big changes straight away. I also had gotten a head's up the other week that Agway will have witch-hazel coming in, and we should be picking one up soon as they're setting one aside for me. I still wish we could have gone to Nasami Farm for my birthday, but Sean having to work wasn't so bad since the wet snow would have made the trip miserable even if they were even open. (Quite a few places closed on Friday.)

The red maples, lilac and black raspberries are all budding. Not sure how much we'll lose from this squall. I honestly never realized exactly how many red maples we have until this year. Especially with the snow clinging to everything, it's been the perfect time to notice all the deep ruddy buds that stand out so distinctly I don't know how I didn't realize it before. I guess in past years I've been so wrapped up dealing and learning about lower growers, I simply didn't look up as much as I should. The only other color in the tree tops right now is the pale yellow green of what I think are gray willows. One on our property, and another the next neighbor heading south. I really have to figure out how to get that tree ID'd by someone that can give me a definitive answer on that.

[Gothichome]

James, you have the magic touch with flowers even when your not there. Roses are amazing plants, once established they will take a lot of abuse and neglect and still survive. Give them a little bit of loving though and they return your efforts with fantastic growth and flowers.
Lily, every thing here has come to life, trees have budded out and are now forming leaves, all our annuals have broke surface and we even have some flowers. The tulips and daffodils are going strong, daffodils have all opened and tulips starting to open. Upper management had to cut the grass for the first time the other day. Still haven’t received my dahlia bulbs yet. Have to get the cannas and callas (I have already forgot James lesson on what is which) planted. Some thing to do over the coming week.

[Lily left the valley]

I tried to plant some cannas last year I had bought end of season the year prior, but nothing came up. I haven't yet brought up the corms for the glads from the cellar yet, likely won't do that until early May. Oh dear....I just remembered I had stored some carrots down there as I've been experimenting a bit with cellar storage (but worried it's too damp down there). I totally forgot about those and haven't checked on them in ages. I know what I'm doing before I make my next cup of tea.

[Manalto]

...Have to get the cannas and callas (I have already forgot James lesson on what is which) planted...

https://youtu.be/8qSvxdhVuPI

(The other ones are cannas.)