To Do

 

This is the area near our pond(s) - I'm solarizing the area just outside the existing bed in order to expand it. Meanwhile, I want to move the agapanthus (at least I think that's what the mystery alien plants are) in closer to the pond because it's fairly short, and fill the area where they currently are with daylilies. I also put in a rosebush at each end of the bed, and a clump of black eyed susans. And I may put some taller stuff in when the solarizing is done.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers, and a few more Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts in the front.

Daffodils

Cannas

They survived. :)

Plant A Row For The Hungry

I don't know how many other states do this, but Food Bank of Delaware has a program called "Plant A Row For The Hungry". I've always given away produce, but this year, I'm going to try to participate in this more formal program.

Terra Cotta

Terra cotta pots - picked the whole pile up for about $15, IIRC. Haven't decided what to do with most of them yet.

Misty

Front lawn, needs mowing soon but I want to wait til the spring bulbs are finished blooming. The grape hyacinths haven't even started yet. I think next year I'll go out and mow sometime in January or February, no matter how crazy the neighbors think I am.

Plum Petals

Plum blossom petals - this time last year, the tree was just starting to bud out. This year, it's already fully bloomed and nearly finished.

Daffodil

 

Our first (ever) daffodil, out by the mailbox. Phlox in the background.

Ughhh...

 

The warm winter and early spring has not done our ponds any favors. Himself spent most of a day clearing the wire grass away from the border, but now the water needs major maintenance. Love the duck decoy he threw in there, he must have found it during the shed cleanout.

Willow

Lilac

Grave

Beagle grave with tulips starting to sprout.

Hydrangea

Outside Looking In

Citizen Science - Make An Impact Beyond Your Garden

I thought this was a pretty interesting post. I may or may not have signed up for one of the listed projects.

Mysterious Hole Diggers

I'm afraid to ask what these are. They look way too big to be ants.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Bergamot

Tomatoes (which I accidentally sunburnt the first day I had them in the greenhouse, oops), hot peppers, and teeeeeeny tiny bergamot seedling.

Clematis

These are going to be *amazing* this year.

Denizens

Yeah, need to get more shelves ready. Almost full.

Cucumbers

Leggy :(

Apparently I forgot to document when I planted these - I'm thinking about a week ago? I planted them, watered them, stacked them under a flat of freshly planted cucumbers, and forgot about them til today I noticed the cukes were sprouting already. The stuff underneath had already sprouted a few days ago, and was awfully leggy already. Stuck it out in the greenhouse with no cover, hopefully they'll do OK now that they're getting plenty of light.

Peas

Fennel

Plum, Pussy Willow, Apple

 

Plum tree in full bloom (petals are beginning to fall, it's almost done already), pussy willow beginning to transition from catkins to puffballs, and apple tree just beginning to bud out.

Freebies

Stonecrop and rose that I put in the ground yesterday. Daylilies, irises, black eyed susans, bee balm, more stonecrop, and more roses remaining to be planted.

Gardeners are a generous bunch, and I try to pay it forward when I run into a batch of freebies like these, and just in general. I packed up a care package that left this afternoon, and I'm setting aside another batch for pickup this weekend. I love that it's possible to divide perennials and  root cuttings for sharing.

Now, Give Me A Hot, Sunny Day...

And we'll have a whole lotta solarizin' goin' on. It's all wire grass out there, and I want it dead before I extend my flower bed. From what I've read, solarizing is the best way to control wire grass. I think I may actually leave it there all summer, to bbe sure, although of course it's quite ugly to look at. For a good cause.

Crocus, Canna, Hyacinth

It's tough to get a photo that captures the lawn, but there are a couple hundred crocuses blooming out there. I hope the cannas survived the winter - this was our first year with them, and we picked them up for super cheap last summer, or I wouldn't have gotten them. I refuse to dig bulbs up for the winter, so we dumped a full bag of mulch on each clump and hoped for the best. And the hyacinths are still lovely. :)

Solarizing

 

I'm expanding one of the beds, over on the other side of the pond from the patio. Partially because I always kinda wished this bed was larger, and partially because I just got a truckload of free perennials (although the donor agreed to let me bring her a truckload of compost and some lilacs) that have no homes yet. She got tired of weeding and fighting off bugs, plus she got stung by a gazillion wasps after she disturbed a nest last summer, so she's converting her yard to mostly shrubs and trees. 

Actually, that was pretty funny - she came up to me at an event hosted by the local art league, where I'm an active volunteer, confirmed that I was me, and that I was "the gardener", and then asked me if I wanted to come dig up and haul away all of her perennials. Of course I did! So Himself and I went over on Sunday and dug up *some* of her perennials - a few clumps each of daylilies (orange, some double), irises (mostly purple, possibly a few peach), 4 rose bushes, a big heavy dense clump of black eyed susans that took *both* the menfolk to get out of the ground, some stonecrop, and a little clump of bee balm. I planted a few items today, and I'm hoping to get most of the rest in, at least in a temporary location, tomorrow. What I usually do with stuff I don't have time to plant yet is stage it in one of the vacant spots in the vegetable beds, which are plentiful at this early stage. And of course, when I get a big load of free or super cheap stuff, I always share the love with some of my local garden loving family. :)

More Shelves

I have two shelves complete, and nearly full of plants. Two more have the frames built, but need tops put on. Worked on one of those today, so I'd have room for more seed flats.

Care Package

Irises and daylilies, packed up and ready for pickup tomorrow. Sharing some of the love, passing on some of the free perennials we got.

Peas

I have pea babies. :)

Pussy Willow

Don't mind the remnants of the shed cleanout in the background. I took some cuttings from the pussy willow today, going to see how hard they are to root. Himself wants to sell some plants at the farmer's market this year, so I figured I'd throw these in, too.

The Help

Hmm. That back corner of the yard looks awfully barren. There are 3 pear trees and a peach back there, but they're still pretty tiny, so they aren't visible in the photo. 

Cat

She stepped out of her sunbeam when she saw me coming.

Hyacinths

We bought some hyacinths on an after-holiday clearance sale last year. They were scraggly and strung out on excess fertilizer in an attempt to force them into bloom for holiday sales. They're much happier now on a diet of sunlight, rain, and compost. :) The bigger foliage is a few clumps of irises. We have a culvert that runs under our driveway, and this is the two ends of it.

Pips

I got some lily of the valley pips to plant out back under the white pine trees. They're big enough that they put out their own shade and mulch now, and I'm hoping I finally have a spot shady enough to keep lily of the valley alive.