April wrap up

Started digging up the new flower bed near the mailbox. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was. I had it covered with cardboard for a few weeks (I should have done that last fall) I uncovered about 2/3 of it and dug up squares of sod and turned it over- it took about 6 hours. I didn't get to the last 1/3, it rained yesterday and was pretty cold (we had a fire in the stove). I'm still undecided about what to plant in that bed. I was going to go with purple and red but I'm thinking that's going to be really garish. Now I'm thinking pastels (that will go better with the beds closer to the house). If I go in that direction I will dig up Hippolyte (rose) and move it down there and plant the red flowers up by my Winchester Cathedral rose. I also may move Distant Drums down there where it will get more sun. I'm also going to plant some veggies in that area since the space is so big. I'll probably put in some GWR tomatoes and maybe the lemon cucumbers and a squash or zucchini. Captain Sam isn't looking so good, the roses in that bed are being attacked by a little brown worm that's boring into the emerging leaf buds. I'm hand picking them and squashing them but the leaf buds are being destroyed in the process. Russelliana and Clotilde Soupert are holding up better than Sam. I'll try cutting him back and see what happens. I might move him out of there and put Gruss an Aachen there. I need to move Gruss because DH wants it's space to put the woodpile. I have a lot of work to do.

Volunteer Borage is coming up in the veg garden. Peas and fava's are getting bigger. Last years chard is still going. Spinach and onions are looking puny.

What's blooming: grape hyacinths, forsythia, cherry trees, azaleas, narcissus, primrose, tulips, bleeding hearts, creeping phlox, lilacs are just starting (about 2-3 weeks early)

Today
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers through early afternoon...then becoming partly sunny. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 mph or less...becoming north. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tonight
Partly cloudy. Cooler with lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 mph or less...becoming north and increasing to 10 to 20 mph.

Tuesday
Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. North winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming northwest. Gusts up to 30 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph...becoming west.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 50s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s.

Thursday
Sunny. Highs around 60.

Thursday Night
Mainly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.

Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows around 50. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Lows around 50.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s.

Progress?

I've been a lame blogger but a busy gardener lately. I guess it's better to garden than to blog about it and not actually do it. I caught Winter Sowing fever and have planted a ton of containers. I have planted out most of the annuals. I am still starting new containers of perennials.

Most of the veggie garden is in, I still have 1 quadrant to go-squash and cucumbers. The pea fence is totally jacked up and the peas are grabbing onto the garden fence making the pea fence swing at an almost 45' angle. Nice. The lettuce is looking really good. Not a lot of slugs this year (knock on wood) I don't know if it's because I've been so ruthless with them in the past or if it's just too early. I've caught a few so far this year- maybe 4 or 5. The squirrels got my early tomato-I'm pissed! I rescued a tomato plant last fall that I had found growing up between a crack in the sidewalk and a wall downtown. I nursed it through the winter and it rewarded me with flowers a few weeks ago. I came home yesterday and something had ripped the top of the plant off. I stuck it in water and left it outside. Today something took a huge bite out of the tomato. Damn squirrels. What's left of the plant seems to be doing fine. My Silvery Fir Tree plants that I started from seed have buds on them. I'm very excited!

My first rose bloomed this week: Winchester Cathedral (6/7) it beat out Eden, Heritage and Sweet Promise. Some weren't included in the race: Captain Sam got moved so he had a set back, Gruss an Aachen got clobbered first by me then by my nephew before I put a cage around it. Distant Drums got clobbered by the dog before it got a cage. Capain Sam was moved to outside the fence so Bodie can't disturb him anymore-unfortunately now, the deer can- some buds are mysteriously missing....hmm.... Eden and Heritage will probably pop within the next day or two. I planted out all the roses I rooted from cuttings last year except Thor. Thor got clobbered (in the pot) too by my DH, Bodie and me. Poor thing! I put it in a dappled shady area hoping it will recover and will grow more roots and I will plant it out later or even next year if it makes it. The Fairy that I started from cuttings is blooming too. I didn't count that in the race because it spent a nice cushy winter indoors. I've had a problem with sawfly larvae (I think) little green worms skeletonizing my leaves. I'll have to remember next year to be more vigilant and try to pick them off early. It's hard- they're sneaky. I heard wrens like to eat them so I think I'll get a wren house too. I also have to remember to put cages around the smaller roses to keep them from being clobbered.

I scored big time free plants this week- free always makes me happy. Co-worker Cathy invited me over to her house for U-dig ferns, blackeyed susan and daylillies. I got a bunch and she told me to come back anytime for more. She bought a house previously owned by a master gardener. With 2 active teenagers she doesn't have time to keep up with the gardens so she shares with everybody she can think of. Nice!

I need to move the Allium mollis from the front of the house (in the shade- not happy- previous owners put it there) I think I'll put them in the new rose bed with Russelliana, Clotilde Soupert and Capt. Sam. I also have some dwarf sage planted there, ws nigella and candy tuft from my sister's "garden"(she gardens like my mom-what ever survives is her garden). Other new garden bed needs more topsoil. Garden store is having a sale this weekend- 40# bags for $2. Once I get that straightened out I'll put in some of the blackeyed susan and some of the ws stuff- clarkia, sweet william, bells of ireland. I think my ws lupines would be ok going in too- they grew like gang busters-they won't bloom this year but it gives me something to look forward too! She said the daylilies are orange so I think I'll put them in the bed by the deck-I'm not loving the mental picture of Eden roses and orange daylilies-yuck. I pulled almost everything out of the deck bed but the roses and the monarda and re plateded it in other places. We need to come up with a Bodie barrier for the underside of the deck, level the area off (lot's of Bodie pot holes) then replant stuff. The ferns are going where the alliums are being dug up. I need to make sure they don't crowd out the columbine. My columbine isn't blooming, I don't know if it's too early or the spot is too shady.

The clematis on the mailbox looks great this year. I'll have to look at my notes, I can't remember the name. I meant to take a picture but didn't get around to it and the petals are starting to blow off. The one on the light post looks gorgeous too-kind of. I get confused about pruning and I didn't prune that one last year and now it's all straggly-skinny on the bottom and top heavy with blooms and leaves. It looks drunk. I can't remember what kind that one is either. I have it written down somewhere.

What's blooming now: Roses, allium mollis, tradescantia, Peonies, chives, Salvia, yarrow, clematis, bleeding heart, weigala, thyme