Proof of Life

Every spring I wait patiently for the hardy hibiscus to show signs of life. As spring creeps into summer, I become more and more convinced that they have succumbed to the previous winter's challenges and have died on me once and for all. And then one day (usually in June!), they start popping through! It's an exciting day!

I planted four new hardy hibiscus last year in front of the house (behind some rose bushes as you can see in my terrible photo). Three of the four have made an appearance. There's really no reason to believe the fourth won't appear, but I'm a little anxious as I bought these at Linder's and they're no longer around to guarantee their perennials. The fact that Linder's doesn't exist anymore still really bums me out!

I've got a few other plants that seem to be in their early glory. This geum was also a new addition last year.

It's kind of sweet. It's well covered in small orange flowers. It could definitely benefit from some companion plants, but I haven't decided what those should be. It's planted next to the Hope for Humanity rose bush, but that's not quite in bloom.

Hoku likes to pee on the irises, so I don't have many left in the yard, but this bunch seems to be thriving despite their horrible treatment by the beast!

Another Lovely Iris

This lovely opened up before all of the rain we had this weekend. I don't know who I got it from, but just like this one, I wish I had a dozen more!

With all of the rain this week, the garden looks a little beaten down. The areas that haven't been mulched are muddy and the plants look like they're covered in dirt. The mulched areas look a lot better, but I'm afraid to walk through the yard to get to them for a closer look. We definitely need a few days of dry, sunny weather to get things back on track!

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Iris

This iris was planted nearly four years ago. It did absolutely nothing. No blooms. Didn't even grow a new leaf. So I moved it last year and it seems to be much happier now! I hope it's twice as happy next year.

Blooming This Week

Spiderwort: it's going gangbusters this year - I think it's about a foot taller than it's ever been.

The last of the irises.

The first of the many unknown lilies have opened.

The orange poppies finally opened. The thing is loaded with HUGE blossoms. I wish I had about a dozen of them!

I got a few more things in the ground this week, including a "Nelly Moser" clematis. I've got three more clematis to plant, but haven't quite figured out the trellis part yet. I suppose I could just plant them and do the trellis later? That sounds like it would involve some extra work, but that's usually the way my gardening goes, so I don't know why I'm over thinking it. ;)