In the Garden

I'm so behind! I missed posting the tulip pictures - they were quite nice this year. Awfully late, but they were pretty. By this point in June, the leaves have usually withered to nothing and it's easy to plant around/on top of them. Not so this year. I've got a tomato planted smack in the middle of a tulip patch because I had no where else to put it!

I'm excited about the lovage this year. It finally appears to be reaching it's full height - almost as tall as me. And it looks like it's going to bloom. I'm planning on harvesting the seed for planting in other places around the garden and to make celery salt.

The baptisia is finally blooming! I planted this from seed 3-4 years ago and while it has always survived the winter, this year it's finally worthy of stopping to look at! It's still quite small, but the sweet pea-like blossoms are lovely. It's planted the hellstrip, so the soil (if you can call it that) isn't great, and it's usually hot and dry. I'm hoping next year it becomes the standout of the spring.

Grandma Z's rose bush has a couple of blossoms. I think it bloomed once all of last year, so it's already surpassed last year's performance. This is also planted in the hellstrip, but that's sort of where it got it's origins. It used to grow in the ditch by Grandma's house. We dug up a patch and planted it at Dad's house. He's done nothing with it for 20+ years and it has practically taken over the hill on which it was planted. I dug up a bit a few years ago for the boulevard. It's comforting to have a piece of Grandma just outside the front door. I don't really know what it is... some kind of rugosa. The hips are big and hopefully I'll have enough some day to make rosehip jelly or some other little treat.

If you look closely at the Jacruwhi rose leaves, you can see that the leaf cutter bees have been at work. They get all my rose bushes at some point, but do seem to prefer some to others. They don't really harm the rosebush and with all the news about declining bee populations, I'm happy to provide them with nesting material.

In the Garden

The early tulips are putting on a show, but the real extravaganza is yet to come. I planted a few dozen last fall (of course, I can't remember what they look like) and previous years' plantings look to have flowers on them, too.

Tuesday's forecast is calling for 94F! I'm sure soil temps will make a quick uptick this week - it will be interesting to see what else pops up. I'm anxiously awaiting the hardy hibiscus and hoping it made it through the winter.

Trillium at the Dog Park

Another bad cell phone pic, but Spring is just so exciting - now that it has finally arrived. Although looking at the weather forecast, one might think we've skipped spring and gone directly to summer - Tuesday's high is supposed to be in the 90sF!

Dutchman's Breeches

It's been snowing/raining/snowing/raining for what feels like weeks now, but there are definitely signs of spring out there. Hoku and I came across some Dutchman's Breeches in the woods at the dog park. I had to look it up when I got home - I knew it was some kind of Dicentra, but don't remember ever seeing it. I guess it's so fleeting that you have to catch it at the right moment. They're lovely - not that you can tell from the crappy cell phone pic.

Quick ... Before it Snows!

No, that's not a typo. And not an April Fool's joke, either. It's May 1, and the forecast calls for snow.

We had a glorious stretch of 70-80F days and now we're back to this. Before it gets covered up, here's what's popping up in the yard as of yesterday:

Of course, I'm thrilled to see all of them, but if I had to choose, I'd say I'm most excited about the Lupine. I've been trying for years to get lupine established somewhere on my property. I've tried sunny spots, shady spots, wet spots, dry spots ... they always just fizzles away on me. Last year when I did the boulevard project, I threw a couple of lupine in there - mostly because they had been sitting around and needed to get in the ground. There wasn't a lot of thinking involved - in fact, once I started thinking about it, I was pretty sure they would fry in that dry sunny hot spot. But it's the first time any have successfully made it through an entire season and the winter! Clearly I should think less when I garden!

Hopefully, they'll all still be there when today's snow melts!