May Days

"The country ever has a lagging Spring,
Waiting for May to call its violets forth,
And June its roses--showers and sunshine bring,
Slowly, the deepening verdure o'er the earth;
To put their foliage out, the woods are slack,
And one by one the singing-birds come back.

Within the city's bounds the time of flowers
Comes earlier. Let a mild and sunny day,
Such as full often, for a few bright hours,
Breathes through the sky of March the airs of May,
Shine on our roofs and chase the wintry gloom--
And lo! our borders glow with sudden bloom."
- William Cullen Bryant, Spring in Town, 1850

Hosta and Viola

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
- Mark Twain

'Thaila' Daffodil

Tulip

Hosta 'Eskimo Pie'

I created a flower bed last year under my Tulip Tree on the North side of my home. I have been slow on planting in it as I keep changing my mind as to what I want so I started with a few plants. Some pictures here last year of the flower bed. Saturday I planted Hosta 'Eskimo Pie'. This Hosta can tolerate a little sun, which it will receive from the East in the early morning hour. It reaches 20-24" high and 30" wide. White flowers on 30" scapes in midsummer.


As a companion plant I planted Viola 'Cornuta Purple Showers'. It is also a shade loving plant that reaches 6-8" high and about 12" wide. Its evergreen leaves support star shaped flowers and if cut back in the summer can produce a second blooming. I thought the purple would be a beautiful contrast to Eskimo Pie's pale yellow centers.


The rest of the day I spent spreading a yard (pickup truck full) of mulch. Ugh! But once finished the flower beds look so pretty. This year I will be able to sit back an enjoy the garden more. As some of you may know I spent last year planting about 70% of my flower beds. ....... but I will confess I am one to always find a new flower bed or landscape project. LOL

Weekend Walk Through.

Just a few pictures from this lovely first weekend of May 2008.

"The Great Rock Moving Project"

A picture of one of the many daffodils I planted last fall.








I planted some violas that I purchased from a local nursery Cox's Plant Farm . They advertise as being the largest nursery in Indiana! I don't live far from it so it's hard not to go broke when you drive by it every day wanting to stop in to see what's new. (sigh)



I finally finished one of my major projects! Preparing "The Rose Bed". I plan on adding more roses and perennials with roses being the main focal point. But first I had to move the rock out of the bed. But where to put the rock? I finally decided to put it behind the mini barn in front of the compost bins. Now we won't have to mow that narrow strip.

I pooped out towards the end of my "great rock moving project" (ha, ha). I was on my last 2 feet of rock to move and I sat down in the flower bed, scooped the rock up and flung it into the wheelbarrow. My son (15 years) thought it was funny watching me struggle towards the end. He wasn't laughing anymore when I handed him the shovel.

I put down wet newspapers in front of and around the compost bins then dumped the rock on top of it. I think laying newspaper is easier than digging and it has always worked better than landscape fabric. I had several flower beds that I had to shovel through landscape fabric that the previous home owner had laid down (pretty thickly I might add) and it was a pain to plant in and around it. Newspapers are good for the soil too!

I plan on finishing the rose bed this week and will post when I have it complete. Here are some pictures of the "work in progress".

Mystery Plant

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale

I started my seeds too early this year. Sweet pea, morning glory, nasturtium and alyssum need to be planted soon. African daisy and some different types of viola are still growing or germinating.

I've had bad luck with the nasturtium, maybe too much water? too rich of soil? These flowers like dry, poor soil. I have some seeds left that I will sow directly outdoors along with some sunflowers, marigolds and see if they do better. I imagine they probably will.

The caladium are starting to sprout. I have one that has a leaf getting ready to unfurl. I think these will be ready to plant outdoors by the time Indiana's last frost date (May 10).

My daughter (7 years) has a little garden of her own, so of course she wanted to start seeds as well. On her own she rummaged through the garage to find some pots and filled it with potting soil and planted some seeds I had. I have no idea what she planted, I have, or should I say had, several seed packets and can't remember what they all were. So we have some mystery plants. This may be interesting. Her favorite color is blue and every year she plants some blue flowers or plants in her garden. So if I were to guess I would bet this is something blue.

I guess we will have to wait and see.