Gardening Progress

Before the Forget-me-knot and Globe Trollius faded, I wanted to document their striking display of blue and yellow.

Our Norland Apple was gangly and difficult to harvest so hubby and I pruned it excessively last Fall.  I'm happy with less apples this year to deal with.

This over sized Lobelia basket looks great on the urn.  My bird bath broke so I'm using the dish to fill the urns hole, which the basket rests on. Lemons into lemonade as the saying goes...

Salmon colored Diascia plays beautifully against the purples of Heliotrope and Brachycome.  This planter will be overflowing with flowers soon.

  On occasion I get a brainstorm. My broken fountain made an interesting planter. I filled the bottom with rocks for some needed drainage before adding soil and plants. If it dries out too frequently, I'll move it to a shady location. I'm anxious to see how this fills in. The Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) was wintered indoors by the dining window, but this Fall I will transplant this perennial in a permanent bed, since my other Jenny's wintered outside successfully.

Moving onto the front deck...

My 3-tiered urns are filling in nicely with more Brachycome, red Verbena and yellow bidens and the window box will be similar in look except for the addition of white bacopa and osteospermum (aka African Daisy). Rain and clouds kept the daisies tucked in tight.

A closeup of the Globe Trollius by the front step.

White Marginata Hostas are growing rapidly and fill an area quickly once the snow melts.

 The other side of the driveway is now showing color due to a recent addition of white Allysum, pink Cosmos and a sunny yellow Sunflower to flank the gate.

As the Primrose mature I'm seeing larger blossoms which are lasting longer. Yay.  I've also had good success with returning perennials, however, several tags have blown away so now I have to research ID's and re-tag with a more permanent solution.

Bleeding Heart's delicate lacy look and faithful hardiness make it one of my favorite perennials, but their dense foliage requires additional support to avoid toppling over.  I use an inverted wire basket with large openings to cage them before the stems grow up through it.

 Off to a good start after it's first winter, the Tangutica Clematis should be blossoming within the week.  The plan is to have the top and sides of the garage door framed with this vegetation.  The flowers are less interesting than their feathery spent seed pods.

Although the Rose Tree of China is losing its blossoms now, once the Allysum and Marigold fill out, this rock garden will be a nice focal point for the front yard.  I'll enjoy changing the annuals each year to spotlight different colors now that the ground cover has been removed.

 

  I'm still buying flowers for inside (bug free), because I love treating myself to their cheerful colors on a rainy day such as this.  Happy Gardening!