garden to do list - spring 2024

 So much to do, so little time.  I have one more weekend left before the burn ban goes into effect, and then I can turn my attention to the garden.  Spring is almost the only time I have flowers blooming, thanks to my seemingly epic amounts of shade, and clay soil.  I am determined to do something about that this year.

Here are my plans...some of these will be for the fall or next spring, after we're finished with the back hoe work, but here is the wish list:

• impatiens in the window boxes
• flowers in pots on the porch
• bring out the houseplants to the porch
• small herb garden by the back door
• cutting garden - zinnias
• fertilize azaleas & rhododendron
• fertilize boxwoods 
• another raised bed
• replace camelia
• replace gardenia
• move peony
• new peony
• move Cramoisi Superieur rose
• butterfly bush?
• design & plant new hydrangeas and possibly boxwood
• Clean out back garden
• treat all hemlocks
• creeping phlox
• transplant some rock iris
• transplant some hosta
• make garden spaces to the right side of wooded path

april bloom day 2015

Happy Bloom Day everyone!  Today is also tax day, and my refund arrives day.  Not even the rain is getting me down!  Even though the tulip show managed to fit itself in between bloom days, I have quite a few pictures to share, and not much time to type.  So lets get to it, and take a walk around my yard.

Shade Garden:

Just a few wide shots for perspective

Wild columbine & woodland poppy, 2nd year purple azalea, 3rd year double columbine

2nd year wild geranium, 2nd year trillium (woodland variety)

Side yard:

Bird's foot violet, spiderwort

Dwarf rock iris with wild fern, dwarf rock iri, rue anemone

 Front Yard:

 

1st year purple tulips

Late daffodils, dogwood & half of my front yard

 new-to-me confederate violets

Wild Azaleas:

 

The wild azaleas are so pretty and just smell so good.  The bees are so happy, and you can hear them as you walk towards the plants.  At my house, the white azaleas bloom first, followed by the pink.  Some of the older azaleas are taller than I am, up to around 8-10 feet tall.  I am continuing to clear out underbrush around them every year, and the habitat is expanding. I'd love to nurse back the grove that my grandmother always talks about from her childhood.

Assorted:

There's not a good way to photograph the blueits and capture the carpet that covers my yard.  My yard is mostly moss, and I only mow a few times a year.  This has allowed the blueits to take over, and I think it is so pretty.

You can also see that my hellebores are very happy with my shady home, and are well on their way to multiplying & establishing little colonies.

Ok, that's it.  Not bad for a quick post!  As always, thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!! If you'd like to see more of what's blooming around the world today, stop by her blog.