For the Record: 2014 New Hostas & Heucheras

Under pagoda dogwood in back:  L to R

Heucheras: Frosted Violet, Lava Lamp, Cinnamon Curls, Bella Notte, Lava Lamp (not shown)

Under Forsythia:  

Heucheras:  Caramel, Marvelous Marble,  Lava Lamp

Under Charlie Brown Hostas: 

  back: Luna Moth (from hosta show)

front: Carnival  (from hosta Show

in "D" garden South, Heucheras:

Left:  Blackberry Ice

Right:  Frosted Violet

"D" garden north:

Astilbe White Sensation

Front walk Hosta garden:

Left:  Sum and Substance

Right Kiwi Full Monty

Also planted a new Hardy Hibiscus near the Willow stump:  Plum Fantasy Rose Mallow.  And two new Shasta Daisies in the pagoda garden:  Silver Princess Leucanthemum superbum.  Late last year planted Red -Leafed Mukdenia (Mukdenia rossi 'Crimson Fans') in the hosta garden under the back birches.  Bill planted three Frosted Violet Hostas in his garden also.  

Spring Stars

The yard is really blooming now.  I keep trying to stay ahead of things, but once the spring really takes hold things just move faster than I can keep up with.  In the last few days I pruned the apple trees of the last few sucker branches, bought two new Yews and planted them along the west side of the house, moved the Lilies of the Valley that the Yews displaced out to the creek, planted 12 potatoes in the vegetable garden, fertilized a bunch of stuff, put blood meal on the lilies that something is eating every night, moved a catnip clump from the garden up near the house so Kate and Cleo can find it, cut back a bit more dead foliage, purchased leeks and broccoli starter plants, moved a bunch of plants from the basement up to the deck and the greenhouse.  I'm sure there is more, but I can't remember.

 

The stars of this week are the Darwin Tulips, the Trout Lilies, the one single Primrose that has been blooming for at least 8 or 9 years under the Willow at the beginning of the walkway to the creek.  Also the Pasque flowers that have planted themselves in unexpected places, and the beautiful Daffodils.  I'm also pleased at the progress of the Ligularia that we moved from the area around the old pond out to the first berm.  It is coming up beautifully.  Very early spring seems to be a wonderful time to transplant perennials if you can be sure of where they are.              

Early June, Finishing Up

Well, my predictions of finishing all the planting last weekend didn't quite come to fruition. And of course, it is impossible for me to stop buying new things this early in the season. So, there was plenty to do today. I decided to put the elephant ear in the new deck planter. As I dug it up to transplant it from the flat it was growing in to the planter, I was surprised to find out that I had planted it upside down. I just don't have a good sense of how to handle the bulbs/rhizomes/tubers/?? of this plant. I'll have to study up on it. Despite being oriented incorrectly, they were growing pretty well, so I think they'll take off once the hot weather comes. Had a couple left over, so I planted up a pot full of them to move to a blank spot later on.


I threw away the agave plant that I've had for many years, having brought it home from Arizona. I think it was from the yard of the old man across the street from Mom & Dad's first house there. But its really meant to get much larger than I can afford to let it, and so it never looked good in that pot. I saved the single crown of a Queen Victoria agave, which is smaller and more well behaved. We'll see how that goes alone.

Planted allysum under the red cannas, put the two seedlings of 4 o'clocks in that bed also. 6 plants of Sundial Fuchsia moss roses in various cracks under the gazebo. I had a flat of marigolds that I couldn't find a place for, and finally put them under the correopsis among the ageratum. Added an eggplant to the vegetable garden, and also plunked in a single cleome seedling that had been among the elephant ears. Shopping at Steins this morning I found some beautiful hardy mum plants that were of sale for a pretty good price. So I bought 8 of them and put 6 into the tricorn garden in front. I hope they really are hardy.

Put the Sago palm that I've had for many years out onto the front porch to get it used to being outside. Usually I do that earlier in the year, but this year it was actually making new leaves during May and I didn't want to risk it. It looks pretty on the front porch, with the heuchera in full glory, new leaves still vibrant and young, but fully grown

Looking for rain as I write this. We had an inch this week, but then a hot dry very windy day yesterday took it all out. There are storms around, but so far nothing except enough to make it hard to sit out on the deck.







Also blooming this week: the wild viburnum in the woods are beautiful. Anenomie Canadensis, Japanese Lilac, astilbe that didn't get "frosted", Iris, Wiegalia, hosta in front, shorter larger allium near pond, beautiful columbines - many colors, all over in full bloom.