What's up in the garden for the week of May 17-23

This is a recap of what happened from May 17-23.

Garden tasks tackled

Monday  -After I got home from work today I decided to clean up the area I've used as my dumping ground for supplies.  I got my rocks, bricks and wood mostly cleared out of the area and then outlined a garden bed with some of the quarry rock (got it from Craigslist last year).  I'll bring in some soil to even it out and to enrich what's there and then I'll plant the red twig dogwood that I removed from the chicken compound (because they were eating its leaves) and an unknown bush that my friend Janet gave me. The bushes will help screen the view of the boat, they won't hide it but will hopefully stop the eye short of noticing the boat first off.
As you can see in the photo the work has just begun!  We used to have a temporary carport for the boat but it got demolished in the February 2014 storm, luckily not causing any damage to the boat.

I also planted up some annual morning glory vines that I started in my cold frame.  I hope they survive the slugs and snails and make a nice show of purple blooms.  

Finally want to do something with this "no man's land" in back.

Tuesday - I pulled out all my iris order forms and old catalogs and did the best I could at identifying most of the irises that I have in the garden. At least those that bloomed this year. Not all that I have purchased bloomed this year.  I was thrilled to run across a "map" of the original iris bed that I planted; it helped tremendously.  I want to be able to redo the iris bed this year so I want to know what's what. I then tagged the photos I've taken this year so I can keep track of them.  This job actually took hours to complete but I am so glad to have done it.  I plan to feature the iris in a blog post of their own in the near future when they are done blooming.

Original iris bed as seen from the sidewalk. Needs work.

Wednesday - Today I decided to build the second composting "bin" in the chicken compound.  I'd like to be able to turn it from one bin to the other or at least have one for finished compost and one for materials that are still breaking down, especially since chicken manure goes in the compost and I don't want to put it on my plants when it is too "hot" for them.  I just used some supplies I had here as well as a half pallet I brought home from the store.  After getting that finished I decided to move the plastic bin into the chicken compound as well.  It was quite a bit of work to empty it out, level a spot for it and then transfer most of the materials back into it.  I was able to spread some into the new garden bed I am making and then leave some in place so I can now use that space for a little garden.  It's great to NOT have the big black box next to the pot that holds the passionflower vine.

We got rain tonight, though not as much as I would have liked.  Can hardly believe I am saying that; there was a time I really never wanted it to rain but now I realize it means less lugging hoses around or worrying about the state of the lawn and flowers.  

Thursday -  Today there was very little time to spend in the yard as I had a lengthy dentist appointment and then errands and I took time out to make a project at the Glass Fuser.  Maybe I'll hang my artwork out in the garden.  I did take time to make tags for the irises and got them put on. Some of the blooms are coming to and end and I wanted to get them tagged up before I couldn't remember which they were. 
Cole moved most of the wood chips from the area where I want to develop the new garden bed.

Friday -  Today was a day for decorating cookies.  Some were for a baby shower (shown here) and others for my nephew's graduation next week.

Saturday - Today was another day that didn't afford much time in the garden as I had catch up work to do in the house. 

What's blooming or growing this week

The Coral Sunset peony's solitary bloom continues to fade out from bright coral to ivory.  The calla lilies and passionflower bloomed on Monday the 18th, as did the yellow coreopsis.  More iris have bloomed and some are now finished.  The white rhododendron is loaded with blooms, I don't remember it ever being so full.

Coreopsis and daisies came from Mom's garden in Bend quite a number of years ago.

Nigella  love-in-a-mist

Time spent in the kitchen

There was no time spent working in the garden on Friday. Thank goodness it was gray and rainy so I didn't feel at all bad about staying in the kitchen to decorate these baby shower cookies and also some graduation cookies.

My only time in the garden was to check on a few of my plants and collect eggs from the girls.  Was thrilled to see 7 blooms on the passionflower vine and also to get 6 eggs.

Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to leave a comment so I know you were here.

A little excitement in the garden

Several exciting little things happened in the garden today, starting with the sighting of a hummingbird at the raspberry bushes as I was making my bed this morning.  I stopped and just watched it through my bedroom window. I have always enjoyed visits by the hummies. The boys and I used to stop in the middle of our homeschooling to watch the hummies that came to visit out the dining room window. 

The next excitement was seeing a passionflower bud that was obviously beginning to open this morning.  Other buds had changed recently but then they just ended up shriveling up and leaving me disappointed. This one showed promise of actually opening and producing a flower.  So of course I was elated when I got home from work and found it fully bloomed. This is the first bloom ever for the plant.  I blogged about this plant here last month when I first noticed the buds. 

 

Another highlight of the day was the blooming of the calla lily in the front yard.  The photo shows them in the early stage of opening but by a few hours later they were fully opened.  Beautiful!  I really must plant more calla lilies and I need to find a more ideal place for them where they will thrive and multiply. 

Later in the afternoon I started cleaning up an area that I'm going to develop into a new garden bed.  In recent years it has ended up being a dumping area for any extra supplies that I have lying around.  I have occasionally gotten it cleaned up only to end up storing stuff there yet again.  I am excited to finally get a new idea of how I want to use the space and I look forward to getting it planted up.

While I was in the process of working in that area I heard a strange fluttery noise and looked up to see a bird bathing in one of my bird baths with another bird standing by waiting his turn!  I had just recently wished that birds would actually use the baths so I was really pleased to get to witness it. 

Lastly, as I left to go on a walk this evening I noticed that another iris in the front yard had its first bloom of the year.

You might claim I am easily excited. Maybe you don't see what's so exciting about these little things. I. don't. care. It was an exciting day to be a gardener.  It's these things that keep me interested in being outdoors in my garden noting the changes and seeing any critters that want to share the space.

05-20-2015 update: It was short-lived. The flower, not my excitement. I'm still excited about all that is happening in the garden. The first passionflower has already closed up, but luckily two more opened up this afternoon.  I had no idea they bloomed for such a short time.  Thank goodness the vine is covered with buds, it will hopefully put on a show for quite awhile. 

Thanks, and feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by.

Garden Bloom Tour May 2015

It's already mid-May!  It seems like the past month has just flown by and in that time there has been a lot of transformation in my garden.  Some flowers that were blooming a month ago are gone now and others are still hanging in there.  The last of the tulips are slowly retiring for the year, the lavender is going strong and now other flowers and plants are just really waking up.  Let's take a walk through to see what's in bloom.

We'll start in the back yard with one of my faves, Coral Sunset peony.  This is its 2nd season in my garden and the second year that it has had just one bloom.  I need to assess its growing conditions to see if I can do something about that.

 This little bleeding heart got dug up by a squirrel; luckily I noticed it right away and was able to put it back.  It's been doing well ever since.

I don't know what this tiny flower is called.  I bought it last year and put it in a planter with a couple other tiny plants.

Last year my friend Katie gave me seedlings that she started in her greenhouse.  The snapdragons did wonderfully for me.  These overwintered and are just starting to bloom this year.  Unfortunately the foliage has some sort of spots on it but the flowers are doing great. I have fond memories of making the snapdragons "talk" in my grandmother's garden in Ronan, Montana.

Also from Katie are the two Columbines.  She got them from a friend and then when she had extras she gave some to me.  I love pass-along plants.

This is the first iris to bloom in my backyard.  I don't know its variety, I may have picked it up last year from a pile in a neighbor's yard.  Hopefully, blogging about my garden will help me keep better record of what I have and where I got it.  h.o.p.e.f.u.l.l.y.

One of my big box store rescue plants, this clematis is doing quite well.  I like to shop the clearance rack for good buys.  I try to choose plants that look like they will survive if they just get a little TLC.  Most of the time it has worked out for me and those that haven't didn't cost me very much. I got 2 of these and put them in different areas of the yard.  One plant is really starting to bloom, the other has just one bloom but the foliage is growing quite well.  Hopefully the flowers are soon to come. 

Clematis "Nelly Moser"

The last of my tulips are hanging in there.  The Elegant Ladies have been blooming for a couple weeks now. The drumstick alliums planted in the same pot are finally showing some buds, I didn't know they would come so much later than the tulips and was hoping to have had them both at the same time.  The weather has been swinging back and forth between showers and periods of sunshine for the past few days.  It has made for water droplets in some of my photos and gorgeous sunsets too.

Almost blooming are the Nigella damascena, known as love-in-a-mist.  LOVE them!  I've had the blue variety for about 20 years or so (they reseed a LOT) and about 3 years ago I saw some in magenta, purple and white so I collected the seed pods and added them to my garden.  Some people cook with the seeds: I haven't tried that yet.

Thank goodness I don't have veins like these beauties! Hirons Drugstore had 4" pansies 2 for $1 and I just couldn't pass them up. I got about half a dozen as fillers for pots, these are actually in a "window" box on the back fence. 

 Let's head to the front now to see what's blooming there.  On the way we'll see these little ivy geraniums that I potted up for a little splash of color.

Next up is this rhododendron that came with the house.  It has nearly been dug up at least a half dozen times in 23 years but each time it puts out some beautiful flowers and then I can't bear to dig it up.  It's a real small bush that will probably have only 8 blooms this year. It sits along the driveway near the other that was blooming last month.  What a statement they would make if they bloomed at the same time!

Don't know the name of this beautiful iris and quite frankly I don't even remember planting it in my garden. It has been here for several years now and is forming a good size clump.  Perhaps a bird gifted it to me from a neighboring garden?

Orange you glad to see poppies in the spring? They are still going strong!   I would love to get some pink poppies that grow as nicely as these but until then I will just keep enjoying the pop of color they add to my garden.

The California poppy is just starting in my yard but I see them all over town along the highways.

Another pass-along plant, this was gifted to me last month when my friend Aretha invited me over to see her V.E.R.Y. lovely garden and then started digging up plants for me to take home.  I got so many plants that day and most seem to be doing OK in their new home.  Thank you Aretha.  Oh, I don't know the name of this plant but I will find out soon. (Update: it's called astrantia) 

I picked up this hellebore at the Northwest Garden Nursery's open garden this spring.  It's the first in my garden.  I would have preferred a pink flower but by the time I got to the sale they were almost sold out and it was only about 2 hours after they opened.  I'll go earlier if I go again, I didn't know it was such a big deal. 

Winter Jewels(R) Cotton Candy Helleborus X hybridus '14

The forget-me-not is still blooming but it's starting to go to seed so I've been pulling some of it out.

My bearded iris are doing nicely.  I'm thinking of doing a post with just iris at some point so will just share 2 of them now.  The yellow one is called Melted Butter. It has not been a consistent bloomer for some reason.

Let's get some PURPLE. Scabiosa, lavender and camas flower.

Cusickii Camassia

This rhododendron came with the house.  This is a stellar year for blooms!  At one time the bush got quite large and I didn't like it covering up the window so we cut it WAY back and kind of started over with it.  Now I just try to keep it trimmed up each year to keep it in check. You can see my original iris bed just beyond the rhododendron.  (Update:  We removed this rhododendron in 2016 when we were preparing to paint the house.  I have new ideas for the front garden.)

I'm excited to have these foxgloves blooming this year.  I have tried them in the past and they never came back.  The flowers started out a little on the yellow side and then went pink.  I need to get out and try to transplant some of the many babies that are coming up all around the trio of blooming plants.

I am STILL WAITING for my passionflower vine to bloom.  It's been 3 weeks since I first noticed the buds and nary a one has opened yet.  This is my first time to grow the plant so I don't know its habits.

And lastly I will share this photo of what caught my eye as I was getting something from my closet yesterday morning.  The sun shone off these water droplets just so and my eye was drawn to it.  This honeysuckle should be blooming fairly soon and then it will be the hummingbirds that catch my eye in the morning. Looking forward to that! 

If you read this far I hope you enjoyed it!  You probably deserve special recognition for sticking it out with me.

I'm linking up with other gardeners to show what's blooming in May for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day with May Dreams Gardens.   

Thanks, and feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by.

Plant a Garden

I totally believe in this quote.  In late fall and winter I believe that spring will come and with it all the tulips I've planted.  And that the peonies will emerge and bring forth their blooms. 

This peony was photographed at Schreiner's Iris Garden on Mother's Day.

Thanks, and feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by. 

Mother's Day garden tour

I really hoped to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day with a nice photo and greeting but I worked at both jobs last week and time got away from me.  Yesterday on Mother's Day I was out touring gardens with Tad and the boys so again found myself with no time to put a nice greeting on my blog. 

My only request for Mother's Day was to drive up to Salem and visit Schreiner's Iris Garden, Adelman Peony Gardens & Sebright Gardens.  My wish was granted and all three were lovely.  The day was overcast and not nearly as warm as the previous two days so it was easy to spend quite a bit of time in the gardens without overheating.

Mother's Day 2015 - Schreiner's Iris Garden (next year I will be the shortest one in the photo, heck I'll be the shortest one in just a couple months!)

The guys seemed to enjoy making up interesting sentences and stories using the unusual iris names.  Hey, it kept them from complaining and it was somewhat entertaining. 

Lupine love!

Sometimes it's good to be different.

The scent was wonderful!  

On to Adelman Peony Gardens.  They weren't quite as busy as Schreiner's but they had a good crowd out enjoying the garden which made it tricky to photograph the flowers without getting random people in the shot.

One thing I just love about peonies is the range of color that can be on one plant as it has flowers in different stages of their lives.  The dark buds, the medium shades of the young blooms and then the faded out older blooms.  So beautiful!  

Coral Sunset - one of my favorites and one I own.

Coral Sunset close up

Duchess of Edinburgh clematis - want

"Julia Rose" - so romantic

 

An iris to add to my wish list

And on to Sebright Gardens and their wonderful shade gardens filled with hostas from miniature size up to giant and everything in between.

I love this color - add to wish list

WOW!

I have never seen such huge calla lilies. (sorry the photo doesn't show their size, I should have had the boys stand nearby)

Such an interesting stalk.

Just three plants rode home with us. Dad gave me some $ for a plant so I picked up these hardy fuchsias at Sebright Gardens. Thank you Dad.

Santa Claus, Coachman & Tom Woods

It really was a great Mother's Day.  I had a very nice time and I think the guys had a good time too. We ended the day with a nice dinner with Tad's side of the family at Tom & Janna's house.

The only thing that would have made the day any better is if I had been able to share it with my own mother; I know she would have loved it.

And here's a photo on Mother's Day 2011.
I see we still had the pink dogwood in our front yard.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to know you stopped by.