It was a lovely day in the Gardens until….

I was taking advantage of a beautiful day and doing some more Spring cleanup, I sure will be glad when this monumental cleanup task is done!

Tulip

My Tulips are opening nicely now, and though they took their time they were worth the wait… they're such a lovely shade of pale pink...

Daffodil

The Daffodils continue to be stunning, I just couldn't resist taking more photos… too bad they won't last a whole lot longer...

Rhododendron

My little Rhododendron doesn't have many leaves, but its going to put out at least 7 blossoms… Yes!!

Flowering Shrub

Bad me, I don't know the name of this Flowering Shrub (help anyone?) but this shrub was almost completely wiped out by bunnies last year (or was it the year before that?)… Anyway, I'm very glad that not only has it grown and filled in quite nicely, it looks like its going to produce a bumper-crop of blooms this year… glad I didn't give up on this one!


I was having a great time out in the garden today until….

I slashed my thumb on the wheelbarrow… I had taken off my gloves in order to remove my jacket (I was getting too warm) and didn't think I needed to put my gloves back on to take a load of debris into my woods…  Now you know I'm a novice gardener, a more experienced gardener would have known better, but now I have a bit more experience :)


Ah well, I'd been in the garden for several hours & it was probably a good time to stop…  The rest of the cleanup will have to continue on another day.

Hope is flourishing...

I blogged a while back about some unexpected overnight freezes, and we did get a bit of damage, but things seem to have survived - in fact just about everything is bouncing back nicely…

My Oak trees have put forth more leaves, these are in front of my house & I really didn't want them suffering extensive damage, so except for one branch on one of the two trees they're looking pretty good… I'll just have to trim off that branch later in the year (unless it decides to come back)…

My Tulips are finally opening up… so they didn't suffer from the weather, it just slowed them down a bit… and the ROUSs (deer) didn't munch them down to the ground either :)

My Strawberries are blooming nicely… hoping for a crop that doesn't get consumed by slugs this year…

This Creeping Phlox is showing off… must have liked the temps in the 70s the last couple days (today only in the 50s - but nice gardening weather)…

My Smoke Bush is putting out lots of new leaves, so the damage done was not devastating, I just hope he'll bloom nicely despite the trouble he's had…

This little Weigela is looking pretty beat up, not sure why it suffered so much (it's bigger cousin didn't have much trouble at all)… but at least it has lots of new life spring forth.




The only thing in my garden still giving me pause (other than my Hibiscus which never does much until Summer) is my Lilac… is she going to leaf out & are her blooms going to open… only time will tell…

Carrying On...

I'm continuing to work in my garden, making some progress along the way… 

I've been going through a lot of mulch (42 bags so far)… good thing the local garden store is nearby since my Mini doesn't carry a whole lot :)  Surprisingly I can get 12 bags in without harming my ability to see out the back… with 2 riding shotgun in the passenger seat.


I finished doing battle with the Decorative Grasses today, they are now all down to reasonably sized clumps… my blistered hands and aching muscles are very glad that task is complete (whew!)…

My Rhododendron is starting to put out blossoms… Last year he didn't bloom, which had me concerned (he had 1 bloom the year before).  He's just a little guy at this point, but getting bigger each year… it looks like he may have as many as 1/2 dozen blooms this year :D


My Tulips are getting taller but still haven't opened… hopefully they'll be open by this weekend.

Blooms, some good, some not so good...

Strawberry Bloom...

I love blooms.  Blooms mean its Spring, things are growing and thriving, I love the colors…  In general if it flowers its my friend… There are exceptions, and today as I was working in my garden I decided that:
  "Happiness is a bucket full of uprooted Dandelions" 
I'm also not fond of Creeping Charlie, back home in California they still think its a House Plant, and it does have pretty flowers, but its nasty to gardens & lawns… 

Red Current Blooms

I'm a bit concerned about my Red Current, it was blooming during the recent overnight freezes, I don't know if its going to produce this year… I only planted it last year, so I'm not really concerned about getting fruit, I just want it to be healthy (and it looks healthy so far).

My Neighbor's Lilac

I'm concerned about my Lilac, it doesn't have many leaves and the blooms haven't opened… now that said, the area in which its planted it seems like everything happens later than it does in my neighbors' yards, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed… I sure hope mine looks like my neighbor's one of these days/years.

2nd Creeping Phlox

This picture doesn't show the color well on my 2nd Creeping Phlox, just now starting to bloom (my other one is covered in blooms)… this one is a pretty purple, but I just couldn't get a shot in which the color didn't was out a bit… hopefully I'll get a better picture when its more fully in bloom… At least this plant is healthy & happy and ready to bloom.

Winning the War!!

I've been doing battle out in the gardens today… and though I'm wounded I'm winning!!

I'm finally finished with cleanup of the gardens near the front porch, this represents about 35-40% of my flower gardens… it feels good to get this big section cleaned (35 bags of cedar mulch so far).  I still have some annuals to plant in the "pit" (under the Oak trees), but that will wait a while… I'm thinking maybe double-impatiens, impatiens do quite well in that shady spot.


I mentioned doing battle… I have tall (5'+ when grown) decorative grasses that have gotten too big & need to be split.  There is no easy way to split these…  the best way I've found of dealing with them is taking a Sawzall to them, cutting through as well as under, and removing chunks.  One of the ones I tackled today (on my mound, not pictured) was a 3' diameter clump, the middle 2' seemed as if it were solid wood (under the ground)… over an hour later with the Sawzall that mammoth was reduced to two (manageable) 1' diameter clumps… All in all I spent almost 2 hours with said Sawzall, and I have the blisters to prove it (no I don't plan on posting pics - ewww!)… but I've won!  There are still more grass clumps to split, but I'm done with the worst of them.

Sprouts reaching for the Sun...

Some of the seeds I planted a few days ago are already sprouting… Yes!!  The ones sprouting so far are the Tomatoes, Tomatillos, and Thyme.  Hopefully the rest will sprout soon, I am looking forward to getting an herb & vegetable garden going this year.


I'm a bit worn out, I spent several hours in the yard today… so I'll leave you with some pretty flowers & call it a night… enjoy!!

Creeping Phlox are blooming nicely!

Spending time with some friends...

I've been busy trying to whip my gardens into shape… and I'm now about 30% done with Spring cleanup… its going slow because there's just a lot more splitting that needs to be done than usual, my shovel is getting a good workout… I'm getting a good workout too, one thing's for sure - during Spring I don't need a gym membership!


Some friends in the garden:

My first Daffodil is now fully open, and she's being joined by her sisters...

A Chickadee purchased nearby (a few feet away) while I was cleaning up some shrubs.

My Violets are blooming up a storm…

There were a bunch of these pretty butterflies fluttering by… one was nice enough to rest on my oak tree in full sun just feet from me… nice of her to let me get her picture!

Getting dirt under my nails

It was warm & dry enough today to venture outside and get a bit more Spring clean-up done, so I smile when I say that I have dirt under my nails (ok, they're clean now, but they were dirty earlier).


The Cottonwood trees have started shedding fluff… its obnoxious & means that in a few weeks I'll be pulling baby Cottonwood trees out of my flower gardens… my allergies don't like it much… but its relatively harmless… better than the other white fluffy stuff we're known to get here in Minnesota.  Don't get me wrong, I like snow… but not in Spring!!

Cottonwood fluff on the lawn… this is minor,
I've seen it several inches thick at times!

Part of my lunch...

I'm still working on Spring clean-up, and having to split almost all my plants this year… so even without the recent weather glitches things would be going slow…  As I'm going I'm pulling up seedlings that the birds have been spreading from the feeders… when I took my break for lunch I started laughing at what I put in my humus wrap, it looks a lot like the seedlings I've been pulling out of the flower beds!!


So if I eat the same stuff the birds eat does that make me a bird brain? 


Anyhow… it was nice to get out in the garden and get a bit of work done… I've got a long way to go but at least I'm seeing progress.  You can tell how far I've gotten by the color of the mulch & the size of the plants…. I'm about 20% done with my flower gardens, and hoping to add a vegetable garden in the back...

What to do on a cold gloomy day?

This morning we had snow, yes I know its a four-letter word but its the truth, snow, flakes, falling from the sky… luckily here in the southern half of Minnesota it just melted when it hit the ground… my friends to the north weren't so lucky (I've heard some areas got nearly a foot - yuck!)…


The weather this last week has been downright discouraging… our Spring started early this year, and the plants had already been acting like they were Springing... and what should we get but some overnight freezes  :(   As a gardener its discouraging, but I feel worse for the Apple growers who have had horrific losses... expect Apple prices to go up next year  :(

I've had some damage (see yesterday's post), but most everything should be ok… I hope… my first Daffodil continues to open up (albeit slowly) and she's a beauty!!


So, what to do on a cold gloomy day?  Why play in the mud of course!!  No, I'm not nuts (um… uh…) or I should say not nuts enough to go outside to play today… so I played inside in the mud…

That's right… I planted some seeds… I'm determined to grow more edible plants this year!!  Ok, I guess this proves I am nuts, since my flower gardens alone are almost too much to handle… but I'm sure I'll have some yummy results :)

Hope Springs after the Freeze

We had a couple nights with freezing temperatures over the last week, and there is damage… but there is also hope… the damage appears to be limited, and things are beginning to bloom!!

Damaged young leaves on one of my Oak trees.

A couple of my oak trees that are more exposed have some damage, but there are also young leaves with no damage… and its early enough that they should be fine later in the season (crossing fingers & saying a prayer).

Lilac Leaves, a bit of damage.

My Lilac is a bit later than my the rest in the area, and the leaves have a bit of damage, but the blooms… 

Lilac blooms, getting ready to open...

The blooms, at least the ones the deer haven't eaten, they still look pretty good… :)

Minimal leaf damage on my Weigela

My Weigela has only minimal damage (phew)!!

Violets… one of my earliest bloomers!!

For some reason I still don't know what this plant is called… but its blooming (one of my early bloomers)…

Creeping Phlox

My creeping phlox is blooming - yeah!!

Damage on Smoke Bush leaves...

My Smoke Bush seems to have been injured, but still has some young leaves that are ok, and lots of buds that haven't opened yet…

California Poppy

My California Poppies are coming back up… I didn't know if they would… this is a pleasant surprise!!

Daffodil opening...

My Daffodils are beginning to bloom (mine are late)… 


All in all I'm pretty happy with my garden so far, hoping for more blooming days ahead…

Cruddy Weather!!

Seems as if Mother Nature isn't going to cooperate with me… when I have time free its cold, windy, and even rainy… argh!!!

Paperwhites… started indoors… 

Another potential overnight freeze is coming Monday night, so I still can't transfer some plants outdoors that I'd really like to get planted… my Paperwhites I started indoors aren't looking so good, I'd really like to get them in some good nutrient-rich soil.  Then there's my overgrown potted plants that are longing to get outside, and will be planted in-ground this year...

Pelargonium

Kalanchoe

I also need the indoor space to start some seedlings if I'm going to get my vegetables going this year…

Yikes! Freeze Warning for Tonight!!

Blooms forming on my Creeping Phlox

Just as Spring is getting into full swing…




Blooms are forming and getting ready to open…

Hosta pushing up through the leaves.

More and more plants are pushing through the leaves left over from last Autumn…




We find out that we have a Freeze Warning in place for tonight (way more than a Frost Warning)… 




That's right, here in the Twin Cities the overnight temps are expected to be in the 20s (yuck!)…

Foam-covered external pipes...

The plants are just going to have to tough it out (I don't have any annuals planted yet).




Unfortunately I've got the sprinkler system activated already… so check out my beautiful work covering the external pipes (don't you love colored duct tape?)...

Raining Today, can't go out and play...

Its raining today, so I can't go outside and play… but the view out my living room window of the woods sure is pretty!!

She's a Honey(suckle)!

One of the plants I'm enjoying watching this year is a Honeysuckle I've had for a couple years now.  This is one of three Honeysuckles I planted, each very different from the others, and this year this one is showing off… she's already getting very full & leafy, so hopefully we'll have lots of fragrant blooms later in the year.


She's a Honey!!


I continue to work in my gardens, Spring cleanup still has a long way to go, but I'm enjoying the process!!

Fresh Bedding for some Early Risers

I didn't get a lot of time in the garden today, but was able to get a bit done… I did some clipping on some bushes (bushes are all clipped now), and then I concentrated on this little patch.

Daffodils, Tulips, Iris

These are my early bloomers / early risers, so I figured I ought to get them cleaned up and re-mulched right away.  This is just one tiny piece of my garden, but I only had about an hour to work outside today, so I did what I could get done.


The Daffodils and Tulips are already getting set to bloom… just hope the ROUS's (deer) stop munching.

Daffodil Bloom

Tulip Bloom (evidence of deer nibbling)