Additions, Moves, Removals, and new Blooms...

Additions:
Now that cleanup is done I'm on to other things… I planted several new bulbs, but since I didn't think pictures of blank patches of mulch were interesting I didn't bother to post…  If they live & grow I'll share pictures - Promise!!

Moves:
I also moved some of my River Rock from an area where it wasn't needed to an area it was needed… also not interesting in pictures…

Removals:
This falls into the category of YUCK!!

I had one persistent patch of Crabgrass that I'd never been able to kill… so I dug it up… Take That Crab Grass!!  Now I just need to pick up some sod to patch this spot :)

Blooms:
My Iris are blooming… well... at least the yellow ones are blooming, my purple ones aren't blooming yet - but soon…  June is very late for Iris to start blooming, my Iris tend to be late but this is later than usual… it's been a strange year!!

Isn't she pretty?  I think she's a keeper!!

Cleanup…. Complete!!

On Thursday afternoon this is how close I was to being finished with Spring cleanup & re-mulching…

3 bags shy of being done, and wouldn't you know my local garden store was out of my favorite mulch… grrr!!  It was too late in the day to drive to the next closest one (my scheduling issues)… but the next morning…

The next closest of the same chain of store had plenty, and I was able to finish & have some left over to spare (for changes & fixes)… 73 bags of mulch this year - feels so good to get this chore done!!

Some pics of the yard…

A couple pics of a visitor - a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the suet…

Some pics of blooms…

Tulips fully open…

Tulips, closeup...

Lilac blooms fully open… with 1 1/2 odd colored blossoms...

Closeup of those two odd blossoms… interesting!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away…

… but then again it could be snowing… so go ahead & Rain!!

I'm still 1 day away from finishing my Spring Cleanup.  When the weather's been nice I've been busy...  When I haven't been busy its been raining… yep, the usual…

Things keep growing despite my unfinished cleanup work… so here's the latest photos of interesting things in the yard…

Wouldn't you know, an Oriole was at the suet & I couldn't find my camera…

These pics of the Oriole are brought to you by my iPhone… not nearly as good at a distance but still better than not catching him at all… Oriole's are a rarity at my house - I'm too far from water...

This is a few days ago… the leaves are getting dense in the back woods...

Still my back woods… my path to my cutting piles…

My Creeping Phlox is starting to bloom...

I love her delicate little flowers...

The whole area is starting to really green-up…

Torrential Rain & Jeff Spotted something….

A zoomed in look...

A better angle...This squirrel had found a dry place during the torrent and was clinging to the tree until the hard rain had passed...

This pond formed during the rain storm...

This little Red Winged Blackbird (I believe by the markings its a juvenile male) must have been blown off course by the storm… I guess he decided our temporary pond was as good as any (teenagers!)...

It rained some more… and the pond kept filling...

And some of my mulch got pushed around because it was such a heavy downpour!!

That's an awful lot of water under the Oak trees….

My violets continue to bloom...

And my Lilac blooms are just starting to open… I'm so excited for this!!

That's all from my gardens… I hope to be out in them again once this rainy spell is past.

Signs of Life in Minnesota...

We went through the Winter from Hell this year, not all that particularly cold, not ever overwhelmed by a huge storm, but hellish because it just wouldn't end… and we had snow even into early May… UGH!!

But the good news is… it finally ended!!  We've had normal Spring weather the last (almost) 2 weeks, and even a particularly warm day on Tuesday (90s), and things are bursting with life!!

My young Maple Tree had these lovely lacy blooms… first blooms in my yard this year!

The Goldfinches have been regulars at the feeders…. oops, that's my neighbor's clippings in the background… but the birds are cute!!

During a much-needed break… but I've been hard at work…

After I quit for the day (yesterday)… one more section remains to be done, but the yard is shaping up nicely!!  60 bags down 10 to go (approximate mulch count)….

Can't wait for more to start blooming!!

The March of the Mulch has begun!!

Yes, Finally!!  Too bad the March didn't start in March… but at least it squeaked in before May.

We are finally having a bit of Spring (though there's some snow in the forecast for tonight/tomorrow)…

So I'm finally able to (carefully) start cleaning and re-mulching… this was the first section I tackled… it has my "early risers" (Iris & Daffodil) and a few bushes the bunnies had been gnawing on...

These two lovey-dovey sweethearts were doing an elaborate and very tender mating ritual on the rail of our upper deck… so sweet!!

This Big Boy (a Pileated Woodpecker I named Woody) was making fast work of an old stump at the edge of our woods...

The Hosta's are already pushing out leaves...

My Iris are coming along nicely...

Jacob's Ladder is coming back in… Yeah!!  These were new last year - this section not yet cleaned, as if you couldn't tell...

The Day Lilly's are coming up like crazy, this is my patch of tall ones that are out by the Mailbox…

The usual songbirds are all back and singing up a storm… you'll get pictures of them when I catch them at the feeders (not yet)… We've had Chickadee, Nut Hatch, Black Eyed Junko, House Sparrow, Purple Finch, Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Dove, 3 different types of Woodpecker (we have 4 types in the area)… the Robins have been hopping around in the grass… the Geese have been honking as they fly overhead… the Eagle's Nest (about a mile away) has a pair ready to lay eggs…

The Bunnies & Squirrels are chasing each other all around the woods…

Yep… it's finally Spring!!  I just hope that the forecast is wrong & that we won't get any more snow… but at least I mulched the areas I cleaned, so the plants are somewhat protected...

Brrr & Brrreeezy...

Yikes!!  The temp has dropped and the wind is blowing!!

Wind blowing like crazy!!

Leaves are falling like crazy here in Minnesota, and they haven't even reached full color yet.  In the picture above the large mature tree across the street is a Maple, she only has about half her leaves in her typical Autumn yellow.

My woods are looking more sparse each day… and the wind is taking more leaves away.

And of course my deck is a mess… but at this point I don't care…  It's cold enough that I'm going to need to empty out & bring in my little fountain - sorry Chickadees but we've got freezing temps coming in the next couple nights…

The Squirrels are being naughty and gnawing at the Suet - pure Suet that my friend at the Bird Store said the Squirrels wouldn't like… hmmm… guess the Squirrels don't know that!!

I had my Sprinkler System blown out, it needed to be done to keep from risking the system once a freeze occurs… I've decided to stop watering in general now & let the garden start going dormant, it's time, the work that didn't get finished this season will be waiting for me when Spring arrives… personally I'm ready for some rest from the gardens.  All that's left is for Jeff to mulch the leaves into the lawn a couple times before the Sn*w falls (sorry about the 4-letter word).  It's been a good season!!

What's a Gardener to do?

I have recently moved a bunch of plants out of this section of the garden into more permanent locaitons (Perennials)... this is the area that I was using to try out some new plants... this is also the "boggy" spot in the garden...

Not to worry... I transplanted the Phlox in the corner as well...

So I was off again to my local garden store to find something temporary to put here for the remainder of the growing season... Seeing that its a boggy spot it would have been ideal for Cucumbers, but it was too late in the year to get any, so I settled for some pretty color that should last until the snow flies (I know, I used the "S" word, bad me)...

Two nice Ornamental Peppers (not for consumption), and two colorful Celosia...

I think they look nice here... they certainly improve the look of this spot!!