I'm back

I took a forced break from both gardening and blogging while I had both knees replaced. This is the three month anniversary of my new knees. I'm so thrilled at how well I have recovered that yesterday I stopped off and bought shrubs to completely replant one of my front foundation beds. Expect detail soon.

Bluebells

The Virginia bluebells are up in the front bed in front of the oakleaf hydrangeas.



Last year I started some heuchera from seed and planted them out in front of the bluebells. They made it through the winter but the bronzy leaves disappeared into the mulch when I tried to photograph them.

Tree planting

A local nursery was able to find me 'Moonglow' a particular cultivar of Sweet Bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). I planted it in my front yard for a touch of something evergeen.



Last year my Forest Pansy redbud flowered, leafed out and died all within a few weeks. My neighbor's well established one died too. Neither of us could think of an explanation so I was reluctant to plant another one. Instead I got a Black Tupelo (Nyssa Sylvatica) to plant in that spot in Hagen's Woods. I had wanted another shade tree anyway and this is supposed to have very good fall color.



Nyssa sylvatica

Buds of Spring

In high school I sang with a madrigal group and loved this one, by Wilbye I think.

Now every tree renews its summer green.
Why is your heart in winter's garments clad?
Then either spring with buds of love again
Or else congeal my heart with your disdain.

Easter afternoon I wandered around and took some photos of buds in my yard

The peach buds looked like fuzzy pussywillows.


The serviceberries will bloom soon. The buds are feathery.


Big fat lilac buds.


Scarlet elder like tiny purple cauliflowers.


Flowering quince ready to open.

First crocus

March 1, 2008
First crocus of the season.

Let the mulching begin

I had a brief period this winter without a pile of mulch in my driveway, probably confusing visitors who had come to count on it as a landmark. The new pile, 12 scoops worth, was delivered last week.

Excavation

I thought I had done an adequate job of killing the stump of an old flowering quince before I planted the Westerland rose in front of it. No such luck. For two seasons I've been cutting back the shoots as they come up. This past weekend I bit the bullet and started digging. The job would have been much easier before Westerland became a huge, flesh-eating shrub. I'm down about a foot around the stump, alternately digging a trench and using the garden hose to blast around the roots to expose them. I'm hoping I don't find a huge taproot underneath it all.

Later that week - Success!

Weeding

It was in the 60s this afternoon and I needed some air so I edged and weeded the asparagus bed. I had both wire grass and barren strawberry trying to take it over so it was a fiddly hand weeding job. I don't think a bare patch of dirt warrants a photo.