Welcome to 2015

   

      Just checking in to report progress, especially on all of those Veseys great buys last year. Garden time is here and I can't be spending time indoors!!

After a record-breaking snowy winter (almost  550 cm. in total) spring arrived sluggishly. It was very chilly long into April, but the snow FINALLY all went (people were still finding snowbanks in June in some places) and I got the plants, started in the house, out into the poly-tunnel at last. While the snow lasted we took advantage of our extra height (on snowshoes) to do some pruning up high. Fred did the spruce hedge and I tackled the apple tree. This will be the big fruit year for the Golden Delicious so I didn't think it would affect the fruit production. I never get to harvest the ones at the top of the tree anyway.

     These are striped squills, from Veseys, never had these before. Anne has the blue ones, Siberian, we think, and they are amazing. Very bright and visible blue. These were lovely, though. They are in the south corner of the bed beside the house. The fritillarias did really well there this year, and the spring anemonies have spread in an amazing fashion. I love that their seed heads are almost as attractive as their blooms.

       I dug this bed by the lilac hedge about a foot wider and put in a lot of the tulips and grape hyacinths I had bought at Veseys there. (Next fall I shall prepare ahead of time!) But they did well, in spite of the fact that they went in in November. I had bought quite a few daffodils, but there weren't many of those in evidence this spring. It may have been too late for them. I am pleased that only one of the peonies didn't make it. I am looking forward to a bloom on the "Callie's Memory", it is an Itoh and was listed in the catalogue at $59.00.  My 3 bearded iris "Immortality" has one bloom between them, but the 3 "Ziggy" German ones don't have any. They are alive, however! There are many perennials I haven't yet seen - pink buttercups, Petrovska, baby's breath. I may have spotted the papaver "Harlem". Fingers crossed.

     I am planning to make a "woodland" garden in the area to the north of the shed - the trees are mainly evergreens, unfortunately, but there are larches, which allow in some Spring sunshine from the east. I need to beef up the evergreens at the back because the spruces are getting on in age and their lower branches are dying back, so the chilly northerlies are getting in. I am thinking cedar as it is quite dark back there.
     Anyway I planted a clump of Erithroniums at the edge (Veseys, $2 for 5) and they were the sorry-est-looking bulbs you've ever seen. But look! They bloomed! and they are doing well. I have bought a spurge at the Flower Patch, and I may move my geums in there as well. Then the oranges and yellows will be together. I have to build up some beds for plants along the edge by the fence, and then a path to a seat at the back, in front of the cedars. It would be a great place for rhododendrons on the other side of the path.  I have a couple of cornus alternafolia there too, bird-planted I think. One for sure is a keeper.

     Anne was over for a couple of days to help shore up the poly-tunnel - we put a frame around the bottom and a 2x4 ridge, and plastic doors front and back. It seems to be holding up against the wind, though I don't know if it will be able to withstand snow load. I should be able to stick a couple of posts up under the ridge, though, and that might help. Of course,  I don't know if it will be enough, if we get the amount of snow we had last winter!

To this

From this

Much better!!!

Thyme for Bulbs

      We have been collecting bulbs for the past weeks and I had nearly all of them in the ground... and then Veseys had their half-price sale, and now I have more! A great big bag of different ones I have to site somewhere. I bought a couple of huge plastic pots when Kent was moving to their new store (and selling off the stuff they didn't want to move) and I think I could put a lot of little ones in there - I am thinking the Hollandica Iris (I have 50!) on the bottom and the crocus on the top (Blue Pearl and Jeanne d'Arc). But the fritillaria Persica and Fox's Grape will have to go into the ground. (I seem to have a habit of planting bulbs on or near Hallowe'en!) But first I need some styrofoam peanuts for the bottom of the pots or I won't be able to move them around. They are that big.
     The ones which are already planted are Alliums - 4 Gladiator and 15 Aflatuenense, and pink assorted narcissus (I always fall for these) as well as fritillaria Meleagris. And a whole lot of tulips, pink and white doubles and some purple ones from Vanco. Spring will be glorious.
          I found a great mitten pattern on Ravelry in the free patterns. It is in DK with a lace pattern on the back of the hand, and I have made one pair and have another under way. They are very quick and quite cute, I think! And could be a great use for all the DK I have gathered and have in storage.
      I have been home, of course, and making time for domestic tasks as well as planting. Processed a pumpkin yesterday and made puree for the freezer ( and a pie) and I am thinking I will do the other pumpkin as well, today (instead of wasting it as a jack o'lantern). I may boil this one rather than roasting it. Roasting may be more flavorful but it takes more cooking time.
       Yesterday I finished off planting a big patch of thyme - we killed the grass with carpet and I have spot-planted thyme plants in the space.

I am mulching with newspaper and sawdust to keep the grass from coming back until the thyme has gotten a head start. I know we will probably still have to mow to keep the grass at bay, but I think having big patches of thyme will be a vast improvement over just grass alone. I gathered some of the plants at the beach, (wooly thyme) and some of them had white blooms, as well as the more common purple. My fingers are thoroughly crossed.