Peony and Iris Time

We put the rest of the raspberry posts in on the weekend - we ran into some issues with the septic tile, which is lurking just 16 inches below the surface, so we decided to brace the posts, rather than putting in a middle one. I bought 12 big zinc screweyes and 200 feet of 12 ga. galvanized wire. It's chilly out again today, and rain is threatened for this afternoon, so I may not even get a sample wire put up today - and tomorrow I'm volunteering at the PGI (it's supposed to be sunny, drat) so I am cleaning house and doing some baking, as my sister arrives on Friday for a visit.
I ordered my rebar for the greenhouse - it comes in 20-foot pieces! but luckily they are going to cut them up into 2.5 foot pieces for me. They only had 6 pieces of conduit (I need 16) so I will pick it up in Summerside when I pick up Fred tomorrow after the golf. They have 25 pieces in stock at Kent in Summerside. They might have some more of the screweyes too. I need four more.

The burgundy tree peony is blooming (it didn't bloom last year) and it's gorgeous. It's also the first of the three to come out. The white one took a kicking from the snow and its trunk was broken (I must stake them next year), so it's just coming back, and no blooms this year. But the pink one has three buds as well. Last year I was a bit disappointed that they bloomed so early, but I'm pleased this year - they make a nice bridge to other, later blooms.

The white iris has been out for some time, but the other-coloured ones are not out yet. I have quite a few of those common blue-and-yellow ones to divide and move - and share - after they bloom.

I planted some more vegetable garden yesterday, 4 Sweet Million and 8 Early Girl tomatoes, 10 zucchini and 5 shallots. I have the other bed-and-a-half to prep. I put the other two Sweet Million in pots - I am hoping to be able to raise them in the greenhouse, and maybe some of the Early Girl as well (and extend the tomato season). I have found more asparagus coming up - there are now 6 plants (of the 10 I planted), and one of them is already branching.  When they get a bit of headway I hill them up with soil-and-manure. I don't want to fill in the whole trench, as I still have hope of the other 4 showing up.
I also planted some of the cleome I started from seed - I'm pulling out the forget-me-nots and weeds in the middle of the borders and plopping them in - they are still small but they seem vigorous. There are many more to go as well.
Helen gave me a bag of gladiolus that Veseys had given her and she didn't want, so I potted them up too. No more putting bulbs and corms in without starting first (in the spring, anyway. Wouldn't work with fall bulbs!!).
I had dropped in to the York Greenhouses on Tuesday and got three kinds of tomato plants (Sweet Million, Roma and Early Girl), two flats of impatiens (pink), lobelia (bush-type, white) and white begonia, with green leaves this time. I also got a flat of 6 amaranthus with burgundy leaves. The low stuff is for the edges of the borders, and the amaranthus is for a change from cleome!

Spring has at last come - and most snow has gone.

I got the next sock pattern - Dangerous Turns - on Friday, so did quite a bit of work on it over the weekend. It's the funniest-looking thing! It's toe-up, and also cabled, so it is very long and flat. I've noticed this with toe-ups before. You don't notice how long and flat a toe is when it's at the end of your knitting - unless perhaps it's one of those long, long size 13 ones (hi, Jeremy!). Anyway, I have a few more cabled rows and then I'll do a few rows of rib and then Jeny's Amazingly Stretchy Bind Off. I must have a little look at it on YouTube because I can't remember it. The heel on this sock is interesting too - you do a M1L and M1R on either side of the sole stitches and that forms the gusset, and then you just do short rows and that forms the heel - turn and all. Cool. And now that I've had plenty of practice on the M1's, I should be able to get back to the Thistle Shawl KAL and do a better job of it. More of that later.
Yesterday I went to Vesey's at noon and got some seeds for starting tomatoes, onions and leeks. I have to pick up some potting soil too. The Beechgrove Garden folks just sprinkled the leeks on the top of a big pot and then pricked them out from there. I could do that. The cool thing they have is a seed starter with many tiny, tiny cells - each maybe 2 cm. square. They can then move the tiny plants to bigger pots complete with the contents of the cells, so no root disturbance. I want! But I haven't seen them anywhere. Only thing that comes close are those party ice cube trays from the $$ store, but they are tiny - only a dozen or so cells per tray. I'm not sure if they are flexible enough, either. I may have to give it a try, though.
In looking at our garden on the weekend I found my white tree peony broken off - Fred thinks if I stake and tie it up, it will survive. I staked but didn't tie it yet. The other two are fine. There were a few tiny rose bushes snapped off too, as well as a cedar in the front which had lost quite a few branches. The snow just pulled them down as it melted. We found quite a few crocus - the really tiny ones, which are spreading quite well. No sign of the bigger ones in the secret garden. The daffs down by the road are poking up as well.
It's just last year we were in Ireland - we keep remembering what we were doing one year ago. Emily's birthday was more exciting last year, I think Irish breakfast in Galway, dinner at a Spanish restaurant in Dublin - but she did get to go to the NDP Policy announcement this year. Life's little compensations.

All Tree Peonies are in - at last.

Took off the day yesterday and worked in the garden - I think most of the major stuff is done now. Finished the right-hand bed and placed the final tree peony - the pink one (though the pot said 'blue'), and then put in some annuals to fill up the space until I have perennials to go in, probably in the fall. I have a few more rocks to excavate from the end of that bed, and probably some Rugosas - they're invading from the lower bed. There should probably be a barrier of some sort or they'll take over the new bed! Anyway, I rooted out a bunch of phlox from the lower beds on either side of the rock stair, so I can put some lower-growing stuff in there and keep it open to traffic, so to speak. I put a lavender plant on either side - in hopes of nice smells! And a couple of white alyssum on either side of the top step - I have more growing from seed which I'll place on either side of the lower steps, to serve as guides after dark. It is still so amazing to me how white flowers show up after dark - when all of the other colours disappear!
I put some zucchini in the vegetable garden, and now I'll have to seek out some potatoes. It's a source of some chagrin to me that both today and yesterday a giant potato truck went by my gate, heaped up with seed potatoes, when I can't seem to find seed anywhere.
So, what remains is edging, on almost all of the beds (I've done some spotty stuff but it all needs doing), and of course weeding, and when some perennials are finished blooming, some renewal - there's one bunch of iris which are VERY weedy, so when they are done I'm hoicking them out and clearing and fertilizing their spot.
Piece o'cake. Almost ready to sit and drink iced tea all day. Yeah.

Dancing and gardening, gardening and dancing

That's how I spent the weekend. One more tree peony in the ground - it's a lot of work when you have to dig a whole new bed for it! And move a small ton of rocks as well. I hope they appreciate the work, and show their gratitude by growing beautifully. Now that I have the new bed, of course, I need other things to go in it - I guess I should stick to annuals this year, as I'm sure there are perennials which would love the new digs after they bloom for this year and are ready for a change. I must look for spiderflowers - cleome - and plant some stocks and cosmos seeds.
Dancing at The Old Triangle has now become a habit - every Sunday for three weeks in a row. We still only have half sets, but we get in lots of dancing. Dave and Helen joined us for a couple so that made it better. After, we went downtown and visited the Cox-Trainer-Hodder Gallery and talked to Gail Hodder, who is the jeweller. She has made a little spot for Anne in the studio - actually they all have studio space there as well, so it should be quite popular with the visitors.
Afterward we just had time to grab burgers for a quick supper in the park and then off to ballroom class. We had been to Mike and Colleen's for a BBQ on Saturday and they invited us specially. We learned the dreaded 3/8 waltz. Rather we started to learn it. I think it could take some time to get it down. And the other new thing was the Rumba, which is just like the Cha Cha except slower and to a slightly different rhythm. The moves from the Cha Cha can be used in the Rumba, though, so it's like getting a dance for free! We have to get some ballroom CD's so we can practice at home. Gary said he and Helen practiced in the driveway, as there's not enough room in the house. I think we might have that problem too.
Talked to Katie, she's planning to come over for the weekend on my birthday, that will be nice! Fred's planning to take off the weekend after Canada Day, so maybe we'll go over and take her bike to her, one of those days.
It should be a busy week, and my AGM is on Saturday, and then I'll have a bit more time for gardening!