First an update on the Yorktown Onion...not much action.
Three new additions seem to be taking off rather well. First is the Tanacetum vulgare 'Isla Gold'-- a bright yellow tansy. It looks like a bright yellow fern and takes full sun. I first saw this in Pam Harper's garden and found it striking.
Next to the tansy is a variegated iris. Iris ensata variegated. When I bought it there were a few in the pot. I put one in the front garden and the other piece in between the driveways in that bed. Well, the voles got the one in between the driveways. Glad I didn't put all my 'eggs' in one basket.
The third newbie is a clematis. Clematis 'Miss Bateman'. It was a find on the discount shelf at the big box store last fall. Can't go wrong for a buck. She seems to be doing fine.
One shrub usually nibbled down to a stub by the bunnies is the Spirea x bumalda 'Goldflame'. It doesn't hurt the spirea as this is one shrub you can prune hard and it comes back just fine. There were other 'veggies' in my garden that the bunnies took interest in this winter, so the spirea is a good size. The Goldflame leaves emerge reddish- orange growing a bit more yellow with red tones. It blooms dark pink flowers. As the season goes on the leaves green up a bit more. In the fall the leaves are fire-y again. Truly a shrub for many seasons.
Last but not least is the Hydrangea macrophylla - one of the two mophead hydrangeas that are out front. I have been trying to remember to add some aluminum sulfate in the fall to get these guys back to blue. They were blue before the hurricane. After being flooded we have had almost no color. I was real smart (I thought) and put the schedule for adding the aluminum sulfate on the computer calendar. Then somehow, Microsoft Works disappeared from the computer... along with birthdays, hearworm med reminders, and garden timing dates. Oh well, there is always next year.
May the green be with you...............
Thanks for the little tour! So nice to see some gree peeking through the brown. VW
ReplyDeleteHi Janet~~ I find it interesting that the soil pH changed with flood waters.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bargain on your clematis!
I have the little round leafed sedum in your first picture. Love it. I have a 'Goldstum' Spiraea out there too. I forgot about it until reading your post. :)
Janet, why don't you add the aluminum sulfate now? I do and it is fine. I like to do it prior to good rains. I like Miss Bateman, you sure can't go wrong with spending only $1. Glad you saved a variegated iris too. I have a bunny in my backyard and terrible voles. I just surprised a big mama with a little one nursing and she dragging it trying to get away. That one got away-till next time.
ReplyDeleteVW- Thanks, it is good to see some green...spring is coming.
ReplyDeleteGrace- It may have been the flood, it may have been a coincidence. We had a lot of strange manifestations in the plants afterward. (thick waxy feeling leaves for example) I actually bought two clematis, think the other one may have been vole lunch. I need to find the name of that little sedum, forgotten what it is.
Tina- I did add some aluminum earlier this week. We shall see. Keeping my fingers crossed. When I was out front earlier I found a fresh load of bunny poop on top of my cotoneaster. Rotten critters.
Look at all those bits of green showing up in the garden. All this rain we've been getting is really waking up the plants isn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a variegated iris - how cool!
ReplyDeleteGinger- I used to see a variegated iris on my way to ballet every week and finally decided that I wanted to get one. Am looking forward to seeing it bloom.
ReplyDeleteRacquel- Sun tomorrow and then rain again on Thursday. Man.
ReplyDeleteA piece broke off a blue hydrangea and I stuck it in a nearby container of potting soil. It bloomed pink the next year, going back to blue when I planted it out again in our acid soil.
ReplyDeleteCum Laude is a beautiful daffodil, one I haven't tried. They're mostly done here except for the new plantings, and the triandrus and Baby Moon, always the last to bloom.
Nell Jean, Seedscatterer
It looks like you are a few weeks ahead of me--I can't wait to catch up.
ReplyDeleteNellJean, Hydrangeas are such a strong indicator of the pH of the soil, though some of the new varieties are color fixed.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad as the daffodils fade. They are always such a welcome sight.
heirloomgardener, It is amazing to see the timing differences across the country...or rather the world!
Janet - that Tansy is such a pretty lime-y green. I love the greens in the garden - I think we really "see" them more in the spring before the blooms come, don't you? Sorry about your computer crash -- there's always something to foil our organization attempts, isn't there?! Happy Spring.
ReplyDeleteDiana, the Tansy will get really yellow come summer time. It was eye catching in Pam Harper's garden. I have a new computer now...so now I need to re-do the calendar and update from the external hard drive.
ReplyDelete