Watered all of the plants in the front gardens with a mixture of Miracle-Gro. We had a light steady ran for an hour or so after that so hopefully the plants got a good soaking and were fed. I still need to fertilize the trees(lilac, crepe myrtles & Rose of Sharons) I'm thinking tree spikes. Those have worked well the past few years.

Cosmos that I planted from seed are coming up. They are orange and look like the ones at PlantsDatabase.

I bought two packages of Cosmos seeds about 4 yrs back. One pack of violet-purple and one of orange. Both did well flowering however all the the orange ones did a much better job of going to seed. I still have "volunteers" of them that
come up in the flowerbed by the 2nd drive. though I only had them there the first yr. Have been able to grow enough of
them and get enough seed that I haven't had to actually go out and buy more seed.

My Flowers--Spring 2004

Canna
The bronze leafed cannas seem to be doing well this year. Last year they were bitten by a frost
and then the Japanese Beetles went wild on their butts. I did move all of the ones that were
around the deck. I have them along the west side of the house and around the utility pole that
is in the flowerbed. Year before last I seperated the Green foliage Canna's from the bronze ones. There were very few of the green leafed variety in with the bronze leafed ones which seemed to
be taking over. Last yr the Green foliage Cannas did well in their own space. They bloomed for
the first time a beautiful yellow flower with specks of an reddish-orange. This year I expect they
will do even better as they were about the first things peaking their heads up in my garden.

Roses
My four rose bushes all have buds on them and the melon colored roses are about ready to open.
Of the four rose bushes 2 have melon colored blooms, one has a pale dusty lilac bloom and another
has a deep pink bloom.

I divided some of the sweet williams and they seem to be doing well. This is the first yr they
bloomed. I set them out rather late last yr. The other dianthus varieties are doing well. Have
tried to root the ones that have the look of a carnation. I do need to divide out the other ones
resemble peppermint candy when in bloom.

Herbs
The catmint is doing really well. All of my herbs are doing well with the exception of the Sage which I killed. It was taking over so I thought I'd try to divide it......its now a nice shade of brown.
Oregano does well here...I have a plant in the herb garden(around the back deck) and two for
greenery in the front flowerbed. The chives are also thriving as are the Rosemary and Lemon Thyme.
My Lemon Balm seems to be doing much better since I moved it out to the side flower bed near the
hosepipe hookup. Apple Mint is doing really well but I don't remember it ever having a bad year. I
love to clean some of it out of the flowerbed just before we mow the lawn and throw it in the yard
to be mowed over......gives the place a nice smell which is much better than the usual wild onion
and grass smell.

Rose of Sharon Trees
The Rose of Sharons are really putting out this year. I need to put some fertilizer on each of them.
They are planted just inside of the property line on both sides from the front of the house on back
to the end of the lot.

Crepe Myrtles
The Crepe Myrtles are doing well this year...but it is still early. Last year they did not do so well as
they were a favorite of the Japanese Beetle. We treated the yard again this year and hope that
our lawn will not be so infested with the pesky beetles. There were so many that you could actually
here them chomping on the leaves of the small poplar trees in the back yard.

Houseleek
The Houseleek is doing wonderful. I really need to divide it out again. When we moved here in '96
there were just a few twigs of it....but now..I use it as the greenery and have it in almost every
bed. I have looked for pictures of it in bloom but the only ones I have found have the deep pink
bloom. The variety I have here has a pale pink bloom.

Hydrangea
The White Hydrangea bushes that are on either side of the drive suffered a set back from the rain
we had during the winter which washed most of the mulch and dirt out of their beds. I hope to
put some limestone rock in that bed soon. Also have one of the blue hydrangea by the deck. It
hasn't bloomed yet and I'm hoping this will be the year.


Hibiscus
The Hibiscus are up a bit. They seem to grow really quickly. They were also a fav. of the Japanese
Beetles last year. Their white blooms are huge during a good season--almost the size of dinner
plates.

Peonies
This year should be the year when I find out what color the peonies are. I ordered a "grab bag" of 3
from Jung Seed this past year. They were planted too late in the season last year to amount to
anything. There are 4 buds on the larger one. I'm guessing it will be a white or a pale pink but its
too early to say for sure.

Lilacs
The Canadian Gem Lilac tree is doing well. I don't expect it to bloom this year as I just planted it
last year. I figure this year will be the year it gets its roots established. Same thing for the lilac
bush which I planted by the front steps. Would be a real allergy haven if the lilacs and the gardenias
bloomed at the same time...and then throw in the Honeysuckle which usually cover the brush
at the end of the back lot. Bring on the Clariton.

Sweet Peas
This should also be the first year that the Sweet Peas bloom. Am really looking forward to seeing
how well they do. They really need a trellis. Might have to look into that.