Marie's Gardening Blog

2010-02-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

I know its just Feb 20th but I'm so ready for Spring. Some of my flowers that like the cooler weather are already blooming. I have decided to use the brown paper bags that have been accumulating from grocery shopping as a mulch. I'm going to cut them in strips and wet them and put them around the flowers where I don't want weeds to grow. Will let post results of how that turns out.

2009-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

This has really not been a very good gardening year. Perhaps it is because there wasn't really much planted this year. I did divide out some of my perennials. The cool Spring made for a very nice Spring blooms but the heat didn't give us much blooms during the summer. I had way too many irons in the fire this summer and dealing with some of our health issues just didn't allow for gardening time. The Ficus tree has done wonderfully this year.

2009-05-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

May 12, 2009--My cactus blooms opened

2009-03-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Spring is almost here. I'm soooo ready for it. There are some of my perennial flowers blooming in my front flowerbed. The herb garden looks kinda brown and bear but that will change as it warms. The birds have been out in full force also. Raked the leaves out of the flowerbeds. The leaves insulate the plants over the winter months. Hopefully removing them didn't jinx things and cause more cold weather.

2008-10-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

My Garlic is coming up in my herb garden. I'd actually forgotten that I'd planted it and then while I was pulling a few weeds from around the herbs I noticed that it was poking its head up.

2008-09-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

He have started a cactus garden in the section of the flowerbed which is by the PTAC unit. I couldn't get anything to grow there because of the hot exhaust so I thought why not put plants that love that type of environment. So far we have about 5 different kinds. I'll try to get pics up ASAP.

2008-07-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

The temps have been almost unbearable and with heat index of 110 not alot of gardening going on other than trying to make sure that my plants don't cook. The sunflowers did well. I worked in the front flowerbed trying to make it look less cluttered. I hope that is what I achieved. It does look better. The Fennel that I planted around the other plants is really doing well. Also the cuttings of varigated vine seem to have "taken".

2008-06-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sunflowers planted in my herb garden just outside the back door.

I think this bloom is soo pretty.

Smaller Sunflower in the front flowerbed.

Our Fennel..it's doing so well.

2008-06-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

I am trying to find a cactus or plants that do well in the area of my flowerbed which is near the air/heat unit. When the unit is running their is a constant flow of warm air so I'll need something that would do well in a very very dry area.

2008-05-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

I planted some more fennel yesterday and staked the Sunflowers. The herbs and flowers really look nice. I'll have to get some pics of the petunias up soon.

2008-05-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Mom, Brittany and I went to Deb's bookstore today and traded in some of our books for store credit. I got about 12 dollars for the books she could use. I spent about $9 of the credit and after getting Brittany some books and myself a book about herbs I only paid about $10. Also Mom & Dad wanted me to pick out something for my birthday and Mother's Day. So I got a Finch Feeder, Thistle & some petunias to go in an empty hanging basket and planters I have. All wonderful.

2008-04-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

This lizard lives in my flowerbed. He almost blends in on this bush.

2008-04-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to have gotten some lavender this yr. This is my first attempt at growing it at the apartment.

This is also my first attempt at growing Fennel. I've heard that butterflies love this plant so naturally I'm really excited about it. I think it would be a nice addition to some of my flowerbeds for greenery if I could get more of it.

Always have to have Thyme in my herb garden. Also have some varigated Lemon Thyme(I'll try to post a pic of it too.)

This catmint was underwatered and on the verge of flatlining when I purchased it. It looks considerably better.

2008-04-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

This butterfly was resting on my favorite flowers this morning. It appears to be injured. Still it's beautiful.

2008-03-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today and I got to spend some time working in my flowerbed and herb garden. I planted some fennel, thyme, oregano, bee balm, chamomile to go with my rosemary. I need to take some pics. The herb bed is really coming along. I've also planted Sunflowers in each of the beds. The cosmos I planted(orange variety and the pink & white ones are coming up. I'm soooo ready for spring and gardening.

2008-02-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well no gardening yet but Jim got me a beautiful flower/plant arrangement for our 1st anniversary. They are so beautiful.

2008-01-22T05:38:00.000-08:00

Not much going on as far as gardening so during the winter months will probably be more posts about the weather. The cloud formations were pretty neat yesterday afternoon, especially with the sun reflecting off of them. We had a little snow last week which is always exciting for this area cause we don't have snow much. The "Winter weather advisory" that was "scheduled for this weekend got canceled.LOL :-)

2007-05-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

planted more flowers after getting back from the errands to the hospital and Wal*Mart. Got some annuals for the flower pots and some more vinca as well as two perennials.

2007-04-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

I planted some more flowers.

Imperial Blue Plumbago

Pinks

Mexican Heather

Crimson Beauty Creeping Phlox

Blue Angel Columbine

Mixed Columbine(Dusty Rose)

You can view them by clicking below

My Birthday Flowers

2007-03-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

Has been forever ago since I posted to this blog. Lot's of new things in my life which I will write about on my other blogs. The flowers I planted will be covered on this blog.

I planted perennials:

White Candytuft(iberis sempervirens)
Lithodora 'Grace Ward'(lithospermum)
Purple Robe Saxifrage(saxifraga)
Black-eyed Susan 'Sonora'(Rudbeckia Hirta)
Mixed Color Sweet Pea(lathyrus latifolius)
Chattahoochee Woodland Phlox

Also planted some lillies and a few Dianthisis.

2006-04-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Brittany brought me an African Violet for my birthday :-)

2006-04-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

Two of the larger hailstones. Note they are held by a child so kept that in mind when thinking about their size. With temps in the 90s yesterday its no surprise that we had some bad weather.

2006-04-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

We had hail several times yesterday. Some of the stones were a pretty good size most were pea or marble size. This is a pic of some of it on the ground in the courtyard. Had to wait until the rain died down to take the picture.

2006-03-29T16:28:00.000-08:00

Sunset from Tuesday nite(3/28)

2006-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

I may not be able to grow many flowers here at the apartment but Robert brought me some tulips to brighten my day. He's such a sweetheart :-)

2006-02-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful today. I'm living at an apartment now so not much room to grow stuff. I was able to bring some of the seeds from the plants I have grown over the yrs and plant them around the front steps and shrubs here...don't know if they will do anything but figured I might as well try. I planted some cosmos, zinnas, echinasia and daisies. Don't know how long I'll be here but if the flowers do come up and I'm not here at least whoever has this place or one near it can enjoy them.

2005-10-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

The weather has certainly cooled off and it should be around 40 degrees(F) here tonight. I took some time today to fill up my birdfeeders and to put a block of suet out for the birds. There have been alot of Chickadees and Cardinals lately. I also removed all the Moon Vine growth and harvested LOADS of seeds from them. I will be doing more bird watching I guess with very little growing in my gardens. The roses have really been blooming like crazy but beyond that....not much.

2005-10-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

Red Spider Lily --Lycoris radiata
Not many flowers are blooming this time of year so this Red Spider Lily was a nice addition.

2005-10-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of the iris that I got for my birthday in 2004. Normally it blooms around the end of April. Not sure what has happened with its internal clock this yr but it bloomed on Oct. 1st.

I harvested a good bit of the Moon Vine seed pods today. Now the next step is letting them dry out and finding homes for them. They would be really pretty over a trellis. :-)

2005-09-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken about two weeks ago but I am just now uploading it. This plant was at least 7 ft tall. Really pretty wildflower.

2005-09-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

This wildflower blooming lets me know fall is near.

2005-09-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of one of the butterflies who were eating the grapes I had hanging from the birdfeeder.

2005-08-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

This is the first bloom on my Moonflower Vine. I planted the seeds just this year. The blooms are beautiful

2005-08-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to put some hurt on my herb bed. It doesn't have that much in it...but it had the roots from HELL. Well the weeds did anyway. :-) Far back left is oregano. To the right of the oregano is chives. The large greenery to the back left of the stone is Rosemary. To the right of the Rosemary is a clump of Varigated Monkey Grass(yes I know thats not the scientific name). Below the monkey grass is Lemon Thyme. Down and to the left is another bunch of chives. The Bush at the bottom of the pic is a small hydrangea which if it ever blooms will be pink.

2005-07-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first bloom of the new cannas. The darker brown/wine foliage cannas with small red blooms I have had since '96. I believe they are known as Russian Red. I have some of the green foliage cannas with yellow bloom & red specks which I believe are Richard Wallace which I have also had since '96. They were hidden among the Russian Reds and didn't do much of anything until I seperated them about 3 yrs ago. This yr I bought two new varieties. The one shown here is Wyoming Canna. Also bought a green foliage canna that has the large red blooms and which is known as c. Indica var. Cherry Red. I will post the pics of that as soon as possible.

2005-07-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

The cosmos before Dennis went thru. By the time the storm was over us it was only a tropical storm but it did manage to shred the cosmos some as they were tall and leggy with delicate flowers. Fortunately the plants themselves can take alot of abuse and easily grow back and seed themselves.

2005-06-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

This Bee Balm is doing well this year. This is its 2nd yr in my garden however it is one of the plants that I moved from the garden by the 2nd drive when I did away with that bed. It is now in the bed which runs the full length of the porch.

2005-06-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

I believe this flower is a Gloriosa Daisy. It really looks alot better in a cut flower presentation than it does merely growing in the garden. It tends to droop easily although recovery is quick. A variety of diff. blooms come from one plant and have 13 petals.

2005-06-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm really not sure what this flower is called. It reminds me a bit of Blanket flower and also is similiar to the Black-Eyed Susans and SunFlowers.

2005-06-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Red Hot Poker seems to have taken me moving it very well and is doing great. I even have a bloom on one that I have not found a home for that is still in a pot.

2005-06-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

My butterfly bush is blooming It's a beautiful shade of purple :-)

2005-05-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Most of the cosmos and zinnias I'd planted in the flower boxes got big enough to handle a thinning out so not wanting to waste the ones i did away with, I planted them in the front beds between the established plants. If they all survive will have flowers everywhere. I weeded the flowerbeds a bit today too which was an amazing accomplishment considering today is B's first day after finishing her homeschool program.

2005-05-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

Honeysuckle is in bloom all along the edge of the back yard. Smells wonderful

2005-04-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Birds that I've seen visiting my yard or feeders

American Crow

American Goldfinch

American Robin Adult

Black-capped Chickadee

Blue Jay

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown Thrasher

Eastern Bluebird Breeding Male

House Finch

Killdeer

Northern Cardinal Breeding Male

Purple Finch

Red-winged Blackbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (saw my first one ever today)

Tufted Titmouse

2005-04-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

This Peony has done very well. It was one of three I purchased from Jung Seed Co. If I remember correctly they were on sale 3 for $5 or something like that. The catch was that you wouldn't know what color peony you were getting which was fine with me.

2005-04-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the Butterfly Bush that I got for my birthday. I planted it Thursday Morning and it rained Friday. It seems to be adjusting well so far. Hopefully it will attract alot of butterflies and hummingbirds :-)

2005-04-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Goldenfinch Thistleseed Bar

2005-04-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

The above pic(taken in the fall of 2004) shows why I decided to do away with the flowerbed that was around the utility pole. It really got old having to clean out clutter after a heavy downpour. This can happen several times a month as our culverts cannot handle the amt of water we get off the mountain when there has been a heavy downpour. I hope that our Hanceville elected officials will do something about that.

2005-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Got a good deal of gardening and relaxing done today. I've been thinning out some of my plants so they will have more room to grow. Is nice to pass rootings and plants on to others. Am not getting rid of any plants but am giving away some rootings and dividing plants so that I can "spread the beauty". Got a Butterfly Bush for my birthday(today). It's been my dream plant for probably half my life so as you can imagine I am EXTREMELY excited about it :-)

I scattered some more zinnia and cosmos seeds today in the flowerbeds. If half of them come up the front of the house will be covered in flowers.

2005-04-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Got started setting my webpage up for this yrs flowers. See them at Marie's Garden 2005

2005-04-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Has been a pretty good week in my garden. This weekend--finally did away with the long flowerbed which was flooded each time it rained heavily in a short period of time. When the water would be too much for the culvert across the road to handle...it would flow over the road and into our yard :-( Now I won't have to worry about that bed and my beds along the front of the porch are full. I thought this meant I wouldn't have to buy anything and would be just pulling weeds but I somehow manage to make "work" for myself. Thinning plants and potting the extra. Have alot of oregano potted up and the black-eyed susan plants that I seperated from the main plant pretty much all survived. There were about 20 of them. Set out a few in the small bed along the drive. I sewed cosmos seeds a few weeks back and those are up about 3 inches. Planted the Canna bulbs and those are up too. The varieties I bought were a wine colored foliage with a large orange bloom and the green foliage with large red bloom. The Hostas are just now poking their head up. The azalea bushes were at their peak this weekend. They were beautiful. I have noticed that the gardenia bush is setting buds so won't be long to it blooms. Planted Brittany's Early Girl Tomato Plant today. The Peony buds are getting pretty huge. Can't wait til they bloom is exciting. The Canadian Lilac tree seems to have done pretty good. I don't know if it will bloom this yr or not. Is a fairly young tree so am not sure. The lilac hedge bush is also young too but looks in good condition. Would be great if both of them bloomed this yr. The next few weeks should be really exciting watching the plants. I hope to take some pics of birds this year as they are visitors to my garden. Won't be too long til the hummingbirds will be out in full force.

2005-03-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

I thought the Birds of North America page was neat. You can listen to the songs that different birds sing. I chose most plants that I have because they attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Attracting other birds helps take care of some of the garden pests as well.

2005-03-14T06:35:00.000-08:00

Fertilizers--The three main nutrients

The three numbers on packages of Fertilizers are there to tell you what percentage of the major nutrients are found in that particuliar Fertilizer.

Nitrogen(1st number)promotes plant growth. Lawn fertilizers have a higher concentration of nitrogen.

Phosphorus(2nd number)promotes root growth, blooming and production of fruit. When you are starting off plants you want to have a fertilizer high in Phosphorus so that the roots get a good start. Bloom Boosting fertilizers will also have a higher percentage of Phosphorus.

Potassium(3rd number)promotes hardiness in a plant. Percentage is higher in Winterizing fertilizers. Care should be taken as too much of this can "burn" plants.

2005-02-23T13:47:00.000-08:00

Weather was nice today. Pruned back the crepe myrtles that are along the front of the house. Carried the limbs out to the road for the city to pick up and also picked up a bit of the limbs that washed in the yard the last time the yard flooded. It looks alot better. Won't be long until spring. I need to get the bird feeders cleaned out and refilled. I cut a bunch of rosemary from my herb garden. Put it in small vases and will use it for bath water. Has a wonderful smell and is refreshing--makes a great air freshener.

2004-11-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

Today started off sunny but is looking a bit overcast now. Not much to do with my plants now. However it is a good time for birdwatching which is part of the reason I love gardening(attracting birds and butterflies). As I was preparing my lunch today I stood and looked out the kitchen window while waiting for lunch to cook. Was a nice view. Two huge bluejays were in the yard. A squirrel was running about preparing for winter. A red headed woodpecker landed on the deck while I was watching the bluejays and squirrel. It was so pretty. I do enjoy watching nature.

2004-11-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty day. It was sunny pretty much all day and not too hot nor too cold. I moved the Catmint from the bed that I'm doing away with. Also dug up some honeysuckle vine and moved it around by the garage. Will see how that turns out.

Where flowers bloom so does hope.
- Lady Bird Johnson

2004-11-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

I have almost finished moving the plants from the bed along the 2nd drive. Today I dug up the "Red Hot Poker" plant and divided it. I replanted the main plant at the south corner of the front flower bed. Amazingly, the plant had 4 other "clumps", each of which I potted into its own container until I can find homes for them. I also moved the Bee Balm and the Purple vine(can't recall what it is called). All that's left to move are the canna bulbs(move in closer to the utility pole) and the catmint. I had almost forgotten about it.

2004-11-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today I began work on moving the plants from the side bed into the flowerbeds along the front of the house. My first move was to try to make room for the plants. I began by cutting back a hedge at the corner of the house which won't die no matter how much I beg it. Then I raked thru some of the bed...will have to weed it by hand though tomorrow. Next I thinned out he Black-Eyed Susan. In the process...I divided out the plant and wound up with about 25 plants I had to find containers for. I know....making more work for myself...but I just couldn't throw them away. Next I dug up the Elephant Ear and put the largest portion in the flower bed along the main drive. A smaller portion broke in two and will make two more plants. I was stunned when I dug up the peonies. Had not expected them to be as large as they were. When I planted them, they were about the size of an index finger. Both of the bases of the plants I dug up were about a foot in diameter. Amazing!! They have only been there for one season. I divided off some of them so I would not have to dig such a huge hole and planted them in the flowerbed which runs by the sidewalk. I was able to locate the Pink Glad. Bulbs also and move them. Tomorrow I will be moving the Red Hot Poker. I have no idea what their root system is like but I need to divide it as well. Will probably put it at the south corner of the flower bed near where the hedge bush keeps rearing its head. I hope that tomorrow will be as pretty as today was. It was just so beautiful.

2004-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I feel like I have accomplished alot today as far as the getting the yard and flowerbeds ready for winter weather. I pulled(or cut to ground level) all of the canna's that were in the flowerbeds. Wore gloves but still managed to have sore hands. I'm sure the briars were to blame. I'm exhausted but I feel better having taken care of that. Right now...my plans are to do away with the flower bed that runs along the 2nd drive. I think this will work out well for several reasons.

1. I will be able to move all the plants in them to the beds along the front and side of the house. They are perennials and this will keep Jeremy from having to spend money on flowers next yr.

2. It will make mowing easier come spring.

3. Less space that needs watered and less work maintaining.

4. Because it's my idea :-)

Monday & Tuesday of this week are supposed to be nice days so hopefully if all goes well I can get out and work on moving the plants then.

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling." ~Mirabel Osler

2004-10-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Haven't worked out in the flowerbeds much.I was away for two weeks the end of Sept so cleaned up the front beds when i got back. Still a bunch to do but it has rained for the past week and is too wet to fool with. I could use some sunshine not only to dry the ground out but to put me in a better mood. Cloudy days do nothing to motivate me.

2004-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Got a Banana Tree over the weekend. Lowes(Cullman Store) had them on
clearance for $5. The plant had died back and had all sorts of shoots
which I managed to divide into about 5 plants. It is a Banana Sangria
and has wine spots on its leaves. Reminds me of a prayer plant
somewhat.

Also got two other house plants (Mini trees) for about $3 each on clearance there as well. One of them is a ficus.

The
Black-eyed Susan is in full bloom and I need to get a pic of it for the
garden page I have at Geocities. The Sunflower that came up out by the
bird feeder is full and the birds are eatting the seeds from it.

2004-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

Urban Rain Barrell

2004-06-28T07:10:00.000-07:00

I like the Urban Compost Tumbler UCT7

Compost Bins - Composting info, garden composter and greenhouses

2004-06-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Visited the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Saturday. It was a really beautiful...and also really hot. I will try to get the pics online and linked that I took there as soon as possible. Sunday while doing the errands I found several more plants for the flowerbeds and decided to take out some of the houseleek which had grown huge....and move it so that I could plant some Bee Balm, Purple Coneflowers, Vinca and Coleus.
Also found a plant which I'm not sure what the name is...but it is one that I saw and liked at the Botanical Gardens.

2004-05-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

My Red Hot Poker is blooming. It started blooming last week. Their bud stems have got to be the fastest growing plant I have ever seen. I checked the garden and didn't see any blooms or buds or stalk that looked like it might hold a bloom. The next morning.....there was a stalk with a green bud opening on it....odd indeed.
There seems to now be about 6-8 shoots that are going to bloom. Who knows how many will have grown by the time I view it in the morning. :-)

2004-05-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

The larger Peony opened its bud today. It's bloom is white with a hint of pink. Planted 3 Tomato plants.
Brittany wanted an "Early Girl" Tomato plant so we got that and two other varieties....will see how that goes.

2004-04-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

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.

2004-04-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

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.