I got one. About three more to go. Fuck grackles; the only bird I like less is a starling. They need to just die.
Borage blooms imminent.
Sweet Tea still taking its sweet time. God, BLOOM already!
Free pipevine. A little ratty, and rather small, but alive. It’s been hiding under the edge of creeping phlox next to the parent plant.
Not much this past weekend; it was rainy, and I had half a headache on Saturday, at least most of it, but I did get a few plants in the ground, and we mowed the lawn.
The last two long-suffering Mesa Yellow gaillardia.
Penstemon, but I forget which one. I’ll check later. EDIT: Pike’s Peak Purple.
Burgundy gaillardia.
I think this is coreopsis, but need to check the tags I saved. Yep–Sunray coreopsis.
Crocosmia. Babylon Montbretia.
Very tall crocosmia, according to the tag.
I finally got the two forsythia and the red maple in the ground. I can’t imagine they’ll live after so long in water, but at least there aren’t mosquitoes breeding in the buchet!
Cleared most of the weeds out of the Black Swallowtails’ food garden.
544 cosmos does not disappoint. We put the posts around it, and I thought I’d taken a picture, but I guess I didn’t. I’ll get one later.
These are the two Baby Sun coreopsis that looked so pathetic last year. I guess they didn’t bloom because they were busy building roots.
Coreopsis grown from seed last year. They’re making me wait; buds all over, and three blooms not quite open.
There. Went down and took one this morning. Still need a crap ton of green garden twine, and the one crooked post won’t show once the plants are tall.
She was very definitely a girl, and she left at least four (didn’t look too hard) little presents on the snakeroot. She checked out every plant in the Bistro, even the pipevine, but she deposited eggs only on the snakeroot. She looked very worn, but she was very welcome!
Not much in flower news, but I do have my first goldfields in the Bee Happy bed.
Oh, and I also made a pot of scarlet pumpernickel so we can move the MLBs a little closer if we want.
Fucking FINALLY! It’s…done.
100 looong feet of flowerbed.
Sweet Tea is taking its sweet time, but getting closer.
Tornado Honeysuckle is such a trooper. Even in the face of goddamned aphids.
First 544 Husker Red penstemon!
Now the most surprising bloom of all! I thought the little puffs of white on my dieffenbachia were mealy bugs. I looked at it when I watered it today, and the white must have been pollen or something because…it has blooms! Three, to be precise. Two open and one not open yet. I’ve never been able to get dieffenbachia to survive before (at least without getting leggy and ugly), let alone bloom! Not the prettiest blooms, but very welcome.
I also got what was labelled as Sonic Bloom Pink weigela, but it looks awfully red to me. I forgot to take a picture, but I took all if the weigelas out in the yard, along with the 10 autumn sage, the penstemon, and the grape agastache. If they’re going to bloom in their pots before I get them in the ground, the MLBs might as well get some use out of them.
Only 7-8′ left to go!
Bought the last 10 Radio Red that Buchheit had. They’re for Sarah Jane’s garden.
My Red Prince weigela. Hope it doesn’t stop blooming before I get it planted.
P drove the post for my signs! I spray painted the backs green; couldn’t bear pink and light blue in the yard.
Pity planting. I still don’t have Woods’ aster; this time, they sent Alpine pink. Last time it was Stokes’ purple. Both times, I ordered Woods’. Close enough, I suppose, if the poor thing lives.
I didn’t actually have the migraine anymore, but I certainly had the “hangover” yesterday. I went to work, but left at noon, after I’d done the things that needed to be done. I didn’t do much except sleep, but…
Milkweed is going to bloom (yay!)
I enlarged the milkweed bed this year, but the common milkweed thinks I should’ve made it even bigger.
I figured out the identity of those deep-rooted trees I’ve been finding here and there in my flowerbeds. Black walnut, planted by squirrels.
I also put my four little rue plants and some rue seeds in the concrete flowerbed. No pictures, and they’re too close to the edge, but meh.
That’s it except that OK went into intensive care at the vet. It’s going to cost a fortune, but I love OK, and the vet seemed to think he might be saved with an incubator and syringe feeding. I hope he’s right.
Woke up with it Saturday morning, still have it. Between the deluge of rain and my fucking head, not much got accomplished, but I did my best, and got a few things planted.
Old lady’s clematis is purple.
One teaspoon of crystals and one cup of water.
I don’t think these sad – looking Tango agastache will survive this summer, let alone winter, but I’ll try once more.
I was looking along the fence line and found a little friend with bad hair.
It rained afterwards, and I couldn’t keep track of Bulky, so I cleaned out a hanging pot and put in some straw, and got him up off the ground. He didn’t stay in there long, but by that time, Bulky was over on the north side of the house, and comfortable, so it was okay. He was gone this morning, and no feathers or anything around, so I assume he left under his own power. He was not amused when I picked him up!
Dutchman’s pipe bloomed.
A second wave from my columbine. Pretty!
The foxglove I planted last spring has a few blooms.
Jewelweed is happy about all this rain.
Spicebush looks really nice this year!
The persimmons that just won’t give up. I thought the smallest one was dead, but nope!
The bigger one still isn’t very big.
Charlotte took a stroll through my swamp bed. Right through my joe-pye weed seedlings. Sigh.
The little Java Red weigela had a big root sticking out of its pot, so I didn’t want to make it wait any longer.
I also planted three of the Mesa Yellow gaillardia. The only way I can grow perennial gaillardia is from seeds, but I’ll call these annuals and enjoy them this year.
I also planted astilbe Younique Pink and Spanish Peaks foxglove (two each) by the patio, but too sick to take pictures, and it’s pouring rain now.
EDIT: There. Crappy flash pictures because it’s still dripping rain and nearly dark.
Found dry spots on one of my fancy coreopsis, and this little dude. I relocated him to some bush honeysuckle; I know they’ll feed on Japanese honeysuckle, and hopefully new growth of bush honeysuckle will do because I was too sick to walk him to the creek. I know five-lined plant bugs are pests, but their nymphs are so cute.
It poured much-needed rain this afternoon, which meant I didn’t have to water anything, but also meant no planting. The rain did stop at the end of my workday, and held off just long enough for me to go to Buchheit and get weigela. I went in hopes that they had Sonic Bloom red, but it was pink. Better yet, though, they had…Red Prince! I also got a gallon pot of a Java Red, just because…because weigela. Pretty, hardy, low-maintenance, and loved by MLBs. No pictures; it just started to rain again as I was walking across the parking lot to HK, and didn’t quit until it was nearly dark. I got my weigela, though…now I just have to figure out where they’ll go!
Poor Ol Kitteh…he’s very sick, and the vet is not optimistic. He went today and got an antibiotic/steroid shot, the distemper/rabies shot, and some liquid antibiotics, as well as some special food for weakened kittehs, but he’s not eating, too sick to care about getting wet, and won’t stay in the gradge where it’s dry. He just wants to be under HK. I took this when I got home; I hope it’s not the last picture I ever have of my favourite old and Crusty kitteh.
🙁
I’m sick to death of mulching that fence line, but I’ve got about 80′ done and 20′ left to go. I sorted the laundry this morning and washed one load so I’d have time to do a little on the fence after work. Thankfully, the part where I was working is in shade after 4:00PM.
I also had to unpack…uh…I think it’s 28 plants. I’m too tired and it’s getting late, so I’ll list them later. A little roughed up by the journey, especially the agastache Tango, but I watered them and they’ll sit in part shade until I can get them planted.
1 Wood’s Pink Aster Gallon Pot
2 ‘Prairie Twilight’ Bearded Tongue Perennial One Quart Pot
1 Babylon Crocosmia  One Gallon Pot
2 Burgundy Blanket Flower  Gaillardia  One Quart Pot
2 Blue False Indigo Perennial  Baptisia australis  One Quart Pot
2 ‘Route 66’ Coreopsis Tickseed Perennial Plant  Quart Pot
3 ‘Raspberry Wine’ Bee Balm  Monarda  One Quart Pot  Bright Red
2 ‘Fire Marshall’ Bee Balm  Monarda  Pink  Compact  Quart Pot
2 Fragrant ‘Tango’ Hummingbird Mint Â
2 Penstemon ‘Pike’s Peak Purple’
2 ‘Spanish Peaks’ Foxglove  Digitalis  Quart Pot
2 Autumn Colors BlackÂEyed Susan  Rudbeckia  Quart Pot
2 Sunray Coreopsis  Quart
2 Grape Nectar™  Agastache  Hardy  One Quart
1 ‘Blue Mound’ Rue Perennial  4 Plants
(Plus I still have 5 gold Gaillardia and two Astilbe that I got at Buchheit a week ago and still haven’t planted, and two freebie forsythia and a red maple that probably won’t forgive me for leaving them in a bucket of water for ages and ages.)
I also got a weigela (Wine and Roses) at lunch today. Damn Buchheit. I wanted red, but this is pretty, and MLBs aren’t that fussy.
The seeds I planted last Sunday on the fence line are sprouting.
Virginia stock, not fucking around.
Mexican sunflower.
Even the scarlet pumpernickel.
In the cosmos bed, 544’s Bright Lights do not disappoint.
In the perennial bed, the coneflowers that were scraggly looking last year look good, and some are even starting to spread. Free flowers–I’ll take that!
Tired now, and since I’ve already watered the rest of the universe, it’s time to water…me. In the shower!
I’m almost down to the point where I can see my hard work on the fence line from the back patio. I think I have a few little sprouts from the seeds I planted on Sunday, too. The hanging pot holds the vervain I accidentally got when I went for dirt and compost. Got a Lantana for the hook out front, too.
A lavender. This is it so far, but lavender is a Mediterranean plant, so it wants hot and dry, not the cold damp we’ve had up until a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I have a lavender.
The veronica that looked crappy last year looks nice and full this year, and has some beautiful deep violet blooms. I forget what cultivar it is; it’s on my list. EDIT: It’s ‘Crater Lake’, and I’m reminding myself to clip it after it’s done blooming; I may get a few sparse second wave blooms.
That’s it for today. I’m tired now.