Azalea

My azaleas are blooming! I planted three of them & this one is in full bloom & the other two are just a bit behind.  I need to figure out how to prune them, as they are pretty lanky.  I know the best time to prune them is right after they bloom.

Sound and Sight Barrier

At the back of our lot is a bit of forest - big old oak trees, some poplar and service berry. This row of austrian pine was planted in front of it and I added a few spruce.  I want to block the busy street, and started adding shrubs to this area, but as they are deciduous, they don't block the view in the spring, fall and winter.  So I will be taking them out, adding evergreen shrubs and then planting the deciduous shrubs in front of the evergreens.  The austrian pines are planted at the top of a slight rise - so I need to make sure that what I add will be draught tolerant, as the sprinkler system doesn't really soak this area too well.  I also plan to add some white pines between the forest and the road.  Not sure when this will get done, but this was a problem I have been puzzling over for a while and I am hoping this is the solution! 

I will need to be sure to add a variety of colors - perhaps some gold-colored evergreens and some lime green (maybe a smoke bush?) to contrast with the dark greens. I also want to add some tall grasses for movement.  

Cimcifuga and Columbine

When I planted this bed, I added this Brunette Cimcifuga (Bugbane) and this lime green columbine popped up along side it - it must have been a stow-away in the pot with the cimcifuga.  I have just left it, as columbines are short-lived, and I think the cimcifuga won't be bothered too much by it.  Funny thing is, I planted one of these columbines in a different spot and did it come back? No, of course not.  Just another reminder of who is really in control (mother nature!).

Garden Helper - Not!

Hey, you are squashing one of my pinks!

The word for the year - Patience

A week ago, I was thinking that very few of my roses had made it through the winter.  I did lose a couple, but most of them are sending up leaves from the roots.  Our winter wasn't all that cold and we had good snow cover, so I am not sure why there was so much die-back on the branches.  My favorite, Bright Eyes, isn't looking good (no buds or green), but I haven't given up on them (I have two in the middle of the west border) just yet.

The rose garden is cleaned up and ready for a few annuals and a replacement rose or two.  Then a thick cover of cocoa bean mulch to keep the weeds down (I wish!).

Fothergilla

This Mt. Airy fothergilla really put out a lot of blooms this spring.  This shrub is beautiful in fall, too, as the leaves turn shades of red, orange and yellow.  

 

Redbud

My redbud really looked great this spring! 

Maple Trees in New Homes

Moving these maple trees has been on my to-do list for a while!  I wanted to get them into new spots before they leafed out and managed to get that done.  One of them was so large we had a difficult time moving it and had to put it in a spot  that wasn't too far into the woods.  I hope they do well!

To do list for 2013

It has been a cold, snowy spring and I am way behind in my gardening tasks.  Here are some things I want to get done this year:

• Take out the two blue bird asters from the front west border. Also take the baby tiger eye sumacs out.
• Re-work the front east border, taking out the mums and spirea and replace them with something different.
• Create a new bed in the back with the perennials bought last fall (overwintered by burying the pots!)
• Pond?  I got one estimate that was way too expensive.... Get two more estimates. 
• Create a bed for new plants that are on trial.  I have put too many plants in my gardens without knowing their habits and some of them have been very invasive.  Anything that spreads by creeping roots is NOT going to have a place in the front beds - with our sandy soil, they go crazy.