Making an effort

I've been working on cleaning away winter's debris from the yard and getting a few flowers out. The grass under the magnolia tree is patchy and I wanted to fill it in with something that can survive shade. Mom mentioned that the lily of  the valley was taking over near the garage so I dug out a bit and put it under the tree. I put a few impatience around for color and will probably add more. I love the instant color that impatience give. 

I filled the buckets of the yard people with salmon impatience and had enough for a small silver bucket that Mom didn't want and brought to me. (Standard procedure for Mom. Give it to Marge.) A neighbor brought over a pink double impatience that sits on a low table on the front porch. My sister gave me a Gerbera daisy for Easter and it now rests in a large pot near the front porch. I don't know much about them so hope it does well.

I repotted the red hibiscus tree that has grown so much in the past year. I waited until it was warm enough to drag it outside and still had quite a mess. It's heavy and cumbersome but it looks wonderful. I've enjoyed it so much because the bright blooms are so welcome in the cold of winter.

I scattered zinnia seeds in one of the beds by the back door. The other bed has little tips of gladiola peeking through the soil. Last year I moved a rose bush to that area and it seems to be happy there. It has more buds now than it's had in a total of 5 years. 

The peonies are looking good. The two at the back of the yard didn't bloom last year but I had just moved them there from my grandmother's house. I hope they bloom this year but I know it may take another year for them to establish themselves.

The begonias that I put in the basement last fall in the hope that they would survive actually did. They are small but they're outside now, so they should be fine.

I bought a new set of loppers and have lopped off any wayward stuff that I've found. There's a big pile in the driveway, most from an attractive parasite vine that was climbing the tulip tree, to be put out front Monday for the chipper. I love that the city picks up that stuff. 

I had a piece of fence in the garage that I bought years ago for some obscure reason. It now sits in the alcove at the corner of the house as a climber for morning glories. I put the seeds in water to soak a few days ago and we've had rain ever since. It let up enough today for me to get the seeds in the ground and to plant a start from an old fashioned lilac that a neighbor thought she wanted but didn't. I'm glad to have it. It's at a corner of the front porch. I've decided that I want blooming things where I can see and enjoy them. Bees may cause me to rethink that.

A gift of flowers

At gift giving time my son often buys blooming plants for his children to give to this grandma. Three years ago, one of the plants was a pink hydrangea. I read several articles about what to do with it and the chances of it blooming again. I took a chance, planted it in a sheltered spot, and it has bloomed for the last two years. I was certain the mum I planted the same year would come back, but it didn't.

Not being a garden person, my son doesn't know that there is a difference in plants from the florist and from the garden center. Some can be planted outside, some just die. This year I received 2 plants for my birthday, pink tulips and an Easter lily. I will keep the tulips in a pot until fall, then plant them outside and hope for the best. The lily will be planted outside when the weather finally stabilizes. It should bloom next year.

Walmart is a good place to find plants on sale because they never take care of them. As long as the plant isn't dead, even the most scraggly plant has come back with a little care. I may look for a few Easter lilies there. 

Photo courtesy of FreeTulipPictures.com

Did you plant?

The weather forecast for tonight is snow. That shouldn't be surprising. Midwest spring weather is iffy, at best. One day it's 65 degrees and the next brings frost. I used to get anxious to get annuals set out, ready to see the instant color they give. After losing them a time or two, my mother suggested that I wait until the first part of May to plant flowers. Wow, that's a long wait. I've found that it's worth the wait. By that time there is a better selection of annuals at garden centers and I have to buy them only one time. 

In the meantime, I browse online sites to get new ideas and view new plant varieties. Visit Great Garden Plants  http://www.greatgardenplants.com/index.php?pageId=15 or  

Summer Hill Seeds http://summerhillseeds.com/new-for-2009-c-37.html.

Do it once

Even though we've had some warm days, I haven't been digging in the flower beds yet. It's March, famous for wind and rain. I will spend about an hour picking up branches that have been tossed around the yard. I have messy trees. Leaves need to be raked from the beds but we could still have cold weather that could damage the tiny shoots that are just poking up through the earth. 

I tend to leave everything in the flower beds at the end of the year. The old zinnia stalks give the rabbits a place to hide from the weather and I hope that birds will enjoy any leftover seeds they find around the yard. 

I'm only cleaning this yard one time this spring and I'll wait until I can be fairly certain that bad weather is over. I will get tools and the mower ready but I won't cut grass until it's really high. Once the cutting begins, it seems that the grass grows even faster.

The tree begonia has been a delight these past few weeks and the begonia in the basement looks like it will survive. 

Yard art

Snow is on the ground but stores are getting ready for spring. Seed displays are out and I've resisted buying, so far. 

One of the fun things for the yard is yard art. My son found these little people at CVS a few years ago. He tends to shop last minute and late at night. A 24 hour CVS had one set of these left and all my neighbors have asked where I got them. This is probably not the best spot for them but I keep them close to the house so they won't disappear. The photo isn't great but it's a man and woman holding buckets of flowers on their outstretched arms. This spot gets a lot of sun but I can use impatience in the buckets if I keep them well watered. 

Yard art is just fun and I'd like to add more without being tacky. There is so much fun stuff to choose from but I really like my yard people.

 

In bloom

This is in bloom in my office. Now. I've had four blooms in the past week with more to come. They only last two days but it's such a bright spot in the room and I can't help but smile when I look at it. 

I've been told that the tree hibiscus will bloom all year but I've not yet had that happen. Maybe this year. It's really an annoyance to have to bring it in every fall and I've thought about leaving it outside and be done with it but I can't just let it die out there. So I bring it in and find a spot near a window and enjoy the bright red flowers on gloomy winter days.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freenaturepictures.com/.

The begonias live

We had a bit of frost this past week, just enough to nip some of the flowers. I brought the begonias inside and hope to keep them over the winter. I've done this before and kept one for several years, moving in outside when the weather was warm. 

The yellow begonia got nipped and I've removed the damaged parts and hope it will survive the winter. The plant looks like it has two different species in one pot. The leaves are slightly different and the bloom colors are bright to pale yellow. 

The pink begonia survived the frost and it looks good. It has never had a lot of blooms but I think I had it in too much shade. It will be a bright spot in the house this winter.

The suggestions for begonias in winter is to let dig them up and them go dormant, the natural cycle. That's just more work than I'm going to do. We'll see what happens.