More rain!

About .30 inches so far today.  Looks like rain is in the forecast all week.  Is the drought about to end?  Oh, I hope.

Reseeded the front yard today.  I added more garden space, so the turf area continues to diminish.  

Too cold and wet to do much outside this weekend.  

Full Bloom

Spring is in full bloom now:  azaleas, dogwood, redbud (my favorite tree!),  all the flowering fruit trees.  I still have some daffodils in bloom.  My iris are just beginning to bud, but in other yards I have seen them blooming.

Unfortunately allegeries are in full bloom too.  

Last weekend, before a sinus & ear infection laid me low, I got a good bit of yard work done.  We planted two climbing roses, Zephirine Drouhin, one on the side of the tool shed and one on the fence at the end of the driveway.  We dug up the rose bush that was on the tool shed.  I didn't much like it since it had no fragrance and only bloomed for a short time in the spring.

We also planted two azaleas behind the pond, rhododendron Formosa.  These are the large leaf, tall grower, with purple flowers.  We also moved a rose of sharon bush from the back to the front yard.  It was too dry in the back.  We put it with the other three, which have done well in the front yard.

I fertilized all the azalea and gardenia.  The gardenia bushed are looking better after the treatment for sooty mold.  I also fertilized the amaryllis and Camellia.  

I have several plants growing in the house;  moon flower, gerbera daisy and four o'clocks.  I will put the four o'clocks on the south side of the house, between the hvac unit and the fence.  I think they will do well there, and I don't really care how invasive they are.

After several days in the 70s and even over 80 yesterday, it is 54 this morning and damp.  Hopefully we will get some measurable rain this weekend.

Lavender

I planted two lavender plants in the front yard.  Also put some bug treatment around the roots of the gardenia, hoping to get rid of the sooty mold.

I'm starting to weed the bed next to the driveway.  Both the rose campion and black eyed susans are beginning to come up.

St. Patrick's Day

We divided up a clump of monkey grass that was rooted in with a small azalea. Moved all of the plants, the azalea to the south side of the yard and the monkey grass to the area around the pond. It is looking better there.

I'm thinking I might want to add some more bushes to the front bank.

Hostas are beginning to come up! Redbuds are about to bloom, and, of course, the dogwoods will not be far behind. Most of the azaleas have buds and some are beginning to bloom. It will be lovely in another week or so.

.8 inches of rain Saturday night. The recent rains have helped a great deal. Let's hope it keeps up! Below are pictures of amaryllis and hostas.

More things appearing

In the front yard I have more perennials coming up:  easter lily; rose campion; iris; day lilies; amaryllis; ixia; lambs ear.  Hydrangea and rose of sharon are beginning to bud.  A few bellflowers are blooming.  Rose bushes have new leaves as well.

I planted some more monkey grass around the pond and I put four gerbera daisy plants in the back yard.

Over the next few weeks some projects are:  

1.  weed the flower beds

2. mulch flower beds

3.  rake our rest of leaves in front yard

4.  move two gerbera daisies in the front yard as soon as they come up

5.  clean out small bed outside bay window;  separate hostas on north side of house, and move some to that bed

6.  plant rest of monkey grass

Sunday in the yard

Azaleas have buds and one has started to bloom.  Canna is starting to come up.  

My gardenia bushes have sooty mold on them.  I sprayed them heavily with dormant spray oil.  Also sprayed the azaleas with it.  Cut down the rose bush that was against the tool shed.  I'm beginning to see new grown on some monkey grass.

Almost time to plant

Almost an inch and a half of rain since yesterday morning!   

I just ordered three new rose bushes.  They are fragrant climbers.  I'm going to replace one that is against the side of the tool shed.  I know I will put one on the fence on the south side of the house.  Maybe the other one will go on the fence on the north side, or perhaps up the posts that holds the swing at the end of the patio.  That would be a nice place for it.  I got two Rosa Zephirine Drouhin, a long blooming thornless climber;  the other is the Rosa Climbing Cinderella, which has  large, old-fashioned quartered blooms.  

Vinca  (periwinkle) is starting to bloom.  I just have bits of it around the yard.

What's blooming?

Three quarters of an inch of rain last night.  Excellent!

An interesting variety of things blooming this week:  winter and spring bloomers.  Daphne, camellia, lenten roses; daffodils, forsythia, crocus, star magnolia and hyacinth.  The day liles are up about 6 inches now.  

My sweet husband moved the collections of buckets from around the pond and put them out of sight.  I want to start working in that area.  Lost of monkey grass to plant there, and more rocks to place.  

For some reason the gerbera daisies I have in the house are not doing well.  I hope to plant them in the right planter area in the back yard.  I also will move a couple from the front, which are no longer getting enough light.

Should be able to plant in about 5-6 weeks!