Gardening

[momsalive1]

So far, gardening is mostly about digging and moving dirt around. Also stones. I made a new tier on my rock terrace (two more to do), raked a sort of burm of driveway stone from where the snowplow pushed it, and dug rocks out of the way of the lawnmower. My son mowed the lawn for the first time, a Significant Celebratory Event in life of any lawn owning parent. Bailey is rushing around crazy after a pileated woodpecker that has taken up residence. (That is Bailey's view of the yard at the moment so it goes here - as far as he is concerned, it is infested with taunting chipmunks and infuriating flying things).



But I have planted lots of seeds.



I am aiming for lots of color in the front of the house, which is grey, grey and a greyish red. And the lawn is barely limping along so it isn't very scenic.

I've planted four o'clocks (Mirabilis)in *three* varieties because they are big and bushy and (last time I grew them) had alot of flowers. I have the mixed red and yellow and "Limelight" which promises "Electric display!"



and "Tea Time Rose" which will make me think of the English contingent of my flist, mrs_sean_bean, ffiondove and the dearly departed andien.



I also have Cleomes (spider plants to some)...



...and Ipomopsis, something I've never heard of but is big, colorful and attracts hummingbirds! How can you resist something like that when it is $1.50 a package?



And Dahlia bulbs from a very industrious plant I had last summer. It was non-stop from early spring to the time I pulled it out of the ground, even though I transplanted it a few times. And portulaca (moss rose, three year old seeds, but you never know). Also Saponaria ocymoides (rocky soapwort) which will turn this...



...into this!!



Some treasure flower (Gazania)....



...and Cynoglossum in two colors - this is "Firmament" and the other is "Mystery Rose".



It is billed as "Chinese Forget-me-not", but how is this different from the other Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)?




My neighbors co-worker ordered some trees from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. They are cheap, so he ordered about 300 and he lives on about an acre (clearly not from a gardening family). So he had extras, which he gave my neighbor, who offered some to me. I had these dubious sticks in the garage for over a week - they insisted they were Japanese and European larch, Norway spruce and an unknown from the "Shore mix" ("Yes we are! Don't you dare throw us out!! Get out there and dig us a nice hole in the rock!!). So I did, being a wimp and unable to say no to a fucking stick.

Miscellaneous self sowing seedlings are up. They are some combination of larkspur and zinnias and maybe some marigolds and snapdragons. I like self sowing annuals (did I mention I am Cheap?). The Four O'Clocks and Cleomes self sowed in Ohio, and I am hoping they will do so here. The Ipomopsis promises to do the same.

Comments

[msb66.livejournal.com]

Of these I only really recognise the gazanias which we can use as summer bedding. And yes - the forget me not of course - although, as you say, it does not look significantly different from "ordinary f-m-n".

I too can never throw anything away - even when I don't need it and have nowhere to put it. It just seems unthinkable to throw a living thing away (even if it is to compost). I hope the trees do well - and all the flowers. I'm looking forward to progress reports.

(and snuffle Bailey on the head for me)

[momsalive1]

What is summer bedding? Wait...bedding annuals you put in in the summer? The package said they are drought tolerant. I've never been successful growing them before, but I am hopeful.

I thought that your Black Lace looked something like some of the varieties of gazania that I saw when I was hunting up a photo. What do you think? Of course, if you type in "Black Lace" in images the very last thing you get is a photo of a flower!

Funny about throwing things away - I can usually make peace with composting something if I have to, in sort of a cosmic rebirth idea. There are certain weeds I am happy to put in the trash, though, as I am fearful that if I put them in the compost I will have given them a new staging ground.

The trees have gotten many good wishes on this post - I think they will thrive on them.

Bailey duly snuffled. I explained you are a gardener and therefore understand the horror of marauding chipmunks. He snuffled back.

[msb66.livejournal.com]

Are you at home? Sign on to MSN messenger and we could have 10 mins if you want

[msb66.livejournal.com]

http://www.fothergills.co.uk/en/polyanthus-gold-lace-1099.aspx

Sorry - it was gold lace

[lanyn.livejournal.com]

Oooh! You are inspiring me to get out and put some color in! I really like those tea time roses. And the portulaca. Hm. Must go out and consider yard's design.

Hope those new tree/plants grow the way you want 'em to!

[momsalive1]

Good luck with the 4 o'clocks if you try them. They were very easy to grow in Ohio and I am hoping the same here. They got up to a about two, 2.5 feet tall and have flowers that close in the day and open in the evening. Their seeds are big and round and easy to collect for next year.

I have never had luck with the portulaca from seed and not much with it if I buy the plants themselves. I think they proabably need less water than I give them. They are beautiful at the shore spilling over pots.

Thank you for the good luck on the trees, etc. They are planted way too close together now, as sort of a hedge at the end of driveway (a very thin sketch of a proto-hedge) because I don't know where to put them in the yard yet. They are so small now that I can transplant them in a year or so if they make it.

[bridgewalker.livejournal.com]

Pretty pretty pretty!
Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

[momsalive1]

Thank you! What are the purple flowers you were fussing with in your post? The beer loving ones?

[bridgewalker.livejournal.com]

Those are lilacs. I pulled a few twigs out of the ground at a galpal's house about four or five years back, stuck 'em in pots, and the tenacious li'l devils just took. but beer makes them bloom; vitamins I guess, eh?

[ffiondove.livejournal.com]

Lovely!! the forget-me-nots!! so pretty and traditional, will look gorgeous mid-season. We have had a gardening weekend too, mostly heavy work and weeding but we did plant some rhododendrons (spl?) in a beautiful creamy/pinky colour which reminds me of victorian ladies frilly dresses...for some reason.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, now that we've seen the Before picture I can't wait to see After in a few months. Everything you chose looks lovely, even if most of it's new to me. And I cracked up at the idea of you being bullied by a bunch of sticks. *g*