Monday
On the late Saturday afternoon trip to Lowes with Bonnie, I spotted what looked like a groundcover with yellow blossoms. I had never heard of it before, but it was so cold and windy that I didn't want to take the time to google the characteristics. I snapped a quick photo of the tag for reference though. Yesterday I looked it up - Erysimum, commonly known as wallflower. The cultivar at Lowes is 'Jubilee Gold', but it must be a new one out for sale because it didn't come up with a lot of results, nor is it in the NGA Plant database yet. There were plenty of results for 'Golden Jubilee', but I think they are different.
Erysimum 'Jubilee Gold'
I need groundcover in the Lemon Garden and have been googling to see what might be suitable. The Lemon Garden is both sunny and shady - sunny along the front where it is open to the cleared area around the west side of the house, but shady along the back where it meets up with the wood line. The criteria is deer resistance number one, soft yellow or white blooms number two. The groundcovers that I have on the list so far include sweet woodruff, achillea mollis, and winter aconites. I still want a few more, but I wasn't coming up with anything that caught my eye.
I was thrilled to learn that wallflower is deer resistant and the plants that I saw in bloom at Lowes were soft yellow. It prefers sun, so it will be perfect in the front of the Lemon Garden. So, yesterday I made yet another run to Lowes and picked up two flats, 12 plants total. After planting the 5 new hellebores 'California Dreaming', I placed and spaced the new groundcover to get a pleasing effect. I didn't get them planted though, hopefully will get that done today. With the addition of the new hellebores and the wallflower groundcover, I'm really pleased with the fullness of the first 0 - 20 feet of the 60 foot long Lemon Garden. The remaining 40 feet just needs a bit more filling.
While I was planting the hellebores, I dug up the azalea 'Weston's Lemon Drop' that is alive but really struggling due to deer damage. I will try to rehabilitate it this year and see if it can be saved. I also got the christmas fern bare roots that had been soaking potted up.
While I was out working in the gardens, I could hear Bonnie and Richard over at her cottage working on her new deck. They were putting the handrail and decking on the steps. Everything else is done, but stairs are so tricky when it is something you don't do everyday. River made several trips through the woods to check out what I was doing. At one point, he whined to go in the house - of course, it was noon and he wanted his usual treat 
Then he came back over a bit later and again whined to go in the house - this time, a nap on the couch was what this very spoiled dog was wanting.
When Bonnie and Richard finished up with the deck project for the day, they came over. At first we were just chit chatting, but Bonnie can never sit still. She got the loppers and started pruning the very overgrown weigela that has been bugging her. Richard, ever helpful, got in on the action. I am so lucky to have Mike's sister and brother often on hand, willing to help, and so easy to work with. Bonnie and I were collaborating on what to cut, Richard took the loppers to the thickest branches, and Bonnie took the pruners to the smaller branches. That weigela looks a lot better. We'll wait and see what it does with leafing out and blooming, and then probably fine tune the pruning later in the season. Richard eventually headed home, Bonnie took a tractor load of pruned branches over to the burn pile, and I went back to working in the Lemon Garden. By then it was getting late in the day and cold again. Temperatures had actually reached a high of 50 and the sun had been shining. It was not my ideal, but it was ok for working outside. The returning cold finally made us call it quits.
Today it is supposed to reach a high of 57 and mostly sunny. I plan to make the most of it. I have those wallflowers to plant in the Lemon Garden. I also have quite a few hellebores to plant in the Cherry Tree Nook too. The specialty soil from Amazon arrived yesterday, so I hope to get the water lily repotted. Want to get the four varieties of strawberries I purchased on Saturday potted up in the Greenstalk vertical planter too.
Well as Monty Don says, time to crack on. And as Annie says, the plans I have for today won't get done by themselves missy. I won't head out until it warms up a bit more though - at least another hour or two.
Sunday
The weather yesterday was absolutely miserable. Cold, cold rain and then even colder with high winds. Not a great day for being out and about, but that is what I did.
Mike said he was heading to Tractor Supply before I even mentioned to him that I wanted to go there to look for strawberries. I jumped at the chance to ride along. I did find boxes of bare root strawberries, and picked up a variety called 'Sequoia'. Mike didn't find what he set out to get, but he did find some hardware clamps that would work for hanging the long power strip bar in my greenhouse. Tractor Supply is a favorite store to browse. I rarely buy anything there, but I sure do like to look. Right now the baby chicks and ducks are in 
After Tractor Supply he stopped at a friend's house to let their dog out - a little Yorkie named Lily. He does this often when they will be gone for most of the day. I was wet and chilled to the bone after getting in and out of the weather for the Tractor Supply stop, so I sat in the car with my seat warmer on and the heater at full blast. It was enough to take the edge off, and when he was done taking care of the dog, I ventured to ask about making a stop at Lowes while we were in town. I wanted to look for more strawberries 
At Lowes, he waited in the car to warm up while I got out and braved the weather. Lowes lines up a lot of their plants out front where there is no cover at all, and although their garden center area is partly under roof, it is a wind tunnel with the way it is oriented. You know you are a plantaholic when you are the only fool out there looking with the weather as awful as it was Anyway, Lowes had boxes of bare root strawberries too, and I picked up 'Allstar', 'Tristar', and 'Ozark Beauty'. When I was checking out, the cashier asked if my plans for the day had changed because of the weather. I responded that yes, instead of out planting, I'm out buying. She thought that was hilarious.
The boxes of bare roots come 10 strawberries to a box. Perfect for one tier of the Greenstalk planter. I plan to put one plant in each pocket, so I need 6 of the 10 to grow. If I get more than 6, I'll put those in the ground or pass them along. With the four varieties just purchased and the 'Mara Des Bois' coming from Jill's order, I'll have a different variety for each of the five tiers of one of the Greenstalk planters. That will make a nice sampling. The second Greenstalk planter will be planted entirely with 'Seascape'. Interesting about 'Seascape' though - when Jill went to place the order with Nourse Farms, they were sold out (we often combine our orders to save on shipping). 'Seascape' is a variety that many of the online sources carry, but nearly ALL of them that we checked were sold out. I'm wondering if Laura of Garden Answer raving endorsement of this particular variety has influenced her 1 million+ viewers to the extent that there is now a really high demand for them. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. Anyway, I did finally find them still available through Park Seeds. Whew. I really wanted 'Seascape', and I KNOW that I am totally influenced by Laura 
I spent the rest of the afternoon in the greenhouse. It was comfortable, but not toasty. The wind howling was rattling all the panels though. The first thing that I did was to get those christmas fern bare roots soaking. Then I sowed tomato seeds - 17 different varieties. I am using 2 inch round pots, 6 for each variety. I put 2 seeds in each for the seeds from Jill's harvest last year, three or even four seeds in each for the commercial seeds I had left over from 2017. Again, it will be interesting to see how many, if any, of those older seeds germinate.
From Jill, I sowed 'Amish Paste', 'German Pink', 'Limbaugh's Legacy', 'Moondance Special' (which had been passed along to her from NGA member Horseshoe), 'Dwarf Pink Passion', and 'Dwarf Rosella Crimson'. I also did 'Boxcar Willie' from a pass along at the winter seed swap, and leftover from last year's commercial purchase were a few 'Ten Fingers of Naples' and 'Zapotec'. The old commercial seed from 2017 include 'Black Cherry', 'Caspian Pink', 'Gardener's Delight', 'Jaune Flamme', 'Snow White', 'Steak Hybrid', 'Sunrise Bumble Bee', and 'Umamin Hybrid'. A fascinating array. The trays are now inside on heat mats, with humidity domes, and under grow lights. Can't wait to see what they do!
To end the day, Bonnie wanted to check out Lowes and go out for dinner. While I had been at Lowes earlier, I had seen a few things that I knew I would go back for, I just didn't think it would be later the same day The cold and wind were even worse. Talk about crazy. I rarely buy perennials locally anymore - I just don't want to pay the prices when I can get such better bang for my buck at the Amish place in Lancaster. However, Lowes had a purple phlox divaricata that I haven't seen at Black Creek. I have some phlox divaricata already that is a much lighter purple and I can just see the two together. Lowes also had a solid purple calla lily that will look beautiful alongside the white with purple throat 'Picasso' that I just got from Sally. I made a bee line for those, loaded them in my cart, and then accompanied Bonnie up and down the aisles as she browsed. Both of us the fools, no one else was out there We checked out and then went to dinner. We went to a favorite Mexican restaurant, but the parking isn't close. Fools again, walking in the fierce cold wind, but the food was absolutely worth it. So all in all, I know that I will brave the elements for a plant haul and a good meal!
Saturday
The rain started last night and has been steady ever since. Looks like it will be raining most of the day and when it finally stops, high winds are predicted. No outside gardening again today. Flood watch is in effect until 2:00 this afternoon.
I did get out to the greenhouse late yesterday afternoon and into the evening. I managed to pot up the calla lily 'Picasso' corms from Sally and the old fashioned bleeding heart bare roots that I got from Costco. Before heading out I googled for specifics. It never ceases to amaze me how information about any question I have is available to me in seconds. For the calla lilies, the potting soil should have grit mixed in because they need good drainage, and the corms should pretty much be planted at surface level with the eyes exposed. For the bare root, they should be soaked before potting up or planting out. The bleeding hearts for an hour, but the ferns for about 8 hours. So, I'll get the ferns soaking this morning and then pot them up later today.
Without large projects on the to do list this season, one of my goals is to really focus on plant maintenance - i.e. watering, fertilizing, dividing, pruning, whatever they need. Last year I purchased a hardy water lily to float in a small fountain basin on the back patio. Being hardy, I think it could have remained outside, but I brought it into the greenhouse where the temperatures, although not warm, stayed above freezing. It looks like it is breaking dormancy. I want to repot it with fresh soil before it goes back out to the fountain basin. The nursery where I bought it had potted it up for me before bringing it home, so I haven't had to do it before. What kind of soil for hardy water lilies? Google again, and I had the answer in seconds. They need loam or clay-loam soil. Potting soils tend to be high in perlite, vermiculite, and peat - all of these are too buoyant and will just end up floating out of the pot and making a mess in the water feature. The peat will also alter the pH and make things too acidic. Is there a commercial product for water lilies? Google again, and of course there is. I placed my Amazon order and it will be here tomorrow. There are a lot of things that aggravate me about the world we live in due to technology, but there are also a lot of things that sure make life easier!
What else to do on a rainy day? I may make a quick run to Tractor Supply or Southern States and see what kind of strawberries they have for the season. I purchased two of the Greenstalk vertical planters, as seen on Garden Answer, and plan to fill the pockets with strawberries for easy access on the back patio right outside the kitchen door. Laura of Garden Answer is always singing the praises of 'Seascape', so I have those on order, as well as getting some of the plants of a variety called 'Mara Des Bois' from my friend Jill's order. Jill loves 'Mara Des Bois' and found them for online sale at Nourse Farms. Each Greenstalk has five tiers with 6 pockets in each tier, so 60 pockets to fill. In addition to 'Seascape' and 'Mara Des Bois', I want to try a few others as well.
I still have seeds to sow too. I want to keep moving forward, getting at least something garden related accomplished every day. I know that marathon gardening days will be limited for me between the weather, other commitments, and my stamina, but slow and steady progress can be made even with a few hours each day.
Friday
It never did get into the 50s today and it has been cloudy with a definite chill in the air. I haven't been out to the gardens at all. I just sat down anyway after a day of doing routine chores and running errands that take up more time than you ever think they will.
I made my breakfast, emptied the clean dishes from the dishwasher, loaded dirty dishes into the dishwasher, washed the breakfast skillet, heard the milkman so got the glass milk bottles we have delivered every other week into the garage refrigerator, made the bed, put away a load of clean laundry, refilled 4 weeks supply of meds into the pill boxes, gathered and loaded up the trash and recyclables to take to the landfill, made my grocery list, rescheduled a dr appt when I realized it conflicted with the dewinterization irrigation service, and finally headed out to run errands. Went to the landfill first, then the grocery store, and then Costco. Got home and unloaded all the groceries, made my extra late lunch, then put the groceries away. And that my friends, is how 5 1/2 hours of my day are gone, just like that.
Before the day is over, I need to make up single portion sizes of various items I got at the grocery store. Having single portions that are easy to grab is one of the things helping me stay on track with my diet goals. I will measure out strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and cherries, cut up and marinate raw vegetables, and pick the meat off of the rotisserie chicken. Later. Before bed.
At Costco I picked up several packages of the bare root perennials that they carry this time of year. I've seen them there for years but have never purchased any. I just have never had a warm fuzzy that they would be viable. Well, some of my gardening friends have been purchasing them so I decided to give it a go myself. I think I feel more adventurous with having the greenhouse as a work area for "potting up". If these bare root perennials actually grow, it will be a fairly cheap way to get more plants. I picked up 2 packs of old fashioned bleeding heart and 1 pack of christmas fern. I hope to go out to the greenhouse in a little bit to pot those bare roots and also the calla lily 'Picasso' corms I got from Sally yesterday. It is nice to trudge through the cold knowing that the destination is nice and toasty! At least I'll get some aspect of gardening done today 
Thursday
The wind yesterday was quite something. Big cardboard boxes from various mail order purchases that I had stacked to be broken down to take for recycling were blown about all over the yard. Two of the four roof vent windows on the greenhouse blew open too and the louvred wall window that I had open blew shut. That is the first time that has happened 
The cherry tree still in its nursery pot blew over too. Fall leaves from the woods blew back into the garden beds that I've already raked out. At least the thick mats of accumulated leaves are dealt with so it is just a matter of getting the new dry leaves raked away again at some point.
It was 28 degrees this morning. Brrrrr. Predictions look like low in the 20s tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday - higher at 36 on Saturday. Today's high is only in the 40s, but then the highs will be in the low to mid 50s. Doesn't look like it will be 60s again until Friday a week from now. Gardening is ok for me in the 50s, but isn't all that pleasant. I much prefer 60s, and 70s are even better 
March weather sure is challenging for gardening. I want it to be glorious weather for spending time doing garden cleanup and just basking in the warm sun.
I won't be doing any gardening today. Too cold. I will be spending a good portion of my afternoon having lunch with gardening friends though. We'll have a grand 'ol time chatting about gardening and other life happenings. It is always so refreshing to talk gardening without the usual eyes rolling disinterest Sally is bringing some 'Picasso' calla lily corms too. 'Picasso' is such a pretty one - white with purple throats. She grows 'Picasso' every year and with her amazing green thumb, they thrive and reproduce. I've gotten beautiful full grown calla lilies from her before and haven't managed to keep them going. Too bad her green thumb skills don't come home with me too!
I hope to get back outside tomorrow when the morning chill is gone and it warms up to the low 50s. I still need to finish what I started in the Front Steps Bed and I want to start tackling the gardens on the north side of the house after that. Last year I set and met my goal to having the fall leaves raked out and the ratty hellebores foliage cut back in all the gardens by the end of March. Sure would like to meet that goal again this year.
