Friday
I was just reading Annie's latest blog post, and coincidentally I was feeling much the same way about a few of my garden areas lately. There is something so very satisfying and rewarding when you realize that years of gardening efforts have not been in vain.
The garden area that I call the Angel Bower is incredibly lush this year. The calycanthus shrubs 'Venus' and 'Aphrodite' are fully mature and in full bloom this week. I remember planting 'Venus' as a small twig in a 3 inch pot from a mail order source many years ago when I first started gardening. The hellebores that I started with in a few spots have spread into mature swaths. Solomons seal and creeping jenny passed along at early Mid Atlantic plant swaps have spread and matured into large swaths too. Purple spiderwort also passed along at early Mid Atlantic plant swaps have self seeded about nicely. The really unusual shredded umbrella plant that I picked up at a Master Gardener sale is spreading slowly but steadily. Peonies, astilbes, japanese painted ferns, christmas ferns, canadian ginger, epimediums, bleeding hearts, lungworts, brunnera, and other perennials that have been planted over the course of many years have really matured.
There have been a few plant fails, but not many, in this garden. There will always be maintenance of course, mostly cleanup of fall leaves. Weeding will always need to be done too, but is becoming less and less with the almost complete coverage from the perennials that have filled in. The maintenance now will entail thinning out. What a novel concept 
A general view of the Angel Bower
Close up of the angel statue in the Angel bower - blooming Calycanthus 'Venus' on left and native Mountain Laurel on right
This Calycanthus 'Aphrodite' is at the far left of the shrub backdrop to the angel statue. It is really spectacular in bloom
Another favorite in the Angel Bower is this Syneilesis aconitifolia, common name Shredded Umbrella Plant. There is a trillium in the front left corner of the photo. Both of these are plants that I specifically look for to emerge in the spring - makes me so happy when I see them
Tuesday
A few days ago during some of the rainy weather I sat down and made a gardening task to do list. Before I knew it, the list was 5 pages long. I like having lists. It helps keep me focused. This most recent list has tasks that will take as little as 5 or 10 minutes and also tasks that are much larger in scope. Being very specific vs general makes the list a lot longer, but it is easier to see progress being made.
For example, one of the general tasks is to plant up my containers with annuals. Instead of listing just this general task, I made 15 specific tasks - one for each of the container groupings. A single general task for planting up my containers would remain open for quite a while, whereas I can cross off each individual container group as I go along. Nice seeing that green hilite indicating that something has been finished.
I grouped all the tasks by garden area. I'll probably jump around vs sticking with one garden until all the tasks in that area are finished. Most of the tasks are about planting, relocating, weeding, pruning, fertilizing - garden editing and maintenance. Nothing is overly hard, just time consuming with the volume. This particular list of about 150 items won't be accomplished in a day or two that is for sure.
I was able to spend a few hours working in the garden yesterday. We had a day of non rain between the rains of the weekend and the rains again today. An easy task was to dead head all the lambs ears that line the side walkway into the house. At this time of year they grow tall flower stalks that I've never liked and I've always cut them off. I love the silvery soft mounded base foliage for a ground cover, but those flower stalks are gangly and give the illusion of making that walkway seem really narrow. Even though an easy task, it took about 2 hours. My poor leg muscles, already tired from the pool in the morning, were screaming with that particular bending over posture. There is something very satisfying about dead heading though. While I was at it, I also dead headed spent hyacinth blooms and a few spent iris stalks.
Today I will likely pot up some of those containers. I can do that with the light rain, whereas planting or relocating would be a muddy mess.
Sunday
With so much time being spent in the gardens, I should have plenty to write about. I do, but at the end of the day I am usually beyond exhausted and in the mornings I wake up raring to go. I've been getting a lot done, but as I sit here trying to recall everything, nothing specific is coming to mind 
Yesterday the rains started and slowed me down. It was nice to have a bit of a breather. I focused on much needed indoor tasks and then went out for a late lunch/early dinner to celebrate Bonnie's 65th birthday.
I know one thing that took up a lot more time than planned - cleaning out the basement under the conservatory. It is separate from the main house and has an outside entrance. It is where I store all sorts of gardening type stuff - decorative pots, seed starting supplies, fertilizers, pest control, landscape edging, ground pegs, tree straps, hooks, rope, plant support stakes and hoops, ... It is also where we store folding tables, folding chairs, chafing dishes, ... that we use for large gatherings. And last but not least, it is where we over-winter the outdoor kitchen items, coolers, and patio umbrellas. I had gone down there a few weeks ago to get my collapsible wagon to take to a garden fair and realized how unorganized it had become over the last few years. It was a mess too from the mice that seem to think that is a good place to live. Absolutely gross. I thought it would take a day, it took almost a week. I really purged too - took three car loads to the dump. I used to store things in open plastic baskets - what a mistake with the mice problem. I purchased all new storage bins with lids and re-organized the gardening supplies that I'm keeping. Some gardening related stuff made more sense to store in the greenhouse, so after the conservatory basement was done, I spent a day organizing the things I had relocated there.
Mike and I have also been working on expanding the vegetable garden. The only open area is on top of the drainfield. The lines are 3 feet down and since most vegetable crops are shallow rooted, it will be fine there with or without raised beds. We first cut down two dead trees on the edge of the drainfield, did a final burn of the season before the burn ban started, and then relocated the big ash pile from years of burning in that spot. Mike used the tractor to pull out weeds and grade the expanded area, then brought in a dump truck load of topsoil. I think we need one more. Now we are working on expanding the deer fencing and installing a drip irrigation system. I've already planted out my tomatoes in the original section, and hope to get everything else I plan on growing planted out sometime this week. I started way too many tomato seedlings 
I've pared it down to three of each variety, but with almost 20 varieties, that means 60 tomato plants. Good gosh, that could be a LOT of tomatoes. I'm looking forward to taste testing and picking out keepers that I'll want to grow again. With so many tomato varieties to choose from though, I know I'll try new to me varieties each year too. I'll also be planting peppers, cucumbers, carrots, onions, cantaloupes, cabbage, beans...
I've got strawberries in the vertical planters on the back patio. The mail order 'Seascape' bare root are doing great, but the 4 bare root varieties that I purchased at Tractor Supply and Lowes were a bust. I know now that I won't be buying bare roots from big box stores again. I also want to get a small raspberry patch going. I'm not sure if I will do that in the expanded vegetable garden area or somewhere else. I plan to grow a few blueberry bushes too, but I'll do those in containers.
Both Bonnie and I have been steadily working at clearing out the accumulated fall leaves from all the garden areas. There are just two areas left to do - the Boxwood Parterre and the dry creek bed that runs along the Millstone Fountain Garden.
Another job that Mike has finished is the cleanup around my dad's grotto. After my parents passed away, I hired a stone mason friend to disassemble the stone grotto that my dad built and reconstruct it on my property. He worked on it off and on last year - a few hours on weekends or days off from his full time job. It took him a lot longer than he anticipated, and he finished up right before Thanksgiving. There was a lot of stone and mortar debris, pallets, two dead trees, and regrading needed for the cleanup. Now it is planting time for me - I've got ferns that I've been holding in the staging area for that space. I'll start with the ferns and then add a few other things over time. I want that garden area to stay green and serene - maybe a pop of lavender or white, I'm thinking foxgloves.
I've got numerous planters to put annuals in, but I'm waiting on delivery of self watering insert pots before I do. Last year when I hosted the Mid Atlantic spring plant swap, I splurged on annuals for my various planters and loved the way they added to the general garden design. They required so much watering though. I'm hoping the self watering pots that I can insert into the decorative planters will cut down on the watering frequency need.
I'm steadily plugging away at the rebaselining of my gardening records by confirming what is still alive and making positive ids of cultivars when they bloom. I've id'd snowdrops and daffodils, and now iris season is here so I'm working on those. Many are alive, but not many have bloom stalks so iris cultivar ids will be elusive for years to come I'm sure. Clematis are coming into bloom too, so I'm able to id those. Soon the peony season will start. I know I will be able to confirm all cultivar ids of those. Later in the summer will be daylilies and astibles.
I've still got a huge to do list of garden editing - i.e. digging and dividing overgrown perennials and relocating self seeders and others for aesthetics.
So much to do when you are a gardener with big aspirations I don't plan on slowing down until the heat and humidity of summer become miserable for all day long outdoor work. In the meantime, I'm happy for the rain. I can do a few things in the greenhouse and I'll even be outside during periods of light drizzle, but I will enjoy the slower pace for a few days.
Friday
I met my goal yesterday to finish planting all of the new perennials/small shrubs that I've acquired so far this year and a few left from 2023 that were in the staging area. Last night before going to bed, I did a quick tally of the total - a whopping 109 in the ground in what amounts to four days dedicated to planting! I used my "Laura version" power planter auger and that sure does make a difference for me. I made several purchases locally and via mail order, but most of the plants were from the annual spring amish nursery excursion to Connestoga and Black Creek in East Earl, PA.
I added plants to 12 of my garden areas. A lot was added to the Lemon Garden, and then smaller amounts to the others. It is a lot of plants, but not really the big impact you think it would be when spread out like that. I am loving the way my gardens are looking as they mature over the years though.
Here is the rundown:
*Lemon Garden - 37 plants
5 Hellebores 'California Dreaming', 1 Hellebores 'Mont Blanc', 12 Erysimum 'Jubilee Gold', 1 Camellia 'Lemon Glow', 3 Trillium, 1 Chelone glabra, 1 pass along yellow corydalis, 5 Alchemilla mollis, 4 Galium odoratum, 2 Dianthus 'Hello Yellow', 2 Gaura 'Graceful Blush', and a bunch of Annie's liberated winter aconites
*Cherry Tree Nook - 7 plants
3 Hellebores 'French Kiss', 2 Hellebores 'True Love', 2 Hellebores 'Carlotta'
*Gazebo Garden - 5 plants
3 Hellebores 'Rosada', 1 Symphoricarpos sp 'Proud Berry', 1 Weigela Monet 'Purple Effect'
*Front Foundation Bed - 9 plants
6 Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash', 3 Heucherella 'Pink Revolution'
*Front Island Bed - 3 plants
1 Deutzia 'Magicien', 1 Clematis 'Princess Diana', 1 Clematis 'Rosalie'
*Arbor Retreat - 6 plants
6 Phlox Paparazzi 'Jagger'
*Hosta Haven - 5 plants
1 Hosta 'Stained Glass', 1 Hosta 'Twilight', 1 Hosta 'Yellow Polka Dot Bikini', 1 Hosta 'Wrinkle In Time', 1 pass along Hosta 'Empress Wu'
*Turret Garden - 11 plants
11 Lamium 'Purple Dragon'
*Pond Path - 17 plants
15 Hellebores Barry Glick strain
2 Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Frost'
*Dogwood Overlook - 5 plants
1 Tree Peony 'Rou Fu Rong', 1 Tree Peony 'Xue Ying Tao Hua', 2 Lobelia Starship 'Blue', 1 pass along campanula glomerata
*Millstone Fountain Garden - 1 plant
1 Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty'
*Stumpery - 3 plants
3 Bergenia 'Peppermint Patty'
I will likely acquire more plants on and off as the gardening season progresses, but nothing like the big splurge in early spring. Now that the new acquisitions are planted, my focus for the next few weeks will be on what I call garden editing - i.e. digging and dividing overgrown plants and relocating/grouping self seeded plants. I was making numerous mental notes all week and will start that process on Monday. Today is a bit drizzly and I plan to putter in the greenhouse with up-potting a bunch of seedlings. Less exertion than all the perennial/small shrub planting for sure
Thursday
Yesterday I had another full day working outside. I decided to switch gears and instead of gardening, I cleaned out and organized the four big deck box type storage bins that are now in place outside the greenhouse. I've had them for years and they hold all kinds of gardening stuff, mostly nursery pots. They sat out back just beyond the wood line though, and the lids often blew open so they were filled with leaves and debris. What a job that was!
First I emptied the contents. It took longer than I expected, and when I was done with that, I was tired of it and my mind kept jumping about to all the other tasks on the to do list. I kept at it though, really trying to finish the things that I start. I had to climb inside the boxes to get all the leaves out. Again, once that was done I was ready to move on to something else. That was basically how it went ALL ... DAY ... LONG. It was hard to stick with it to the bitter end, but I did it
The next step was to drag over the shop vac from the garage and suck up the remaining debris. Then I used a sponge and a bucket of water to wipe the insides down. Finally, all four were emptied and cleaned. The bin contents were still fairly organized, but each did have some random things thrown on top over the last few years. I sorted and then started putting contents back in. Had that pull to do something else between loading up each box. I can't say that it was a fun project, but it is done.
Each box is now filled with different sizes/shapes of pots. I have saved many nursery pots over the years that I thought would eventually come in handy. Box #1 contains square pots ranging in size from 2" to 5". I'll continue to save this size when I get them with new plant acquisitions from Black Creek. Box #2 contains round trade gallon size pots. I have so many of these that I will not be saving any more for years to come. Box #3 contains extra large round nursery pots that shrubs and trees come in. I have enough of these for now too. Box #4 contains carry trays and cell inserts for seed starting and growing out plugs. I'm not sure if I will even keep these. They are such a mish mash of what purchased things came in, and after the seed starting efforts this year, I think I would rather go with very standard uniform 1020 nursery trays and inserts. Seems like I could make more efficient use of light shelf and greenhouse growing space if they were all the same size.
I carried all the miscellaneous gardening supplies which aren't used for seed starting and growing out plants over to the conservatory basement. I need a full day to clean and re-organize that space as well 
Cleaning and organizing can be just as tiring as gardening!
I did end the day with about an hour of raking leaves out of the beds around the stone retaining wall that defines the parking area. It runs parallel with the greenhouse and was one of the many things that I wanted to be doing instead of working on those deck boxes I uncovered a little yellow ring neck snake. It surprised me as much as I surprised it, and it quickly slithered away.
Bonnie came over just as I was finishing. She was still wound up after her work day and wanted to do something physical in the gardens. She used a thatcher that she attached to the back of the riding mower and did my small front lawn. Then she spread the bag of Scotts Triple Action Turf Builder that I got last year and never used. There was plenty left over for her to use on her small front lawn too. It feels pretty good when you use those kind of supplies up. We sat for a bit enjoying the evening as the sun was going down, but Bonnie can't sit still for long and was soon off to take River for one last long walk before turning in for the night.
