Getting there...

We've spent most of the past week outdoors weeding and digging and planting and then weeding and digging and planting some more! I say "we" but I really mean "he" because Lew does all of the heavy work ... but I'm real good at providing moral support and supervision!! ;-)

Gardening Chores To Do List

Rose Bed
☑ pest spray roses
☑ enrich soil
☑ plant Gerbera daisies around
☑ spread anti-slug granules around hosta
☑ water/mulch

New Front Bed
☑ dig bed
☑ enrich soil
☑ plant hostas/impatiens around tree
☑ spread anti-slug granules
☑ water/mulch

Mailbox Garden
☑ weed/clean up;
☑ transplant black-eyed susan;
☑ enrich soil
☑ plant remaining impatiens
☑ water/mulch

Front Corner Bed
☑ weed/dig out sedum
☑ dig spot for black-eyed susan
☑ enrich soil
☑ water/mulch

Backyard Bed
☑ weed backyard bed;
☑ thin/dig out sedum;
☑ dig spot for lily;
☑ enrich soil;
☑ plant New Guinea impatiens;
☑ transplant lily from side bed;
☑ water/mulch

Around Deck
☑ prune winter-damaged weeping Japanese maple
(in progress)
☑ prune damaged azaleas
☑ feed azaleas
☑ enrich soil
☑ plant geraniums
☑ water/mulch

West Side Bed
☑ thin lilies/salvia
☑ plant tickseed (coreopsis)
☑ water/mulch

Front Fence Azalea Bed
☒ replace 1 azalea
☒ feed all
☒ mulch
☑ replace rotted wood border between beds with stone blocks
(in progress)

Front Porch Azalea Bed
☒ plant annuals (haven't decided what yet)
☒ feed azaleas
☒ mulch

Rhodendron Bed
☒ replace damaged rhodo
☒ feed all
☒ mulch

West Side Fence
☒ dig spots for 4 hibiscus plants
☒ plant
☒ water/mulch

Back Yard Azalea Bed
☒ maneuver 4 railroad ties (120 lbs ea!) to rear of bed
☒ weed (again!)
☒ feed all
☒ mulch

Lilac Beds
☒ spray lilacs
☒ weed
☒ dig up shoots to give to neighbor
☒ mulch

Miscellaneous
☒ decide on future/treatment of my prized pink dogwood - not only did it suffer severe winter damage but it may be diseased as well *sniff*
☒ the shed is in dire need of a paint job - some time soon
☒ add dividing stone border in east side bed
☒ I'm sure I'm forgetting something that needs doing!

Phew!! No wonder we've been sleeping so well! Check out Lew's Other Pics for a few photos.

...how does your garden grow?

Very well, thank you! Well, hopefully very well. How well remains to be seen.

For more years than I care to remember, I've wanted a bed of hosta around either our front yard maple or our back yard oak. For one reason or another, we just kept putting it off - there were other beds to dig, other things to plant, etc., etc., etc. Well, this was the year and it's finally done. Our maple has hosta underneath it!

Lew has worked very hard the past two days measuring, digging, and laying border blocks. The major chore and time-eater was digging through and around thirty-five years worth of root growth. Jeez, what a job!! He persevered, however, and I'm loving the results:

Measuring blocks and plant placement...

Extra soil, compost, and peat moss ready for the plants...

Hostas and companion impatiens all planted...

and looking pretty as can be!!

Now all we have to do is keep the slugs and rabbits from turning it all into a buffet and the neigborhood cats from making it their personal litter box!

Go figure...

I've lived in Maryland most of my adult life. Would you believe that in all that time, with all the flower gardening I've done, I've never... no, not ever... planted the state flower? How the heck did that happen?

So, this season I figured it was waaaay past time and I got me a Black-Eyed Susan from my friendly local nursery, which I promptly planted in my mailbox garden. Well, the silly thing has f-i-n-a-l-l-y bloomed... barely. I got me ONE whole flower from it.

My lonely little Black-Eyed Susan

(photos by Lew)

Hardly seems worth the effort, does it? Theoretically, it will get taller - a la daisies or coneflowers - with lots of happy yellow flowers smiling up at me. Maybe next season. Or maybe a location change... methinks it needs more sun. We shall see.

Tilling the soil...

Today was the day for making a new bed...
in ground that's never been cultivated before...

The Man dug up all the grass... a major task in itself...

Then tilled the rock hard ground...

After a day of hard labor, the
bed is ready to receive its plants...

Planted in soil now rich in top soil,
soil conditioner, and compost...

... then mulched and watered, we have happy little
euonymous bushes in their new home.

The Man has earned a well-deserved rest!!

Yard work...

Mother's Day is coming and around here, that means planting time. By then, it's usually safe enough, weather-wise. This year might be an aberration though - I'm freezing my tush off and had to turn the heat on again this morning. We also got hit with the remnants of that wicked wind from the west last night and the yard is littered with new leaves and cherry blossoms - screwy weather!

We're getting ready anyway though. We've been to the nursery twice so far and have these goodies in the garage, waiting to hit the dirt:

1 replacement azalea
4 euonymous shrubs
1 marguerite daisy
1 black-eyed susan
1 forget-me-not
3 shade coleus
1 dwarf bleeding heart
1 hosta
5 New Guinea impatiens
1 verbena hanging basket

(there are photos on my Project 365 blog if you care.)

Gonna mean a bit of labor for my #1 digger - aka Lew. We've decided to finally put the shrubs in alongside the garage, which means a whole new bed - we'll have to rent a rototiller for that. The azalea space needs to be re-dug and the mailbox garden I'm planning will need some digging. Even the hanging basket needs a hook to hang on! (Everything got taken down last year when we installed new siding.) As I type, he's outside mulching the backyard azalea bed. It's a good thing he likes to putter in the yard too!

We still have to pick up more annuals for the existing beds and will probably make another trip to the nursery later today. I really love this time of year!