Garden happenings

Emma and I just returned from a week in England, and the garden has gone into overdrive. Pat said it has not rained much but it has been cool at night so the ground probably hasn't been too dry.

Anenomes! They are even blooming, shortly after being planted, go anenones! Oh dear me, I only just realized now (thanks to spell check) that I have been incorrectly saying "anenome" rather than "anemone" my WHOLE LIFE. This is mortifying. It does remind me of the scene in "Finding Nemo" when Nemo can't pronounce anemone. I had no idea I had this in common with a cartoon clownfish.

I'm going to need a moment to process this, so why don't you go ahead and enjoy these photos.

Balloon flower!

Echinacea!

Hi there, I'm back. Here we have Emma measuring her zinnias.

But I am still reeling from this whole anemone business. Anemone. ANEMONE.

When we transplanted the zinnias, we didn't pay attention to which types were going where, so it is a fun exercise to match them to the picture now that they are blooming.

I didn't think I would like these green ones ("Raspberry Limeade") but I find that I do like them a lot.

The hydrangea in front is starting to bloom, but it was supposed to be a combination of pink and white, and so far I see only white.

Everyone else's Larkspur has already bloomed, so why has mine not bloomed?

The sweet peas on the pole closest to the street are going gangbusters! The ones on the upper pole are barely still alive. I think they don't get enough light with that monster peony in front of them.

Lavender fields forever

My sister lives in Hitchin, England, which is famous for its lavender farm. We visited on the most gorgeous summer day (the weather was uncharacteristically gorgeous the whole time we were in England). I could not stop taking photos.

We took home some lavender (4 pounds for all you want to cut!) but when we tried to move the blooms the next day, after they'd been in water overnight, all the lovely petals dropped off! Which suggested to me that I should pick my own lavender and aim for the same effect, such that I can use the petals for sachets and such.

Foxy foxgloves and dazzling daisies

Check out my swoon-worthy foxgloves! I think I am going to move these to the front yard when the back yard renovation is imminent. I hope they will survive, because I LOVE THEM MADLY.

Emma's zinnias and peppers are coming along nicely.

And the Shasta daisies are starting to bloom.

Accidental tomatoes and other adventures

Select Seeds was selling plants for $5 each so inevitably I bought some.

Three primroses, which are inexplicably blooming now.

Looking at the dark soil spot to the back, there are three new anemones, and then on this side of the lavender (which is not new) is a delphinium.

My beloved foxgloves are looking glorious.

This four-lined plant bug was on Emma's zinnias. I don't want to make the picture too large because yuck.

Remember the dianthus that was mixed in with some sort of super-enthusiastic grass? Well I ripped out the grass, and now it looks *great.* Ha ha,

Here's the other one, looking all alive and whatnot!

For weeks, amidst the zinnias, I have been eyeing some mystery plants. They look like tomatoes, I told myself, but naw, how could they be tomatoes? Must be a look-alike weed. They got bigger, and they still looked like tomatoes. I considered and rejected the idea that tomato seeds might have been mixed in with the zinnia seeds. They got bigger still, and it finally hit me: THESE ARE TOMATOES. And then I came belatedly to the realization that my compost must have had some tomatoes with seeds just waiting for a spot in a garden.

Even if they grow fruit, I fully expect the accursed squirrels to make off with them, but still, it's a little exciting. Since they are amidst the zinnias, they probably feel staked, but I am wondering whether I should truly stake them. But that would be admitting I care, and then I'm just asking for my heart to be broken when tragedy befalls them.

See, this is why I don't grow vegetables.

See also the grassy-looking gypsophila, and the tall cornflower appear poised to bloom.

This is the general scene of Emma's plants (plus tomatoes!). Note the anti-deer spray in the foreground, which has clogged up every spray bottle I've had it in, so I've taken to painting it on the plants, which is a total pain. But darned if I'm going to lose the zinnias, cornflower, and balloon flowers to the wicked deer.

Finally, last year I cut back the Shasta daisy stems, and when they grew back this year, it was to the side of the dead stem stumps. I just pulled those stumps out, and look how beautiful they are!

Garden happenings

The allium looks like it's in a funny spot because it bent over into the topiary.

The foxgloves are starting to bloom!

Note the allium still going strong.

Check out the prints of the wicked deer by my larkspur. Their infringement on my garden is unprecedented. But look: the poppy is blooming!

All three poppy plants looked good this spring, so I'm unclear why only one bloomed. I believe this is the same one that bloomed last year (see May 29, 2017 post) - the one furthest down on the slope. It bloomed a little over a week later this year.

Diabolical wildlife attracted to thriving garden

Let's just start out by saying my garden looks amazing. I believe we can thank the very frequent soaking rains that have continued since the end of winter. They'll bring hordes of mosquitoes, I'm sure, but I can gaze lovingly at my gorgeous thriving garden from behind my window screens.

Iris and allium

Baptisia

Emma makes notes in her garden journal, with her plants in the foreground

Peony! I didn't stake it this year and sure enough, a few days later when all the rest of these buds started blooming, they did droop. Stake next year! 

All the rhododendrons bloomed at once this year, and they were stunning. Remember when I feared the heavy snowstorm would kill them? Not so fast!

I am bursting with pride that ALL the foxgloves in the back plot are on the verge of bloom.

But now for the bad news: the deer and who knows what else have been feasting on more of my little plantlets than ever before. The zinnias, the cornflower, and balloon flower have had it the worst, and I don't know whether deer or something else is to blame for the unfortunate demise of my parsley and the foxglove seedlings in front. Frustrating. I see that the same fate befell the parsley seedlings I had planted last year, so I guess the lesson is that parsley needs to be well-protected, or abandoned.

Parsley, uprooted.

 The alliums in the back tipped over, but the alliums in the front did not. Probably worth staking all of them next year, just in case. Side note: I cut one of the ones in back for a flower arrangement, and it has lasted and lasted! Love these plants. Need more of them next year too.