The winter froze most of the buds on my small rhododendron tree (or very large bush) and the blossoms that did appear were sparse so I borrowed a blossom from May 2015.
Front Yard:
Peony and oriental poppies have grown taller this last week and flower buds are getting bigger as are the dandelions.
Finally the weather warmed enough so that some bedding plants could be put in.
Always look forward to adding the summer plants to the front planting boxes, partly because it is a limited time task.
After planting
An idea came to me when I saw this raw edge board in my wood junk pile. Added a stencil. Finished it with MMS Tough Coat.
It was just what I need to finish the planter boxes.
Before planting - the plants below are sitting on top of the soil, Monday to Wednesday forecast was for sunny/cloudy warm days, now is the time to plant.
The local Laity Farm aka Pumpkin Patch started selling bedding/baskets/small shrubs during late April and in May a few years ago and they are just a few blocks away so I like to stop and pick up whatever matches my planting plans for the season.
Picked up 25 allysum for the border, 3 dusty miller, a Kale Storm Mix, Rosemary, one more geranium and 16 discounted sweet peas plants (skinny little plants).
Bought 4 geraniums at a church sale last week so now I have the bedding plants ready.
I am trying the Kale Storm Mix to see how tall/wide it grows. Sweet Peas are my 'always add' as is white alyssum for an over the edge border.
Before and after (right planter box). I removed all the plants (except the one green one below) from both planter beds. Things were looking very scraggy.
I added some sea soil and mixed it in with a gardening hand fork and checked for any bugs that shouldn't be in the bed. Slugs do enjoy eating bedding plants. Lots of wood bugs, found two earthworms.
Moving to the backyard:
Next job is planting dahlia tubers. I am (a little bit) considering moving my dahlia beds near to the fence in the back yard where my large white storage tent was. I gave the tent away a few weeks ago to a friend in Williams Lake who is using it for a green house/garden protection from the deer.
I have cleaned out one raised bed and planted kale and parsley. I have 2 kale plants under the milk containers and they look appear stronger than the other plants.
The other bed (next to the kale bed) had dahlia and herbs last year. 2015/6 winter was mild and the dahlia all wintered over and produced a good crop of flowers. DGS wore shorts to school last year in April right through to October.
This year the winter 2016/7 was harsh and I have to clean out the dahlia bed - rotted tubers). Shorts have been worn once to school (on Tuesday) for the first time this year.
I picked up several colors of dahlia tubers at two different church sales last week. All tubers were untagged and may be lilac, white, red, pink and mystery.
I don't have the dahlia bed ready so that is my next outside job - and I think it is going to be a big job if I have to dig holes in the back garden area. We'll see.
To close my May Gardening Update is an overview of the front yard, small, simple. See the trees leaning toward the street? The winter snows weighed them backwards and they have not recovered, I suspect they may not recover - they used to stand up and lean at bit toward the house (making good shade for sitting outside). See my August 2015 post here for these trees and shade.
Sharing with:
Thursday
Saving 4 Six, The Red Painted Cottage, A Delightsome Life, Sincerely Paula, Adirondack Girl at Heart, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Crafts a la Mode, Life With Lorelai,
Saving 4 Six, The Red Painted Cottage, A Delightsome Life, Sincerely Paula, Adirondack Girl at Heart, Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, Crafts a la Mode, Life With Lorelai,
Friday
Reviews, Chews and How-To's, Two Chicks and a Mom, Under a Texas Sky, Rattlebridge Farm, Chic on a Shoestring, Little House Big Alaska, The Cottage Market, A Fireman's Wife, The Painted Hinge, Sweet Inspiration, How Sweet The Sound, Funky Junk Interiors, Ms. Toody Goo Shoes, Pams Party and Practical Tips,
Reviews, Chews and How-To's, Two Chicks and a Mom, Under a Texas Sky, Rattlebridge Farm, Chic on a Shoestring, Little House Big Alaska, The Cottage Market, A Fireman's Wife, The Painted Hinge, Sweet Inspiration, How Sweet The Sound, Funky Junk Interiors, Ms. Toody Goo Shoes, Pams Party and Practical Tips,
Saturday
Pieced Pastimes, One More Time, Scrapality, Sunny Simple Life, Across the Blvd, Life On Lakeshore Drive, Love of Home,
Pieced Pastimes, One More Time, Scrapality, Sunny Simple Life, Across the Blvd, Life On Lakeshore Drive, Love of Home,
Sunday
Nifty Thrifty, That DIY Showoff, Silver Pennies, What Meegan Makes, Creating My Way To Success, Rustic and Refined, Eclectic Red Barn, Share The Joy,
Nifty Thrifty, That DIY Showoff, Silver Pennies, What Meegan Makes, Creating My Way To Success, Rustic and Refined, Eclectic Red Barn, Share The Joy,
Monday
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Normandy Life, Coastal Charm, Country Mouse City Spouse, Grandma's Briefs,
Flour Me With Love, A Stroll Through Life, Celebrate and Decorate, Home Stories A to Z,
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Normandy Life, Coastal Charm, Country Mouse City Spouse, Grandma's Briefs,
Flour Me With Love, A Stroll Through Life, Celebrate and Decorate, Home Stories A to Z,
Wednesday
Raven Would, Raggety Bits, Grandma's House DIY, The Thrifty Home, Suburban Simplicity, Five Kids a Dog and a Blog, Of Faeries and Fauna Craft Co., The Essence of Home,
Raven Would, Raggety Bits, Grandma's House DIY, The Thrifty Home, Suburban Simplicity, Five Kids a Dog and a Blog, Of Faeries and Fauna Craft Co., The Essence of Home,
I enjoyed your post. It is hard to get up and running after the winter we had we lost a few plants and a lot of the Rhodo's have no blooms.Looking forward to a new season and a return to more seasonal weather. Take care and good luck with your garden.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your gardening! We have a garden this year! First time here! LD was a big gardener in the past so he's in heaven!
ReplyDeleteWe had next to no winter and our spring has been mild and reasonable for Texas, making it an ideal time to get a good start on things!
It's always nice to drop in here for a visit!
Oh I miss the pretty garden. We are just getting a bit of spring weather now. I can't wait to get into the garden!
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are off to a good start! I love this time of year. :)
ReplyDeleteHoly Moly I love what you've done with your gardens. Ours is pitiful by comparison.
ReplyDeleteR
In a few weeks, your new plantings will be boasting. Oh I do miss the spring rhododendrons. We had beautiful ones up in PA. We lost some plants here in AL over the winter. We had a couple of frosts that killed them because we didn't cover them or bring them inside.
ReplyDeleteFirst time visiting you from Friday Frenzy. Thanks for giving me some inspiration!
ReplyDeleteIt looks very pretty Joy. The planters will be lovely in no time, and the sign is perfect! I just started planting my containers today. I love this time of year! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
My ornamental poppies are blooming--becoming my favorite flower. Your's will be blooming soon and I adore peonies also!!! this is such an exciting time of year.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Good morning, Joy, how I enjoyed seeing your garden coming to life for the summer. You've made me want to get out and start planting but that will have to wait until next week as we're in Crete on vacation for another 7 days.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for kicking off this week's MM so wonderfully!
Always a lot to do in a garden. Your planters will be spilling over with beauty. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the glimpses into your garden today Have a nice Mosaic Monday
ReplyDeletemuch love...
You are busy! A lot of fun to see what's happening in your garden. Love your garden sign. Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see new plants and flowers going in! Thank you sharing #sharethejoy
ReplyDeleteWow, very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJoy, What a wonderful post. I enjoyed it. Have a great day! Sylvia D.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Your garden looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first full spring since selling our house and moving to an apartment. So no big garden--no front yard, side yard, back yard to infuse with flowers and veggies. Yours looks so inviting. But i do have a patio with east-south sun. I've been lugging up the potting soil and the basil plants and tomato plants. since we had such a cold May I am feeling lucky--first sign of a deep chill I could bring the garden inside. The silver lining.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to have things growing outside again... your yard looks wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteThings re coming along. Sorry about your dahlias rotting. I can't remember what zone you live in but it must be a warmer one. I live in zone 5 and there is no way I could leave my dahlia bulbs out. They would gt killed every winter.
ReplyDeleteYou've made some wonderful beds for your flowers! Wishing you sunshine and just enough rain! (it's dry here so we're watering like crazy!) Hugs!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful yard. Sweet peas, as so many other flowers, are sweet memories now ... we no longer garden, and just enjoy the creativity and efforts of others ... but don't even see certain flowers here in SW Florida.
ReplyDeleteYour flower beds look great and your sign is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your wonderful posts at Over The Moon Party.
See you next week.
Hugs,
Bev
I hope your trees recover, Joy. Your garden is looking lovely though and I love the new sign :)
ReplyDeleteOh and I saw your reality post. Thank you for being so sweet about mine.
xo,
rue
I love your sign and your flowers! I need to get to gardening for this year! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your post at the Friday at the Fire Station link-up! I love your garden and your little sign. :)
ReplyDeleteYou yard is looking super duper, Joy and I just love your new "garden" sign :) Thanks so much for linking up with Vintage Charm!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this at the Farmhouse Friday link party! Pinned and shared! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your garden sign, Joy. It looks like you've got lots of lovely flowers and plants. I hope the leaning trees will recover. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Pinning to my Great Outdoors board.
ReplyDeleteThe sign is perfect for your garden! We've been very hesitant about planting here in Mid-Michigan. We had a week long stretch of perfect above 70 temps so I bought plants. The day I bought them it was 86 degrees, the next day it was 45. Fingers crossed that may flowers make it. Thank you for sharing with us at Celebrate Your Story, and I hope you’re having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteLooking good. You are so far ahead of me. We appreciate you sharing your lovely garden at Dishing It & Digging It.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous yard you already have, it is gong to be so stunning as things come into blossom. Love how lush and green everything is. Its so nice to have the gardens and blooms out again.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks beautiful I wish mine looked as nice
ReplyDelete