Friday, May 20, 2016

Mid-May

Lupines and Weigela 'Pink Poppet' on the east side of the tractor shed.


Hello, all! I've been working hard in my gardens for the past week and things are starting to look more under control, after my feelings of panic several weeks ago. I have been completely renovating several of my major garden areas due to issues with thuggish invasive plants and changes I have wanted to make, so there aren't as many things blooming at this time of year as usual, but there are still a few bright spots in the gardens that I'd like to share with you.


This is not one of the bright spots, but it is an area that looks a lot better for being cleared out and raked smooth. I will not be able to plant anything in this main section of my Front Border for the rest of this year due to a nasty problem with Obedient Plant 'Vivid,' but at least it looks like a cultivated area now, not just sprayed, dying plants and large holes from where I dug out plants I was able to save. I'll move the Alliums after they dry up, and leave only the roses until next spring. 

Another part of my Front Border, with a few gaps, but still containing a few blooming plants to cheer me up.

This week I painted and installed these trellises on the east side of our decaying old Tractor Shed, on which I hope the sweet pea starts planted at their base will grow up. Next year I'll get an earlier start planting the sweet peas out with trellises already being in place. Something about these wood trellises reminded me of the "barn quilts" that are painted on the sides of barns here in the Midwest, perhaps the diamond-shaped insert in the center of each.

The tree peony 'Renkaku' that I planted last year had a big,
beautiful bloom on it.

Another tree peony, called 'Hoki', near 'Renkaku'.

Purple bearded irises, verbena 'Shauna Ann' and allium 'Purple Sensation' in the Purple Section of what used to be called my Rainbow Border. (I'm not certain what I will call it now that I am mixing up the colors -- perhaps the "Big Easy Color Border" might work? I'll think on it....)

I was also able to get my cutting garden in order this week and have been working on moving things around in the ex-Rainbow Border. Next week I hope to show some more irises that are just now coming into bloom, but that's it for now.

Hope your own garden work is starting to reach a manageable point as we near the end of May, the busiest month for gardeners. Thanks for reading! -Beth

12 comments:

  1. We seem to be on the same path...I hope to get back to the clearing and moving next week....the trellis area is stunning.

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    1. Thanks so much, Donna -- I wish you good luck with your own projects. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  2. Beth.... it's always so much fun to see a tree peony bloom for the first time.... I have lots of new ones as you may know, thanks to divisions by a very generous friend... At least 20 of them will have a couple blooms plus the hybridized seeds that I started about 5 or 6 years ago will have blooms as well for the first time.... can't wait. I do have an issue with less blooms than I'd like on my old plants which is frequently the case... I suspect I may need to come up with some sort of feeding program so will investigate that... it seems odd as everything else here doesn't appear to need to be fed.... then again, the tree peony placement is such that there is a lot of competition with tree roots.... anyway... have a great week with all the changes in your gardens! Larry

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    1. Hi Larry, your tree peony collection is really impressive -- I'm sure you can't wait to see all the new blooms. I can't wait to see them either! Thanks for stopping by, -Beth

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  3. All lovely, Beth. Great design with the repetition of the trellises, and the lupine are stunning! _Janice

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    1. Hi Janice, I'm so glad you like the trellis design. Thanks for visiting! -Beth

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  4. Hi Beth, Your gardens are looking very nice. I especially like your iris, lupines, weigela, tree peonies and painted daisies. You have been working very hard, and it shows!

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    1. Thanks so much for your nice words, Beth -- I'm so glad you stopped by! -Beth

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  5. Hi Beth, the tree peonies are lovely I particularly like the renkaku, I've never seen that variety before.

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    1. Hi Steve, I'm so glad you visited and left a comment so I could find your blog too. Best Regards, -Beth

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  6. Hello Beth! It is such a treat to visit your lovely garden as I always see so many flowers that I cannot grow in Florida but remember from England! As I was scrolling up, the first thing I see is those lovely Lupines!! Yours are so gorgeous - healthy and vibrant and what a wonderful combination with the Weigela. I shall be excited to see the sweet peas on those lovely new trellises too. How I miss picking sweet peas! I am going to try an early flowering variety myself this winter so maybe, just maybe, I might get a few blooms!! Haha! Well done for working so hard on your garden - It really shows in how beautiful everything is!
    - Kate xx

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    1. Hi Kate, Thanks so much for all your encouraging words, as usual -- I'm so glad you like the Lupines and Weigela combination. And I wish you luck with growing sweet peas -- I think you might be able to plant them in fall and grow them over winter; that's what I've read about growing them in the south, anyway. I look forward to seeing them on your own blog during our snowy winters! Best, -Beth

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