From commentor Jnfr:
My roses have started blooming!
From commentor Marvel:
About this time of year I get so caught up in the Full Speed Ahead start of veggie-garden season, I sometimes forget to pause and spend a few quiet moments in our ornamental garden. OK — it’s a fair cop: if my hand happens to drop down near a weed (where DO they all come from?!?!), I may pick it and send it to its grave, ever so peacefully.
Here’s a snaphot of our side yard today — the rhodies & azaleas and Japanese maples are happy as clams lately.
And here north of Boston, most of my mail-order tomato plants are doing nicely. There are a couple of pea-sized fruit on the Stupice, which I expected, because it was the first to ripen here last year, even before the cherry tomatoes. And one slightly larger fruit on the Paul Robeson from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomatoes, which I’ve never grown before, but I couldn’t resist her description of “the finest tomato in existence”. Exciting! — even though I know it’s not a good long-term indicator, when Memorial Day is traditionally the earliest one should put out frost-sensitive plants around here.
How are things looking in your gardens?
MikeJ
No garden, but I had a bug in a program. I dreamed the answer. Just woke up and literally typed in what I dreamed, et viola.
Raven
The butterbeans are looking pretty good given the miserly amount of rain we’ve had. The magnolia’s are still busting all over the place. Some squash, some small ‘maters are showing up and our water bill from the 8,000 square feet new grass was $300!
jenn
Wow, that garden pic is spectacular! Brings back much loved (and missed) memories of my grandmother’s garden … and that perfect spot to read a book.
Older_Wiser
What a beautiful, serene looking place, Jnfr! Every flower is beautiful, and I had perennial flower beds in a naturalized front yard, with lots of lilies and other hardies (the only roses that thrived were the “wild rose” variety–pretty and prolific, I bought 6 of them as small “distressed” plants, very cheap, and even I couldn’t kill them off–hybrids required too much chemical care (not for me–I don’t believe in it) and I eventually pulled them up and gave them away, but moving to an apt and having to grow tomatoes in pots on my balcony isn’t going too well (didn’t last year, either, but try, try again). So, I may just stick to herbs. Tomatoes around here are pretty cheap in this rural area as are other veggies locally grown.
Patronize your local growers!
HRA
A few days ago I spotted a mysterious deep pink flower from a window looking into one of my flower beds. Since it was in the middle of a mass of other greenery, I could not get closer to it. It had me puzzled until my daughter came over yesterday and told me it was a rose. The bigger mystery is I had thought it was long gone for by all accounts that rose bush was planted at least 8-10 years ago and never grew.
All of the deck plants are doing really well. One tomato has a
flower on it.
Maude
Looks like a dwarf split leaf red maple over on the right. Around here they have been beautiful.
These are lovely pictures.
I have found that nothing grows in pavement. The building is surrounded by concrete and asphalt.
We had rain over night and are in a hot and humid pattern.
Elizabelle
Well I am fully awake now, thank you.
Out drinking coffee on the deck, watching the woods behind.
A circular rustling behind me, nothing I’ve ever heard. A neighbor’s sprinkler? Something on the roof?
From under the deck, out pops an adult fox. Eight feet from me, and looking up.
I squeal and stand up. The fox watches me, quizzically, retreats to the edge of the woods and looks back.
“It’s all right baby, I won’t hurt you,” I’m crooning to it. (Puzzling behavior. Charmed by proximity to nature, even while alarmed for the neighborhood cats.)
Fox holds my eyes for a moment or two longer, then a graceful retreat over the fence.
I’ve seen the fox before, emerging from under our neighbor’s deck.
It’s bigger, close up.
Punchy
Do mail-order tomato plants come primarily from the Phillipines and Ukraine?
Villago Delenda Est
The rose is spectacular (and real!) and Marvel’s garden is…what is the right word…a riot of serenity.
kay
I have a hot, dry area by the front door. I put in California poppies backed by Mexican sunflowers, direct seeded. The poppies are already blooming and the tithonia are growing like crazy.
I hope my neighbors across the street like orange, because that’s what they’re getting.
Svensker
We had four o’clocks last year in our postage stamp front garden (with nasturtiums at their feet) and had no idea they’d seed themselves. There must be a thousand four o’clock volunteers out there now, which pleases me. And the sweet alyssum self seeded itself in some charming spots. I’ve got a flat of nasturtiums to go in (and they’re great in salads, too) so the front is all set.
I think there’s a spot in the back (deck only, no ground) where a tomato might get enough sun, so will try a pot or two and this year will do pots of lettuce in the shade.
Svensker
@kay:
Kay, you could grow cosmos, too — either the pink/white ones or the yellow/orange variety. They do really well in hot/dry and they’re easy to grow from seed. The pink/white ones are very airy and delicate and might make a striking contrast to the tithonia and poppies.
MattF
Now off to the farmer’s market here in MD. Asparagus is over, strawberries are finishing, I hear rumors of cherries. I want blackberries.
Added: With Cowgirl Creamery Clabbered Cottage Cheese. A foretaste of Heaven.
gelfling545
My roses have all burst into bloom overnight. I have an old Dorothy Perkins rose grown from a piece taken from my childhood home that I have trained up through my lilac tree and it looks like a pink waterfall. Also my favorite poppy popped this am. Beautiful clear red.
I planted lupines and foxgloves again. I try them every so often but have never had any luck. So far they’re not dead yet. We’ll see.
kay
@Svensker:
Maybe I’ll do the white cosmos because my daughter loves white flowers. I told her about the bed (she’s a good gardener) and she said “oh…nice. Orange and orange”. She’s very diplomatic :)
JPL
My gardenias are in full bloom as well as the weeds. It’s been so hot and humid that the gardenia smell lingers. By late afternoon it smells like a bordello.
Marvel, Your side yard is amazing. There are so many talented gardeners on this site and I’m green with envy!
gelfling545
@kay: I’d put in a nice sprawly catmint to wind through them. The purple-blue flowers make a good contrast with the orange theme.
jurassicpork
I don’t go looking for trouble. But sometimes
trouble hires bounty hunters to find me.
jnfr
@Punchy:
I got my tomatoes this year from Laurel’s as well (AL linked to them in the post). She grows hers in California. I’ve been unhappy with the plants I got locally, but these are the strongest baby tomato plants I’ve had in years.
Marvel, your garden is delicious!
Davebo
My yellow roses have been blooming like crazy for at least 8 weeks now. I have six or so in a vase now, have walked over bouquets to the neighbors and I still have over a dozen on the bush.
I will say that even if you deliver roses to the neighbors wife her husband isn’t likely to mow your lawn.
Next week I may try tomatoes.
Schlemizel
Found out this week that the county is going to lower the road outside my house by 2 feet and expand it about 1 foot on our side of the road. That means they are going to demolish a good 4-6 feet of our best gardens, established beds of Columbine, Foxglove, Lupine and some others which may, or may not, survive a move. If they disrupt the cherry tree roots I am not sure yet. Plus with all the trees its the best light we have.
They will replace it with a wall of those crappy, cheap looking, interlocking concrete blocks. I have sort of lost interest in keeping it up for the time being.
Randy P
I am not a very successful gardener (my wife, in contrast, gets incredible results). But I get these obsessions for some reason. I’ve always wanted sunflowers and have failed every time I tried. I think I wait too long to put them out. Well under the wife’s care last year we had a very satisfactory crop and harvested the seeds. Our seed crop has just sprouted in the starter pots and will go into the ground within the next couple of weeks.
Past obsessions have included climbing roses (dead, finally took the empty trellis down last fall), clematis (one plant started well then died overnight, another had a few good years but didn’t come back this year), and wisteria. I just get this yen to succeed with a particular plant for some reason, and it almost never ends well. I thought this might be my year for wisteria but I haven’t bought any yet. Is it already too late? Anyone know?
I’m in southeastern PA, near Philly. We’re definitely beginning our summer weather.
WaterGirl
@Svensker: Cosmos are some of my favorite flowers, but I don’t know how to plant them from seed, so I invariably by some plants from the farmer’s market, but they never do that great because they are spindly and don’t seem to take kindly to the transplant.
Do I have to plant cosmos seeds in little containers and transplant them when they are little? Or do I put the seeds in the ground? If I live in central illinois, when would I plant cosmos seeds?
All help appreciated! Year after year I think that next year I should do these from seeds.
@kay: Perhaps you can tell your daughter about how every year the daughters of the woman across the street do all their mom’s flower planting on mother’s day, as a mother’s day gift. They have done this every year for 10 years.
Kristine Smith
Beautiful garden. Japanese maples area favorite of mine, but I managed to kill the one I tried to grow a few years ago. Too hot/dry that summer. I may try again, though, since other folks around here have them.
Mom had roses years ago, but she used to prune waaay too vigorously, and eventually whittled all the bushes down to the root stock. One bush kept pushing up through the holly we put in to take its place, and every year I would trim it back. But this year, it budded and bloomed–small, bright magenta flowers. No smell. Not hardy, either. A fungus has overtaken one branch, and is spreading no matter what I do. The aphids love it.
But for now, it’s a lovely accident. I’ll keep it going as long as I can.
rikyrah
I don’t have a green thumb…but, just like folks who can grow food, I respect those that can grow plants and flowers.
Petorado
Costco was selling an assortment of plants last week and picked up a star jasmine for $10. Combined with the scent of the honeysuckle, the back porch is now a treat for the senses. The jasmine won’t overwinter here so I’ll have to keep it alive indoors, somehow, when the cold rolls back in.
A bumper crop of lettuce has kept us busy eating, along with some strawberries. Looking forward to the peaches, grapes, as well as the tay, black, boysen and raspberries to come.
Gretchen
@Svensker:
My mother wasn’t a gardener, but she had a patch of four o’clocks that reseeded themselves every year.
Andree-Anne Desmedt
What a beautiful garden! Will you adopt me?
Rochelle
What a lovely garden. My hubby lives to be creative indoors and out, growing everything, and constantly looking for me to add to the pond, raised beds, landscaping, etc.
You can see an album of photos showing it all (along with our resident Golden Retriever Alfie) here:
Rochelle
For some reason, the link I placed above was not allowed. For anyone who wants to see Alfie’s outdoor kingdom, just go to Facebook, put in Rochelle Lesser in the search bar, and then go to my photo albums. The outdoor kingdom is for public viewing.
gaz's wife
This year we have tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, and zucchini squashes. We have chard, kale and huauzontle. For herbs we have sweet basil, purple basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, oregano, peppermint, spearmint. The roommates (Mixtecs) have taught me to grow tinandoo, yuva chikitun, yuva ndusu, and minu nduxi. Medicinals include marshmallow, calendula, manzanilla, lemongrass, lavender and some gordolobo that’s growing happily in a vacant lot by our apartment.