Garden Status 5-29-16

Took a look at the weather forecast and took the plunge. Started planting seedlings on 5/29 and continued until 6/2. Meanwhile the perennials were coming up.

Planted seedlings still in their peat pots in the ground and watered them. Peat pots are great because you don't disturb the root system. And the planting process is easy because you are holding a seedling in a pot not worrying about damaging the roots. The roots just grow through the peat material into the soil.

Before planting the seedlings, I remove any old vegetation and loosen up the soil. I watered them sparingly every day for about a week until I saw new foliage growing.

Poppies in bloom

Coleus planted


Hop progress


Wave petunia in hanging baskets with 4 plants per basket


Marigold and petunias in pots


Zinnias in pots left, coneflowers in foreground, tree peony behind them, poppies, then red currants in the back


Unweeded bed in foreground, zinnias in center, red currants in the rear


Asparagus in the front, zinnias in pots in the center


Zinnias

Blueberries left, lilies front right, zinnias in pots


Zinnias in center

Peony Sorbet

Peony Sorbet is a wonderful fragrant peony that returns stronger every year. 

Here is the Wikipedia link for peonies: Peony

The plants bloom in mid June at my location. There are about 30 flowers per plant. 

The plants can be split to make new plants, in my location, after 5 years. 

Bed preparation in the fall and spring can be found in the following blog post: Spring And Fall Bed Preparation

Preparing peony sorbet for the winter is discussed in the following blog post: Preparing Plants And Garden For Winter

Here are some nice pictures of peony sorbet in full bloom in my garden.

                              

                              

                              

                                                

                                            

Spring And Fall Bed Preparation

I apply rotted cow manure in the fall and the following spring. The fall application allows the manure to work its way naturally into the ground using the rain, sleet, snow, and the freeze thaw of the winter. The manure feeds the roots over the winter. The spring application works its way into the snow via the spring rains and freeze thaw of the season. And gives the roots a fresh supply of manure to help them get ready for the growing season.

A friend sent this to me. I tend to get started before my neighbors. 

I buy the rotted cow manure as early as possible from the store. The frozen bags are easy to carry and don't make a mess in the car. I also buy this at the end of the season for the discount. If you do this, make sure you put them in an elevated place so they don't freeze to the the ground. 

I just fill up a bucket and walk around broadcast spreading it over all the beds. No fancy technique needed. I'm old school. I don't wear gloves. I just wash my hands afterward. 

From front to rear, peony sorbet, sedum, iris, coneflower, rudbeckia, horseradish

From front to rear, lily, coneflower, phlox, lily, asparagus

From front to rear, coneflower, lily, tree peony, phlox, blackberry red currant

From front to rear, stargazer lily, coneflower, rudbeckia, 

Flora Peno lily, coneflower area

From front to rear, coneflower, peony sorbet, rudbeckia, sedum areas

Side yard daffodil and coneflower areas

There is nothing fancy or complicated about this process. But root development is critical for good plants. You see the results, months later,  in the summer when the healthy plants are in full bloom. And the work is worth it. Happy Gardening !

Preparing Plants And Garden For Winter

It is very important to get the garden ready for winter. The garden is still alive during the winter though most of the activity is below ground. 

I usually use a 4 step process for the following selected plants.

• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Sedum
• Hops
• Peony Sorbet
• Iris
• Daylily
• Coneflower
• Lily

4 step process:

• Cut down plant to ground level and dispose of the cuttings in the compost bin(s)
• Remove dead material or weeds around base of plant
• Apply rotted cow manure in an area roughly equal to the extent of growth
• Add a layer of shredded mulch about 1" thick above manure 

One of the peony sorbet locations prepared for Winter.

The following plants get a 3 step process.

• Tree Peony
• Gooseberries
• Black Currants
• Red Currants
• Gooseberries
• Blueberries (add acid treatment to soil)

Steps:

• Remove dead material or weeds around base of plant
• Apply rotted cow manure in an area roughly equal to the extent of growth
• Add a layer of shredded mulch about 1" thick above manure 

Fall is also the time to plant lilies. I planted 2 groups of fragrant lilies this Fall. 

One of the new locations of the lilies is shown below.

A snapshot of one section of the front garden shows preparation for the winter. 

I don't cut all of the other plants down for the winter because insects overwinter in the roots, stems, and growth. 

I also leave coneflower seeds. They provide a winter food source for the birds.

Proper preparation in the Fall for your garden to grow in the Winter will enable the plants to have a great start in the Spring!

After The Coldest February And March In Recorded History - The Tree Peony Starts To Bud

The tree peony was given a healthy dose of rotted cow manure. The manure can work its way into the soil as the ground thaws and the spring rains begin. I'll mulch after the weather gets a little warmer. It can snow anytime until early June here. If the weather gets bad again, I'll cover the plant with a heavy duty 55 gallon industrial plastic garbage bag and some clothes pins.

A couple of sunny days and temps above freezing. Voila ! Buds !!!

25F (-3.8C) Last Night - Covered My Precious Hops And Peonies - 05-14-2013

We had a cold front move in last night which is not unusual for this area. I did not want to take a chance so I covered my hops and peonies.

I used industrial grade trash bags and clothes pins.

Hops

I also covered my tree peony

And my peony sorbets. I just showed one in the blog. 

The next morning, after a hard frost and 25F, I uncovered the plants and none were damaged.  

Here is one hop.

A peony sorbet

Enjoy!