Shelter In Place Early Gardening

 This was March 28 just a bit after we were ordered to Shelter In Place.  I finally decided that we were going to remove the four Alberta Spruces that followed the walkway to the patio.

 Why you ask?  Well they had become so overgrown they were taking up half of the sidewalk.  I'll take the blame for this because they were planted too close right from the beginning.

 So Dan geared up and began cutting them down.

 The reason I didn't just trim them up is beause as you can see the branches were brown underneath with only green on the ends.  If I could have trimmed them up they would also have been severely lopsided.

 Ahh I like this a lot better.  Sorry for the blurred photo but it was all I took.

 Now we have four stumps to get rid of so Dan hooked up a log chain and dragged them out with the garden tractor.

 Their roots were spread everywhere so so we had a raking and pulling to do afterwards.

 I hope this video attachment works!

 There were 5 hostas planted on the other side of the Alberta Spruces near the grass so I dug them all up and Dan split them all in half for me and then I planted them in a row.  These are a pretty tall dark green hostas (which I transplanted last fall from my hosta hill) and should make a nice display.

 Here we are on Saturday April 18th and now I'm targeting the three Limelight Hydrangeas on the left side of the large stepping stones.  I've got my fertilizer and tools ready to go!

 This is a close up of the three hydrangeas next to the tulips.

 I'm going to move them over to the area where the hostas were just planted. 

 I pre-dug the holes for the three hydrangeas and Dan lifted and dug out the hydrangeas.  Somehow he managed to barely disturb the tulips!

 Here's a closer view of the Limelights.  

I hope you can see them and imagine what they'll look like as they leaf out!

My goal is to make my garden areas less maintenance and to plan for the future.  It looks pretty bleak right now but before you know it it will fill out and take on a whole new look!

Hard to believe that those twiggy looking shrubs will look like this before long!

I have plans for this area too!

I am joining:
Between Naps On The Porch
For
Metamorphosis Monday

First Garden Tour

It's a slow spring up north here!  My tulips finally started blooming- yay!

I transplanted these to this location after they died back last spring so I was tongue and cheek about whether they'd come back, but they did!

 Opposite the other tulips these are almost fully in bloom!

 Along the pathway my daffodils are blooming.  They are an apricot color rather than the traditional yellow.

 Further down is the Jack Frost Brunnera which has just started filling out.  It will grow a lot more and their little flowers are the sweetest!

These are related to the "forget me nots" so their flower does look very similar.

 This is a big patch of Japanese (spurge) Pachysandra out on my hosta hill.  It's flowering right now.

I've planted some beautiful yellow begonias.  They'll fill in as the summer comes on.  Hostas are coming up all over.

 It has been raining so some of the leaves are floppy!

Something has gotten to the tulip bulbs.  There's only about 1/3 rd of what I planted coming up.

 I've begun planting annuals too.  There are some primrose coming up around the pot.

 One of the earliest to appear!

  I've started with my fairy gardens.

There are some sedum plants coming up and I've placed the houses near them.  We'll see how this turns out!

 Around the corner my stone house fairy garden.  It will take a bit longer for the plants to come alive and I'll be putting down some mulch.

 Over near the granite bird bath are some hyacinths and a tulip that's not quite ready to make it's appearance.  I've got some tyding up to do.  Those tulips are a fringed tulip.  I hope they bloom soon while the hyacinths are still blooming!

 I've made a little grouping at the corner of the garage.  Can't wait to see how these plants develop!

This is a new hanging basket I ordered from a company called Kinsman.  It's called the peacock planter. 

A little bit here and a little bit there it's all coming alive again!

So that's my first garden tour!

Hostas, Lilacs and Perennials On A Cool Up North Morning

I'm so thankful each year when I see my gardens and shrubs come to life each spring.  This is a very cool morning (50º) and I am wearing a jacket while taking pictures.  We've gone from 95º on Memorial Day to a moderate 65º during the day- crazy but that 95º was especially warm for us at this time of year.

My Dwarf Korean Lilac topiary tree is blooming.  It's always late compared to the traditional ones but man the scent is so amazing and worth waiting for!  Some years it's loaded with flowers but others it's light on blooms.  

This was it in 2016!

This is a scratch 'n sniff photo- try it! (LOL)  Seriously it has the best scent of any I've come across.

Below is my Clay Pot Lighthouse I created last year- here is a "link" to last year's post showing how it was created.

Jasmine is working her way to the top to clean the light!

These are the most basic hostas and you'll find them often at garden centers- the tag reads Hosta undulata variegated.  One spring many years ago I dug a bunch of them up, split them and added them here- the rest are over by the bench.  They can take a good amount of sun and of course they love shade.

On the other side of the path more hostas and some Jack Frost Brunnera which didn't produce many flowers this year.  The tulips are still there - it's hard to leave them to die back- I want to chop them out of the way but it nourishes the bulb so I'll wait a few weeks.

This is a double primrose that came back nicely.  I need to add more. They come in some pretty colors just have to find some!

These are still developing and will fill in to the point that you barely see the ground anymore.  I believe the one in the center is "Captain Kirk" and the two on the left are Blazing Saddles (gotta love the names some of these have!).  

I believe these hostas with the heavy white edges are called Minuteman.  These are always impressive but they do show signs of stress easier than some others.  They like to be kept well watered when it's hot.

I transferred "Empress Wu" over here a couple of weeks ago.  Someday she could be 5' wide!  The leaves are absolutely huge!  It needs plenty of water and does take time to develop  into a larger plant.

I looked down at the planter and saw a surprise!

The caladium is shooting off a flower!  First time I've had this happen!  I'm sure it was brought on from the temporary heat wave we had.

I brought out the old wagon and loaded it up with flowers.

Lysimachia-  I always call it Creeping Jenny, Polka Dot Plant and Wax Begonias

Sum and Substance hosta.  If you want an impressive very large hosta that's easy to grow I recommend it!  

I'm not positive but I think this is a hosta called "On Stage"

This one is called "Striptease"

This hosta is called June- one I've often seen at garden centers.  I like it a lot and they are usually inexpensive.  

When we installed this part of the patio with the fountain I split up a bunch of hostas and planted them around the circular potion.  These are called Gold Standard. The little plant growing below is Sweet Woodruff (loves shade).  It produces a little white flower and spreads easily.  

The orange impatiens have started to fill out.  

Hiding in there is a "painted fern".  I thought I transplanted them all to the new little Japanese Garden I started last year.  Always fun to spot a surprise!

Back by the deck my bearded Iris are starting to bloom.  This is such a pretty soft yellow one.

I planted this bleeding heart last year (thought I got the traditional dark pink/white one).  It came up nicely so I guess It's happy where I planted it!

This little shrub is a favorite.  There are a pair of them but the other one got half eaten by the voles during the winter.  Deutzia Nikko.  I've learned they like to be well watered especially in the spring as they get going.  I've seen these absolutely covered in flowers in warmer zones.

We'll end the garden visit here.... thanks for joining me and today I'm joining Pam at

Everyday Living for her Gardens Galore garden party!  Her gardens are spectacular and always worth a visit!

Link

Between Naps On The Porch 

for

Metamorphosis Monday