Late spring tour of my yard and garden areas...

It's Columbine time! 

This is a columbine seems to have landed in here from the woods.  I always appreciate a freebie so I'm leaving it be.  I figure if it made it, grew this big and flowered it must be an ok spot for it- right!!  This is a pretty sunny spot too, not shaded at all so I guess they don't just grow in shade!

Out front on my island these columbines (aquilegia vulgaris) are going about their business nicely and blooming away!  I really lost time with that darn cold.  I haven't weeded or mulched.  So glad that everything is coming up nicely and seemingly just fine without any special help from me!

 The labels I saved called these Winky Red-White and Winky Blue-White

The peonies (in the back) are coming up nice and strong. 

The delphinium that got the giant blue flowers last year is coming up nicely again. 

 They've got the formed heads so they should be blooming soon.  

The Stella D'Oro day lilies always come up nice and hearty.  I probably won't see flowers on them until  the end of June.  We need to fertilize- the grass looks too yellow.  We use a composted chicken manure product and milorganite a couple of times a year.

I have Hostas in here too.  These guys don't mind a bit of sun.  They're nestled under the weeping cherry tree but it doesn't offer a lot of shade. (Hosta Undulata- very common but good growers so I wouldn't discount them)

Just over by the woods is a creamy white colored Honeysuckle Shrub.  I don't know it's proper name.  I found some on the internet but I'm not positive which one I have.  It may be called Morrow's Bush Honeysuckle .

I transplanted it from another area about 5 years ago.  It took two years for it recover and a few more to look full again.  This year has been it's best.  Unfortunately the power company wants to cut two trees down right next to it.  

My poor shrub is right in the line of fire!  I hope I can keep them from ruining it.  

Across the driveway isn't too exciting.  This is a Rose of Sharon - always super late to get leaves and flower.  This year we're seeing lots of shrubs, trees and plants struggle.

This is one of the first things I planted when we moved here.  These Mohican Viburnum have done pretty well with little care.  I have three of them, but this is the largest.   You can see my side garden nearby that just finished flowering tulips and daffodils.  

These are three Donald Wyman Lilacs that I planted to create some privacy.  It's working- notice the fire department across the street is fairly well hidden.    They have blooms forming, but are traditionally about 2 weeks later than the old fashioned lilacs for blooming.  I selected these because it said they were good for forming a hedge and they won't get too huge.

Just to the side of them are the Diablo Ninebark's I put in three years ago.  They are doing great. I've let them grow without any trimming.  At least these have never gotten that mildew problem.  I had the Summerwine series but they got overrun with mildew and it really killed them off.  This is a little turnabout spot on the driveway and I wanted some kind of plant to make a barrier between it and the fence.  Keeps people from backing up too far.  Not a great picture- it's actually about to rain and I'm being chased by mosquitos!  We have a bumper crop this year…really annoying!

 My Topiary Lilac is close to blooming.  See the Oak Tassels…they came down with a vengeance last night.  I going to have to rake them off the deck they're so thick!

 Speaking of late… my Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora rose bush has finally sprouted some signs of life.  I was literally going to dig it out when these leaves appeared seemingly overnight!  YAY… I'll cut back the rest of the dead stuff after I'm sure it's dead!!  I thought it was a goner!  I fertilized and watered it good and will baby it along with hopes for a healthy comeback.

Back out front of my house this Spiraea is blooming nicely.  I planted it last year so I'm glad to see it come back looking healthy!

It sits in this alcove that I put various types of Spireas and two different Japanese maples.

As you can see the Bloodgood Japanese Maple is fully leafed out and looks great but the Coral Bark Japanese maple on the left didn't do well at all this winter.

If it doesn't fill out I'm going to have to remove it.  I need something that isn't quite that delicate.  I think the card that came with it called it a zone 5.  We border on 4 and 5 here, but this past winter we may have qualified as a 3!

Speaking of alcoves….this one is behind the house cornering the bedroom and deck area. The ferns love it here and have multiplied each year.  Some of these will be about 5 ft. tall soon.  

I believe these are all Ostrich and Cinnamon Ferns.  Back when we had the pond (you can see a link about that "here") I bought ferns and had them in a few spots.  One spring morning I decided to dig them and move them over here.  I think I moved about 20 plants and they've gone bonkers since!  I usually put a layer of mulch down before they get too big. There is plenty left from before and since they're so big now I'll have to forgo doing it this year. They will break easily if you start messing around  in there.

This is close to where the pond used to be.  All the hostas are coming up and filling out.  I noticed some pink coloring this morning and came out to look…I forgot I had planted some columbine's there last year.  We still haven't started the fountain yet.  Dan wanted to wait until the debris that comes down from the trees settles down.  I think this weekend we'll be able to start it up.

Out back on the "hosta hill" is my Princess Wu that is finally starting to look like something.  I wonder if mine will ever get as large as they say they can get.  

This is supposed to be a walkway out to the backyard.  The Sweet Woodruff has made it in there pretty good along with a whole bunch of little maple tree starters.  Those Hosta's are called "June" I picked up a bunch real cheap at Home Depot several years ago.  They're doing good.  I have to cut back the Sweet Woodruff to the Hosta's to get my path back.  More to do!

Charming mess!  Our lawn was filled with thousands of little trees like these.  Dan dropped the blade low on the lawn low mowed them all down.  Every time we can we yank a few more of these from my garden area.  

Back by the fountain area are these two large urns.  They've started to fill out- can't wait for them to really kick in gear!

I finally got the impatiens planted.  These were called "Violet"- they are pretty vibrant!

Notice the Creeping Jenny- I cut it all back last week when I planted the impatiens but it's filled in already.  For me it's not too hard to manage, but I have read it can be invasive and in some areas they don't recommend planting it in the ground for that reason.  I like how it creeps along the stones and drops over the edge...

Hubby spotted this little handmade piece of metal artwork at a little store we visited over the weekend.  They used old flatware sets to make the body of the Dragon Fly.  I selected this one because I liked the pieces they used for the wings.  I thought they looked the most realistic!

Isn't that fun!  I see rust has already started and it just rained so I can see this is going to get that rusted in look quickly!

See the Creeping Jenny how it's grown onto the patio.  I'll let some of it go, but not too much.  I finally found the Foxtail Ferns I've been looking for.  I have three trays of impatiens to give a home to yet.  

Dan bleached off the green patina the bottom pieces had last year.  It really bugs him.  He usually does it to the stones every so often too, but I keep telling him a lot of people really like that!  We have grass growing here but it's mixed in with the moss and is proving to be a pain to get rid of.  

These are more of the Hosta Undulata in the background.

Along the pathway you see the Brunnera's have doubled up in size.  The first two hardly bloomed but I'm fond of the plant too so that's ok!  I believe those are "Minuteman" hostas  at the end.  They're very showy- don't like to get dry though.

The astilbe are still coming along- not sure when they'll bloom but probably not until the end of the month. The "Cracker Crumb" hosts have finally started to look nice.

I believe these are "Blazing Saddles" host.  Just the other side of them is a "Captain Kirk" which is quite a nice one too.

On the right is the "Plum Royale" Heuchera (Coral Bells) which hasn't been as hearty as the "Caramel" one you see on the left.  The lime green ones are "Amber Tiara". The one that is close to the Amber Tiara is called "Revolution".  The plain green one next to it is the same plant but the creamy centers aren't showing up.  I am lucky, hosta's do well for me.  Here and there I will find some slug damage, but it's never terrible like some I've seen.  I've put a lot of hardwood mulch down over the years which I attribute to the success of most of my plants.  The soil here is loamy and sandy so I don't have clay issues.

 These guys are settling in.  

Looks like these geraniums are going to be winners! (Ignore the grassy/weeds- they'll be gone soon)

We just had a good rain and the oak trees are dropping their tassels all over the place.  The deck, yard, plants, house- everything is covered with them.  We're due for more rain so we'll wait for that to be over before we can do some clean up.

I'm joining

fishtail Cottage for

 2014 Garden Party #5