Monthly Archives: May 2009

Roses?! Rock on.

Yes! Both of the rose bushes on our lot have flower buds. These poor plants have been receiving threats from my better half and Miss A since the day we moved in. They didn’t do anything last summer, preferring to concentrate their energy on hamstringing my husband while he mows and snatching pets away from neighbors. Could it be my promises of getting them a real, genuine big-rose-bush trellis to climb on if they behave? I’m not sure. I can’t wait to see what colors they are.

The little bed I recently yanked sickly roses from has been reseeded with sweet peas and snapdragons. The sweet peas are well on their way and will need to be thinned soon. I just have to figure out how to train them up our wooden privacy fence.
The bearded iris is in full bloom. There are two versions on the lot. The first has a lavendar top, deep purple bottom and yellow beard. The second is a white iris with a deep purple trim. As mentioned in a previous post, the irises along the sidewalk bed will be adopted out. However, I will have to thin them from the SouthWest bed as well. They are on one of the rose bush’s turf and things are not going well.
The peony bush in the back bed has a lovely, white bloom. The peony in the sidewalk bed has color in it’s buds. These guys really surprised me this year. They are just a shadow of the scrawny, frail plants from last spring. I’m a bit worried about moving the one in the sidewalk bed. I don’t know quite when I should do it. Plus, I’ve been told peonies are fussy about getting relocated. Any tips?
Other updates: the lupine in the south bed is in full bloom with beautiful white petals. I didn’t realize how wonderfully fragrant they were. Bachelor buttons are popping up in the front bed from last year’s wildflower mix. I’ll move those once the seedlings are a bit older. Other plants in bloom include Jupiter’s Beard and Foam Flower. Lastly, the lilies in the sidewalk bed are sending up shoots with buds, allow with the Coral Bells and Lamb’s Ear.  

One Year Mark


The tenth of this month marked our one year anniversary in our home. The lot has seemed to reset, with the Star of Bethlehem in full bloom in the front bed. I remember marveling at these little star-shaped flowers when hauling furniture to and fro from vehicles on moving day. They were the first flowers to greet us and they’ve returned en mass to celebrate our anniversary.

I’ve also noticed in all the beds containing irises, the plants have sent up their claw-shaped buds. I’m ready with the stakes this year! Last year, they were almost done blooming before I found out I could purchase little bamboo stakes to help support the stalks with the top heavy blooms. I also read that an old pair of pantyhose, cut into strips, is excellent material to use when binding plants to stakes. The material is more flexible and doesn’t strangle the plant as a twist-tie might.

Spring Nursery Crawl


Miss A and I went on one heck of a nursery run today. I called ahead and obtained hours of a handful of nurseries in the area. Some were recommended by coworkers and friends while others were discovered at the Home & Garden show I attended earlier in the year. Then it was on to Google Maps and to plot our course. We did the whole run in twelve hours with stops for lunch and dinner. My little car was packed with plant life.

Here are the spoils:
bridal veil astilbe
yellow archangel
Solomon’s seal
maiden hair fern
white bleeding heart
nicotiana (score! perfect for the moonlight garden)
dwarf irises
cardinal climber morning glories
black pansies
2 varieties heirloom tomatoes
Mt. Airy (yay! one of two on the whole crawl)
3 varieties of nasturtium
cardinal flower
some annuals for hanging baskets:
bright orange celosia
deep purple heliotrope
for a tabletop pot:
orange osteospermum
for a planter:
dusty miller
burgundy salvia
2 hanging baskets of wandering jew and licorice plant from the Farmer’s Market