How is your garden looking today?

The garden is verra verra lush right now. Too lush. All that rain made it difficult to get out and tidy things up.

I have 3 clumps of siberian iris with over 60 blooms in each. It's quite extraordinary. 3 years ago I had one iris with 2 blooms, that had been sitting like a lump for 3 years. I moved it 2 years ago (same soil, just closer in my mind to being garbage) - and it went wild, so I had to divide it up last fall.

This was the first day in ages with NO clouds in the sky. I chopped and hacked the grass down with the long handled shears and then got out the push mower. The strip of grass is looking a bit raggedy still, but MUCH better than it has all season. If it stays sunny for a few days, I can do some more trimming to it.

The peonies need more heat to bloom, but the poppies in front are blooming and the ones in the back yard are soooooo close to popping.

Definitely an interesting season.

I had to have a fix today. Went to the local nursery and spent just under 200 bucks (oy, good thing I get reimbursed).

I planted 2 tassle ferns, 3 foam flower, about 1 dozen toad lilies in 3 clumps, 1 yellow violet, 1 violet with purplish leaves, 1 monkshood, 3 helebores, 1 feverfew (from my ma's garden), 2 thymes, 2 blue-eyed grass and 1 white one, 1 Jap. anenome, 1 ornamental oregano, 1 bunchberry....

transplanted 1 hosta, 1 epimedium, 1 cheesy red impatien, 2 Jap painted ferns, 2 solomon seal, 2 bergenia (mostly just shifting them to make the asthetics better).....

Wow! I was busy.

Ooooooo, how is it that you get reimbursed, littlek?

It's still raining here. Darn rain!

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may

Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!I love ya
Tomorrow!

You're always
A day
A way!

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may

Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya
Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya
Tomorrow!

You're always
A day
A waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Love it Beth :-) Thanks ;-)

ARGH!!

Sunny and beautiful here, but I'm worried about my poor wildflower garden. I was operating on the premise that I'd let it all grow and then pull up the weeds once they revealed themselves as weeds. I do have a smattering of lovely orange flowers. But I'm worried that the plants I thought were poppies are actually weeds, and if that's the case, I'm royally screwed. Like, just mow the whole thing down and dig it up screwed.

The peonies, which I adore, are at the very end of their glory, looking mostly rather bedraggled, the lily of the valley are done, but the petunias out front and in window boxes are doing fine, and my lavender looks GREAT! Planted it almost 3 years ago, first year that it's looked this nice. (Three different varieties, one with deep purple flowers, one almost white, one lavender colored.)

Yes, littlek, how do you get reimbursed?? I have a great nursery nearby and am lusting after any number of things, but went about $20 over budget by spending $50 on annuals this year and don't have an extra penny. I really want to get some ferns to balance out the lavender; their explosion this year, while welcome, really weighs things to the South. I'd love to put some ferns over on the North edge.

My containers are doing well! I'm happy about that, anyway.

I buy plants for the property I rent at and get reimbursed by the landlord for the plants (I don't charge for the work).

I am totally jealous of all of you. Have barely gardened this year (other than potting 130 white impatiens in little clay pots to use as favors/centerpiece thingies for daughter's wedding). However, next year will be wonderful. New house in PA has a 20 x 10 greenouse and very little landscaping, though a large area set aside for veggie garden. Can't wait till we move there so I can play.

That's awesome Bandylu :-) I'm so happy for you ;-)

I'm happy for me, too! We didn't set out looking for a house with a greenhouse attached. It just happened (though I must admit it contributed a great deal to my enthusiasm for this particular house). I'm hoping the homeowner leaves all her empty pots, etc., too -- oh, and there's a working deep sink in the greenhouse, too, so I can water and wash pots, etc.. It's almost too good to be true.

I rent!! I'd so love if my landlord would reimburse me. We are still waiting on a new lawnmower, though (since last year), and his vague promises to send someone to clean the gutters never came to fruition and so E.G. spent a couple of perilous and stinky hours this weekend doing it himself. We're trying to be un-pushy nice tenants, since the landlord could charge us WAY more than he does and has been nice about it. In that context, one-time $200 out of pocket vs. a $200/ month increase in rent (or $300, or $400) is well worth it.

20 X 10 greenhouse! Wow!

Impatiens in clay pots sounds like a very sweet favor/ centerpiece. We had a bunch of tiny glass vases filled with fresh flowers, which people could take home. Flowers were our only real extravagance (I made my dress, honeymoon was at a family cabin in the Rockies, free, etc.) Tons and tons of flowers. My back porch the day before was chock full. So fun. (I love weddings, and am mightily resisting the urge to start planning the sozlet's, since my mom did that to me and it didn't work out so great.)

Oh, how I envy you. An attached greenhouse with running water and a sink. <sigh>

We were lucky enough to have our new son-in-law's parents volunteer to pay for their guests (and there were a lot of them) and the kids paid for part of it, too, so we didn't have to re-mortgage the house to cover the costs. Your wedding sounds lovely, sozobe. And definitely don't try planning the little one's wedding! If your little one is anything like my 'little' one, she'll want to do it all HER way (and may be nice enough to let you plan the centerpieces). The impatiens surrounded a giant martini glass with blue seaglass on the bottom, water, a floating white rose candle surrounded by floating blue flowers. The guests were fighting over who got to take the martini glass home!

Montana, I'm thinking it will make the PA winters go much more quickly!

I'm quite sure it will ;-)

Sorry Eoe, I missed my cue there.
I will be back in the garden in September, through till about April.

An upside down gardener!

Actually, in my area we can garden year round, in September we rip out the tomatoes and start planting cool weather crops.

Was gratified to see that my Roma tomato plants, which I started from seed, are about to flower. I'm growing them in big pots on a deck in the backyard. They've been getting good sun, not a given in this part of the world in late spring!