Peas have flowers

I guess we're going to get some peas, finally!

New Flowers - on geranium and thyme

The thyme has grown so well and has little white flowers on it. only a couple. I am surprised to see flowers so soon -- only a couple -- wonder if I need to harvest it all now, or if the few flowers are an anomaly and I can let it grow a little more?

The white geranium - album, I believe - has just opened.

Also, the white yak rhodie behind it has not flowered this year. I guess we maybe pulled off the old flowers wrong last year? We did OK with the other rhodie, maybe the yak is different.  Too bad, it was pretty. But the unfolding new growth is pretty. Next year.

Late spring flowers

The dianthus have done quite well!

The campanulas. The white one is ridiculously tall and leans over the lawn. I like it anyway.

Purple rhodie. The flowers are quite small, but there are many of them.

Scraggly rhodie has very pretty blossoms.

Found Henderson's Shooting Star, a native wildflower, at Molbak's. This one is doing well.

This one is doing less well. The leaves, which typically lay at the surface, immediately did this. I'm guessing that means that the plant isn't exactly getting any energy from photsyntehsis.  Hope the roots survive to maybe grow again next year?

Hardy Geranium - Patricia has quickly gone absolutely rampant under the vine maple. The flowers are up in the branches already. There's an Album there too, not blooming yet, and a globe allium in back to the left. The other geranium mourning widow is in the back to the right.

 Alliums like the tomato cage.

The two in back were more under the eaves and, I think, didn't get enough water.

Planted some green beans in line with the alliums that did better -- hope they grow!

Beautiful Japanese Maples

The Osakazuki maple is just gorgeous, especially when you stand under it and look upward. I love it. It looks like it's doing well since being planted here, too.

The Emperor I is beautiful too. The bright red when you look through the leaves is really stunning. I don't love the deep-purple maple trees, but this red, I like.

The serviceberries have rust. The berries are probably toast this year, covered in orange junk.  I'm guessing it was sick when I bought it - the disease comes from juniper or cedar, and there's none right near here that I think would be able to disperse directly onto these.  Hopefully it doesn't affect the entire bush, or if it does, it should - if I understand the process - be fine next year. Maybe I should chop off the berries and let it grow rather than waste time growing berries that are likely to be bad.

The yellow potentilla isn't happy either. It started to bloom, then backed off. not sure why. It's not dying, but not thriving yet.

Huh. Hello mole/vole/whatever you are.

That oxalis I debated? The one that has a reputation for invasiveness?  It's grown noticably in the short time it's been here. Hmmm... but, it's still pretty!

The Patricia cranesbill/hardy geraniums are blooming already!

Brunnera and Vancouveria blossoms

Stupid spinach isn't planted anymore.  So much for those stupid "plant me in the compostable container!" pots. I peeled the other ones off but left this one. Oops. Pulled it out, peeled off the cardboard, stuck it back in. Hope it does OK.

Rhodies



 The large rhodie is covered in purple blossoms. Can't wait to see it in full bloom. It's a great giant shrub... but looks like it will be amazing in flower

 The scraggly newer big rhodie is struggling to open. Looks like its blossoms are going to be a deep pink.

The original little pink rhodie, first one planted in the backyard last year.

The slug-eaten yak rhodie. I think those are the new leaves unfolding rather than the white blossoms, but I'm not sure. Will have to wait and see.  Also, the dog has killed a bunch of daylillies by lying there!

Peas

Veggies!



I really like the alliums. Didn't think I would, so much, but that purple ball is just cool.

Second day - looks like the moved geranium is going to be OK. Or, at least, not die as fast as I first feared.



Cucumber - straight 8 - Bonnie from HD.

Jalapeno Pepper on the left; Cayenne on the right.
These should get a lot of afternoon sun in the summer - will have to watch.

Cherry tomato in red cage



Grape tomato in red cage. Spinach below to the left. Both Bonnie from Home Depot.
Below that to the right, Bok Choy from Molbak's.

Crazy-big brunnera and vancouveria on either side -- last year, I thought this bed would be shady all year. Turns out it's in sun all summer, so byebye geranium, hello veggies. Might move the others too, if we wind up growing nice veggies here. Will have to see what happens.

Thinking

I just have one mostly-shady area back by the back patio to fill in yet near the japanese maples ... not sure what I want there. Thought about some barberry bushes, or maybe some dwarf nandinas. Still thinking. But otherwise, the basic outline is there and things just need time.

Time now to move to the last part - path out the east gate to the driveway, and what to do with the northern side of the house. Right now it's a row of alternating pieris and mock orange. Huge, overgrown, balls wind up in it, bugs and bees in it, don't really like it. The landscape guy that puts in the big stuff like beds and rocks and trees suggested a bed with grave path winding from gate between bed and grass, but gravel + kid's play area are a bad mix. So, he suggested woodchips instead. Thinking about it. Woodchips in the middle play area, grass, more woodchips, bed... or simply woodchips up to the house, keep a picnic table and play next to the house in the shade... not sure yet. Taking out the bushes and making chips certainly is simple, and adds play area. Pea gravel would work too, but I hate how it gets stuck in shoes.

Maybe even just make it a long patio area. Concrete or stone from the existing patio over along the back to the house.

Would be very nice to have a storage shed back there, maybe we can work something like that in, at least big enough for the lawn mower. I got a folding picnic table for the times we have lots of people over.

Probably going to wind up with wood chips just because they're easy, won't hurt anything, and can easily be changed to something else if we like.  Grass doesn't grow there, and I don't know that I want to commit to concrete in such a big space, so ... maybe woodchips.  Maybe a shed. Hope to figure it out pretty soon so that we can do it this year, and have a nice, non-muddy path from the backyard to the driveway before the rains come back.   Then the next phase - in front - can finally begin. The first thing in front will be adding something non-muddy to the side of the driveway so I don't sink in the mud every time I get kids in and out of the car! 

 Kind of hard to see in this light, but next to my huge vancouveria here is a hardy geranium - samobor / mourning widow. Is much larger than I expected it to be. It was over by the vine maple last year and didn't do very well, so I moved it here and it took off. Well, this patch gets a ton of sunlight in the summer, and it doesn't need all that sun, so I want this spot for veggies. Attempt to move, hope for success, but OK if it doesn't make it.

Moved it to the east fence near the gate. Will get much less sun here, maybe won't be so large, I don't know.  It started dying almost *immediately*. I figured I'd do all my garden work and then come back and water everything.... NO. Not ten mintues later the leaves were drooping and the whole thing wanted to fall over. I think that's probably a bad sign. I'm surprised.... I got way under the thing with the shovel, and only moved it a few feet, ON the shovel, so I figured it couldn't be THAT disruptive.  Figured wrong! Gave it a good soak and propped it up with the shovel... will let it sit a few days and see what happens.

 Three new tassel ferns. One behind the heucheras, it should grow taller. Will see how it does there before putting in more.

 Tassel fern behind hammock near a huckleberry... part of the general foresty back path... it should have ferns.

The west fence near the gate, a spot in the shade pretty much all the time because of the fence corner and house.

 Another hanging basket. Probably too crowded... more thyme, dill, more basil, and a strawberry. Strawberry has grown just sitting in a container on the deck for a few days... added a big new leaf and a flower. I don't want huge strawberry plants everywhere since I suspect I'm allergic to them now (very unhappy about that - they are my favorite food), but wanted to have one around just in case I can eat them after allergy season.

One just for flowers. Nemesia, african daisy, snapdragon. Snapdragon might wind up too big for the planter, but it's a big planter. We'll see.

Native plants

Camas - two regular in front of the geranium, one Great behind it.

 Three False Solomon's Seal to arch near the back path.

Two Henderson's Shooting Stars. They are near the patio, and keep their leaves flat on the ground. Spikes shoot up and the green balls are the flower buds.

 Oxalis - woodsorrel. Found in Molbak's Native Plants area, was happy to see the clover-y plant that we've seen all over the rainforest floor. Always like seeing it there, so why not in my backyard? Usually I try not to buy things I don't know anything about, but it's in with the native plants, it must be good!  ... Looked it up, and apparently many consider it a horrible weed. That pretty clover can be pretty invasive. Or some varieties can. Not sure exactly which this is - I think the tag just said "oxalis"....

I'd like to keep it, but I'll have to do more checking.

Salal along the eastern fence next to the back patio. I know it should EVENTUALLY grow big enough that I'll have to keep it cut back, but it sees hard to believe when these are so tiny. Hoping it makes a pretty groundcover back in the shade.

More salal along the eastern fence. This one will get sun part of the day, but not much most of the year, and is likely to occasionally get balls thrown at it and feet stomping on it. It's supposed to be pretty tough - we'll see! I'd rather have something native with berries for the birds than pachysandra there.