by Mark J.
Member since:
August 31, 2005

Breaking Ground: What's up in your garden? 4/23

April 23, 2007 12:24 PM EDT
views: 54 | rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes) | comments: 10

Well the fantastic weather over the weekend, and the much needed rain,  has certainly perked up the garden. My daffodils bloomed last week, the day lillies are vigorously coming forth and my Iris are on their way. The rhubarb is going gangbusters and hopefully in a week or so I can get my first harvest. I was very pleased to see that my miniature Japanese hosta variety survived the winter. I planted it late last summer and it was looking a bit droopy at the end of the season. I have a project planned out. I want to plant an herb garden but more on that later.

What's up in your garden?
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Comments: 10

Luke Taylor Apr 23, 2007, 12:27pm EDT
The bleeding hearts are really starting to grow and the hostas are going a little berserk! :-)
*LORA* M. Apr 23, 2007, 12:33pm EDT
don't have one in an apt. but hope to get some flowers for my new one.
Marie B. Apr 23, 2007, 12:36pm EDT
crocus are done, scilla are blooming like crazy, the Glory of the Snow are nearly done, the bloodroot are blooming, narcissus are just thinking about it and the early tulips are about to burst....hmmm ah yes! Both the false and true rue anemone are blooming, the geum (prairie smoke), and the trout lilies (dog-toothed violets)! Everything else is exploding out of the ground so fast and opening leaves you can watch them. I even have my first pole bean up in the Earth Box! :)
M M. Apr 23, 2007, 12:58pm EDT
Lucky you - between the squirrels and the young boys who live next door but think of my yard as an extension of theirs, I have virtually no bulbs coming up, no snow peas, and my shy shade plants, planted last year at considerable expense, show no promise of return. I do have fruit trees and shrubs budding, peonies and rhubard and Siberian iris on the way, wild rose shoots embracing the portcullis. And the scilla - I want to bottle that color and carry it with me everywhere! Clematis, dwarf evergreen with only a small amount of winter burn - well, I shouldn't complain too loudly.

You must plant an herb garden. Get as many varieties of basil as you can find. One can never have too much basil.
Mark J. Apr 24, 2007, 10:35am EDT
Luke I haven't seen my bleeding hearts yet. will have to hunt for them. Have any miniature varieties of hostas that need splitting?


Marie Wow! That's impressive!

M M I agree. One can never have too much Basil. I just took photos of the mess of a bed that I want to transpose to an herb garden.
Preston Wright Apr 25, 2007, 11:34am EDT
My bleeding hearts came up, froze, and are just peaking out again now. Maybe the April fools freeze got yours too, Mark?

First tulip opened today. These are second season tulips. I dug them all up, stored them in the garage all summer, then replanted in September. This is supposed to be the only way to get them to come back in Minnesota because our Summers tend to be too wet for them. I was sick of paying money for them every year, so tried this method. Nice to see I will be rewarded!

Also Muscari, white and blue are all blooming. Dafodils starting to bloom in the lawn. Crocus is finished. Nanking cherry bushes on the end of their pink flower display.
M.K. Mueller Apr 25, 2007, 11:21pm EDT
I had one crocus bloom in a cool, damp, shady spot on the north side of my house. I think it was blooming for all of 36 hours and then was done. I had meant to get a picture of it but it's gone already. In other years the critters have gotten to the crocus before they've bloomed and I actually think this is the first spring that we've been in our house that I've actually seen it bloom.

My hostas are coming along slowly but surely. My ferns that are closest to the house are coming up quick and the day lillies seem to be recovering from the freeze quite well. Now if only I could train them to only come up in the flower bed and not the lawn...
Preston Wright Apr 26, 2007, 6:20am EDT
I mentioned this on another thread, but try putting garlic, chives ore onions spaced through out the edible bulbs. My rodent problems stopped when I did this. I had at least 100 blooming crocus at a time blooming this year and no rodent problem except in the bed where I didn't put in any stinky bulbs.

There are lots of ornamental onions you can plant, plus dafodils and hyacinths are poisonous-- more maintenance free.
Mark J. Apr 26, 2007, 2:50pm EDT
Preston Thanks for the tips on the chives and onions. Unfortunately the east side of the house where I have the problems with rodents also has two magnificent Red Maples shading the entire yeard. It doesn't get much sun and I'm not sure if the chives and such will grow there due to lack of light.

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