Sunday, May 6, 2012

Spring Garden Surprises

We had a very mild winter here in the Midwest.  That did not help some of the plants in my garden, especially those that need the winter protection that snow provides.  I am not seeing any of my heliopsis emerging from the soil.  I started them from seeds back in the mid-70's.  I am hoping they are just being cautious and will emerge this week.  My joe-pye weed emerged and got blasted by the frost and now has to start all over again.

A potted rose that I kept in my garage during the winter for the last five years did not survive.  I never thought that it would not go dormant and so I should have watered it.  Poor thing just completely dried up.  It is being replaced with the Knock-out rose.



But there are a couple of neat surprises.  While I have grown coral bells for many years, I have never, ever seen any seedlings.  This spring I have found at least one.  Not a fancy variety, but nice to see, nonetheless.


I have also spotted a hosta seedling, so I am curious to see what it will look like as it matures.




I have also been adding new hosta plants as I have never seen a hosta I didn't like. My latest is this 'Old Glory'.  I'd post pictures of the other four I have planted this year, but the frost got to the leaves before I did with my camera.


I also added a Bloomerang Lilac to the side yard.


And after 40 years of living here, I am putting in a wisteria vine.  I still have to go buy the metal supports I've finally decided on.  Growing up, there were two wisterias on the street where I originally lived (at my aunt's) in Detroit.  Going back to my aunt's home as I got older, I always marveled at their beauty.  Now I have taken the plunge.  It is going to go in one of the spots where we removed honeysuckles.  I am looking forward to watching it mature.


Now it is back to the outdoors this morning, moving plants and putting new ones in the ground.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Denise, I had a quick question about the Heliopsis that did not want to emerge in spring, did they come after all or not? I am having a similar situation with my Heliopsis, although it is only mid April here in Colorado, everything else pretty much shows green growth for a few weeks now. If they did come, how late did they wait to show new growth? And when do they normally emerge for you? Thanks, Dani

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    1. I lost my heliopsis. I am not sure why. My friend lost several hosta that year and we are thinking that the moles and voles ate the roots. We had a very mild winter then, as opposed to this year in the arctic freeze. My daylilies had finally popped up - the temp hit 80 on Sunday - and then we got three inches of snow. I think I should just go to Michael's and buy silk flowers and stick them in the ground.

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  2. Thanks! It really sounds like it was Mother Nature! Did you replant some more or replace them altogether?

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    1. I ended up replacing them with a newer variety, but not the same as my ones from seed. I am sure after this harsh winter I will have lost several things. I'll just wait and see. At least the latest batch of snow is just about melted.

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    2. Hey Thanks! Do you see any new growth on your current variety or are they still dormant?

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    3. Other than some daylilies, everything here is still dormant. Besides, my yard is so wet, I cannot even get over to the beds to see what is happening. I'll start updating my garden activity as soon as I am done with the A to Z challenge this month. Hopefully, May will have better weather. Temp right now is 31.

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  3. Ok thanks! It turns out that my heliopsis is finally emerging, Colorado has an interesting spring:)
    Good Luck to you too. Sometimes patience works and other times a plant did not make it through the winter... I take it all in stride but I am very happy to see a plant return again:)
    Happy Easter!

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