Spring growth and blooms!

We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1150107/

The Seed Starting thread was becoming a catch-all for our talk of spring. Since it is getting so long, I figured it was time we started a new thread all about what we have growing this spring and (eventually!) what's blooming. Spring got off to such a late start for most of us that it seems like we should really celebrate its arrival (even if we're supposed to have rain mixed with snow here in WI this weekend. Grrr!)

Here's my pulmonaria starting to do its thing. Looks so small now, but these babies are ginormous once they leaf out. I planted the ones in my backyard way too close together so I think I'll dig and divide before they overrun the place in a couple of weeks. ;)

I have more photos of spring arrivals in my blog: http://petiolejunction.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/spring-has-sprung-new-growth-in-the-garden/

I commented on the other one due to the fact that as I was typing my compute shut itself off. Waited a bit came back and the message was still there so I hit send right away.

Darn computers!

(Sorry, I have nothing on topic at this point to say; I just said that to get this new thread to come up on my "threads watching" frame!!) : )

lol that's okay I sometimes do that all the time. Now that didn't make sense did it.

Whos looking for the ru Kayly, go to round up forums u will see the thread..wish I knew how to ??? LOL

Grape Hyacinths,after blooming in the spring they die back later,but they Show themselves again in the fall with just green follage,I trim them back a little in the fall,thats the same follage till fall again,make any sense ?? LOL

I have tulips I never dig them,they do amazingly well,I add a few now and then...I do feed them.

Yep makes perfect sense that is what mine do. Here is last falls growth that lasted through the winter snows and everything.

YUP.....I have them all over the place,I go on stray hunts,and end up with a bunch again...LOL

That is just one clump have a few others also.

Bought a Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry at Steins yesterday. I had seen one in Spring Hill catalog. They wanted 59.99 for one with at 25.00 coupon off an order of 50 or more. Plus shipping and handling.

Went to Steins for soil and containers to pot up seedlings and spied the weeping cherry. 5 gallon pot for 49.99 but I couldn't figure a good way to get it in the car. Yesterday Ed and I went back, needed more containers and suet and he said pick out the one you want and I'll get it in the car. So I did. Got to checkout and it was only 37.49 for the TREE...... Yay!!!!!! and no shipping/handling to pay. No coupon to use either. Now I can order the Lavender Twist, Weeping Redbud :)


but I think I should further my check to Steins to see if they perchance have one that is cheaper. :)

This message was edited Apr 12, 2011 8:23 AM

Cece ,lucky you ,Ralph would never say go ahead pick one out at $50..00.. LOL..

I need to move a hydranga ,what to put in its place ??? I better go look !!!

He wasn't paying for it or he wouldn't have either. I had to use my OWN money. Was gonna if I was ordering in from SH but it was cheaper this way.

Steins also has a Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud that I was looking at, should have checked Steins on that one as well before ordering. maybe I should call and check it out before I put my order in. Wouldn't that be super if they had THAT one also for cheaper????

Congratulations on the Weeping Cherry, cece!

Gorgeous day here, and I've got my first bloom of the season! *happy dance*

Here I was all worried that I might have lost my hellebores, but they're clearly coming along just fine. And I think they seeded themselves quite a bit, too. At least, the little green seedlings I see at their feet don't look like weed seedlings, and I'm not finding them anywhere else in the garden. I'm all for more hellebores.

Just got back from Steins a little bit ago. Called them, yes they have weeping redbud. But I want a Lavender Twist. They said there are 4 Lavender Twists, Said I will be there by noon and was there by 11:20. So I got that one also no bare root, no shipping/handling. Happy camper, I am...........

Sounds like you hit the jackpot!! What does a weeping lavender twist look like??

This one will only get about6 feet tall max, and the branches well weep down like a weeping cherry does. It will have lavender pinkish blooms late spring like the redbud does. Slower growing and the one I got is about only 3,4 feet tall but has flower buds on it. I will get pictures of both trees after I get them planted.'

Need to get away from this computer and get shoes back on and get out there and figure just where I want to put them. I buy first, then have to figure out the perfect spot. Ed says where are you putting that? I dunno out front somewhere.

Sounds like great treasures! I'm definitely envious. DH keeps urging me to buy a Japanese maple but have no idea where to put one at the moment. I have my ole Frank's bargain JM (paid $7.95 20 years ago) but don't have the nerve to pay lots of $$$ for a new one if I can't find the right spot.
Had to rush around this morning to all of my Epimedium spots to cut down the old foliage since the flower stems are starting to come up. Cleaning up leaves again today on the north side of the house and that wind is cold! Had to come in to warm up and then head back out.

Well I was a little off on the height of the Weeping redbud. lol Looked bigger in the container. Its only about 2, 2½ feet at the moment but still has buds, if you look close enough lol.


This is the Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry. Doesn't look like much now, but at the garden center it was filled with white flowers. The ride home on 164 did short work of ridding the blossoms, and it being windy to boot. But come NEXT spring look out Coogan front yard..............

This one is the Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud. No leaves but flower buds very small flower buds at that. See not as big as I said the first time.

Even with a close up you have to look really hard to see the flower buds.

I happy camper, yes I are.

They look great! Congratulations on getting them purchased and planted. :)

Thanks, now it really feels like spring. I still have a bunch of beds to clean up but I will get to it. When the weather cooperated. One bed I cleaned out is full of leaves from the ones I haven't. sigh what can I say?

you can say your a happy camper you are......LOL.. =)

lol that's right I R

Im going Outside .....well later its only 40 now..LOL..yea dont know where to start or on what...I get the aad,when there is a lot to do...Prioritize...whers the pen an paper make that list...LOL Have a great day Ladies

Spent the morning with my nature photography class at the Milwaukee County Zoo. What a glorious day! This is my favorite kind of weather--mid-60s with a slight breeze and sunshine. If only it would stay this way.

Was outside working all day. Some plants I ordered came in so went out and planted two Milk and Honey astilbe, 2 Key Largo re-blooming astilbe, and 2 Virginia Bluebells. While looking for my trowel, which took me an hour, I found a whole bunch of oriental and orienpet lily bulbs in the garage. I forgot all about them last fall and they survived. They were starting to grow. So planted them out front. Don't know if they'll survive let alone thrive but I put them in.

Started cleaning out the beds in back and just got the pond garden and one lattice bed cleaned before my son got here. There is no working on anything when he gets here. In one bed, I noticed a stupid . Quaking something tree growing right in the middle of a bed. It was kinda hidden among the bee balm that I never cut back. Got out the pruners and my son yelled STOP I'll dig that up and take it home but not today. Don't touch and I'll come get it. Told him if it is still there Monday morning it is HISTORY. He said but its a nice tree, not in the middle of my garden bed it isn't. We'll see. Dig up at least 2 every summer for the past 3 years and he's taken them out to his place and plants them He has 2 acres, (the brat) and they are surviving the transplants and the winters.

I am slowly getting very tired and still need to do something for dinner. Better go.

cece - Let me know how your 'Key Largo' does on the reblooming. I have 'Key West' and 'Key Biscayne'. I had seen a program on tv years ago - maybe "Victory Garden" - where a gardener claimed that 'White Wings' rebloomed. I searched for several years before finding that variety but now that I've had it for 3 years, it still hasn't rebloomed. I'm wondering if they need more sun to rebloom.

Where I planted mine it might get about 10, 15 minutes of FULL sun then its pretty shaded. Not deep dark shade, then in the late late afternoon it will get about 45 minutes to an hour of sun. Will sure let you know if'n you remind me that you asked. Alzheimers student you know.

Hey dont say that Cece.I like Adult Attention Deficit..LOL

I need some of those key astilbes ,I love astilbes.....dont have any rebloomers. Im sure your lily bulbs will survive theey are soo forgiving .Kinda like you cant killem. I orderd Sky Blue Petunias fromm Burpee cant wait to get them I hope they dont let me down 23.00 for 12 plants we will see ,wish I could get them sooner to put them under my lights for a while.Got a bit done yesterday,wish I didnt have to work....=(

Kayly sounds like a great day,good for you.. Im jealous photography class,you go girl..

Tamara I ordered a bunch of annuals from let me see if I can remember the name of the blasted place. Its in Michigan...... um..... um..... yep AAD forgot what I was trying to remember oh yeah the Nursery's name oh heck I'll go look it up. just a sec........ Mischel"s Greenhouses. They are supposed to be all in 4" pots for 3.75 a pot. EVERYTHING. You just add up how many pots and multiply by 3.75 add the shipping/handling ( which is determined by how many pots)and voila'

Don't know how they will be since this is the first time I've ordered from them but if they ship nicely and survive I will order from them again. You can't go to a garden center always and find nice plants in 4" pots for 3.75 any more. I was real excited about this. So much I ordered... ...are you ready... ... ...110 pots, 3 different orders but yeah. I am absolutely NUTS.

hugger, I'm riddled with ADD. I realized it when my son was diagnosed. I was like, "Wow, he's just like his mom...oh. Wait a minute..."

Photography class is a blast, although I think I'm in over my head a bit. I should probably learn to work my camera more efficiently before I go getting all artistic with it. Here's one of the shots I took, just for fun.

Thats the best photos to take ,and with the delete button makes it more fun too, trial and error,kinda like gardening.. LOL..I had an awful time tring to focus yesterday,so much to do ,kept getting side tracked !!! AARRGG..Focus..LOL

Only thing I know is it is COLD outside. 34 degrees and that wind is cold too. Hope everything I did with planting trees, bulbs and a few perennials are going to be okay,

AAD here too. I told you about the bulbs I found in the garage. What I didn't tell you is the blasted shrub I forgot to plant (had to have forgotten) until I tripped over the pot it came in cause I wasn't looking where I was going. I just kicked it out of the way and kept going cause I was a woman on a mission. My son picked it up and said Mom you kicked this plant out of the way and didn't even stop. Said yeah well, its gotta be dead anyway its been in the pot all winter buried in snow.

Son said if its dead why is it budding out? Ran and grabbed it from him and sure enough there are all kinds of buds on it. Its a Golden Leafed European Cranberry Shrub. Do I even remember getting it? No. Do I have room for yet another shrub? Probably not. Will I find a place for it somewhere? Most definitely. Lol Sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going.

Anybody have experience with witch hazels? I have always wanted to plant one, and I thought they only had yellow flowers until I picked up a Klehm's catalog at my hosta society meeting last night. They come in purple!

http://www.songsparrow.com/2011/plantdetails.cfm?ID=3513&type=WOODY,&pagetype=plantdetails

I'm thinking I want one. Don't know that I want to get a small expensive one from Klehm's, though.

Cece--Ebert's opens for the season today. I'm debating whether I should trek out there despite the weather. I haven't missed an opening day in several years and I don't want nature to defeat me this year.

Kayly - your purple witch hazel reminds me of a redbud. I've thought about getting one for several years but I know hardiness can be an issue. And my lack of sun might stand in the way.
cece - a gold-leaved cranberry? Does it produce edible fruit or is it strictly an ornamental? Sounds beautiful. Your Astilbe siting sounds a lot like mine - mostly shade. I have seen some planted in more sun and they've gotten absolutely huge but I'd be concerned about having to keep it watered all of the time.
Did venture out to a nursery this past weekend but they don't grow any of their stock. I went mainly to check it out and take advantage of their 25% off sale on pots. A large local nursery is having opening day this Saturday and but not sure if I'm in the market for more plants besides the ones I'm growing or already have on order. As much as I would love a new shrub or small tree, it would mean either digging a new bed or pulling out existing plantings. Sigh. I wish I had the attention span to actually plan something on paper.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know Cindy. I don't even remember buying the shrub, let alone anything about it. I guess with this cold weather we're having I could look it up and read about it. I just read the name off the tag. The inside of the tag was so dirty I couldn't read anything. Once I do I'll give you a full (or as full as I'm able) report on a shrub I have no idea where to go with, when it was bought, why it was bought. I told you Alzheimers student.

I tried to grow a witch hazel once. Tried being the operative word here. It was very small and it never made it through the winter.

Okay, Cindy, went out snatched the tag. Washed up it was filthy and this is what is says.

Golden Leafed European Cranberry Bush
A Viburnum opulus "Aureum"

A superb, compact form of an old favorite. New foliage is bright yellow and fades to a lime green. Showy white flowers are held as flat clusters followed by bright red berries in summer. Excellent as an accent to dark foliage or woodland gardens.
Time of flowering: Late spring
Average landscape size: compact growth habit. 4 ft tall and 5 ft wide
Cold/heat zone:zones 3 - 8
Heat zones 1 - 8
Water needs: water regularly, when top 3 inches of soil is dry.
Sun exposure: partial sun
Care instructions: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy neat appearance, shear to shape in winter.

By Monrovia so I know WHERE I got it. Steins Gardens. When or why is still a mystery to me. But who cares I have another shrub........Yippee!

This message was edited Apr 14, 2011 5:41 PM

The story unfolds ...LOL... I did good last year,I have a new Rule ..I cant buy more untill I get all else planted...So I dont end up with any accidental deaths by neglect .LOL,so I might not get to buy anything this year..Haha

I should make that rule, oh wait, I did; I didn't follow it. As evidence of bulbs in the garage and shrub bud out in its pot without being put in the ground.

I still have other plants coming in that I can't do anything with cause its blasted 34 degrees outside.

I hear you its 43 windy soo,not going to be outside today.Wanted to get some Iris dug up,might have to bundle up,need to getrdone.Or I could make markers..LOL