Updates

So we're into Mid June.  What's going on out there, and what do I need to do in the near future?

Side Bed

The Roses are finally putting on a little new growth, but it's a little sparse.  I guess that's good, because I want them growing roots, but I'd like to get some more flowers at some point.  The Hostas are fine.  The Zinnias are growing, but not as fast as I'd like, and of course I really wish I'd had more.  And I still want some kind of annual in there like Vincas.

I have another pile of sunflower seeds (about 30) and I was thinking about putting them in the side bed, right in front of the raised bed.  I'm also going to throw down the rest of the creeping thyme seeds in that area, knowing they are unlikely to do anything.  I do really want to get some stepping stones in there...

Things to do- plant those seeds, I guess.  I'm tempted to fertilize the roses but I don't think I'm supposed to do that in the first year.

Front Bed

The Daylilies are doing great, I'm getting plenty of flowers now.  I don't know why I got so few last year... maybe moving them around and dividing them did really help.

The annuals are ok... the Calibrocha seem to be happy, but the little purple allysum are just dying.  I wish I had just gotten more calibrocha.

The Echinacea look pretty great.  They're already forming some nice buds, and I saw a few flowers at Longwood and the ones at work are blooming just a little, so I should get them soon.  And the Black Eyed Susan have these kind of burnt patches on the leaves.  I think I did this by throwing a bunch of bone meal on that with abandon instead of digging it in to the soil.  The one it the way back doesn't have any issues.  I pulled off the bad looking leaves and I think it will be ok.  We've got at least a month before the flowers.

The Clematis... I'm so saddened by this. I'm pretty sure I broke the stem putting it in, because I was so determined to untangle it from its little wooden trellis.  If I had left it in there, it's not like it would even be visible.  What's left of it is only like, 10 inches off the ground so I am very worried it's not getting enough sun.  We will see if it survives this year.  That's the most I can expect of it.

Things to do: Pull weeds.  There are a lot in the sidewalk cracks, but some all up in there as well.  I think I will actually pull out the sad Allysum, and if I feel like it, I'll buy some more annuals, hopefully more Calibrocha.  I also need to prune the hedge.

Sidewalk Bed

The transplanted Daylilies are struggling, but I think they might make it. Of course it's full of weeds, and it's kind of past the point I can manage.  I never cut back the Daffodils, because they never really turned yellow.  The leaves don't look great, but not worse than the Daylilies.

The Yarrow looks fabulous.  They're really full, and quite tall.  I guess I didn't realize how big they were going to get... at least I didn't think about it.

Last year I put in some creeping phlox that was super cheap at Home Depot because they looked shitty but they weren't bad plants.  They did show this year, but they had a few inches of black mulch piled on top of them so that didn't help.

Ultimately I'd like to get that whole thing filled with perennials to crowd out the weeds.  I really do think a lot of Coreopsis would do well there, they are pretty drought tolerant and they grow like crazy.  The color scheme is perfect.  I might also move more of the Daylilies over there over time.

Things to do: Try to pull out all those fucking weeds.  We're supposed to get thunderstorms on Saturday, so Sunday morning would be the best time.  Maybe I will water it as well, to hopefully help the Daylilies.  I might also cut down the Daffodils so it looks a little more normal in there.

I'm kind of thinking about putting in more Daffodils.  They of course did great, and if I can leave them there with the leaves up until June, they will grow even better and naturalize and the whole space will be a crazy field of daffodils.  And I'm tempted by White Flower Farm's early special on the large scale Daffodils. It's 100 mixed bulbs for $50, and I think they're usually a little more than $1 per bulb.  And it's not unreasonable to plant 100 bulbs.  I'm planting them in patches of like, 8-10, so planting 10 more would not be a bad idea.  Now this is arguably stupid, the last thing I need is more Daffodils.  I would not regret it.  No one ever regrets planting more Daffodils!  If for some reason I couldn't plant all 100 of them, I could force some of them, or give them to mom, or plant them in another area.  Well, I only need to order by July 1st to get the discount.

Patio

The patio raised bed is delightful.  The Begonias just kind of keep going.  The flowers are showing some age, but they keep going.  The Liriope up in the front look pretty good.  It's a little weird seeing them up at eye level; they don't look as dense when you see them from the side because you see the lower stem parts. But it's nice; I like it.  The Coleus are doing great.  One of the chartreuse ones was getting pretty tall so I cut off the top, and I'm trying to root it in a cup of water.  It's been at least a week, and I really think I'm getting something but it's slow.  Once I have something I clearly identify as roots, I'll stick it in some seed starting mix,

I think I can keep Coleus over the winter?  They don't need a lot of light.  I think I will try to dig them out and plant them in containers and keep that around inside, and it will actually look nice.  I'll also try to keep the Begonias.  There's a Coleus that's the kind that's dark red with green borders, and it's getting pretty big.  If I'm successful with rooting the cutting from the green one, I'll try it with the other one.

The Gutter Garden is doing pretty well!  Last weekend it was full of tons of lettuce, especially the Arugula.  I wish I had taken a picture of it, it was the kind of display that would have convinced me to put this in originally.  This was a good idea.  Would recommend.  I harvested a ton of Arugula last weekend, and I even pulled out some of the little stumps.  I planted several more seeds last weekend, and a few are showing. I have a few more Nasturtiums to put in there, but I can't remember where I've put the seeds.

The herbs are doing great.  I'm still so irritated that I can't find that last green pot, so I can't fill the trellis.  I kind of gave up on the Cilantro, and I just threw the whole thing in a pile with other crap, and of course it's still growing and now it's got flowers.  I'm kind of tempted to leave it alone and see if those flowers form seed. But maybe that will take too long and I'll get around to cleaning it before then.

I'm kind of ok that all my Elephant Ears were such failures, because they would be a little bit imposing in there.  I mean, it wouldn't be bad, so I might try the same bulbs next year.  I do wish these plantings had a little more height.  Overall, it's like 6 inches tall.

I really want to fill that bed with Tulips next year.  Like, an obscene amount of them.  They will probably do just fine in there, because it's a little protected.  And I would see them a lot if they were there.

The Morning Glory do not look very good.  They have little holes, they're not really filling in.  And the third container which I just seeded after putting it outside has very few survivors.  I showed someone pictures of last year, and I was reminded of how amazing it was. I really hope I can get that again,

The wall container is fine.  The Petunias are doing well, they flower repeatedly. I have two petunias I didn't plant that I could put in there.  They both have white flowers, so I was kinda like, eh, white isn't exactly what I want. And I think I have the right number of plants for the space in there.  I could put the white ones in a different container.  I could put that container on the shelf, it would be pretty there.

Things to do: clean up the patio.  I need to sweep up the anthills, and get the trash out of there.  I guess I need to water things that don't get rain.  The window box seems like it's got enough dampness now, so the sunflowers will grow fine.

I'm really thinking about putting up the Wooly pockets on the patio wall and filling them with sweet potato vine, which grows like fucking crazy and would help me hide that ugly cinderblock.  I also need to put in the rest of the Nasturtium seeds.