Yep, Burgundy looks just like it. Not sure why the Dianthus in the back yard do so much better than the ones in the front. I will try to get a picture of my ugly duckling pine in the back yard sometime. It's nothing like the one in the front. I keep planning to cut it down but still haven't gotten around to it. I think if we had a grove of pines or a yard full of them I would be more inclined to shorten their skirts but mowing under one isn't so bad. Now my apple trees are going to get chopped this winter. They are too low. Dogs have been yanking the apples off the lower branches.

Jenn it all looks great. Love the flowers. I might have to create a thread just so Amy Al and Jimmy can identify the plant for me!!! My beds need weeded something fierce though and mulched.

So spring might be here to stay for a little while so I thought I would get out and get some pictures of the changes made, then saw that I had some of my winter/fall plants still on my camera that I didn't get posted. There really is something in bloom or berry all the time here.

My snap dragons bloom through the fall around the same time my mums do. I have pink and yellow that come back every year.



Black Knight butterfly bush. It got pretty leggy last year but it did bloom. Going to prune it back and see if it does better this year.



Lime Light Hydrangea. I have two of them. They bloom in fall which is why my neighbor lady is so confused on what they are. She keeps thinking it's a strange snowball bush. It's not. I've told her this but she doesn't seem to believe me.



Phase 3 of whatever bush this is. White flowers in spring, big thorns in summer, orange berries in fall.



Now to what is going on currently. The typical spring plants that I have always had. They are spreading and headed across in front of the box hedge though. Someday they will reach the purple salvia on the other side.



Wormwood. I picked this batch and another batch up last spring. This batch was protected enough that it stayed up almost all winter without issue. The other batch died down for the winter but is coming back up from the ground already. It is supposed to deter wasps.



New peach tree I planted over the weekend. Has a funny bend from when it was once a Y topped tree but I think that will grow out with time. It is a Red Haven variety.



Asparagus is growing amongst my daffodils. For the last two years I have been pulling up the frothy fronds that is the top of this stuff thinking it was a weed. Now that they are old enough to put up the vegetable portion more normally I see that I was wrong and they aren't a weed. No idea why asparagus were planted with the daffodils.



New flowering almond to replace the one that died. I think I planted it too deep so I may dig it up and set it a little higher.



Husband's silver maple he wanted.



Where once the yucca fiends stood. Now they have a new home where I will soon not have to mow around them.



Their new home. We are building a back stop that will eventually sit between them and then I will be doing mulch or gravel that will go out from the backstop to reach them so we won't have to weed eat or mow up close to them.



Scarlet Doubletake quince (planted it yesterday)



I'm a little behind on my garden. Been building raised beds to expand the area that I had last year.

Wow, Jenn...you've been busy! Butterfly bush reportedly can be pruned back hard every spring for better flowering. Don't know first hand, just what I've read (I have some on order coming in later this month.) Red Haven peaches, in my not so humble opinion, are the best ever. They are the variety I've purchased by the bushel every year for the past 5-6 years. Freeze great, great jam...juicy, flavorful...and chopped up, lightly sugared with heavy cream? Oh my, real old fashioned peach wonderful! I planted 2 last spring - they are still alive, thankfully.

Any chance the orange berried, thorny thing is a Pyracantha (Firethorn)?

Now, as for spring...we had 3-4 daffodils actually in bloom last week. The first opened Mar 30, the earliest ever. I didn't get to get a picture yet. The lilac last week was starting to fatten its buds but this is it today! THey are calling for 13° F tonight...




Your pics are much more appealing this morning

After googling Pyracantha that does look right. (yay!) The white flowers really give it away. Mine are growing in full sun and aren't climbing anything. They've been pruned into short trees basically. We had some really hot sun toward the end of last summer and they got to looking a little rough, but if they are shade lovers that could explain it.

I looked through about all the varieties of peaches our local plant shops carried and thought either the Red Haven or the Elberta peach trees would be best suited for the environment we had. Being on a hill we needed something that was cold tolerant and both those varieties seemed like they fit the bill better than some of the other varieties offered. If they can handle where you are then they should be in good shape for us.

My lilac is a few days from blooming, then it's going to be a major pruning. I did a light pruning last year and got some decent growth but the whole plant needs rejuvenated pretty bad. I am not scared to prune things (though the crape myrtles probably wish I was) but sometimes deciphering when on some of these plants throws me. I understand that lilacs and forsythias bloom on last years growth so I should prune after they bloom instead of my normal spring rampage with the loppers. lol.

TwisterII wrote:

I understand that lilacs and forsythias bloom on last years growth so I should prune after they bloom instead of my normal spring rampage with the loppers. lol.

That is correct...same with Rhododenron. Which is why my house is being swallowed by the rhodos on steroids They bloom in early June, are ready to prune by late June. They start setting next years buds just about that time so if I prune even 2 weeks later, I'll lose the next years flowers. And June? That is pool opening, boat launching, planting tomatoes, peppers, corn, eggplant...weeding, weeding, weeding. And more weeding.

I've always like the look of Pyracantha. Don't know that it would survive well here, though.

The limelight hydrangea...that's been on my wish list. Does it really start out lime green or are the photos nisleading? I have a strawberries and cream I would love to pair with the limelight if it really has a period of green.

The Lime lights start out a few shades lighter green than the background on your pita pata. They are big green fluffs of flowers and then they turn bright white like my picture and eventually fade to an antique pink color before browning and drying up. As they go through the phases they begin to weep flowers and the limbs will hang down. I will try to get pictures of it in all stages this year. I have one that grows in full sun and one that grows in part shade. The one in partial shade is larger than the one in full sun but I chop at the one in full sun because the people before me planted it so that it blocked the light getting to the blueberries. They have been very hardy. Don't seem to mind me forcing them to the size I want.

Jenn - if you want to move that hydrangea, you can hedge your bets. Hydranges root really easily (I pulled a plant in flower out of a roadside dump area, brought it home, cut it up into 18 cuttings, planted the original. All but 1 of the cuttings took. I heeled them in for the winter in my poolside bed under straw - checked last week and they are still looking good.

You could take a bunch of cuttings, trim the thing back hard to 2-3", dig it up and move it so it doesn't block your blueberries (blocking blueberries? That's a crime )

I love your phlox garden! and asparagus?! thats odd, will you move it to your veggie garden?
the Scarlet Doubletake quince is pretty!

Sierra ate my butterfly bush to the ground... lets see if it comes back. and my lilacs were buried under our storm the other week lost some branches but looks like the buds may be ok.
Amy, that was us the other Wed with our blizzard.

Jenn the yard is looking good. wish i had room for trees.

Jenn, everything looks gorgeous, so rich in color, lots of work and dedication.....my favorite is still the little purple flowers near your front door, looks like a blanket, just love those flowers!

I have considered getting the pink version of the phox and starting them on the other side of the bed and letting them meet in the middle. They are such hardly little plants and love the sun. A little slow to grow though at first.

I will consider moving the hydrangea. It is 4 ft tall (the one pictured is pushing 6ft tall) so I'm a little iffy about doing a hard prune to very short. They have pretty hearty trunks on them more like a tree. Main trunk is probably 3 inches across.

I will probably leave the asparagus where it is. I've heard disturbing them is bad and once the daffodils are done for the season there is nothing else there. The fronds get tall and fluffy and add a little interest to the bed.

Your yard looks SO pretty Jenn! I LOVE the phlox!!!

Here, Pyrocantha do very well, many people used them at one time for hedges. But they can get something called fire blight or something like that, they just suddenly turn brown and die.

You'll have to take a pic of the silver maple when it has leaves, it sounds so pretty

Looked at maple yesterday and it is starting to leaf. Many of them already had leaves when we went to buy a tree but I figured getting one that was still half dormant might make planting less of a shock. It is getting little spikey tufts at the end of the limbs now so shouldn't be long before it looks more like a tree and less like a confused mass of twigs.

Jenn, I love the phlox as well and those hydrangeas are beautiful! I wish I had the time/patience/space to have a nice garden and trees around the yard like that.

I'm actually about to post a few pictures of our weekend project in my garden thread.

Some things are starting to wake up. I've been running behind on other things. I got the guttering on the shed and hung the rain chain. Need to get a picture of it in the evening though when the sun is hitting the copper. So far no rain since I got it though to see how it works. Figures. Next step is to put a fresh coat of paint on the shed and get rid of the grey spots the old owners were too lazy to paint.



My lazy dianthus. They never get very big. My others get huge. My peekaboo dianthus didn't grow this year. My guess is the hedges finally chocked it out.



Daffodils are almost done, my new golden yucca is the first thing i've put in cauldron since we've been here. The peach is leafed and of course, the bane of my existence, onions sneaking up through the only part of my flowerbed I can't smother them out of, the middle of my mini rose.



maple has leafed. Except for the top. I can only hope the top won't be like this forever.



Do you have the thyme? I do and it's blooming.



Looks and smells similar to basil, but blooms like red salvia. Still not sure about this one.



My blooming blueberry. The other is already making berries. Should be getting fresh ones in a few weeks. My middle berry seems to have gone on vacation this year. Disappointing.



A type of coral bells. They are actually going up this year. Haven't had much chance in the past since Kenzi would always run through the pot to race behind the stairs when doing zoomies. I have blocked her path behind the AC unit though and that means she can't get up the oomph to run them over anymore.



Pink columbine is starting to bloom. Decent size this year. Last year this one didn't bloom thanks to keno after something trying to dig them out of the pot.



Caramel? Coral bells. I think that's their variety. These too I don't think bloomed last year thanks to keno. He was a little rough on plants when we first got him and stunted a few his first year with us. He has since seen the error of his ways with the plants. Just need to do that with the poor yard now.



About missed the blooming of the lilac. It's starting to finish in sections. Going to get the prune job of its life very soon. Poor thing needs rejuvenated in a big way.



Layout of the new and improved garden. Was running short on the first set of fencing I bought so must get more. I haven't planted anything yet. It's where I am really running behind the most. Until I get more of the fencing I have to barricade the dogs out of it in case Keno gets the idea I built it for him to dig in.



Also testing my hand at straw bale gardening this year to go with all the others. I have some 40 tomato plants I started from seed on accident so I figure to do an experiment and see what works best for growing, pots, raised bed, or straw. If anyone knows some other way of growing tomatoes for me to test out I still have more plants I could put somewhere. Thinking about the upside down growing I've seen on tv.



Red Columbine getting ready to bloom, and the infamous tree I will be removing soon. We have a spot picked out to replant it if it lives.

Wow, Jenn everything looks so well placed and full of life!! I especially like your raised growing bed, looks like a nice section to grow vegies. Hope this year gives you lots of plentiful food.

Everything looks so pretty Jenn! Love the rain chain! I gotta get me one, haha. The raised garden looks really good, I think I may work on mine this wknd, I need to plant my veggies. I expected the silver maple to be more...silvery! Still pretty though!

It will be more silvery as it gets older and the leaves get larger. They are named for the silvery undersides of their leaves. This will come through more as the season comes on and it ages and gains more leaves. It's still trying to spread its limbs from being bound up in shipping. The wind won't stop long enough here so far though for it or the peach tree to get comfortable.

Sounds really pretty Jenn, I love silvery foilaged plants, most everything I choose, I notice, has that grayish/silvery look to it.

I REALLY like your caramel coral bells, has such a cool autumn look to them.

Ok, I have experience with the upside down tomatoe plant thing...in fact I have another one that's been sitting in its original box in the garage for a few years now, lol. Mine just would not grow and I had gotten my father one as well, and although it did slightly better than mine (mine...turned brown within a week and never recovered) his didn't get any tomatoes. For some people they work though! So you can try but I'm not ever gonna use them again, LOLOL

That's interesting about the tomatoes. I talked to my grandma and she tried it but the weight of the tomatoes eventually broke the stem of her plant. She has retried it but stuck to cherry tomatoes and has done decent. Not sure if better than in ground plants though. I was thinking about hitting the plants in the upside down growers with a lot of nitrogen early to hopefully beef up their stalks before they fruit. I wonder what happened with yours. Maybe underside of leaves got sun burnt?

I think with mine, Jenn, it was the soil. Potted plants here dry out super fast. The soil I usually buy for pots is about mid-grade (as far as price) cuz my pots are generally quite big and the more expensive soils don't go very far as far as filling the pots. I've seen this soil turn to almost dust when it's not watered constantly, so I have started using some of the more top end soils. While I don't know what soil my father used, he did connect drip watering to his upside down tomato pot and his did grow, but not nearly like a tomato plant in the ground would have. I think he told me he had two tomatoes on it, that never got big, which sounds like any tomatoe plant I've had that has been in a pot, they grow...they get a tomato here and there, never very big and take forever to ripen. Full sun too! Then at the end of the season when I remove them from their pots, they have quite an extensive root system which tells me I really should have gotten better production from them. I really wish I could grow them in pots cuz it's much easier to protect them from pests and they can get full sun for longer amounts of time by being able to place them in those areas where I get sun all day long.

Some other stuff is trying to get going now.

Spiderwort starting to pop.



Some little annual I got that I can't remember the name of.



Splatter Iris doing its thing.



Burgundy Iris



Firethorn in their spring phases



My Dahlias



The little maple tree I dug up. Broke his main root when I dug him up so I put him in a pot to nurse a little. And then I always pick up a batch of Ageratum each year.



Climatus in back yard.



My black Iris finally decided to show up this year. Had feared they had all reverted to the splatter form.





Corner flowerbed. Need to clean it up some but it is filling in well.



Blue Columbine



Something has gone terribly wrong with my Joseph's coat rose. Yes, it is a Joseph's coat. It has bloomed properly in the past with the orange and red and pink flowers simultaneously, but for some reason so far it is only throwing red. My mom fears it may have reverted back to its original color during the move and fight against powdery mildew. This is the best it has ever bloomed though.

If not an own root rose, you could be seeing the flowers from the root stock...I moved a golden showers several years ago and the remnants left being put up flowers very similar to what you have. Everything looks level, Jenn!

That rose has sprouted and put on more shoots than it has collectively in its whole life. Didn't think about them all just coming up from one color chunk. Wondering about trying to graft in from some other rose to reintroduce some color variation, or just try and seek out another Joseph's coat that hasn't been jostled around and abused as this one has. I was trying to find a white but that was when I thought this one was going to color out correctly.

Everything looks really really pretty, Jenn! The Black Iris is awesome!!! That spiderwort looks pretty! I just planted a few yellow dahlias in my front yard, the black leafed one is starting to sprout up again (thought the frost killed it) right inside that "river" I just put in, haha, I'm leaving it, it looks kinda cool. I took pics last week of everything since it's starting to fill in more, maybe I'll post them this weekend.