Planning and Planting

June 13th, 2012

With summer on the rise, I've been taking time to assess my garden and the plants it holds. Throughout this year, it's definitely time to add some new soil, along with appropriate feed for the different plants. It's also looking like it's time to split up some of the bushier ones and plant some elsewhere or give away the pieces. The hosta plants put into the raised bed at the front of the porch two years ago need separated already.

Last fall I pulled out the small Lilac that was in the front flowerbed and moved it to the backyard, realizing there just wasn't enough space where it was planted, although in the few years it was out front it bloomed every year except the first. It wasn't getting much larger though, because it's growth was hampered by the plants surrounding it, and the stonework and hard-sided pond it sat next to.  I moved it last fall (September) into the back and this spring, the wild roses have already taken over it's old spot in the front. Even more surprising to me is that the Lilac threw up a single bloom this spring, which was rather unexpected.  This particular little Lilac came from our old house. I started it from a cut off an old Lilac shrub in the house next door to us, carefully rooting it and nuturing it from it's single small "stick".  It had been moved a couple of times as it grew, each time it was moved, it wouldn't bloom the following spring, so I was surprised when it did bloom this year.

So far, the front garden had most of the usual "suspects" early in spring -
tulips (though smaller than other years), daffodils, grape hyacinth, crocus and creeping phlox, but the mass of blue forget-me-nots I always get was limited to but a few.  While there were as many plants as always, they were much smaller and less bushy than other years. Some bulbs need separated and moved, but part of the reason for the smaller, less bushy plants this spring was due to a lack of snow this winter (oh, we had snow of course, but very small amounts and nothing like we normally see).  We also had a very early spring which saw tulips and crocus sprouting much too early, followed by frost, below freezing temperatures and snow, effectively damaging many of the early sprouters.

I also moved the snowball shrub to the "high" end of the garden, and planted a broken piece of it in the back yard, where it was happily developing blooms this year. Those probably won't end up surviving because that piece was dug up a few weeks ago and went home with a good friend to her new garden. The "low" end of the garden is looking pretty sad at the moment, with all it's spring bulbs finished and almost nothing else left down at the bottom save a few holes and a couple of johnny-jump-ups. I'll be focusing on putting some low growing sun plants at that end of the garden this year.