May in the Garden

This is a look at the little rockery at the front in full bloom.  I see the little weedy flowers growing in the gravel.  I shall need to kill them with that weed be gone.  They are very difficult to control by hand weeding.

A lovely bright magenta azalea just under the window of the suite at the back. 

this is the rhodos and the little azalea.  Those terrorist tree killers really don't deserve to have this for a view along their sidewalk.

The apple tree had quite a few blossoms this year.  I did not see many bees around though.

The lilac is in full bloom.  I cut some of the blooms off Mrs. Pees side and have them in the house in a huge boquet.  They are nicely fragrant outside and in.

It was raining the other day, so I managed to get a shot of the Peony tree in the rain.  This plant is right by the edge of the deck at the front entry.  It is gorgeous and fragrant.  The flowers rise up out of a low cedar.

This is a perennial bachelor button that self seeds around.  I have some in the front and a big patch in the back near the water tub.  They are a lovely royal blue color and look good in a big clump.

This is the water tub in the back woodland.  These bachelor buttons are now in full bloom. The water iris has buds.  The honesty is coming into bloom and the blue bells are finishing up.  I have this area weeded just about up to the tub.  That is, the irises are weeded, and there are a couple now showing buds.  They are getting more sun since old weird sheila removed her ugly board fence.  I must feed them compost, too.
Over the last week, I have cleaned up the Virginia creeper and the st. john's worte.  I had all the clippings piled up along the woodland path.  I now have some of this stuff put into the big green bin.  I hope I can get most of the rest of it chopped down to little twigs to cover the wood land path.  It takes time to chop it up, and is not my favourite thing to do.    The path will be better for it, once I get it finished though. 

This is the solomons seal that is at the front.  There is also one under the deck.  It is a very good shade plant.  It is mixed up with too many other plants at the front.  I need to make it a stand alone plant and have the clematis, for one plant, taken away from it. 

Gardening in April

This is not the greatest photo, but it seems to be all I have for now.  This is a very busy time in the garden.  This week  I planted the little veggie garden to Yukon Gold potatoes, spinach, swiss chard, lettuce.  dill.  It will be nice to have the fresh salad greens.  My friend, the LA City girl... you know who you are... had great success in her Port Angeles garden with Yukon Gold potatoes.  So, of course, I have to plant some!  My strawberries are in bloom and the apple tree.  The rhubarb looks rather pathetic.  I think the winds have not been good for this plant.
Today I did edging around the bit of grass at the back. I moved some of the edging stones out to give the pinks a bit more space.   I have one side of this grass to finish yet.  It looks good and will be easier to mow, too. This clean up area will lead into the woodland for the next cleanup.  Actually, the woodland area does not look all that bad.  I might just weed it again this year, instead of renovating the path.  I will see how much time and energy I have.  The front needs a bit more attention to weeding, of course.  I put 2 fruit tree feeding spikes into the area of the front plum tree.  It was full of blossoms so I hope we get fruit again, this year.
Yesterday I sprayed the tiny weeds in the rock path at the front with roundup.  This is the last day for us to use these chemicals without a permit.  After May 1 there will be fines for anyone using pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and god knows what else is banned.
Megashot is officially over 300 members now.  It can be as busy as you want it to be.   I have not managed to get much of my own stuff done on the site, but there will be time later.  Its really exciting to watch the site grow.   

April Showers in May

The apple tree is in bloom. The plum trees are finished blooming. I have not seen very many bees around this year. I hope our Island is not affected by the diseases that are diminishing the bee populations on the mainland to alarmingly low levels.

Along the old cement path along beside the garage the tulips are putting on a good show. They are also blooming on the other side of this path too, so that right now this path is lined with tulips. All these tulips that I thought I had lost are blooming all over the garden now. I could still use a few more at the front.
This is a rather colorful shot of the garden pond featuring the water hawthorn blooms in the reflection of the marsh marigold. I am keeping the pond topped up. The water fall looks good. the edging plants are filling in and some are growing over the rock edging. I must add compost to these plants to encourage more growth. The pond is going to look so much better without the rock necklace.
water hawthorn close up.
The water table on the deck showing some of the rain we were having yesterday. The tub on the deck needs to be topped up more than the rain is going to supply. I need to fill the blue pot with soil and plant something bright pink in it... petunias, perhaps. The little willow, the soldenella, the little bog plant with big blue trumpet flowers and a very nice little Primula marginata seem to have survived. I lost 2 or 3 other potted alpines, probably due to neglecting their watering needs.