Where Did the Last Month Go?

The California Poppies have been in bloom for a few weeks. Today I found that the ranunculus I planted in the flowerbed at the end of the drive are all up!  They may even bloom.  I am so excited.  The weather is very much behind this year and there are no roses except for a handful of the climbing rose on the arbor.  The strawberries have begun to set fruit and the cane berries all have at least one blossom. 

I planted 7 tomato plants just after mother's day and all are doing as well as can be expected except for one.

Today I made chive blossom vinegar.

Two weeks ago a friend took the tulip magnolia away and the north garden looks so much better.  I was even able to enlarge and square up the strawberry patch and add a few more plants.

I took som stones left over from the  walk way in the north Garden and made a path through the long east flower bed in the South Garden.  It is darling.

A Month ago we had 1.5 units of bark dust delivered and worked ourselves senseless spreading it all out.  It looks SO good, we put it every where.

Strawberry Bonanza?

I hope so.
I have always had poor luck with strawberries.
We live in berry country and around nearly every corner there is someone selling berries from their farm.  You would think with these conditions my strawberry attempts would thrive.  I have experienced all manner of strawberry disasters: drowning, drying out, too much shade, sunburn, slug attack. 
This year I am showing no mercy.  I made a bed in the north lawn I made mounds and actual rows and irrigation ditches.  Sluggo will be used liberally.  This is by far the most traditional gardening I have ever done, the closest thing would be the garden boxes.  I really like the idea of making edibles part of the landscape but strawberries are important and they needed a dedicated patch.

I planted Puget Reliance and Tribute Everbearing.  Why those varieties?  Because that is what they had in the bareroot strawberries at Farmington Gardens when I was there.  Maybe I should have looked for some hoods.  I had a few left over so I put them in a strawberry pot I haven't had much luck with strawberry post in the past.

Roses

Saturday the Mr. and the Mrs. dug holes for 18 roses, transplanted 6 and planted 12 bare root roses.  The bare roots were fancy and expensive from David Austin Roses.  The digging was hard, the planting less difficult and we used up all of my topsoil bags.  There are still some manure bags left.  This took about 4 solid hours.  The Mr. went out to buy some much while the Mrs went to buy dinner.  Today (Monday) the Mrs. heaped mulch and watered the 18 roses and planted a Currant "cherry" at the corner of berry row.

The rose varieties are in order of planting left to right from the street:
Mr. Lincoln, Jubilee Celebration, Tahitian Sunset, Pink Simplicity, Mr. Lincoln, Pink Simplicity, Carding Mill, Jubilee Celebration, Jubilee Celebration, Carding Mill, Pink Simplicity, Mr. Lincoln, Pink Simplicity, Carding Mill, Mr. Lincoln, Yellow Tea, Pink Simplicity, Brother Cadfael

Pink Simplicity (tea rose) and the unidentified yellow tea-rose are transplants from elsewhere in the gardens.

Tahitian Sunset and Mr Lincoln are tea roses from David Austen.

Jubilee Celebration and  Brother Cadfael are English roses from David Austin and Carding Mill are Own Root English roses from David Austin.

The Mr. Insisted on the red Mr. Lincoln Tea roses and the Mrs. only chose Brother Cadfael because of the name  and color.  She really wanted to get Lady Emma Hamiltons and Christopher Marlowes as for their names as well but the Marlowes weren't pretty enough to make the harsh cut and the Lady Emma Hamiltons are peach and there were too many peaches in the order already.

The Mrs. thinks that Starlings really needs a "Mrs. Miniver" rose but can't find where to buy one.

More spring plantings

Tuesday began with a trip to the hardware store for 10 bags of sterilized steer manure and 10 bags of top soil.  Miniature princess emblazoned gloves were purchased for Nutmeg and a kneeling pad for myself. 

Then we went to Farmington Gardens and purchased bare root strawberries, a concord grape, a boysenberry, some freesia bulbs, and silverskin garlic.

Then we stopped at Aloha Feed and longed over the Americauna chicks and bought a haybale and a variety of seed potatoes.

After lunch the grape and boysenberry were planted in Berry Row and corner bed on the south side of the drive was attended to.  The sod was shaved off, the retaining wall rebuilt and the soil broken up.  2 bags of top soil were added and 3 dahlias, the freesia bulbs and 36 ranunculus were planted.

On Wednesday I was up early with the sunshine.  I planted seed potatoes from last year's harvest and organic potatoes from the winter that had gone to seed in the North bed near the front door.  5 holes were planted and and I added fresh soil on top of the rhubarb in the corner as it looked like it was growing in a pit.

I also laid out where the roses and tomatoes would be planted in the bed along the drive. Then I added 2 bags of manure and 2 bags of topsoil to that bed.   This in addition to the lime that was added on Saturday.

Still unsure about the east bed for the strawberries and thinking I should keep them where they were last year.  Trying to find places for the remaining seed potatoes, garlic and remaining onions.  Still need to find a place for a mint patch and decide where to move the thymes to.

Need to start indoor seeds including impatiens.