my week in recap...

Every spare moment I had this week has been spent in the gardens so I haven't had much time for blogging. In the first photo, Vanna...oops, I mean Ruger, shows things are starting to bloom and also the former arbor from the wildflower garden is in it's new home in the backyard. The one that was in this spot was damaged by the snow drift that covered it for 6 weeks. I still need to get the pavers laid inside the arbor next week.
I've decided to plant areas of the garden specifically to attract birds & butterflies. This small patch by the patio is the hummingbird garden and I've planted several varieties of salvias and agastache to attract them. The self seeders have also popped up so I've spent countless hours weeding around them in the whole garden. My aching muscles have decided that this year will probably be my last waiting for self seeders and I will put down Preen early and buy more bedding plants. I will need to start seeds indoors for the imagination verbena that I can't find anywhere as bedding plants so I count on it to self seed.
Pine Hollow has expanded as I've been finding cute things and modifying them into new housing and garden structures.
Jeff also helped me move the birdhouse clematis trellis back 4 ft to be in line with the arbor. I've been cleaning up this area of invasive plants and moved in a few favorites from the old wildflower garden. I've also moved bigger plants from the center of the garden to the back to make room for dividing the iris when they are finished blooming.
This spring the former "satellite arbor" became the "clematis house" by adding 2 more poles and 5 trellis. When the new baby clematis I planted mature it will be a beautiful mass of color. It is surrounded by Elsa Spade (blooming in the front), 3 Huldines, Jackmani, Westerplatte, Earthquake, Clair de Lune, Niobe, Etoile Rose, and Carmencita. I have this new found addiction to clematis (Thanks Susan!) and have added them all over the gardens. The ones currently blooming are listed on the left side.
The barnyard has expanded in animals and plants that I saved from the wildflower garden removal. There is a rooster, a hen, a cute little lamb and a moose on his way to becoming a steer in the front view of barn and Harley the horse, Charlotte the spider, Henny Penny the hen and Gracie the Goose in the back view.
With all the weeding, watering and garden remodeling going on I did take time to stop and smell the flowers, especially the peonies currently blooming. I wish I could bottle that scent!
We had 2 record setting heat days this week and the hot windy days made my potted plants droop but they are coming back nicely. The pots out front this year are pink/blue/white combos in honor of baby bee...will it be a boy or a girl? The pot in the center of the garden is an experiment of purple/green & orange and the patio pots are themed in orange/lime green/yellow/blue/red after some dinnerware, lanterns and a tablecloth I bought for entertaining. My sister-in-law taught me how easy it is to spray paint old pots so now I have a bright blue & orange one. The newly painted orange pot is our fresh salad garden. I saw pots filled with assorted greens at 3 different nurseries this summer with small ones starting at $15 so I started my own and added a marigold to keep the bugs away. It will be fun to have fresh lettuce all summer right next to the back door.
After taking out the wildflower garden last weekend, J has told me there will be no more expansions...BUT, I fell in love with this row of different colored chairs on my recent NY trip...if you see him, help me convince him that our yard sure would look great with these around the fire pit :)