It's Spring! Better late than never...

Spring is always the busiest time in the garden, and this year has been no exception.  We started off slow and continued at a snail’s pace for a very long time…the weather was just not cooperating.  We finally turned the corner a couple of weeks ago and it’s been full speed ahead ever since (minus the few odd days of incessant wind and/or cold and/or rain – can’t have it all now, can you?).

Spring blooms started off with crocuses, daffodils and the hellebore I purchased this past spring and have now progressed to a few mainstays in the garden including tulips, forget-me-nots & bleeding hearts.

The tulips were lovely but short lived this year; the heavy rains

we've had since I took this photo didn't do them any favours.

I absolutely adore forget-me-nots.  The pale blue is so lovely,

as is the odd surprise when they bloom in pinks or whites.

My favourite bleeding heart (a mother's day gift from years ago) is white & it was growing right next to the

front walkway that was redone last year.  Thankfully, it wasn't a casualty of the demolition.

I’ve been so looking forward to the lilacs this year & they are budding so it won’t be long now.

Anticipating the fragrant blooms from 'Miss Canada'

(Syringa × prestoniae 'Miss Canada')

I planted two Preston lilacs in the west border in the fall of 2017 (Miss Canada & Isabella) & I’m hoping this will be their "leap" year when they really put on a lot of growth.

Another newcomer to the garden was a Rose of Sharon & for a while there, I was worried that it had not made it through the winter.  Thankfully it's showing signs of life now, so I suppose it just takes a while to wake up in the spring.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Diana'

The Siberian peashrub (which we inherited when we moved here) is a literal hive of activity.  The bumble bees love this guy and for a couple of years their numbers were way down but thankfully, they seem to have bounced back somewhat:

Siberian peashrub (Caragana arborescens) making the bees very happy

The eastern redbud has graced us with its more-pink-than-red buds for a few weeks but it's now finishing up.

Only a few blooms left on the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)

The red leaf sand cherry, though, is at its peak:

Prunus × cisterna

Many of the fruit trees have also bloomed, although I’ve learned from past experience that this does not always ensure a bumper crop – or any crop.  I’ve yet to harvest a nectarine & cherries have been elusive in the past couple of years (darn birds!!)

A gazillion fading flowers on the nectarine (AC Harovin Rouge),

but we'll have to wait and see if any fruit follows.

The cherry tree (Vandalay) once again is loaded with cherries;

the question is who will get to them first...us or the birds?

The Granny Smith apple tree is loaded with blooms, but I'm concerned about pollination as neither of my other two trees have flowered yet.  There are a few apple trees in our neighbourhood & hopefully they help out.

I’m enjoying the bit of colour in the garden, as I do every spring, but this year I’m working hard to ensure there is a LOT more in the years to come.  In the past couple of years, I planted several shrubs & cedar trees in our west border - perhaps half of what I ultimately wanted to include.  These take a while to size up, so I wanted to get at least a few in as quickly as possible.  I only planted a handful of perennials, such as daylilies and echinacea, as I wanted to finish the side yard expansion before really getting serious about planting up the border.  Well, the time is now - and I'm having a blast!

2019 is Year of the Salvia Nemorosa and I'm doing my part.

I'm including 4 different varieties in the west border including 'Snowhill'
which, as it's name implies, has white blooms.

I purchased a total of *clears throat* 72 shrubs, trees and perennials this spring.  I was a woman possessed - once I started, I just couldn't stop. This wasn't all for the west border, mind you.  I'm also planting up a bed in our backyard that currently has a mature ash tree that needs to be removed as it's succumbed to the emerald ash border.  Then there's a shady bed beside our driveway that will be getting a bit of love - this was a spur of the moment addition to my plan after SO many wonderful hostas ended up in my cart during one of my shopping trips.

Latest shopping trip this past weekend while my husband was away in Ohio...

what's that saying about a cat being away & mice playing??  😁

You'll notice some coleus in the above photo.  I did grow a few from seed this year, but only had one variety left in my seed stash.  I couldn't resist getting a few more that caught my eye.

The coleus are all destined for pots so no problems there, but planting everything else up is not an easy task.  The problem is not the soil, which is actually pretty good, but the rocks - they slow things down considerably:

From pebbles to fist sized rocks to boulders.

I never know what I'm going to hit when I'm digging.

When I’m not in the garden, a whole lot of planning has been going on.  Between plant size/shape, leaf colour/shape, flower colour/size/shape & timing of bloom as well as sun & moisture preference (whew!) there is a lot to consider when planning a garden bed and I'll undoubtedly make my fair share of mistakes.

Catalogues and online sources are helpful, but there is often a huge variation or range when it comes to how large plants will grow, both in height and width as well as when flowering varieties will bloom.  Much of this, of course, has to do with your location & the conditions in your garden – while one plant may grow to stately heights & bloom early in a zone 7 garden with full sun and rich soil, it may end up half that size & bloom a month later in a zone 5 garden with part-sun & lean soil.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of trial and error going on in my garden over the next few years…which is just fine by me.

So far, I’ve planted about 2/3 of my purchases but I’m planning on getting another half dozen or so into the ground today....hopefully more, but that all depends on how many rocks I hit 🙄.  As for the veg garden, it’s moving along, especially now that warmer weather is finally here to stay.  I transplanted all of the warm weather veg this past weekend & it looks like I'll finally be harvesting a few greens soon….I’ll be posting about that next.