I love green!

Everything is turning green. Flowers have begun to bloom. It's a beautiful time of year. Here are some pictures that I took today of the garden. Luckily the brush with a frost last night didn't cause any noticable damage. I did cover up most of my annuals and tomatoes last night with sheets, blankets, and towels though.

This first photo is of my 'Pink Champagne' clematis that I purchased at Lowes last year. It is the first clematis that I ever had bloom...I just bought my first ones last season. This year the three I bought are branching out nicely.

'Eskimo Pie' hosta. What a beautiful hosta. I've heard recently that it can be finicky. For it beingmy first hosta EVER, it's great! I just LOVE the coloring of this hosta. I ordered it from Jung Seed Company last year, and it appears to be thriving. I hear that it is quite a sight in its maturity. I hope to be lucky enough to see it for myself.

As for an update on my 'Lady Emma Hamilton' rose, it is branching out nicely. The new foliage is a beautiful shade of burgundy. There are no signs of pests or diseases on this rose. I am very happy with my first order from David Austin Roses so far.

This final picture is of a shade/part shade section of the front yard. In the back you can see a pink azalea in full bloom. The cultivar is unknown. It came with the house.

There are also many types of heuchera in this section. Five 'Hollywood' (left of the pink azalea, 'Lime Rickey', 'Plum Pudding', and 'Midnight Rose' heucheras. Last season I bought my first heucheras, and I'm hooked. They are leafing out beautifully and have delicate-looking blooms. The variations in the cultivars are astounding.

In front of the azaleas and to the left are three 'Razzmatazz' daylilies and the rest are 'Stella de Oro' daylilies. The Stellas have already put out a bloom and are getting ready for their big opening show in the next few weeks.

The taller plant in front of the azalea and to the right of the photo is a 'Black Adder' agastache. Toward the front, right (you can just see some of the foliage in the corner) is another agastache called 'Acapulco Salmon and Pink'. Both were new to me last season. This will be the first time I see the 'Acapulco Salmon and Pink' in bloom. I can't wait. If it looks anything like it does in pictures, it will be a real stunner.

Finally, that is an unknown bearded iris in the front of the photo. This iris came with the house as well. The white foliage below the iris are from some annual dusty miller plants.

Prairie Fire Crabapple---Ants!!!

My Prairifire crabapple tree was delivered with a container full of carpenter ants about two weeks ago. It was raining and they scurried away when we were planting so we thought nothing more of it. Well the ants are back to swarming around the base of the tree. The nursery said that the damage in this picture was probably just from where the tree was grafted. I'm no expert, but I don't think it should have bark chipping off of it and be all cracked up like it is. I'm waiting for the nursery to look at the photo and get back to me. What do you think?

Rain. Rain. Rain.

With the warm temperatures that we've been having (and that are predicted) I was planning on planting my tomatoes. In fact, I could have planted out in late April. Although our last average frost would fall in the next week, the forecast doesn't have any nights predicted less than 49 degrees. I would be outside right now planting my almost 3 foot tomatoes if it hadn't been raining for the last week. To top it off we have heavy rains predicted all the way through this coming weekend as well. Yuck. I guess I'll just have to daydream about being in the garden for now...

Prairie Fire Crabapple Tree and Tomatoes

Today was a very exciting day. I planted my very first tree! It's a beautiful, 10 foot 'Prairifire' crabapple tree. It cost too much, but it sure looks nice in my yard.

I almost planted my tomatoes today. They are about two feet tall. I think one is about to get blossoms on it. Although their aren't any days in the 30s predicted in the weekly forecast, I'm trying to be patient. It's tough, but I would hate to have to find a dozen things to cover them up with. It would be too stressful for me...and the plants. I just have to keep in mind that the last frost we had last season came on May 23rd! Our average last frost is between May 10th and 15th.

Here is a picture of how my tomatoes are doing. Also you can see in the picture the pink, salmon, and red impatiens that I took cuttings from last season. A Thumbelina zinnia plant on the bottom left. Scarlet Starlet marigolds are to the right of the impatiens. In the foreground I just started some morning glories and more herbs.