Here is some information on the plants I've just put into the new and improved perennial border!

Lavendar
-Lavandula angustifolia
-12-24" high, 24" wide
-full sun
-flowering June-July
-deadhead after 1st bloom for a smaller second bloom later in the summer
-remove individual old flowering stems one by one with pruners
-shape plant with hedge trimmers
-avoid heavy pruning after late August so plants can harden before winter
-do not prune for winter
-shear off winter-damaged tips annually
-wait to prune until new growth has broken from old in spring
-do not cut back completely in fall or spring
-shear plants back heavily every 2-3 years to about 6-8"
-well-draining soil
-able to withstand dry conditions for extended periods once established
-susceptible to fourlined plant bug damage
-ideal for dried flowers
-cold hardy to -40 F
(fertilize every 6-8 weeks)

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Creme Brulee Coreopsis
-Coreopsis verticillata "Moonbeam"
-20" tall, 35" wide
-full sun
-flowers June-October
-dry to medium wet well-drained soil
-plants may be sheared in August to promote fall rebloom and remove sprawling/unkempt foliage
-attracts butterflies
-deadhead for best performance
-divide every 2-3 years in spring or autumn
-fertilize in spring
-cold hardy to -30 F

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American Dream Coreopsis
-Coreopsis rosea
-2' height, 2' width
-full sun
-flowers June-October
-deadhead to prolong flowering
-drought tolerant
-well drained soil
-cut back early spring and late summer
-fertilize every 6-8 weeks
-cold hardy to -30 F

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Wonderful Wampee Yarrow
-Achillea millefolium
-15" height, 12" wide
-full sun
-flowers late spring - summer
-handling plant may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction, wash hands right away after handling
-young plants can be deadheaded to lateral buds for summer-long bloom
-plants need to be cut back by 1/3 - 1/2 after first bloom to prevent flopping, then sheared down to basal foliage after 2nd bloom
-deadheading prevents seeding
-cutting back after buds form may mean no bloom for the season
-to keep them in their place, cut foliage and roots back as necessary
-leave basal foliage over winter
-cut back damaged sections in spring
-divide in spring or fall every other year
-cold hardy to -30 F

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Black-Eyed Susan
-Rudbeckia fulgida "Godlsturm"
-24" height, 16" spread
-full sun
-flowers July-September
-seedheads are attractive after petals fall and are usually left on plant for winter interest, also providing good food for birds in autumn and winter
-stems may topple a bit in winter
-pinching can produce more but smaller flowers on sturdier plants
-divide every 4 years to keep strong and control spread (more frequently if needed)
-attracts butterflies
-will not tolerate soggy soils
-fertilize before new growth begins
-cold hardy to -40 F

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Shasta Daisty
-Leucanthemum "Snowcap"
-full sun
-12-15" height, 12" spread
-blooms June-August
-well-drained soil
-nice cut flowers
-divide every 2-4 years in early spring or late fall
-fertilize every 6-8 weeks (!)
-cold hardy to -30 F
-deadheading can greatly prolong bloom time
-when done blooming, cut down to basal growth (which looks great in autumn)

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Purple Coneflower
-Echinacea magnus
-full sun to shade
-3' tall, 16" wide
-blooms summer to fall
-deadheading prevents seeding, but birds are crazy about these seeds & seedheads are very attractive in snow
-leave foliage to overwinter
-attracts butterflies
-easy to grow
-prolific bloomer

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Aster Alma Potschke
-blooms late summer-fall
-full sun to mostly sunny
-3' height, 20" spread
-pinch back and divide like mums until 4th of July, but not after

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Russian Sage
-Perovskia
-4' height, 3' spread
-blooms July - fall
-prune back to 6" in spring
-leave flowerheads for winter interest
-full sun

Here are some plants that are living in my yard that were here when I arrived last year.

I normally love Creation, and am a big advocate of it. Today, however, I'm not feeling the love. Not toward these, anyway. These are myrtle. They're invasive, non-native, and horrible. It's all bushy and thick and it is literally taking hours and hours to get rid of it. (I started this today. Pictures later of the massacre.) This is a HUGE space that they are occupying. They have choked everything else that was once in there. It is over a foot tall and is like death underneath. But, more on the myrlte removal later...




This, though, is one of my very favorites - Lily of the Valley. It lasts for about 2 or 3 weeks in May and has these beautiful, delicate flowers that smell lovely. My mom had them in her gardens when she lived in Ohio, too, and I remember her working in them when I was very small, watching her and running around the back yard.


Part of the crazy tulip crop circle. This bed is under a tree (I'll have to ask Neil exactly which kind of tree it it, though.) It's a HUGE bed, and there's really nothing else to do with it, I guess. (I'm getting ideas, though...) The people before us, who I'm guessing landscaped most if not all of the yard (and no more recently than 15 years ago), planted tulips in a circle around the bed. In March it really looks like a crop circle in Holland, or something. There's other random stuff in the bed, too, but I'm not sure it was meant to be there...

I've never been a huge fan of roses, but I'm really kinda turning into one. These are now blooming and on a lattice that Neil put up last weekend. They're lovely - I'll post updated pictures soon. (We have three other rose plants that I didn't take pictures of yet.)


These lilacs were on their way out in this picture, but they still smelled good! We have a really big lilac bush (are they bushes?) between the properties of our yard and our neighbors' yard. I don't know whose it is, really, but both homes can enjoy it!

White azaleas are pretty, but they aren't really my first choice. I don't think they're native. These are around back, right near our sunroom.

Here is one of the two pink azaleas. This one is in the back of the house. The other crazy bush thing is also in the front yard, and I like neither of them. One thing at a time, though...


The ants on this blossom are a sure sign that it is a peony! I love peonies. These ones are all pink, I think. They're in back, across from the pink azaleas in the above picture.


Sycamore trees always look so wise to me. I love the many layers you can always see on them. This is on our side yard, and I haven't climbed it yet, but I intend to. (When Joel isn't looking so he doesn't decide to copy, though...)


I'm also not a huge fan of hostas, but, here they are. There are 2 or 3 hostas around the honey locust tree in the front yard. They're not my favorite, but they'll be fine. Maybe I'll learn to love them...

There are lots of updates and new pictures, but I have one more "background" post before those go up. (They might even still be on the camera!)

Here are the existing fruits in the yard. I planted each of these last summer, and they're still here!

This is where I had tomatoes and strawberries last year. I've completely neglected it since. Neil would like to plant something here, so I'm thinking about what would be best. It is from this space that I learned (about a month ago) that strawberries are apparently perennials - there's tons of them this year! None are flowering, though. I'm going to have to do a little research on that.


This is our beautiful raspberry plant. We just cut it WAY back. I need to research the pruning of this one.


And the pruning of this one, too, is one I need to learn! This is one of my grape plants. It is going crazy! I love grape leaves - they are so beautiful and sculpted. Right now, its patch is being shared by a bunch of bricks (we're "building" a patio this summer), but it has plenty of sun!


This sad little stick is the other grape plant. We thought is was a complete goner - Neil thought he had upset the roots when he mistook it for just a stick. It has a few blossoms on it as of yesterday, though! So there may yet be hope for it... once the bricks form a patio, we're hoping to put up a trellis of some sort for the grapes to climb up and meet on.

Our yard is very in progress... but it's coming. I think the people who we bought our home from did a bunch of things with the yard about 15 years ago and stopped there. It's kind of crazy, but we're getting there. Neil has done so much out there. If it weren't for him, it would be a jungle. I just try to make it pretty after he has done the groundwork. :)

New plants for this year!

In the past, I've kept a garden journal in a binder. It seems that keeping a garden journal online will maybe work a little better.

I have a few separate posts to make to get up to speed on what my yard is like. This first post is the new plants I just got into the ground yesterday!


First - peppers! These peppers are called "California Wonder". I got it at Andersons. These are green-red peppers. I tried peppers once before when we were in our South Prospect Street apartment. They were awful. They would rot before the pepper was even big enough. That, however, was in a container garden, so I'm hoping that the pepper will be able to root a bit better in the ground. If it doesn't work this year, though, I don't think I'll do them again.



I think it would be amazing to actually have home-grown watermelon. The samples in the grocery yesterday made me (and Joel) really want some. So, I'm hoping this works out. This kind is called "Crimson Sweet". It apparently has only a few small seeds in it, and it produces 10-12 lb. fruit. How cool would that be!



This is coleus. I didn't plant this yesterday, Neil and I got them in a week or so ago. It's a ground cover that our friend Todd gave to us, as he ended up propagating way too many for his yard. It's in the back in a shady area.


Yum! Chives! I love having fresh herbs to cut in the garden! This one is simply called "chives".


More even than chives, I love basil! I have a bit of work to do on these, though. It looks like something living in the ground likes basil just as much as I do. I'll have to figure out what to do about that... Plus, there's some pruning I need to do on these.



These are Roma tomatoes. I never had any really good tomatoes larger than cherry size, so I figure Roma's kind of a "next step". Also, I've never grown an heirloom variety, so this will be fun! The info stick thingy says it is a "bush-type plant". I'm not sure exactly how big it will get, so I caged them. There are already a few flowers on these this morning!


These are three beautiful blossoms on one of my two Supersweet 100's. We had ridiculous success with these two years ago in containers. Everyday for over two months, there were at least 5-10 new tomatoes! We'd eat them right out on the porch, and they were delicious. So, I'm hoping they go even more crazy in the ground. (These are small, cherry-like sized.)

And that's it for the new stuff. Next, existing fruit, all stuff I planted here last year and ignored in favor of my 4 month old. (The awesome thing about the now 16-month-old is that he loves being outside and gardening with me!)