Those Effing Rabbits!! Decapitated Dusseldorf Pride

I'm seeing red, I'm steaming right now! I feel powerless against them, and yet I'm forced to slowly watch them devour my garden bit by bit. Every morning I wake up and enjoy a cup of coffee outside in the cool spring air and I inspect my garden, only to find teeth marks and decapitated flowers. I think it's all just the same rabbit. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I blame my neighbors for not planting anything. Nothing! My back yard is a beacon of deliciousness. Can you blame the rabbits? They would be happy to come from all corners of the neighborhood to feast on my tasty variety of offerings - when what is the alternative? Overgrown juniper bushes and crooked solar powered LED lights? I probably sound like a huge garden snob right now but I don't care, I'm a target.

Rabbits decapitated every last flower on my Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'

My EverLast^™ Lavender Lace Dianthus 'KLEDG13146' wasn't safe, they systematically stripped every flower from 3 plants side by side, working their way down the row.

Now it's personal, you don't mess with the perfect radial symmetry of my 'Tiny Pearl' lily

It's Mail Order Plant Day!

I love mail order plant day! The day my online orders from January show up at my house fills me with excitement - this year it was April 12. I got some more exotic and fun plants that you don't typically see at Lowe's or Home Depot.

My mail order plants arrived from High Country Gardens on April 12 this year

Last year I stuck the plants in the ground the same day they arrived. This year I did something a little different - I let them get some sun after being in the box for 4 days, and gave them some water. Then I took them inside and put them on my windowsill to firm up a little before exposing them to the wild outdoors. Hopefully they perk up a little and catch their breath before trying to adapt to the clay soil.

I got 4 dwarf red hot poker plants - Kniphofia hirsuta 'Fire Dance'

I got 1 false indigo after reading they are good in clay soil - Baptisia australis v. minor Blue Rocket

I got this for my rock garden, a cute little succulent that self seeds with purple flowers. It looks very delicate and I hope my dogs don't mess with it - Fame Flower - Phemeranthus calycinum (Talinum) Judith's Favorite

And once again, I'm trying my favorite little sunny moss look-alike after the one last year all but died. I've got a new location picked out and we'll see if the 2nd time's the charm - Arenaria Wallowa Mountains - Mossy Sandwort (Desert Moss)

Last but not least I've got purple coneflower 'Magnus' down by the utility boxes. This one is supposed to get 4 feet tall so it should do a better job hiding things than the Pow Wow that only gets 2 feet tall - Echinacea purpurea Magnus - yeah this one was the runt of the package and might not make it. Luckily High Country Gardens is pretty good about refunding if your plant dies right away.