Throwback to May 2017 Backyard Photos

Wow I haven't updated this blog in a long time - it actually comes in really handy when I'm hanging out with people and want to brag about my yard, I can easily search for photos by keyword that would be hard to find scrolling through my iCloud. So yeah!

Anyway, here are a couple photos of my favorite time of the year in the backyard when perennials are looking super great.

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry® Sweetspire looking great (R) along with dwarf english lavender Lavandula angustifolia 'Wee One' (bottom left) and Dianthus 'KLEDG13146' - EverLast Lavender Lace

Zoey sniffing around, and May flowers blooming in the full sun backyard bed

Purple Dome Aster Divisions and Moving Plants Around

Here's an overview of all the moves I made today. I moved a lot more than I had planned, but hopefully we get some rain and everyone settles in. 

Spent a few hours today moving things around in the back yard and mulching the side yard. Some of the more significant moves to mention, I moved a dianthus over to the edge by the patio to give some year round structure. I like my salvia, but I don't like how they die to the ground and basically disappear. After the move, I'm liking how the right side of the bed looks almost complete.

I moved my sale table Blue Marvel salvia over to the middle. The middle of the bed is like my holding zone, not sure what I want to do with it just yet.

This was also my first time doing divisions of my Purple Dome aster. This all-star plant has been killing it the past 2 seasons, and I learned that you can cut them up and divide them like a hosta. Let's see if my little sprouts turn into whole new plants (for free). I remember when I got them in the mail I was surprised how small it was, and it turned into a purple dome in the first season.

Purple Dome aster division (super tiny sprouts)

Added some purple dome aster divisions to the front utility box bed too because I'm not sure if the Gaura are coming back. 

I did some 'cosmetic mulching' in other parts of the yard - you know, when you just dust some mulch over the top so it looks like you mulched and the colors match.

Fall '16 Garden Highlights

Fall is a weird time in the garden. A bunch of stuff turns gross and yellow (I'm looking at you hostas!) and other stuff actually looks better than before - or at least stands out more than it did before. Take this inconspicuous scotch moss for example. It was minding its own business under the hydrangea and now BAM it's stealing the show!

Scotch moss in fall

Next, take this Little Henry sweetspire - known for it's fall color - I can see why! Also, my Japanese Andromeda is doing something. Are those red buds, or is it trying to flower? These things are supposed to be evergreen, but we'll see if it makes it through the winter. I don't think it likes my clay soil one bit.

Next up, a combination of blue tones with this dianthus next to my dwarf lavender. The lavender was a hit last winter and kept an interesting ghost blue color all year. I'm wondering if dianthus will do the same or if it will die back.

Dianthus Lavender Lace next to dwarf lavender (appropriate)

Lots of New Additions! Lavender Lace, Frozen Margarita, Tiny Shadow, and Bloomerang

Here are some new additions! I got 4 of these EverLast^™ Lavender Lace Dianthus 'KLEDG13146' as a backup plan when Lowe's was out of Drummond's Pink phlox. I figured I could make a sort of back row to my tiny arborvitae bed, but it looked too crowded so I moved them to the larger back bed and now I'm in love.

Set of three Dianthus 'KLEDG13146' Lavender Lace

I ended up buying some Drummond's Pink phlox on Etsy trying to match the exact color and species. Okay, so Drummond's Pink should be the exact same DNA as the one on sale in Lowe's right? Ummm... someone's playing me because these do not look like the same color at all... so who was mistaken? Maybe it's because they were in a box for 4 days, maybe they will perk up and change color. I guess we'll see! I won't name nursery and bash them. Worst case scenario, they are slightly different and the story makes it onto my garden tour as a fun fact, lol.

Mail order Drummond's Pink phlox looks slightly off but I guess we'll see if it grows in correctly

Update 4/30/16: Sure enough, after being out of the box for several days, the colors actually changed! Hey what do you know, color changing phlox! I'm glad I didn't leave a nasty review on Etsy because these are indeed Drummond's Pink.

Let's see, next up is Hosta 'Frozen Margarita' (who comes up with these names?) It's got white margins similar to Patriot, but it's supposed to be a very shiny leaf. Whenever there is a hosta on the sale table I jump on it, because it turns into multiple divisions and you never have to buy that variety again. $3 for this one, down from $9.

Hosta 'Frozen Margarita' from the sale bin for $3

I also got another Japanese Andromeda 'Passion' from the sale table for $3 (what a deal!) and Chris picked out a lily for his growing lily collection (full price) this one is called Tiny Shadow and it's super interesting looking! Can't wait for it to bloom.

Started losing track of all all these 'tiny' lilies so this is my lily collection map

Ok and here is the grand finale, it's the plant we've all been waiting for, it's a Bloomerang reblooming purple lilac!

I had to be careful not to step on any of my other plants as I carved out a hole in the exact center of my special clearing. My 3 foot by 3 foot space has been waiting for this for over a year!

I dug down a little more than 2 feet and added some pea gravel to the bottom, then a half bag of top soil, then stuck the root ball on top and used an entire 2nd bag of top soil all around the root ball. It ended up a couple inches over the lip of the hole, which was perfect since lilac don't like wet feet. I think it's going to do really well here! I'm really happy with it!

Syringa x 'Penda' on a standard

I triple checked the trunk to make sure it was straight and how I liked it, I just hope it doesn't blow over because we are expecting 3 days of rain and thunderstorms.