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

What's Waking Up? March 23, 2016

Here in Noblesville, Indiana I've got lots of sleepy plants just barely waking up for Spring. Here's a photo tour of what's going on... if you just glance at my yard from the sidewalk you'd miss it, but if you get down on your knees you can definitely see things happening. I'm "that guy" walking around my yard with my iPhone taking pictures of mulch...

Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' survived the winter after being planted later in the season last year (September). Can you see the eyes? No? It took me a little while to find them myself. Ok, I'll admit I dug down a bit to spot them and then covered them back up again to keep them warm.

'Wee One' dwarf lavender with new green on old pale blue stems

Lots of new and thick looking culms growing from my 'Green Panda' bamboo Fargesia rufa

Hosta 'Patriot' going strong, still a good 2 weeks ahead of last year

'Annabelle' hydrangea waking up with green coming out of plump buds. They will form new growth and bloom on new wood this summer - but I am trying something different this year by leaving more old growth above ground instead of cutting them down to the ground completely.

Purple cone flower 'Prairie Splendor' by the utility boxes - this is the one that had a disease or something last year, it never formed real blooms and it got all wonky looking. I was kinda hoping it would come back normal this year if the disease died off over the winter. On second thought, based on photos, it looks like this one has Aster Yellows disease and I should rip it out before it spreads to anything else. Sorry little guy!

Shasta daisy Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky' coming back after being transplanted in July

Winter Solstice Yard Update

It's been a warm December so far, drizzly and 50's all week and predicted high of 64 on Wednesday. It always seems wild, but then again I remember playing golf on Christmas Day before - so that's just Midwest weather. Today is the December Solstice, the shortest day of the year. I was going to put a rock out to mark the shadow of the fence at noon and compare that to the shadow in summer, but it's gray and cloudy.

I did stroll around my yard, and wanted to post some photos of things I thought were interesting.

First up (above) I like the color contrast of my dwarf mugo pine [Pinus mugo var. pumilio] turning slightly golden yellow in winter alongside this dwarf lavender [Lavandula angustifolia 'Wee One'] that is an icy blue. Very nice!

Arenaria 'Wallowa Mountains' looking a little less than stellar but still alive

I checked in with my favorite little Arenaria 'Wallowa Mountains' and it's not looking so hot. I'll probably order another and try to get it in the ground quickly this spring so it can have as good a chance as possible. Maybe this one will bounce back, it's rated for much colder zones so maybe it will be fine. 

I took the erosion barrier off the storm drain at the bottom corner of the yard. The grass still has to grow in around it, but it already looks nicer not having that 3 foot tall black square in the yard. I'm thinking about putting a few clumps of iris around it to see if they take off in the damp low spot.

At the bottom of the yard we've got vole holes in the tallish grass near the neighbor's fence. They're all aiming toward the neighbor's yard, so I bet they have more tall grass on the other side. You can even see some hamster size poops outside the hole on the right.

Now this is pretty cool. When I got the iris clumps from my dad they came with little tiny succulents that were long and stringy probably from the shade. I had them in the side yard all last year and they remained long and stringy (big surprise). I took a couple pieces and broke them off, and put them in the rocks. What do you know! They took and now I have a couple little succulent babies in full sun so they look much nicer, darker, and like little buttons. Hope they last the winter!

Unknown succulents hitchhiked from Ohio on some iris, now I have to identify them. Can't believe they are dark green and thriving in December here in central Indiana.

Dusseldorf Pride Encore Performance or Just Confused

I've already commented about the long bloom time of my Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride' and now it seems this adorable plant is putting out one last bud as sort of an encore performance. It's almost September, what the heck! So cute.

Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride' - One last bud before saying goodnight for the Fall

Update 9/10/2015: A few more buds coming out, this thing is really confused! Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'

Speaking of "I can't believe it's still flowering" check these out:

Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night' - August 25, 2015

Lavandula angustifolia 'Wee One' - August 25, 2015

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May 2015

Happy 15th of the month and Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! It's so nice to have a monthly check-in that I've created a Bloom Day tab in the navigation bar. I don't plan to use this day each month as an inventory of every single plant in my yard, but I would like to highlight the ones that have got my attention.

This Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is also extra special because I have a Ruby Falls weeping redbud arriving by UPS this afternoon! I've had my eye on this tree for a long time and I can't wait to give it a home (and hopefully it likes clay soil more than my poor Japanese maple).

Lavandula angustifolia 'Wee One'

My dwarf lavender "Wee One" is blooming. I have two of them, both ordered from High Country Gardens. One is doing great and the other is just okay - it's still alive and putting up new shoots but had about half the stems die back. It'll be fine!

Next up, my Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride' is doing amazing! I've been dead-heading the old flowers and it's putting up so many more! They just keep coming! It's amazing especially because they come out of this little lump of what looks like grass, it's like magic - how many blooms are hiding in there?

Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'

Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night'

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry

Lilium 'After Eight'

Ok, so I like to note that all of the things I have in bloom above were bought and planted this Spring, so they are not growing from the ground up. Everything below, however, was planted last year and has grown from the ground - which gives a much better indicator of true bloom time here in Indiana.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' - plants are now above the knee and have buds forming!

Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’