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.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - April 2015

It's been a big month for my yard and since my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post in March. It's time for a monthly check-in! A month ago I was still awaiting my first crocus blooms. Now in April, they've come and gone, and other much bigger perennials are waking up and taking off quickly. I only have a couple plants blooming - and they are both new additions that were already in bloom at the store, so that's kinda cheating.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, April 2015 - Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, April 2015 - Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'

Other than blooms, I have a lot of progress with other plants emerging. Not just a tiny sprout here and there, but actual growth and some real movement! My much anticipated Hosta 'Sum and Substance' are finally waking up too - I guess the bigger varieties sleep a little longer because 'Patriot' has been emerging for a while now.

Now emerging - Hosta 'Patriot'

A little slow to start - Hosta 'Sum and Substance'

Moving on up - Siberian Iris

Finally awake - Echinacea prpureua 'PowWow Wild Berry'

Really accelerating now, woohoo! -  Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'

Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'

Chris wanted more color in the backyard, his only comment about landscaping is always "more color, I'm so sick of greeeeen" - so I made an impulse Phlox purchase at Lowe's. I got the brightest of the 3 varieties they had, these are called Drummond's Pink Creeping Phlox [Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'].

I took out my ice plants that were 95% dead (I got them from the sale rack. I put them in late in the fall and they didn't fare so well in the winter).

Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'

I recognize phlox from my parent's garden when I was little. I'd take the little tiny flowers off and hold them up against my nose and suck in to hold them in place. Yeah. Well, anyway, I do remember them forming large mats in the flower bed, and I figured I'd try them out in my teenie tiny mulch bed under my Emerald Green arborvitae [Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald Green'].

After I put them in I realized I probably should have gotten 4 of them. Oh well, I'll see how to do and maybe divide one before the end of the summer. Each plant should spread 20-30 inches or so and completely cover this tiny mulch bed. It will also help keep Katie from grabbing mulch to chew on - this is her favorite mulch bed to pick from.

Phlox in a variety of colors

I've also seen phlox mixed in a variety of colors which makes a nice effect, maybe I could buy a 4th phlox in a different color to add some variety.