This Week in the Garden - June 14

I was so happy that some readers responded positively to my first weekly blog post about our gardens. We'll see if my commitment matches the encouragement that I have received.

 I am pretty sure that last week I indicated that I was overwhelmed by the prospect of planting 5 laundry baskets full of dahlias each spring. So, last weekend I finished up planting 3 basket's worth and then found a happy home for the remaining bulbs. In the meantime, we made a trip to Lowe's and I bought enough plants to start a new perennial garden - pledging to come back for 50% off sales later in the summer, which indeed, I will do. We bought the new plants on Saturday afternoon and they were in the ground and mulched by 7 that evening. I really was on a mission!

 At some point this week, Neil called to report that he had just spotted a turtle walking around in the yard. We didn't find any evidence of a new nest, so Neil declared it a salesman and we moved on. Then, a couple of days later, we got up and I  noticed that the soil and mulch near our bearberries looked a little disrupted. I check it out and it indeed appears that another turtle made a visit to our yard to leave some more eggs. Maybe we have a good reputation among the Mama turtles? I'm pretty sure that we caught these before I predator dug them out for a meal. I suppose that Neil will have to make another protective frame for a new set of baby turtles.

 Here's the yard this week. 
New perennial garden. Also home to the snap peas that I planted.

Dragon's blood sedum, which will be a wonderful ground cover. 

This is a Scotch broom shrub. I'm really looking forward to watching it grow. We bought two of them and I think that they will look lovely against the white picket fence. 

This unusually soft and fluffy shrub is called an Artemisia silver mound.  I can't wait to watch it grow. 

I bought some new lupines and also transplanted some from our "original" perennial garden. 

We had declared this grape vine dead. Drake ripped it out of the ground last year and I quickly put it right back, hoping it was intact enough. But, when nothing happened this spring, we decided that it was dead. Just when I was about to rip it out of the ground myself, I noticed this little bud of green on it. Boy, are these hardy creatures!

Me, after I planted the new perennial garden. 


The new turtle nest. Don't worry Mama turtle, we're taking good care of your babies!

A peony bloomed this week! Thank you, Richard!!

What's going on in your garden? See you in about a week!

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