New Plants!

We got a Home Depot gift certificate as a reward from the bank and we had coupons (one for buy one get one free shrubs, another for $5 off) so we picked up some plants yesterday. Unfortunately, we couldn't find 2 shrubs we liked (we were hoping to buy one $25 shrub with our gift certificate and then get a free one and pay nothing out of pocket) so we ended up getting another hydrangea for the backyard and some Spanish lavender. I don't like the fussy smell of English or French lavender, but I found this one to be pleasant and I think it will attract bees and butterflies.

Our pretty butterfly bush that was in front of our house was uprooted last week during one of the storms and is dying so I think we will put the lavender there, even thought it isn't going to get as big as the butterfly bush would have. We do have a spirea and a hydrangea out there now, and a few other plants (Mexican roses, I think? Maybe not.) that are doing well. It is a small space and I don't think we actually need another large plant there. The hydrangea will probably go in the backyard somewhere. It is already quite large and blooming so that's fun. It's called blushing bride and has white flowers with light pink streaks. It's also one of the "endless summer" varieties so it should have a long bloom time since it blooms on both old and new growth.

One cool plant I saw and liked but didn't get was a Pink Lemonade honeysuckle. It was really pretty but it needs a trellis or something to grow on and we just got rid off all those grapes and climbing vines and are in the process of getting rid of the shed, so I am not sure where we would put a trellis. Plus we'd have to buy a trellis and we've already spent way more than I wanted to on plants this year. So, we ended up getting a new hydrangea, the lavender, fill dirt and a tomato cage for only about $7 using the coupon and our gift certificate. Not bad! I'll post pictures once they are in the ground.

Just in bloom: Blackberries!

blackberry bush


I am excited for the harvest this year.

Rain!

Well, I should have gotten right on the rain barrel purchase because it has done nothing but rain. I worry that my tomato plants are drowning! One of them already has some yellow leaves from overwatering and I haven't had to water them once.

The blackberry bush is flowering, but a lot of the flowers are falling off because of the weight of the rain. I am so looking forward to some more seasonable weather soon!

Mock Apple

After the storms of the last few days (we even lost power for a couple of hours!) we are losing a lot of petals from our various trees. The mock apple is holding strong though, and smells great.

dogwood!

dogwood!
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

Just in bloom! It is amazing that just a few days ago they were tiny buds.

Gardening Update

The cherry blossoms are just starting to bloom. Finally! I remember when we first moved in that they bloomed around March 25th and we had no idea what kind of tree it was, so it was a big surprise to walk out one morning to a tree in full bloom. So it is blooming late but I am glad it is blooming at all, it is pretty old and there is a dead branch.

my favorites

Spring 2008
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

Finally, they bloomed! I love daffodils. I really want to plant more-maybe those pink ones I've seen?

starting to move into spring

starting to move into spring
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

plum tree

plum tree
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

giant pussywillow

giant pussywillow
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

This is the one thing we ordered online last year that is doing really well. Eventually it will grow to be about 14x14 feet!

Red Lilies

Anyone have any idea what these are? They appear to be some sort of lily and are a really lurid red.

Greenwood Nursery Woes

Last year we ordered a few plants from Greenwood Nursery and were pleased with the experience. They sent the plants right out and they came back this year. So it made sense that when we wanted to buy some plants for the yard this year, we'd use them again. This year we bought golden raspberries, a pussy willow tree and some cold hardy hibiscus. We placed the order over the winter and the deal was that they sent it to us when it was safe to plant in our zone. They sent them a little early, but we have an enclosed porch, so they were okay and we had a place to put them.

The first problem we had was that they had sent us less hibiscus than we ordered. This was troublesome, but when we notified them of the problem, they sent more to us and they actually looked better than the ones we received in the first place.

The second problem we have had is with the golden raspberries. We ordered 6 bushes. They told us that they would arrive looking like sticks but to plant them and they would be fine. They looked dead but we believed them and followed their instructions and waited for them to grow. And waited and waited. We kind of half wondered if they were just slow growing (it has been sort of unseasonably cool this year) but when we went to Matt's parent's house in the slightly colder Staten Island and saw that their (red) raspberry bushes had leaves and were quite large we really started to think ours were just dead.

So when we got back to town, Matt contacted Greenwood to tell them that the raspberries weren't coming up. They said to wait until a month had passed. We contacted them again on May 22nd and said that the sticks are clearly dead and that we want new plants quickly, before it is too late to plant*. They responded that we'd have to pay $12.50 shipping for the replacement plants. Which annoyed me but we went ahead and paid. And heard nothing until Matt contacted them again today. Now they are saying the replacement plants are shipping out this Thursday, May 31. Which means we probably won't get them for another week or so. Which will make it very late in the season for planting raspberries. I am pretty disgusted by the whole thing. We ordered the plants super early so we could plant them on time. Then they died and Greenwood totally brushed us off until it is really late in the season for planting. Plus they made us pay for shipping, which I thought was unnecessary. Is it my fault they sent us dead plants? $12.50 isn't a huge amount of money but I hate to lay out additional money for a product I've already paid for. I worry that they won't do well this year and then will die over the Winter and we will have to deal with them again next Spring.

Do you see raspberry plants? Nope, me neither.

*Just as a rough guide, the blackberry plant I picked up at Home Depot this Spring and planted around the same time as the raspberries has already flowered and is starting to berry.

Sherwood Garden Tulip Dig Results

Matt went with a co-worker to the the tulip dig at Sherwood Gardens early this morning. He dug up quite a few different varieties, most of them in variegated colors in the red and pink family. We had hoped for some more of the black(ish) tulips but apparently they didn't come up this year. Now we are drying the bulbs out in the sunshine. Then we'll cut off the tops, wrap them in newspaper and pack them away (in a cool, dark place) until November when we will plant them.

Peonies are Coming!

The peonies are getting ready to burst. The ants are ready.

They are so lovely and smell beautifully. I'd love to get more, but we haven't seen them at our usual online shops or in person any where. Matt actually moved the above plant from a different location in the yard to a spot near the fence. We had heard that peonies don't always transplant well, but he just dug it up (a rose of sharon had grown up in the middle of it) and replanted it. It came back bigger than ever and looks great.

azaleas

Azaleas may be considered "the royalty of the garden" but they are not my favorites. Matt likes them and we compromised last year and bought three hot pink bushes. This year only two came back. They are both still pretty tiny, but they really had a lot of blooms. Now he thinks he might move them to somewhere else in the yard, they are sort of out in the "middle" on the back quarter of the yard. Which may or may not have been something I suggested last year (before the initial planting) and was ignored.

Tulips!

The tulips came a little late this year. Last year Matt went to the Sherwood Gardens annual bulb dig and dug up a bunch of exotic tulip bulbs. We planted them in clumps of the same color, but we deliberately did not know which color we planted in which spot.

He planted about 60 bulbs in November and we plan to go back this year for more. It has been a lot of fun seeing them bloom this year-I especially like the black tulips. Ironically, I heard that not many of the tulips at Sherwood Gardens came up this year due to the freakishly cold weather in April, but all of ours did.


Black tulips with ruffly edges near the cherry tree in the backyard.

Pink tulips near the center of the backyard with wedding gift flamingos.

Pinky lavender tulips and green and white striped tulips around the new dogwood in the front yard.
Purple tulips along the front walk.