Flower Power Friday.....Watching My Garden Grow Continues..........

Well last Friday I was suppose to be transplanting some Peonies and Lilies, but I got called into work and couldn't do the transplants.  The new job is taking a lot out of me so it's taking a bit longer to get things done. 

Sea Holly

 

 

At this point I have transplanted 1 Tree Peony, 3 Peony Shrubs, 2 Peony roots, 5 Sea Hollies and 1 Herbstonne.  Those were all done on Wednesday.  Friday as your reading this I will be transplanting about 7- 10 small Coneflowers, 2 Poppies and several Lilies.  I generally do my transplanting in the morning hours when it is coolest or on cloudy days. 

 

Herbstonne

 

 I went to my favorite garden center and decided I wanted to try to grow Roses.  I've always wanted a Rose garden, but living in Maine growing Hybrid Tea Roses are very difficult.  But I'm up for a challenge and I'm trying two this year.  They are both Floribunda Roses that are everblooming.  One is called Angel Face which is a lavender color and has a sweet fruity scent and the other is Julia Child which is a yellow color and has a licorice scent.  I wanted to get Hybrid Tea Roses, but didn't see anything I liked.  The Floribunda Rose are Roses that form large clusters of blooms on one branch.  They too are sensitive to Maine's climate, but hear again I'm up for the challenge.  I did order a book about Roses which I think will help a lot on understanding the flower and it's habits and diseases.  One thing I do know is that in the fall I will create a kind of cage to wrap around each rose bush and fill with hay and leaves to protect it from the Maine winter.  I may also wrap burlap around them for extra protection.  Next year I will get on the ball and look for some Hybrid Tea Roses.  Probably through a catalog.

 

I will be heading to my garden center next Friday to pick out my tomato plants to ready them for planting after the new moon on May 25th.

 

Some interesting critters I stumbled upon this week.  I was getting ready to mow my lawn for the first time this season and my Mom and I were removing some black plastic when I saw a garter snake which I imagine was trying to stay warm,  Mom who is horrified of snakes did not see it and stepped right on it's head and didn't even realize she was stepping on a snake.  Thinking quickly of what to say to her without her panicking I told her to step back quickly and that is when she saw the garter snake and let out a screech!  The snake was still chilled some and wasn't moving very fast, but did move out of the way as I busted a stitch laughing.   It was funny cause she didn't even feel it under her foot.  The snake was a least a foot long.  But as they say karma is a bitch.  When I was transplanting one of the Peonies from what was the snake garden (snakes lived under the large rock) well here's how it went.......I dug out the Peony pulled away the weeds that had grown around it and picked it up into the wheel barrow and moved it to the new location where I picked it up out of the wheel barrow and put it into the hole and filled with soil then raked to clean it up and watered.  As I was watering I saw what at first I thought was a earthworm then realized it was a small brown snake coming up from the roots of the Peony I just planted.  That little (about 6 inches or so) snake could have popped out at any time and could have bitten me, but it stayed put until I watered........I see both of these snakes in my yard often and I will try to photograph them....maybe.

 

 

 

 

The Bluebirds I mentioned last week are slowly getting used to my presence and we now have an Eastern Phoebe nesting under the roof of my front porch.  We've had an Eastern Phoebe nest there a few years ago and had several babies.  This year I can only see 2 eggs.  One already fell out of the nest.

 

 

Never a dull moment in the garden.......

So next week I should have pretty much all plants transplanted and finishing up on cleaning and weeding.  I'll have photos to show next week on my progress.

 

 

 

 

Quote of the Week................

In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there.  To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe.  I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels. 

                                                 ~Dodinsky

Have a Beautiful Weekend!!!