Garden Update: May Progress

About three and a half weeks ago I was excited to have gotten all the lily-of-the-valley dug out of my north garden landscape bed, and contoured a new grass line. It's been a very busy month of May for me in my landscape garden, and I'd love for you to stroll virtually through my recent changes.

Here's where I was on May 2, 2023 (photo below).

After removing the lily-of the-valley, I transplanted several of the larger plants closer to the house to make way for the new grass line (spirea, hydrangea, and weigela). I had yet to plant all the daffodils and wood hyacinth I had displaced at this point (top right, by fence gate). 

Three days later, I had two Schipkaensis (cherry laurel) planted near the gate, to block the view of the heating and cooling equipment. The siding (and slate roof) were in need of power washing.

The guy who works for our roofer came and power washed the siding, roof and patio (bonus, as well as the front walkway!) the weekend of finishing all the plantings. I was so paranoid about my plants getting any damage from ANY chemicals (biodegradable or not) at this point, and he was very accommodating in only using water to clean it all. 

Roof and siding power washing, early May 2023

Patio power washing before and after, early May 2023

I posted this next before and after photo on Facebook last week. Will you look how different the north landscape now looks, as compared to when we were looking at the property in late August, 2021?! And that's just two weeks after the new grass line was planted in the bottom frame (watering every morning).

Wow, even I have to do a double take on that! You couldn't even see the house before. Even though I was sad to see the Hinoki cypress die last fall, I actually feel like it's given me a great, new opportunity. Btw, my transplanted stick of a crepe myrtle as its replacement is still just that  - a stick. However, that stick still scratches green, so I'm leaving it. I'm told you can't kill a crepe myrtle, but I managed to kill a coneflower last year, so I won't underestimate my ability to both nurture or kill.

Just for fun, I did another before and after collage. This next photo shows our home prior to its 2016 renovation (expansion), and also shows the before and after landscape changes between owners.

The top frame shows the home from a Google earth street view. I believe it was taken sometime in the early 2000s. The owner and I always shared garden talk. While her flowers were nicely placed among the boxwoods at the time. by the time the renovation took place in 2016, the boxwoods had overgrown. The middle frame was taken in 2021, five years after the renovation to the home and garden. While the house expansion changes were subtle, the landscape was overwhelming. The bottom frame photo was taken this week (roof was wet from morning dew).

After the spring changes to the landscape, I worked on finding, planting and nurturing a few more perennials, as well as changing out my front annuals.

I finally found a Jackmanii clematis this year, after scouting out numerous nurseries as well as our multi-vendor, outdoor Capitol Market. Pictured below is my Jackmanii from our prior home. 

I had a different variety clematis planted in the same spot of this new landscape last year, but it did not survive. My soil is so very different here than just seven blocks east, where our prior home was (same street). It's clay versus river silt soil. Planting anything takes me twice as long because I've learned I have to amend the soil with compost and garden soil additions. I'm hoping what I've done this year works.

Last year in June I bought two orphaned daisy plants (Western Star Gemini Shasta) and split them into four. There was only one bloom, but they're established and ready to bloom this year. This year, I bought a couple bee balm (Bubble Gum), two white guara, coneflowers (two each of Magnus and Pow Wow Berry), and replaced my four French lavender (Grosso) with English lavender (Hidcote). The lavender bit the dust with the arctic blast of December 2022. 

I hope all these plants thrive in amended beds. I've already cut one bunch of lavender to dry, so I'm keeping a positive outlook.

Elsewhere in the flower beds, my poppies, sundrops and other clematis perennials seem to be doing well against the patio fence. This is their second year. The sundrops bloom right after the poppies.

My Karl Rosenfield peonies exploded since my last post and, thanks to the obelisk supporting them, there are blooms still forthcoming, even after rains do their best to bend them to the ground.

The peony pictured below bloomed for the first time this year, and I'm having trouble identifying its variety. Any suggestions from my fellow gardener readers? I thought perhaps Festiva Maxima, but it's too small a bloom, and has that pink collar. It starts out with a pink bud, and then opens to a creamy white, with pink tipped eyes. UPDATE: Could it be Chestine Gowdy? After reading our late blogger friend's (Sandra) republished garden post this morning, I think that's it!

In the north landscape bed, my three baptisia plants (false indigo, transplanted last fall), started blooming mid-May. They are smaller than they were in their prior location, but I'm okay with that. They survived transplanting and winter, and they will grow.

Spirea (Neon Flash) is just now starting to bloom. It was transplanted during the grass amendment at the beginning of the May.

Even though my pansies were still thriving, the forecast for next week is several days near 90°, so I already made the switch with my front annuals this week. My containers flanking the garage door are a mix of dracena spike, superbells (calibrachoa), and superbena (verbena hybrid).

The front entry annuals are geranium (calliope crimson flame), vinca mix, and white angelonia.

You can also see one of five of my coral drift roses in bloom in the photo above. That one, particularly, was transplanted last year when I amended the grass line in that bed. They're all doing well.

In the north landscape, I added a few potted zinnias to the bed where I also have coneflower and daylilies. This is the bed where the coneflower in the upper part of the frame died last year and was replaced this year. You can see it is much smaller than the one in the foreground. I was too impatient to wait for the zinnias I'm growing from seed in another bed, so potted zinnias it is for here!

I'll be looking forward to June blooms in the garden, and sharing those with you. Mr. P. already wants me to thin out the daylilies in the bed above. He likes the statue to be better seen.

Oh, and did I mention I'm waiting on a family of mourning doves' lease to run out? I discovered a couple of false starts of nests, plus the real deal in my gutters on May 6. As of yesterday, that daddy (I read he sits during the day while I suppose mama grocery shops) they were still there, no babies. I read they typically incubate two weeks, fledge two weeks after hatching, and often return in subsequent years to the same place. I am watching and waiting. There will be no lease renewal if I can prevent it.

Thank you for taking time from your day to stroll my garden and read of my updates. It's been a busy May!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Rita C. at Panoply

A special thank you to Suzanne of Pieced Pastimes: Saturday Sparks Link Party No. 567 for featuring this post!

Parties I Share With: Pieced Pastimes, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, A Stroll Thru Life, My Wee Abode, My Family Thyme, French Ethereal SYS, Eclectic Red Barn TFT, Southern Sunflowers Home Matters, Grace at Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, Our Hopeful Home, Karin's Kottage, County Road 407 Farmhouse Friday