Third straight day of cold rainy weather

So, since the ground is saturated with rain I took the opportunity to quickly plant up some new shrubs & perennials. I planted up Pieris japonica "Purity", Erica darleyenis "Mediterranean Pink" and Rododendron "Aglo" along with Lithodora "Grace Ward".

Lithodora "Grace Ward" - perennial, 6 or more hours of sun, hardiness -10, 6-12" tall x 12" wide, mounded

Erica x darleyensis "Mediterranean Pink" - blooms Dec-May, Bushy, 12-18" tall, 12-30" wide, sun to part shade, likes acidic soil, zone 4, -30 to -20

Pieris japonica "Purity" - part sun, 4' high by 4 ' wide, -30 to -20, blooms white in spring

Rhododendron "Aglo" - part shade, 5' by 5', -20 to -10, blooms pink in spring, likes acidic soil

I also moved a bunch of the seedlings from the house out into the cold frame. I have a nasty infestation of fungus gnats, so last night I watered them with a watering can of mosquito dunk infused water to help kill the larva. We'll see if that works. I did a bunch of research on the internet and other than practically starving the plants to death by letting the soil get super dry the mosquito dunk tip seems to be the most agreed upon. Such annoying little things!

Getting the back yard ready for Summer!

Last week I started the dreadful task of ripping out the sod to make way for my vegetable garden. I'm planning at 16x6 foot raised bed garden along the slope of the north side of the yard. I have removed a little over 1/2 of the sod, but then cold weather and rain came and derailed my project. I'm hoping that I can can finish this up with week so that we can go buy the lumber to build the frame of the bed next week.

We also finished building a cold frame for the south side of the house (where I used to have my pathetically tiny vegetable garden last year). I found a great window on clearance at Menards for less than $30 that opens and has a screen for ventilation. I picked up some 12x2 lumber to build up the frame. A quick project for around $50. right now I have some rosemary and lavender out in it since it's still a little too cold at night to plant them out.

And the biggest addition to the back yard in preparation for summer is the covered gazebo that we purchased from Target last week. It's going to give up a nice shady place to sit in the summer and a reason to entertain. We not only purchased the gazebo, but also an outdoor chandelier so we can sit out there at night.

So far we have only got the first part of the frame up. We need to go buy concrete screws so we can anchor it into the cement patio. Once that is done we can put the top tier of the frame on and the canopy and curtains. I can't wait!

Snow coming today...

So here we are in the first week of April and we've got yet another round of snow coming. Possibly 3 inches. In preparation I spread 8 bags of much today around all the various beds outside to help protect the emerging perennials. There are a lot of things coming back to life out in the yard!

I'm thrilled to see that the bleeding hearts along the garage came back (they're in a very shady, wet spot all winter and I feared they would die from root rot this winter). The Monkshood has emerged, lilies have reared their heads, mums are getting their first leaves, the oregano and thyme are coming back to life. The pinks are looking really healthy as well as the Shasta daisies.

I'm rooting a new bunch of curly willow. Not quite sure where I might plant them...either in the cedar planters or down in the wet area of the garden.

This week I also seeded up some Black Beauty eggplant, Borage and George's Favorite Blend Broccoli. 1/2 of the snake gourds have sprouted...and man, are they huge! The hyacinth beans are already on their 3rd set of true leaves.

I picked up some anemone and crocosmia bulbs at Pesche's...though they are not quite ready to be planted out. Perhaps in 2 weeks. I was kinda surprised at what little selection of bulbs they have there. I think I got spoiled with the selection of seeds and bulbs at Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago.

I have to do a client delivery up north (Grayslake area) this week so I plan on stopping in at a few garden centers/nurseries up there to see what they have. I want to pick up some false indigo this year. I saw it in bloom at the Chicago Flower and Garden show and just love it.