
A view of the potager in spring.
What a spring! March and April were exciting, and May seems to be following their lead. I spend every waking moment in the garden planting, cutting back and weeding.
Oy! The weeding is a constant battle this year. In the last two days, we’ve finally hit normal highs. I’m excited to see the upper 80s. Yet another cold front came through last week, and it was very cool before Mother’s Day. With each storm, I’ve received some rain. I’m hoping for more tonight because I planted a lot of tropical plants this morning. I’ve also been writing, having Siri take notes for me as I sit in carpool line. Siri is a good secretary, and she’s helping me remember some of the information I want to include in the book. I think of things I want to share as I plant. I grab my cellphone and then dictate them into my Notes on my phone which is then synced with the computer. Nifty ‘eh?
I haven’t mentioned the book? Oh . . . I’m writing a gardening book targeted at newer gardeners, especially younger ones. It’s the book I wished for when I first began gardening. More on that later.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, sponsored by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, but it’s been a very strange day. After many calls trying to find the greenhouse which seemed lost in transit, it arrived in a bright blue cover. Bill, always my hero, got it off of the truck and near where we’ll place it. The whole procedure was quite scary if you want to know the truth.

Bill unloading the greenhouse from the truck. It was touch and go.
While I waited for the greenhouse to come, I planted a Peach Sorbet blueberry shrub in a container and a Raspberry Shortcake raspberry in another one. I bought these at TLC Greenhouse this afternoon. They joined two small blueberries in another pot on the deck. I gave the blueberries some sulphur to acidify the soil. If I were all scientific, I would tell you I measured the sulphur before mixing some with the soil. No, I “guestimated” it. Kind of my normal way of doing things. It’s a large pot. It’ll be fine.

A lot is going on in this container. Red petunias, a dark coleus, red trailing verbena and peachy pink calibrochoa. I added ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra.
I was inspired last week by some red petunias I found at Wal-Mart of all places. They were in these little containers with a calibrochoa and red, trailing verbena. To fill in the pot, I added Silver Falls dichondra and a large sun coleus. I don’t know which variety of coleus it is. At another local nursery, Precure, it had no tag, and the lady working there didn’t know its name. Who cares what you’re called when you’re this beautiful? I also painted the vintage iron chairs red. I talked to my daughter, Megan, about painting the chaise longue purple like the chairs will be in the lower garden, but she just whispered, “Red Hat Ladies” when I mentioned it. I think I’ll paint it cream instead. Another project for another day.
In the lower garden, bloom time is completely off. Most roses aren’t yet blooming because they were hit by that late freeze. Normally, they are all in bloom by Mother’s Day. Instead, the peonies are taking center stage for May. They look great. Of the roses, ‘Cl. Old Blush,’ ‘Darcey Bussell’ and regular ‘Old Blush are blooming. Up on the deck ‘Therese Bugnet’ is covered in pink, probably because she’s a tough Rugosa, and the deck is warmer. The rest are poised to go. The clematis have never been better. Oklahoma isn’t an easy place to grow clematis, but you’d never know that this year.

One of the many clematis in my garden. I can’t remember the name, but it’s an easier one to grow. I’ve trained it on poly-coated chicken wire to get it to climb.
So, I hear raindrops on my roof again. The garden is responding to all of this rain by becoming ever more beautiful. The yarrows are blooming along with some snapdragons I planted early in March. A few iris have also unfurled. It’s a weird and wonderful spring. I smell dianthus on the wind. My greenhouse is here, and I am overjoyed. Happy Bloom Day my friends.

Yarrow with snapdragons. This yarrow is one of the many cultivars now available.






