Happy May Day

April is done, May has begun - why is time in such a hurry??

I'd like to savor this long-awaited-for season now that it's finally here!

This is one of the prettiest tulips yet this year - very rich rosy red color.My new yellow hyacinth - "Haarlem" - very pretty with the dark purply-blue of "Delft Blue" - but not quite as full or as scented. Still very nice though.

An old tulip on the lake side of the fence - only one ever comes up each year - but pretty stunning! This is what greeted me this morning - something is lopping the heads off my tulips and leaving them lay. What a bummer!

This is one of my new tulips - thinking it's "Fancy Frills."

I love the fringed tulips - so fun.

Another view of that tulip.

And some gorgeous pinks - "Barcelona" maybe? - by the porch.

Had French class this morning. Found out it's Labor Day - a national holiday in France - and also Nadine's birthday!

Joyeux Anniversaire, Nadine!!!

Susan and I were explaining to Nadine the old May Day customs we each grew up with and wondering why they aren't done anymore - at least neither of us knows anyone who does. When I was growing up, we would make May Day baskets every year - usually something very simple like colored paper cupcake liners with pipe cleaner handles. We'd fill them with small pieces of candy and maybe some hand picked violets. I grew up on a farm, so Mom would drive my brother and me around to our friends' farms - we'd run to the door - put the basket by the door - knock - and run as fast as we could back to the car. If we were "caught" we'd get a kiss from our friends. When we'd take baskets to our grandparents and to our parents' friends, I think we always ran pretty slowly knowing that we'd get a kiss and some sweet treat. I don't recall ever making May Day baskets with my sons - maybe because they were boys and not interested in pretty baskets and getting kissed - who knows. But thinking back on it, I wish it were still a custom on May Day - what a sweet and inexpensive way to say "I'm thinking of you".

This afternoon Nadine stopped over to see my blooms - and went home with a trunkful of plants - a small birthday gift from me. Her tulips this morning were beautiful. I just love gardening!

I did have blooms today

When I went out to take photos today, the camera battery was really low. I just managed to get these - most that I took were totally out of focus. So I'll have to try again tomorrow. But there are so many things popping into bloom and looking more beautiful every day, I just couldn't skip sharing today!

The first photo is of Purissima - it will turn totally white as it ages. I've had these tulips forever, and I don't think the clump looks very fresh anymore. I'm not sure if that's because of age or because of the late freezes this spring - or maybe both. But I love all of my tulips - old and new - so I hate to see them not produce as well as they get older.

This is a really pretty clump of coral bells - I'm not sure anymore which it is. I'm thinking it gets white flowers when it blooms. If I would just plant something and let it sit forever in the same place, I would know the names. But I have to keep moving things around from garden to garden, and I just can't keep up with it all!

This is another shot of Toronto - what a great color this is turning out to be. I'm surprised that so many of my early tulips seem to be shades of orangey-red. In the photos I think they kind of all look like the same color. In the garden there are lovely subtle differences in color and leaf and shape.

This is Mount Hood or Thalia - I don't think I'll know for sure until I see the other one blooming. But I'm thinking Thalia is a late bloomer - so good possibility this is Mount Hood. Whatever, I think it's very pretty.

This is a species tulip that just opened today. Tried to get a shot of the clump, because very pretty with 8 or so blooming. But camera did not cooperate. This is a shot of the inside - kind of cool.

This isn't a great shot - but finally got a white anemone to go with my blue ones. They're scattered all over several gardens - and only a few even coming up and blooming. If they increase over the next few years, they'll be great. This year they just look kind of silly!





This is the first lungwort to bloom this year. I love these little guys. The foliage is so cool - and the blooms change from pink to blue or blue to pink. I think they're so fun. Hopefully, sometime while they're blooming I can get a good close-up shot of the flower. (darn camera!) I have several different kinds - and, of course, they've all been moved so many times, I don't know which is which anymore.



Here's my Delft Blue hyacinth. The garden smells so wonderful! This is a really nice hyacinth - full bloom and great color. I can't wait to see the yellow ones (if any of them even show up!).

Here is an older hyacinth - the color is kind of pretty - very bright. But it sure looks skimpy compared to Delft Blue. Still smells good though!

new blooms

Isn't this little blue anemone cute?? I ordered blue and white anemone when we were at the Keukenhof. When they came last fall, I planted them in several places throughout the garden - I think I ordered packs of 25 of each color. Over the winter, I was at the Breck's website and looked at their anemone - zone 6!!!!! Oh-oh. So I wasn't really counting on them making it - but there are several coming up. So fun.







These are the tulips by the side door - the one where I planted 10 bulbs - 10 came up last year. And then this year... well, actually two so twice as good as I was predicting. I didn't get the pansies planted, so they're just hanging by themselves. Kind of cute little blooms - and the foliage is burgundy striped, so that's cool. But next fall I have to remember to get some other bulbs planted here.

Here are my new hyacinths in bloom - I think the yellow must be a little later because all I have so far are the blue. The name was Delft Blue - they smell wonderful, of course, and are very pretty.

This is another species tulip - very, very tiny - the leaves are similar in size to scilla leaves. I think these are adorable. Several up, but only a couple in bloom so far. They take a beating - they're planted along the fence, so whenever the dogs have to check out what the neighbors are doing they run right over these. But I guess they can hold their own! This is the second year for these guys.

And look how much the rhubarb is growing. The temps have been great here - looks like we'll get some rain today and we really could use it. I expect lots of things to just pop - grow several inches - after it rains. We put the lake pump in yesterday, but I'm glad I won't have to use it right away. Lake water is great, but nothing beats real rain.

And I leave you with my pontoon. It's a beater boat - 20 feet long, basic interior. I wanted something the dogs and I could take out when Mark is traveling. Something so they could get out of the sun, and I could easily get back to the dock. This is perfect. Last summer it was used several times for an afternoon with girlfriends, sisters, and neighbors - a day of food and drink, floating on the water, and lots of gabbing. It might not look like much, but it is FUN!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATTI! A day late - but I hope you were camping and horseback riding all weekend, and won't get a chance to check this until tonight anyway!

compost and mulch 101

Another plant blooming! I waited until this evening to take photos, so this isn't as bright and pretty as it was earlier in the day. I think yellow daffodils are so cheery.

By the time I got out there, the tulips were closed up for the night - but I have 5 clumps with several blooms in each clump - so some nice color at last.

I have spent parts of 3 days this week shredding leaves. My ears are ringing from the shredder noise (I wore ear muffs and still they hurt!), and my nose and throat are all congested from the dust (even though I had on a mask). Not my most fun garden job.

Every fall I run around like a crazy woman collecting leaves. I get them from several neighbors and this last year I collected from people who had bags piled by the road for yard waste pickup. I use shredded leaves as mulch on my gardens in the summer instead of buying shredded bark or some other super expensive mulch. I think the leaves are a great additive to the soil, and I like the way they look on the garden. I also put whole leaves over the winter gardens to help protect against freeze/thaw cycles in the spring and to keep the dogs' feet from being totally muddy all winter long.

We filled the bigger bin on the left with shredded leaves last fall. It settled to about half full over the winter, and this week I shredded another 30 or so bags and topped it off again. Way too many leaves!! This spring I filled the smaller bin on the right with stuff I cleaned off the gardens. I'm thinking I should probably shred all of that too, but it is going to have to wait awhile!

I'll start putting the shredded leaves on the gardens when the ground has warmed up, and will probably have to reapply at least twice more during the summer. Any leftover leaves, I'll add to the compost bin.

The smaller bin is my compost bin. I fill it all summer with seaweed we pull from the lake and with grass clippings. So any leaves I can mix in are a plus to the compost. I don't turn my compost. The seaweed and leaves cook fairly fast, so by fall it's partially composted.

In the fall, I mound the compost around the base of my roses and clematis. I also use it to amend the soil where I plant tomatoes. The rest I mound on other established gardens. I also seem to add a garden each year, so I add as much compost as I can to those spaces each fall. I just shovel the compost on and let it sit over the winter, then spread it over the garden space in the spring. Seaweed makes the best compost you can imagine.

I'm trying to find the perfect size for these bins, and then I want to make a nice-looking enclosure for them. I think the neighbors will greatly appreciate that!! Snow fence is great for moving around and trying different sizes and shapes, but not very attractive!

I'll leave you with one of my new hyacinths - I ordered blue and yellow ones when we were at the Keukenhof last year. I can't wait to see them open.