The weather has been overcast today but it's still in the 60s. We are supposed to get some rain tonight and tomorrow. That will be good for the garden unless it thunderstorms.

This evening, Ken and I spent an hour gardening. We transplanted 6 mums from bed in the back of the house to the two small beds in the backyard.

I planted more Cherry Belle radishes. I also planted Royal Chantenay carrots. I bought the carrot seeds last year but never used them. The package describes them as having tapered 6 to 7 inch roots. It also says that they are the best variety for heavy soils but I planted them in composted soil so that shouldn't be a problem. They sprout in 7 to 21 days and mature in 70 days. I should be eating freshly picked carrots on July 15!

The three Lemon Boy and the two Jubilee tomato seeds that I planted sprouted. I repotted them and placed them close to the grow lights. I'm hoping that their leaves don't turn yellow like the tomatoes that I've been growing. I'm going to be careful not to water them too much.

The petunias that I have been growing under the lights look beautiful. Their foliage is compact but very green and they are flowering.

The wonderful weather just keeps on coming. Today it is in the 70s and sunny. What a wonderful spring we have had so far this year. The weeping cherry tree is in bloom. It looks so much nicer now that it has been pruned. I hope that a storm doesn't come too soon and blow off the flowers!

I gave away three large bags of daylillies today to two of my coworkers. They are both very excited to get them. One of them told me that her hostas, ferns and lily of the valleys have all been given to her by family. It can be very expensive to garden. For example, I just saw small pots of daylillies selling for $3.99.

Ken filled two more containers with composted soil. I will plant radishes in one of them and carrots in the other.

This photograph show the last of the daffodils (Salome). However, the tulips still look beautiful. Some years the weather gets unexpectedly hot and they lose their flowers quickly but this year the weather has been mild.

Perfect gardening weather--in the high 60s and sunny. Yesterday, we were able to get a lot of work done in two hours.

• Ken dug up some of the mums in the bed behind the house. I split them into six plants and planted them in the large bed. I found a tag buried next to one of them. It identified the mum as being Prophets by Yoder "Beth." It has a purplish-pink flower and blooms in late summer/fall. I have had this plant for many years and it always comes back. I may have purchased it at Home Depot as a $1.97 special.
• I also transplanted the three Alberta mums (see picture in the March 13 post) in the large bed. I placed the gazing ball post (I need to buy a new ball) and placed the mums around the base.
• Ken bought a Asao clematis and planted it on the other side of the trellis. This clematis is described as having rosy pink flowers. I looked it up on Plant Files and other growers loved the how profusely it flowered. It should look great with the deep purplish-blue flowers of the Jackmanii clematis.
• I bought a new bird feeder so now the birds have two to eat from. In addition, I purchased fresh oil sunflower seeds. I decided not to put out thistle (black niger) right now because the finches haven't been eating it.
• We bought a new bird bath and a new basin for the other bird bath. We placed the new one in the butterfly bush/rose bed where I dug out the middle carpet rose. The birds were using this bird bath minutes after it was filled with fresh water. (I saw a woodpecker, nuthatches, chickadees, gold finches, house finches and a variety of other birds within a short period of time yesterday.)
• Ken planted a second Gold Coast Juniper in the back under the forsythia. Now the one that he had transplanted from the front yard shouldn't look out of place.
• We put cedar chips around the hostas in both hosta beds in the back yard. I can't wait until they fully leaf out. The contrast between the green coloration and the golden color of the mulch should be spectacular. It already looks nice even though the hostas have only begun to emerge.

There still are tons of jobs to do but I am very pleased with our progress.

A beautiful spring day! Not too hot and not too cold. The cool weather plants are really growing quickly like the violas in the pots. And all of the perennials are getting huge. The warm temperatures and lots of rain this week have have worked their magic.


Ken mowed the front yard and part of the back yard again yesterday. I couldn't believe how fast the grass had grown in just one week. I noticed that there are some clover plants growing in the front yard but that doesn't bother me. However, Ken is talking about hiring a professional to come out and resod the strip next to the street. He has given up on trying to do something with the lawn there. On the otherhand, I don't see any reason to even have grass there. I would like to plant that area with something else but I'm not sure what. I have seen some yards in Livonia that have this area planted with shrubs and flowers.







These views show areas of the large bed in the back yard. I haven't purchased cocoa mulch yet but I will do so soon. It will really brighten up the flower beds and it makes the ground look so much better. I also noticed that I am not getting as many weeds in the large bed this year. I think that the pathways that Ken put around the bed last summer is helping to keep the weeds in check.



The mosquito sculpture in the large bed.



Daylilies, violas and salvia.


The red and yellow tulips in the front yard look beautiful. The weather has been in the 50s this week so they are keeping their blooms. I want to plant the petunias that I grew from seed in this bed soon. I am trying to wait until the night time temperatures are above 40. The newspaper said that by the middle of next week this should happen.





Ken and I spent 1 1/2 hours working on the beds this evening. We had to dig out more of the Obedient Plant from the small bed and the large bed. I hate this plant!! We also transplanted two salvias (one of them we divided into thirds) and two daylillies (one of them we divided in half) to the small bed on the left. We cut back the butterfly bushes to about six inches above the ground. One of the shrubs is getting foliage but I haven't seen any on the other one. I also did some weeding. In addition, I filled up four pots with dirt and put them in the small bed on the right along with the geranium sculpture. These additions really helped to fill out this bed.