I can't believe what great weather we have had so far this spring. Today was in the high 60s and sunny. I also heard that this summer may not be excrutiatingly hot like it was two years ago.

Every day something new and exciting happens in the garden. Today, I noticed that the radishes that I planted had sprouted. They are very close and will need to be thinned. Also, the Nana coreopsis has big buds and should be flowering soon. The lilac bushes are blooming. Not only do they look beautiful but they smell heavenly. One of the Rococco pansies that I grew from seed is finally flowering. I started off with 27 of them and ended up with 11! Most of them died because I didn't give them enough time to harden off before planting them outside. I didn't think that it was going to be a problem since they are cold hardy but I must have overestimated their tolerance levels.

I had another pleasant surprise when I got home--Ken cleaned out the bed behind the house and edged it. Now the rocks that border this bed really stand out. I am going to plant the six pink Wave petunias and the six Salmon Flambe petunias that I started from seed in it when the night time temperatures become warmer. I have been hardening these plants off so I shouldn't have the same problem with them as I had with the Rococco pansies. In fact, the Salmon Flambe petunias that I have already planted in pots outdoors are beginning to flower.

Last week, the tomato seeds that I sowed on Monday, April 20 started to sprout. I had almost given up on them but now there are two Celebrity, three Lemon Boy and two Jubilee plants that are growing. I have been careful not to overwater them and have been keeping them just below the lights. I don't want them to get yellowed leaves like the earlier tomatoes. However, these plants have begun to green up since I have been putting them outside in the sun during the day.

The weather today was cool and in the high 50s. We had a brief shower in the late afternoon but it didn't wet the ground thoroughly so we still had to hand water some of the pots.




This morning we went back to Panettas to buy four more bags of cocoa mulch, and a bag each of Rose-Tone and Garden-Tone. While we were there, we noticed that they had five pound bags of seed potatoes so next year we can get them there. The potatoes are already sending up leaves in the containers.




I put cocoa mulch in two of the beds, the front side bed and the small right bed in the back yard. The mulch adds a finishing touch to the look as well as keeping weeds out. I'll start adding mulch to other beds as I finish planting them. Parts of the large bed in the back yard are ready to be mulched but I still have to plant annuals in other sections so I'll keep those areas bare for now.


I also was able to plant three rows of Stuttgarter yellow onions. I didn't use all of them though because I wan't to plant another row in a few weeks. Some of these onions will be used as green onions (6 to 8 weeks) and the others will be allowed to mature to a larger size.

It was very windy today with temperatures in the 60s. The weather ranged from being sunny to overcast with light showers. I took this picture of the bird sculpture that is in the middle of the large bed in the backyard in the morning but I wasn't able to do any serious work until the late afternoon. This picture shows the coral bells with flower buds.

This evening, I was able to do some work in the front yard. I dug out the tulips in the front brick bed. I haven't decided what I want to plant there yet. I would love to put orange impatiens in that spot but it is too sunny. However, I did plant impatiens in that area several years ago and they were beautiful so I guess you never know what will happen. If I could find orange wave petunias then I would definitely use them. Last year, I used wave petunias in this spot and they worked out very well.

I also cleaned up the front side brick bed and added cocoa mulch. Even though I had cleared out the grape hyacinths earlier in the spring, there were some that germinated and even flowered. I pulled them out and hope that I don't have any others come back.

Ken and I dug up one of the butterfly bushes that did not make it through the winter and replaced it with another. I put in Black Knight (Buddleia davidii). The tag describes it as having profuse, fragrant flowers in dense clusters that bloom from July to September. It also says to cut it back hard in the spring. I also had to do some heavy duty weeding in this bed.

The potatoes are sprouting.

The beautiful spring weather continues! Yesterday, there was a light rain but today is sunny and warm. The Weeping Cherry tree is in full bloom and smells very fragrant.

We visited four nurserys in the area today. I purchased a butterfly bush (to replace one that did not survive the winter), a bleeding heart and four bags of cocoa mulch at Panetta's Nursery. I discovered this store several years ago and now we give it a lot of our business. They are small enough to be knowledgeable about their stock but large enough to carry a good selection of plants and landscape materials. We were able to buy four bags of cocoa mulch on sale for $17.99. Wednesday, I saw it at another store for $9.99 a bag. We'll be going back several times to get more.

I also purchased six Wave petunias at a nursery in Canton. I received a coupon advertising these petunias for 99 cents each (regularly $3.99). They have run this special for several years and I have taken advantage of it. In the past, I have purchased perennials and annuals from them. There was a wonderful article on local nurseries in a recent issue of Dave's Garden e-newsletter.

One of the reasons that we went to so many nurseries today is that Ken wanted to look at ground covers. I told him about my idea of using ground covers in the strip next to the road and he was interested in the idea. He did some research but wanted to see what the actual plants looked like as well finding out how much they cost. We were able to find some ajuga and myrtle but both were very expensive. A flat of myrtle was $49.99 and the ajuga was $3.99 per potted plant. He decided not to buy any. Instead, Ken decided to weed the area thoroughly, put compost down and then overseed. He was able to get 1/3 of the strip done this evening. He'll work on the rest of it during the next few days. I think that this is a cost effective solution to the problem.

I was able to get some work done this afternoon. I planted the Bleeding Heart, repotted some of the tomatoes, planted a Flambe Salmon petunia in each of the three pots growing around the flower pole in the large back bed, and planted a Salmon Velvet petunia in a pot that I will put in the bed behind the house.

Updates on the garden include:

• The coral bells are sending up flower stalks.
  

• The columbines are budding.


• The pinks are getting ready to flower.


• The lilacs have buds and a few are beginning to bloom. Its fragrance in permeating the air.
  

• The sweet peas are popping out of the ground.


• The hostas have started to unfurl their leaves and are getting larger every day.


• Dug out more Obedient Plant from the large back bed! I HATE THIS PLANT.
  

We saw the first Baltimore oriole (male) of the year today. It was a male and I think that it was tryin to gather material for its nest. The gold finches have started to feed out of the new feeder. Ken said that next time that he fills it with seed, he will mix the black niger seed with the sunflower seed.