Fertilizer Friday - March 25, 2011

Today was a gorgeous, very warm day. The plants are basking in the two weeks we've had of warm weather, despite the still cold mornings and yo-yoing temperature changes of 15-25 degree from day to day. Moving around the garden beds I was surprised to see several things that weren't there two days ago. For example, three irises had buds on them in the back garden and three in the front garden bed. It seems awfully early for the irises to be blooming. I could have sworn them don't start blooming until the end of April.

A new variety of daffodils, my favorite little ones, have finally started blooming too. Aren't they sweet?

The first of the perennial salvias had its first bloom too.

The salvia stalks are popping up all over. Can't wait for the purple blooms to start waving in the wind.

Since the weather was so nice I decided to tackle another garden task - dividing up the congested side bed. There are two beds in the back gardens that seem to do well for growing beds. Plants grow and spread in these two spot more so than any of the other beds and the last two years I've transplanted plants from here to other spots in the garden. Last year I planted two catnip plants in the side bed for my brats. They were thrilled with the fresh mint all summer long. Apparently the catnip was happy too because it's gone wild in the bed and is crowding out the scabiosas, daylilies, salvias, other plants in that small bed.

I finally dug up two-thirds of the catnip and put them into pots to be shared with friends with felines. Don't you just love plants that you can share with others? It's a great deal when you consider that a small container of the stuff costs around $3 each, making one of the long planters below worth probably $15 worth of catnip.

The salvias also had a good time in the bed. Last year I planted 4 salvias in this bed. This one spot had six of them - a momma plant and five babies. I dug several up and placed them around the garden so that they may grow and prosper. Not a bad deal for a $3 plant! Also transplanted four scabiosa plants into other beds too.

I should have taken a picture of the bed before it was all dug up and plants move so you could see how overstuffed it was but the sun was so bright today I wouldn't have been able to get a good shot. It is a hassle not having any shade in the yard. Anyway, everything in the bed below came back from last year.  

Still need to transplant four of the oversized daylilies. They're huge! Can't wait until they bloom so I can see which ones they are. This is the problem with having a cottage-style garden and moving plants around all the time. You forget what's what until it blooms. Notice the large hollyhock in the lower right bottom? Seeds blew across the yard the year before and took root around the edge of the patio. There are four of these growing around the patio edges and I haven't the heart to rip them out. They are so happy there. And who doesn't love a happy plant that showers you with beautiful flowers?

Visit Tootsie Time to see who else is participating in "Fertilizer Friday" and showing off what's blooming in their gardens.