Recent spring things

This time last year was a sorry state of affairs in the garden, if you can call it a garden–because even though there were a handful of lovely flowering shrubs/small trees, it was essentially weeds, invasives and overgrown everything else.

It’s a bit different now, though, and I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it is to see the fruits of our labors from last year as we watch the garden wake up this spring: roses leafing out, daffodils popping up, perennials re-emerging, annuals germinating.

There is a tremendous amount of work yet to be done this spring, but hey at least this time around we’re not trying to kill a giant patch of Japanese Knotweed and cut back house-sized rhododendrons. And we have a path to the front door, not a muddy slip-n-slide! Things are looking up. 😉

The new retaining wall got a coat of stain last week. Here is ‘cl. Old Blush’ from a rooted cutting last summer now planted against the wall and the first of our roses to have buds!

Jesse and I are running around fixing things up outside to prep for the painters coming next week (!!) which included spreading more gravel and staining the new retaining wall in the back of the house as well as prepping the shed for paint.

Some of the poplars got lifted to allow for more sunlight. Can you spot the male Cardinal?

Beginning the arduous task of removing the invasives like the multiflora roses.

The arborists who worked with us last year came back last week and lifted the branches on some massive poplars and removed some more scrub trees to give us more sunlight and we also started clearing out the multiflora roses and other brush that are overtaking one side of the yard. (The brush cleanout is going to be a several-year process, to be sure. It’s horrendous.)

Last week a bunch of plant deliveries arrived: 72 Buxus sempervirens ‘Vardar Valley’ went into the ground adding that much needed outline to the dovecote bed. A David Austin ‘The Albrighton Rambler’ (really looking forward to this one), some lilies and strawberry plants also got planted out.

The sweetpeas were planted and trellised in the new planter box, some “banded” roses went into larger containers and some that I had rooted from last year went into the ground. We got a delivery of Black Kow composted cow manure and used it with all our plantings as well as top-dressing some of the beds.

We had a greenhouse disaster (aka a huge gust of wind) and I lost a bunch of Delphinium and Scabiosa seedlings but what I could salvage went into the garden. I think I also see some poppies coming up from the seeds that I scattered last winter. Crossing fingers for those since these beds were not really that prepped for them.

My tiny Clematis ‘Huldine’ that I rooted from a cutting taken from the old house wintered over and is putting out new growth. Poor Jesse, I went on for like 20 minutes about the “magic of plants” after I saw these new leaves. Should I do a post on propagating Clematis? I feel like it’s all over the interwebs already but it really is quite fun.

The warm weather really woke up the roses. In the course of just a few days they went from this…

…to this.

‘Confetti Cake’

How gorgeous is this Hellebore? We put it in last autumn and it was a joy to see the first flower this spring, especially because I never got to see the Hellebores I planted at the old garden bloom!

Speaking of blooms, this Camellia started last December and hasn’t stopped. It has a wonderful scent, too. Whenever I see it I think, somebody pinch me. Finally, no more crazy cold winters. Ahhh!

So tell me what’s new in your garden? I know it isn’t technically spring yet, but with these warmer than average temps, have your plants been waking up, too?