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The Impatient Gardener

Garden, Garden design, Plants

What I did in the garden this weekend

May 21, 2018

Mayapples and daffodils

It’s the time of year when big changes happen quickly in the garden and it’s easy for me to forget about them. So I thought I’d do a weekend wrap-up post to just show you what I got up to. Most of these are tiny bits of bigger projects but if I wait until the big picture develops, I’ll probably forget these little moments.

Ostrich ferns

The ostrich ferns in the woods are beginning to unfurl. They’ll be 6 feet tall in a couple weeks.

Much of the weekend was spent fetching some of the wood for the new raised bed vegetable garden. Most of the wood is being delivered, but it was much less expensive to buy the cedar for the bottom course of each bed elsewhere, so we borrowed a truck and spent what seemed like forever getting 30 4x4s. Why does everything take so long?

The plants haven’t been growing much, but the weeds certainly have been, so I spent a few hours chipping away at the weeding. There’s lots more to do, but I can only do what I can do so this falling under the “ongoing project” category. 

Full greenhouse

The greenhouse is at max capacity. Most of these are things I grew from seed (I reuse containers) and a few are annuals I’ve been picking up for containers.

I have a greenhouse full of plants and it’s likely to stay that way for some time. Obviously vegetables and herbs won’t be coming out until the new garden is ready. I’m not foolish enough to make any predictions on when that will be. There’s so much to be done. And it’s really too cold for annuals to be planted out here yet. Frost is not an issue anymore, but annuals do not like to sulk in cold temperatures and I believe they’ll perform better in the long run if they don’t spend a week or more shivering out in the cold. 

Hydrangea Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha

I did get two things planted, although I had planned to do much more. The first was Hydrangea serrata Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha. This was one of best new plants I saw at California Spring Trials so I was excited to receive a small sample plant from Proven Winners. Unfortunately in my haste to get some things checked off the to-do list I forgot to add some aluminum sulfate when I planted it, so I’ll have to go back and do that in an attempt to keep the blooms blue.

Shredded umbrella plant

I also planted Syneilesis aconitifolia, aka shredded umbrella plant in a position at the front of the shade garden where I can enjoy it. I’m very excited about this plant so I hope it does well here. 

Laying out the vegetable garden

We spent a lot of time laying out the vegetable garden with baker’s string (not the preferred string of choice but what we had in the house), stakes and spray paint.

But most of the daylight hours of the weekend were spent laying out the vegetable garden. The area has been leveled, so we headed out with stakes, string (um, baker’s twine actually, because it was all we had) and spray paint, to lay out all the beds. The design is very symmetrical so I wanted to be precise with the layout. Anything askew would be very noticeable. It’s not in my nature to spend so much time on the planning portions of a project, but I’ve learned that I regret it when I rush things. It took us several hours to get everything laid out, but it was a worthwhile exercise. And it seems a little more real now, so it was a much needed shot of enthusiasm for a project that I really just want to have finished. The next step is to lay the first course of each bed and I expect that will be a bit time consuming but the hope is that we can move pretty quickly after that.

Mayapples and daffodils

I love the Mayapples. I didn’t plant these and I do nothing to foster them, but they bring me immeasurable pleasure. The greenhouse is in the distance.

As usual, it was a weekend with not nearly enough time in the garden. Summer calls for longer weekends. 

Did you work in your garden this weekend?

garden design hydrangea shredded umbrella plant tuff stuff veggie garden weekend
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
8 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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Comments

  1. Sarah says: May 21, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    Love mayapples! Not sure if you are familiar with this blog but the last paragraph was news to me until I read it.
    http://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2015/5/21/mayapple

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: May 21, 2018 at 3:36 pm

      News to me too!

      Reply
  2. Lady Locust says: May 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Doesn’t it feel great to be out in the garden regardless of how much you get accomplished? Your garden bed plot is coming together – can sure understand why you’re anxious.

    Reply
  3. Cortney D says: May 21, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    I’m paying for the neglect due to last year’s big project. So. Much. Weeding. But the weather has been lovely up here so I can’t complain too much! Seeing the new Veg Garden layout is so exciting, I can’t wait to see how it progresses!

    Reply
  4. Leslie says: May 22, 2018 at 6:27 am

    I honestly don’t mind weeding too much. Except for the grasses that get into my perennial beds. How do you guys tame them?

    Reply
  5. Linda from Each Little World says: May 22, 2018 at 9:47 am

    Spent Saturday getting ready for dinner guests and then it rained Sunday and Monday. Things are growing like crazy, esp. invasive weeds. We are hiring help to take out a bunch of dead stuff like bamboo and to set some concrete pavers to stabilize our lanterns. Hoping it gives me time to do the fun stuff. Hope the umbrella plant does well for you. I love it. Last year I divided mine into 3 and all three have come up in different spots around the garden. I hate all that measuring but I am always glad we did all the prep work for projects. Luckily Mark is the one who makes sure we do it right. I would barge in and have later regrets. Gardeners just want to play!

    Reply
  6. Lisa at Greenbow says: May 22, 2018 at 10:43 am

    One word…. Mulch.

    Reply
  7. Kathy M. says: May 22, 2018 at 11:36 am

    Still a very busy time of year for gardening here in North Carolina. Peonies and Iris blooms are gone but the Roses are beautiful this spring and provide bouquets for the house. The Dayliles are starting to bloom and Asiatics are showing some color In there buds and the Rudebeckias
    and Salvias almost opening. It is our thunderstorm weather with heavy downpours every afternoon. Great for weeding but not so good for planting the annuals I have waiting to go in the ground. Gardening is wonderful but so much to do!! Relax and have fun with your gardens.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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I had a rather unpleasant realization last night w I had a rather unpleasant realization last night when I remembered that I’d not yet ordered tomato seeds. And I’m not going to rectify that until I dig into my seed stash, because I don’t go through tomato seeds quickly so there are definitely some lurking down there. 

I never used to grow tomatoes from seed because there are great varieties to be had in garden centers (including many heirloom varieties). But it’s almost non-negotiable for me now that I’m a convert to dwarf tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with the #dwarftomatoproject championed by @nctomatoman and others, these are heirloom varieties that are crossed with dwarf varieties to create plant that produces all the flavor and interest of an heirloom in a short (usually less than 4 feet) plant. 

They are particularly great in my tall raised beds. Of course I leave room to try new non-dwarf varieties every year (I loved Sun Dipper from @panamseed last year and I’ll grow it again).

Last year was a good tomato year and the photo shows some of the varieties I harvested in one day. I hope this summer will be equally good for the tomato harvest. 

One of my favorite questions to ask gardeners is: What is your favorite tomato variety to grow? So have at it in the comments because inquiring minds want to know!
And this is why I leave my winter containers assem And this is why I leave my winter containers assembled until at least March. A dusting of snow gives them a whole new look (even if it’s shades of gray). Also, I think I love my Limelight hydrangea even more in winter. Fabulous winter interest!
I’m going to look for opportunities to add more I’m going to look for opportunities to add more ferns to my garden this year. They are such interesting plants and often real problem solvers, bringing texture and color to places that many plants aren’t interested in. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ grows well for me in part shade (even pushing a bit into part sun) and looks great next to Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled o Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled on) foliage, and texture galore. I can’t wait to have moments like this again. The star, by the way is Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ which looks so good with the bold foliage of Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ next to it. 

With the new path, this area will be getting a small revamp. It’s the next spot I’ll be focusing my planning on.
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