Mrs. Blossom's Garden

PLANT SALE SUNDAY

May 2, 9am-1pm. 219 Hersey St. Hingham  Lots of lush perennials.  All blooming size.  All fairly priced and all grown in and dug from my garden!!  This will be my 20th sale and it seems I have quite a few choice shade plants this year in addition to peonies, phlox, coreopsis, etc etc etc.  Hope to see you and bring a carrier, please!!

PLANT SALE UP DATE

Last lecture today in Westboro (4/28) on dahlias. Nice group.  Glad to be done for the year although Speaker's Bureau is tomorrow.  Spent $125 on 4 roses, 1 Tiarella at Russell's - 3 Julia Child yellow Floribundas and 1 smoky copper one (forgotten the name).  At Mahoney's spent $12.99 on one Tiarella.  I really BETTER sell out on Sunday!!!!!!

Have decided to make free form bed mixed with trees, shrubs, roses and perennials. Soft yellow, white, frothy and maybe an accent of bluey/purple. That's the plan for today  --tee hee.

Plant Sale Progresses

Fri. Apr. 23.  Spell of cloudy, cool, rainy weather. Perfect for the plants!!!  Been busy digging, labeling and pricing.  One more weekend should do it. Matt been good helping and I must reward him monetarily!!  I hope to make at least $700-$800 on plant sale. Put ad in Journal & Ledger and on-line to the tune of $100. Also put up signs at Hennessey's and Hannifords and of course out front.

Not sure how well I've been keeping track of expenitures - bought Forest Pansy for $199.00, some perennials, etc.  but will try and catch up when I have the slips

Have been working in garden #1 to get rid of the big overgrown stuff, potting some, moving some to #3 just in case want for cutting.  You know if I got rid of the idea of cutting flowers, it would really change my garden and I AM ON MY WAY TO THAT but I still LOVE MAKING THE BOUQUETS - STILL LOVE IT after 20 YEARS.  WHAT ELSE IN MY LIFE HAS HAD SUCH CONTINUITY???????????????? (Jen & Den)

Front bed mid April  

Flowering quince after severe pruning last year. Looks like it liked it!!

A Perfect Sunday in April

Not sure why that poet said April is the cruelest month - capricious, yes. Too beautiful to be cruel. Today's light is just lovely - everything is budding out.  I feel like all my old friends are back.  Matt here to help this morning. He really is a great kid!  Paid him $120 for 6 hrs so far.  Also bought six 6 packs of frilly pansies yesterday in Cohasset. $18.  Think I've decided to put a redbud at the left entry to garden #1.  And perhaps a gazebo - we'll see how much that would be.  Matt planted the 3 white PJM rhodys and they look really good.  He also cut back the andromeda - looks better but might have to go.  Possibly a trellis to the left of the kitchen window for a climbing hydrangea rather than trying to fit a plant into that tight no sun whatsoever corner.

APRIL SHOWERS (Fri. 4/9/10

 Cool rainy day - quite a contrast to Wed.!!  Purchased three lovely PJM type rhodendrons at Bloomin' Place in Pembroke - $26.99 each.  Called April Snow.  I plan to put them under kitchen window. So when the clean up crew is a little overzealous, I get to cut these beauties for the house!  All it takes is a warm day or two for the climbing hydrangea to really burst into leaf.  Wonder if this will ever bloom ( it's been there at least 8-9 yrs)  

Path bed which is always pretty easy to make look good. Oh, another purchase $7.99 for the little green glass globe.

Just trying to keep track

Wed. Apr. 7th, wow, SO warm. I think about 85. Worked in garden # 1 clearing debris, trying to see what's there and decided on what to pot and what to move and what to just ELIMINATE!!  Used my many tools and devices, scratcher, fork, hand rake, weed bag, cart, etc. etc.   Limed the two round beds - don't know if enough but the moss is taking over - poor soil, wickedly acidic??  Worked about 5 hrs. Got sunburned, took shower, rested. trying to LEARN how to PACE MYSELF!1 

What's in bloom: scilla in lawn, pink trumpet jonquils in free form, saucer magnolia almost out.

TO POT:  Money plant, spring phlox (Dames Rocket - hesperis), a few feverfew.  So much more. Supposed to be cooler tomorrow - let's hope.  I have to go for an MRI and then home to pot up stuff as it's supposed to be cooler and rain forecast for Friday.

ONWARD AND UPWARD.  Wish Matt would show up or those Walcott peeps call. Oh well.

Plant/Seed/Supplies/Garden/Expenses 2010

I'd really like to get a tally on purchases for the garden this year.  So far - in round figures - I have purchased

$300 in seeds

$20 in potting soil

$89.34 BLUESTONE

Easy to Grown Bulbs - $14.95 - Geranium mix (6 plants)

$20 in Coast of Maine potting soil (Blooming Place Norwell) (with coupon)

$3/ Pansies (Blooming Place, Norwell) (with coupon)

$60/dahlias from Swan Lake (all apricot, orange, peach colors - ordered late 4/6)

$12 for 3 Arabis at Lowe's

Spring has Sprung - 2010

First flowers of spring - and always so welcome!!  Took this pic about March 18th.  Today is April 6th, cloudy, showers.  Jonquils out, flowering tree in garden 1 right corner, star magnolia, helebores

Oh, note to self: move purple hellebores to where they can be better seen

Torrential rain throughout most of March, 2010.  Historic highs - 14" rain in Boston area - at least 6" in my cellar - oh woe - water in the cellar. Thank heavens for the HPD and Peter Wilson.  Still not dry (as of 4/6) but better.

Long list of clean-up. Matt C back on board and am thinking of using Walcott Landscaping for a major clean-up and the lawn. Seem pretty reasonable and he's doing several of the neighbors.

Plant sale schedule tentatively for May 8th - day before Mother's Day - hopefully Jen will help and Matt & I can get everything all dug and potted.  A major re-do is in order. Much plant moving must happen.  Trying to re-think garden #1 which seems to be very mossy - probably way too acidic.  May go to Pettengil Farm and try and have her do a new design.  Free form also needs a re-do. Oh, hell what doesn't including me!!

See starting has commenced - already have done some potting on.  Found great on line source for poppy seeds and sent for quite a few - some I started in the cellar some I will direct seed.