Enjoy every minute of it!
Liz

I planted some flowers this morning - taking a chance on no more snow in nw Pennsylvania. I hate weeding and my back just can't do it anymore so I put my plants in pots. There are some really beautiful pots with holders/ladders and they work for me. We have had a very wet spring here so am hoping the flowers will flourish.
cheryl

Liz: you are right about that! Love to shop for plants!!
I’m using DH’s truck, so I’ll have plenty of room. The
last two years of planting, I’ve been focusing on
planting Perennials, which come back every year and
It is beginning to pay off.

Your potted plants will probably be fine Cheryl. If they have a chance to dry out, they’ll probably recover. I know about the back problems; I wear a soft back brace to support my back. What kind of plants did you plant in your pots??

I always learn something new every time I go out to the garden. I’m trying a ‘soft’ perennial this year, Delphiniums. I read that they are a perennial that lasts 3 seasons only. Even DH commented how he liked the 2 Delphiniums I planted earlier this year and he is NOT a gardener.

Right before DH and I migrated, I cut all my impatiens (annuals) back by half so they all looked like these short green stalks sticking out of the ground. When DH and I go back down for a short while this summer, they should all have lovely flowers on them once again. 😃

I am with you Bermuda. I have been trying to get out and do the weeding to get beds ready for planting, but we have had so much rain I haven't gotten very far. Last Fri. I did almost get the east side of the house done. We had a trellis (just a straight one) with a honeysuckle going up it, but it keep leaning - they weight of the honeysuckle. I like the plant, but the blooms only last a couple of weeks. So I am in the process of taking all of that out. I got two other types of trellis's that I will plant clematis to go up. These trellises kind of look like the Seattle Space Needle - wider at bottom, go up narrowing with a round top the plant can cascade over. Should be nice. That whole side of the house I am getting rid of almost everything and starting fresh with very low maintenance plants. Monday I am going with my nephew and his wife to a nursery they went to last year for landscaping around their new house. Said it is a huge place and prices are so much better than the nurseries around here. Many landscapers go to this place, so we shall see. Good luck with your planting! We will need to see pics when you are done!!!!

Hope your shopping trip was a success! I love Delphiniums, but was told they were hard to grow and haven't tried. Didn't know that about the 3 season life span. Maybe that's where the "hard to grow" came from. Phooey, I'm going to try them maybe next year. This year I vowed not to buy anything and focus on getting what I have under control, like Janet. Rain is also making it hard to get a good start. We're choked with Asian Honeysuckle. Our neighbor owned the nudist camp behind us and he intentionally brought it in to fill in the woods. His plan worked (no butts seen from our side) but also can't see into any of the surrounding woods. Ugh
The flowers I have in pots are sure easier to care for, but the cats love to curl up right on top.

Trying to get at the flowers here as well. We went to 3 garden centres on Sunday to find what I was looking for. We keep it simple...flowering shrubs around the house, baskets (usually) for pops of colour. Last year I paid extra for "premium" baskets that were done by the first of August so not doing that this year. I planted a few urns for on the deck and near the entry way so hopefully they do ok. (I have a black thumb....once managed to kill a spider plant!!) Mary

Bermuda - I planted some snap dragons, petunia's, impatiens and some (darn can't think what the purple ivy is). I also have a peony plant and a rhododendron plant. This is the first full year for those 2. I also put 5 begonia's in around my one water bath for the birds. I love the potted flowers but with Pat just recovering from such a horrendous winter healthwise I decided to cut back so he doesn't have so much to mow around. I don't really have a green thumb but I have a great sister in law that does and when I have a problem I just call on her. Spring is finally here and I am loving it. As I get older the winters just seem to last forever and the spring/summers just fly by.
cheryl

Well...I’m back from buying plants. A 40 -minute trip to a greenhouse which was NOT the hard part of the day. It was lack of getting help at Lowe’s loading the topsoil and manure into the truck. By the time I fit all of it into the truck I was sweating like a pig, then I went back into the store to get some extra items and I thought there were a few people that took a few steps further away from where I was standing. To look at me, it was probably a wise move on their part....my underarm deodorant was failing and I had either topsoil or manure streaks across my lower arms ( one of the topsoil or manure bags broke while putting them into the truck), and my short sleeve shirt had dark areas from sweating....uhhhh.....Oink! Oink! 🐷

I bought two delphiniums for the garden to see if I can be successful growing them. Stay tuned....
One of our trees is a BLACK WALNUT tree which is in a small area of garden and you know what that means! The dreaded JUGALONE that comes from the tree into the soil. For at least 6 years, I couldn’t understand why some of my plants were slowly dying in that part of my flower bed. Then just by chance, I happened upon an article that described about black walnut toxicity and had pictures of the seeds, leaves and hulls. Sure enough that was the reason so in that particular ‘bed’ I plant only Perennials that are resistant to the jugalone.

I love sweatpeas and I am trying (again) to grow a clematis successfully. One of you stitchers stated that you are growing clematis, any advice will be appreciated since the plants are beautiful and I would love to grow them successfully.

Bermuda, I have 2 clematis plants that are by our lamp post (afternoon light). The plants are probably around 20 years old and go crazy every year. I do rig strings that go around the lamp post then out and down to the ground near the plants so they can climb. In the fall I cut them down to a couple of inches above ground and the next spring they come back full and lush. The purple ones are the ones I have had the most luck with. Have tried others, but they were either in the wrong spot or something else killed them off. The ones I plan to do by the trellises will be getting sunlight most of the day, so shall see how they fair. I do like them when they take off - they are so lush and blooms all over the plant that last almost the whole summer.

Cheryl, I would take some of your winter weather. Being in PA I loved 4, I'll say it again 4 whole seasons. This year we skipped winter and just had fall weather. My rosemary bush looking good. Lantana looking good and my succulents are outstanding. When we lived in Roswell NM, people had gravel put in their front yard around cactus. My mom, bless her heart, had a sprinkling system put in and battled always to have a green front and backyard like in PA. I am going to get a hibiscus and bougenvilla because they love the heat. Also, sweet potato vine-green and purple. Hope everybody has an awesome spring. Pam
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