Christie, I think we got too much rain to plant. It is pretty soggy in my yard and garden. I hope we have some fruit. The blackberries may have been pruned too hard...have to wait and see on that one. I hadn't done it last year so got a little carried away.

All I have done so far is my morning walk about. What I noticed is there is some color on the redbud, the white quince has a few open blooms. No sign of my flax in the cellar bed (glad the bird dropped a seed in the patio planter.), the Seckel pears are going to have blooms at last, lilies are up about 10 inches. I found two seedling nepeta I can transplant.

All the clems came through the bad winter great. I didn't get Huldine pruned and hate to cut off that green, but may after I do some research on it.

In bloom: Daffodils, white and purple violets, grape hyacinths, forsythia, peach trees and plums, Kerria is showing some yellow. I am excited about this shrub. My grandmother had one and I finally got one going.

Plans: cut down all Kolreuteria trees. I like them but the self-seeding is out of control! I will look for some small, decorative trees for a few spots.

Now heading to Lowe's for something DH needs...will be checking the garden center too.

Hi all,

I am really enjoying the lovely flower pictures from everyone's yards! Flower-wise, I'm living vicariously through your gardens and day-dreaming for when I get a "permanent" home of my own again. My husband and I are also taking many wildflower walks these days (right now my favorite bloomers are the duchman's breeches and the trout lilies) and we are starting up the great hunt for morels.

My little container garden is coming along. I'll try to attach a picture link, which I hope works. Try not to laugh too hard at the motley assortment of containers!

Happy gardening every one!

Here is a link that might be useful:

You have them lined up neatly. Mine are all over the yard not level and look junky until I get plants hiding them.

I've been walking around a lot willing myself to do something but I have done a little bit and cleaned up some stuff I didn't do in the early winter.

My daffs, grape hyacinths,forsythia, vinca vine, and tulip, plum trees and red bud are blooming now. I have buds on several purple TB iris. Everything is popping up. There's something new everyday and even at different times of the day so I have to make several strolls thru each day. I love this time of year!

Anybody want any Henbit? I seem to have an abundance of it this year.

Carrie, I don't see anything wrong with your method of gardening. I wish I had more large pots to grow veggies in. I don't have anywhere to plant a veggie garden, too much shade and shale.

Nancy

Carrie, never apologize about anything about gardening. I think it looks great. Be sure to keep us udated on how everything does.

Nancy please keep the henbit....and the cheat! I have that stuff coming out my years. At least the henbit can be pulled, the other stuff cannot!......I am bringing out the big guns very soon....I do not want it to seed again.

Nothing new blooming here. My morning walk was a bit chilly. No blooms on the helleborus. What I thought was it spreading was my variegated Solomon's Seal.

Happy Easter!

Glenda, I had to look up cheat. I've never heard of it and from the pics I found it doesn't look familiar. In MS it was the crab grass which my mom called "crap grass". I agree with her! I have sumac and last year it got away from us and made small saplings on the hill of the creek where we can't mow. It's pretty but doesn't need to be there. I don't mean to complain, just stating the facts. Gotta take the bad with the good though.

jaceysgranny, I'll trade you my chickweed for your henbit. I've never seen so much of it. It is everywhere this year.

The redbuds are opening up and right on their heels, the dogwoods. There are wild violets all through the lawn. The early daffs are gone and the late ones in full bloom. Mostly dble pale yellow, but also the whites, thalias, and the little pheasant eye types with the white outer petals and orange center. My tulip tree has been lovely and the snowballs two different kinds are loaded with buds, as is the lilac. The forsythia is fading but the kerria is starting. The spirea and the flowering almond as well as the red quince are all blooming. It is lovely here right now. Oh and wild plum, the real almond that never bears nuts, the peaches, the cherries, the pears, the apples are all starting to bloom. And I am already beginning to feel stressed about all that needs to be done.

But DH has taken the week off and will help with the mowing and weedeating, as well as the mulching.

Hurray!!!!! The mower started. Now I have probably jinxed it. I will mow tomorrow. I picked up sticks and moved buckets and stuff in the way. It has gas and oil and the filter is OK. I am ready.

mbk I'm not so sure you want to trade the chickweed for the henbit. I've got both taking my veggie garden over and all around the perimeter of the house and raised flower bed. I don't ever remember it being this bad before. I pulled about 3 5g buckets of both out of the veggie garden today and plan on taking the weedwacker to the rest tomorrow. My sweet williams, salpiglossis and impatiens are starting to bud so I should have blooms soon.

Sounds like everybody is getting outdoors anyway. Doesn't it feel good! It was even a really nice weekend here. We entertained 2 13 yr olds on Easter but had a good time. All the Bradford Pears are blooming in Branson and looking beautiful. I have a redbud in bloom at home and a small sprig of forsythia blooming. The forsythia needs to be moved. Have lots of plant babies in my milk jugs. Got lumber for a sq. ft garden on Sat. along with some landscape timbers. Lowe's had 2cf of mulch for .99 so got a load of that too. So now I need to get moving. DH said something about mowing but that is his job. I feel fortunate that he at least does that-it's a rider. I raked the yard so the sticks and winter junk is up.

Carrie your containers will be great when they are planted. I like containers. You can move them around. Seems like they never do good where I think they need to start. Trees have a way of moving and growing, changing the shade.

I feel so much better to see the leaves and flowers.
Kathy

Dorothy, I do the same about all the work needing done this time of year..........then I take a deep breath and just do one thing at a time beginning with what has to be done first! With 10 flower beds, the garden and all the mowing and trimming you have to develop the "one thing at a time" approach or you will have a nervous breakdown. DH doesn't do much gardening or yard work....he does the farm.

I removed all the mulch from the strawberry bed yesterday. I had straw over it 10 inches thick so it made for a very strenuous 45 minutes of work! It was very soggy underneath. I may have lost several plants but that is good. They were way too thick.

I have several clumps of dock that I will either dig out or brush with gly-4. The roots are like tree trunks and if you leave a tiny bit, it will return just like dandelions. There is also a self seeded anthemis that I want to dig up and move somewhere.

My early daffs are finished but I have some late ones to go.
I am finally seeing a few self-seeded poppies.

I cleaned off about half of the driveway border and hope to finish it today.

I haven't planted any garden yet but will start asap. My grandmother always did all her garden on election day. It is probably a good rule of thumb for our area of the Ozarks.

Tip: I hate Miracle Grow potting soil. I used it this year and am having less than spectacular luck with seedlings. Even germination is slow. I blame the MG soil!
Next year, I will buy the huge bags of good potting mix even if it costs $45 a bag!

Helen, good luck with the mower. I couldn't believe it when I (not DH) got the tiller and the string trimmer up and running!

Tip No2: Stihl makes an outstanding string trimmer. I am on my second one and it never fails me!

Nancy, maybe cheat doesn't grow south; I know my sis in Iowa has it too. I will take you a picture of it growing as groundcover on the north end of the driveway border today! When hot weather hits, it turns yellow and dies. The cows won't even eat it. I see no reason for it to
exist!

Dorothy, for some reason my chickweed has almost disappeared. Now if I can just get rid of henbit.

I hope to get a lot of gardening done today......must milk first.

glenda

Don't get stressed over all the work that needs to be done. This is what we have been waiting for all winter.

Gldno1,
You mention MG potting soil. I don't grow seedlings, so I can't comment on that. I do use a 50/50 mix of MG potting mix and shredded pine bark mulch in all my containers. It works well for me on annuals, hostas, planters, and Japanese maples in containers.

What I like to use is a professional mix , either no. 1 or No. 2 that my sis who did have a commercial greenhouse used. I would get mine from her. I normally use a large bag a season. I think my last was from Hummert's in Springfield. All I had left this year was the professional potting mix which had too much big pieces for seed starting. I used some Jiffy mix which is wonderful but then resorted to the Miracle Grow. It might be great for growing but I am not happy with it for seed starting.

Glenda

I finally got some real gardening done. I planted part of the cabbages, all the broccoli, all of the three bunches of onions from Dixondale and a row of potatoes. Also had a little pot of lettuce seedlings I got in the ground.

I also got the rest of the garden cross-tilled. This year for change I am running the rows north and south.

I did a walk-about this morning and only found one small patch of frost by the cellar bed. I think the fruit trees are safe.

Lilacs are beginning to open, the kerria has two tiny blooms, the redbuds are blooming, even a seedling tree, and I found a tiny single bud on my little 18 inch aronia.

The sour cherry tree is in full bloom and DH's favorite Seckel pear has blooms open at last.

Pictures to follow.

glenda

I finally got some real gardening done. I planted part of the cabbages, all the broccoli, all of the three bunches of onions from Dixondale and a row of potatoes. Also had a little pot of lettuce seedlings I got in the ground.

I also got the rest of the garden cross-tilled. This year for change I am running the rows north and south.

I did a walk-about this morning and only found one small patch of frost by the cellar bed. I think the fruit trees are safe.

Lilacs are beginning to open, the kerria has two tiny blooms, the redbuds are blooming, even a seedling tree, and I found a tiny single bud on my little 18 inch aronia.

The sour cherry tree is in full bloom and DH's favorite Seckel pear has blooms open at last.

Pictures to follow.

glenda

I still need to plant my onions and cauliflower. And the rest of my kohlrabi.
We got a new riding mower! Our old one broke down more times than I could count last summer. I love that I don't have to push down on the clutch/brake all the time on the new one. Much easier on my knees. It should take a little less time to mow the yard now so I've vowed to keep my dandelions chopped down so they won't go to seed. My neighbor will appreciate that.

My Jupiter Grape still looks dead. Are yours starting to leaf out yet Glenda? I remember you said they were late last year and I'm trying to be patient. Trying to be patient about my Black and Blues too. Crape Myrtles are very late to leaf out. I was thinking you might be starting to think your little ones that you planted last year are dead. They'll fool ya.

I just have two left, a Concord in the pot and it is leafing out just barely and I see buds on another in the garden. I can't remember which it is. I don't do well with grapes. I hope the Concord is a no fail one.

Mulberryknob, I may be tempted to trade the henbit for chickweed. I have so much of it but I've had chickweed before and it would be my luck I'd miss some of the henbit and I'd end up with both of them.
I bought this tool at Big Lots several years ago that makes it really easy to pull the weeds. It is a metal pipe with a handle at the top that sticks out on one side kind of like a walking cane, *not the one with a curved handle, the one with the kind of straight handle on one side*, at the bottom there are three prongs in a triangle form. You center the prongs over the root of the plant and twist it until it gets full then you pick it up and pull the weeds off. You can stand and do this and it's so much easier than trying to bend over and since my knee replacement in March last year I can't squat down anymore and can't kneel for long.

Jaceysgranny, I wonder if it is called 'the garden weasel'. Maybe that is what I need rather than a hand tool. I can bend and crawl around but getting up is not so easy sometimes. The old body is failing me rapidly!

Christie, I meant to congratulate you on the new mower! Did you get the zero-turn kind?

I found some chickweed! In fact a whole bed of it...which I will be spraying with herbicide later today. I don't really like using them, but it is away from everything and will be so much easier than hoeing.

I planted another half row of potatoes, all the rest of the cabbages and my seedling onions. They looked really puny next to the ones I bought.

DH helped me and we cut down all the sapling trees from the yard. This is really a bad year for tree seedlings! The flower beds are filled with them.

I fertilized the roses. I am vowing to follow a program for them this year. I do so poorly with them. I want to see if actually caring for them will help. At least the Japanese beetles will apreciate improved plants! I used the last of the Bayer product but don't think I will buy more. It is seems really expensive to me. I have plenty of cow manure and compost. Of course, I will have to spray for blackspot but will just use common sprays that I have.

Still cleaning flower beds and leaving the dreaded Garage Wall Border until last........what a job that will be.

Have a good Sunday.

Our new mower isn't one of the zero-turn types but it does turn sharper than our old one. It mows a wider path than what we had too. It's a 48" Husqvarna from Lowe's. DH did a little research and decided that was the best of the low-cost mowers. The wide mowing path is a high priority for us.

Still no hummingbirds but I saw a black swallowtail this week. My Dropmore Scarlet honeysuckle has few blooms on it now. That's the only thing in my yard that might attract hummingbirds unless they're interested in the redbuds.

Glenda, it's kind of like a garden weasel but not as well made. I only paid $4.00 for it. DH bought one of those tools on TV that fits on your drill and drills holes for bulbs and also has an attachment for weeding. The only thing he doesn't like is that it's not tall enough. He uses it when we're planting.

Thanks for the info on the tool.

I have been seeing a very small blue butterfly for over a week and saw a black swallowtail yesterday. It was fluttering so fast and I never saw it light on any of the blooms.

I bought one of those lifetime bulb planters.....must be for sandier soil that I have. Each time it retains the plug of dirt and you have to poke it out....It is hanging in the garden shed in pristine condition.

Anyone recommend a good weed killer? Something that will work on creeping charlie or whatever it is called, and dandelions.

Well, today the broccoli goes into the ground. Daughter and granddtrs were supposed to come yesterday to help me but I had a sore throat and told them not to come. Which means I'll have to plant them all myself. It's a week late, but they'll still make. And will plant some tomatoes as well and hope we don't get another hard freeze the third week of April like 07 and 09. I have extras if we do.

The electric company brought the 5th load of chips today and dumped them inside the garden where we used to stockpile sawdust. Next year the asparagus will get a chip mulch instead of leaves. That means I will have leaf mold for mulch again.

Glenda I've been looking for the blue azures as others in Ok have seen them, but so far none. Saw a black and a tiger Swallowtail though. And I have been disappointed with the Miracle Gro Potting soil too. One bag I bought had way too many big pieces and the next didn't seem to have enough nutrients. My seedlings turned pale green and I started watering with a weak fertilizer. In years past I made my own starting mix using sterilized soil, compost, sand, perlite, decomposed granite chips from a chicken house and leaf mold. It worked good but sterilizing soil stinks up the kitchen. Have used Jiffy Mix in the past but this year lacal WM didn't have it and I didn't want to drive to Tahlequah Lowe's or Atwoods for something else.

Congrats on the mower Christie. That is on my wish list. Our old one has about given up. And I do want a zero turn as I have so many trees and odd shaped areas. Anybody recommend a good one.

Well, daylight's burning, and my hot tea with lemon and honey has soothed the throat so I've got to get moving.

I mowed the front and west yard late yesterday afternoon.

Earlier I got the garden fence border cleaned up the the year and the Annabelle bed. I was happy to see there are several runners sprouted or coming up a couple of feet from the mother plant. I will be trying to cut them out and move to another shady area.

I think the Aloha rose by her has finally bit the dust from RRD. The clematis that grows up through was too big for me to cut it down completely so I just cut the dead stems down to the vine. I have another large cutting I took going great. I plant to take cuttings each year. I do love that rose but I know eventually RRD will get them.

I see tons of tiny seedling Snow-on-the-Mountain coming up.

I still don't know if my Chaste Tree is alive. The rose in that bed did not come back.

Lilacs are blooming. I love smelling them when I mow and the old apple tree smells wonderful too.

Today's plan is to do more trimming and try to get some more planting done.

I watered the garden most of the day. We are very dry out here.

Dry here too. I need to mow again; will do that today. I am planting some tomatoes and putting them under walls of water. I planted some of them too early and they are getting too big. It is either put them in gallon pots or plant. I have too many and even though I tried to label I have a bunch unlabeled. My crab apple tree looks like a big cloud and it humming with bees.

Yesterday I got the foundation beds all cleaned and ran the soaker-hose most of the day. I couldn't see it did much. It is very old, maybe the porous hose isn't!

I attacked the purple honeysuckle......I tore up most of the vines that had rooted in the creeping jenny...now there was a tedious job. I have lots more to do with it. I like the jenny, but not the honeysuckle and then there is the ribbon grass...............slowly but surely.

Got DH breaking the new ground for my open pollinated corn and orchard/berry/melon patch. It will have to be gone over several times since we don't own a turning plow.

The vinca under the lights in the crappy MG potting soil are just sitting there; the tomatoes are about 3-4 inches tall or less, peppers slightly shorter. The melampodium is looking good. I wish I had more but Park is very stingy with their seed packets.

Today will be more of the same.

Glenda I saved seed from my melampodium last year and it grew. I don't know if it will be different from the Melanie bought seed, but so far so good. I planted tomatoes at many different times. Sometimes I would run out of potting mix and improvise. The brands were different. I have one size of tomato that is stunted and purplish with yellow green leaves. It is the potting mix I used. I need to repot those or plant them in the ground. The bad thing is I have too many and thought I'd give them away. I would not give ratty plants to someone.

I will definitely save seeds this year. I had some older saved seeds, but none came up.

No gardening today, we needed to make a Boliver run for mag blocks for he cows. I couldn't drive past Walmart without stopping for a few items. I said I would buy any more from big box stores but guess what they had? The Peaches and Cream dahlia I almost ordered from Gilbert Wild and Son in Sarcoxie and a White bleeding heart. I just couldn't pass them up. They are 3 for $5 for the dahlia and 2 for $5 for the bleeding heart. I squeezed the bags and all felt firm so I will get them planted shortly. I may put the bleeding heart into a pot so it doesn't get lost. I know where the dahlias are going - near the Buff Beauty rose.

My tomatoes are small but their color is good. The minute they have true leaves I water with a very week Miracle Grow solution.

Glenda, I couldnt resist the Peaches and Cream Dahlia either

I see my lavender dahlia from several years ago is coming up and the violet glads. I won't be digging up Peaches and Cream either. It will be interesting to see if our colors are the same on the P & C.

I worked out this morning for a while. Planted some more lettuces, radishes and a row of sugar snap peas.

I also watered some more.

I trimmed a little on the front ditch but they are working on our road and the gravel trucks flying back and forth made me nervous so I gave up on that for now.

The seem to be redoing the ditches....don't know how that is going to affect us yet.