I don’t have any of my recent pictures downloaded, but I’m gonna start this thread anyway!

Since I’ve been digging things up for the swap, I’ve also been digging and transplanting some things—most of which I had planned to do last year! By digging up two of the big mums and the two big ornamental oreganos, I’ve spread things out some—and made room to put some new things in! I potted and saved starts of both of the oreganos and the one mum to put back in somewhere, but they’ll obviously be much smaller plants—for this year at least. I got my ‘Becky’ shasta daisy dug up today and replanted a chunk to get a new start—the center of the original plant had died out, so it’ll look nicer again now. And I have a chunk laying out in the yard that I’m gonna put in a different place tomorrow, so I’ll have 2 now. I really do like ‘Becky’! And I moved my purple coneflower and my golden sage, and did some major soil improvement. My golden sage was getting kind of feeble looking and I'm hoping this will give it a whole new life!

My spring perennials are all blooming—rockcress, creeping phlox, pasque flower, creeping wallflower, forget-me-nots, violas, candytuft, etc. And I already have blue flax blooming, and the Iceland poppies I winter sowed last year—thank you for the seed Stevation—are blooming, only one color so far, but it’s a pretty light golden orange color. I think all the Iceland poppy colors are pretty! There are several crowns, so it’ll be interesting to see what, if any, other colors I get. I’m gonna start more seed—when I have time!

There are other things blooming already too, but I can’t remember what right now—and it’s dark out! All my bulbs except the grape hyacinths are pretty much done blooming.

I am SO happy with the perennials so far this year! I’ll be back to post pictures!

Skybird

The daffodils are done for the year, but there are still a few tulips blooming. I was thinking that I had pulled them all up last year, but now I remember that what I did was pull up all of the pink and white ones. I received a bag of mixed colors as a freebie with a mailorder I had done, so now I'm left with just reds and yellows, and the deer haven't been around in a few weeks, so I actually got to enjoy them this year.

I still need to work on more spring bloomers though. The only thing blooming for me now are my Geums, which I really like.

Mango Lasi

Fireball

...and Alyssum 'Golden Queen'

The apple trees are leafing out, and the grapevines are starting to show leaf buds. BTW, Skybird, did you ever plant your grapevines? Still waiting on signs of life from the newly planted peach tree.

In the veggie garden, the few peas that survived the winter weather are starting to vine, and the carrots are starting to sprout, but are too small to show up in the picture, so here are the lettuces, and spinach. The radishes are starting to put on growth. Do you just feel their "shoulders", like you do carrots, to see if they are ready? Oh, and seven out of twelve containers of wintersown tomatoes have sprouted now, and a couple are even getting their first set of true leaves.

The peppers in the kitchen window are 6" - 10" tall and will hopefully be going out in a couple more weeks.

On a less happy note, there are bazillions of 1/4" long grasshoppers everywhere in my yard/garden. I'm going to try and find some more bait, and need to do it very soon.

... and the bindweed is up!!!!!!!!

Bonnie

Bonnie, you Geums are amazing! I know I said this last year, but I really want that mango lassi!

Here goes, 1st pic is the perennial bed with the catmints and thymes as the stars of the show, second pic is the asiatic lilies and third pic is of my only blooming tulips, the species tulips with an unopened Triumph "Ronaldo" behind it.

Tomatoes and peppers will go out when the nights are more consistently warm, and I'll plant the squash and beans then too - probably one more week or ten days.

Leaves showing on the grapevines and hollyhocks and Russian sage. I'm way behind on mowing and weeding as usual (I think my bindweed starts showing in February, no kidding).

Tons to do this time of year.

Tomatoes are out of their WOWs and buffeted by wind, peppers under hoops and row cover for protection, veggie garden all planted and cukes and 'Waltham' butternut up, as is soybean and scattered bush peas, climbing peas up. I've mounded potatoes in containers once already.

Mid-season tulips almost done, I see that Salvia greggii isn't a good choice for this parcel, as another died over the winter, as did a Salvia pitcheri and two prairie winecups and a Helianthemum 'First Light', otherwise everyone else survived. Two varieties of Helianthus maximiliana going crazy. Flower buds on Veronica x 'Aztec Gold' already (hot southern exposure). One spp of Cerastium almost done, the other ready soon. Lilac 'Miss Kim' almost ready to pop - likely tomorrow.

Dan

Here's a snap of one of the beds without their protective row cover:

Everything seems to be doing well so far, despite the crazy weather mood-swings.

Arugula:

Chives:

Lettuces:

Peas:

Potatoes:

The latter are in a big Tupperware bin, and have grown considerably fast, even since I took this picture a couple of days ago.

The peas, on the other hand, are growing at a snail's pace. Most are only 3-6 inches high at the moment. Is this normal? This is my first season growing them...

Dan

I'm easily amused at this time of year - hungry for signs that things might be about to warm up I guess:)

My peas are up and just sort of hanging out too Laura - Dan's arrangement with his peas sounds like it is giving those vines what they need/want.

Hops are making a move - good ol' reliable hops.

Have been busy with some work here and there lately, so haven't been spending much time in the garden . I'm back into the backyard tomorrow for more digging in the dirt and building stuff. Looks like a pretty good chance for some precipitation - we'll see how things go.

Happy planting, dividing, multiplying and such all! eatsivy

Here's my Chinese cabbage growing in an Earthbox. They're very happy with our cool, damp spring so far.

The dwarf bok choy is going direct to flower, unfortunately, without making heads. So we're eating them already :)

Everything else is in buds; no blooms yet. The roses look particularly enthusiastic this year. I don't think they miss the hot dry winds we sometimes get in spring.

Got to plant my beans and squash this weekend! And pull some more bindweed - my most constant chore.

I am happy that my big clumping of tulips is starting to bloom:

Here is a close-up of one that had been bent over due to an odd sepal that would not let go. I broke the sepal off and it straightened up a bit. So pretty!:

This is Reynaldo. He has happily been in bloom for over two weeks now! We have not had that much wind during this time but I'm feeling confident that choosing tulips was a good idea. And, behind him, you'll see that my other clumping of species tulips is starting to show flower buds...finally:

Here are two blooms in my other bed. Thank you, Skybird, for the lovely anemone! I did not take a photo of the tiny Veronica waterperry even though it is blooming too. Too tiny for a picture! Also, my first geranium bloom of the year:

Last one. Thanks again, Skybird, for the vibrant Coreopsis! He is glowing happily in the sun in front of the once-thought-dead rose and a clump of invading grass:

Verbascum 'Southern Charm' wintersowed in '07
(the catalogs show it as a mix of cream, pale yellow, peach, and lavender, but of course, all I got was lavender, LOL)

Delosperma kelaidis 'Mesa Verde' (courtesy of Skybird)

Penstemon pinifolius 'Compactum' (from High Country Gardens) It's only about 10" tall, so I just about had to lay down to get a shot of it. Just trying to maintain my crazy gardening lady image with the neighbors!

... and the poppies wintersown this year are finally starting to bloom. There's two different kinds there, the traditional California golden orange, and the larger buds, which haven't opened yet, are supposed to be a red annual, I received in trade.

So I guess we'll have to start a new thread tomorrow ...

Bonnie

I have roses blooming now:

And my peony finally bloomed! I brought this down from Coal Creek Canyon when we moved to the plains and it's been sitting there sulking ever since. This year it finally bloomed. I love these flowers.

I finished my second raised bed. It wasn't planted yet when I took this pic, but now it has tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and basil in it.

Looking forward to lots of yummy veggies this summer.