Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Wild Wet Spring

I'm telling you it has been a wet spring.
Of course some of us don't mind getting out in the garden and mucking around. Time will tell if anything in this corner of the garden will survive. It was like this in 2008 but this wet spell has lasted longer.
I have been a little frustrated that I can't plant anything yet unless it is in a pot. I can see the affects of the rain on this Baptisia. It normally gets as tall as this 4'fence behind it. It actually hides the fence but this year it is pouting due to the wet conditions. I hope it hangs in there. It has been in this spot some 10 years or so.
I have a couple of pea gravel walkways. I have been most happy with them this year.
I have some new edging along this section. My neighbor does small landscape jobs for people and she said a client wanted to get rid of this edging and offered it to me. I like it. On the left side of the path you can see the Pink Phlox I have been waiting to see bloom.
It being a wild flower it doesn't seem to mind the vagaries of spring. This sweet blooming clump of Practically Perfect Pink Phlox was  given to me by Gail at Clay and Limestone. She is a Champion of Wildflowers. What with such weather extremes one can easily be convinced to use such beauties in the garden.
If you follow my blog you know that this end of the patio has had some major changes in the past few years. This spring was no exception. The Lilac tree just couldn't take any more stress. It fell over in one of the storms. The ground was so saturated we might have been able to push it upright but it was too large for us to do so. Unfortunately we had to remove it.  So this end of the patio will be getting lots more sun until I figure out what to do here. I will miss those delicious smelling blooms.

We also learned where we need to add a gravel path so we can get around this part of the garden.
Things have dried out a little bit now.  How are things in your garden this spring?

18 comments:

  1. VERY wet here in Vancouver today. Ugh.

    Back at home, it has still been too cold for gardening and pretty dry. We've had lots of clouds but not much precip. I did clean out 3 beds in readiness. The garlic is coming good.

    My Hellebores were blooming when I left. I've cages over them so that the deer can't eat them ... should they take it into their heads to do so. One year I had a rabbit clean off all the blossom shoots. I was so mad.

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  2. Oh my Lisa! What a wet time your garden has had. I can understand your frustration at not getting out in it at this time of year too. That Phlox does look good there. Noticed Jack Frost behind too :-)

    Ah… between losing your tall pine tree to another storm and now your Lilac tree (shame there too) your garden can’t be the shady one it used to be. I guess the upside is that it gives you new planting opportunities :-D

    Things are going well in my Spring garden especially as we had it dry for so long then got some rain. Love the growth plants put on at this time of year. Nice to see the bees in yours. Your paths look good too :-D

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  3. Wow very wet Lisa, still your garden still looks nicer than mine :)

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  4. Lisa, The weather extremes are a real challenge. I am so glad that PPPP is thriving for you! let it go to seed and you'll have even more. Now you must let me send you Penstemon X! It can survive wet feet and even dry times! xo Thanks for the linklove, gail

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  5. Oh Lisa, your garden looks wonderful even tho you are too wet. Mine is too dry. I have to water every other day. Not to mention we are on water restriction. Bummer. May loose plants. Just trying to keep veggies going.

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  6. It has been that for sure. But your flowers are very beautiful. I wish we could save some of this for August, when it will be so dry.

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  7. OH NO!

    Sry to hear that you lost the lilac!

    Things are delayed around here..just not worth it to till when the ground isn't ready.

    Give Luna a scritch behind the ears and a cookie for me?

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  8. It is hot and dry here...no rain. I wish we could get some of yours!!! Your garden looks so incredible after seeing all that snow this winter...just amazing how it all grows back out in spring! Everything is so green and lush!!! Sign of a great gardener!!!

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  9. So sorry about your lilac tree. Oh well, it'll open up room for something new, right? Did you send us some of your excess rain? Austin gratefully received two inches this morning. Yippee!

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  10. Oh dear, i'm so sorry you have such a wet spring! It must be so frustrating. I hope the rest of the season will be better.

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  11. We have had a cool spring with just the right amount of rain. A strange couple of super hot days followed by way too cool...climate change! Lows are in the 40's.
    So sorry for the lilac. Very sad to loose an old friend. I understand....
    I do love seeing your gardens. The native plants do the best in my gardens too.
    Hope you dry out soon but not too dry!
    Sherry

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  12. What a spring it has been! Reading about the Mississippi, I wonder how much water can and will do.

    Your flowers have benefited, that's for sure.

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  13. Not nearly as wet as yours. Your garden looks beautiful anyway. I bet those fern and Iris pseudocarus are happy.

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  14. The weather in your Spring garden seems to be just the contrary of the one we had this year. I do hope your plants will survive despite all the wet days. It is a pity that your lilac tree had to be removed. I love its fragrant flowers too. Won't you plant a new tree? Here we finally had the first rainfall for weeks.

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  15. I can see why you need the pea gravel paths for drainage. The new edging gives a nice crisp line to the paths.

    Your iris have done a good job remaining upright with all of the rain.

    The pink phlox really stands out, and looks so vibrant in the garden bed.

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  16. So sorry to hear about your lilac, Lisa! I love that scent in the spring--reminds me of the one outside my bedroom window when I was a kid. :)

    I'm so glad that you mentioned the effects of the rain on your baptisia. I had just planted a couple last year, and was fretting a little bit over their spindly appearance this spring. But it's been really wet here, too, so I bet that's the problem!

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  17. Oh, Lisa! Not a lilac tree ;(
    We're living on different planets this spring. Instead of wet it's been dry and windy here for month after month - which can also result in dead trees.

    Do you think you'll start over again with a new tree lilac? Or go in a new direction?

    It's fun to see that famous, much-photographed pink phlox being happy in your garden!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  18. Lisa you garden is absolutely lovely! Maybe you should put a french drain in the flooded corner?--Randy

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