May in the Garden 2022: The garden has kicked it into high gear, and I feel like all my work is paying off. Although I did pretty much ignore everything else once a Monarch butterfly started laying eggs on the milkweed in the garden. You can read all about that in my post titled A Monarch Returns by clicking here. I have been going on and on about those little guys for two months and driving everyone nuts, so I will do my best to stick to just plants, but no guarantees.
I am really happy with how the Lavender and Salvia are coming along in the side yard. A yard that I could have very easily ignored since I didn’t think it had enough space to do anything in, has really become my favorite part. I really love just how tough the Salvia is. On more than one occasion something or someone has landed on top of them and I have had to chop them back hard. Each and every time they come back bigger and stronger. Not strong enough to handle a racoon landing on them, but pretty strong. I also love the Nasturtiums that are growing against the planter box. I didn’t put them there, but the yellow blooms look fantastic against the purple.
It was unfortunate that a rainstorm last winter poured so much water into one of the raised flower boxes that it collapsed. But once I lowered them both to the ground, it opened up new opportunities. I decided that I was going to step up my butterfly game and create a much larger habitat for them. I started with planting two varieties of Milkweed in one. They are small now, but once the weather has been nice for a while they will take off. The other box is for Swallowtails with Dill, Parsley, and Fennel. I also planted Coneflower and Bee Balm across the way to really up my odds.
In the backyard my Hydrangea and Floxglove are doing their thing, but unfortunately it is just not turning out the way I like. I ended up digging it all up and replanting the whole bed. You can read all about it by checking out my post titled To Kill A Foxglove by clicking here. Currently the bed is on it’s fifth revision. It really shouldn’t be this hard, but for some reason I just can’t seems to be happy with it. Hopefully I went in the right direction with this last change. Below you can see the before and after pictures. It might seem a bit of a shame to kill all the Foxglove, but the beauty only lasts a short time, and the rest of the year it looks awful.
I am super excited that the Peony my hubby gave me last year for Mother’s Day came back. I was so worried that I had killed it. It came back only a fraction of it’s original size, but I am just going to assume it just needs an adjustment year. HAHA! I did get one bloom from it, and it was a lovely one. It was an added bonus that the Peony that I have waited for what seems like five years to bloom gifted me with two huge blooms! While I am happy with the blooms from both plants, I am also thinking these guys are a bit more trouble than they are worth. I won’t say that too loudly, and I am going to think positively and believe next year will be a more productive year.
The little miniature rose bush my Mother in Law bought for me always produces fantastic blooms. She really never disappoints. She is also not that small anymore.
The rest of the garden is looking happy and healthy. Enjoy the pictures!
After the Egg (raising Monarch butterflies: year two, part 2)