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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The rest of the garden is looking happy and healthy. Enjoy the pictures!
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