What is in Bloom in April in Washington DC.

Sean and I took the day off on Friday and drove up to the Brandywine Valley area of PA/DE.  We had an ambitious 2-day plan but ended up only seeing a couple of places.  The first stop was Winterthur Museum and Garden.    This is the estate of Henry Francis DuPont - amazing gardens and the house has 175 rooms!  How could one possible live in a house with that many rooms.  We spent several hours there and had no time to see anything else on Friday.  On Saturday, we went to Longwood Gardens - the former estate of Pierre S. DuPont.  (I assume these men were cousins).  The Gardens are only two hours north of DC but are behind in what is blooming there.  Daffodils just coming out while the daffodils are pretty much over in my yard.  We ended up spending the morning and early afternoon at Longwood as there was so much to see so we were not able to get to the Brandywine River Museum, home of the works of NC, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth.

It's chilly in DC this morning but my yard is in full bloom.

Korean Spice Viburnum 

Creeping Jenny and Hakonechloa grass.  This area is going to get more sun this year since the neighbor cut down the Mulberry tree that was shading it.

Flowering Solomon Seal.  I wasn't sure this was going to make it so I'm very happy to see this.

 Coral Bells, Creeping Jenny, Pulmonaria (Lungwort)

Lilacs!  I cut out lots of old branches from this last fall and my intention was to dig it up and replace it with something else.  The lilac bush must have know my idea because this is the best it's bloomed in years.   It's really too hot for lilacs in DC but this one has revived.

Tulips 

 Lettuce that wintered over in the cold frame.  Salad tonight!

 Sweet Woodruff, under the Kousa Dogwood

Hostas emerging 

 Pansies from the winter

 Sorrel.  I planted it last year but didn't use it.  This year, I will cook with it.

Fothergilla 

Oklahoma Redbud. I love this tree

What's in Bloom in the yard

Today is a sunny lovely day.  I walked around the yard and the good ole jasmine has started to bloom.  I'm ambivalent about this plant - if there was actually a wall in the front yard for it to hang over, that would work better than what is happening now.  It's a bit of a thuggish plant for the spot it's in.  At least it can be chopped to the ground every 3-4 years.  This garden is now 9 years old and I look at it thinking that I want to redo the whole thing.  That thought is exhausting!

Skimmia berries.  This plant is dying - I will remove it in the spring

Russian Sage - artistically arranged by Sean

Boxwood - what is the problem here?

Winter Jasmine

Day lily!  Trying to bloom

Walkway problems

(thanks to all for the plant suggestions - some plants are identified, some are still unknown - I need to do some more research on houseplant sites).

This winter will be the time to work on some garden projects.  Sean and I are planning on making a trip to Community Forklift to scope out supplies.  Here is the list of gardening projects to date to work on.

1.  Sean wants to lay in rocks in the slight slope in the front yard.  He has a vision, not sure what he wants to do.

2.  My door for the vegetable garden needs to be rebuilt/replaced

3.  I read a cool article in Mother Earth News about fitting your rain barrel to run two soaker hoses.

4.  The window to the cold frame broke so I need to find another window the same size or bigger to fit the frame

5.  The project that needs the most attention is addressing the issue of the path on the side of the house.  Here are some pictures

I have stones and dirt.  I need to put something between the stones - but what?

This book,  Revolutionary Yardscape, has some nice ideas that involved tumbled pottery - I don't have a tumber or enough pottery!

I need ideas for this walkway.  There are plants on either side of it but obviously not enough to prevent the dirt from running over the stones.  This is my number one priority for spring.

It's been awhile since I've posted - blog fatigue, tired of being on the computer all day, life.

This year it was time to really devote to tending to the gardens at my house.  I haven't mulched in a couple of years and it really showed.  I had 60 bags of mulch delivered and used 55 of them - weeded, pruned, thinned.  The gardens now look very pretty. I've bought a few new plants to fill in.

Here is what is currently in bloom

Clematis - I love this one - big white flowers

Dianthus - Pinks

Flowers on the Smoke Bush. This is the first year it has flowered

Chives

Calamint

Sedum

Baptisia - False Indigo

Iris

What's blooming Feb 12

These pictures were actually taken last week but everything is still blooming.  There is a dusting of snow on the ground today but most of it is all gone.  The weather has been crazy this year - unseasonably warm.  Everything here blooming is at least a month or longer, early.  Sean and I were in Logan Circle yesterday and saw a house with a front yard facing south that had many many daffodils in bloom.  Crazy

Ok, these berries aren't early - from the Skimmia.  I've lost all these plants that are on one side of the house.  I've replaced with roses and coming soon, King Foester grass.

Winter Jasmine

Lenten Rose

A crazy daffodil, ready to bloom (that ivy is not mine.  I hate it.  Coming from the rental house next door.  Thinking about replacing the fence)

Rainchain with recycled materials

Today, Sean and I went to Community Forklift to look for stuff.  The glass in the storm window for the cold frame broke so I though we could just buy a new window.  Who knew that all storm windows are not the same size.  We were unable to find one with the measurements we needed so abandoned that idea for just stapling plastic over the current window.

Sean LOVES this place.  A warehouse full of recycled building materials. I wish I was more handy because the website has lovely pictures of projects that customers made and I can't image tiling a patio, making a wrought iron fence or building a room with this stuff.

I can, however, do small projects.  Last year for Christmas, I received this cool book from John, my kids' dad.    The Revolutionary Yardscape by Matthew Levesque

The author is a landscaper and has created cool projects for his own house, using found/recycled materials.  He has a few rainchains and I thought I could definitely do that.  Last year we made a trip to Community Forklift and I bought these gaskets (at least that is what I think they are).  Cost for them = $8.50

They've sat on the back porch all summer - it was time to create something.  So today, I found some clamps that I thought would work.  9 clamps for $1.45 - not a bad deal.

It only took a few minutes to put together, Sean hauled the ladder out of the garage and Viola - a lovely rainchain.  I hope it works.

This weekend was glorious. The last days of November and I think today made it to 70 degrees.  It was time to put the house garden and vegetable garden to bed.  Yesterday I worked in the yard and did the last of the winter pruning, weeding, tidying up, spreading leaves in the beds.  Today I spent the morning at the vegetable garden raking the oak leaves to the street corner, weeding my bed and snipping arugula and lettuce from my gardening neighbor Richard (he said I could have some).  I finished cleaning the porch at home of all gardening utensils and such.  On my way home from my veg garden, I stopped at a neighbor's to take some free canna bulbs.  They are now nestled in moss in the basement.  I've never planted them so look forward to trying it next year.  Here is what is left in bloom in the yard.

Japanese Anemone puffballs

Japanese Anemone puffballs

Rosebud - there are lots of rosebuds on a particular plant

Lavender stalk

Oakleaf hydrangea flowers

Hellebores - the first to bloom in Feb and March