May 2- Sprouting Seedlings and Yard Work

And the winner is…. Cosmos!!!     They are the first seedlings up 4 days after planting. :)

As of May 2, one pot of Lavatara has started to germinate (my collected seeds) and also the bachelor buttons (my seeds).

May 1-  Happy May Day!
It was a beautiful, sunny warm day, ideal to be outside.  I raked some of the sunflower seeds and husks (plus dead grass) out of the lawn under the bird feeder. So many weeds growing there! I need to spread some grass seeds there and start watering or wait for the rain/ snow that is forecast for tomorrow and the next day to provide moisture.  :(

I raked the lawn around my Angel bed and along the south side of the long perennial bed since it was shaded. (Too hot to work in the sun that day: +21C!

We cleaned out most of the dead leaves, twigs and maple tree seeds from the drained pond. Then I refilled it, clipped off the dead stalks of last years pond plants and put the plants back into the pond as it was filling up.
Darn chilly weather is forecast for the next 5 days, with sub-zero temperatures for over night, so it's still too soon to put the goldfish out….   Thankfully I do have someone who wants some of my goldfish so I don't have to over-populate or small pond.
We have over-wintered 22 gold fish in 2 tanks in the house, 8 large, 10 medium sized and 4 tiny (last years babies).  I'm going to give 8 goldfish away leaving us 14. The 4 tiniest ones can stay in the tank inside for now and serve as back-ups if anything happens to the other 10 fish in the pond over the summer... (like night herons visiting the pond for lunch as happened last year! )

I clipped the huge day lily by the pond and noticed that the wild rose stems there have some black growth on them. Last year and the year before they had rust… Maybe I should just cut them right to the ground.

Other things showing signs of life:
Besides tulips, the daffodils are up in my stackstone bed. The Hollyhocks are starting, as are the bellflowers along the side of the house (like weeds!) and of course daisies.

Top of the rock garden shows some small sedums growing and the Blue Sage perennials there are starting to come. My Autumn Joy sedums are showing signs of life in the lower rock garden.

The Monkshood and Jacob's Ladder perennials are sprouting in my Angel bed. Lots of spring clean up still needed in that bed; (fallen Karl Forester Grass stems).

Little by little, it's all starting to look green now and I'm so excited about another season of gardening!