Apple Blossom Time Again!

 June 1, 2014

Crab apple tree next to the deck

It's apple blossom time here again! I do SO love this time of year when our crab apple tree is so beautiful. The birds and bees seem to feel the same way. :)

I spotted at least 3 different types of bees enjoying the nectar from the blossoms and various butterflies, too. The cedar waxwing flocks were back hiding amongst the apple tree branches, Not sure if they were eating the blossoms or just destroying them, but since the blooms were so numerous, I'm surge there were plenty left to turn into crabapples. We had a wicked windy spring storm as well which sent many of the petals plummeting to the deck, but all in all I think we'll enjoy a good harvest anyway.

Gorgeous, aren't they!?

Honey bees enjoying the nectar

Late spring tulips with Persian blue cornflowers

My perennials are growing well and I'm so pleased to see the fresh greenery in my flower beds. The blue Persian Cornflowers needed a bit of culling, but the remaining ones are healthy and just started to bloom yesterday (June 10/2014).

Mandevilla vine with Morden Centennial rose bush on left, and potentilla at left back

My poor rose bushes had a difficult winter and are just starting to really grow now. They have mostly been sending up new shoots from the roots as so many of the branches were winter killed.

I dug up my Winnipeg Parks rose bush from out of my stackstone bed for 2 reasons:
1) it was not growing that well there and
2) I wanted to plant my new Morden Belle rosebush there to have all 5 of my Morden roses in the same bed.

I planted Winnipeg Parks at the end of my long perennial bed to replace the newer Morden Centennnial which was dead this spring.  (Note to Self: Put Miracle Grow on it.)

My Morden Ruby and Morden Cenntenial are both growing really well now (stackstone bed) and the Blush is coming along. The Morden Sunrise is pretty tiny but showing progress.

Swallowtail Butterfly

My peonies are growing well relatively speaking. Sadly that is one area where my gardening does not shine!  I transplanted this little peony from a shady location in my wild bed where it was barely alive, to the corner of my triangle bed where it receives hours of sun. Hoping it will continue to do well there. (Last year it had only 1 blossom, but that in itself was amazing as I had just transplanted it the fall before.)

Peonies don't like to be moved and they will often take 2 or 3 years to adapt to a new location.

My white peony which I had planted at the far end of my long perennial bed has a number of shoots but some of the look half dead. I think that location might be too wet…  Hoping that it might get a few successful blossoms. It seems to ironic that my friend JR, who has a half dozen huge peony plants  that always bloom so magnificently, wants to remove some of them because she thinks she has too many! 

(I told her I'd help her move some of her peonies in the fall and then I would take a few diggings myself. :)  )

Peony shoots

Late spring tulips, tiny grape hyacinth and lilies

My lilies are all growing well and as long as I keep applying Bobbex, the deer and rodents will leave them alone.  I am so looking forward to seeing my likes bloom!

Inside my greenhouse