More Signs of Life, May 2017

Pasque Flower May 2/17

May 2/17

May 2 the rest of the Tree Swallow flock showed up in the back yard, swooping and diving around like they had never left. It is always so exciting to see them as they mean that spring is truly starting! :)

It was great to see the peony shoots peeking out at the side of the house (pink peony) and in the tiny bed at the bottom of the steps (red Dominion Day ).

Day lily- rock garden

Autumn Joy sedum

Also showing through the ground:

yellow day lilies ( bottom of rock garden)

bearded irises, ( side of house and triangle bed)

Monkshood ( round/angel bed)

Monkshood and campanula bell flowers are up

Siberian irises ( side of house)

Holly hocks

Forget Me Nots (Stackstone bed)

Autumn Joy sedum ( rock garden)

Maltese cross 

and my Pasque flower is blooming beautifully. 

Forget Me Nots

Maltese Cross (Campion) sprouting

I cleaned up my stackstone bed again today. There were loads of sneaky quack grass roots trying to grow there again.

Roses

I also unwrapped my poor rose bushes on May 2. They had so much winter kill!

The Morden Ruby is usually full of buds by now but it was showing no signs of life at all. The only rose bushes that appeared alive was the John Davis rose in my round /Angel bed and the Morden blush.

 As May progressed the Morden centennial and Ruby started sprouting very low down near the roots. Many of the upper branches were dead. 

I lost my Winnipeg parks rose and my pink Turbo rose. I thought that my gorgeous Morden belle had bit the dust too. I bought 2 new rose bushes at Canadian Tire Garden centre, a Morden Sunrise (yellow, orange single blossoms) and a JP Connel hardy rose, ( yellow buds that turn white when the flower opens.)

The damage seems to have been caused because we had an early cold snap in October, but then the weather turned unseasonably warm again in late Oct/ early November and the roses continues to bloom especially the Ruby and the Belle. I have never had roses blooming that late in the year like in 2016. The rose bushes were unprepared for the cold when it finally did arrive. They had not started shutting down for the winter. It took its toll.

May 6 we finally put our goldfish back out into the little pond, 12 of the biggest ones. ( 6 spares are left in the house.) The weather has been too chilly to put them out before now.

I dug up some white ox eye daisies to give to my daughter Tricia for her rock garden in Penticton. BC.

May 8

I dug a 2 foot Manitoba Maple out of my flower bed and planted it behind the playhouse in the area where the old poplars are dying off.

I also transplanted my herbs into a big pot in the greenhouse. Unfortunately my cilantro did not like the move and it all died.

I potted some cucumber seeds and Bunny Tail seeds, but none of the sprouted at all. :(

May 9-  I planted 2 new raspberry bushes , Boyden Raspberries (bought at Peevey Mart Garden centre) outside the vegetable garden fence (SW side) and they are doing well.

I bought a reblooming lilac bush and planted it next to the big lilac in the front yard. It might not be the best location, though….

I dug up my Nelli Moser clematis which was not doing very well and replaced it with a Ville de Lyon clematis.  My integrifolia clematis is growing really well.

Nahla and Tulips