Keeping busy.

It's been very busy around here, I think this may have been the longest time between postings in awhile.  Part of the reason I've not posted was that I've just been busy with life, kids, etc.  The other part is that this cold and wet spring has gotten very old and I've been frustrated with wanting to garden and not being able to because of weather, also that it seems the garden is in slow motion.  I've also found that I lost quite a few plants, I've pulled rotted rootballs up of quite a few plants.  Anyway, we did have good weekend weather and today apparently we had our first average temperature day of 62!

Old-fashioned bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) 'Alba' are finally in full bloom.  They were worth the wait!

The white ones usually bloom after the pink Bleeding Hearts but they are blooming together this year.

I'm so happy to see so many apple blossoms on the tree.  Last year there were very few.  I forgot what a pretty pink color they are.

The shed garden has really taken off all of a sudden.  Columbines, Bergenia, Bluebells, Deutzia, Meadow Rue and Heucheras are all beginning to bloom.  I think even the variegated Rhododendron might actually bloom this year.

Aside from tulips the front yard is still taking it's time.  I'm wondering if the Mexican Orange (Choysia ternata) will survive the move back in February.  It's pretty wilted still, but I'm not giving up yet.

Today I finally was able to get some of the plants that I started inside out in the ground.  I planted out Pattypan squash, Butternut squash, zucchini, pumpkins, chamomile and roses.  I now have cookie sheets for cooking again.  Funny how many kitchen supplies I use for seed starting.

The vegetable beds before I planted.  I can't wait until they are full of things to eat, if the temperatures warm up the seedlings will hopefully grow a bit faster.

As I worked in the garden over the past month I noticed that the soil we had delivered back in February didn't look very good.  It was very gray, full of rock and sharp glass and formed a hard dry crust after the soil began to dry after all the rain we'd been having.  Many of the seeds I started began wilting.  A woman from the company came to look at the soil and told me they had delivered the wrong type.  It wasn't the special garden mix we ordered, but some other "supreme mix".  I pointed out how hard the soil was, showed her the glass and she apologized.  The company agreed to credit us back half of the money and agreed to deliver 2 yards of compost.  That meant scraping off the top layer of the raised bed, then spreading the new compost over most of the front yard.  This was another two days of hard work that we thought we were done with.  I think the soil will be fine when I mix it in as I plant things.  I was happy the company acknowledged their mistake, but not happy we had to spend all that extra time on it.

Looks like more rain and cool temperatures are back on their way here.  I sure hope we can start getting more than one day at a time of warm weather.  I know many others are dealing with a cold and wet spring too.  Hopefully things will begin to turn around.

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

Path garden preparing for it's peak time.

The path garden in our backyard which runs along the back deck is revving up for it's best time of year, Spring! This is when most of the flowering shrubs and perennials bloom and my favorite time of year to enjoy it. Once it's gets warm and drier the plants under the large evergreens tend to die back a little and since I would be out all day everyday watering it if I wanted more to bloom back there. I've tried soaker hoses and more mulch, but those big evergreens really take up all the water.

Everything is really starting to pop up now.

I was really happy to see the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) returning. Last Spring I was surprised by them blooming after I thought they had died the year before.

This part of the path garden is already looking good. The Hellebores have really filled in. There is a Currant bush, Deutzia and Hydrangea just leafing out here. The Clematis growing up the birdhouse pole is 'Miss Bateman' that I moved over in the Fall.

The blooming shrub that you can see in the previous picture is this plant Corylopsis or Winter Hazel 'Buttercup'. Last year it barely bloomed because of all of the cold weather. If I were to plant this again I would plant it in front of an evergreen of some sort, it's hard to appreciate the flowers against the light wood fence.

The flowers are so pretty and delicate.

Pulmonaria just loaded with buds and flowers near the Hellebores.

These are always an exciting sight, Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum) is really beginning to spread out now under the Rhododendron and near the Corsican Hellebore. These are slow to get established and they are native to North America. Apparently it has all sorts of herbal uses. Mine has been here about 5 years and this is by far the most spread out it has been.

Camellia 'Marie Bracey' is blooming ahead of schedule. Primroses are blooming and Crocuses are just starting. I love the view of our neighbors Forsythia at the very end of the yard.

And look what else is blooming back at the beginning of the path garden, Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectablilis) 'Alba', I love the yellowy green of the foliage on it.

It's supposed to be 60 today and that will only encourage these plants along. I looked up our average highs and lows for the month of March to remind myself what it usually is like here. Our average high for the month of March in the Seattle area is 54℉ and low the average low is 39℉. April has an average high of 58℉ and an average low of 43℉. It'll be interesting to see if our pattern stays on the warmer side and if we're closer to the April weather averages.