Instagram garden.

Recently it was time to get new phones.  Normally I really don't use much besides the actual phone.  The camera on the last one wasn't very good so I got out of the habit of using it.  With my new phone I was playing around with the settings and came across an app called Instagram.  I'd heard a couple of people mention it, but I had no idea how much fun it could be.  I've been trying out different settings and learning a little more about it, but I can tell this is going to help get my creativity going.  I thought I'd try doing a post with just pictures taken using Instagram. 

A closeup of a crocus in the backyard.  I have no idea what filters I've used because I was just having fun trying them out.

The pond.

The Littlest Gardener insisted we needed a bouquet and so she went around picking flowers.  I think she did a beautiful job.

Another filter.  Wonder if there's a way to find out what I used?

The Littlest Gardener posing with her flowers.

Hellebore 'Mardi Gras Double'.  I love the old fashioned look this filter gives.

The Marsh Marigold is blooming!

The moon was so bright last night.

Same picture as above using different filters and settings.

Ducks at Country Village.  The were running all over the place.

Has anyone else tried Instagram?  Any tricks?  I know that people get very into it and have followers and likes, but I'm just trying it out for the fun of it.

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

Looking for color on a(nother) dreary day.

 We are back to the usual wet and gray days we've seen so much of lately.  It was so nice to see some dry days last week after weeks of gray, wet weather.  I'm glad I enjoyed the sun while it was here because the rain is back.  There are many rivers with flood watches and we are just about double our average rainfall for March.  Between rain showers today I took a walk around the yard to see what has changed, it seems that there are changes overnight during this time of year.  The apple and pear trees and blueberry bushes are all very close to blooming.  I found flower buds on Clematis 'Nelly Moser' and 'Miss Bateman' and other Clematises seem to just be taking off growing right now.  The tulips all have buds up above the leaves now.  I found that a few plants that were "missing" are now making their way through the soil.  I also found that weeds are just going crazy too, I just need a couple of dry days to take care of them.
Here is a bit of color I found today:

 Enjoying the view of our neighbors Forsythia.  Some years he cuts it way down and we can't see it, so glad we can this year.  The ground drops about 4 feet on the other side of that fence so this Forsythia is pretty tall.

 I like the view of the path from this angle.  Daffodils and Tete-a-tetes are all blooming, but facing the fence, Golden Mock Orange and the pretty leaves of the White Bleeding Heart all pop.

 Finally the Old-fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)  has buds starting.  They are so behind and seem much smaller than usual.

 Muscari is just about ready to be picked for little spring bouquets.

 Pink Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) is beautiful this year.  It has gotten so tall and is covered in flowers.  So far I haven't seen any Hummingbirds at it, maybe they don't like the rain either.

 Marsh Marigold in the pond which needs a bigger container.

 Navelwort (Omphalodes cappadocica) 'Starry Eyes'.

The flower from this Epimedium surprised me, it's so bright it stood out against the Crocus and Bluebell foliage around it.

Probably one of my favorite container plantings I've ever done.  It is so bright!

Looks like our next chance at a dry day is Sunday, otherwise it's rain all the way through next weekend.  I'm just hoping this spring won't be as wet and cool as last spring was.  It was hard on many of the plants (and gardeners).

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

It's just a matter of time.

Not too long I mentioned how behind the garden was getting from all of the below normal temperatures we'd been having.  I knew a few days above 50 would inspire the plants to get growing.  Along with some warmer weather (50 degrees feels warm right now) we've had lots of rain and wind.  Yesterday we set a record for rainfall.  I'm not sure I've seen it rain that hard many times before.  In one day we received half the average rainfall for March.  But, it's hard to complain when the plants seem to be getting revved up for a nice big spring show.

The Blueberry Bushes are loaded with buds.

Camellia japonica 'Marie Bracey' is finally starting to show a little pink.

Ribes sanguineum or Pink Flowering Currant is usually in bloom during March.  It looks like it won't be long now though.

Tete-a-tete daffodils are behind too, they sure got beat up by the rain.  I love how bright and cheery they are.

Marsh Marigold has one tattered bloom.  I also saw that the Water Hawthorne in the pond is starting to bloom.

These Daffodils seem to be on time, they bloom after the Tete-a-tetes are finished.

This Pulmonaria was a seedling that surprised me a couple of years ago.  I think this will be it's first year blooming, it's got lots of buds on it.

Crossing my fingers that this Magnolia 'Vulcan' finally blooms.  We had a late frost last year that killed the buds.

The Weeping Cherry tree is starting to bloom.

This might not look that exciting, but to me it's great news.  I dug up and moved this Peony a few weeks ago, just before the big freeze and snow.  I was hoping I hadn't killed it.  I'm doubtful it will bloom, but still hoping it might.

I found this the other day at a little antique mall near us.  I can't wait to plant it.  I'm trying to decide whether to make it a small water garden or a container garden.

I spotted this Bewick's Wren in the Snowball Bush with a little tuft of what looks like dog fur.  I couldn't figure out where he was going with it.  Early today I noticed sticks on our deck under the Pine tree and wondered where they were coming from.  Were the school kids throwing them over the fence?  (You'd be surprised at what they throw over).  They were not Pine tree twigs.  After seeing this wren with it's nesting material I remembered that a few years ago Crows built a nest in the Pine tree and I found the same types of sticks on the deck.  The wind must have knocked them loose.

I probably won't be around much the next several days since we will have company staying with us this weekend.  Hopefully the next time I post some of these buds will have opened into flowers. 
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

The waiting is the hardest part.

I'm having such a hard time waiting to buy plants right now. My shovels are calling out to me to start digging holes for plants in the bed that we enlarged a couple of weeks ago in the side yard. Sometimes I stand and stare at a spot trying to envision what I want to grow in it. I'm trying to wait and see what the sunlight will be like in another month or so. It seems unusually sunny in this new area right now, I seem to remember it being shady during the summer. Even though I've gardened here for almost 11 years the lighting definitely has changed in this side yard. The neighbor's trees have been limbed up and thinned and a 5 foot tall lattice panel has been removed, both allowing quite a bit more sun into this area. I also know this soil can be very dry and I really want to continue to amend the soil before I plant much. So, I will continue to wait a little longer. I've told myself the selection will only be better at the nurseries in another month too.
While I wait to plant and see color in the blank places, I'll enjoy the color that is going on in other parts of the garden.

Daffodil 'Dutch Master' is my first ever Daffodil to bloom from a bulb I planted. I love how bright it is.

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) blooming in the pond. I just repotted it a few weeks ago and didn't even see a bud, just noticed the flower yesterday.

Camellia japonica 'Kumasaka' is full of flowers.

The Hellebores in the front yard.

One of my fall containers still looking bright and cheerful.

Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie' has the prettiest coloring on the new leaves.

Heuchera 'Marmalade' has just taken off with new growth. Most of the Heucheras have really started putting out a lot of new leaves.

Mock Orange (Philadelphus) is one of my favorites right now. The color is so bright, not sure which variety it is because it came unnamed. I've been peeking between the leaves looking for signs of the fragrant white flowers that aren't too far away.

The weather predicted is much cooler this week with highs in the upper 40's and lows in the mid 30's with rain. I usually check our weather forecast through NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). There is a place on the left side of the homepage where you enter you zip code and they give you a forecast based on your latitude and longitude and elevation.

The January pond.

Each month as I've gone out to take pond pictures I think that there won't be much new to show. Anytime you see something everyday it's difficult to notice the small changes taking place. These monthly pictures have really helped me to see the little changes occurring.
The Heron hasn't returned lately and so the little fish seem to feel safe swimming around again. The fish left are mostly all white that were "born" in the pond. I'm sure their color isn't as attractive to birds flying over.

When I stand back and look here I mostly see sticks, rocks and pond liner. But when I got up close I could see new growth coming up from the Marsh Marigold in the pond. Yesterday I finally re-potted the poor thing and hopefully I'll get lots more flowers from in this year. It always blooms in very early Spring.

Rusty the bird on the pond edge.

Rusty's view of the pond. I've got to do something with that pond liner this Spring.

More bulbs making their way above the ground.

Looking closer at the ground behind the pond I found lots of Larkspur seedlings as well as some Breadseed Poppy seedlings.

A view of the pond from the end of the path. My poor Acorus gramineus 'Minimus Aureus' container cracked during our December freeze. For now it looks okay. To the right of it are more plants in a makeshift holding area. Along the fence I need more "winter interest", but I have added Bergenia and once it gets larger should help some.

By mid February there should be more green showing around the pond. But who knows, maybe there will be snow then?

Signs of spring in the pond.

We had more sun here yesterday, although the weatherman continues with his threats of snow. I've been trying to take the time to enjoy the blue skies as much as I can in case he's right this time. Yesterday was busy with non garden related errands so I didn't get anything done outside. I did notice something that caught my attention though while I was letting the dog out. A new flower, right near the middle of the pond. Of course that drew me closer to the pond to see what else might be growing.

This is a water hawthorn flower. It's supposed to smell like vanilla, but I can never get close enough to smell it. If you click to enlarge this photo you can see all the seeds. It has reseeded some in my pond, but it's easy to remove if it ends up where it's not wanted. The hard part is reaching the seedlings. I've lost my balance more times than I can remember and almost fallen in trying to reach for things in the pond.

Water hawthorn leaves are oblong and float like water lily pads. The great thing about water hawthorn is that it thrives in the cooler weather. Late winter and early spring is when it blooms. Once it warms up the plant goes dormant. That's right about the time that the water lilies begin to bloom.

Marsh marigold leaves have also begun to find their way to the surface. This is another early bloomer. The flowers on this variety are white with a yellow center. I'm surprised this one is still alive since it's been knocked in so many times by the raccoons. It definitely needs repotting this spring and I need to figure out how to make it more secure.

Here is the first Sioux water lily pad to emerge. I love the mottled red coloring on the leaves. I'm always amazed at how fast the water lily grows. The flower buds start coming up as soon as the weather stays consistently warm, and that can be as early as April. The flowers are a light pink color that change to a darker shade as the bloom ages. Each flower lasts about 3 days, but there are always several more blooming around the same time. If you look closely you can just make out one of the Sarassa comets swimming by.

I still have a few more plants that haven't woken up yet, but I'm sure they won't be far behind these ones. I'll wait until after our April 9th frost day before I buy any floating plants such as water hyacinth, water lettuce or fairy fern. I've learned the hard way that they are very tender annuals here.

No snow as of this morning, and I hope it stays that way! Also, I need to remember to move the clocks ahead tonight. Another sign that spring is near!