The Bloom

May is always such a busy time for gardening. The majority of plants go into the ground around Mother’s Day, and the weeds are never-ending. This May was unusually warm and the new soil helped revive plants who have clearly been malnourished. The stay-at-home order allowed for much more time in the garden than in other seasons, which has given me long periods to really observe the plants as they grow. The garden log for May is below.

May 5th

The Allium are blooming. 

The Asian greens are sprouting, along with the dahlias in containers. 

Our first thunderstorm of the season occurred last night, and it was gorgeous. All but 2-3 of the repotted Bee Balm are looking strong enough to survive. 

Today I plan to tidy up the shed, throw any dead plantings away, and pot up anything that needs more room to grow.  

May 8th

The Bleeding Heart out front has bloomed and is gorgeous. The roses are showing signs of regrowth as well.

The Delphinium is growing leaves, while the Red Valerian and Salvia are budding. 

The weeds are a nightmare.

In the back, two new ferns have poked their way through the soil, and our very first Lily of the Valley is happily blooming. The Hollyhock seeds have been planted. 

This week I have been hardening off the Milkweed, Bee Balm (again), Dill, blackberry plant, and the two from High Country Gardens: Star Frost Echinops and Mars Midget Pin Cushion Flower. Yesterday I planted two more Dahlias: Hayley Jane and Arbatax. 

May 10th

S and I worked on the weeds in the front today. Yesterday I planted Forget-Me-Nots, Columbine, and Bells of Ireland seeds in the hanging baskets, and started the hardening off process for all of the plants inside (barring the Okra).

I programmed the sprinkler system and changed one of the sprinklers in the side yard into a soaker hose. 

Tonight, when it is cooler, I will plant the Milkweed, Bee Balm (only one remains), Dill, blackberry plant, and the Star Frost Echinops and Mars Midget Pin Cushion Flower.

May 17th

Planted 10 peppers in the garden (some of the tags were lost): 

  • 4x Chile Padron
  • 6x Sweet California Wonder & Sweet California Wonder Orange

Planted tomatoes:

  • 1x Cherokee Purple
  • 2x Bumble Bee Cheery 
  • 1x Golden Jubilee
  • 1x Green Zebra
  • 1x Golden Jubilee
  • 1x San Marzano 
  • 1x Italian Roma
  • 2x Tomatillo
  • 1x Cape Gooseberry 

I set out the Flat Leaf Parsley Seeds and all of the Basil. 

I gave A 6 tomato starts this week which felt so awesome. 

S and I worked for a few hours on the front island and finally completed shoveling the dirt into it. There is no sign of the Butterfly Bush on the island, but the Red Valerian, Bleeding Heart, Salvia, and a single, gigantic, orange Oriental Poppy are blooming. The Russian Sage, Roses, Delphinium, and grasses are also coming back.

I purchased Allysum, Lobelia, Portulaca Roses, which I planted in the hanging baskets. Nothing has spouted yet. 

The side yard plants are doing well.

The sprinkler system seems to be running twice through every cycle which is annoying. I hope to have finally fixed it this morning by eradicating all but a single start time. 

May 23rd

The front garden is looking gorgeous, all of the flowers in the front bed are blooming.

In the back, the creeping thyme is blooming and the hostas are verdant.

There is finally sprouting in one of the hanging baskets. The plants are settling in well in the raised beds. 

Along the back of the beds, I planted the sunflowers:

  • Sunflower – Shock-O-Lat
  • Sunflower – Heirloom Beauties
  • Sunflower – Mammoth Russian
  • Sunflower – Dwarf Teddy Bear

I also soaked and planted the Nasturtiums around the tomatoes and peppers:

  • Nasturtium Peach Melba Superior Seeds
  • Nasturtium Jewel Blend Seeds
  • Nasturtium Black Velvet Seeds

The grass is looking gorgeous and filling in. 

Earlier this week the Cape Gooseberry sprouts died and I replanted seeds. 

I also planted  2 each of 

  • Cucumber English
  • Cucumber Lemon
  • Cucumber Straight Eight
  • Gourd – Birdhouse
  • Black Beauty Zucchini Summer Squash
  • Prolific Straightneck Summer Squash 

I sprinkled a variety of zinnia seeds in all of the blank spots in the beds:

  • Envy
  • Northern Lights Blend
  • Peppermint Stick
  • Queen Red Lime
  • Queen Lime Orange
  • Queen Giant Lime

The Oriental poppies along the fence are stunning. 

This year I allowed what I thought was a weed to grow and flower, but when S used an app to identify it, it came back as a kind of phlox. Ironically, I am growing two phlox plants in the same spot. I plan on researching this plant today to confirm. 

May 24th

I potted up the Okra and hope that the smaller of the two plants thrive. 

May 30th

This week I hardened off the okra and four more hollyhock plants and placed them in beds in the backyard. The Zucchini has sprouted and there are sprouts in the Cape Gooseberry pot. The tomatillos are thriving and the tomatoes are growing well. 

The peonies have formed buds and one has started to bloom.

The hanging baskets have new sprouts.

One of the Iris bulbs has a bud.

In the front yard, the Blue Veronica is doing well, along with the Salvia, Primrose and Valerian. This year has been great so far in terms of growth.