Spring Planting

Figuring that spring had finally arrived, I began one morning by removing the water heaters beneath the pigeon and chicken waterers. Then I removed the weather proofing from the pigeons' window and opened it up so they could fly:

 I locked Remy and Blue out of the barn because the weather was so nice. They didn't care, though, as they were having a grand time:

 The dogs were in their fenced run and watched every move I made. But where was Jack?

 Jack was at the fence, barking:

 I brought out a bale of hay for the herd, then replaced the bale spear with the bucket and scooped up the sod from a strip just outside the dog fence:

 Oops, I scooped too much, but used what sod remained outside the tractor bucket to replace where I'd scalped too far out from the fence. Jack, as you can see, continued to run in circles and bark:

 I had ordered a big box of fancy hybrid Day Lilies which had been discontinued and were on sale, so I opened the box and soaked them briefly in a bucket of warm water. Jack, Fergus and Seamus watched intently:

 I planted perhaps 20 Day Lilies in an eight foot strip between the fence and the driveway, using the compost I'd scooped up when I dumped the sod:


 I had a lot of compost left in the tractor bucket when I was done, so I put several inches of it on top of the Iris plants near the porch. I've done this every spring for a couple of years and it seems to benefit the Iris but hasn't yet caused the Rhododendron to bloom:

 The two rose seedlings spent the day outdoors, becoming acclimatized to real outdoor life:

Then I used more compost to mulch the rock garden and Peony patch because I had a few more new plants to add to the flowering plants of the yard. I planted Astilbe, Peony and Asiatic Lilies. While digging, I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of last year's bulbs sending up healthy looking shoots. The poor Tulips, however, had been up but were being eaten by rabbits:


The rock garden should have so many flowering plants this year that I hope they crowd out the weeds:

Two Flowers And A Bunch Of Dead Looking Sticks

I ordered two rose plants, both Zone 3 hardy and of the category "Modern Canadian Roses." One was Morden Sunset and other was Morden Blush. Alas, our spring was so delayed that the poor plants arrived during a week long winter storm at the end of April. I put them in the empty room behind the house, where the temerature would stay cool, but not cold - and there were big windows for sunlight:

 To my surprise, the Morden Sunrise bloomed:

 The Morden Blush tried to bloom but never quite opened all the way:

 After our long and particularly rigorous winter, spring finally arrived. I took a walk around the yard to see how the buds were looking. This was the pear tree, and it looked OK to me:

 The Lilac bush looked like it was waking up also:

 I wasn't so encouraged by the Snowball Bushes, but they are extraordinarily hardy so I think they will be fine:

 Alas, the Magic Carpet Spirea, planted last year, looked dead as a doornail. Maybe the roots survived, but I won't count on it:

 Similarly, I saw nothing to encourage me on the Monet Weigela. The good news is that I ordered three more seedlings online. The bad news is that if this one couldn't live, will the new baby plants do any better?

 The Blue Moon Wisteria was still there but didn't quite look dead. I'll hope for the best. I also walked over to the Mandarin Honeysuckle and there was nothing there to photograph, not even a dead stick. But it was supposed to be extremely hardy, so I am still hopeful:

 The one plant I expected to die was the hardy Magnolia which I transplanted in the autumn. To my surprise, it was covered with healthy looking buds. The Hydrangea planted in front of it, though, looked dead, dead, dead:

 One of my Ninebark bushes looked OK but the other Ninebark, the one which suffered all last summer with fungus, looked dead. I have 14 Day Lilies to plant this spring so I expect to have a lot of flowers this year: