March 7th. Cut back the foilage on the peonies that I didn't get mowed off last year, the rhubarb is just barely breaking through the ground so spring can not be too far behind. A couple of crown imperials (fritilaria) have sprouted quickly on the south side of the house and are up several inches. They will have to be either moved later this fall or some how incorporated into a new planting area. Right now they are alone in a midst of dirt. The shrubbery that was a back drop for them was taken out as it was getting too large. Hopefully I can make up my mind on what to plant this year and get that area of the yard updated.

March 11th. Started cleaning and raking off iris beds and the last bit of leftover foilage that remained from last year in the veggie garden. Tulips and daffodils are up a few inches along with the surprise lilies that I planted last year in a new area.

March 15th.. Didn't get much raking done over the week-end, was too windy. Today it is raining. Thank goodness the snow did not materialize that they had predicted. On the bright side of things I did do some shopping and picked up the last of my garden seed and some onion sets and seed potatoes. Also picked up some potting soil to repot the indoor plants.

March 16th. Ack! I spoke too soon. Rain changed over to snow early last night. Thankfully the ground was warm enought that it melted almost as soon as it fell. Woke to find the grassy areas and the trees covered in snow. Had drizzle and snow showers most of the day.

March 24th. The last several days have been very windy. I did at least get part of the veggie garden tilled and a few flowers planted.

March 26th. Cloudy and humid. Rained yesterday and more rain is forcast for the week-end. I did go out and look around a bit and found some scillia blooming, such tiny blue flowers, and my peonies are finally up about an inch. The daffodils are just starting to color up in the buds. I saw there is quite a bit to prune on the roses, but I have missplaced my pruning shears somewhere, argh! Hopefully the rain doesn't stay long and clears up fast. I am getting behind on raking and I need to spray dormant oil on the fruit trees before they bud out.

March 29th. Cloudy and cooler, more rain materialized later in the day. On the bright side though my daffodils and forsythia are blooming. The buds on an old apricot tree are starting to show some color. The grass is getting so green and taller that it will be time to mow in a couple weeks. Signs of spring are everywhere. The lilacs are starting to leaf out and my crown imperials (frittilaria) are almost a foot tall. Colder temps are predicted for the next three days with it dipping below freezing at night. That will be the end of the apricot blooms for this year and some flowering magnolias in the neighborhoood. Glad I didn't get everything planted earlier. Did some cruising at the local garden nurseries, I must be jumping the gun a bit...not much in the way of plants are out yet.

March 30th. Frost

March 31st. Light frost on the deck this morning, but the apricot tree so far seems to have missed the brunt of it. Today it's blossoms are opening up to a pretty display of blooms. It is such an old tree and half dead that I didn't bother spraying it, thinking I would have it removed. But seeing it in bloom I may change my mind and just have it pruned to cut away the dead branches and leave the main body of the tree. I did manage to get the apple,pear,and cherry trees sprayed with dormant oil. I might have been perhaps a little late with the cherry tree but as cold as it has been, the trees are late in getting to a green bud stage. The flies were out though so I am glad I did manage to get the spraying done. According to our local webguide for Nebraska...March is considered the time to spray, so of course I procrastinated till the very last day! lol. It is still so wet from the rain that it will be awhile before I get anything in the garden planted. I did sow a few seeds indoors for some moonflowers, cardinal vine, and malva. The cardinal vine was old seed so I am hoping there is some germination. The rest of the seed I think I will just self sow when it is dry enough.

April 5th. Did more tilling today. Retilled the areas I had done previously since the rain from earlier this week,had compacted the top a bit, as well as tilled the rest of the veggie garden. Did some more raking, have to find my pruning shears, the roses need to be pruned along with some rampant bittersweet.

April 6th. Absolutely gorgeous day today, was 74 early this afternoon when I checked. I planted some potatoes, and onions, along with some annual seeds: marigolds,zinnias,bachelor buttons,and cosmos in the veggie garden. The peonies are so slow in growing they are still less than 6 inches tall. On the bright side, I still have daffodils blooming along with two tulips that have opened already. Cleaned off a couple of flower beds and noticed that the creeping phlox is coloring up and should be blooming within a few days. Looking over the shadey plants the bleeding hearts are up about a foot and already are starting to form tiny heart clusters, they look really good so far. The ferns and hostas on the other hand are just barely up. A few varieties of hosta are up a few inches but the majority of them are just breaking thru the soil. Several perennials have not emerged yet but it has been a cold spring. I am hoping there was not too much winter kill. My Nellie Moser clematis is up a few inches but I think my species "alpina willy" clematis does not look like it has made it. I will keep my fingers crossed a few more days.

April 11th. HAPPY EASTER!

April 13th. Fantastic day today. Things are really starting to pop out. Several red and yellow tulips are now blooming along with the last of the daffodils. The purple muscari are also out and the bleeding hearts are filling out and blooming as well. Today I tried to take out an old sattelite dish in the back yard. I got the dish part out but getting the pole out that is set in concrete is another thing,lol. After much digging and trying to break up the concrete with a hammer I have decided to just paint the pole black and put a birdhouse or some other garden ornament on it. Later on I might add or incorporate it into a small flower bed. Also worked on the new beds in front of the house where some shrubbery was taken out last fall. The yard is in need of mowing but that will have to wait a few days yet. Bought a couple of blue rug junipers to put in a rockgarden that is on a bank.

April 15th. Got out all the garden furniture from the garage and hosed it off to be painted later. Picked up some sticks from a windy morning and the yard got mowed. Gorgeous,perfect day with a high of 72 degrees. With the beautiful weather the henbit and dandelions are making their appearance as well, ugh.

April 16th. It was a beautiful day today but very windy and warm. Highs were in the upper 80's, ack! too hot for this time of year. The trees though were gorgeous. Flowering crab apples, redbuds, and even my cherry tree bloomed out with a scattering of blooms opening on the pear trees. The tulips and other early flowering plants are not lasting long though with the terrible wind and heat. I did get my junipers planted and today bought a few more shrubs to plant later when it is cooler this week-end. High 80's are forcast for tomorrow and Sunday as well and cooler temps all of next week. A bit disappointed in the plant selections so far at the local businesses. Very few veggies plants offered at the moment.If it continues with the hot weather I can forget about putting in any cabbage plants. Watered a few plants and my indoor seeds that I planted are looking really good. the moonflowers and cardinal vines are up about 5-6 inches and the slower malva is up about an inch and a quarter. Spied a pulmonaria blooming it's little heart out when I went around the corner of the garage and some wild woodland phylox are close to opening up. Most all of the perennials are now emerged,even the really slow gas plants are up now a few inches. Sharpened some hoes and did a little hoeing but the ground is so hard. I may have to wait till it rains to soften up the soil a bit.

April 19th.Monday- Finally a cooler and calmer day. The whole week-end was hot, and so terribly windy. I hated to do much in the way of planting, anything I would have planted would have been whipped around and scorched by noon. Some hail and a few tornados were reported west of here but thankfully none materialized where I am at. Did a little shopping today and finally got some tomato and pepper plants. I planted: "better boys", "beefmaster" and a cherry tomato as well as some "anaheim" peppers. Hmmm, actually the peppers were a mistake and I thought I was getting just bell peppers. Oh well, we shall see how I like them when they produce. While in the veggie garden, noticed my onions have sprouted and are up a couple inches. Also planted some annuals, petunias,begonias,and some geraniums. Tomorrow it is forcast for thunderstorms, and I am crossing my fingers they materialize. The ground is soooo hard and I noticed some yews that were pruned back quite a bit last year are suffering a bit. Looks like a day of watering if no rain comes. On the bright side I noticed that there are buds on 4 of my 6 tree peonies. One of the tree peonies should be blooming next week. I encourage everyone to try and grow one of these fantastic plants. They are not as difficult as you would think.

April 20th. Less than 20 hundredths of rain. The grass continues to grow though,lol. Got absolutely nothing done outside today. Did notice lilacs are in bud and will be blooming soon. Now if I follwed the oldwives tale....now would be the time to plant corn...hmmm now to find where I put the seed,lol.

April 21st. Was cloudy most of the morning and into the afternoon but no rain materialized. Later in the afternoon I tilled up a new foundation/planting bed. It undulates in a large S curve and then back around to meet up with an iris bed. Planted the shrubs I had gotten last week: dwarf spruce, 2 spreading junipers,oakleaf hydrangea,bridal wreath spirea, 2 pink princess spirea, as well as 5 creeping phlox and transplanted several clumps of salvia. Need to do some more shopping to get more to fill it in, but it doesn't look half bad for being only partway finished. I do have more perennials I could seperate to fill in if need be. Hoping for rain tonight, the ground is so dry. It looks like it may be another year of drought, ugh.

April 23rd. Yard mowed and trimmed. Planted a couple of wiegelas, one of them being a variety named "wine and roses". I am anxious to see how this variety does, it has burgundy colored foilage and bright fuschia colored blooms. Also planted some more geraniums and watered the tree peonies which are in bud as well as all of the other annuals I had planted lately. I was surprised to see some of the old fashioned flag iris blooming already as well as the taller later tulips. Some of the tall bearded iris are also putting up stalks and will be blooming soon. Noticed while mowing I have some wild violets that are colonizing under two pine trees. They are so pretty so I left them for now. Pruned and watered one of my climbing roses, I will need to get on the ball and finish pruning the other roses.

April 24th. Rain and drizzle, what a welcome sight.

April 28th. A very hot windy day. Temps were in the mid 90's with the wind from the southwest at 38 mph gusting to 53mph according to the weather service. Gave up on any attempt of gardening but did water the potted plants that I have holding to be planted yet.

April 29th. What a difference a day makes. Today was overcast and cool with the temps not getting out of the 50's. No rain materialized but there is still a chance for rain tomorrow. Took advantage of the nice weather and finished pruning all the roses and weeding one iris bed. Overnight one of the tree peonies has opened up about a dozen blooms. A vivid red. Another pink variety is in bud as well as two different varieties of yellow. The buds on the yellow tree peonies are still small and will be later blooming, probably mid-May. The lilacs are in full bloom as well as the oldfashioned iris. Things are looking well in the veggie garden, weeds included. Looks like more weeding,ugh.

April 30th. Drizzle and cool.

May 2nd. Very cool today with it being cloudy off and on all day. Only one small sprinkle. Frost advisory overnight, ack!

May 4th. Short shower this morning that left as quickly as it came. Later in the afternoon, tilled and planted sweetcorn, some strawberry plants and a few black raspberry plants. I have a row of peonies bushes that flank the veggie garden, and noticed that they all have small buds on them as well as several stalks on the tall bearded iris will be blooming soon. One lone, bi-tone blue iris opened a couple days ago. Started planting the new foundation plants that I have had in holding. A second tree peony has begun blooming with paler pink blossoms, just beautiful!

May 5th. Was up early and finished putting in the last of the foundation plantings on the east side. Ran out of plants and need two more to finish that side and then to finish the larger planting bed on the south side. Yard mowed and started weed whipping. Was a rather warm day and it is predicted to be for several days. Did a little watering, and need to pick up another soaker hose as one that I have has sprung a leak.

May 6th. It is 92 degrees at 6:30 this evening, and I am calling it quits for the day. Picked up the last two plants I need for the foundation planting on the east side and also picked up a very pretty lavendar blue rose for the south planting bed (grandiflora angel face). All of the lawn furniture got a new coat of stain and the frame of the porch swing got a coat of paint as well. It could use one more coat of paint, but I will have to wait for the paint to dry. More iris are blooming and the next two weeks they will be at their peak. Uncovered and hosed off the air conditioner...ack..I am gonna need it if it is going to continue being hot. Saw two hummingbirds, and need to look up the recipe on the net for their sugar water or buy some stuff. Hmmmmm, looks like another foray in the garage to find the bird feeder too,lol.

May 7th. Another warm and windy day. Finished my weed whipping I had started the other day and then did some watering. Scrubbed off the deck to get it ready for a new coat of stain.

May 8th. After much searching (ack,the garage is a mess), I found the hummingbird feeder and got it cleaned and filled. Recipe for nectar: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. (NO red food coloring as it may be harmful to the birds.) Did some more watering and hoping the rain that is predicted for early next week will emerge.

May 9th. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Another warm and windy day. Did manage to get the veggie garden hoed and weeded. It appears some squirrels or something has been doing a little digging in the onions and I had to replant a few bulblets back in the soil. Otherwise they are up several inches and the potatoes as well. I have one oriental poppy blooming already and it is one of the red varieties. Later on the pink and mauve ones will be opening as well, they are just loaded with buds. The iris are just so beautiful I had to sit outside and just admire the flowers after I was done weeding. As it was getting dark I saw one tiny hummingbird visit the feeder and of course I am already thinking I need to get another one to put up,lol. My second yellow tree peony has started blooming and the blooms have a yellow background with and overcast of pale red. Late in the day with the sun behind them they almost appeared orange. There was one small thunderboomer overnight that only brought a brief shower so I had the soaker hose on the new foundation plants I had planted,for a bit. A better chance of rain tonight and tomorrow...hope so...my sweetcorn will need it to germinate. And I am already tired of watering,lol.

May 11th. Planted my yellow peppers, almost hated to it is so windy. Weeded the daylilies and oriental poppies, noticed my corn is up..woohoo!

May 12th. Drizzle and cloudy

May 13th. Rain and drizzle. I am sitting here typing this at 2:00 in the afternoon and it is 45 degrees! Simply unbelieveable considering just a day or two ago it had been in the mid 90's. I will take the rain and cooler weather though,it is a relief from the hot dry windy days.

May 15th. Another very windy day. I did go out later in the evening and planted some "big max" pumpkins in amongst the corn that is coming up and planted two hills of some burpless cucumbers. About half of the peony bushes are blooming now. An old unknown red variety,a single variety, (pink princess also known as pink dawn) and two bomb type peonies that are very similiar in coloration except one is darker, (top brass and raspberry sundae). An old fashioned rose is blooming that I have lost the name of, as well as a taller david austin rose, "constance spry". Species rose "complicata" is just starting to open up some buds.

May 17th. Tilled and extended the planting/foundation bed on the south side of the house so that it follows alongside of the drive and hooks up with a bed of iris that flanks the side of the road. I am hoping with the beds connected and flowing together it will mean less trimming and easier when mowing. I got all of the plants I had in holding put in the bed along with a few coral bells and some more annuals. I lack a few yet to fill the bed in completely so it looks like another trip to the nursery, I am of course terriby disappointed,(wink) lol.

May 18th. Almost as soon as I had finished planting yesterday the rain came, what a relief it was very much needed. More thunderstorms overnight and today is very overcast with intermittent showers, no gardening today.The grass really needs to be cut and I don't know where all those weeds sprang from almost overnight,ack!

May 19th. Went out late in the evening and cut flowers for a flower show the next day. It has been cloudy and windy all day and looks like it could rain any time.

May 20th. Very hot and humid, a miserable day. Only one small sprinkle late in the day. Took flowers in for the flower show early in the day. Did really well on my iris. "Supreme Sultan" and "Money" (a yellow iris) took top honors for iris.

May 21st. Yard work, the mowing never ends. Planted some raspberry plants that I got in the mail. There must have been a mistake, they sent more than I ordered. I didn't have room for that many so I planted some in clumps of two or three, later on this fall I can do some transplanting when I have a new area prepared for them.

May 22nd. Hoed and weeded half of the veggie garden before the rain came late in the evening. A stormy night in Nebraska with many tornados spotted. No damage here thank goodness. Heavy rain.

May 24th. More storms, only a couple small showers.

May 26th. Got all my annuals planted before leaving tomorrow, woohoo!

May 27th - June 1st. Gone on vacation.

June 1st. Got home late in the afternoon from my trip, and to a yard riddled with small limbs everywhere. The next door neighbor came over and said on Saturday there had been 70 mile an hour winds and almost 4 inches of rain that fell. Glad I missed it all.

June 2nd. Picked up sticks. Noticed there is one really large limb hanging from an elm tree that hasn't fallen yet.

June 4th. Yard mowed and trimmed. Everything is looking so green and lush. Tomato plants are just loaded with blooms and my climbing "don juan" rose is looking fantastic. There are still just a few straggling blooms of iris and peonies. Coreopsis are loaded and bachelor buttons that reseeded are blooming as well. Noticed several walnut seedlings have sprouted practically overnight. The crownvetch is blooming and looks pretty but it is going to it's demise this year. It is extremely invasive and is popping up in places it shouldn't. An orange tiger lily has one bloom open with more ready to pop. Can't believe the weeds that have sprung up.

June 7th. A busy week-end and nothing accomplished outside. It is just as well the humidity has been awful. Did manage to go out and weed the new planting bed on the south side of the house and some weeding out in the veggie garden as well. Weeded the raspberries and noticed the new plants are starting to send up some green leaves from the base,woohoo. I can not believe how much grass has come up in the corn. But it did not get weeded last time I was out in the garden before all the rains. Got part of it started. It will take awhile, (groan).

June 8th. Hot and windy. Did weed a few more rows of corn and only have 3 rows left. Someone shoot me I bought two 6-packs of a bluish-purple verbena. (it was on sale, is my excuse,lol).

June 10th. Finished weeding all of the veggie garden and planted the verbena. Have some over-zealous crownvetch that is blooming like crazy, as well as taking over like crazy. Hoping to cut it back and spray it with weedkiller to get rid of it and then thin out some iris clumps to replant on the bank later in July.Yard mowed.

June 11th. Small shower overnight. The yuccas are just looking fantastic. There are two different varieties, one with more cream colored flowers that blooms about a week later after the taller, more whitish blooms of the other variety. Also the cream colored variety, the stems have a reddish cast. I don't believe the variety was labeld when I got it, would love to plant some more of it.

June 12th. The daylilies are blooming like crazy, so beautiful. Weeds are growing beautifully too, ugh!

June 16th. Yard mowed and trimmed. Need to cut out some walnut seedlings that are sprouting up in a couple spots. Everything is looking so green and lush from the rain, potatoes almost finished blooming, tomatos have small green tomatos, and the corn has just shot up in such a short time with the heat,humidity,and moisture.

June 19th. Been cloudly and cool with rain off and on for the last couple of days. Not much, but enough to be a nuisance.

June 21st. Rain,wind, and small hail overnight. Thankfully doesn't look like hardly any damage. A couple more small showers later in the afternoon, but only enough to get the deck wet.

June 23rd. A very muggy day, weeded the raspberry patch and was almost carried off by mosquitos. Have tons of small green cherry tomatoes, as well as larger tomatoes on the other plants. The grasshoppers are about, still tiny yet, and I need to spray once the rain ceases for more than one day. My hot peppers have a few peppers on them and the daylilies are just blooming their hearts out.

June 25th. Cooler weather has moved in and it has been fantastic. Still very humid though, cloudy and a couple of sprinkles. Record lows for last night and the night before, with the humidity actually higher than the actual temps.

June 26th. Overcast with just one small sprinkle. Yard mowed, but trimming still needs to be done....and weeding of course,ugh.

June 30th. Planted three yucca plants that FINALLY arrived in the mail for a mail order catalog (Gurneys). They looked a little dry but the roots were fleshy so I am sure they will perk up soon. Weeded the new South bed and picked a couple anaheim peppers in the garden. There are just tons of green tomatoes, but still none that have started to turn yet. The corn is tasseling and the new raspberry plants are all sprouted and doing well. The potato plants are done blooming and starting to die back a little. I still have not looked under a hill to see how they are doing. The pumpkin plants are starting to run and have really grown like crazy. Coneflowers,liatris,creeping sedums, dianthus,lavendar, are all blooming and have been for almost two weeks. Has been so humid, I haven't gotten much done out in the gardens, and with other projects going on I am hoping things slow down some in July.

July 1st. Very foggy this morning, with the humidity high this morning at 92 percent at 8:30. A short brief heavy shower this afternoon, put a damper on any work in the garden this evening. Noticed I have some seed pods on a couple of iris. I will have to harvest those and try to start some new plants from them. I am anxious to start cleaning and seperating my iris beds, but I first need to prepare the new beds and amend the soil in the old beds. Ack! I need a full-time gardener,lol.

July 2nd. Some small rain showers.

July 4th. Happy 4th! Living up to it's name,by being hot and humid,ugh.

July 6th. Cloudy and cool. Picked a large handfull of cherry tomatoes and some anaheim pepppers. Too muddy from the rain to hoe or weed, yard is looking like a jungle. Seems like there has been a shower every other day for weeks.

July 7th. A few rain showers in the afternoon. Bought three hostas on clearance for 2.50 a piece. I had to save them, they were calling to me,lol.

July 8th. Cloudy and overcast.

July 15th. Not much new to report...yard mowing,picking corn,tomatoes,peppers,cukes,etc. Continues to rain at least one day a week which is so unusual for Nebraska in July. Usually it is hot,and dry and I am dragging the hose around. The weeds are getting ahead of me though,ack! Did get my hostas planted that I picked up on clearance. All three varieties are yellow leaved or green and yellow. Have room for a couple more perennials in that bed and then it can be mulched.

July 18th. Hot and muggy, did get one iris bed cleaned and it is ready now to thin out...if only I had a new spot for the extras,lol. Have two huge beds to finish yet. Ugh.

July 21st. Rain over night. Went out to the garage which I had left open overnight to get my pruning shears, when a fox peeked his head out from behind some shelving. Not sure who was more shocked, me or the fox. I slowly backed up and gave him his room. Wish I had my camera. He bailed across the yard up into a corn field across the way.

July 24th. Picked more tomatoes, they are going like gang busters. The corn is about finished, picked the last of it, and the daylilies are still blooming their hearts out. Dug up the potatoes and onions. The tops of the onions were already laying down and the potatoes were starting to yellow and die down. The grasshoppers however had just riddled their leaves. Was afraid with all the rain they would start to rot. Was a pretty good crop, considering. Not as much rot as I suspected.

July 28th. Started clearing off a bank of crownvetch, the plant from H*LL. My plan is to weedwhip it all down, rake it off and spray with 2-4D, and then in a couple weeks, transplant some iris to the area along with seeding some bi-ennials and perennials. Was about 3/4ths of the way done when I got rained out.

July 29th. Rain early this morning. Just a soggy mess out there. A steamy day. On the bright side, my magic surprise lillies (lycoris) are up and starting to bloom.

YEAR 2005

March 29th. Gorgeous day was warm and windy, and in the mid 70's. Hard to believe it was just last Monday we had rain and sleet mixed with snow. Looks and finally feels like spring. Have two daffs blooming with more about to open. Tulips are up about four inches, with the foilage of the suprise lilies just a tad taller. Planted a redbud tree and cleared off the last of my iris beds. The ground needs about one or two more days before I can till the veggie garden. Have a lot of plans but they always change before the year is done.

March 30th. Thunderstorms rolled thru early this morning, but only had drizzle off and on for the day. Was windy and a lot cooler with a high of only 56 degrees. Did go out for a walk later in the day and noticed tiny blue scillia blooming and that the fritillaria is up several inches. The warmer weather and little bit of rain did cause things to green up,and several perennials to perk up. Peonies are just barely up but should shoot up with the return of the warmer weather. Of course the weeds have already got a headstart,ugh.

April 4th. Another great day,past couple of days have been in the low 80's. The forthysia has been blooming for a few days, along with more daffs and some early tulips starting to get buds. A scattering of blooms on the creeping phlox opened up later in the afternoon. Tilled and fertilized the veggie garden, and pruned the black raspberry plants. Cleaned out one daylily bed, and did a little more tilling and clean-up in last years newly reset iris bed. They are predicting rain tomorrow afternoon,hoping to get some peas and onions planted before then.

April 5th. Cloudy and overcast day and considerably cooler. Did manage to get my peas,onions,carrots planted along with a few canna rhizomes. It's a little early for them, but they were sprouting and the weather has been so warm, I went ahead and planted. Noticed some of the hostas are poking up along with the bleeding hearts which are up about 5 inches. Also noticed the henbit and dandelions have arrived too..ack!

April 6th. Cloudy and overcast for most of the morning before rain finally arrived at noon, just small showers during the afternoon with only about half an inch of precipitation. Just 30 miles south of me they had almost 4 inches.

April 8th. Weeded last years new south flower bed. Happy to see that all of the perennials and shrubbery survived, now to fill in the spaces from last years annuals. Spied on the north corner of the garage bed, that the old fashioned bleeding hearts are much larger than the ones by the house and they are already just beginning to bloom.

April 9th. Sunny and very windy. Did plant several liatris corns/bulbs in the south flower bed to help it tie in with the rock garden to the East which also has liatris in it. Weeded one iris bed in front of the house and was hoping to try some preen on it to control grass and weeds, but was afraid to sprinkle it on in the wind. Have several tree peonies next to the iris bed and need to look up a little more info on it's use. The peonies are too expensive to replace.

April 12th. Have had thunderstorms off and on the last couple of days. Mainly just cloudy and overcast today and so chilly compared to the past week. It struggled to get to the mid 40's here today, brrrrr. I did go out in the late afternoon and walk around a bit. The raspberries I pruned are leafing out well and some of the onions I planted are just peeking thru the mud. Spied the muscari blooming like crazy and I wonder how long they have been blooming, they are tucked in an out of the way space. Some of the species tulips are blooming,and the lilacs look like they will be blooming soon. Hope to get the yard mowed this week-end it has just shot up with this rain, ugh.

April 15th. Cut back perennials and cleaned off one rock garden,and pruned back a wayward evergreen. Noticed the pulmonarias are blooming, and the cherry tree is just loaded with blooms. The pear and apple trees are just a little behind. So many trees are now in their prime,flowering crabs,redbuds,flowering pear,dogwoods,etc. Tempted to plant a few varieties this year somewhere. A couple of late daffodils opened up and more tulips are sending up buds to bloom. Picked up sticks so the yard is ready to mow later.

April 16th. Thunderstorms rumbled thru early this morning but cleared by noon. Warmed up into the high 70's today and cruised the plants at the local nurseries. Resisted and only picked up some mixed tall fescue grass seed to fill in some bare spots from a couple trees that were removed early this spring. Half the yard got mowed before the steering on the rider broke a pin, argh!

April 19th. Warm and muggy day today, had thunderstorms rumble thru last night, with continued chance for rain most of this week. High was in in the 80's today. On the bright side, things are really blooming like crazy. The apple trees are finally in full bloom. I was afraid this would be a light year with so few blooms earlier, but today the trees are loaded. Hoping that things dry out soon so I can get back to weeding. The peas,onions,and carrots are up nicely in the garden, and once it dries up I have corn,beans,cukes,dill,zucchini,squash seed to plant along with tomato and pepper plants. There is a slight chance for frost one night this week-end, but as warm as it has been, I am not worried it will happen (knock wood).

April 20th. Thunderstorms early this morning. Was cloudy and cool most of the morning before clearing off and turning muggy and into the 70's. Tomorrow looks like more rain in the forecast.

April 21st. Thunderstorms early about 4 a.m. this morning with more forecasted for the day. Cloudy and overcast at 10:30 a.m. this morning with 85 percent humidity and 65 degrees. On the upside, I have one iris that is sending up an early flower stalk and 4 of my six tree peonies have buds and will be blooming soon...woohoo! Thunderstorms rolled thru later this afternoon and brought heavy rain and marble-sized hail. Less than 10 miles from me the hail was deep enough to shovel...eek. Tornado warnings all afternoon, but thankfully no damage here. It is a soggy mess.

April 24th. Turned off cold and windy for the week-end. Highs were only in the mid 50's and lows were in the low 30's. Saturday night had frost/feeze. Ran out late that night with covers to cover up the tree peonies that were just starting to bloom. Looks like rain is in the forcast for a lot of next week again,ugh. On the upside, it doesn't like the blooms on the tree peonies were affected. An early pink variety has over a dozen blooms open or opening. Several of the iris are sending up stalks as well,which is very early for them.

April 26th. Windy and raw day, still getting down in the 30's at night and only low 50's in the daytime. Even though it was overcast and cloudy, went and visited the plant stores and came home and planted some early flat dutch cabbage (which likes the cold anyways) and put in a few pink veronica. Also picked up some juniper rug evergreens to put on a steep bank,mixture of several pink,purple,and white geraniums,a jackmani clematis for my pink/purple/blue/white garden, and some tomato and pepper plants to be put out when it's warmer. Did get the yard done yesterday but didn't get all the trimming done, a brief shower put an end to those plans. Hopefully tomorrow is warmer and drier, have so much weeding to do.

April 26th. Pulled a muscle in my lower back, so much for gardening today. Figures, it would be warmer today in the low 60's and more rain predicted for the rest of this week......grrrrr.

April 29th. Cloudy and overcast and soooo cold. It is noon and still in the low 40's. Glad I didn't set out my tomato,peppers,and geraniums yet. Did have a very small shower yesterday and there is chance for another one today. Think I will hold off on transplanting for a few days because of my back and because the next few nights it is suppose to get down near freezing again...ack!

May 2nd. Back is still sore, but did go out and hoe/weed the south flower bed. Noticed there is a ton of wild phlox that has seeded in part of the yard by the garage I need to transplant when my back feels better. The weigelia bushes are starting to bud and will be blooming soon. Some late mixed tulips are blooming and two more tree peonies are starting to bloom. A medium pink variety and one that was labeled purple but has a lot of pink tones to it. Bought more plants...lol

May 3rd. Planted some annuals, and a few perennials;candy tuft,bugle weed,a jackmani clematis. Have lots more to do but my back says no.

May 4th. Windy and cool this morning with one bried shower while I was planting a flat of geraniums. Did some trimming of some perennials to tidy them up. Have a few perennials that need to be moved. Hopefully more done this week-end. Warmed up in the 70's..fantastic day.

May 6th. Warm, windy day with highs above 80. Did get the veggie garden tilled and bushbeans,cantalope,dill,and a bi-color sweetcorn planted. Also planted the strawberries,tomato plants, and pepper plants that were in holding, and did a little weeding. A chance for rain is back in the forcast for several days this upcoming week. Noticed the black raspberries are about to bloom.

May 8th. Very windy and warm with highs in the low 80's, much of a repeat from yesterday. More blooms have opened on the tree peonies, one of the yellow varieties has opened up, but the wind is rough on the blooms and they are not lasting long. Finished weeding one section of iris, and watered the strawberries. Rain rumbled thru with a small shower this evening. A few iris have bloomed, a medium/dark blue variety,an older pale blue, and a bi-tone wine/purple. I was a bit surprised, usually one of the first iris to bloom for me is a reddish blend called "lady friend". Seems like everything is a bit early this year.

May 10th. Very warm day with highs in the low 90's, a strong breeze helped to make the day more tolerable but added to the drying out of the plants more. Watered for a few hours this morning, and hopefully the 90% chance of rain forcast for tomorrow materializes. The iris are just really starting to come into making a huge show. The purple/violet blooms of wild larkspur are also blooming right now, very pretty with the last of the tulips and pink dianthus. The weigelias are also blooming. Last year's "wine and roses" that was planted is just covered, love the deep bronzy red foilage of it. Have a few plants I need to move around but am waiting for cooler weather. Hard to believe it is after 10p.m. and it is still 81 degrees. Ack!

May 11th. Windy and cooler, starting cleaning out a flowerbed on the East side of the garage, need to move some yuccas from the bed as it is too moist for them and they need somewhere drier. Short shower in the early afternoon ended my yardwork for the day. Not much moisture, but enough to make it messy. More iris are opening up every day,just beautiful.

May 13th. Last few days have been cooler and rainy with thunderstorms. Almost 2 inches of rain total, this should really help the corn come up. Today was overcast and grey for most of the day, the sun finally peeking out late in the afternoon.

May 14th. Yard mowed and trimmed. Breezy and cool, with some areas north of me having possible frost overnight.

May 17th. Warm and windy today with a high of 81 degrees and 35 mile an hour winds. Waited till the evening to go plant a few petunias, and weed the strawberry bed,raspberries,tomatos,and peppers. The corn,beans, and squash are up and the peas are already blooming. A couple of oriental poppies are open, and about 3/4th of the iris are blooming. One single peony bud was open and the peonias should be opening up well by the end of the week. Have three varieties of wiegelia blooming, all in different shades of red/pink. Thinking I need to plant a few more blue and purple varieties of perennials or annuals in my south bed. I do have some blue bachelor buttons that seeded on a bank, starting to open. Need to spray some stray crownvetch from last fall that has popped up, but has been so windy. Chance of rain tonight and tomorrow.

May 21st. Last couple of days have been so hot and muggy with hardly a breeze. Highs were in the 90's. Got a break this morning when it cooled down to the high 50's overnight and was able to go out and finish weeding the veggie garden. Only thing left to weed were the watermelons and then I can start on the iris again. So far none of the rain predicted materialized today so tomorrow will be watering, it is getting pretty dry. More peonies are opening and one bloom on my climbing rose Don Juan has opened. Some blooms are just starting to open on an old fashioned pink rose which I have lost the label for, need to look up the old order form to find it. Everything looks really good, and the iris are really putting on a show. One of the mauve colored oriental poppies has started to bloom.