Further intrigue

I mentioned in passing that there is another mystery plant, by the hostas.

I have started to wonder if it could possibly be the brunnera, somehow transplanted through all that destructive digging I did last year.  I can't quite bring myself to believe it, even though I think the leaves are a pretty good match to the pictures I have from the plant last year.  It looks like the brunnera, but a) the brunnera looks like it has leaves that come out of the stem in pairs and this guy comes up in singles

.... and b) I planted the brunnera in the sunny patch in front of the rhododendron and this guy is up behind the hostas.  There was nothing there last year (as this crappy picture shows). 

Of course, any of my speculations should be taken with a grain of salt.  For some time yesterday, I managed to convince myself that the polka-dotted leaves which are exactly like those belonging to pulmonaria, (such as it is photographed online, anyway) were the calla lily I planted last year.  You may say I'm a dreamer.  

Up Next

It looks like the daylily, which by rights should have been killed by my monstrous treatment of it last fall, will bring us flowers this year!  Of the five daylily clumps, only one doesn't have a visible bud.  Of course, the one that isn't showing a flower yet is the one that spent longest out in the cold and rain.  

Also soon to flower(?) is the mystery plant in front.  (A mystery plant in front, really.  There's plenty of mystery to go around out there.)  I pulled it all out last year, thinking it was a weed.  It clearly isn't, but I don't know what it is.  It looks like a sort of onion-y chive-y thing.  We'll find out soon enough what its nature is when it blooms.  Or maybe bears fruit?  I am not sure what these will turn into.  

Not coming up next and probably not coming up next year is the brunnera.  Too bad.  I would have liked to have a little blue patch in the front there.  It hasn't enjoyed its time with us at all. It was so pretty when we first brought it home.  

The Front (June 1)

The front yard had only a couple of things to go in on June 1.  It's a shady patch and much abused and needs weeding and nutrients and care and love and attention and it gets nothing.  Occasionally I throw it a bone, but it is fundamentally the neglected child.  I threw it two bones on June 1.  

The first was a brunnera plant; pretty little blue flowers on a slender, sparse plant.  It went in on the farthest east corner, hopefully not so far from the house that people will walk on it.

The second was a calla lily.  It's only a root-thing (bulb? corm?) at this point, but it is in front of the lily of the valley.  

The only remaining thing to add is that the mystery plant was definitely in bud on June first.  It looks a bit like an iris in the way the flower starts, but I have no memory of what I put in.  

Big Plans

We went to the seed store today!

On the theory that the side yard will have fewer weed invasions if there are healthy non-weeds filling up the dirt, we picked up annuals.  

We got some marigolds.  I think I'll put seeds in around these guys so that as the ones from the shop finish, new ones will be starting.  That's the hope. 

There's Janie Tangerine Marigold, with solid-coloured "crested, double flowers on compact plants".  It's to be planted in full sun 12 inches apart (in full sun), and it should grow 8-10 inches tall.

There's Marigold Bonanza Bolero.  They should produce variate flowers 10-12 inches tall (also to be planted 12 inches apart in full sun).  

We got some zinnias.  They're Profusion White and to be planted 12-24 inches apart in full sun.  They should grow to 10-12 inches tall.  They should be friendly, plain flowers with white petals and yellow centres.  I don't think I could pull a zinnia out of a lineup, so I am quite excited about seeing how these do.  They look like they might be good basic flowers.  

Too cool to ignore was the Gazanias in Tiger Mix form.  Most of the flats were already in full bloom, so this may have been a silly idea.  Hopefully, they'll last for a while.  They need to be planted in full sun 10 inches apart and they're supposed to get up to a foot tall.  They claim to be good for cutting.  We'll see.  

We used to get cut flowers a lot at the farmer's market in Hamilton.  After a certain time of day, you could get two bunches for $5.  This supplied one with just about the right amount of blooms and stems for a vase.  I miss that access to reasonably-priced flowers.  Here, $5 will get you a wilting handful of roadside weeds, if you're lucky.  Mostly, it'll get you laughed at.

One of the things I used to get at the Hamilton market was gladioli.  I love gladioli, so when I saw them at the shop today, I grabbed some bulbs.  It's too cold here for them to last through the winter, but according to the east coast gardener, you can take the bulbs out after the plants die back in the fall.  Perhaps I am up to it.  

I got a package of 10 gladiolus flevo 'Laguna'.  They're GUARANTEED to bloom!  They also say that they're easy to grow.  They instruct me to dig a hole slightly larger than the bulb(s), place the bulbs in the hole, cover with soil and water thoroughly.    They want full sun, go in at a planting depth of 4 inches.  They are supposed to grow to 22-28 inches.  They should be 6 inches apart and planted in SPRING.  That might be now!  

I also got 10 bulbs from the bulk bin at the shop.  I think they were supposed to come up red.  And VERY big.  Bulbs from the bin are about 3 times as big as those from the package.  

I'm not entirely ignoring the front.  I picked up a Heartleaf Brunnera (brunnera macrophylla), which I've been seeing around the city and liking the looks of.  It's a perennial that blooms in spring, likes partial sun or shade, copes with dry or moist, and grows to 18-24 inches tall.  I like its little blue flowers.  If this little guy works out, it might be the right thing to try around the far side of the house.  Oh! Or in the back.  Hooray for shade-loving flowers!

In the same line, I thought I'd try a calla lily up front.  This one is Albo Maculata.  The bulb (corm?) is packed in wood chips, so you know it's delicate.  This means that it won't survive the harsh conditions and crappy soil in the front.  But I need to give it a go.  The front needs nice things.    Besides, it too, is GUARANTEED to bloom.  It's supposed to be up in midsummer, so presumably I won't be seeing it until next year.  It wants full sun to partial shade (so it needs to go closer to the side than the door), it's to go in 4 inches deep and should grow to 16 inches tall.  If I ever get another, it will have to be 12 inches away from this one.  

But all of this is trivial. Forget FLOWERS!  We got a raspberry plant!!!! This is the most exciting thing in the history of exciting things.  I hope it comes out well.  

Last on the list?  The thing that we went to the shop for in the first place: Seed Potatoes.  Last year we grew Yukon Golds (and that worked well).  This year, I think we're a little bit late off the mark, so we're going to plant a fast variety.  It's called "Superior".  Sounds good, huh?  If we can get more than one potato crop out, we'll be living like kings.