I don't have anything tall, somehow?, so I planted some 'Creme de Cassis' hollyhocks, and Nicotiana that's supposed to be really tall 'Only the Lonely'. Nicotiana tends to stick around here, even though a lot of people grow them as annuals.

Not really, Rouge - have been popping them in more or less continuously, as soon as I can get away with it. I fret and stress over the greenhouse seedlings. Too many, too hard to stay on top of watering, rapidly diminishing space, label issues, pests. As soon as they are released 'into the wild' - either a larger container in the garden or somewhere on the allotment), I am much more relaxed about them (out of sight, out of mind). And I plant them as early as I think I have a chance of getting away with it. So I sowed a bunch of sedums and sempervivums I have been tucking into corners around the garden. Also, put a lot of pulsatillas, hesperis, geum, verbascum, dianthus, larkspur, penstemons in the ground at the allotment. All of these are seed sown. The first ,mature plants I have planted are salvias - 'Phyllis Fancy', Leucantha, sagitata planted in the last month, along with 2 ferns- polystichum setiferum and dryopteris erythrosa. My latest was a polemonium 'Lambrooke' Mauve, on Wednesday.

Three baptisia Sparkling Sapphires planted in a group - I saw baptisia planted en mass (used in lieu of shrubbery) last year so I'm stealing the idea

I never put anything in the ground (there is none on my balcony), so not the same but I got a climbing Don Juan a month or two back and potted it up and think that counts. :) I had one of these which lived a short glorious life before succumbing to winter. The new one hasn't grown much at all since but it has only been warm sporadically and sun is scarce or non existent until mid April on my NW facing balcony.

I also started a johnson's blue geranium and Siberian iris rhizomes.

Gee, I'm still raking leaves and cleaning out the beds lol. Haven't even thought about planting anything yet. Guess I better get a move on!

:)

Dee

We’re supposed to get snow in the coming week so I’m holding off on planting. But I’ve already cleaned all my beds and the ground has thawed enough in some places to allow for weeding.

I received my lily order yesterday! They’re potted up and under my grow lights! I should be able to plant them in 2-3 weeks!

I also have no ground per se to plant in but I've been busy repotting and up potting many of my container plants. And I've been adding to my collection! Two lupines from the West Country series (bicolors), a perennial erysimum, Lobelia tupa, a 'Snow Fever' hellebore and red Asiatic lilies. I've also been acquiring some desperately needed broadleaved evergreen shrubs - Mahonia 'Soft Caress', nandina 'Gulf Stream', choisya 'Aztec Pearl' and a Honey Butter rhododendron. I still need more :-))

And I potted up a bunch of pure white zonal geraniums and cheated and bought an assortment of sweet pea starts. I am so not good with seeds!

Lugging 40 or 50 pound bags of potting soil through my condo and to my tiny little backyard planting area was not fun and I still need more of that as well.

I got a late start due to some travel in Feb and March, which was good times, so no regrets, but puts plants at risk of missing some of the spring rains that help new thins survive.

A local nursery had Epimediums ! None locally for decades. Gallon size at a manageable price much lower than online. Got , ummm, a lot. Because, deer, summer drought, challenging conditions. I already have some established that I had dug up from previous house, and they are actually spreading slowly, so but I want to try some in several other areas and see how they do there. Also Lowe’s had a nicer type of Hellebore so got those and have put some in ground, more to go. I do also order from our native plant society, and made a day trip to one of their nursery sources , and last year ordered from several online nurseries, since many things I need for my conditions aren’t available locally. But, I love cruising the big box stores and lucking in, I guess because they order in lots & somewhat randomly, and I’ll find things that “ they know not what they have”. This is where spending ( too much) time reading about plants & having tried some more expensive tiny things from online is so helpful, because then able to recognize “ gold” or reject pretty things that end up here but are meant for way different climes. Plus, some of the areas I’m planting would look better with larger swathes of 1 or 2 things, and of course it’s easier then to water a whole patch through the first year than to keep adding new to same area, so trying to get more at once & get them in the ground. So, also got a lot of quart Autumn ferns to expand groups already established. I like propagating, but like rosaprimula I have to worry & keep them alive to grow up. Plus I’m getting too old to wait for some things to get bigger.

I had divided and moved several things around much earlier in the season, but won’t include those. I’d say the first “official” plant introduction was the Ruby Slippers oakleaf hydrangea I recently became obsessed about.

Haven't planted any perennials yet. I've been working on the bare-root fruit trees that came -- had a lot of sod to dig out and holes to prepare, one more to go today and I'm done. Also have been focused on seed starting/indoor growing. Another 4 weeks or so and everything will be outside and in the process of being planted - it's fast approaching!

I haven't even started weeding the (very large) vegetable plot. Ugh. I want to plant some large trees down by the road for privacy, but I'm going to hire that out. I contacted a local landscape company to see what they charge, the nursery I usually buy stuff at isn't planting anymore.

The only perennial on my buy list is Anemone sylvestris. Going to replace some hellebore with the anemone. Should be easy to find this time of year and quick and easy to plant.

I haven’t planted any perennials yet either; our plan is to sell our house this summer and move ”up north”, so I’m really only cleaning up my beds.

However, I seem to have lost several perennials - including all of my heliopsis Tuscan Sun. The rabbits ate them to the ground last year and so far there are no signs of life. Ditto with my Pow Wow echinacea. My tiarella Sugar & Spice have only a few meager leaves and stems, and look nothing like the beauties from past years. Even my two knock-out rose shrubs are looking completely dead. Makes me wonder if something is eating the roots or if they’re suffering from root rot.

So it seems I will need to plant some replacement perennials this year to enhance my garden beds. But I’ll do it on the cheap and wait for the farmer’s market budget offerings. Or perhaps I’ll just move some of my existing perennials to fill in the gaps…not sure yet.

So I planted my first perennial yesterday, and it's a rather dull affair, I'm afraid lol. I put in a shade garden for my daughter last year but I'm doing it in pieces, due to budget contstraints. Yesterday I planted another heuchera - I think it was Wild Rose - to add to the edging of the bed. Still need another two or three to complete the whole edge.

lovemycorgi, I know it's early in Michigan yet, but maybe you can fill the blank spots with some strategically placed pots of annuals...?

:)

Dee

our plan is to sell our house this summer and move ”up north”,

Just curious@lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan, do you already have a home "up north" or will you need to search one out subsequent to the sale of your existing home?

Rob, I grew Creme de Cassis hollyhocks last year. They were pretty although I wasn't as crazy about them as I thought I'd be. This year the same plants are putting out multiple stalks so I think they'll be prettier. I started some fig leaf hollyhocks and have planted them out...just a few of them. Zebrina hollyhocks are up in a thicket on their own.

I used to grow nicotiana sylvestris, Only the Lonely. It reseeded awhile then quit. Then about 20 years later I had a lone plant of it come up. This year I've started some from seed and planted them out in various spots with different amounts of sun. It is fragrant. I don't remember how long it bloomed but it's a nice tall plant.

I have some heliopsis plants but they're not ready to plant, same with peach leaf campanula. Hoping that campanula will like it here...most don't. Have planted some dahlias and lilies. Most lilies I planted a year ago are coming back much bigger this year. One lily that seemed to disappear last year is back this year.

Planted 19 roses....really I think I have enough. I hope I'll be immune to buying them next year. I have a lot of rose seedlings of my own and keep thinking some of them deserve space in the ground. Have planted some clems.

Have a toad lily to plant, recommended by my nephew. Also some asparagus in a bag.

rouge, therein lies a dilemma. We do not yet have our next home, and our plan is to purchase one subsequent to selling our existing home. However, real estate inventory is scarce in Michigan right now, even more so for properties with 20+ acres, an attractive house, and a reasonable proximity to healthcare (we’re in our fifties).

So we may have to wait a bit until the market improves. Which means I’ll be staring at this one sparse garden bed for a couple of months at least.

I do like the idea of using annuals, however, and will have to give that more thought. (Thanks for the ideas, Dee and mxk3!)

even more so for properties with 20+ acres, an attractive house,

Im drooling ;). Maybe there could be enough room to accommodate myself, my partner and our two cats ;).

I used to grow nicotiana sylvestris

@erasmus_gw, I "discovered" nicotiana plants about 5 years ago. I like them a lot but I slowly moved towards using the smaller 'editions' of these plants, putting them in containers.

erasmus, I have grown Creme de Cassis before and really liked them. Especially with Dianthus chinensis 'Velvet and Lace' and Lathyrus latifolius 'Pink Pearl'. It was a stunning combination.

Sounds like a nice combination, Rob. I have a bunch of annuals I've been planting. Some might be short lived perennials such as azalea flowered snapdragons, Chantilly Mix , and Madame Butterfly cherry bronze. Have planted out a lot of verbena bonariensis...that one germinated very well.

".... Im drooling ;). Maybe there could be enough room to accommodate myself, my partner and our two cats ;)....

Why don't we all buy FORTY acres together and just start a gardening commune? :)

lovemycorgi, I had to smile when I saw the reference to healthcare. I've always wanted to move a bit north and have a few acres and farm, and now that my kids are grown, and the mortgage paid off, I'm not sure I'm still young enough to do it lol. But even moreso, I also think about that proximity to healthcare. I live within 20 minutes to an hour's drive of some of the best hospitals in the country and that's a huge consideration when you get to be of a certain age!

:)

Dee

Rob - do you get rust on your Hollyhocks? I grew them a long time ago but the rust spoiled it. And I had a friend who gardened and used to grow ‘Only the Lonely’. Spectacular plant!

Dee, I am going to be so tied up with cleaning up beds, I might not get to planting anything new this year…lol. It’ll be hot by the time I get done.

A gardening commune….hmmm….lol. I think it would end up being a big community garden.

Are you far from Boston?

Maz…. SNOW?! Now that is pretty sad! It’s almost May!

GGal - Would a hand truck help with the potting soil?

Otherwise, I might be tempted to open the bag outside and fill 5gallon buckets and bring it in that way as I potted up.

LaLennoxa - We’re going to need a photo of that Ruby Slippers when it is blooming. [g]

Mxk3 - Very busy spring for you! I’m tired just reading that…lol

Erasmus - the photo of ‘Only the Lonely’ is beautiful!

I have planted a few plants actually. Two days ago I bought some potted hyacinth and add them to the front hyacinth collection. They were under $2. a pot if you bought 5, so I did.

I also planted a Basket of Gold. I planted two, last year, and they came back so vigorous and good looking that I decided I needed more, so back I went and bought another in a gallon size and that just went in this morning. I planted those along the street on a slope and in looking up the growing information for them, I realize they were in a spot they will probably do well in.

I had almost finished prepping my front bed for the season. Cleaned it out and some extras potted up, shrubs pruned, but I still have some blank spaces waiting for veggies and some perennials to move around.

I don't think I have room for even one more plant in that bed. I need to remove a few...lol.

PM2, I have a hand truck, sort of.....or at least a collapsible grocery cart :-) I use that for schlepping all manner of heavy items. The issue is getting those weighty bags of potting soil out of the back of my car, on to the cart, up a couple of risers and then through the house to the back deck where I can off load them. It's an effort but doable. I can't leave anything out front at any time.....HOA rules are very strict about that.

ps. the cart can only handle so much. The stock tanks I am using for a couple of planters were far too big to be transported that way so I had to roll them through the house. Films of that routine would be vastly entertaining to watch!! 😁

GGal - we are at the age that we try to use the hand truck for as much as possible. We buy bagged mulch every year instead of leaving a pile of it in the driveway. We do have a van, so I don’t know if that makes it easier to get the bags out of the car, lower to the ground? My husband has gotten good at rolling the bags out onto the truck without breaking them. [g] We try to keep up with lifting things, you know, use it or lose it, but, we know our limits and we’ve had enough back problems in the family to be very careful. We would also have 3 steps to get up and instead of using the hand truck, we’d just opt for carrying something together if it were going in or out of the house.

Another way to do it is to put the bag on something like a large towel and drag it. Once you get it up the stairs.

Sometimes I’ll just buy in smaller bags.

I would think that video would be pretty funny. [g] Stock tanks? Are we talking about the aluminum round ones that are used for watering cattle?

Yep, one round and one larger rectangle. The round was small enough to lift up and move quite easily.....the rectangle was another matter altogether!

I need too much potting soil to be dealing with small bags. These are 1.5 to 2 cubic feet and it is as much their bulk as their weight that is the problem. I need at least 3 to fill the rectangle and at least one more for the round. Plus all the other containers I need to fill. I have 3. I'm off tomorrow to get a few more.

I might be coming to the realization that container gardening is not going to be the easy process I thought for a brand new but tiny garden. At least initially.

GGal - Well, that really sounds like an adventure though. Where is this container garden area going to be set up? On a deck? Porch? A small outdoor area? Will you be able to leave it in place all year and not have to break it down and put it away at the end of the growing season?

I hope you are taking a lot of photos to document the whole process.

Each condo unit has a small fenced backyard as well as a deck or a small ground level patio. I have an elevated deck (3 steps) and the rest was/is bare lawn....of sorts ;-) And not very much of that. I have about 500 square feet to work with.

Except for some seasonal stuff, everything will live outdoors in containers year round. And out in the lawn area. A couple of smallish pots on the deck but not much room there for anything other than my herbs and summer vacationing houseplants.

The 'befores' are not very interesting and borderline scary (at least to me) but I'll be taking lots of 'afters'!

Good luck with it, I have a feeling it's going to be great. I find it fascinating that you are in the business, and are such a long time gardener and to downsize to a small space. I'm looking forward to seeing photos.