2004

The Boulevard Garden

Thanksgiving, 2004

There are a few things in bloom--a number of the winter pansies. . .

and after a day of 60 mph wind gusts whipping sleet and snow across the garden and planters, I gave up and moved the cabbages and pansies into the ground, next to the mum by the gate.

A surprising number of plants survived. I think it may in fact have been the howling wind that prevented a completely killing frost. This is a picture from 11/29/2004. The two mums had some flowers, some pansies, and a lot of greenery.

With the shadow so dramatic, I couldn't get a good picture, but I was amazed that the moss rose now has three separated offshoots (rather than its usual clump), though moving away from itself and the wall. I wonder if it's seeking a better environment so pushing further away?

The Boulevard Garden

Hallowe'en, 2004

I couldn't resist a little haunting to cheer up our corner, so Margaret Morse worked hard to create our haunting display.

Ghosts all along the fence (with a wide range of silly faces) ...

A PumpKing...

I really liked the overall effect. It was a lovely day, so it was fun to watch the doubletakes as people walked around the corner.

The Boulevard Garden

October

Apparently September 25 was too early to plant bulbs--a number of the hyacinths are sprouting! Oh, well. Live and learn. I've added some more winter pansies in the ground.

November 6--Two of the asters from last year are finally in bloom and a third is trying. The purple aster, is looking good and I still have impatiens and some greenery.

So, I planted in early October--

Hyacinthoides nonscripta (but they were in bad shape),

Crocus "Flower Record" a dark purple with yellow in the center, full sun to partial shade, early spring, 4-6"

Crocus "Golden Bunch" full sun to partial shade, very early spring, 4-6", a rich yellow

Crocus "Pickwick" purple streaked with white, full sun to partial shade, early spring, 4-6"

Crocus sieberi "Tricolor" full sun to partial shade, early spring, 4-6", purple, white, and orange

Crocus "Ruby Giant", full sun to partial shade, early spring, 4-6", big purple flowers

more Muscari "Armeniacum"(purple grape hyacinths),

Galanthus nivalis, partial shade, very early spring, 4-6"

Tulip "Ambassador", full sun to partial shade, mid-spring, 12-16", scarlet with yellow in the center

Tulip "Ambassador yellow", full sun to partial shade, mid-spring, 12-16", dark rich yellow

Leocojum aestivum.

I'm trying for a cold weather planter (after struggling against the wind all summer). Winter-hardy pansies, dusty miller, and flowering cabbage. I'll have to get a picture of the center of the cabbage. It's a really lovely color. I got it at Marx's stand near La Porte, Indiana, on route 20.

The impatiens, white rose, and coleus are providing a lot of color still with late gasps coming from the balloon flower and the phlox by the door.

I'm particularly pleased that the mini-aster has produced such a nice burst of color. It's striking against the coleus. The taller, dark purple aster is close to flowering down on the corner.

The mums from last year are just starting to show buds on October 10, so I'm very glad I planted new mums. Dark gold midway down the garden and a bright one down toward the north baywindows.

I've planted winter-hardy pansies in the garden too. We'll see whether they come back early as advertised. In any case, they're cheerful now.

The Boulevard Garden

Just planted bulbs--

Camassia blue melody (variegated leaves, deep blue flowers, 4 bulbs, full sun to partial shade, Mid-spring, 14 to 16 inches)

Muscari Golden Fragrance (yellow bodies, mauve heads, 3 bulbs, full sun to partial shade, mid-spring, 6 to 8 inches)

Muscari Valerie Finnis (10 bulbs, pale pale blue, good for naturalizing, full sun to partial shade, mid spring, 6 to 8 inches)

Muscari Mount Hood (5 bulbs, blue bodies with white heads, full sun to partial shade, mid spring, 4 to 6 inches)

Muscari Armeniacum (30 bulbs, grape hyacinth, good for naturalizing, full sun to partial shade, early to mid spring, 4 to 8 inches)

Hyacinth Isabella (purple, 4 bulbs, full sun to partial shade, early to mid-spring, 8 to 12 inches)

Hyacinth Pink Pearl (pink, full sun to partial shade, early to mid spring, 8 to 12 inches)

Tulip Top Lips (variegated foliage, rose to white lips, double, full sun to partial shade, late spring, 12 to 14 inches, 8 bulbs)

Tulip Double Sensation (10 bulbs, full sun to partial shade, late spring, 18 to 20 inches, pointy petals, double petals, hot pink)

And Iris germanica "Pink Horizon"--two bare root plants from the garden fair. mid-spring, full sun 36inches tall, zones 3-10,

The Boulevard Garden

The weather was terrible, cold and windy and the bugs were having a feast, turning many leaves to lace. It was so windy day after day that I couldn't get good pictures. We went away for the first week and came back to a discouraging looking garden that I thought was done for the season. But I realized several things--one is that between the wind and the tree roots feeding from the garden, that I have to do a lot more watering than I thought. Once I was soaking the plants, they started up again and looked better than they did when I left. The other thing is that I have to plant impatiens on the fence side so some color peeps through. And tall bright yellow marigolds too. Maybe some tough bright foliage plants. But I shouldn't plant flowers by the fence or the Nipper removes them.

Very early in August, the balloon flower made an appearance. The Turk's Cap lily next to it got completely destroyed in the wind before it could open, but I'd love to see the orange and blue together.

The dwarf astilbe also did a fine job early in August but was gone by August 21. And the liatris finally bloomed (behind the tall rose) also in early August.

Two additions at the end of July to the north of the rudbeckia are a daisy "Becky" and sneezeweed from the woman at the Farmer's Market.

The white butterfly bush is looking good after taking a really long time to put out leaves in the spring. BIG white blossoms. I moved the one in the corner late in August, so it went into shock, but between the Nipper and it bashing into the fence in the wind, I thought it was better for it to move and see if it could catch hold well before winter.

The autumn lily is happy (though the bugs are nibbling on it a bit). The blossoms have such a wonderful fragrance. This is an 8-21-04 picture of it.

Next to it now is a Black Knight butterflybush. A lovely dark purple. It seems happy. (height 5 to 7 feet, space 3 to 4 feet, light full sun, blooms late summer to fall, sweet, well-drained, sunny, mulch in winter, prune back in early spring, breaks dormancy late)

Labor Day Inventory

I've added plants and moved some plants and I feel the need to itemize a little, so this isn't that interesting to anyone but me!

Starting from the steps into the building through to the first post:

mum (healthy), geranium sanguineum (pale pink--healthy, hasn't bloomed), Iceburg floribunda (has stood up to the wind beautifully), blue campanula (Canterbury Bells? hasn't bloomed).

Between the posts: a very unhappy day lily, two sprigs of Captain's Feather, and a very unhappy clematis from the Jaffe yard (will be moved)

From the first set of supports to the second:

Rather plain pale phlox from the Jaffe yard (no mildew but eaten--one stalk bloomed), Cherry Bells (still blooming!!!), ribbon grass, alliums (prairie--no bloom), iris (no blooms), stella d'oro day lily (bloomed once).

Lovely sedum from the Jaffe yard (healthy, no bloom), Lady's Mantle (bloomed), mini aster forming buds, peone (no bugs, no bloom), Vanya's plant (few bugs, had a lovely long bloom), spurge (no head but looks healthy), bug-eaten aster, heliopsis with horrible mildew and "lacy" leaves, Anemone tomentosa (just transplanted from George and wilted). I also just planted variegated artemesia from George by the post, which is collapsing. And happy evening primrose (cropping up all over the garden).

Third set of supports to the fourth:

Old rose (has to be heavily watered or gets really bad off), liatris, old rose off shoot, white filipendula (bloomed well, but couldn't take the wind), New England aster (kept short, looks healthy), Little Business day lily, red astilbe (they can take the wind and don't have bugs), feverfew, red flower coral bell, silver scrolls coral bell, Morton Arboretum coral bell, and rust&purple coral bell, millefleur, viola, columbine, bee balm, ditch witch (yellow lysimachia), Robert lythrum, Wagner alliums, evening primrose, iris, Painter's Palette just transplanted from George

Fourth set of supports to the fifth:

Rose of Sharon (healthy leaves, no flowers), variegated obedience plant, primrose, bright purple phlox, pink astilbe, semi-healthy clematis, seeds scattered--lychnis and columbine and rose mallow, mum, asiatic lily, iris, healthy day lily (the orange and yellow one I bought once), rudbeckia, rhubarb, lady bells (transplanted from George's yard and promptly collapse), daisy Becky, veronica, ostrich fern, sneezeweed, Immortality iris (rebloomer but only bloomed once) and some other iris moved from the rest of the garden., plumbago (just transplanted and collapsed), rust&purple coral bell, epimidium, geranium (early wild), cherry bells (just transplanted).

Fifth support to the sixth support:

Painter's Palette (just transplanted), flame grass (just transplanted), little coreopsis, white campanula carpatica, little low blue campanula (Jaffe), Astilbe simplicifolia "Sprite" (just transplanted), Pardon Me day lily, few sprigs of volunteer sedum, white loosestrife (just transplanted), mini aster (dry leaves--intensely purple going toward magenta), sage (healthy), pink astilbe (from the shade garden), day lily, lilac bee balm (needs to be hacked down the minute it finishes blooming--bad mildew), white sedum (just transplnated), lavender, moonbeam coreopsis, yarrow, coreopsis, cinnamon fern (just transplanted), mini bee balm (no bloom), happy rose.

Sixth support to corner:

Goat's beard(?), mystery stalk, iris, Pumila astilbe, baby blue eyes (ought to move them), Vanya's dark day lily (doing very badly), mystery coral bell (Dale's Strain???--white flowers), white butterfly bush, weak day lily, tall blue campanula (just transplanted), white "sedum", autumn joy sedum, white siberian iris (Jaffe via George), aster (rich deep purple, very happy), white loosestrife (just transplanted), rudbeckia (just transplanted), three daylilies in the corner (one orange one), grass from GF moved from shade garden, moved blue butterflybush (recovering), little bluestem here somewhere.

53rd Street:

Yellow mum, yellow corydalis, epimidium, autumn lily, Chinese lanterns (Physalis alkekengii), sweet woodruff, evening primrose, white obedience plant, sweet autumn clematis paniculata, black knight butterfly bush, hosta, Pandora's Box day lily, little hosta, yellow mum, Vanya's day lily, leatherwood fern, wild onion, black cohosh, white hyssop, blue hyssop, bee balm, white c??, cone flower magnus.

Shade garden:

Columbine, clematis, meadow rue, mini thalictrum (terribly eaten, no bloom), single petal rose, blue ajuga, Captain's Feather, lady fern, Morton Arboretum coral bell, blue campanula, wood fern, Japanese painted fern, white bleeding heart (just transplanted), George's filipendula, cinnamon fern, merry bells, yellow corydalis, more cinnamon fern, geranium, "Mrs. Moon" pulmonaria lungwort, pink astilbe, ginger, geranium, two leaves of blood root, wild ginger, ostrich fern, black cohosh, white snakeroot (volunteer)

The Boulevard Garden

Early July was terrific, but late July is proving to be a "between" moment. The foliage is good, the impatiens and coleus save it for color. It figures though that this is a period with less bloom--last summer when I was putting in the garden, this was the time that work took over my life and I had no time to plant.

The cherry bells finally did their thing the last week in June and lasted through to July 19. It's interesting that no one picked them though they hung through the fence. This is how they looked peeking through the fence July 6. And this is what it looks like inside the bell.

Vanya's plant has been going strong since late June and is now full of flowers.

This lily was nice down by the veronica. When they were out together, it was quite striking. This picture was July 4. But by July 17, all the lilies were over with.

This is the new day lily from Vanya on the 53rd Street part of the garden. I cut it way down and it looks like a wreck as of July 19, but I'm hoping it will come back and do this next year. Next to it is new one I bought from K-Mart--Pandora's Box. White with a red center. I thought they'd be striking together but of course, I don't know the bloom times..

The little coreopsis bloomed briefly--about two inches off the ground. It has no bloom or bud as of 7/19. It's quite cute, especially next to the white Campanula carpatica, which has been blooming constantly. The old blue campanula from the Jaffe yard bloomed early in June and that was it.

I couldn't resist running out after a rainstorm. I caught the dark dark day lily from Vanya. The rain drops disguise the tiny golden tips to the petals.

I'm glad I caught the purple bee balm before the Neighborhood Nipper arrived. Flower heads are getting nipped off, especially around 53rd Street. The Neighborhood Nipper snips the blossom high up the stem, so it's not for bouquets and seems too high for squirrels. The bees are nuts for the bee balm. The Little Business day lily beyond has been going great guns.

I'm so glad I got a picture of the echinacea Magnus on 7/12 before the Nipper got to it. It's a nice rich color. Mysteriously, the Magnus I planted by the front steps is a very pale color, rather close in shade to the cherry bells. The phlox there is washed out too. It just came out 7/17, so perhaps the north end of the garden gets more light.

The heliopsis opened up around 7/12 and is now lovely, as is the coleus collection and Vanya's plant around it. The odd thing is that my heliopsis is quite short, just a couple of feet. Perhaps it's that it is a shadier spot.

There are two seed surprises--campion and millefleur. I don't have a good shot of the millefleur yet.

Overall, late July is a blank though and it definitely needs some help.

The "Shade" Garden

The shade garden had a lovely period when the astilbes were in bloom--two different kinds of pink. And the ferns are fairly happy. Vanya's is staying low to the ground instead of shooting up to four feet as hers do, but the cinnamon fern, lady fern, and Japanese painted fern are lovely. This was taken after work on July 6.

Around July 12, I was surprised to walk out one day and spot the caladium leaves unfurling. I'd planted them in April and had given up hope that they'd pop up. They are just gorgeous!

I love the way that this garden interacts with the rest of the block. Their hostas have come and gone. Against the orderly and well-kept green there's this touch of disorderly exuberance.

At the end, by the building, the black cohosh is putting on a show. I've filled the clay pot with coleus this week. I've been converted to the coleus fan club.

The Boulevard Garden

We've had a really hard time getting the north planter to look right. I finally realized that it gets much more wind than the other one and at least twice the sun. We might have a combination that works--two spikes, a broad-leafed dracena (volunteered by someone in the building), dusty miller, and striped petunias.

I mulched and edged most of it. It makes it look so much better!

The Iceburg rose doesn't have a bud or bloom. The campanula is just a few leaves, the impatiens and coleus fill in on the corner. The cherry bells are about to burst forth. The echinacea is budding. The boring phlox are healthy. The first spot of perennial color is the Stella d'Oro daylily.

Two stalks of Vanya's plant are looking lovely. They've just shifted from the maroon colored leaves to the greener leaves and downward facing yellow flowers. My angle hides the fact that it's a couple of feet tall. The lady's mantle is still looking lovely--and shading the three-inch tall little bluestem.

The tiger lily is suddenly bursting out next to the bushy pink astilbe. What I can't capture is what the stamens do--the little dark red things bobble and dance at the least breeze on the end of their stems.

The tall white filipendulum is just blooming next to the big moss rose that's spent.

It's right next to the stunning dark red astilbe. The astilbe is show-stopping right now.

There's a showstopping corner at the next post--the red bee balm that is such nice cheery red is out next to the Robert Lythrum

and the hint of color coming from the alliums. Just beyond are the white and pink astilbes. The white one is getting a lot of attention. The rose of sharon is finally leafing out!

One lily came and went in the night--or just a few days, so I grabbed a flash picture. I hope there were more. This is on the pink side of reality.

I love the white campanula carpatica. It's such a lovely star of a flower. The moonbeam coreopsis is just starting to bloom, but with the breeze I couldn't get a good picture. To the south of this I've put the brighter red day lily from Vanya's (I hope that's what I put there). The rudbeckia and veronica are starting to bud.

The dwarf astilbe is starting to bud up to the relief of all. I moved the little tiny simple rose over to the shade garden. It was completely buried in geranium leaves here. To the north of the white butterfly bush, I've added a spectacular day lily from Vanya's. I thought it might be too dark to be noticed, but it wasn't in five minutes before someone was asking me what it was. The Splish Splash leaves are loved by certain people, but I'm waiting to see some kind of bloom out of it.

One of the hostas is producing a really strong bud. I also added another striking daylily from Vanya's on the end. Hers grows very tall in the full sun. It's very shady here, but I'm hoping. It's a light mauve color with a nice throat. The 53rd Street side looks so much better with a nice edge. I have a flat of impatiens to add and then some mulch.

The "Shade" Garden by the Basement Stairs

The clematis is going great guns. No sight of buds, but it's definitely established itself. I planted the pink/green annual again (Andershocks) and moved the tiny rose over. The thalictrum has leaves but no flowers. Little columbine leaves are cropping up. The clump of blue carpatica (Jaffe) is blazing away in a cloud of blue. The two filipendulas (Captain's Feather and George's volunteer) are healthy. Geranium leaves are all over. The Japanese painted fern is huge. The lady fern is crowding the uvularia and the cinnamon fern (duking it out). The pink sanguineum isn't blooming right now, but it was before. The two astilbes are happy and pink and the wild ginger, cultivated ginger. The blood root looks a bit uncertain. The maidenhair fern had one frond and that's just withered away. but the one cimicifuga has a large bud.

The Boulevard Garden

Iceburg floribunda (2003 Garden Fair) has come into its own.

The blue campanula (Jaffe) has leaves. In the center between the two supports the lovely purple clematis from the Jaffe yard has leaves, but the tip got damaged. I should have tied it up. It's hard for them to get started on the thick iron braces. There was no sign at all of the Allium schubertii. There is one sprig of Captain's Feather by the left support.

I've planted impatiens, coleus, and violas throughout the garden for color.

Echinacea pupurea "magnus" from the 47th Street Co-op is leafing out. The phlox is very healthy but it's a boring color. The cherry bells are tall but no bloom. They are intermixed with ribbon grass. In front is a patch of the small alliums from the Wagner yard. The iris have big leaves. The lady's mantle is in bloom and full leaved. There's some green in the little blue stem, but it's not happy. The peone sprig is expanding, the spurge is green. The helopsis is growing. The tea rose has a strong shoot.

One evening primrose has come into bloom the day after I took this picture. The wild phlox are lovely. I've cut back the stems so I'm hoping they might rebloom. the short veronica (Jaffe) looks good. There are Captain's Feather leaves and happy autumn joy sedum, no sign of the pink boltonia (Jaffe). The purple geranium from under the flowering quince in the Jeffe garden to my surprise is blooming great. The coral bells are hard to photograph, but they are blooming nicely this year (Morton Arboretum). The hardy glads from the bulb fair were a delicate lovely brief flower. The balloon flower is healthy as is the aster.

I am thrilled that my grandmother's moss rose is so healthy. It's not as tall as it used to get at Mom's (7 feet) and the flowers are not huge, but this will do. The smell is strong and wonderful. I love the way the buds look.

All the astilbes are blooming this year. I think this one next to the coral bells is my favorite. The red is so rich.

The blue to the right is a volunteer viola from last year. The astilbe is getting swallowed up by the day lily so that may need some rearranging.

Mom's roman candles aka Ditch Witch is lovely.

The alliums here are about to bloom. That will be striking together! There's a small patch of campanula carpatica blue living by the fence--so sign of flowers yet. The silver scrolls coral bell is blooming but the leaves are the things I love. No sign of feverfew in the garden. The Robert Lythrum looks healthy. The sedum, liatris leaves, iris leaves are all doing well. The rose of sharon has JUST begun to show the first traces of life! This clematis is the best one in the boulevard garden--heading right up the support. No blooms yet though.

Grandma Youngs's other rose is doing beautifully. It's not as fragrant, but it's a marvellous delicate pink.

The Shade Garden

The Ace clematis here is the healthiest, though people break off the growing tip if it moves to the sidewalk side. No sign of the caladiums I planted. but almost everything else is leafing out well.

The best bloom right now is the campanula carpatica. It's warmer here and it's ahead of the campanula down on the corner.

After my long trip, I've been working long hours and the rain and wind have been beating at the garden, so I haven't been able to take good pictures in the sunlight. Just so another week wouldn't go by, I took pictures after work today. They don't do it justice. It's really filled in with lots of interesting promise.

The shade garden is booming along--a little too booming for some of the plants, I might have to do some moving later. Even the ornamental grass is starting to show green.

The fern I got from Vanya in Indiana has become three ferns--when I thought the one I got had died.

There's even one long leaf of the maidenhair fern to my surprise.

I had to use a flash so the color isn't true. Oh well, I still have a record that the wild phlox bloomed and that the Morton Arboretum coral bells are too.

There are many exciting buds--the astilbes, the old roses, the floribunda rose. Several of the clematises are growing. If the weather turns warm and not so windy, I think a lot more flowers will show.

A cold blustery day after a cold blustery week, but things are growing strong. There are some evident casualties--the rose campion from Agway is kaput and I'm very suspicious of that the rose of Sharon isn't alive, but I'm most excited that I have a new surprise rose by my grandmother's moss rose--an offshoot? I can't imagine what else it is!

The daffodils are disappointing. It looks as though only one is going to bloom. But the tulips are terrific. I love the white anemones, which are still going strong.

I'm very excited that I now have two Cimicifugas, ajuga, three of Vanya's giant ferns, wild ginger (in flower), and ladybells coming up in the back of the shade garden. The ferns are showing up all over--the two large ferns along 53rd Street, the Japanese painted fern, and the cinnamon fern. No sign of the maidenhair fern.

It's filling out more and there is more color. The violas and pansies in the urns are getting really nice. They are just a spot of color from the street, but really nice to walk by into the building.

The garden is going strongly to the yellow and white--Iris bucharica is starting to pop out

and so are the daffodils.

The species tulips also add to the yellow and white theme. They're still holding strong, though the red ones are all over with very quickly. The blue brunnera is blooming but the wind was so strong I couldn't get a good picture of it.

I'll have to check the name on these tulips--banta something--but they are show stoppers.

Earlier in April, a few bloodroot bloomed in the shade garden, but it's been quiet until earlier this week, when a burst of warm weather has forced a lot of new activity.

The only plants not yet showing life are the ferns and the rose of sharon. Nearly everything else has at least a hint of green.

And just the first hint of color in the lungwort (Pulmonaria saccharatea "Mrs Moon"), plus to the right the delicate purple of the little plant that is like Dutchman's Breeches.

I love these species tulips from the 2003 Garden Fair. They're next to some cheerful violas purchased at K-Mart.

These tulips are also Garden Fair tulips. Both sets are opening up on the far corner--the windiest and coldest corner!

I planted two new clematis from K-Mart (Madame le Coultre--supposed to be prolific white) and Jackmanii (supposed to be prolific purple). These were close to being bare root plants and they had to wait to get into the ground, it was so cold, so we'll see if they make it.

Showing life: daffodils and tulips, all the roses have green stems, the late fall mums have little hints of green (trimmed the old stems down to two inches), campanulas are showing leaves (but not the balloon flower?), cherry bells are spreading. Alliums are up, especially the Wagner Garden variety, phlox (Jaffe, and wild), irises, lady's mantle, Vanya's maroon leaf plant, evening primrose, autumn joy sedum, coral bells, campion, 1 sprig of the hardy glads, day lilies, bee balm, columbine, Jaffe fern thing with leaves, viola leaves, myrtle, garlic chives, sedum, geranium, sea pink, yarrow, asters (except wild and the really big one), big hosta, obedient plant.

Shade Garden showing life: camassia (5 of them) in the plantain lily, clematis, blue campanula, coral bell, anemone, daffodil, yellow guy, forget me not, geranium, tulip, lungwort, ginger, blood root, columbine, ajuga, cimicifuga.

In bloom: aconite and snow drops (far right) and iris reticulata (near right)