The first bulbs of spring are showing their best. Let the spring work in your garden begin!
hi I’m Lori welcome back to milk weeds
and Roses spring has sprung boy it’s
about time I don’t know about you but
man was this a long winter wow well I’m
very excited to show you some of the
spring highlights of my backyard garden
things are waking up and looking
gorgeous so very happy with how things
are progressing so far and energized by
the fact by the fact that there’s so
much work to do must be the farm girl in
me I don’t know but it just kind of
itching to get going I have to show you
some of the things let me show you
around the yard some things that are
looking really good right now okay are
you ready let’s
go remember when we planted the
daffodils and the Queen of the Night
tulips and put them in a nice little
rodent proof
cage well it’s certainly paid
off so they’re looking gorgeous this is
the um Topsy
Turvy blend combination from color
Blends looking so nice aren’t they
looking
pretty and because of the proximity of
the daffodils to the Tulips the rabbits
aren’t coming anywhere close there’s
some more tulips yet to open uh you can
see they will be pink and gorgeous I’m
excited of course the crocus have have
gone over but they looked
lovely nice little petite
daffodils so pretty oh they’re just
precious and so fragrant they’re
starting to go over of course but the
hent I haven’t grown them before
certainly in the ground so I’m hoping
these do come back every year and
multiply I’ll be excited about that and
look at the gorgeous color of this tulip
these guys have yet to open but they’ll
blend nicely with the hin and again as a
reminder if you see hin uh bulbs that
you plant in the fall remember they are
um noxious to the touch so you have to
wear gloves when you plant them or
handle them and that sort of a thing it
also explains why the no Critters touch
them which is kind of nice now these are
curious do you see the little the
ruffled edges they have yet to
open which will be nice little tulips in
there I’ll have to look up what variety
that was but I really like it and again
among the daffodils and this is the kind
of daffodil that has multi blooms on a
single
stem so I think that’s really
cute some other plants starting to come
back my sge coming back which is nice
this area now that we have the waterfall
going uh it does put a lot of Splash out
here and I can tell you I have seen some
bumblebees out here Gathering moisture
because remember all creatures need
moisture and they grab it right off of
The Mulch and uh fly
off and the Tulips up on the hill now
it’s much drier up here because of the
slope and also the
sun tucked there in the middle can you
see the uh peie the herbaceous peie that
I dug up and replanted a little bit
higher last year I’m hoping it’s going
to pay off with some buds fingers
crossed and in here we have some some
more
gorgeous little
daffodils and we’ll wait to see once
these
open I also have in here some daffodils
uh elvin’s voice and it’s named after
petite little daffodil is named after
Elvin McDonald former editor of Better
Homes and Gardens uh founder of the
jazad society so when you think of
African Violets and gloxinias that’s
Elvin 85 85 years old maybe slightly now
but just incredible I interviewed him
and um he is just kind of the founding
father of landscape gardening and uh
cater to the Stars he’s had an amazing
career uh and I mean the the notable
people old Hollywood I mean it’s what an
incredible guy and he lives just a
couple miles from me here so very
approachable very knowledgeable and of
course he would have a daffodil named
after him makes
sense okay now I’ve got a Roa dendron on
the hill there I don’t know if you can
see it zoom in it does have some pink
blooms I’ll get a little bit closer
there we go but not thriving and I think
it’s the
soil so I have fertilized it um but it’s
it’s a stretch here sometimes to grow
Ries it’s just so dry here and remember
they like acidic soil I do have some
clamus or as they say in Iowa
catus so clus growing up against the
fence I would like to envelop this whole
fence with Gorgeous blooms different
colors I think that would be
nice it’s a work in
progress the uh spia here was here when
we came so it’s just waking up just
getting going uh these two
varieties of Cletus now this isn’t a
climbing Cletus this is more like a
sprawling clus it has tiny little blue
flowers it’s called Mrs Robert Brighton
and I planted them here on the edge of
the wall with the idea that they will
tumble over it they’ll tumble over it
that’s what I want and they did that
last year they do that every year
they’re Hardy you just cut them down to
the
ground so it’s a type three cemus that
blooms on new wood they sprout up from
the ground every year so super nice to
have back in the little fairy planter
tucked in there it does get Morning Sun
somewhat as you can see behind the lilac
tree but I just put some different
varieties of colus this year so that
usually is a good spot for that now you
can tell our little friends the rabbits
have been
after Angelica these uh tulips that I’ve
had here for a couple of years now
little stinkers but the bloom is tucked
in there so I’m hoping it will be okay
usually they move on to other things
this time of year because the grass is
up there’s just more to choose from but
uh yeah the
stinkers let me tell you
what and look at tangua the
uh the type three um no I believe it’s
type three it might be type two I’ll
look it
up blooms on new Woods shoots from the
ground every
year likes the Sun so this is a good
spot pardon my shadow a good spot for
her comes up this will be gorgeous
yellow flowers and should be strong
enough to make it over the top of this
Arbor that’s the plan
anyway another Cletus variety down
here so between the yellow and the red
flowers I think that should be kind of a
nice thing um I have put an
aelia in here which is starting to bloom
pardon the garden hose
um and this is just to protect it it’s
uh prunings from a spiky little rogue
Evergreen Bush that I put around it to
keep the rabbits away but isn’t she
pretty she does get Morning
Sun but is Hardy for this
Zone and I would love to have something
kind of mask this big beast here our air
conditioner unit I’m looking for options
on the one in the backyard yet I don’t
know so still working on that right in
here are some dayes that I need to
divide because they don’t Bloom much
they have sort of overrun the space and
tucked in here also are some Millennium
aliums which are doing great but they’re
getting kind of crowded in here and this
is where I’ve also moved some dayes
because they tend to like that
area the night owl
Rose Looking Good has been fertilized
cleaned up pruned the winter dieback and
so should be ready to go I have some
pulmonaria in here along with some
flocks starting to come up and this is
new uh for me in this spot this is where
I did have the seven sunflower shrub
that I was going to prune into tree form
but as I started to look at it it is
just so damp back here it’s the
proximity to the sprinkler s or
sprinkler head which we probably use
more than we should but it’s to hydrate
the asht tree up front which is fighting
emerald ashor and an arborist that we
hired gave us that advice make sure that
she stays watered and hydrated and
protected um so she’s trying to fight
off the emerald ash bore she has been
treated but boy I’d hate to lose that
tree so as a consequence this area is
damper than I’d like even though it’s in
shade as well which makes it moist um
it’s excessively damp and so a
swamp uh something isn’t that hilarious
a swamp
aelia um but it is buted up ordered it
and swapped out the seven sunflower I’ve
moved it on the other side of the fence
which gets more sun and it’s dry and put
this swamp aelia in here so hearty for
this Zone doesn’t get overly tall so I
think it should be a nice
area anyway we move over to the other
side of the fence here I’ve planted some
Lilia cardinalis going to be tall red
spires of flowers here that likes it
damp Lilia needs damp conditions and
this whole area because of where it
is again in proximity to the sprinkler
head and between two houses it’s just
always damp we’ve worked
various different things to try to
handle it my husband is you know adamant
that we can grow grass here but I just
know it’s not going to happen there’s
not enough sun it’s too moist um it just
struggles and it’s not really grass is
no favor for pollinators do you know
what I’m saying better off trying
something else so I’ve planted some
Lilia in
here some other flowers starting to come
up that were planted last year this is a
uh an iris actually an old
variety that came up
here and we
have uh lung wart which is beautiful
blue flowers isn’t that just
beautiful
okay and it hasn’t woken up yet but I
think she’s going to be just fine a
habiscus
our Dills are blooming which is kind of
nice to look out the window and see
these beautiful flowers
and on the other side I have to cage
because of the rabbits that like to hop
over the fence and come say hi um I’ve
got a a rose that’s going I do have some
Siberian Iris that have been planted in
here with some day lies didn’t see much
of them last year and I think it’s just
largely because of the rabbits coming
over so that’s what happens there were
some hostas here oh that were just
getting fried in the sun pardon me shade
uh fried in the Sun so I’ve picked it
them up lifted them and put him um under
the trees on the south side of my yard
my garden so that they can Thrive the
ones that remain um have a spot of sun
or may get shielded by hopefully the
seven
sunflower when he takes off he already
likes it here better than the other spot
take a look isn’t that lovely so I do
have to protect him from the rabbits
though stinkers
and these are the hostas that have been
here I bet you for 15
years so we’re just doing that I was
going to take this um oops it’s a pillar
hibiscus out I thought it was dead CU
rabbits keep going after it but you know
what I scratched a stem and it’s green
and look it oh let me get in the sun
better
light see that green growth and you see
it there’s there is some some green
growth in there so she’s alive she just
needs some protection from those little
varmints and so we’re going to see how
she does this year but they can grow 6
to 8 feet tall and only about 2 feet
wide so that’s what they’re known for
kind of bluish flowers which I think
would be nice popping over our fence
here and adding a little bit of
privacy um these are some dayes that
have been moved
they should like it here a little bit
better there are still some hostas that
are popping up that I
missed you know uh remember last year
was such a frenzy trying to get all
these things done before I had my foot
surgery and was out early for the season
so that’s where we are here the Roses
taken off rabbits pruned this before I
put the clo on it so I didn’t have any
winter dieback to prune um she’s just
doing it all by
herself there is a clitus in here that
hasn’t done anything but I think it’s
because it’s uh again rabbits or
possibly the
soil I did grow some I did plant some
types of lavender in here but as with
most lavender just not good luck it’s
just simply too wet and cold in an Iowa
Zone 5B winter to have those work so but
still I’m pleased with how things are
coming along planted a blue cone flower
or I’m sorry bachelor button here which
should like this
spot and there is some sedge in there
and there were some crocus that have
gone
over so we’ll see how things go from
there I have some more lung wart and
some hostas in here as well as um there
are I transplanted some old Annabel
hydrangeas
to make room for a rose and I put the
hydrangeas in here because where they
are exited right now they get really too
much sun they look great and they get
the big heads and then they flop I mean
that’s kind of the old variety that’s
what happened they were here when we
moved here uh the backyard tree the
maple was devastated in a big storm so
that put some blazing sun in areas of
our yard hosters are going to like it
here I did plant this aelia I was going
to take it out she doesn’t look good but
when I scratched at a stem it was still
green
so I fertilized her and kept her watered
and just been optimistic this area gets
a lot of
shade and it’s quite damp so we got to
look for things that can handle that
sort of those sorts of conditions you
know otherwise you’ll just be
disappointed so I’d like to put some
more things in here but as I look at it
and and um obviously I have to move the
h
as I look at this area and dig things to
put there put things in there I find
huge cachets of black walnuts that the
squirrels have
taken from the neighbors trees I mean
love these trees so gorgeous but yes
they do make it complicated because the
jugan from the soil of black
walnut uh extend usually the reach of
their canopy and look at the canopy is
now into our yard so beautiful tree
um but again it does make it a challenge
for
gardening this is a rogue crap Apple of
some variety that just popped up here so
I’m pruning it going to try to
espalier this to make it
interesting I don’t know sometimes when
things pick a spot on their own I’m
thinking maybe nature knows something I
don’t so let’s try to go with it unless
it’s an invasive weed or something but
I’m going to try to see what I can do
with this if any blooms show up have to
be patient with that but that could be
interesting along the fence so that’s
what we’ve got here so far otherwise
early days um we have the agaki which I
love she’s just starting to Green up
there that’s it for this edition of
milke weeds and Roses boy do we have a
lot of work to do but I just had to run
out here and do a quick couple of
backyard garden tour videos while we
have these gorgeous trees Still In Bloom
don’t you just love it because it only
seems to last for a moment and things
are changing pretty fast this time of
year that gorgeous uh crab apple behind
me that’s In Bloom the petals are
already starting to fall and it’s only
been in bloom probably 4 days a single
wind comes up which is what we’re
expecting with storms tomorrow and most
of that tree most of the pretty leaves
the pretty petals sorry not the leaves
but the petals will be toast so I had to
get out here real quick and just do a
quick little video to say wow things are
beginning they’re looking good it’s a
start I hope things are going well in
your garden this spring if you have
questions uh let me know I would love to
hear how you deal with it and what
things are going on I do hope you
subscribe and like this video uh that
helps me out and I think it also keeps
us all connected after all I do believe
especially as a Master Gardener we all
learn from each other no matter where
you live or what your background is
gardening is energizing and unifying for
us all truly thanks for joining me I’ll
see you again soon
[Music]
1 Comment
snowing here. your garden looks nice.