This week in the garden - #4

Shumard red oak tree awakening in the garden this week.

This week in the garden has been a very productive one. Lots of weeding, lots of dividing and replanting perennials, lots of pruning (including the last of the rose pruning), and the vegetable plants that I started in my garage under the grow lights are just about ready to go into the garden. I just need to harden them off a bit before I send them out into the world on their own.

In addition to all that, I've added a few new purchases to the garden this week.

First of all, I like my 'Graham Thomas' rose so much that I decided to order some more David Austin roses. I received the three plants I had ordered this week and got them planted. I got 'Darcey Bussell,' a crimson red rose; 'Lichfield Angel,' creamy apricot to white; and 'Lady of Shalott,' a salmon pink/golden yellow bicolor. I will also be getting 'Molineux,' a yellow rose, which will be delivered a little later. If I enjoy these roses as much as I have 'Graham,' I will be one happy gardener.

Today, my daughter and I went over to Arbor Gate to look at their fruit trees and I came home with a 'Red Baron' peach to plant in the spot where my old apple tree used to be. I saw at least three other fruit trees that I would really like to have, but first I have to figure out if I actually have room for them.

Of course, the big event in my garden this week really had nothing to do with plants. It was the ending of the four-day weekend Great Backyard Bird Count. Even though the weather was not very pleasant for much of the weekend, I did manage to count 32 species of birds in my yard. I missed perhaps another ten or so. I think my favorites were the Cedar Waxwings that showed up en masse this week. 

Aren't they gorgeous?

If our good weather continues to hold out - preferably without the gale-force winds we had today! - I hope to actually get some spring vegetables planted next week, and I hope to see some more of the potatoes that I planted a couple of weeks back beginning to come up. So far only one has showed itself above-ground. And maybe I will go back to Arbor Gate for some more of those fruit trees.  

Not all the flying visitors to my garden this week were feathered. On Wednesday, this pretty Red Admiral butterfly showed up and spent time sunning himself on one of the old grape vines.