On my property, bluets grow in full sun in poor, sandy soil.

Now Houzz tells me my photo library is empty so I can’t post any other photos.

"my photo library is empty" - what does that mean? I post photos directly from my computer, using the Photo upload button, are you using a different method?

Claire

My photo library on my tablet. Typically I do what you do and directly upload from my tablet. Instead it tells me I have no photos and won’t let me navigate to where they are stored.

I tried uploading from my phone and it looks like that is working but then nothing posted.

Weird. Let me see if I can post anything.

This is my unusual daffodil on April 24.

And on May 5.

Claire

So it's not a general phenomenon with Houzz. Weird.

Claire

After trying unsuccessfully twice from my phone it finally posted.

Early Scout peony getting ready to bloom.

Not sure why the peony and daffodil photos posted sideways. Typically they turn themselves the right way round when I post.

This serviceberry/Amelanchier is my favorite spring plant. It blooms on the far side of the stream, so we see it across the floodplain as we drive up the shop drive.

Just in case there's ever a doubt as to how far behind we are, this is our progress today.

My ladies mantle and salvia get a good deal of sun, so the soil is warmer.

Hostas are just starting to show. Transplanted these never-die geraniums in this shady spot, and I know I'm going to love them. Will find more stragglers around the yard and move them here this year.

This is as far as my Dicentra 'Goal Heart' has gotten. Poor little things!

I lost most of my brunnera. This little guy is hanging on, and boy, is he little this year.

These astilbes were newly planted in fall I am THRILLED to see all, or nearly all, of them returning. I hope the trout lilies get buds, but not sure if it's still forthcoming this year, or if they're still maturing. They are popping up everywhere.

We are REALLY behind you all!

I hope you're catching up, deanna! That Gold Heart really looks annoyed.

We had another cold spell but now it's warming up again and more trees are flowering. The amelanchier/serviceberry is past but the sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) are blooming.

and the crabapples are having a good year. This is the old crabapple I inherited from my mother's garden.

Other volunteer crabapples are blooming too.

and a volunteer apple is having a good year.

I have several seedling crabapples that produced their first buds this year (no pics yet).

Azalea 'Hino Crimson' is blooming in a partly shady area.

Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant' has been blooming for a while. I think I'm going to order some bulbs and plant them next to my Dicentra 'Gold Heart' so they can intermingle with the bleeding heart foliage and flowers. I hope it works, but I can always move them away if it doesn't.

Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant'

Late daffodils are blooming.

Hawera with its little yellow flowers next to Thalia Sun and in front of a peony::

Sir Winston Churchill:

Sir Winston Churchill peeping through a Gray Owl juniper.

I've probably reached Houzz's photo limit so I'll add another post.

Claire

My copper bird bath got overgrown by a couple of hollies and I could no longer see it to fill it, although the birds seemed to like it under there.

I pulled it out in the open and set my lawn dragon to guard it. I still need to level the stone base.

I missed the bird bath and the lawn dragon.

Claire

This is what I'm hoping for the Gold Heart/leucojum combination:

Claire

I LIKE the lawn dragon. He is fantastic! I think he likes showing off now, too, with the hollies gone.

Lots in bloom, Claire. I am not home so won’t have photos for a bit but I am enjoying yours. Here in WI the crabapples are in bloom with a few lilacs just beginning.

I agree with Deanna and am glad the dragon has re-appeared.

I love violas for early spring bloom!

The above rhododendron isn't suffering because of winter, or at least winter is not the biggest source of pain for him. The deer that was so kind this winter to eat my unwanted standard Euonymus fortunei also apparently munched down on this poor rhody. Overall, though, I'm not bothered. The deer ate the Euonymus so thoroughly that for the first time ever I had a clear view to the thick old trunks so I could cut it out completely. Once I remove the roots it will be gone forever. I consider the rhody a well-deserved desert for the helpful deer!

Maybe a chicken wire ring for next winter? Or perhaps a few stakes and high test transparent fishing line.

Yes, I've got to figure out something, especially for my "prized" rhododendrons. He ate some of my Mt. St. Helens buds, which makes me sad sad sad.

Poor rhody, deanna, but it certainly is determined to survive!

I don't have deer problems but the squirrels eat the flower buds on one of my rhododendrons - Percy Wiseman. They don't bother any other rhodies. I cover it with something every winter (the something varies depending on my latest inspiration).

Last winter I covered it with a pop-up cage hoping it would be easier to put up and take down.

If you squint you can see some green leaves and a branch with dead leaves. There are a few buds in there so I'm leaving it for a while. I'll prune off the dead stuff when I take the whole contraption off.

The squirrels also eat the flower buds on my wisteria. They missed a few this year and the flowers are now in the fish skeleton stage.

On a more positive note, my beach plums are blooming! I say beach plums plural because there's a seedling that's also blooming. At least I hope it's a seedling with enough genetic difference so it can cross-pollinate the big old beach plum (I rarely get any plums now).

Variegated Solomon's Seal is blooming at the foot of the driveway:

And the first daylily! Hemerocallis 'Orangeman' appeared today.

I have a tulip that sends up a leaf every year but rarely a flower. It last bloomed in 2015. It's been blooming for several weeks now next to the Gold Heart dicentra. I'm not sure what variety it is, but I think it's a lily-flowered tulip.

I'm probably at Houzz's limit so I'll add a few more pictures in another post.

Claire

Geranium macrorrhizum is beginning to bloom. It's all over the place but here it's next to some little hostas and some soapwort.

Hellebore 'Gold Finch' has seed pods. I let them do their thing last year and I think there are new seedlings there.

Claire

Nice range of blossoms, Claire. Makes me miss my garden; my sister isn’t really a gardener, but we redid a small ornamental bed, prepped and started planting her small veggie garden, and have spent several hours working on pruning and rejuvenating a yew hedge. We also visited a botanic garden that has lots of native wildflowers and the Arboretum. So I am getting in a bit of gardening while I am out of town.

Sounds like a fun visit, NHBabs, and you'll probably come home to a lot of satisfying new growth.

I just checked another area and the Spanish bluebells are blooming now, at least the white ones are. This is an area where I keep removing the bluebells because they're in the middle of a path, but they pay no attention to me and keep coming back.

Claire

And an old, inherited lilac is blooming. I think this is Charles Joly which was very popular around the time this would have been planted. I love the color.

Claire

That is my favorite lilac color also, but I am not hugely fond of lilacs because I am allergic to them. I do have one planted that is about that color because my DH loved them so they remind me of him.

Lilacs are good remembrance plants - I think of this one as 'Polly's lilac' because it was planted by my father's second wife. I also have many plants that I associate with my mother and father.

It's good that you have things in the yard that remind you of your DH.

I was out weed-whacking around some junipers today and I discovered that the Green Eyed Lady daffodil came back - I'd given up on her but I guess she's always late for the party.

Claire

Love your lilacs too, Claire. Such a pretty color. Is it fragrant? Dark purple is my favorite too. I bought a new one last season at a local horticultural sale that was dark purple, but it has just about no fragrance, which is very disappointing. I have a white that is a double with large blooms, but, the fragrance is just medium. I had a very fragrant older lilac and I tore them out because they were always covered with mildew, but now I am sorry I did, because I haven't found another that is as fragrant.

I'm fascinated by your beach plum. I thought of growing it to make jam, but I didn't find a place for it. I didn't know it bloomed so well.

It was gorgeous here today. I should have gotten more done out there before it gets hot. I'm working on my vegetable beds but it's slow going. I have to dig out tree roots before I can plant. *sigh* But today I managed to sow green bean seeds after digging out half a bed. The kale, mustard and scallions are all large enough now to harvest some of the leaves. Cabbage seedlings are starting to fatten up and peas are about a foot up the trellis. No flowers yet.

I put 2 tomato plants in the ground about a week ago, with some protection after leaving black plastic on the site for a week. They are looking good with flowers on them. I put them in a new cage this year, that is decorative, planted in my front bed where I have the most sun. I'm waiting to get another bed dug out to plant more of those and some peppers and basil.

Tomorrow I should be able to get a few photos. Everything looks like it's about to burst. I planted 3 new bare root roses and they are pushing out branches and leaves and I see a few tiny buds. The Julia Child rose - omgosh - it's so bushy this year. Oriental poppies - one older plant looks like it has about 6 buds on it already. Iris and columbine are just starting to bloom.

Another gray cool morning - great for garden work, but not photos. Over the weekend, I should be able to get a few. It's cold around the house again in short sleeves this morning. I still have the heavy comforter on my bed and I think there's only been 2 nights that I've opened my windows at night all spring. A very odd spring this year.

PM2: The Charles Joly lilac is supposed to be very fragrant but it's allergy season and my sense of smell isn't working very well right now. I'll walk by it today to check but I haven't noticed the fragrance of the wisteria flower buds so I'm not too optimistic. Usually I can tell if the wisteria has flower buds.

Beach plums are very pretty in bloom, but I didn't realize that you need to have two genetically different plants to cross-pollinate or you won't get any fruit. I occasionally get a plum so something is around but never very many plums. When I planted this one I also planted one down by the beach so that may be active, but it's too far away to be of much use.

I'm hoping the little one that appeared here is a seedling, not a sucker or a rooted branch, so it may be different enough to cross-pollinate.

Yesterday was lovely here too; today, not so much.

Claire

PM2, it is an odd spring, but as a former teacher, I can guarantee that every teacher in New England is thanking his/her lucky stars that it has remained cool and overcast much of the time.

Claire, Green-eyed lady is a beauty.

This morning as I walked my sister’s dog I enjoyed the crabapple petals snowing down from various yard trees. This has been something that’s been happening for at least a week as different varieties bloom and then fade. I think that crabapples are the most commonly planted flowering tree planted in this part of WI.

There are some lovely wildflowers and cultivars in my sister’s yard and those surrounding them: violets and dandelions in the lawn (my sister is in the minority in her neighborhood in not treating her lawn due to a child and a dog, but most yards seem to look like golf courses), but also Solomon seal, bleeding heart, trillium, and Virginia water leaf grow under the pines and deciduous trees that grow around the edges of yards.

So sorry, Claire that you have allergies. Yes, they report high pollen on the weather every day, and I just can't imagine how frustrating that is for a gardener. I'm not in full mode search for another lilac, but I keep an eye out and I'll add Charles Joly to the list. I need to go to Lilac Day at the Arboretum next spring. Or just get to the nurseries when they're all in bloom.

I hope your Beach Plum seedling turns out to help pollinate the other. Too bad they can't sell you two of the shrub you need for pollination.

Babs, how great you are getting a visit with your sister. I bet she is happy to have someone to help in her garden. I love that she doesn't treat the lawn. I've grown fond of untreated lawns. I just had to replace a strip when they worked on our street last summer, and I added white dutch clover. I'm also considering digging out some of the weedy spots and adding some Queen Charlotte viola, that is a nice fragrant purple. [g]

I love flowering trees, especially when the petals fall. We don't have a one on our property. Nice to live in a neighborhood where they are appreciated. And her wildflowers - sound so great! I can tell you are enjoying spending time in your sister's garden. :-)

I did get out and try for a few photos this morning. I had some sun but it was later in the morning than I usually try, so the light was not as good. And I don't think my camera is taking photos as well as it used to. I have a new one that is a Nikon and I haven't taken the time to learn how to use it yet. [g] But here are a few that were okay....

Here is the rose 'Julia Child' that is happy with me that I haven't moved it for the past two years. lol

'Texas Pink' Azalea having a good year, in front of my favorite blue holly that seems to be happy where it is, and this year, it's just bushy and shaped the way I like it.

Oriental Poppy 'Princess Victoria Louise' That's one of 6 buds on one plant. Looking forward to that opening any day now.

One of my favorite Hostas, that I forget the name of. It's so pretty, but the leaves are so thin, that it is easily torn.

This is a 'Wentworth' Viburnum that I had to cut down to the ground last fall. It had been struggling with some kind of pest for the past 3 years. It is a vigorous viburnum that gets very tall. I'm so happy to see it coming back from the base so thickly and no sign of a pest on it so far.

I forgot to add this one. I'm very surprised to still have a daffodil blooming. it's definitely the last of them in my yard. I ordered a mini daffodil mix in the fall and this was part of the mix. I wondered if it was 'Hawera' that Claire posted. I just love this little daffodil. It has stood erect despite all the wind, on these thin wiry stems with multiple blooms and has had a very long bloom period.

It's amazing to me that I am still having so much fun with this one bed that I have in full sun. I've changed it so many times, and this time I think is my favorite so far.

Cranberry Viburnums like Wentworth are susceptible to Viburnum leaf beetles. If you have the time and energy, the eggs overwinter in twigs, and the ones with eggs look different, so you can prune them out and burn them or bag in a sealed bag for disposal.

Everything looks happy!

Your garden is looking so pretty, PM2! If that daffodil is Hawera, which looks likely, it should naturalize and come back every year in bigger clumps. A very satisfying daffodil. It goes well with Thalia which blooms at about the same time. Both are still blooming in my yard.

Claire

That's good to know about the Viburnum, Babs. I imagine that pest will be back. I'll keep my eye open. Maybe I can stay ahead of it. It's such a great shrub for my conditions that the pest is the only drawback.

Thanks Claire, I was thinking the same thing about yours. Such a pretty garden you have! Packed full with so much variety. I am looking forward to next year for all the bulbs I planted last fall and thinking of putting another mix of 25 in. I have Thalia in a different location and that has been gone by for a couple of weeks and I find Thalia doesn't last long for me at all. A very pretty daffodil too.

I'm surprised that Thalia doesn't last long in your yard, PM2. It really hangs around for a long time here - I guess it likes the conditions here. Sir Winston Churchill is also still blooming away.

I moved a whole bunch of houseplants out on the deck this morning, and I'm sitting out on the deck with them, having just finished my lunch. I'm enjoying the view of the doublefile viburnum flowering by the deck. This grew from a rooted cutting I bought at a local garden club sale years ago. I don't know the variety.

Viburnum Summer Snowflake is beginning to bloom too, but it's not as far along.

It's really noisy out on the deck with the birds yapping away and I can hear the waves down on the beach.

Claire

Sounds like a very pleasant afternoon there! I haven't got my houseplants outside yet. I have two Hibiscus I bring out for the summer. I'm behind in getting everything done. I like to be all done by Memorial Day so I can just do maintenance for the rest of the summer until the fall. But I've never yet made it even once. lol This year is no exception.

Very pretty Viburnums! Hope everyone has a productive and relaxing holiday weekend!

I finally have some blooms! One white azalea, Dicentra ‘Gold Heart,’ as well as anemones and tiarella. I rescued the tiarella from another area, and I mean rescued—some had become surround by grass and were part of the “yard.” (A generous term for that area.) They have lost what was left of their red veining. Also, they did not expand much after winter.

deanna: Gold Heart is a trooper and always comes through looking great. The tiarella looks delighted to have been rescued - very pretty.

My rhododendron Anah Kruschke is blooming:

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Ingwersen's Variety' is blooming everywhere:

It goes well with the Hawera daffodil.

There's a pink ladyslipper across the street, embedded in poison ivy and greenbriar, not to mention ticks, so I didn't get a better closeup. I'll try again when more buds are open.

Very subdued, but there are a lot of dicentras blooming down by the road, I planted several different varieties a number of years ago and I don't know which these are. It doesn't help that the town came by clearing brush and they scraped this whole area to the ground last year (I filed a vehement complaint).

The kousa dogwood flower buds are still green but ready for the show. I have two kousas that will flower and four more that are still too yound.

Claire

I can't believe this, but I have some Baptisia seedlings which I planted last summer that have just this morning finally emerged. They did practically nothing as seedling and finished the summer still under 8" tall. I thought they had not survived the winter since I had just plunked them in the new "meadow" area without any mulch. Even the asclepias, which emerge late, beat them to it and the Baptisia were in soil that warms up more quickly. Happy for the nice surprise!

I just noticed I have a few Baptisia seedlings around where a 'Purple Smoke' used to grow. They are first year apparently and were slower than other plants to show up. I can't leave them where they are, so I am thinking of potting them up. They do have a large taproot, right? I'm thinking I have to put them in a larger pot than usual. It should be interesting to see what I get from them. I didn't have another Baptisia growing in the area, so at the most, they might revert back to something else.

I just bought a "Pink Lemonade' this spring. It just makes me smile to look at it. I had to do it. [g] I decided last fall to do over a long border and use some Baptisia there, but I don't know when I'm going to get around to it. I want to make sure I know where I want it, because they are not easy to get out of the ground, once established. They certainly are tenacious.

Claire, I love that Rhododendron. It's such a pretty color. You're lucky to have so many flowering trees. I don't have one on my property and actually, I don't think anyone on the street has one visible from the street. Very sad.

What size is your property? You really seem to have a lot of room to have such a variety. Pink Lady Slippers are amazing, but wow, not a very friendly place to enjoy them in all that Poison Ivy and ticks. [g]. They are supposed to be so fussy about where they grow too.

I have one of those Geraniums and I couldn't believe it was dry and wilting the other day and I had to water it!

PM2: Most of my property is basically inaccessible - part of the coastal bank (think steep) or a steep hill on the other side of the road (where the poison ivy and greenbriars and ticks prevail). The area around the house was once open with lawn and garden areas but I've let the forest quietly come back to much of it.

While I have a lot of flowering trees, they're clustered together as the birds deposited their seeds or I squeezed a volunteer in. This does not fit with proper landscaping practice which would give each tree its own space with room to spread out, but I can live with it and the trees seem to be OK. I also have a lot of small trees and shrubs that are living as understory plants in part shade, whether they prefer it or not.

I do keep some areas open and sunny for plants that absolutely need it, like roses and peonies and phlox and grasses, and I do clear out some undesired plants like bittersweet and swallowwort. Sometimes I have to make a choice and remove one nice plant to benefit another.

It's a learning process for me and I keep adapting, but I love living in a reasonable natural environment.

Claire

So many pretty pictures. Prairiemoon2, I like that hosta, as well. I think we are all behind on our work. Spring is the time for doing things outside, and Ma Nature is not cooperating. I still have work to do on our little sailboat for the summer, and I can't get to it with this kind of weather! Very frustrating. I'm tired of the continual damp chilly wetness! I love the picture of you oriental poppy bud. I have a poppy the birds planted (in honor of their method of planting I call it my Oriental Poopy--because I'm just that funny and I have two boys) and each year I wonder how many gardeners pull a stray seedling because they so resemble thistles!

As for Baptisia, I believe they do have a large taproot, which is why I wanted to start from seed. I've seen some in the store but I'm not keen to buy them. I'd pot up a seedling any day, but I don't like getting mature taproot plants form a nursery. They are supposed to be slooooooowwwwwwww growers, and mine sure did follow that path! I'm am very glad to hear they are tenacious, though!

Claire, I don't remember seeing Spanish bluebells before. They go on the "want" list! Very nice! I also have an unnamed lilac in the same color, so I wonder if it is a Charles Joly. Still waiting for the buds to open so I can smell it. It is doing just OK in it's spot. I really need to pile some compost/leaf litter over it for some extra help. It gets plenty of sun, but I've been doing some pruning of very old growth the last couple or years and it still needs more work.

Claire, I also want to say something about your "forest." My attitude towards trees and sun made a 180 degree shift last year after reading Ken Druse's book The New Shade Garden. It is really lovely, in my opinion, and was inspiring to me. He has multiple pictures of trees living in the canopy which are normally planted by landscapers in full sun. There is an astoundingly beautiful zen quality of seeing a redbud in the canopy with a few beautifully shaped branches reaching in all directions for the sun. Each bud seems to be highlighted and appreciated, instead of a mass bundle of buds like you see in full sun. I have fallen in love with what happens in the canopy of my tall oaks. It's really changed how I view my shade. I would love to see your natural forest. I'm sure it is just as inspiring!

And, on a side note, I have one Aralia 'Sun King' which has obviously been the hotel for some slugs this spring. Finally put out the beer canisters, and boy are the slugs heading for the bar now, thankfully. Poor Aralia.

That is one sad looking Aralia!

Very, very sad, indeed. There is an identical beer pool on the other side of the Aralia that is not in the picture, and it is just as full. This Aralia had the deck stacked against it!

Deanne - my most favorite Hosta is 'June'. It's gorgeous every year. The leaves are thicker and nothing seems to bother it. I don't have a photo of that one today. But when I buy new Hostas, I will first look for any that have 'June' in their parentage. It's been a very good performer for me.

I have had some Poppy seedlings mature before I notice them, in a bed I am not always keeping an eye on. This year, I can see four small seedlings around the base of another. I just moved two of them into better positions to spread them out around the garden bed. This is the time in late spring, that I've left enough open ground, that I can see what might be reseeding and leave them to grow before I add more mulch. I love free plants! :-)

I haven't read Ken Druse's new book. Most of my small property is shade or half shade, and I just love Beth Chatto's books on shade gardening. I just love her woodland gardens. Of course, half of the plants she has are available in the UK and not necessarily here. But gorgeous photos.

I thought slugs were more prevelant in warmer climates. Maine didn't seem like it would be slug city. Funny, the impressions you get. I rarely have slug problems, but, I shouldn't have said that.... jinx... [g]

Claire, my husband’s family used to have a small house on the cliff there in Plymouth when he was growing up, so I understand the steep hill.

It’s great that you let the forest come back, because I would imagine that is helpful for the erosion problems there. And I can really tell how much you love living there..lol. You seem to have your own little corner of nature that I’m sure appreciates your caretaking. And I'm always happy that you share it with us. :-)

Look at all the new slugs coming out of the mulch work this evening! Crazy! Slugs are certainly lovers of Maine weather for sure, prairiemoon! I looked up 'June' hosta, and not only does it look beautiful, but the color variation possible based on sun exposure was very nice. I'm impressed! Will keep my eyes open for it.