I did the seed starting stuff for a few years, then ran out of energy. However, I still have the most beautiful lupines and delphinium plants that have thrived from those couple of years of experiments. White coneflower survived for a few years too. Anyway, it was fun, and very inexpensive to raise perennials that way. Have fun. Pondy

We're having a rough start to the season. This yr we finally set up a nest cam after years of wanting one. Had quite a bit of trouble getting it working etc. but thankfully dealt with a wonderful co. who went out of their way to make sure we were happy and all was working well. We were very excited to watch a pair of Blues make their nest and lay 4 eggs and really looking forward to this coming weekend when the eggs should have started to hatch. Early yesterday morning hubby remarked that he hadn't see Mama in the nest during the night which was odd and she hadn't been sitting on the eggs that morning. Shortly after though 'the pair' arrived, landed on the box and started flapping and twittering like 'newlyweds'. We were puzzled by their antics especially as we watched Mama stick her head in and out of the entrance hole without going in as though she had never seen the nest/eggs before. Even more confusing we saw them start building a nest in a different box at the side of our house. That afternoon after much worry that she was abandoning her eggs, while out gardening, hubby saw over our neighbors fence that Mama was actually lying dead in his yard. There were a few feathers around, didn't appear their had been much 'violence' but obviously enough. It quickly became clear that the Mama we had seen that morning was a new Mama. Papa had moved on quickly! No wonder she looked like she didn't recognize the nest.... So, very sad to say both Mama 1 and her eggs are lost. Mama 2 is building in our other box which is unfortunately at a side of the house where we can't observe from inside and no way we can hook up the camera. We do keep seeing her hop in and out of our first box and watched Papa steal some remnants of grass to help his new nest. We're so upset this happened but at the same time happy to see them starting anew. Just hope they can stay safe.

Looking good, congrats on the orchard. So did you plant your trees in compost? or was it a compost/soil mix? I have never seen anyone recommend planting in pure compost, and usually it is recommended that you mix in your native soil as well. Depending on your clay, you may wish to scratch up the sides of the holes as well, if the sides of the holes are smooth, you can essentially create a pot in the ground that the roots will circle and eventually choke the tree out (this depends on your soil and the rootstock of the trees, but just good practice to scratch up the sides of the hole). Sweet cherries seem to always be a challenge, i think i killed off 4 of them before i figured it out. Top of the hill is great to help with drainage, and make sure to mulch with compost every year (i recommend going 6-12" past the dripline). I would recommend moving the old mulch aside, adding in the compost, then topping it with the old mulch and some fresh wood chips every year (as needed). Apples will benefit from iron in the soil. If you have or can find some old iron nails, knocking those into the soil around the apple tree can be beneficial, or from amazon, you can buy iron shavings, mix that into compost, and apply around the tree as well. Spraying is never a one size fits all solution. for the first year, watch the trees, take notes of what you see, shouldn't be any reason to spray. next spring, before they break dormancy, you can hit them with a dormant oil (that Bonie horticultural oil can be applied at a higher concentration for this application, it should give you proper measurements on the label for dormant). Check with your local extension for known pests and diseases, then check that against what you bought. If the tree is resistant to anything that you have local, then don't spray (why fix a problem you don't have!). Neem oil is a good organic spray as well. if you end up with peach leaf curl, then you will need so treat your trees in the spring with copper. So really just watch for the first few years to see what your needs are.

yeah.. dianthus.. a better scent than phlox ... imo ... for some reason i never figured out.. why phlox reminds me grandma types ... wonder why ... straight down pix are hard .. we dont know why ... but last i heard.. there were like fifty thousand named day lily ... so finding a name.. might mean finding the mavens in a day lily forum .... though i see babs recognizes this one ... when you are driving around .... see if you dont see them along the sides of the roads.. like everywhere .... do know.. that you can get PI.. from PI roots ... so be more careful digging .. and of course.. learn how to SEE it ... im wondering if the prior owner didnt decide they werent wanted in the garden proper and didnt launch them into the forest in a fit of pique .... these particular ones.. can tend to 'ramble on' around over the years ... not staying in nice round clumps ... i seem to recall having one next to a sidewalk.. and about 5 years later.. it poked out the other side of it ... and it didnt seed over there ... i forgot how fun ones first successes can be.. relish it ... ken ps: not all DL bloom the first year ... it depends on the root mass it was able to grow since planting .... god im bored and in a weird mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h9MxNn8P7w