Primrose

There are many varieties of Primroses. These bloom from late spring through early summer and prefer full sun to partial shade. They seem to grow best in soil that is somewhat sandy.


The picture below shows some that were transplanted earlier this spring. I like primroses best when they are mixed with other flowers like the picture above.

Hen and Chicks

Hen and Chicks, a succulent, prefer full sun to partial shade and are known to flower at times. The large "hen" in the center of the plant was the start to this plant. The smaller "chicks" are growing off the "hen" and can be transplanted to start new plants.

This one is being crowded, so once the flowers surrounding it are done blooming for the summer, some of the plants will need to be moved around.

My niece grows these in her rock retaining wall. She plants them in the little crevices between the rocks and they grow!

Lupines

Lupines bloom from late spring through early summer. This one is just getting started.
This particular variety grows from 25" to 30" tall and prefers full sun to partial shade. Cutting the faded flowers at the base of the plant will help keep them strong and healthy.

We didn't plant this one here. Lupines are self seeding, so it's possible that some of the seeds from another part of the garden were carried by a bird or the wind to this spot. It will be crowded by the Hibiscus and Hosta it is growing next to and will need to be moved once it is done flowering.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckles bloom from late spring through the summer. They attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

Fast growing, they prefer full sun to partial shade. Give them lots of space to grow! Some varieties grow as tall as 30 feet and can be trained to climb a trellis. This one is overgrowing the butterfly garden. It's already been cut back once this spring.

I was just reading the you can take cuttings from the honeysuckle in the spring, place them in a glass of water until they start forming roots and plant them....I think I'm going to try that!

Coral Bells

Coral Bells, also known as Heuchera or Alumroot, come in a variety of flower and leaf colors.
They prefer full sun to partial shade. Depending of the variety, the dainty flowers can grow from 15" to 36" tall. The leaves at the base of the plant grow to a height of 12" - 24" tall.

Coral Bells are blooming now. Cutting off fading flowers and wilted leaves at the base of the plant will keep these flowers blooming well into the summer.

Water only when the top 1" of soil is dry. These flowers don't like to be over watered.

Divide these in the spring every 3-4 years, discard any older woody growth.

Bleeding Hearts

Most of the Bleeding Hearts are done flowering. This one is still hanging in there. Bleeding Hearts are one of the first flowers in the spring to start blooming and one of my favorites. This one is over 3 feet tall.



Tips for growing Bleeding Hearts:
1. Don't hoe around them in the spring. Pull only the tall weeds. Bleeding hearts multiply in the spring, so if you weed and hoe to early, you will end up weeding new starts.
2. Place them among plants and flowers that bloom in the summer. When this plant is done flowering, it will start to turn brown and ugly. Bleeding Hearts need to die back before they are cut down so if you hide them among the summer flowers, the brown leaves and stems won't be so noticeable.
3. Bleeding Hearts prefer mostly shaded areas with some sun.
4. If they don't seem to be flowering or if the flowers aren't very pretty, it probably means they need water.

The Strawberry Patch

Strawberries ready to pick!

We have always had a problem with the grass from the yard growing into the strawberry patch. This year, we dug all of the grass away from the edge of the garden and used old boards as edging. The boards are placed about 4" into the ground so we can mow right over the top of them.