Spring Blossoms and Shrubberies

The Peonies that I Always Forget to Stake

In my flower dump, a triangular bed surrounding a lamp post at the end of my driveway full of a mishmash of plants lacking any plan whatsoever, I have a peony plant that I always forget to stake until it's too late.  The blossoms are so heavy that they hang down to the ground and get lost in the foliage from the fading irises.  These flowers don't last long, and staking them individually would be a big pain in the butt, but they sure are beautiful, aren't they?

Orange Lilies of Hatefulness

I also have some orange lilies beginning to bloom.  My son Lars, now an expert on the symbolic meaning of flowers thanks to his Language Arts teacher, has informed me that orange flowers mean "I Hate You."  I have no response for that.  I like the orange flowers, and so does he, so in our gardens orange flowers mean "Lars lives here."

Six New 5' Hollies Along Front Corner, Small Elaeagnus Shrubs Along Fence in Woods

Last but certainly not least, Bernie has been taking advantage of the mild Spring weather to get some new shrubberies in the ground along the property line.  Hopefully they'll dig their roots in and get comfortable while the weather is mild, so they can grow and thrive throughout the heat of the summer.  We already had the Little Gem Magnolias and some Elaeagnus (what Bernie calls Smoke Bushes) planted just inside the fence, but we weren't getting the dense screening we wanted from them thanks to the pruning efforts of our dogs.  Otto likes to chase his "Indestructible Ball" along the fence, snapping off branches along the way, and Lulu likes to snuggle up next to the bushes and gnaw on the lower limbs, so the bushes inside the fence look like this:

Elaeagnus, Lower Limbs and Foliage Removed by Lulu the Terrible

The Little Gem magnolia trees inside the fence have been similarly pruned of their lower branches by my dogs, so they are sort of like lollipop trees.

My hope is that the bushes outside the fence will fill in thickly and screen our view of the neighbor's yard, giving us a little more privacy.  We'll leave the elaeagnus unpruned and let it grow shaggy and wild, which will blend in nicely in the wooded area.  They get quite tall around here and grow fairly quickly.

Grow, bushes, grow!