 |
| Shrub and tree cuttings, 1 to 2 years old. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Forsythia cutting. One year old. 2.24.15 |
I finished adding cedar wood chip mulch to the front border. Now it should be maintenance free for a long time. Maintenance free is good.
Forsythia cutting from this time last year is blooming. Didn't grow much last year Lots of roots. I think it will grow this year.
Plum cuttings from last year are starting to grow. No flower buds.
Two year old Laburnum / Golden Chain Tree cuttings, I removed from ground an potted for some TLC. I think this is 2 years old, might be 3. Buds starting to swell.
Potted genetic dwarf peach is starting to bloom. If it frosts, I can move it inside. Looks like growth is starting much lower on the tree. Good. I can prune it back for a more compact plant. I kept it out of the rain all winter. Too soon to see if that helped with peach leaf curl. I am playing the bee with a paintbrush, to support pollination. This is either Bonanza or Ponderosa. I mix up the names, which shows my age.
Bee forage plots, seedlings have germinated. Borage, Phacelia, Crimson Clover. The borage will crowd and shade out all weeds and grasses in its plot, which is good. I expect so will the crimson clover.
I transplanted lemon balm into the remaining bee forage plot. Lemon balm / Melissa is considered great bee forage. They ignored it last year. I had it planted around seedling trees, but it's too vigorous and competed with the trees. So today it's in it's own plot, much nearer the beehive.
Honeybees are out in force, for past 2 weeks. This is good. They survived the winter and did not swarm. Which reminds me, I need to paint the new hive. This time it will be a Warre hive, which I hope needs less effort to keep the honeycombs straight.
Within a few yards of beehive: Linden, Sourwood, Melissa, Borage, Phacelia, bee-friendly Buddlea Blue Chip, lavender - minimal, and a few more yards away, Nings wildflower meadow. more Lindens, maples, and others. That won't be enough to keep all of the foraging at our place, but I hope it helps a bit.
Smith Fig, kept in garage all winter, growing. I moved it inside with predicted 29 degree night, not is back outside. None of the others is growing, even kept in garage next to Smith. In-ground Smith thoroughly dead. It is more suited for more southern climate.
Or is that peach El Dorado? Nothing to do with Bonanza? I'll have to look it up.
 |
| Bonanza Peach. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Bonanza Peach. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Borage Seedlings at one week. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Crimson Clover Seedlings at one week. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Transplanted Lemon Balm. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Front of house, with beehive. 2.24.15 |
 |
| Smith Fig starting to grow. 2.24.15 |
