Excellent garden friend! The only things I discovered today as I was pulling up weeds was hundreds of cicada holes. They were under the weeds wherever I pulled them up. Man, are we going to have a thunderous cicada chorus when they suddenly decide to start singing! It's going to be deafening! These are the expected Maryland Brood X 17 year cicadas.

Lookin' good in Wisconsin !

A few more.
Blitz, another couple Southern Bells



Raspberry Jam, a good bloomer here. Thanks Susan.

tveguy3 said:I had another garden friend show up while weeding today.

i love your toad!

It's so funny, we had one too, yesterday! Luckily the puppy was on a leash.
My kid and I tried to rescue it by moving it to the neighbors yard.
I love toads, I hope he's ok and the hawks didn't get him... I did hear a toad singing last night, so he must be ok.

A few more pictures of some that opened in the rain this morning.
Enchanted Princess, Thanks Bonnie.

Decorum, yes that dandelion is special.

Stop and Stare, Thanks Dirt.


Some more are opening, but not quite yet fully open.

So many lovely little ones in your garden Tom - I especially like that photo-bombing dandelion. I had a few myself today that definitely weren't there when I took the picture, but when I got inside to check the images on my computer....

There is a little boy in my neighborhood who always wants to pick the dandelions so he can take them to the Duke Lemur Center and feed them to the lemurs. So for the sake of the lemurs and bees I have not done in my dandelion population this year (because my sheer lack of time to actually get all the weeding done has nothing to do with their presence!! )

A few years ago, Hubby and I discovered that the 4-prong Fiskars (long-handled) uprooter, teamed with a pop-up kangaroo bag is perfect for getting rid of dandelions as well as small- and large-leafed plantains, and even clump grasses in the yard and garden. Just pop and shoot, pop and shoot. You get about 100 of them in very little time. Our yard is now vastly improved without the use of herbicides.

tveguy3 said:

That lime grassy plant is a spider wart, this cultivar is called "Sweet Kate". I like the color contrast, but it seeds itself all over and the seedlings are a mixed bag of color, some light like the parent, and some darker green. It is a bit invasive, but I keep it because I like it.

• Spiderwort (Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate')
• Uploaded by tveguy3

Thanks Tom. I love it when it blooms too

Gate To Paradise, sure is a good grower here.

Vavoom, another one from down South., and a bright one for sure.

Awake

Knotty Pine, thanks Arlyn.

Irish Halo Subtle but nice


I have a Sib sending up a bloom stalk already!

Tom ~ Real beauties...

You still have Awake! Such a nice SDB.

Yes, still have it, not a real fast grower like other little ones, but it keeps on.

Knotty Pine!

More blooms today. Some of my first to open blooms were affected by the freeze (Which by the way is going to happen again tonight), so I've had to wait for later blooms. Here's Pussycat Pink, had to wait for the third bloom on this one, and it's not winner either. Thanks Susan.

Killarney Green - Thanks Bonnie.


Notice the color echo with the dandelions in the lawn!
Route Sixty Six

Celtic Faerie

And now a mystery seedling that I love. Of course not everyone likes the brown's but I happen to like them. It was between Drambuie and Knotty Pine, not sure who was the parent, maybe both, but I love it.


Here are a few clump shots.
Leopard Print with "NO" spots this year yet.

Alamo Joe.

Easter

Pumpin Iron - Thanks Bonniel

Little Sighs

A couple bed shots. Here's my "Doggy Bed"

Can you name all of the irises in bloom in the above picture???? Give it a try. Hint, there are 6 different cultivars in this picture.
Pardon the excessive amount of Preen, but this seems to be an area that loves to grow weeds.

Tom: Very beautiful! Two of my favorites of this latest group is your garden club green seedling (of course) and Celtic Fairy. are I can't even get Leopard Print to bloom after 4 years and look at that clump you have...Wow!!!

28 degrees this morning so far, might go down more before the sun rises. Ugh.

Both of these Cuties were in my "Dirt Box" Thanks.

Every time I see Awake I wish I had purchased it before Tempo Two closed down.
I love your clump photos Tom .

I wish Schreiner's still carried Awake. Only place in the US I ever found it.