fatter

The garden is getting fatter.

Hostas that looked small and tentative up to last week are starting to take on space grabbing posture and confidence that we normally associate with this plant.

The perennials in the front two beds are still fairly small in height -- the chives are the tallest plants there, crowned by their lavendar thistle-like blooms -- but this will soon change. I still have a small window to divide and spread out the becky cultivar of shasta daisies as well as some purple coneflowers -- when I widened the bed I realize that I left a fairly linear planting scheme that needs to be broken up. Any divisions by now should really include as much of the dirt ball as possible and once done, the plants should be checked for drying out.

Radical dividing must wait for the fall.

The bearded or German irises are almost finished, but the Japanese iris is just putting on its bud-like leaves. I pulled a lot of maple saplings this morning. The rain has brought life to the jillons of whirley-bird seeds scattered in early spring.