May is here and June roses are coming

Dorothy's is full of wild columbine this year.  The iris are just starting, and the peonies are out.  And the June roses are almost here!

Flower Chorus by Emerson

Flower Chorus by Ralph Waldo Emerson

O such a commotion under the ground,
When March called, "Ho, there! ho!"
Such spreading of rootlets far and wide,
Such whisperings to and fro!
"Are you ready?" the Snowdrop asked,
" 'Tis time to start, you know."
"Almost, my dear!" the Scilla replied,
"I'll follow as soon as you go."
Then "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came
Of laughter sweet and slow,
From millions of flowers under the ground,
Yes, millions beginning to grow.

"I'll promise my blossoms," the Crocus said,
"When I hear the blackbird sing."
And straight thereafter Narcissus cried,
"My silver and gold I'll bring."
"And ere they are dulled," another spoke,
"The Hyacinth bells shall ring."
But the Violet only murmured, "I'm here,"
And sweet grew the air of Spring.
Then "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came
Of laughter sweet and low,
From millions of flowers under the ground,
Yes, millions beginning to grow.

O the pretty brave things, thro' the coldest days
Imprisoned in walls of brown,
They never lost heart tho' the blast shrieked loud,
And the sleet and the hail came down;
But patiently each wrought her wonderful dress,
Or fashioned her beautiful crown,
And now they are coming to lighten the world
Still shadowed by winter's frown.
And well may they cheerily laugh "Ha! ha!"
In laughter sweet and low,
The millions of flowers under the ground,
Yes, millions beginning to grow.

https://allpoetry.com/14653511

Got to share the beauty

This last week was so gorgeous - I have to add these to document it!  

Madame Hardy Rose

 Madame Hardy is in full bloom at Dorothy's this week and hopefully will last at least another week.  What a wonderful rose!   It's hard to find for sale, but worth looking for.  The scent is lemony and sweet.   Here's more information from the experts at the Royal Horticultural Society.  

Roses!

Every June at Dorothy's is special, but this one is particularly so!   The rose bushes are so full, so lovely - it's really worth a trip.

Hooray for roses!

The roses are still going!  We have some gorgeous Maiden Blush roses still blooming.  The Madame Hardy's are about gone, but the plants themselves look terrific still.

Check out the blog Hedgegrow Rose for some wonderful rose pictures and lovely varieties!

Roses and more roses!

It's been a rainy June, but the roses are still gorgeous!

More springtime...

The pear trees are even in bloom this year!

The tarp even matches!

We are so excited for the unveiling of the sundial in all its repaired glory!  Hooray for Matt, our Eagle Scout volunteer!   In the meantime, the tarp matches the grape hyacinths just perfectly.

Eagle Scout Project

Matt Roach has completed his Eagle Scout project with a fine job with the sundial.  The sundial has been at the Quincy Homestead as a memorial since 1913.

Plant Sales not to miss

The Elm Bank Plant Sale out in Wellesley, MA, Saturday, May 11th

The Long Hill Plant Sale in Beverly, MA, Saturday, May 18

Early Spring

Winter Sowing Part 2

So here's what we've got so far:

12 milk jugs planted in January that my in-laws plant-sat for me.
Out of those twelve, we've got sweet peas up, calendula, and a few mysteries....

Why mysteries?  Well, did you know that a sharpie marker will not be permanent on some kinds of plastic?   The ink wore off of all the milk jugs, and, once again, we're just guessing by the bits of seed coatings on top of the dirt!

Also, 10 milk jugs planted that have been at Dorothy's this spring.
Out of those, we already have calendula up.  We'll see what else appears!  Same sharpie problem, of course.

Winston, my husband, recommended a "lab marker" which can write permanently on these kinds of plastic.   Better living through chemistry!   We'll have to try this next year.

Daffodil Hill

What a lot of catching up there is to do!  It's ridiculous that the past post is of snow, but grad school creates a certain tunnel vision.  Oh well, it's spring!!

There are so many pictures to post, from the wonderful crocus lawn at Easter to the splendid blooming pear trees right now.  Little by little, we'll get them all up.

But most importantly, let's give three cheers and one cheer more for the wonderful Master Gardeners who have come to help during the past few weeks!  What a difference it makes!

This picture isn't even from Dorothy's - it's from another garden I've been playing with in Beverly, MA.  What a good deed Home Depot did when they put their bulbs on 75% off at Thanksgiving!

Snow!

This is Brighton, not Quincy, but, gracious sakes!  What a lot of snow!

Amaryllis bliss

It's been a good year for Amaryllis.  We were able to buy really good bulbs this time (I'd been too cheap before and gotten no blooms last year) and this has made all the difference!   A lovely red one for Christmas and pink now.  Considering we planted them all at the same time, and that I didn't remember to label the colors, what a lovely coincidence for color schemes!  I always binge on red during Christmas and need a break from it in January.  The pink one had 8 blooms until this morning, when one started looking like it needed to be snapped off.



Notes about Amaryllis:
1.  Have a planting party in October so that they're ready for Christmas.
2.  Get all your containers ready because you'll buy more bulbs than you planned on!
3.  Use dirt, not stones, for amaryllis, because the roots got too wet this year, and the stones didn't really support the full weight of the stems and flowers.

As you can see from our window, I'm in heaven.  We've got three hyacinths forced, and two more almost ready, two primroses, one huge amaryllis, and one ready in a week or two.  Bliss!