Garden babble. Lots of garden babble.

Spring has been a long time in coming, but the balloon flowers are coming up, so I think it's fair to take stock here and say anything in my garden that still looks dead is probably dead.

Failures
1. My zone 5 experiment. Yes, one of the cherry trees (the one that gets 10+ hours of sun a day) is alive and leafy. It's the one that gave me cherry blossoms earlier and made the whole attempt worthwhile. Unfortunately, it won't ever do anything without a cross-pollinator...which brings us to the other cherry tree. It lived through the winter. It started to bud at almost the same time as the first one, but it never took off, and the cold spring zapped the buds. It's still alive in there, but without leaves for energy, it's only a matter of time. The peach tree is also still alive, but struggling mightily. The higher-up leaves are shriveling, and it was sending up panic suckers like mad. Considering this was all just an experiment anyway, I think they're all going to come out to make way for a different plan. (The live cherry can stick around until I get to that part of the yard, but eventually it'll go.)
2. The Minnetonka rhododendron. This one really makes me sad. It was such a beautiful shrub, and I was so excited when Puck found it for me at the Plant Sale. I actually think I killed this one last summer — it wasn't getting enough water from rain because of the neighbor's tree, and I didn't realize it until it got really wilty. (That whole "Hey, the sun is at an angle but rain comes straight down, so sunny /= no canopy" revelation...) I watered it diligently after that, but apparently it was too late. The other possibility is that this was a variety of rhodie that really dislikes sun. I might try "White Lights" at some time, but otherwise it looks like it's good ol' PJM for me.
3. Bugleweed. This one has Puck and me at something of a loss. Everyone talks about what a splendid, easy (even potentially invasive) groundcover bugleweed is, and we just can't keep it alive. A couple of the Ajuga 'chocolate chip' we put in have come back, but they're smaller every year, dwindling down to nothing. Care tips say anything from full sun to full shade, drought-tolerant, acid to slightly alkaline soil, can be pruned with a lawnmower. And yet we can't grow it. Boo.

Successes
1. Geranium. How much do I love this plant? Various garden blogs tell me it's dull and unfashionable, but I don't care. I want about 50 of these bastards. Aside: Geranium is the Latin for this plant, common name 'cranesbill', but the plant we all think of as a geranium (those red things) is the common name for pelargoniums. Between that and the fact that daylilies aren't lilies, plant language has a lot to answer for.
2. Polygonatum (Solomon's Seal). It's spreading politely but noticeably each year and makes me happy.
3. The fenceline shrubs (lilac, viburnum, variegated dogwood) have grown fast the past couple years, making our backyard feel more enclosed, private and cozy.
4. The physocarpus (ninebark) 'summer wine' is doing really well and developing some pretty, arched branches.
5. Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus' — the grass clump has easily tripled in size from when we planted it last year. I need more ornamental grasses.
6. Puck's clematis! Finally! This poor thing. It's been barely surviving year after year, the victim of rodents, the lawnmower, frequent moves, too much sun, you name it. But it seems to love its new home on the north fence and is already as tall as it's ever been.
7. Blueberries. Despite being eaten to the ground by rodents over the winter, all three blueberry plants are making a surging comeback. Must protect them next winter....

Of course, anything that lives is a success in my world. Oh, and Mixologist? Your bleeding heart is gorgeous again this year. It's, like, 3' tall and 4'wide. I'll post a picture soon.