More hits than misses

Things are going along pretty well in the garden: Here are some highlights and lowlights of the last few weeks

I'm not sure if this counts as a hit or a miss... the Butterfly Mixture of seed that I started using the winter sow method was supposed to be a mix of Alyssum, African Daisy, Bachelor Buttons, Butterfly Weed, Candytuft, Catch Fly, Columbine, Purple Coneflower, Prairie Coneflower, Plains Coreopsis, Cosmos, Scarlet Flax, Marigold, and Siberian Wallflower. However, other than a few sprigs of Alyssum and one beautiful Bachelor Button...

 ... all I've got is scads and scads of pink Catchfly. It is pretty - and there is a lot of it!

  But it's not much of a mix.

The biggest mystery in the garden is the tomatoes. These little guys are all from the same nursery pot... they all have the same soil. They all get the same amount of sun and water. The only difference is that the middle one was planted about a week earlier than the other two. I can understanding them being a little further behind... but not THIS much!

A definite winter sow success was the Iceland Poppies. I've got three clumps and they are all doing well - and this one is going to bloom soon! I haven't had much luck with getting poppies to come back the next year... so that's the next challenge for these guys!

Another seedy success - Bachelor buttons! I had a  pack and threw them on a bare spot in the Little Bee Garden in late spring. They grew quick and thick and are now getting ready to bloom.

The Dollar Store Crocosmia finally made an appearance too. I almost pulled them out thinking they were crab grass. Thankfully I realized before I did.

Another surprise... I didn't think last year's Blanket Flower made it... in fact, I pulled out the dead, woody left overs, roots and all... but it must have re-seeded, I found this mound when started trimming back the Bleeding Heart. So I guess I've got three Blanket Flower plants since I bought two more this year! Thats ok - they are great bloomers.

The mauve Delphiniums have started to bloom. It's going to Delphinium heaven in the backyard when the new ones I bought on clearance get going too. I've got them in just about every colour

This beautiful flower belongs to the CobWeb Hens and Chicks I bought last year. Sadly, it means this particular Hen is dying....but she's laid lots of little Chicks, so we don't have to say goodbye forever.

They day lilies are covered in buds and a few have started too bloom. This one is one of the new ones... Night Embers! Today is judging day for the gardens, so I hop enough are open to put on a really good show.

Speaking of Day Lilies... The other day Dave and I were at Home Depot so I checked out their garden centre. They had Day Lilies on two for $10 so...

...this one

... and this one came home with me. Hard to say if they will bloom this year.

They also had Clematis roots on half price. They were in opaque bags though, and I couldn't see the condition. When I opened it up, mine was pretty dried out. I probably should have taken it back, but it was only $3. I popped it in some soil, and we'll see if I can bring it back to life... but this one is probably a miss.

And lastly... while you can't tell from his face... he's definitely getting brave and more comfortable in the wilds of the backyard. He used to bolt back in the house when I'd approach him, but now he stays put and I'm allowed to pet him. He knows that clapped hands mean it time to go in though! Training is definitely going well.