I’m pretty sure by now, you can tell I am absolutely in LOVE our big backyard and the woods that surround us. It’s like a little sanctuary here, and after spending the past 20+ years in suburbia, with people and cars whizzing by my front door 24/7, the feeling of being able to walk out the door in pajamas at 9 am and NOBODY walking by, is pretty freakin’ magical in my book. That wasn’t the goal {the whole pajama part} but still, everyday is like a gift around here.
Let’s talk about plants for a minute. Or maybe they’re weeds. I just don’t know. And it’s kind of exciting if you ask me. Obviously, the plant in the lower left hand corner is a dandelion {weed!} but what’s that growing all around it? Weeds? I don’t know, DO YOU? Could they be viola plants? I’m afraid to pull them because WHAT IF I have entire bed of violas I don’t even know it? Do you have these in YOUR yard? If so, please chime in.
What about this one? The leaf pattern kind of reminds me of a black eyed Susan plant. But I could be wrong. Anyone know for sure? To pull, or not to pull? That is the question.
It’s been 3 days since Lucy has found a friend {a mole}. She’s not giving up though, and the flower beds are getting aerated, so that’s a plus {I guess}.
What do you think? Irises? But what color? Oh I hope they are not yellow. I’d be happy with anything but yellow. Purple would be nice.
Hydrangea? Yes? No? Maybe so? What you think?
And the babies, they are enjoying all this sunshine we’ve been having lately. I moved them out of the office yesterday and into the garage. It was getting pretty dusty at my desk area and well, since the chicks are spending most of the day outside in the sunshine now, I thought it was a good compromise.
At 2 1/2 weeks they are started to fluff out a bit.
And the daffodils! They are finally blooming, and here it is the end of April. How funny is that? I posted a picture on Instagram nearly 6 weeks ago of the daffodils blooming in the PNW. Crazy crazy!
I have absolutely no idea what the summer weather will be like here, but with all the farm stands and orchards around, I’m confident we will be able to grow a big garden this summer… That is, if I can come up with a plan to keep the deer from hopping over our 5 foot fence!
It finally feels like spring, and I am so ready for it!!
Have a great weekend everyone, enjoy the sun. And hey, if you can help me out on the plant identification, I’d sure appreciate it. Peace out.
~Mavis
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Tami says
The first plant could be violets, that leaf if familiar but I don’t know. The second plant looks kinda like coreopsis. The third in not irises but could be asiatic lillies. Maybe someone with more knowledge will pop in
Ellen says
Looks like daylilies to me!
Marti says
Agree, definitely day lilies-not Asiatic.
Jeanne says
Day lilies, usually orange.
Jeanie says
Do you think the first plant with the dandelion is wild geranium? I have some and the leaf looks similar. The dry canes look like what is left over after my sedum blooms but I already have new growth so yep….no help here. Looks like fun though and the chicks are growing quickly!
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s defiantly not sedum as those are already popping up in the garden. I’ll look up the leaf pattern for wild geranium though, thanks.
Melissa says
Could be lantana.
Diana Pieti says
first might be ajuga….spreads, has little bloom, nice ground cover…helps with weeds….think you also have day lilies…and probably yellow….
Judy Johnson says
I think ajuga reptans, the bed is daylilies , not sure about the green mound , would leave it to see as it looks perennial landscape plant to me. The ball of skeleton stems may be hydrangia or another perennial, wait until it leafs out. No harm in leaving a plant as long as you don’t let a weed produce seeds and you have time on that. Good luck!
Rose says
They do not look like my Adjuga.
I am trying to gauge the size of the leaves.
I am leaning towards violets if they are small, or perhaps a type of aster/mum if larger.
For the middle one coreopsis has my vote.
I second (or third or fourth) the daylillies…
Carrie says
I think you are right about the Black-eyed Susans and the Hydrangea. Look up Bugleweed or Ajuga for that you are thinking is violas. There are so many different types it would difficult to nail it down. In the 90’s my house was owned by a landscape designer (who still lives in the neighborhood). She planted so many different plants I find something new all the time. I’ve only been in the house 3 years now. Last summer I didn’t pull weeds in one area and I found Naked Lady lilies!
Kat says
Pretty sure the third is lillies not irises. Exciting!
Daria says
Yes, day lilies – they could be orange
Maria Campbell says
the top pic looks like wild strawberry but there’s really no way to know until it flowers
the next pic is lamb’s ear
the next one with Lucy digging in it is day lily probably orange one as they are the most common
the last one looks like lantana. Don’t dig it up. It mounds like that, dies back in the winter and then flowers all summer long before going to berries. Berries are very toxic.
Without flowers it’s hard to tell. Leave them alone and see what you get.
Denise Soderlind says
I agree except the top could be raspberries or strawberries. I wouldn’t pull anything until it flowers. Then decide.
Megan says
Hey Mavis! Waiting for sleeping perennials is both exciting and nerve wracking!! 🙂 I’m not good with this, you need my mum actually 😉 I was guessing violets/violas with you. And maybe brown eyed Susan’s or daisy like blooms… Lillies for sure! Hope they aren’t orange…! And no idea on the brown one… I’d have to wait for leaves! A hydrangea would be fun!
Tanya says
I don’t think those are iris I think they are lillies. Only because they look like the ones at my neighbor’s and not like the iris in my yard. But I could be wrong
Laine says
I’m pretty sure the brown one is hydrangea, but it may be a toasted by winter hydrangea. I’d wait and see if it revives, I grow my hydrangea’s so much further south I’m not sure how they over winter up there.
Lolly says
I live in the deep south and my hydrangea looks all dead like Mavis’ during the winter. It always comes back, bigger and better! I hope hers does!
Christym says
My hydrangeas come back super late here in Michigan (well into May). So don’t chop it even if you think it’s dead.
Laura Z says
Gerbera daisies in pic. 1? The latter looks like lantana, which you cut all the way back and can grow 6 ft. a season. Great for pollinators?
Ida says
No clue regarding pic one and four (though the first doesn’t look like my violets which have a more kidney shaped form if I remember it right, and no serated margins). As for two and three I’m guessing Batchelor button or Daisy +day lillies. Unfortunately most lillies in my area, southern Ontario, are orange – so I hope you get a prettier version.
Karin C says
I would say Hydrangea and it should be fine, I live in Falkland BC zone 6 I think and we successfully grown them and they winter over the only think is we cut right to soil level and my MIL comes back and by end of season is 6’x6’ easily. You will have lots of plant surprises will be like Christmas. On a post you showed saving twigs for kindling , you will also want kindling that has little to no hard bark in it as it takes more time for the fire to penetrate the bark, we always have think strips of dry raw edged wood as it catches very easily. Have a great Friday.
Lissa says
The first season is so exciting. Maybe these apps would offer some clues
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/tools-and-accessories/the-best-apps-to-identify-unknown-plants-and-flowers/
jaynie says
If you need help identifying plants you can see if there is a local extension office or see if they can hook you up with a local master gardener. They are usually pretty knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna.
Hazel says
I agree not irises, more likely lilies. Not day lilies (hemerocalis) as their leaves don’t grow out of a central stem, you get a big clump of strap-like leaves and then flower stalks.
I’d say hydrangeas are more shrubby, and not clump forming, but don’t have a suggestion myself, so I bow to others’ greater knowledge 😉
Tami says
That’s why I said Asiatic Lily. My daylillies are like you described. No stem, leaves just come from base of plant
Tammy says
Asiatic lilies grow differently, they’re one of my favorites. 🙂 I was thinking Tiger Lilies. They grow in clumps, and do not spread like daylilies do.
Debbie - MountainMama says
Those are definitely daylilies, not Iris – they are the orange daylilies you see by the roadsides in July. I’m not sure on the first pic, the leaves do look like pansies or violas but could also be violets. The ones you thought look like black eyed susan remind me more of coneflowers and the hydrangea one? Who knows, could be….either way I’d just clear the leaves out of the base and see what happens. If it’s hydrangea it will grow on the wood if it’s something else that clumps like that it will just grow around the base and then you can cut those down. It’s fun moving into a new place and finding out what’s growing, isn’t it? I moved into my house three springs ago and the first season I left everything I was unsure of alone to see what was what!
CSirca says
I can only comment on the one you thought was a hydrangea to tell you that I agree, it definitely is a hydrangea. Mine look exactly like that now except for little green sprouts coming up around the old wood. Just give it a little more time and it’ll come back to life:)
Rita says
Fun to wait and see what the blooms are like. The one with the dandelion might be ajuga – beautiful purple flowers and beautiful in masses. The lilies look like daylily. Hope you don’t have deer come over your fence; have you looked into a scarecrow water deterrent? So glad you are finding peace.
Dena says
Deer will jump ‘up & over’, but not ‘over while up’. So you either have to have at least an 8′ fence, or create something that they don’t want to jump across (a moat?). That said, if something they don’t want to step on or go across, is at least a total of 4′ in front of (or over) a fence, then they won’t jump (over) the fence. If they can just walk up next to the fence (lower than 8′), then they can jump ‘up & over’. I’ve got “V” shaped 1/2″ pvc pipe (think ‘antenna’) on the top of my fence poles (the “V’s” straddling part ‘outside’ and part ‘inside’ the fence) , that create a 4′ “space” at the top of my 6′ fence. This trick’s the deer into thinking they can’t jump “up & over”, as they would have to jump “over while up”. Those “V’s” are connected by orange bailing twine (all of the ‘outside’ V’s are connected together, & all of the ‘inside’ V’s are connected together), creating that 4′ spacial concept, at the top, not the bottom of the fence. I’ve also utilized 40 wt fishing line to hang old pie tins (Costco pumpkin pie), from those twine connections, to spin in the breeze, another deterrent. It looks weird, but I’ve had no deer inside my garden since putting up the pvc V’s.
T says
Shoot them and eat them. Free meat.
Linda says
Only in hunting season, with the appropriate license and not in a neighborhood. Fines are stiff for what is considered poaching in most states. Could be the most expensive meat ever
Jeanine says
Here in Calif, we have put up another fence made with chicken wire 4 foot high around the exterior fencing creating a path like effect about 3 feet wide, which the chickens can run around in and eat some of those ticks and other creatures, bugs and such. The deer think that it’s too wide to jump over. Trouble is we feel like we are fenced in while in the garden. But, it works great. Only had a few times that the deer have gotten in the garden area and that was because a tree limb fell onto the outer fence and they got in. Believe me…the deer didn’t know which way to go when we showed up trying to get them out. They ran over my mosaic bird bath and broke it. I was bummed out. So every once in a while we have to check for breaks in the outer fence. Just an idea you might try.
Leann says
I have so loved following your journey. I found your blog when I was living in Poulsbo, WA and starting my first PNW garden. I have been in the South for the last two years. It is not my place. I have been miserable here. But I am flying up to CT to close on our new house next week. Cannot wait to join you on your New England gardening journey 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Wahooooooooo!
Josh says
Country living is the best!! I moved 4 years ago from HOA neighborhood to 20 acres in Poetry, TX. I just do a little bit each year to the property. My big project this year is 2 bee hives. I’m also putting together a plan for an edible forest. This Fall I will plant some more fruit trees, and I already added pine trees to the property to add some more variety. It never ends with country living, and don’t tell your husband, but you can also pee off the porch and not worry about neighbors!! Just a bonus my young boys love about it. Enjoy and keep us updated, because you might give me some new ideas for my place.
Carolyn says
Actually urine is a good deer detergent so maybe encourage him to aim for the fence. 😉
Heather says
Love the chicks. Good job to Lucy for hunting down those interlopers. She is a marvelous companion and her personality comes through your words and pictures. Enjoying the journey through your writing.
Allyson says
I think #2 is coreopsis or aster. #3 is day lilies. They’re some of my favorites because they’re so forgiving and come in so many colors.
Lauralli says
I am certainly no gardener and my thumb is only the slightest shade of green…I’m working on it! But, I think #1 is mums, #2 is possibly zinnia, #3 looks nothing like the foliage on my daylillies, #4 is definitely hydrangea. Why no love for yellow flowers? I think purple would clash with your house! 🙂 Anyway, if you can’t identify it don’t pull it. You might get a lovely surprise!
Erin says
Spring dandelion greens are food, not weeds!
Jo says
Exactly. So good in salads. Mavis, it’s time to rethink those surburbia plant prejudices too!
Carrie says
If you end up with yellow iris or anything else you don’t prefer you should dig it up and sell or offer for free at your driveway stand.
Some garden communities offer “pass along” sales or perennial division parties to get rid of excess or unwanted plants.
MeanJean says
Hello Maevis!
Love your new yard!
I, too long for the peace of the country.
#1 You can rule out Viola….not sure about it being Ajuga (looking at the photo on my phone). Habit?
#2 Someone named Coreopsis– that looks correct.
#3 Day lillies…did you know that you can saute (in butter, of course!) the flower buds of daylillies?
The daylily buds taste like a mellow asparagus.
Looking forward to seeing the garden tranformation!
Michèle says
#1 looks like pansies to me!! Not sure about the rest. Happy hunting!
Beth says
Keep in mind, Mavis, that dandelions are not native to the Americas but were imported by European immigrants who could not imagine life without this nutritious early spring green, summer flowers (dandelion wine, anyone?) and medicinal roots in the autumn. These weeds are a forager’s delight…free food!!
Elaine says
Personally, I wouldn’t dig up anything until I was into the season and saw what was what. I have moved so many times it would make your head spin and I have pulled things out that I regretted later. If it’s not directly in your way, leave it alone.
Where I am, we don’t have wild deer running about however they are becoming more prevalent in the area and we have had several impale themselves on fences so definitely do your research before putting anything up…the suggestion about the “up and over” etc…sounds like a great starting point.
Love the progress!! My tulips are JUST starting to pop up. Crazy NE weather
Carolyn says
The one you think is black-eyed susan looks exactly like my “Centaurea montana,” — I just went outside to look at it, and it looks just like the one in your photo. It will have very pretty blue flowers. After they bloom, I snip them off and they will re-bloom. I got it from a neighbor years ago, it’s one of my favorites!
Kim O. says
I just came in the house out gardening and I’m like omg I told Mavis that could be a weed and then lol and behold I come across my Centura and after seeing the pic of it in the mound I’m like that’s it! You have clearly identified the plant fir Mavis. It’s a very pretty bluish purple flower!!! As for the lillies if they’re Stella Dora they often bloom twice and stay pretty compact unlike some lillies that travel everywhere ugh!
Lynda Kling says
I think your chicks are way too young to be outside..unless that heat lamp is in with them when it’s cold…..
Mavis Butterfield says
Yep, the heat lamp was on the whole time. I actually put a digital thermometer out there and it was 88 degrees to the side of the heat lamp.
April says
Hi Mavis, I LOVED the books when I was growing up and there have been several films made about the books. In fact, I loved them so much that I talked my husband into taking us to Corfu, which is lovely, although it seemed much more populated than it was at the time the Durrells were there. It took a long time to get there, but he loved it too, even without reading the books…
renay says
I say leave them and if they are weeds – AKA something you don’t want growing there – then enjoy them! When I first moved into my house I let things grow to see what they are. Why not? It’s fun!
Michèle says
Mavis, are you aware that there is a plant identification app called Plant Snap? All you do is take a photo of the leaves with your iPhone or whatever you use and the app ID’s the plant for you. Not sure if anyone has mentioned this to you or not. You’re living my dream of having a home with woods all around. Sigh.
Gee says
I go with pansies on #1. Even though they are annuals, they will re-seed and set new plants. #2 looks like lamb’s ear. I go with the day lily crowd on #3. And #4? It’s too early to tell. You need some green.
And I strongly agree with the advice not to pull it until you know what it is. When we moved out of our big Victorian where I gardened for over twenty years, we rented it for the first year to a woman who claimed to be a great gardener who knows all the local plants. She said this right before she dug up a whole bed of holly hocks. I could very cheerfully have strangled her.
Susan Webster says
I’ve lived in several places where the Deer thanked me for growing their salad bar. Short of fencing the entire garden, I was somewhat successful with a product called Deer Off. I also made my own with a combination of rotten eggs, garlic, cayenne pepper and vegetable oil (if I remember correctly). Also, must be reapplied after a rain! You can Google it. It smells divine!
Susan Webster says
I must also add that I rid a large patch of (what I thought were) weeds only to find out later that they were not weeds but Coral Bells. You are wise to question!
Karen Rink says
The last one Looks like russian sage which will grow about 2 feet high with purple flowers, looking like lavender.
Janet howard says
Off topic…just wondered if your new library has hoopla so you can get back to your audio books. I have both Hoopla and Kanopy and love them…free with card.