First of all, I planted viola “Dream Memory”, tulips, and second year snowflakes.
I wanted to see the shape of a snowflake extending straight from the tricolor viola.

I fell in love with Viola at first sight at the co-op in September and ordered it.
When it arrived, it was still hot, and I thought it would be okay since it was all shabby and shaky.
Because it was getting very long, I cut it back twice, at the end of September and again in October, and then planted it in a planter.

Photographed on December 1st

Photographed on January 17th

Photographed on January 17th

Gradually, the number of violas increases and becomes fluffy, and bulbs are sprouting.

Photographed on February 16th

Around this time, I realized that violas grow differently depending on their color.
The yellows were tightly packed together, the grays spread out horizontally, and the blues stretched vertically.

Photographed on March 10th

In March, the warm days continued, and the bulbs suddenly grew and became larger.
I decided to prune the blue viola because the flowers were getting smaller, probably because it was tired.

Photographed on March 14th

It was cut down so much that it never came back.
After that, the gray part grew longer and looked great, so I cut it back.

Photographed on March 15th

Photographed on March 15th

As I will explain later, it seems like the stock was damaged by cutting too much. Please use this as a reference for the bad guys.
I didn’t prune the yellow ones because they remained tightly packed together.

After that, the tulips bloomed and the place became lively.

Photographed on March 19th

Photographed on March 24th

Around this time, I got rid of the blue viola and planted nemophila.
I only had an overgrown plant, but I tried it to see what kind of plant it was and its characteristics.

Photographed on March 29th

After this, I also pruned the nemophila once as a trial.

Photographed on April 16th

And up until now, there have been no notable changes.

Photographed on April 26th

In the end, snowflakes did not bloom this year.
The leaves are fine, but I have a narrow balcony, so I decided to get rid of them because keeping them would get in the way.
The tulips may bloom next year, but I guess that’s enough.

When I took a closer look to take this photo, I found my first aphid of the year on a gray viola.
My knowledge is that aphids attach to weakened plants.
I don’t want it to go anywhere else, so I decided to cut the flowers and arrange them because this viola is finally finished.
It has been working really well for a long time since September last year. I loved this color. I want to thank you.

Photographed on April 26th

On the other hand, no aphids were found on the yellow viola next to it that was not pruned.
I wonder if I cut the gray one wrong, but it was quite long, so maybe I just cut it too far.
That’s how I feel.

I plan to cut down the yellow violas and keep them alive to reduce the number of them.

Photographed on April 26th

It’s strange that even the weak-looking nemophila doesn’t have aphids,
This is getting too long, so let’s end it. Let’s arrange it with yellow viola.

So, I couldn’t see the scenery I had originally envisioned, but
The bulb buds were cute, the tulips were fun, and the violas were vibrant and gorgeous.
After deducting the snowflake, I think it’s 95 points.

Next year, we will combine not only violas but also nemophila and other plants.
I thought it would be great if I could create a group planting that I could enjoy for a long time by carefully adjusting the seasons.

Oh yeah, don’t forget to cut the flowers while pruning.
If you wait and do it all at once, you will fail like I did.

That’s why it was so long.
It’s hard to put it all in one article, so the final summary will be in the next article.
Next time, the real final episode. to be continued!