Garden Delights

Pollination Suprise

2007-04-23T20:37:00.000-05:00

An unknown pollinator on a daylily. Lots of critters pollinate, not just bees. So while the bee population is down, hopefully the other critters will take up some of the slack.

Cold Spring Gone?

2007-04-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

Well, it looked like it was going to be an early spring.

Looked like.

But then the Arctic air blasted in from the frozen tundra and washed away all hopes of getting into the garden early.

Sigh.

So now I am playing catch-up, with little enthusiasm.
The dandelions are far more energetic than I.

But I'll get there. Eventually. Life is hectic.

And I'll be looking for hectic. In the form of bees.

According to the news and hive-keepers, 95% of the honey bee population in the U.S. has disappeared. This is both tragic and scary. Sad for the bees and keepers, scary as we eat what the bees pollinate. What they ingest, we ingest.

Scary.

So I'm rather impatiently waiting for a nice warm day with lots of flowers to go out and do my own unofficial bee count.

My yard attracts lots of bees.

Normally.

I get all kinds of bees. From teeny ones that you can hardly see to the huge lone bumble bees. And what I'm trying to see is if ALL of the bees have gone AWOL. There are over 4,000 different types of native bees in the United States, and I'm betting that not all of them have died or flown the coup. But I have to have sun and flowers to do my survey. Insects don't like a chill anymore than I do. And mother nature hasn't been co-operating with the warmth.

So all you gardeners out there unite! Do your own survey and tally up the bee count. There may still be pollinators out there; they just won't give us honey.

2006-03-31T11:13:00.000-06:00

A Sunny Yellow Crocus

Spring Cleanup

2006-03-31T11:02:00.000-06:00

Yes. Sadly it is that time of year again.

I spent about seven hours of the day yesterday doing this semi-unpleasant task.

I enjoy it for the most part.

What I don't enjoy is finding all those little projects that will have to go on the 'to do' list for the season.

And there's always a lot of those.

The enjoyable part is finding out how all of the little plantlings are doing, and watching the spring bulbs appear overnight and blossom.

Today will be mostly a chore.

Why?

Because a wicked wind is blowing and my nice, lightweight brown paper yard waste bag will be flying all over the place.

I will spend much time muttering curses under my breath.

But...at least I will be outside on a warm spring day watching the little jewels of the garden emerge.

2006-03-30T10:39:00.000-06:00

Daffodil 'Minnow'

Albuquerque Update

2006-03-30T10:20:00.000-06:00

Greetings to all!

It's been ages since I've been here.

Busy, busy, busy.

But spring has arrived. The crocus are blooming and the tulips are trying to make an appearance.

Time for spring cleanup.

But before I wander off into the jungle, I want to give you an update on all the little plantlings that journeyed west to Albuquerque.

Believe it or not, they appear to be doing quite well for the most part. Despite the transplant in the June heat and sun, many have survived. While I don't have a complete list, here's a few that definitely made it.

Artemisia, artemisia, artemisia. I planted it everywhere, and it's growing everywhere. Which is a good thing in Albuquerque. Many folks wouldn't think so.

Grape Hyacinth. One of those lovely spring bloomers that will spread with reckless abandonment. Which is a good thing.

Little daffodils. These little beauties are called 'Minnow', which is appropriate as they are very tiny flowers. They also like to multiply rapidly.

These are just a few. I also know that the hollyhocks are alive and kicking, along with the peach and apricot trees, the grasses, and a host of other things. Like the iris and sedum. Hopefully it will all fill in for my sister in a year or two.

One year for roots, one year to fill out.

This should be a fun year.

2005-10-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

My sister's new landscaping. Note the large cosmos behind the little peach tree.

Hitchhikers in New Mexico

2005-10-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

I got to my sister's house in New Mexico, and was both amazed and disappointed.

Disappointed as not as much lived as I'd hoped.

Amazed because more survived than I thought would.

One of the more amazing plants was a blue mist shrub. It had grown to a nice little shrub about 2 feet tall and was blooming it's little head off. I figured it would live. I just didn't expect it to thrive.

Another top performer was a Russian sage. It had never grown well for me, so I decided to take it west after it had broken into four pieces. I kept one for myself and gave 3 to my sister. Mine is about an inch tall. Hers are 3 feet tall and blooming like gangbusters. Go figure.

Some plants thrived, others were barely hanging in there. Which isn't too surprising as it was the height of summer when I left them. Baking heat does not make for a good transplant situation. But a lot of them did well.

I also found a few hitchhikers.

Yep. Even plants like to hitchhike.

Seeds like to hide in the dirt and make a surprise entrance.

One stow away was a datura (aka: moonflower). The seeds had waited for the nice warm New Mexico sun to germinate. By the time I got there in October, it was a nice sized plant, blooming away.

But the most impressive tag along was a cosmos. It had almost gotten pulled up by my sister because it looked kind of like a weed. When I got there it was four feet tall and sturdy as a tree.

And just about to bloom.

What fun! I got to watch it open it's first blooms and amaze my sister with its colorful lavender discs.

Hopefully it will drop a few seeds in a not too silly spot and offer up another surprise for next year.

Plants do like to travel from time to time.

2005-09-28T22:51:00.000-05:00

Rose of Sharon heading west.

Desert Bound

2005-09-28T22:30:00.000-05:00

Yup.

I'm heading back out to the high desert to check out my handiwork.

In case you missed it, I took a carload of plants from Illinois to New Mexico in very early summer. Now I get to go see what's still living, even though some people claimed they'd never survive the move.

I have it on good authority that some already declared themselves permanent residents.

According to the news flashes I get periodically, here are a few of the survivors:

catnip
thyme
blue mist shrub
hollyhocks
spider plant
naked ladies
allium
coreopsis (at least two varieties)
lilies
daylilies
ornamental grasses (several types)
honeysuckle vine
trumpet vine
perillia
hawkweed
canna
artemisias (several types)
wild petunia (ruellia)
painter's palette
a variety of sedums
purple coneflowers
a variety of yarrows
a hosta or two
mint
a stray datura
Russian sage
hardy hibiscus

I believe there are a lot more survivors out there. My sister just can't remember the names because of the wicked west wind. The tags just didn't stick in the sandy ground good enough.

Now I get to go play botanist and identify the plants with the missing tags.

And...

(Shhhhhh! This is a secret!)

I've stowed away a few plants in my trusty luggage to replace those that didn't find the surroundings to their liking.

This time I'm taking two rose of sharons, cypress spurge, two different rose campions, phlox, campanula, porcelain berry vine, more hardy hibiscus, golden Marguerite, veronica and coral bells.

You should see my suitcase.

Have plants. Will travel.

2005-09-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

Fang In Guard Mode.

Meet Fang

2005-09-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

He...or she...doesn't LOOK mean, does he?

Well, he is.

I suspect my little friend is a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but I'm not positive.

And it seems rather aggressive.

So I'll call it a he.

And I've named it Fang.

I know, Fang doesn't seem like a good name for a hummingbird, but it fits this one to a tee. What you can't see in the photo, is he's sitting on top of the hanger holding the hummingbird feeder.

And he guards it zealously.

(And the other two he can oversee from his vantage point.)

Fang is mean.

He won't let the other little hummingbirds have their fare share. As soon as they show up, he's after them so fast you can hardly see him moving.

And the chase is on.

Fang also chases bees away from the feeders.

He doesn't seem to care that he's hoarding a stash that would probably feed 100 hummingbirds. Fang just knows he's got a good thing going and he's not about to lose it.

Big meanie!

The others are developing a few tactics to sneak in for a drink. Stealth is key. Either that or wait for Fang to make the rounds of the flowers he's decided are worthy of his attention. Like the false dragonhead, Brazilian verbena, sweet peas, honeysuckle and impatiens.

But he's really more interested in guarding the feeders.

And he's rather brave.

He's occasionally given me a fly-by, which sounds like a mini helicopter buzzing you if you don't see him coming. Sometimes he ignores my being 3 feet away from the feeders. But he seems to have gotten a bit camera shy. I got a few photos in the beginning, but now when he sees me raise the camera he takes off.

Little stinker.

And he's there from dawn to dusk.

I'm beginning to think he sleeps on top of the feeder too.

He's fun to watch.

But I do wish he'd learn to share.

2005-08-31T21:44:00.000-05:00

Balsam growing in crack in sidewalk.

The Best Grow Almost Anywhere Annual

2005-08-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

And the winner is...

Summer Flowering Balsam.

And it does grow just about anywhere.

About all it requires is a decent amount of moisture and semi-good soil. And I'm not even sure if it requires that.

It's growing in the cracks at the bottom of the stairwell on the north side of my house.

I don't water the stairwell.

It hasn't rained much here this summer either.

I will admit that it does much better in some locations than others. It does not like the front yard for some reason. (I think it's the thirsty maple tree.) But when it finds a spot it likes...

It really likes it.

Summer flowering balsam is a member of the impatiens family. Like most of the impatiens, it likes water and doesn't mind shade. It also blooms profusely in late summer when much of the garden has kind of faded out. It can get quite tall, up to 3 feet in height, and it comes in a wide variety of colors. It comes in lots of hot pinks and bright shades of blue-lavender and corals, along with the paler pinks. There's even a variety with white spots on the flowers.

I'm not kidding.

Spots.

Once they have managed to bloom themselves out, or when the frost gets them, they can easily be pulled up to make room for something different.

It's one drawback (which might be a good thing for some people) also gives it another one of it's names: Touch-me-nots. It's seed pods explode, sending hundreds of small seeds everywhere. And if they like where they land, they will grow next spring.

Even if it's a crack in the sidewalk.

This does make it a bit of a pest if you have it in a mixed border. But the seedlings are easy to pull out. Just remove the ones that grow where you don't want them too.

Instant repeating color.

And the bees like them too.

2005-08-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

Minnesota Memorial in Gettysburg National Battlefield.

New Links For All

2005-08-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working on something new.

Photos, photos, photos!

I love to take photos of nature and places I've been, so I decided to make an online photo album or two to share with everyone.

One album is photos of places I've been. Just a selection of some of my favorite photos of some of my favorite places.

Another album is of flowers I grow (or have grown) in my yard.

The last (at the moment) (until I get the bug to form another new album) is of bugs and animals I've found to take photos of.

None of the photos are from zoos or butterfly houses.

That would be cheating.

I hope you find the time to take a cruise through my eyes.

It's quite an adventure.

2005-08-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

Black-Eyed Susan

Best 'Grows Anywhere'

2005-08-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

And the winner is...

The humble Black-Eyed Susan.

While often guilty of being a thug in the garden, this delightful late summer bloomer still gets the nod for the best plant to grow just about anywhere. Full sun to deep shade. Moist to dry. It may not thrive in all those conditions, but it will usually survive and bloom.

The only condition it seems to detest is bone dry.

It does need water occasionally.

This old fashioned plant is definitely a garden staple. For the most part it is a 'plant and forget' flower. Very little additional care is needed.

Aside from pulling up all it's little wandering babies.

(That was a warning.)

If you want a plant to fill a problem spot, this might be the one.

Yes, it tends to re-seed more than most people want.

Yes, it keeps spreading.

But it also blooms with that glorious splash of color that signals the onset of fall, and transitions us from the height of summer color to the rusts and yellows of fall.

I read someone say that there are no invasive plants. Some just require a bit more work than others. This particular person was growing some very invasive plants. They just loved them anyhow and took the time to keep them 'inbounds'.

So, in spite of the spreading and re-seeding (which might be considered a bonus to some), I still give the Black-Eyed Susan the Grow Anywhere Award. You just can't beat it for it's ability to look lovely just about anywhere.

It does seem to be a bit more well behaved in shade. Same cheery yellow flowers with the dark eyes, just not as vigorous. A little bit of competition goes a long way towards taming the beast.

So find that problem spot and give Susie a try.

Just remember to add water.

2005-08-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'. The photo does not do it justice.

The Best of the Blues

2005-08-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

And the winner is...

Veronica spicatica

No specific cultivar. Just the blue ones.

This lovely plant starts blooming early to midsummer, and just keeps going, and going and going...

Kind of like the energizer bunny.

It's no wonder it was the 1993 Perennial Plant of the Year.

Veronica has lance shaped leaves with serrated edges, ranging from a dull grey green to a rich deep green. But it's the blue shades that really catch they eye.

Veronica's flower spikes are held high above the foliage in the most wonderful shades of blue. My personal favorite is what I believe is 'Sunny Border Blue', but I'm not positive on the cultivar. It is the richest deep blue in my yard. Kind of a cross between navy and royal blue. It looks stunning paired with a yellow.

The spikes bloom from the bottom up and keep getting longer and longer as they bloom. The spikes themselves can form interesting shapes as they elongate and sometimes split into multiple spikes. As the main spike blooms, a myriad of side blooms also form. And keep blooming, and blooming, and blooming. If you clip off the spikes once they finally stop blooming, more will form, giving you that glorious continual shade of blue well into fall.

Veronica is not a picky plant. It is happy in sun or part shade, and survives drought conditions well. There are many colors of Veronica, and shapes and sizes too, ranging from ground covers to very tall. It is well behaved and does not re-seed at will. It is, however, easy to propagate in spring by cuttings. Simply take a new shoot in spring, cut it off, strip the lower leaves, and keep in moist soil until roots form.

Every garden should have at least one Veronica.

But I do have to give two other plants honorable mention when it comes to blue.

And both are common weeds.

Spiderwort and chicory.

The baby blue of chicory is simply lovely, most often seen growing on the roadside in a stunning display with queen-anne's-lace. An herb most often grown as a coffee substitute, it has escaped to grace the ditches with a wave of blue. This is a now you see it, now you don't plant. The blooms are open in the morning, and closed in the afternoon. It can grow to be a tall coarse plant, so it's not well suited for the typical garden. But if you have that wild area...

My other favorite blue is Spiderwort, tradescantia virginiana. This wildflower will grow in sun or shade (though it's floppy in shade), wet or dry conditions. It will keep producing blue-violet flowers all summer long. While not as neat or showy as some of the cultivars, I've found it to bloom longer and it does not usually go dormant in the summer. It can get a bit floppy without something to hold it up, and it does tend to pop up around the garden on it's own, so it's not for the picky gardener. Picky people should try the more modern cultivars.

2005-08-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

Pink hardy hibiscus bloom, 8 inches across.

Best Giant Bloom

2005-08-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

And the winner is...

The Hardy Hibiscus

If you are looking for an eye-catching larger than life bloom, I really can't think of any other plant that fits the bill.

We are talking dinner plate sized blooms here.

And in a variety of colors from white to deep red.

This baby is a relative of the Rose of Sharon shrub, and a member of the mallow family. Native to much of America, it is often called Swamp Mallow, but it can survive in a wide variety of conditions.

It can grow to about 5 feet or taller in height, and has nice large heart shaped leaves. Some varieties have leaves more like the Japanese maple. The glossy leaved hibiscus are tropical, and come in more tropical colors of yellow through orange red. Glossy leaved hibiscus are not cold hardy.

The hardy hibiscus is cold tolerant to at least zone 5, and perhaps zone 4 in certain situations. They do die back to the ground in winter, but always come back in late spring. Very late spring. It is a good idea not to cut the dead stalks back until spring so you can remember where they are located.

They are relatively easy to grow from seed, and will often self-sow. Color will not come true from seed. If you plant to grow them from seed, nick the seeds and soak them overnight before planting. It usually takes 2 years for a new plant to bloom. As with most plants, they only improve with age, growing more and more shoots from the original root to form a small shrub-like plant.

This one will give you a taste of the tropics.

2005-08-13T00:49:00.000-05:00

One of my daylily creations.

Best for Genetic Experiments

2005-08-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

And the winner is....

The Daylily

If you like to play bumble bee and try to cross-pollinate plants in your yard for fun, the daylily is your ticket for success.

All you really have to do is pick off one of the long pollen thingies, take it to a different daylily and rub the pollen all over the end of the long tube-like center thingy. (I'm being real technical here.) Then you wait for the large seed pod that will hopefully develop. When the pod starts to spread open, the seeds are ready to pick. At this point you can store them in the refrigerator and plant them in spring. Two years later, you will have a new daylily bloom genetically unlike any other.

While two years may seem like a long time to wait, it is really worth the fun of going out every day during bloom season to see what new creation is blooming. No two are exactly alike, not even if the seeds came from the same pod. Not even height or bloom color will be identical. They won't all be stunning beauties, but all will usually have their own merits.

Blooming babies everywhere.

Of course, then you have to find homes for them all. That could be a problem. Daylilies aren't small plants.

While there are other plants out there that could be used for genetic experimentation, daylilies are quite simply easy to grow, easy to pollinate, hardy in a wide variety of conditions and plant zones, and produce showy blooms.

Easy instant gratification.

Here are some other qualifications. Daylilies aren't terribly prone to disease. They survive neglect well. Some grow very rapidly. They come in every color but blue. They come in a wide variety of bloom shapes, some quite exotic. They even do well in poor soil and part shade. They are quite drought tolerant, though they won't bloom as well in a heavy drought. They can be quite addictive.

So if you feel like playing with genetics, daylilies are the way to go.

I have only one caution.

It'll be really difficult to let your creation babies go.

2005-08-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

One of my many daylily creations.

Flower Award Series

2005-08-12T23:46:00.000-05:00

I have decided to make up my own little flower award series.

Too many flowers. Far to difficult to pick just one favorite.

Each category will have just one flower as a winner.

(This might stretch my judging capabilities a bit.)

I have an incredibly long list of categories, and a matching list of flowers that belong in a category.

This might take a while.

I have to admit up front that I don't have set rules for my judging, other than I have to grow them myself. This does limit the entries slightly as there are a lot of plants that I simply don't grow.

On the other hand, I probably have over 900 different types of plants growing in my yard, so I'm not as limited in choices as you'd think.

Stay tuned for some gardening fun!

2005-08-08T00:42:00.000-05:00

Hummingbird. This one wasn't in my yard, but in New Mexico at the Ice Caves.

Garden Party

2005-08-08T00:07:00.000-05:00

I've been absent for a while due to a graduation party for my daughter.

Most of the preparations were on the inside of the house, complicated by the installation of new carpeting.

It was a big job.

The party was a smashing success.

About 50 friends and family attended and enjoyed the parklike setting, wonderful sunny day, and a lovely balmy evening.

The garden was a hit too.

Comments included:

I wasn't sure I was at the right place. I knew you had lots of flowers, but you can't tell from the front yard. (My front yard is deceptively small)

I love what you did where your pool was. (I had a twenty-four foot above ground pool that went to it's reward two years ago. It's now garden.)

Look! A moonflower. (I love this old fashioned oddity.)

What's that yellow flower with the lacy leaves? (A wild senna or partridge pea.)

Do you have to add water to your pond? (Yes, when it doesn't rain enough.)

You must spend a lot of time out here. (My family says they never see me during the summer.)

It must take a lot of work. (Not as much as you think. Truthfully spring clean up and three good weedings usually does the trick. The rest is putzing.)

Do you have to water a lot? (Typically no. But I usually water more than I need to because I'm always moving plants around.)

It's just beautiful. (Don't look too close because it's been too hot and I haven't been weeding like I should...which I will pay for later.)

Have you had to water a lot with the drought?(Actually, no. A few plants needed the water. Most thrived anyhow, but were about 6 inches shorter than usual, not that you can tell.)

What's your favorite plant?(I never did get a chance to answer this one. Tough question. Plant would probably be hosta. For flower I'd almost have to say whatever is blooming at the moment. Actually, the false sunflower is quietly taking the lead, blooming from spring to fall and beyond. Close second would be my dark blue veronica. Both have very long bloom seasons. I'll have to make a best of list.)

In any case, the garden was a big hit, along with all the food and drink.

Though there were a few surprise guests.

In spite of the 50 people scattered about the yard, the locals still snuck in.

During one of my more relaxed moments, I enjoyed watching a hummingbird get a free drink from my beautiful 'Raspberry Wine' bee balm. I didn't invite him to the party, but he's always welcome.

We also got to watch the merry goldfinches munch on sunflower and cosmos seeds. The food was plentiful.

I do like a good garden party.

You always end up with the most engaging guests.

2005-07-17T00:15:00.000-05:00

Swallowtail on purple coneflower.

The Humble Coneflower

2005-07-16T23:41:00.000-05:00

I call it humble, but it's really a truly lovely and almost indestructible plant.

Be it purple or yellow or some shade inbetween, it blooms for what seems like forever. And afterwards it leaves behind a huge bristly cone, filled with seeds that the birds love. You have to be quick if you want to beat the birds to the seeds.

While there are many designer varieties out there, mine are the standard wildflower variety. This means mine vary in shape and size and tend to pop up here and there if they feel like it.

And they pop up in the most inhospitable places.

They wander around the front flower bed under a mature maple tree where anything else has to fight to survive.

The grow under the overhang of my tri-level house where nothing else wants to grow.

They grow in shade.

They grow in sun.

They grow in rock hard clay.

Sometimes I think they'll grow in water too. They seem to grow just about any place else.

It's fun to watch the cones get big too. They start out a flat flower, but at the flowers get pollenated the seeds start to grow. As the seeds grow, the center of the flower turns into that 'cone' that gives it it's name. The purple ones are spiny. I've been known to use a pliers to get the seeds out.

Birds, bees and butterflies love them.

I think I do too.

2005-07-14T01:19:00.000-05:00

Bee climbing on balsam.

I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes.....

2005-07-14T00:58:00.000-05:00

Well...just spiders.

In spite of that fact, I am fascinated by their behavior. Today, I spent some time watching a rather large jumping spider (I don't think they build webs) on the prowl.

This was most interesting.

I spotted it climbing up the stalk of a rather tall false sunflower. It scrabbled it's way up to the bottom of the bright yellow triple sunflower bloom and disappeared. But not for long. It then clawed it's way to the top of the bloom and looked around for a minute. Nothing was there.

So it moved on.

This was most interesting.

I was wondering what it would do when it got to the top of it's little mountain. Look for another mountain to climb was the answer. It jumped to the nearest stalk and started scrambling up. It was doing a real good impression of a rock climber, minus all the ropes and gear. It got to the top, looked around, waited a bit, then moved on.

Next stalk, same procedure.

I never did get to see it make a kill. I got distracted by a butterfly.

I sound a bit like I've got attention deficit disorder, don't I?

The butterfly must have had it's own secret game plan for the day. It did a whole lot of flitting, but no eating. I have flowers galore in my garden, but it just seemed to flit about mindlessly, on some secret scavenger hunt. I never saw it find what it was looking for.

Creatures of the garden are fun to watch. All of them put on quite the show if you take the time to get good seating. Some I only hear.

Like this new bird. I don't know what it is for sure, but it chirps all day long. The sound reminds me of an angry hummingbird, but I've never heard one that loud before. Try as I might, I can't seem to catch a glimpse of it. I just hear the constant chirping.

Tomorrow, I think I'll watch the bumble bees.

2005-07-05T23:46:00.000-05:00

Raspberries in my garden.

Snacks in the Garden

2005-07-05T23:19:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I am capable of growing a few snacks in the garden.

True, I did say I've had terrible luck with the vegetables. But I can grow a bit of fruit.
Well, if tomatoes are considered a fruit.

I believe the jury is still out on the tomato.

I, myself, consider a fresh tomato a fruit. I eat it with sugar on it. I picked up that habit from my father. While I do use it as a vegetable, fresh out of the garden I consider it a fruit. Old habits die hard.

But I don't consider tomatoes a snack.

When I snack, I munch on raspberries.

This year, I actually have enough to almost consider it a crop.
There's a story behind the poor raspberry plants in my yard.
Long ago, when I first moved here, my sister brought me some raspberry plants from her own patch up in Wisconsin. I staked out a great spot in the back yard up against the fence, planted them, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I wouldn't have had to wait so long (nine years, to be exact) if my yard didn't flood.
The first patch was just about ready to really take off when the yard had the big summer flood. The poor plants stood in water for over a week and it almost killed them all. I think I managed to rescue four scraggly plants and moved them to a raised bed for protection.

And then I waited.

The waiting has finally paid off. I've been munching and picking for two weeks now. One day I actually had a cereal bowl full of raspberries.

I was so proud.

Now I just have to tame them at bit and I'll be in business.
Raspberries like to wander.
But I learned a trick the other day. My neighbor told me an old farmer's trick to use to keep them in nice neat rows. He told me to bury an old rusty chain or anything that will rust in the beds where you want them to grow. Apparently the plants are attracted to the rust.

Now I just have to go hunt down some old rusty items.

I never thought I'd go looking for rust.

2005-07-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

A close up of the fated Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. A lovely little pink genetic experiment.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern...are dead!

2005-07-04T16:58:00.000-05:00

Ah! The delightful daylily! A very beautiful flower in the garden. And so many varieties. This is because it is so terribly easy to perform genetic experiments on.
That translates to: anyone can cross breed them in their own backyard to create new varieties.
I fell into that trap.
(Which is why I have been missing of late.)
I decided, in a moment of weakness, to see what I could come up with by breeding the daylilies in my garden.
I seem to have momentarily forgotten that my yard, while large, isn't that large. For as acorns become mighty oaks, so daylily seeds become massive clumps of daylilies.
My experiment has been progressing well. I have had one hundred and fourty six genetic experiments bloom for me so far this season. Just think. One hundred and fourty six totally new daylily plants. And more yet to bloom. That's a lot of daylilies.
To be sure, none of mine are as frilly and fluffy as some of the modern hybrids, but most are worthy of an "Oh. That's lovely!" They will truly be hard to part with.
So...I have been out every day taking photos and measurements and giving them all names. I could just give them all numbers, but numbers would be impossible to remember if I loose their tags. So I name them.
Well, the other day I had to leave to go to a wedding. I hurriedly took photos in the morning, hoping I would be able to figure out which was which a day later when I returned.
Boy, was that a mistake.
When I returned, I merrily viewed the photos, gave them all names, then tried to go label them all.
This did not go well.
One, which I decided to name Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, was nowhere to be found. I looked high and low, but I could not find them...it. For daylily flowers last just a day. Hence the name day lily. While they have many flowers, each lasts only a day, and there could be days in between blooms.
They simply could not be found.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

If you are very truly bored to tears and would like to waste countless hours of your time, check out my mass of genetic experiments go to http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/vbc/naturepatch/10445/ More will be added as they bloom.

2005-06-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

Look what happened to my hose.

You Know It's Dry When......

2005-06-19T21:53:00.000-05:00

You set fire to your garden hose.

I suppose that needs a bit of an explanation.

It hasn't rained here in forever. Whatever that is.
I smoke.
I have a fire pit out back.
My daughter has lots of bonfires.
There are lots of old coals in the pit.

That should pretty much set the scene.

I was gardening. And smoking. I decided, as I often do, to make use of the firepit as an ashtray. No worries. I live in the humid Midwest. I took some photos, watered a bit, and left the hose draped through the firepit. I went back inside to upload photos to the computer.

A short time later, I glanced into the backyard from the kitchen.
It was smoking.

I knew right away what had happened. The recent lack of rain, the heat of the day, and a light breeze combined with my cigarette butt had started the coals smoldering.

And there sat the hose, right in the middle of it.

It wasn't pretty.

On the positive side, had the fire of the hot coals managed to burn all the way through the hose, it would have put itself out.

On the negative side, I think I need a new hose.

And now you know why they have fire warnings out west. A slight breeze, good kindling, and a small ember will do the trick. I'm always careful when I'm out west.

It's kind of looking like the Midwest is in for a drought.

2005-06-17T00:37:00.000-05:00

A wonderfully scented daylily, probably Hyperion.

Stop...and smell the flowers

2005-06-17T00:16:00.000-05:00

Today was a low impact garden day. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so I decided not to get dirty.

You can always tell a true gardener by looking at their shoes and knees.

Instead of getting covered with dirt, I got covered in pollen. Which can sometimes be just as messy.

I just stopped to smell the flowers.

Asiatic lilies don't have much scent, compared to their Oriental counterparts. But I tried anyhow, and ended up with a shirt full of pollen.

I smelled all my baby daylilies to check for scent. Sadly, none were heavily perfumed. One of the others, probably Hyperion, was wonderfully scented, funneling the delicate fragrance out through giant trumpet shaped blooms.

I pondered the ladybell situation. I received my ladybells via a trade in the mail. Somehow I ended up with two different types. One is the standard deep purple blue. The other is a more delicate blue with very recurved petals. No one has been able to identify the delicate blue one. Is it simply a rare variety, or do I truly have something new and noteworthy?

I dead-headed a few flowers.
I put markers by a plant or two.
I surveyed the overall landscape, planning for the future.
I enjoyed the cool, mosquito free environment.
I sat and watched the flowers grow.

Much later, after dinner, I did something I almost never do.
I just sat on the porch swing and had a good swing, watching the moon play hide and seek with the clouds.

And I watched the dragonflies.

2005-06-15T23:09:00.000-05:00

Bees on sunflower in August.

Bee Shortage?

2005-06-15T22:27:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of press lately about the current bee shortage. Current estimates say that the honeybee population has declined by fifty percent in the last fifty years.

You could have fooled me.

I have no shortage of bees. Honeybees, bumblebees, sweatbees... You name it, I have them. I have so many bees I tend to have a problem with plants self-sowing on a cosmic scale. So I find it difficult to believe there's a bee shortage.

Well. Not really.

I live in the midst of corn country USA. What they've got here is basically one giant corn field. And that's it. Corn, corn, and more corn. Well, sometimes soybeans. Very few windrows. In fact, every year I watch them rip out the few remaining windrows that are left.

Now where's a self-respecting bee supposed to live?

Better yet, what's it supposed to eat?

In my yard, I have plants that bloom from the time the snow melts til the first snowfall. My bees have no lack of food. So it's really not surprising there's a bee shortage when farmers plant one crop, then get rid of all weeds, flowers and alternative pollen producers. No wonder they have to import bee hives to pollinate their orchards and fields. No self-respecting bees would hang out in that kind of a neighborhood.

There are over 20,000 types of bees in the world. Take a good look at that number. Twenty-thousand. That's a whole lot of bees. And somehow there's still a bee shortage.

Mind-boggling.

When I first moved in to my present location, the neighbors had an old apple tree that never had any apples. Then I started my flower planting campaign. Now the silly thing is loaded with them every year. No one sprays them so they're pretty much just annoying, but they are still apples, pollinated by bees. Bees that showed up for the flowers and decided they liked the neighborhood. It probably helps that I use as few chemicals as possible.

I once read an article in National Geographic about hedgerows. Hedgerows don't seem to be very popular with commercial farmers. I can't imagine why. Aside from the whole erosion control thing, they also house a myriad of beneficial animals and insects. Birds to eat bugs. Bugs to eat bugs. Bees to pollinate the crops. They also do a darned good job of wind control too.

My advice to farmers?

Plant windrows.
Plant flowers in your orchards.

Stop relying on just the honeybee.

If you build it, they will come.

2005-06-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

The humble ox-eye daisy and cranesbills. Both like to wander in the garden.

Flower or Weed?

2005-06-14T23:35:00.001-05:00

Since I have just spent many hours in the garden, ripping out many merry ox-eye daisies, now is a good time to debate the whole weed vs. flower issue.

Personally, I think all flowers are just very pretty weeds.

Some are just much more well behaved in the garden than others.

The humble ox-eye daisy is pretty much a weed. It will self-sow all over the place and has the potential for becoming quite the pest. I know this all too well. It had invaded my baby daylily bed and I had to banish it again. And I will have to banish it from other areas many more times before I finally hang up my trowel for good.

I just can't bare to banish it completely.

It is one of the most cheerful flowers in the garden. Brilliant white daisy flowers with that irresistible yellow center. It is a joy to behold nodding in the wind on a sunny, or not so sunny, day. And it's a wonderful cut flower. I kept a vase full of the invaders to bring inside the house for some early summer cheer.

I guess I like weeds.

I like the weeds that grow in the ditches, from the flashy orange ditch lily to the bright blue chicory flowers and the flat white clouds of queen-anne's lace. From primrose to spiderwort, they make the roadside sparkle with color. I even let some of them grow in the garden.

I like the ditch look.

The truth of the matter is that all of our cultivated flowers had their start as weeds. Even now, horticulturalist are searching every corner of the globe for more 'weeds' to bring into our gardens. They find them, we plant them. What would the world be like without Russian sage, ornamental onions, asters, and the like?

Rather dull, I think.

I'll keep my weeds.

And I'll even let them wander a bit too.

2005-06-14T23:35:00.000-05:00

Daylily Albuquerque Sunset--one of my many seedlings.

Albuquerque or Bust!

2005-06-12T22:39:00.000-05:00

Well....
I'm back!
All the little plantlings survived the trek to Albuquerque. Mostly. There were a few fatalities. But those weren't expected to make it anyhow.

I forgot to take a photo of the loaded car.

Worse yet, I forgot to take a photo of them all planted happily in the bakey New Mexico sunshine.

Most were looking quite wilty when I left, but I expect they will perk up a bit once the put down some roots. Plants are quite amazing really. There was one little hosta that was flat to the ground like a pancake and wilted to the point where I couldn't imagine it ever making a comeback. But, sure as shootin', the next day it was standing upright and perky. It was a bit singed, but upright and happy none the less. It's amazing what a day or two and some water will do.

Now I'm back and looking at my garden of Eden in horror. Yikes! I don't even think I was gone for ten days. I have created a monster. A very thriving monster in spite of the fact that it only rained once while I was gone. Most plants grew a foot or more. And I think the weeds did even better on the growth chart. Guess it's back to weed, weed, weed.

I can still see the blooms though. I don't let the weeds bother me too much. Blooms are the important part. And I'll have a lot of them this season. I was rather foolish and decided to try and grow daylilies from seed. Two years later and I'm about to see the fruits of my pollination labor. In fact, some are blooming already. And, since I get to name them for fun, the first few are getting names with a southwestern flair.

Yep.

We made it to Albuquerque.

Cocoa Puffs in the Garden

2005-05-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

Today I decided to try a new type of mulch.
New for me at least.
Cocoa shells.
I love it!
Never has mulch been so easy to put down. I didn't end up with little slivers stuck to me. There were no huge chunks to contend with either. Just nice little same size pieces. What a joy! The color is great too...a nice rich chocolate brown.
A friend introduced me to cocoa shell mulch. She liked it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
I'm not a big mulcher to begin with. And I'm not fond of most mulches.
They don't sell pine needles here.
Cypress doesn't add much in the line of nutrients to the soil, so about all it's got going for it is it takes a bit longer to break down.
Bark nuggets are just to big.
Colored mulch just looks to unnatural. And I noticed they have new designer colors this season. Red, gold, and black.
Yuck.
And I positively HATE rocks.
(Long story.)
If I haven't managed to shred my own mulch(I have a chipper-shredder), hardwood is my usual choice. It adds nutrients to the soil and looks natural. The plants seem to like it too.
Well, was my choice.
These cocoa shells are starting to grow on me.
And I won't mind the smell chocolate in the garden for a few days either.

2005-05-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

Colombine-this one is a lovely red and yellow combo.

Columbine-the gift that keeps giving

2005-05-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

Today I went to a friends house to identify some plants I had given her, and to collect some plants to take to New Mexico.
There were only three plants to identify.
As usual, she had more plants waiting for me than I expected.
Way more plants.
Among other things, she literally had buckets of columbine for me.
I'm not kidding folks. I brought home a six gallon bucket full of colombine, and at least six gallon pots loaded with it.
Colombine is just one of those gifts that keeps on giving.
A rather humble plant, it isn't terribly picky about where it grows. And it comes in a wonderful array of colors, like the lovely red and yellow variety in the photo. Though often short lived, it self sows profusely.
Which is why I ended up with buckets of it.
As I loaded it in the back of my vehicle, I became very scared. They seemed to take up the whole back end. All I could think of was that I already have a table, chair and bookcase that need to go west with the wagons. How on earth am I going to fit all those plants in, with the furniture (which takes top priority), and still have room for the greenhouse full of plants in the photo below?
Oh. And luggage for a family of four for nine days.

Very carefully.

Good thing I'm an expert packer.

The colombine (most of it at least) will be a gift for my sister that will hopefully keep on giving.
Along with a bag of canna lilies I rescued from the bus barn.
They were another gift that keeps on giving.
A friend offered them up for grabs last fall. They had multiplied profusely, as they do so well, for her step-father and he was looking for a home for them. Two of us were takers.
I put mine in my garage.
The other lady left hers in the heated bus barn on the gravel floor.
Mine were looking not so good when I planted them a couple of weeks ago.
The other lady had surgery this spring and forgot about hers.
I remembered.
Guess whose looked better.
ALL of the ones wintered in the bus barn were in perfect condition.
Guess where I'm storing mine next fall.

So now I have even more plants to make the trek to the high desert.
Good thing the U. S. Postal Service has priority mail.

Plants tend to make the rounds.
Mother Nature has made sure all of her little subjects survive. Most of them do it by multiplying rather rapidly.
Which is good if you like sharing.
I tend to share a lot.
I figure I've single handedly filled the gardens of at least 10 people by now.
(Soon to be eleven.)
Mother Nature likes me.

Plants: The gift that keeps on giving.

2005-05-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

Plants that are going on a long trip soon.

A Rose by Any Other Name

2005-05-18T22:47:00.000-05:00

Who comes up with the names for plants anyhow?
I think some of them should be shot.
Think about it.
We're either stuck with hard to remember Latin names. Which stink.
Or really stupid common names.
Take the lovely plant 'Ragged Robin" for example.
The name just sounds condescending.
It has wonderful perky pink flowers in spring. It does not deserve such a horrid name.
And why label any plant 'false'. That's just plain confusing.
False Sunflower.
Right.
If it isn't a sunflower, don't call it one.
Why call a cheerful daisy, 'ox-eye'? What a gruesome thought.
Or the exotic looking cleome 'stink weed'? Even if it does stink?
And couldn't they find a better name for crocus?
Tulips and lilies.
They have such happy sounding names.
Even in Latin.
All flowers should have happy names.
While I understand the logic behind Latin names, they just don't sound appealing.
Dodecathelon. Such a stately name for the humble shooting star.
Tradescantia. That's a rather dismal sounding name for a terrific plant with bright blue flowers.
Better known as spiderwort.
Now worts I can handle.
Worts are cool. Worts go back to the days of folk medicine.
Leadwort, lungwort, worts galore.
They have a mystical appeal.
Plant names should have just that.
A happy mystical appeal.
The world needs more sweet williams, bouncing-bets, and naked ladies.

2005-05-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

Hosta-my own seedling I named "My Tina"

The Lawn Ranger Rides Again!

2005-05-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

I am a very lucky person.
My new neighbor has decided he wants to rid my lawn of weeds.
My hero! (Sigh!)
This is a very good thing.
For me.
I personally don't like to use chemicals.
I tried it once and a mama robin abandoned her nest in my front yard.
That made me wonder.
I once heard someone say that homeowners use scads more chemicals than the farmers do.
All for an unbroken, carpet-like patch of green that needs more mowing and watering once you achieve that perfect lawn zen.
Scary.
I'd much rather see flowers than lawn. I keep removing sections of lawn in favor of flowers. Much lower maintenance.
So...I have let the weeds take control of the yard.
You name it, I've got it.
Chickweed, creeping charlie, dandelions, plantains, thistles, clover, dock, violets, bugleweed, and on and on and on.
Even the flowers move into the lawn.
This does not sit well with my neighbor.
He's a chemical salesman.
Being the nice guy that he is, he's offered to rid my lawn of weeds.
How could I refuse?
All I have to do is give him some hosta.
Since he was out there spraying today, I guess I owe him.
I can always find a spare hosta. Or two.
I consider it kind of a symbiotic relationship.
He reduces my weed population.
I increase his hosta population.
Works for me!

(Though secretly I think he just can't stand the thought of my weeds migrating into his yard.)

On the Road Again

2005-05-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

I truly intended to get out in the garden today.
At least to mow the lawn.
Or pull grass out of the flowerbeds.
Or tie my wisteria back up.
Or dig some more plants for my sister.

But, no.
I got tapped to drive a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

So, you might ask, what exactly do bus drivers do to pass the time on field trips?

I'll give you a short summary, just for fun.

Find a bathroom. (Top priority!)
Find food.
Watch the seagulls and pigeons.
Duck.
Talk about cocoa shell mulch.
Admire the landscaping on the lakefront.
Debate whether or not Lake Michigan is cleaner than before.
Check to see if you can see the bottom.
Walk the lakefront from the front of Shedd's to behind the Planetarium.
Debate whether a sparkly looking statue of a guy hugging a dolphin with water shooting out of its mouth qualifies as art.
Discuss the bus parking situation in downtown Chicago.
Trade field trip horror stories.
View the skyline.
Comment on how the city has changed.
Debate the eye appeal of the new Soldier Field.
Debate the logic of trying to rename stadiums.
Find out stuff you didn't know about each other.
Find an astronomically aligned seating area by the planetarium.
Debate whether it's creepy because the granite seats look like headstones.
Admire the color of the water and the waves.
Watch the clock.
Smash a few pennies.
Find a restroom.
Load 'em up.
Take 'em back.
Rawhide.

The Miracle of Plant Transplantation

2005-05-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today I decided to do a plant check on the hundred or so baby plantlings I have in flats, awaiting a major locale change.
They are going to New Mexico.
Why babies in flats?
I needed to save space.
They need a healthy root system.
Babies will simply adapt better in the long run.
If I can keep them alive.
Most are currently in little one inch flat cells. I ripped them out of the ground, stuck them in cramped quarters...
and still they thrive.
Some are thriving to the point of trying to flower in a miniaturized state.
It's kind of scary.
Mother Nature finds a way.
Out of the lot of them, only three look to be goners. The rest are getting a lot larger than I want them to be when I have to cart them half-way across the U.S.
What's my secret?
It's so simple. Anyone can do it.
But you have to do it for the first six weeks.

Just add water.

2005-05-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

Typical flooding in my yard

Tomatoes in Containers

2005-05-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

I've decided to try something new this year. I'm going to grow my tomatoes and green pepper plants in containers on my deck.
Wish me luck.
'Cause I'm gonna need it.
You see, my veggie garden was way out back where I would always forget to water it.
Originally it flooded. And everything died.
Then I tried raised beds. They didn't flood and I was good about keeping them watered for a year.
But there was that horrible bug problem. I seem to attract copious amounts of bugs to my yard. The bean beetles ate all my beans. The squash bugs killed the squash. Corn bugs got into what few stalks of corn I had room for. And the cucumbers wilted.
I grew pumpkins. Once.
I grew gourds reasonably well. But they never got enough water for really thick shells. Even when I grew them next to the pool.
Carrots were a limited success. They were very deformed looking.
Now radishes and garlic I can grow. But I never use them.
I finally decided to give the raised bed up to the baby perennials, with the occasional tomato and pepper thrown in.
But I still can't remember to water them enough out back.
So now they sit, contained in pots, on the sunny deck.
The odds of this working aren't very good.
But I'll keep trying. Someday I'll get it right.
A true gardener never gives up.

My Mom's Day Present

2005-05-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all!

It was a beautiful and hot day here in northern Illinois. Perfect for all those moms.

I received a rather unusual present in a rather unusual way. My hubby came home after working midnights and proclaimed that my present was outside somewhere and I just had to find it. He was quite proud of himself. Said it wasn't even wrapped.
Well, I gave the yard a cursory check and didn't spot anything. I even checked the front yard. I started to wonder if perhaps he'd actually purchased a plant and stuck it in with all the others in the yard.
That would be very tricky to find.
I have a large yard. I have a lot of plants.
So I decided I would add water to my pond while I went back and checked the yard again.
I didn't have to.
There was no mistaking the little gold bodies flitting about in my pond. They stuck out like a sore thumb, small as they are. The gold ones were easiest to spot. It took a bit longer to spot the dark grey ones. I even spotted a tadpole.
When I thanked my hubby, I asked how many he had gotten A dozen, was the response. Any tadpoles, I asked. Nope. Just goldfish, or fish from the goldfish tank at the local fish shop.

So...did my eyes deceive me, or did Mother Nature give me a special Mother's Day present?

2005-05-07T23:42:00.000-05:00

Flowers in the Garden

Precious Flowers in the Garden

2005-05-07T23:14:00.000-05:00

Today I spent my time tending the most precious flowers in the garden.
Well...they don't live in the garden.
They mostly hang out at my house and eat a lot.
But today they were precious flowers. Today was the Senior Prom.
Talk about hustle and bustle! It kept me busy most of the day, picking up flowers, cleaning for the after-party, taking photos, and watching the grand parade to the buses.
I don't know who came up with this idea, but around here they take the kids off somewhere in charter buses for dinner and a dance. But before they leave, they all have to parade out to the buses past hoards of proud parents. It's quite a spectacle.
Today, the sky was blue, the grass was green, the trees were leafing out, and Mother Nature had graced us with an 80 degree May wonder.
And all the pretty flowers were out in force.
Red ones, orange ones, rainbow ones, silk and taffeta and sequins galore.
My personal favorite was the iridescent purple/blue one, shining in the spring sun.

2005-05-07T00:48:00.000-05:00

Garden Spider

Natural Marvels

2005-05-07T00:12:00.000-05:00

Today I saw one of many marvels in my garden. It was an bright yellow goldfinch blazing a path across my yard. It's one of my many surprise visitors.
And I get a lot.
Which is rather surprising, since I live in the middle of town.
Some are large, like the raccoons, opossums, skunks and bunnies.
Some are tiny, like ladybugs, bees and waterbugs.
Some are yucky, like earwigs, slugs and spiders.
Some are beautiful, like the butterflies, birds and moths.
Some are surprising, like the mantis, cicadas and sphinx moths.
From the graceful dragonflies to the silly pillbugs, I love to watch them all.
Even the spiders.
And I hate spiders. I'm really borderline arachnophobic.
But in the garden they are truly marvels. So many sizes shapes and colors. So many different kinds of webs and dens. Orbs and funnels and tunnels and psychotic looking webs are everywhere.
The ones that are most fun to watch live in the rocks. I don't think they even build webs. They still scare me just as much as even the tiniest spiders do. But they have one endearing quality. They always carry their egg sacks around. If you disturb them, they scramble off, carrying that white ball of young along with them. Somehow it makes them a bit more personable.
My husband keeps telling me spiders are good because they eat bugs. Somehow that thought just isn't comforting enough when they drop down out of nowhere on a nearly invisible thread. Which, by the way, just plain feel creepy when you walk through them. Nasty invisible sticky threads!
So we have come to sort of a truce, spiders and I. They are allowed to live outside. As long as they don't move into an area I have to walk through. Then they get relocated. Now in the house...that's a different story.

2005-05-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

Oriental Poppy...color yet to arrive.

Spring Has Sprung!

2005-05-05T23:28:00.000-05:00

Ah...the cold has finally left!
Now. If only it would rain. Just a bit.

Spring is full of color in unlikely places.

The orange breast of a robin.
The red flash of a cardinal crossing the yard.
The yellow of a wasp hovering.
The translucent gold of a honeybee.
The purple of the annoying creeping charlie.
The white of fallen apple blossoms.
The sandy brown of that unknown creature living under the deck.
The blue of a cloud-free sky.
The green of those grass stained gardener's knees.

A time to dream of future colors.

The Weather

2005-05-04T00:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not so sure about this global warming thing. It's not very warm out there. In fact, it has been unseasonablly cold here in northern Illinois. Tonight is our second frost warning night. So far, no damage to speak of.
Well, one little impatiens got nipped. I moved it for tonight, along with my fuschia. Paid too much for that to let it get nipped.
Aside from the cold, it's also been unusually dry. I have cracks in my lawn again. I'm not supposed to have cracks in my lawn in spring. I only get those in late summer. What is up with that?
And then there's the wind. Is is just me, or does the prevailing wind seem to be coming out of the east now? It's just a bit odd.
But...the plants don't seem to mind much. Mother nature just keeps keeping on in her own merry little way. The plants just seem to know to put themselves on hold for a bit when it gets cold.
I wish it were that easy for me.
I don't want to wait.
I WANT SUMMER!

2005-04-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

Tulips galore!

Time for Two

2005-04-30T19:48:00.000-05:00

It's time for tulips.
Or for two. Two people.
I spent most of today in two's. I went shopping with my son. Though I didn't expect to, I still managed to come home with some stuff for the garden.
Amazing how that happens, isn't it?
I really just walked into a hobby shop to get a couple of canvases for my daughter, who suddenly and inexplicably has decided to take up oil painting. Since I wasn't sure where the canvas were, I ended up rambling through the store.
IRON GARDEN ITEMS WERE 50% OFF!
Well...that meant I just couldn't leave without getting a story stick thing and an iron dragonfly. (And a surprise for my sister, but I can't talk about that here. She might be listening.)
The garden seems to follow me wherever I go.
When I got home, I just had to go give my neighbor (who spent the day diligently working in HIS garden) a hard time. Of course, it meant leisurely tours of both yards.
The weather here has been chilly. And some residents prefer it that way.
A perfect time for two.
Tulips.

2005-04-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

Pasque Flower

H2O Serenity

2005-04-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

Today I got to do one of my favorite tasks in the garden.
I had to just about destroy my Kalamaris, Japanese aster, in order to get rid of some nasty crab grass. It was a tough job, because the roots of the two plants are incredibly similar. But I prevailed.
Then it was time for fun.
I got to water.
I love watering the plants.
I watered the plants I had to move to get the grass dug out.
I watered my compost heap.
I watered my sedum in frying pans.
I watered my brugs I probably killed by experimenting with them.
I watered bare patches on the lawn.
I watered my baby hosta.
I watered the dirt off the sidewalk.
Watering is fun. It gives me quiet time to survey my domain and decide what lives or dies, moves or stays, and see what thrives or languishes.
I beam encouraging thoughts at the plants.
I wonder what will bloom for me next.
I see what the dogs have trampled trying to get at the fat bunny.
I see all the baby plantlings that grow because they love me.
I feel bad because I will probably make most of them disappear.
I see the peanuts the Bluejays have stashed.
I see the peanut shells the squirrel has left behind.
I see the blooms on the tulips that grew from no where.
I see the weeds.
And I don't care.
I water some more.

Green Guacamole Machine

2005-04-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Today was a low garden effort day. I watered a bit, picked at a few things, and enjoyed the view.
Today's garden delight was hosta Guacamole. I'm guessing lack of frost is what has made it so gorgeous this year. The leaves are positively huge and picture perfect. I've never had the plant look so fab before.
I'm a hosta lover.
I must add that this plant is a gem. Large, luscious, huge white flowers, and fragrant too!
Hosta lovers of the world, unite!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...ling

2005-04-25T22:02:00.000-05:00

Today, I took some time off in the garden to just sit and enjoy the local star. Starling, that is. I know, starlings are major pests, along with the European house sparrow, but they are excellent mimics. And mine is truly a star.
He and his mate have, with the help of a few wind storms, managed to tear down all but two sections of the soffet on my house. Last year they took advantage of a wind torn section and started to build nests up there. They build very large nests. Several sections fell just from the weight.
They came back again this spring. Clanking in and out of the eaves. The male sits and guards the nest on the conveniently located electric wires running to the house.
And he sings.
Well, it's not exactly singing. He does impersonations and they are very good. He's got at least 20 different song birds down pat. And he always starts with the same one. His hawk. I'm not quite sure if he's trying to scare the dogs and I away, but he always starts with that one. After he's figured out he's got a permanent audience, he starts the show.
I can only recognize the more common bird calls, but the list is getting longer. Along with the songbird calls, he does crows, ducks, seagulls, the hawk of course, and the most recent one I recognized...a Canadian goose. My husband was outside when I recognized that one, and he got the biggest kick out of listening to it. No quacks that day, just honks.
The starlings at the school I work at are also practiced mimics. One summer I kept hearing someone out on the playground. Every time I went to look, no one was there. But I kept hearing these happy child noises, and I investigated some more. Turned out the sounds were coming from the roof. Where the starlings were. I got a kick out of listening to them during the summers from then on, but it was kind of creepy. Almost like hearing ghosts. All the sounds with no one there. And they even did the screeching metal-on-metal of the swings.
I'm not surprised they're called Starlings.

2005-04-24T18:19:00.000-05:00

My green hellebore FINALLY in bloom!

Garden Drudgery

2005-04-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

Another day of slavery in the yard. I had to mow the lawn, thanks to all of the recent rain. And I yanked out a few dandelions for kicks. Then I moved a couple of plants that just weren't thriving where they were. Just the usual toil. But it felt good to get those plants moved. I'd been meaning to take care of that task for at least a year now. (Sometimes I move slowly.)
Apparently it got cold enough last night to frost the tips of a few plants. Freezer burn, if you will. Nothing appeared to be severely damaged though. Not even my recently planted annuals. They are a bit tougher than one would think.
My next big drudgery type task will be to chop my maiden grass back into bounds. Boy did this stuff take off! I'm afraid it likes the sandy soil I have it in a bit too much. And to think it started from a single pathetic looking shoot about 5 years ago. Now I have several clumps over two feet wide.
My surprise for the day was that one of my hardy geraniums is starting to bloom. I grew it from seed I got from a lady in England. Thanks Psilo!
The flower of the day is my Hellebore, and I probably didn't spell that correctly. I've waited at least 3 years for this plant to bloom, and finally had to resort to moving it to get it to do so. This is kind of a bad photo, but it does show off the odd green bloom nicely. I'm hoping it will look even better next spring.

Tulip Tarda

2005-04-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks! I forgot to mention that the lovely image is that of the incredibly cheerful species tulip, tulip Tarda. Talk about an eye catcher! Enjoy!

2005-04-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

My pretty species tulips are in bloom

Foiled Again!

2005-04-22T21:25:00.000-05:00

Well. Pushing the envelope may turn out to be a bad idea. Today it is incredibly cold and rainy. Feels kind of like winter again. So much for jump-starting spring.
I did go outside and wander the yard for a bit though. I found a few items to be noteworthy:

The wisteria is looking like it will put on a huge show this year. Prune, prune, prune means bloom, bloom, bloom.
Mother Nature planted me a surprise hosta baby. It is the most brilliant yellow with a deep green edge. Probably the offspring of August Moon and Austin Dickenson. I'll have to keep an eye on that one.
It appears as though two mini hosta that made no appearance last year have risen from the dead. It may take some time to identify them. Sigh.
The ferns Renee gave me have decided they like the one place I really wanted them-by the air conditioner. Imagine that! A plant that actually likes where I put it!
My Pink Turtlehead appears to have risen from the grave also. No sign of it last year, but there's a single stem showing now.

I could have found more suprises, but I was absorbed in trying to figure out what I can dig up and haul with me to my sister's in Albuquerque. New house, new yard, no plants. I aim to change that. The zones are similar...but the annual rainfall difference is a killer. But! Thanks to a city of Albuquerque website, I have a new list of plants to dig up. ( www.cabq.gov/waterconservation/pdfs/xeriplants.pdf ) Their plant list is quite extensive.

Rain, rain, go away

Lulu want to go out and play

in the garden.

Pushing the Envelope

2005-04-20T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today I raided the local garden center and started planting annuals in pots on my deck. This is pushing the envelope a bit around here. And here is just southwest of Chicago. Guess I'll have to be a slave to the weather reports from now on, watching for frost warnings. I went with my usual tried and true favorites: petunias, allysum, impatiens, pinks, lobelia and the odd snapdragon.
I like low maintenance plants.
I'm also beginning to become a bit lazy. This means I've stocked a couple of pots with some odd perennials so I just have to add a bit of color come springtime. This year one pot will contain Blue Spruce Sedum, Thyme, snapdragons and a red petunia. The other, much more ambitious pot is a blend of "Oriental Limelight" artemisia, cypress spurge, gardener's garters and perillia. Just a bit of something for a very hot, dry area that needs a bit of sprucing up.