Breaking the rules

After mentioning my plant diet last week, I received the Bluestone Perennials catalog. Last year I grew zinnias and strawflowers in containers with medium success. I have also tried to grow perennials in containers with one success (penstemon) and several failures. After thumbing through this catalog, it occurred to me the I would have better success if I selected plants whose descriptions include "great for containers". I haven't decided quite yet what to get, but I'm leaning toward some hyssop and a butterfly bush.

Some sad news: 1)The Dracena did not make it. 2)I brought the seedlings inside as the temps have fallen, only to witness their destruction by Beau the Feline Destroyer of All Things Nice. He ignored the plants when they were on the counter by the refrigerator, but decided their presence on the breakfast bar meant they were for munching. For the record, the cats are *not* allowed on the countertops; one cat obeys, the other does not.

Outside, things look much better. The serviceberry is blooming, and so are the redbuds; it's early for the latter. I don't have an ornamental pear, but those around town are putting on quite a show; too bad they are so invasive. Even the magnolias are holding onto their petals for more than the usual day or three, hanging in there for one-to-two weeks, thanks to the cool weather. Unfortunately, we may get snow next week.

My Rhododendron 'PJM' is even joining the party. Originally there were three plants, and there may still be three plants, but over the years, they have faded quite a bit. Last summer, we pruned back its neighbor, the purple leaf smoke bush, so it would get more light; that seems to have helped. Now I need to eliminate the Northern Sea Oats that grow under it and mulch it with peat moss, and maybe it will return to its former glory.

I added the oriole feeder to my collection of bird feeders in the backyard, but so far no takers. I read online that the ratio for the sugar solution for orioles should be 8:1, but for hummingbirds it's 4:1. I recall being somewhere many years ago where the residents hung hummingbird feeders under the eaves, then were upset that the orioles were hogging them. I'm surprised the orioles were able to feed from the hummingbird feeders, and if the sugar solution was 4:1, it didn't seem to hurt them.