Indoor weekend

It is raining AGAIN. I can tell that a couple of my downspouts need to be cleaned out. One problem with shade trees close to the house is leaves in the gutters.

Lots of weeding this week. Initially, I was a bit discouraged, as they were definitely getting away from me. The string trimmer helped cut many of them down to size so I could spray them without using up too much herbicide.

Some planting has happened as well, although not as much as I had hoped for because of the weed situation. The 'Fluffy' western arborvitae is in the ground. I planted green beans in the milk crate container again.

Fluffy was a bit root-bound

And I was able to find some pineapple sage at the other Stuckey's greenhouse. Man, that place is big! And not easy to navigate. Or park at. But I'm glad to know where it is and what it is like.

There is another nursery in Churubusco, called Fingerle Farms. I may check them out for hanging baskets. Ordinarily, I am not interested in hanging baskets, but for some reason I can't get enough color this season.

The lawn service I use only spot treats weeds in the yard. This past week, they managed to nip two catmint plants. I let them know, they offered to replace the plants if they don't survive (although I think they will), but still. A couple of years ago I had trouble with the neighbor's lawn service spreading their granuals on the catmint on the other side of the yard.

On a dog walk at Salomon Farm this week, I witnessed two birds (grackles?) chase a squirrel down the trail. I wonder what that was about. And speaking of squirrels, this youngster has been visiting the deck, munching on maple seeds.

There must be young (and stupid) birds all about, as I keep hearing them hit the windows. One just would not give up trying to land on the reflection of a tree. As soon as I have the chance, I am going to try this solution for bird strikes. Hopefully, it won't look too weird.

We came, we saw, we bought... plants

My daughter and I took a trip to Hicksville, OH, to check out the plants at Strait Gate Greenhouses. Rumor has it that their prices are better than around here; see comments below. They had a LOT to choose from, too.

I have not been happy with the aster by the front walk, wanted to replace it with something. I considered a fancy redbud, but visually another tree does not fit there. Then I got hot 'n bothered to put a Rose of Sharon there ('Aphrodite' which does not reseed itself), but I think something yellow would work better. And voila - a 'Lemony Lace' elderberry came home with me.

Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace' (cultivar SMNSRD4)

Some of you may remember that I planted one of these in front of the picture window back in 2017. It's a good plant, but it was a bad location. And most plants deserve a second chance. (I notice that the price on this specimen is less than the price of the one in 2017. Score!)

Some plants deserve a third chance, like the ninebark. Instead of trying to find the same variety, I went with two of these 'Ginger Wine' ones. The price is less than half of what I paid for the 'Amber Jubilee' they are replacing. Another score!

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Ginger Wine'

One plant that has had its second chance is a Canadian hemlock that has been replaced once. In its place will go this 'Fluffy' western arborvitae. I had planned to find another big gold mop like I had in the front yard, but I think this one will do nicely. I might have found it cheaper elsewhere.

Thuja plicata 'SMNTPGF' 

I keep trying to find something that will thrive on the trellis by the front porch, despite the lack of sun in that location. Against my better judgment, I selected this 'Happy Jack' purple clematis. We shall see. Another bargain.

Clematis 'Zojapur'

I have tried petunias and sweet potato vine in the hanging basket on the shed in the past, decided to try something different, like these portulacas. It's a tough location, on the north side of the building, but midsummer sun still reaches it. We'll see how well they do.

Portulaca grandiflora

Coleus for the planter on the front porch has been an annual success story, so why mess with what works. This is ChargedUp Campfire.

Coleus scutellarioides

I've seen lantana growing in containers here and there and admired it. Now I have one, 'Hot Blooded Red'.

Lantana camara 'Hot Blooded'

An impulse purchase was a trailing snapdragon, something I had never seen. I considered putting it in the flamingo planter, but decided I still want to try a tuberous begonia there. The snapdragon will summer on the deck instead.

Asarina procumbens

And that's all for now. My schedule this week is tight, but maybe I can get a few plants in the ground each day. Step by step, hole by hole, slow and steady, etc. If it weren't for gardening, how would we make it through the winter?

I frequently hear bird strikes against my windows but rarely find any dead birds in the yard. Sadly, a white crown sparrow met its demise last week. I thought the mallards in this pic were dead, but they were just keeping a low profile.

My daughter, son, and daughter-in-law all have birthdays this month. We will celebrate with birthday pie tomorrow. Rhubarb, of course.

Have a happy Mother's Day!

They're ba-a-ack

I saw the first starling of the season yesterday. They depart for parts unknown during the summer - they may be nearby but not interested in the birdfeeders - but during the winter, they are insatiable. Such gluttons! The bluebirds perform a similar disappearing act, but a few have shown up at the birdbath recently. And a flicker stopped by this week.

The landscaper is going to replace the dead Canadian hemlocks later this fall, so I asked him for an estimate to remove the arborvitae on the north side of the backyard that were damaged during a storm last July. Quite frankly, his estimate was WAY out of line. So I asked a neighbor for his help. Jack has a new "toy" - a battery-powered chainsaw on a pole - so he was happy for the opportunity to use it. We just left the mess where it fell. Once the needles fall off and the wood dries out a bit, I plan to use those long straight branches for craft projects.

The other day I found the head of an oppossum in the side yard. No other body parts, just the head. The dogs can't access that area, so I am left to wonder if it was the work of a large owl, maybe a great horned or barn owl. I'm *this close* to investing in a trail cam, to see what I can see at night. I let the dogs out after dark for a quick pee, and sometimes they get quite cranked up about something. Finn, the indoor/outdoor cat, is staying in at night, per my official decree.

Leaves are starting to turn and drop, the grass has slowed down, we may have had a light frost last night. Very little rain, though, so I am still periodically watering the new plants.

It rained and rained and rained some more

I must have jinxed the area by saying the D word (drought) in my last post. Too bad I had taken in my rain gauge in anticipation of the landscape work, but I do know areas north of me received 9" while farther south it was more like 4". That is a lot of rain, but since it has been dry, little flooding. Instead, the near hurricane force winds (60 mph) caused tree damage. My yard was relatively unscathed except for one of the redbud trees, which lost the limb holding the wren house. Fortunately, no one had chosen it for a second brood. Unfortunately, some baby bluejays met their demise from a nest in the elm tree. Oh, and the basketball hoop in the driveway fell over.

The landscapers removed the limb. From what I read online, it is best to let the tree heal itself rather than cover the wound with tar or some other substance. Hopefully, it will recover.

As you may have gathered from the previous paragraph, YES, the landscapers are here. So far, they have been removing what amounts to a jungle of growth. I didn't realize how much grapevine had invaded the arborvitae, leaving a big gap of bare branches. They are not dead, though, so I am hoping with some exposure to light and air, the shrubs will fill in, much like the gold mop did when I cut out the burning bush that was crowding it.


Something I had not counted on was how unobtrusive the workers are. Most of the work is being done by hand - shovels, picks, rakes - and what power tools they do have - chain saws, weeders - are electric. No Bobcats, no dump trucks, no lawn getting torn up. The root balls on some of the trees are large enough that they will use an auger to dig the holes, but otherwise, very quiet and peaceful, not like my usual experience with contractors.

Between storms, I cleaned out gutters. The last time I did that, my SO wrangled the ladders and spotted me. He was out of town this past week, though, and I could tell several downspouts were plugged. I had to put on my big girl panties and do it by myself, wondering how much longer I can keep that up. I'll be 70 this fall.

I have been taking pictures as the landscaping progresses; I'll post those once everything is done.

Around the yard

The weather is going to turn hot, hot, HOT for a few days. Even with AC, I get to feeling logy when it sizzles outside. I'm just glad it doesn't last long. Why do people move south when they retire? Beats me.

I think I did a blog post once bemoaning the views from my windows and deck and in general around the yard. While those views aren't necessarily a lot better, I find there are some that provide simple joy. Not something one would see in BH&G, but then the yard is for ME, not a general audience.

It also occurred to me that I usually take photos of plants and flowers head on, face to face. That strategy shows the plant but not the plant in its environs.

The tao of some views is more difficult to capture than others.

Anyway, back to the head on photos. I've come to the conclusion that one difference between tiger lilies and daylilies is the tiger lilies look down while the daylilies look up. Maybe they are looking at each other?

The hollyhocks are for dyeing with, but I wasn't sure about how to harvest the blossoms. Turns out that is not a problem, as the blossoms curl up and fall off. I just need to pick them up every day or two and put them on a screen in the garage to dry.

My container experiments this year are growing crocosmia and penstemon in pots. The crososmia grow from corms, so once they started to send up shoots, they took off.

The penstemon is a perennial, so this is its first year sleep. I had an extra hibiscus, so that has gone into a pot, too. I'll move the pots into the garage for the winter.

The pole beans are starting to blossom.

The dill is blooming, too. Looks like fireworks.

I couldn't decide which 'Luna Red' hibiscus photo to use, so I'm posting both of them. The blossom is almost bigger than the plant, which is about 15 inches tall.

I started the hibiscus plants from seed this past spring, so was not expecting to see any blooms this year. I am happy to be wrong!

This Japanese beetle is on an aster, although its favorite garden plant is the hollyhocks. What a pest!

Last night I mowed and tonight I watered selectively, so now I can hunker down for the weekend and let the heat pass on by. Stay cool!

We saw plants, too

It occurred to me that I have posted very few photos of plants from the Garden Bloggers Fling. Believe me, we saw LOTS of plants, from acres of daylilies to native cactus. I didn't photograph many, just the ones to remind me of this or that.

These orange lilies remind me of the "ditch" daylilies growing in my yard, but in color only. They are Turk's Cap Lilies, a native wildflower. The blossoms perch on long stems. They can spread to form large colonies, but usually not in cultivation, where growing conditions may be less than ideal (like my claybound yard).

At the Eloise Butler Wildfower Garden

This plant is growing in my blueberry bed, among the milkweed. I did not plant it, nor could I figure out what it might be. Now I know: it's Indian Hemp. It's the kind of cannabis one makes fiber with, not the kind one smokes. It's related to both Dogbane and Milkweed. It's also poisonous.

At the Eloise Butler Wildfower Garden

This plant is also in my yard. I did plant it and I do know that it is Blue False Indigo. I did not know it would get so big. So now I am thinking I need to move it to a location more accommodating to its future size.

At Vera's Garden

I used to have the tall reddish plant in my yard (if it is Red Husker Penstemon - I need to replace it), but that is not why I took this picture. Below it grows what I have always considered a weed. And of course, I can't confirm it's identity, but it is some kind of mallow or althea. We were shocked that it is deliberately allowed into the garden, along with other "weeds" like mullein (said the gardener spreading fleabane seeds all about).

At Vera's Garden

I was impressed with this tall specimen of what turned out to be Queen of the Prairie. It prefers moist soil, but so does Joe Pye and it grows in my yard, albeit through the deck. I bet I could get this going, too.

In the garden of "Ruth," a member of Wild Ones. At least, I think that is where I took this pic.

This is bent grass, the same kind of grass used on golf courses. Separating garden beds, it looks like a smooth green carpet. The owners said it was there when they bought the house, in the 1930's. It takes some special care, which made me remove it from my list of must-haves, but it still was a spectacular contrast to the lush garden beds.

At the garden of Lee and Jerry Shannon

My front yard is made up of primarily purple and yellow plants of one sort or another, but mostly purple. When I saw this Sunkist Arborvitae, I immediately pictured it as an anchor plant in my front yard.

At Bailey's Display Garden

Ditto this Golden Spirit Smokebush.

At Bailey's Display Garden

My Blue Muffin Viburnum refuses to produce the profusion of blue berries it is named for, so when I saw one lush with fruit, I had to snap it just to prove to myself that it is me, not the plant.

At Bailey's Display Garden

And finally, we have this echinops. I thought it might be some kind of rattlesnake master, but it is actually a kind of globe thistle. The pollinators *loved* it.

At Squire House Gardens

The Garden Bloggers Fling has filled my head with so many ideas, I barely know where to start. But hopefully I will at least keep in mind the plants above that I want to add to my yard.

Brrr!

I am so tired of talking about the weather. Wet and windy yesterday, a good day to spend my children's inheritance on the yard. I purchased some "garden fence" at TSC, to (re)build the compost bins that fell apart after many years of service. Then I succumbed to the four Dwarf Gold Mop shrubs I've been coveting. They get only 2-3 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and should camouflage the rabbit damage at the base of the arborvitae. I balked at the price at Stuckey's Greenhouse last year, but after shopping around, discovered it was a good price.

Either bravely or foolishly, I have been transplanting a few things here and there. My annual success story is the continuation of the coleus I favor for the box on the front porch. It does really well and I like the color, so rather than gamble on it being available each year, I save a mother plant in the fall and start cuttings from it in the spring. So far, so good.

I have a love-hate relationship with my lawn. On the one hand, it would be nice if it were weed-free. On the other, I like seeing clover, violets, and other "wild" flowers creep into it. There is a big patch of wild strawberry to the north of the King Crimson maple. I have no explanation as to where it came from or why it likes that spot, but it is welcome to stay.

Last year's rhubarb looked rather anemic. I dosed it well with horse manure this past fall. Now it looks positively robust, just in time for birthday pie, an annual tradition for my kids.

One victim of retirement has been my desire to cook. Consequently, I don't know how I will use up all this garlic. It is fun - and easy! - to grow, but I'm not sure I will continue with it.

A victim of various remodeling projects was my lovely Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart. I replaced it and am happy that the replacement is alive and doing well.

I have yet to capture on "film" the iridescent color of the purple smoke tree leaves. In sunlight, they positively glow. On a gray and gloomy day, this is the closest I can get.

We are supposed to get a couple of sunny-ish days, so between other engagements, I may be found in the yard.

In the Bag

Before leaving for vacation, I noticed that one of my arborvitae did not look very healthy, but I figured whatever was bothering it could wait until I got back.

Well, maybe not.



A little sleuthing on the Internet revealed the source of the problem: bagworms!



Besides being hard on the plant, these little critters are really gross. The bags look like part of the plant, but they sway and wriggle. My son helped me pick as many bags as possible from not only the stricken plant but its neighbors as well. Then we burned them in the fire bowl.



So add bagworm plucking to my daily chores. Ugh!

While we were doing bagworm duty, we got the chance to observe some wildlife. A clearwing hummingbird moth flitted about the catmint. Two real hummingbirds looked like they were either battling for territory or else executing a synchronized mating dance. Mama wren scolded us non-stop, as our presence was interrupting her babies' feeding schedule. Inside the pea fence (there is a gaping hole), a baby bunny huddled in fear while my son picked snap peas. And Betsy got her head stuck under the shed while investigating whatever it is that lives there.



I had to dig her out with a trowel.

A stroll around the yard reveals that the daylilies are still going strong.









The July-blooming hostas are in full-bloom, as one would expect.



These sunflowers are volunteers from scattered birdseed.



The butterfly bush is finally blooming, so I am looking forward to more butterflies.





This crocosmia adds a nice splash of red to the 3B garden.



I think of chrysanthemums as fall flowers, but these always start coming on early.



More surprise hollyhocks are blooming.



The purple fountain grass is already sending up a seed head.



The sea oats have had heads for a while, but they are difficult to photograph. In the course of the summer and fall, they change colors, from summer green to autumn bronze.



A few 'Moonbeam' coreopsis survived another winter. I really like their delicate flowers but they don't seem to be very hardy, which is why I have replaced them with 'Jethro Tull'.



It did not rain at all while we were on vacation. Some of my recent transplants looked a little parched, but I think they will all make it. It is raining this evening. I'm hoping for a good soaker so I can pull weeds tomorrow.

P.S. We ate the first tomatoes from the garden today, the so-called grape tomatoes - they look more like cherries to me.