What's it good for? Queen of the prairie

The first time I saw Queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra), I was in love. Although it tolerates clay soil, it likes to keep its feet wet, so it seemed like an unlikely candidate for my yard. Now that I have a rain garden, though, it's been added to the fringe. However, it may be a useless beauty unless you are interested in some of its medicinal uses. (I'm not.) I noticed a few pollinators on it.

I installed only one plant, but the clump it eventually forms may become quite large (4 feet across). Also, it spreads by seeds, which I hope does not become a problem. We'll see. Meanwhile, I will enjoy it - pretty in pink.

Elsewhere in the yard:

The strawberry patch looks very healthy. I've been able to pick a few berries from it every few days. Very tasty!

My granddaughter and I painted some small rocks to look like strawberries, to fool the birds. The faux berries need to be sprayed with fixative before I set them out. So far, the birds have left the harvest alone.

I keep trying to get a good pic of the "meadow". This one has the plants labeled, so if you enlarge it, you can at least tell what is there. Like many things, the meadow looks better in real life.

Up close and personal.

I don't think this Canada hemlock is going to make it. It looks peaked compared to its brethren. If it goes, a gold mop will replace it.

The latest addition to my flamingo collection. This one is supposed to glow, but it is either a dud or else just does not get enough sun. I'll move it and see if it does better elsewhere.

Another useless beauty, but I love the bright orange.

The first harvest from the green bean plants!

HOT

We had some brutal days this past week. Nothing like other parts of the country (and world) have been experiencing, but definitely too ick to spend much time outside. So today, partly cloudy with a high of 80, I took advantage of the lull and cut down all those sunflower plants. Now the yard doesn't look anything like the picture at the top of the blog. Since some of the heads had not yet been picked clean by the birds, I hung them over the privacy fence for final feasting.

One of the replacement Canadian hemlocks is looking a bit peaked. I moved the tree waterer to give it a good drink, hoping to stave off its demise. Technically, it is not covered by a plant warranty since it is a replacement, but maybe I can talk the native plant guy into it since I questioned the use of Canadian hemlocks in the first place.

I am eagerly awaiting the blossoming of the goldenrod. Too bad the rudbeckia choked out the asters on the south side of the house. I ordered some asters for the north side and am hoping they won't be overrun by the goldenrod there.

Today I also mowed and trimmed. Or rather, trimmed until the Ego trimmer ran out of power. Now I can't get the battery pack out of it. My hip is fixed, my shoulders are fixed, but I am now troubled by wrist and thumb issues. It's always something.

Have a painfree week.

The weather I wished for

I've been anxious to see the winterberry in snow, and today I got my wish. The predicted "wintery mix" turned into just "winter" - a couple of inches of wet, heavy snow.

Every day I spend at least a little time bird watching from the comfort of my recliner in the den. Today I was rewarded with a hawk feasting on what I presumed to be a sparrow. Not long after this big guy left, a smaller version stopped by as well. My backyard probably looks like a sparrow smorgasbord.

(I wish I had a better camera. Or at least a good zoom lens.)

In case you didn't notice, the first photo in this post also shows the replacement Canadian hemlock, which was installed yesterday. I hope they fare better than their predecessors.

Have a cozy week.