A butterfly!

The past few years I have complained bitterly about the lack of butterflies in my yard. So imagine my surprise when I found this guy in the shed. I managed to get it outside to a location under the spice bush. Later it was gone, hopefully under its own power and not inside the tummy of a bird.

I've been unimpressed by the blue star in the front yard, but this year it is really making an effort. You can find more info about this native plant here.

It makes a nice backdrop to the ragwort.

More spring beauties are popping.

I've been considering eliminating the aster in the front yard, but what to put there in its place? How about a ‘Rising Sun’ redbud? I just learned there is such a thing, and it sounds like a beauty. It's going on my wish list.

Plant fever

I was rather smug about my self-control over ordering plants from catalogs - just a few cup plants and a dozen common milkweed. But then I made in-person visits to two nurseries and came home with more than I intended. At one nursery, it was not crowded and I spent too much time wandering the aisles. At the other nursery, I felt rushed and grabbed plants without thinking. I'll list them all in a later post, as I'm a bit tired today from trying to get most of them planted.

Here is an example of an impulse purchase. I am not a fan of geraniums in general, BUT. Sometimes I find the intense color of their blossoms irresistable. This one caught my eye and followed me home.

And here is an example of what I planned to purchase: some coleus for the front porch planter. This is a "sun coleus" - the porch gets rather intense morning sun.

Last year I tried to grow ornamental sweet potato in hanging baskets with limited success. In fact, the success was limited to this planter on the north side of the shed. This year I decided to try "wave" petunias there instead. The vertical fish is a ceramic piece I made as a watering aid - water goes in the mouth and out some holes at the bottom.

And a few pix of some current blooms in the yard:

Columbine - up close and personal

Dame's rocket

I just read that there is a work day planned at a local preserve where they plan to eradicate dame's rocket. Of all the invasive plants to target, this one seems rather innocuous. Better to tackle ornamental pears and garlic mustard.

In the past few years, I have tried to grow perennials in containers, with some success. But I'm tired of having to water the containers and store the containers in the garage in the winter. And the plastic containers are starting to fall apart. Last summer I transplanted some penstemon, and it is doing quite well. Today I transplanted some catmint from one container into the coneflower bed where there was a bit of a gap. I also transplanted a miniature butterfly bush into the same bed where there was another gap. Interestingly, the root systems of these plants were not very developed. The remaining dirt in the pots went onto low spots in the lawn where water puddles after a rain.

I think I heard baby bird cheeps from the bluebird house today. While I have let all the other bird feeders run dry, I had planned to keep putting out mealworms for the bluebirds... until I saw that the sparrows are eating the mealworms. They don't usually do that, are probably gathering food for their young, but hey. Not allowed.

IMHO

Now that I've been watering (and watering and watering) post-installation, I'm discovering that the donut-shaped watering bags are not the time-savers I imagined them to be. While filling, they need babysitting to keep the water in the bag and not running out of the hole. Also, they block rain. So I am going to remove them from the shrubs.

The zippered watering pouches around the trees, however, are easier to manage. I can insert the hose and walk away, to deadhead flowering plants or fill birdfeeders. They don't work for shrubby plants, though, and are too tall for the hickory tree.


The plants are not only settling in but thriving (except for a few ragworts that get disturbed by Finn who thinks all that mulch is just a giant outdoor litter box). Some are even blooming, like the nodding onion and columbine.


And the ragwort is spreading, just like it should.

Last weekend, my daughter, granddaughter, and I went to Indianapolis to shop. Our first stop was Brickyard Ceramics, which has a field of wildflowers for a front yard. This photo doesn't do it justice.

I sowed more grass seed on bare areas in the lawn. After one round of Roundup, I've discovered that it doesn't work well on vines, just as the herbicide I have for vines doesn't work on other weeds. There is still some trumpet vine that needs to be erradicated, as well as some grape vine and poison ivy. The yucca and false indigo are popping up, unfortunately. And nutsedge is the bane of my lawn and nearby beds.

I updated the plant list for your viewing pleasure.

Today is HOT, HOT, HOT, but the next week or so promises to be milder, plus maybe rain. I'm ready for a break from watering.

I turned my back for a few days

This past Saturday was spent mostly doing housework, Sunday was Mother's Day so family came over (hence the reason for the housecleaning), and Monday it poured, so my SO and I left town. Today I was surprised to find *more* flowering going on in the yard. (Please excuse all the weeds!)

Volunteer Canadian columbine are popping up all over the place

Prunifolium viburnum, a.k.a. Blackhaw

Aronia melanocarpa, a.k.a. Chokeberry

Chokeberry, up close

Prairie Fire crabapple, year ONE

Finding blossoms on the stick-like Prairie Fire crab was a delightful surprise. Not all color is from flowers, though. Two shrubs I planted last summer are fulfilling their promise of providing contrast to my mostly-purple-leafed front yard.

Lemony Lace elderberry

Golden Spirit smokebush

Not everything is doing well, though. It looks like the climbing rose bit the dust. Periodically, I would contemplate removing it, only to have it put on a great show. After deciding I would keep it, I planted shasta daisies in front of it for contrast. Now it is dead. At least the hosta bed survived the dog trampling, as has one coral bells plant; the other is questionable, as is the mountain mint.

Palace Purple heuchera

Hosta bed

Big hostas have big impact, but my favorite is this small-leafed Golden Tiara (at least I think that is the variety). The bed also has some volunteer columbine and violets (and dandelion, which I cropped out of the pic).

Golden Tiara hosta

I hope your yard and garden are just as full of surprises!

Flower power

My yard is on the large size, so while I have lots of plants in bloom, they lack visual impact because they aren't planted in drifts. This year I have been moving things around, so the nomads are not blooming hot and heavy yet either. Here is what's in bloom right now.

The tiger lilies are done, but daylily season is here.

Midsummer is also coreopsis season.

'Zagreb' coreopsis

'Tequila Sunrise' (I think) coreopsis

Lanceleaf coreopsis

The clematis is hanging on.

'Avant-garde' clematis

'Betty Corning' clematis

The first Rose of Sharon is shy, facing the wrong way.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite'

This is the first year for smooth hydrangea. I guess this is as good as it gets bloomwise.

The catmint is basically done, but the catnip is making up for it. I checked my wildflower book - catnip is an alien, so I have started eliminating it from the yard. Don't tell Finn.

Some volunteers are native.

Pokeweed

Fleabane

Other volunteers are a mystery, but I'm guessing this is a weed.

The coneflowers have been up and at 'em for a while, but the rudbekia is just starting.

Despite my neglect, some bee balm and yarrow have survived.

My prairie smoke didn't smoke this year, but the smoke bush is.

Can anyone explain to me why sweet alyssum continues blooming when crowded in a pot, but if planted by its lonesome, the blooming stops?

Gardening is always full of surprises: some columbine continues to bloom while the early flowering hostas seem sparse this year.

And last but not least, some butterfly attractants.

Common milkweed

Buddleia 'Miss Violet'

I actually saw a butterfly today that wasn't a paper white. Maybe a black swallowtail? It flitted around, not settling on anything despite my efforts to provide a variety of choices.