An indoor week

I haven't had an ear infection since I was ten years old, but I apparently have one this week. That and the heat have kept me literally under the weather this past week. I watered a bit, but that was about it. The weeds are taking advantage of my absence.

While confined to the house, I started watching Garden Fit. It's a combination of great gardens and ergonomic exercises to help ease gardening aches and pains.

This is what I see when I look out one of my windows into the backyard: in the foreground fuschia, then Queen of the Prairie, then coneflower, and way in the back milkweed. Pinks!

My "ditch" daylilies get a fair amount of shade, so are behind most of the others in this area. Once I get the yard waste cleared away from the back fence, I may divide the clumps and move some out there.

In fact, I have a lot of plans for what to do with the open areas around the shrubs. Bees still visit the monarda on the south side of the house; that would be a nice addtion, maybe interspersed with the daylilies. That's the thing about gardening - there is always room for improvement and experimentation.

Useless effort?

This past week, the New York Times ran an article about what happens when a home with a yard planted in natives goes on the market. In their examples, the properties sold for a premium. I have a feeling that is not going to happen around here.

Which led to despondency about my yard. I put a LOT of effort into growing natives despite living in a pollinator desert, which results in a sense of futility. And then there is the weedy look of the natives at the front of the house - not what I would call curb appeal. I'm tempted to transplant them all to the backyard where they can look as weedy as they wish, then update the front to look more conventional (within reason).

Part of my funk is because this is the lull before summer flowers, but that is beginning to turn around.

The penstemon lives on despite my efforts to irradicate it

The start of milkweed season

First coneflower

Honeysuckle vine starts early and goes all summer

Fading climbing rose (surrounded by thistle)

I'm still battling weeds, but at least the lawn has slowed down. The newbies need daily watering, while the hanging planters require it twice a day. I cleared the dams that form at the downspouts, so I welcome a heavy downpour just to see my effort pay off. I pick strawberries every afternoon for my evening yogurt parfait. Things could be worse.

More climate weirdness

I must sound like I complain about the weather a lot. Today's temperature is expected to be in the high 80's and that is just plain WRONG for this time of year. It is also dry and sunny instead of cold and rainy. The "normal" frost date is in about a week, but we are not going to hit that.

Spider condo 

I don't do a lot of fall cleanup as a rule, yet there are a few things to address this time of year. It's just too hot, though.

Coneflower cultivar outlasts straight species

One thing I definitely want to address is the dead tulip tree. I left it as a "wildlife" tree, but decided I would have it taken down once the plants around the rain garden died back. The other day I noticed that the tree has developed a definitely tilt, toward the house. So it needs to leave sooner rather than later.

Listing

Getting someone out here to provide estimates is another matter; all the woodcutters and lumberjacks are busy this time of year. For my own reassurance, I attached a dog tie-out to the tree, in part to discourage it from falling on the house should it give way, but also to have a visible cue as to whether it is getting worse.

Volunteer zinnia

Then I inadvertantly hit the tie-out with the lawn mower. I'm surprised the mower still works. I'm also impressed at just how damaging mower blades can be to human limbs. An excellent safety reminder.

Golden arches

Other areas of the world are dealing with floods, typhoons, mud slides, earthquakes. So I keep telling myself, "Things could be worse."

What's it good for? Joe pye weed

The three moisture-loving plants I added to the edge of the rain garden bloom in succession: first meadow rue, then queen of the prairie, now Joe pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum).

It's tall but so far has not needed staking, unlike its neighbors. Like its neighbors, it will spread, so I hope I don't regret including it in my wild backyard. For general information on this plant, go here. For information on growing it, try this site.

While Joe pye has medicinal uses, I plant it for its benefit to pollinators and birds. Hopefully, it will attract a butterfly or two?

I did see a swallowtail this week in my backyard, on the coneflower. Alas, it did not linger. At least the bees are busy.

The weather continues to be weird. We've had enough rain this summer to bring on the fungi. July had some very hot days, but now that August is here, the temps are more moderate, even dipping into the 50's at night. It definitely does not feel like the dog days of summer.

On one of the hot but overcast days, family members visited the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. There were flamingos!

Speaking of flamingos, I figured out why my recently purchased solar-powered one was not working: there is an on-off switch that I neglected to notice. Now it glows. If they go on sale, I may purchase a few more, just for kicks. One can never have too many pink flamingos.

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!

Fireflies and blooms (and booms)

In the gloaming, I like to sit on the deck and watch the fireflies. There are a LOT in my yard this year. I like to think my yardening practices have something to do with that. The larva winter over in the ground or under tree bark. I assume my habit of eschewing mulch, doing fall cleanup in the spring, and favoring native plants all help. With over 2000 species, I hate to be more specific about them, but in general the light-emitting ones are females attracting a male, to mate or eat.

The summer blooms are starting to come out. Is it early? I think not - tomorrow is July 1. It just feels early, probably because of our erratic weather patterns.

Coneflower

Common milkweed

Bee on milkweed

Bee balm

I've been relatively diligent about removing blossoms from the strawberry plants, but have missed a few. The resulting fruit is delicious! There is nothing like a sun-warmed strawberry plucked right off the plant.

A few cherry tomatoes have developed, so I am looking forward to dining on those as well in the near future.

I've been lacksidaisical about staking my one and only tomato plant, and this is what happened. I'm also learning that container plants require a daily watering no matter how much rain has fallen.

Now a pet peeve. Here in Indiana, individuals can purchase their own fireworks. In my city, there are limits as to when one can set them off. However, I live near the edge of the city limits and the county has no such rules. Fortunately, Clio is relatively okay with the noise as long as she is inside and near me.

And while we are on the subject, once upon a time, fireworks displays were limited to once or twice a year, thereby making them special events. Now it seems like almost any reason is cause for fireworks. At least xmas is still only once a year.

End of grumpy rant.

Baby, it's (gonna be) cold outside! So let's look at echinacea (coneflower)

A polar vortex is on its way. Even though I knit myself a balaclava for those cold, windy dog walks, it will be too cold for doggy paws. Time to hunker down and dream about spring.

One reason I focus on native plants is for pollinators. I love seeing the bees, wasps, and whatever those other bugs are buzzing about the blossoms. My yard is a little island of nature in suburbia.

However, natives have some problems, which is why cultivars are developed. One issue I have with "straight" coneflowers is their height. I'm in search of some shorter varieties to plant out front BUT they are generally less attractive to pollinators. What to do?

My late garden blog friend gardeninacity posted about just this problem back in 2021. One future (now past) study he cited was by the Chicago Botanical Garden, but alas, their comparison of coneflower cultivars did not include their value to pollinators. While they observed visiting insects, those observations were casual rather than systemic. Boo.

The Mt. Cuba Center, on the other hand, has included pollinator attraction in their evaluation of echinacea. Their observations and recommendations (which are somewhat local to the east coast) may be found here. I sifted through their list, eliminating the taller varieties, which left five to choose from.

• Echinacea 'Julia'
• Echinacea ‘Balsomcor’ (SOMBRERO® Hot Coral)
• Echinacea ‘TNECHKIO’ (KISMET® Intense Orange)
• Echinacea ‘Snow Cone’
• Echinacea ‘Santa Fe’

I won't make up my mind quite yet, but I am not inclined to choose something white ('Snow Cone').

I'm also interested in a shorter version of rudbeckia, but the only one I have found so far is 'Goldstrum', which I have growing in the meadow. Perhaps I will just transplant that despite not being sure of its attraction to pollinators. Any opinions out there?

Under the (heat) dome

The past week has been HOT. It's not so bad when there is a breeze or when there is a cloud cover. But when there is sun and no breeze? Ugh. And HUMID. And DRY - no rain. Tomorrow's high should be 80, which will feel chilly. There may be rain, which would be a relief.

My day used to start with coffee and news, breakfast, then dog walking. Then it shifted to coffee and news, dog walking, then breakfast. This past week each day started with a token dog walk, then coffee and news, then breakfast. Once we reach the driveway, Clio turns to go in because she is DONE.

I'm still a bit flummoxed about how few bugs there are this year. The bee balm is now blooming, which is attracting bees, naturally, but not as many as other years. I wonder if our crazy weather has thrown Mother Nature into disarray. Maybe that is why the robins did not eat the serviceberries this year - bad timing.

The coneflower I planted last spring is blooming, and so tall I can't see the rudbeckia behind it. Goldfinch love the coneflower seeds; we'll see if they show up. I'm losing faith in what's "normal" in the backyard gardening world.

I'm behind in weed control while I've been busy watering all the newbies (and a few oldies). Speaking of which, I'd better get to that right now.

Grrr!

This past week, a sales rep from Greenix rang my doorbell. He rattled off the names of several neighbors who had recently procured his services. When I realized he was an exterminator, I told him that was the opposite of what I want in my yard. It's a granular application, so he claims it does not kill bees. We got stuck on the bee issue, but as it always happens, later I thought of more arguments against his product. One is, without bugs, what are the birds to feed their young? Hummingbirds may dine on nectar, but they feed their babies protein in the form of insects.

Then - and I don't know why solicitors do this - he asked for a bottle of water. I just laughed and said I don't buy bottled water. So in his mind, am I not only a crazy bug lady, I'm a crazy bug environmentalist.

And then I received an email from a fiber friend who helps maintain a colonial garden at one of the local parks. She had bedstraw to give away. The roots of this plant provide nice reds when dyeing yarn, BUT it is also a non-native invasive. No way am I going to introduce that into my yard. I could offer to dig up some roots in the fall, though.

And THEN, while mowing, I found a mousetrap in my yard with a bird leg in it. Who puts mousetraps outside where non-mouse animals and even children can find them? Grrr!

Speaking of birds, does anyone know what kind of bird this is? It looks like a streamlined mourning dove to me, but I can't find any matching photos online.

The rudbeckia and ironweed on the south side of the house was fairly upright this year, until it rained. I keep adding sections of this no-dig fencing to help keep it out of the way, as I have to drive through that area with my mower. I've been adding some fencing to the bed opposite the privacy fence as well, as the milkweed and monarda also flop.

Meanwhile, the summer blooms are starting to pop.

Daylily

Butterflyweed

Coneflower

Rudbeckia

Only a couple of butterflyweed plants survived from last year. I contacted the native plant installer for replacements. He came up with a list of quite a few MIAs. I'm not too concerned that there may be two columbine plants missing, as that plant reseeds itself abundantly. He claims a dozen sedge plants are also gone. He sounds dissatisfied with the overall design and wants to make some changes. We'll see what he comes up with... and how much it will cost.

High floppability

The natives planted along the fence on the south side of the house are blooming... and flopping. I like them tall but not when they lean across the path I take with the lawn mower. The ironweed plants have inverted tomato cages to keep them somewhat upright, but the coneflower and rudbeckia need some help. There is a new edition of Tracy DiSabato-Aust's book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden; I have an older copy, maybe should check out what's new. Perhaps the pruning techniques will help. If not, a fence of some sort, one that won't obstruct?

I took advantage of the lovely weather this week to finish edging around the shrubs and the hawthorn tree out front. While I was at it, I removed the protective hardware cloth, snipped suckers, pulled weeds, etc. I also propped up the false indigo just in time for the lawn treatment guys. Then there was the pruning of redbuds and viburnum. My SO helped with the latter, thank goodness; my shoulders won't let me operate the lopper.

The mid-to-late summer perennials are going at it. I *love* the cup plant patch, as do the finches. The plants are at least ten feet tall.

In front of the cup plant is a clump of silvergrass with the additions of coneflower, rudbeckia, daylily, and aster.

Volunteer sunflowers mingle with rattlesnake master and big bluestem.

Besides volunteer sunflowers, there are some volunteer morning glories growing in containers. Some vines that I thought were morning glories are something else, bindweed or something like it, so those have been eliminated. I'm trying to help the actual morning glories with a trellis; it's too short, but that isn't stopping them.

Does anyone know what is wrong with this clump of aster? I think the browning of the lower leaves can occur when there is too little rain, but we have had plenty of that.

Another problem we have had plenty of are Japanese beetles. I plant hollyhocks as a trap crop, but this year the little buggers have ignored the hollyhocks in favor of coneflowers and zinnias. Boo.

I hear cicadas, have found one husk and seen one flying around, but we must not be Brood X country. My son lived in Bloomington IN during the last emergence and says they were quite the nuisance down there. What's been your experience?

Front yard, back yard

All summer long I have been staring at a bunch of perennials, mentally planning on where to move them. Now that autumn is (almost) here, the time seemed right to start in on that project. So that is what I have been doing this past week (once I got the go-ahead from my doctor).

In 2018 I purchased a bunch of coneflower, rudbeckia, monarda, ironweed, butterfly weed, etc. After scanning my blog, I find little mention of them. My (hazy) memory is that I stuck a lot of them in some empty raised beds with the intention of transplanting them in the future. That did not happen last year because of my hip. Now that I want to downsize the garden by eliminating most of the raised beds, they are on the move. The target area is the south side of the house, some along the privacy fence, some next to the house.

So far, I have transplanted the ironweed, the New England asters, rudbeckia, and a few coneflower. I noticed that the rudbeckia overwhelmed the coneflower in the raised beds they shared, so I limited how much of the former I moved. I will group the coneflower so they don't disappear.

Today I started digging up some of the coneflower but disturbed a bee nest which seems to be in the next bed where there is a pile of yard trimmings. They are not yellow jackets or wasps or bumble bees or ground bees. Honey bees maybe? I think one stung Clio several days ago - she yelped and ran around the yard for about five minutes, periodically stopping to examine her butt. Once it gets cold, I will have to investigate further. I don't want to destroy the nest BUT it is in an unwelcome location. Suggestions welcome.

Speaking of bees, I always find it funny to come across bees asleep on the job. Apparently, when the temps drop at night, sometimes the bees just stop what they are doing where they are doing it and sleep. There are two in this photo; one started to stir soon after.

One more interesting factoid: yellow jackets get literally hangry in the fall. Their agressive behavior is due to their food sources disappearing and they are starving. No wonder they are so crabby!

I was not sure the switch grass I transplanted from the front yard to the south side of the house had survived, but each clump is putting out seed heads, a good sign. The 'Autumn Joy' sedum, a popular yard plant in these parts, has turned pink. The sunflowers I planted are just now blooming; otherwise, there is not much to look at colorwise in the yard except for asters and zinnias.

Walking around the neighborhood, I see Rose of Sharon in several yards, late blooming hostas (which did better than the early blooming varieties), red hibiscus. My 'Luna Red' hibiscus did not survive, the Rose of Sharon bit the dust, and my hostas and hydrangea can't be seen from the deck. As I downsize the garden, I will have to make sure I can see color all season long from where I rest my weary gardener's bones.