Pinks!

My love affair with redbud trees started with our first house. A family friend gifted us with several redbud starts from her yard. Having grown up in a Chicago suburb with elm-lined streets and during a time people spent little effort on their yards beyond some foundation shrubs and the lawn, I had never heard of redbuds. But now, if I ruled the world, every yard would sport a redbud tree.

Another pink I look forward to each spring is bleeding heart.

And close on the heels of the redbud is the flowering crab.

I would like to add some pink hyacinth to the front yard as well, because one can never have too many pinks in the spring.

It keeps raining and I keep mowing, grateful for my zero-turn riding mower. My next door neighbor has been using a battery-powered mower this year, but runs out of power several times before finishing. That would annoy me.

Yesterday, while handweeding the beds in the front yard, I wondered just how long I can keep up with the yard upkeep. Today I am a bit sore from bending and stretching and my hands ache, but so far, so good.

But first...

Digging out the compost pile was on my to-do list for this spring. Sifting the existing compost from the rest of the detritis required the use of my yellow Vigoro garden cart... which had four flat tires, one of which was also shredding. I purchased a new tire, but could not figure out how to get the old one off (despite viewing several YT videos). No matter - I just filled all four with air (using my scary air compressor). The compost sifter also needed some repair. Finally, I completed the original to-do item, followed by spreading a shovelful of compost around each shrub.

Black (or brown) gold

I decided to take a look at my goals for this year, to see how I'm doing. Not bad so far. Ten coneflowers ('Sombrero Hot Coral') went into the bed by the sidewalk, and while I have planted the strawberries ('Evie-2') and garlic ('Early Italian'), the temperatures need to be a bit better before starting the green beans (there is a lined milk crate planter ready to receive them). The number of garlic cloves were more than the raised bed could handle, so the extras went into some containers; we'll see how that works out.

Fencing is to discourage Finn from treating this bed like a litter box

While not on the list, some dill seed ('Mammoth') was strewn around the spicebush, hopefully to attract swallowtail butterflies. And there is a pot ready for a tomato plant ('Sun Sugar') I purchased on impulse at Menards. The citrus plants at Tractor Supply tempted me, but I've been complaining about having too many houseplants, so I refrained.

This is the spring for flowering trees. I can't get enough of them (except for the Bradford pears).

'Perfect Purple' flowering crab, neighbor's flowering pear in the background

Redbud

'Prairie Fire' flower crab blossoms

One advantage of aging is one stops worrying so much about what other people think. An exception is my serviceberry specimens. They bloom at the same time as Bradford pear trees, but I hope no one thinks I actually planted the latter.

Around the yard:

Oak gall on witch hazel?

Milkweed!

We had some gale-force winds this past week. One day, a particularly athletic and daring squirrel took advantage of the wind to leap from the privacy fence to the sunflower feeder. Rather bodacious of him, if I do say so myself.

Noises, noises, noises

When my children were young, I read to them a lot. One semi-favorite was called Noises, Noises, Noises, I believe. It was about an elderly couple. He complained about all the noises while she told him the solution was to eat his roast beef and wear his mittens.

Not a very interesting premise, but I could not help but think of that book while doing yoga on the deck last weekend. There were the manmade noises - airplanes and a medical helicoptor overhead, motorcycles and other traffic, the air conditioner cycling on and off, lawn mowers - and natural noises - the wind in the trees, birds (especially a wren and a hawk), Clio panting in the sun, and CICADAS in JUNE.

I have not seen any June bugs, but there is a plethora of Japanese beetles this year. The good news is they seem to be limiting their damage to the Virginia creeper. The vine is all volunteer and tolerated for its fall color. I'm not sure there will be anything left to turn red come autumn, though.

What eats Japanese beetles? According to the Web, birds like starlings, grackles, crows, robins, catbirds, cardinals, and meadowlarks. Also insects like spiders, assassin bugs, and predatory stink bugs. I wish they would come dine in my yard.

Something is skeletizing the leaves on the 'Perfect Purple' flowering crabapple as well. One online source suggests that this is caused by the apple-and-thorn skeletonizer, a.k.a. Choreutis pariana. The Midwest is not one of its usual territories, however. I may take some samples into the co-operative office and see what they say.

When I take the time to just sit and observe my yard, I see goldfinch in the beebalm and coneflower, hummingbirds tasting nectar from the blossoms on the penstemon and honeysuckle vine, young sparrows trying oh-so-hard to fly, rabbits hiding in the northern sea oats. Not very many butterflies, but for some reason dragonflies. Go figure.

Year of the violet

I can't believe how many violets I've seen this spring. I have quite a few in my front flower beds, but they are everywhere, especially in untreated lawns where they contrast nicely with the dandelions.

Last summer the lawn across the street sported a lot of clover. This year I called the lawn guy and told him, I miss my clover. His response was, No one has ever said that to me. So while I agreed to them applying a pre-emergent, I am going to spot treat the weeds myself, in the hopes that my yard will include wild strawberry, clover, and violets in the future. Next year we will probably skip the pre-emergent as well.

The redbuds have peaked weeks earlier than usual, much to the delight of a variety of bees that are usually stuck with creeping Charlie and dandelions this time of year. Flowering crab is everywhere, including in my backyard. A feast for the eyes.

One city park I like to visit in the spring is Foster Park. The flower beds are a riot of tulips. I don't consider myself a tulip person, but now I want to plant them in my yard.

My one bone to pick with the city parks department is they don't label plants, not even trees. I'm not very good at tree identification, especially before they leaf out, and would really like to know what this one is.

This pic is to remind me that I like blues and purples together, sort of like the violets and grape hyacinth in my own yard. I've grown forget-me-nots before, but they don't last. I'm surprised they are considered invasive in the Midwest.

I don't just sit around looking at pretty plants in the spring. There has been some spring cleaning - today was spent in the garage - and some clearing out of the old, to make room for the new. These old bones are not used to so much movement, though. I need some aspirin.

Rain garden or vernal pond?

We received another inch of rain last night, so now the rain garden is full. Again. When the last rainfall finally drained away, I had to reseat several plants; I think one of the dogs got in there, so I also reinforced the fencing around it as well. Now I'm hoping they all survive a second dunking. More rain is forecast this week. I'm wondering if my rain garden is going to be more of a vernal pond.

Despite the rainy, cold weather earlier this week, I visited two local nurseries. I purchased two bleeding heart plants from Arbor Farms on Monday. Tuesday I hit up Stuckeys for sweet potato vine, black eyed Susan vine, a couple of tomato plants, some basil, coleus, and rudbekia. Yesteday two honeysuckle vines arrived from Brushwood Nursery. Last summer I purchased just a handful of plants because of the redo of the landscaping, and late, so there wasn't much to choose from. I didn't want that to happen this year. I should be all set.

The weather has improved now, so I planted grass seed in the area north of the house where nothing but plantain has grown for years. With the arborvitae gone, sunshine will reach that area, at least part of the day. All this rainy weather means I won't have to water it so often.

Sparrows have been sneaking into the mealworm feeder, so I purchased a cylinder of "nesting" food to lure them away. That disappeared in a matter of days, thanks to the starlings. If I buy another cylinder, I am going to also purchase a starling-proof cage to put around that feeder.

A bluebird was trying to get into the wren house. After mentioning that to my son, he gifted me with a bluebird box (early Mother's Day gift). He selected one that is supposed to be sparrow-resistant. Today's chore will be to install it in the backyard. I hope it is not too late. (A wren is now building a nest in its house, and singing up a storm.)

In the middle of the afternoon this past week, I saw a raccoon climbing the corner of a neighbor's shed. I tried to get a photo, but the rascal slipped inside the shed through a hole under the eaves. I take the mealworm feeder in most nights because of raccoons, but I think this one has been cleaning out the feeder I have for the squirrels.

Do you think I need signs everywhere in my yard? THIS food is for bluebirds, THIS feeder is for the squirrels, THIS box is for the wrens, DON'T knock over the bird bath, etc.

Now for some eye candy.

'Prairie Fire' crabapple

Volunteer violets

Wild geranium blossom

Blue star blossoms

Blue star

Chokeberry blossoms

I am loving the golden ragwort in the front of the house. It is not even one year old yet, but going to town. It blooms about the same time as daffodils, but lasts so much longer. Next year, those beds will be absolutely packed.

When the bloom is done, I'll prune back the flower stems.

I think our last frost date is past, so it's time to transplant some of those plants I mentioned above, except for the tomatoes and sweet potato vine. I knew to keep the tomatoes inside for a while, but unthinkingly left the sweet potato vines on the deck. They were not happy, but they perked up after a few hours under a grow light. I'll hold back on transplanting them for another week or so.

No Mow Maybe Not

I don't know who started the No-Mow May meme, but in general, it is not a good idea. My lawn is treated, mostly organically, so if I didn't mow, I would have foot-tall grass by now, as I have mowed four times already this season. And the non-grass spring plants that grew there before were mostly dandelions, which as you can read below, are not a good thing. (These quotes came to me via the Riverview Native Nursery newsletter that I receive by email.)

Rewilding Magazine: "...here’s what the little research done to date on dandelions tells us. Dandelion has allelopathic pollen, a scientific term that basically means the pollen of dandelions can reduce reproductive success in native wildflowers, disrupting the native plant communities it invades. Another study showed that queen bumblebees (some of the early emerging wild bees that pro-dandelion campaigns say dandelions help) resorted to eating their own eggs when fed a diet of protein-deficient dandelion pollen."
Benjamin Vogt of Monarch Gardens: "What you WILL get are a host of plants with marginal to little benefit to wildlife, and several that will be terribly aggressive: crabgrass, creeping charlie, barnyard grass. And of course invasive species placed on most city’s noxious weed list, like musk thistle or garlic mustard."
The Garden Professors: " Even better yet, you can reduce the amount of space in your landscape that is dedicated to a traditional turfgrass lawn and incorporate a flowering groundcover and/or a pollinator garden that hosts an abundant array of diverse floral resources that provide food for bees all season long!"
Iowa State: "Consider eliminating the lawn altogether and replacing it with plants or garden spaces that don’t require frequent maintenance and support native insects and wildlife. Replacing turf with perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees can reduce water consumption, pesticides, and fertilizers while increasing soil organic matter, building soil quality, and helping to retain and infiltrate stormwater"

While I have a nice bit of lawn front and back, I also try to provide natives for the pollinators. The only problem is I don't see very many pollinators these days, which I presume is due to neighbors treating their lawns with insecticide. I'm hoping my yard becomes a pollinator oasis.

My yard does seem to be an avian oasis. A pair of robins has built a nest in the same spot as last year: under the eave on top of a bend in the downspout behind the Japanese maple by the dining room window. I'm tempted to place a ladder there and take a weekly photograph.

And here is a photo of the mallards that stopped by last week. I'm surprised they don't pop in when the standing water is at its worst. It's hard to see, but the female is behind the fence in the photo below. They took off shortly after this pic was taken.

The 'Perfect Purple' flowering crab seems particularly laden with blossoms this year. The low branch on the right will have to be pruned, as it threatens my eyesight every time I mow.

Up close and personal.

The redbud trees seem to be underperforming this year, but it is early. They hit their peak in early May. And despite my wishing, it is not yet May. (The chair is an experiment, to see if I like sitting there, for a different view of the yard.)

Up close.

I've seen exhortations here and there that it is time to set up hummingbird feeders. Not so around here, as I rarely see them before June. The oriole feeder has not been visited yet, but from last year's blog, I see they did not show up until May.

Meanwhile, I've attended to a few spring chores, like cleaning the deck, some of the siding (until I ran out of cleaning solution), and renewing the stone mulch. What I love about this photo is the lack of crapola. There used to be a stack of cedar planks on the deck, plus some stray ones on the table. Things look a lot tidier now.

The installation of the rain garden is supposed to happen tomorrow, BUT one underground utility has yet to be marked: Frontier and their fiber optic cable. Ordinarily, I would not be too worried about this, BUT the cable is just a few inches below the surface and easy to damage. Will they show up today, a Sunday? Somehow, I doubt it.

Ex caliper

In the past, I have judged tree growth by how tall the said tree grows. Another way to determine how well one's trees are faring is to measure the diameter of the trunk. So today, using a not-very-sufficient caliper, I measured the oak (1 3/4") and the hickory (9/16") trunks. Hopefully, I will remember to do this every year.

What makes it feel like spring to you? For me, it is daffodils, forsythia, magnolias, and the greening of the grass. The lawn looked a bit raggedy, so I mowed today. I'm also still messing around with the arborvitae detritus.

A trip around the yard reveals more signs of spring.

Prairie Fire Crabapple

Hyacinth

Blue Star

I had to look up that last plant, as it is new and something I am unfamiliar with. The new growth is black, which is a surprise.

Some sad news: One of my garden blogger friends passed away, Jason of gardeninacity. I'm not sure how I came to follow his informative and enlightening blog, but through that venue I was able to visit his garden during a tour in that area. He and his wife Judy were also frequent attendees of the Garden Bloggers Fling, which inspired me to attend when it was in Minneapolis. Jason and his blog will be sorely missed.

Bugs, buds, and blossoms

I've seen a swarm or two of gnats this past week, but today I spotted this fellow feeding on the witch hazel blossoms. Some kind of bee, I guess. Honey?

Bee on witch hazel

Meanwhile, buds are starting to swell here and there around the yard.

Serviceberry

Chokeberry

Elm

Hawthorn

Ragwort

I didn't get a good photo of the snowdrops, but the "regular" croci are blooming as well as the daffodils (which look a little raggedy, due to the fluctuating weather).


So much for outside. Inside, I finally got around to starting the zinnias from seed. But first, I made some pots from newspaper, as described in this video.


Mine are not as refined as the ones in the video, but they will work.

Today I finished de-branching the arborvitae, so that task is finished. Now I am waiting on an estimate for the rain garden, because of this repeat performance:

I hope the rain garden helps.

Promises, promises

I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to stop raining, but this week promises to be dry and sunny, with high's around 80. The painters were a no-show last week, but I've been *promised* that they will be here on Tuesday, the carpenter on Thursday. We'll see.

Bird observations continue. Robins built a nest under the eaves by the dining room window, behind the Japanese maple. This is a great location for them, as when the fledglings leave the nest, they can perch in the tree, hopefully safe from my indoor/outdoor cat. Finn is getting arthritic, but I bet he would overcome the pain if a baby bird were easily in reach. I saw the robins mating yesterday.

Besides orioles, catbirds like grape jelly. A white-crowned sparrow visited the safflower feeder, probably on his way north. I *think* I've heard wrens - my birdsong identification skills are horrible - but still no takers on the wren houses. Redwing blackbirds visit the feeders occasionally.

The 'Perfect Purple' flowering crab looks wonderful this year. It lost its leader last summer, but it looks like there is a likely candidate poised to replace it.

Two (?) years ago, the Japanese maple did not leaf out very well, which I discovered was due to sparrows eating the leaf buds. Last year it looked better. This year it looks great. I credit my feeding the sparrows millet in the backyard. Now I'm wondering if the viburnum will fruit better.

Still no date on the landscape installation. My daughter has been digging up plants that are destined to go, for her yard, for her neighbor, for her mother-in-law. My son visited last week and planned to take some, too, but it rained, rained, rained.

Many years ago, I converted part of the garage into a laundry room, but I had the plumbers leave the old faucets which are in what I now refer to as the mudroom. The outside faucets are still on the well and spew orange-ish water; if I want non-well water for something outside, I figure I could run a hose from the old laundry faucets. I never tried it, until last week, and it worked perfectly. Now I'm thinking I need a power washer so I can clean the siding.

Just for the record, my SO *loves* his new EGO self-propelled lawn mower.