Changing seasons

August wasn't done with us last week, as the temps soared into the 90's with plenty of humidity. Today, it is more autumn-like. But it's not time to put the gardens and yard to bed for the winter yet. Rain has been scarce, so I continue to water, plus control weeds.

When my son and his girlfriend were here a few weeks ago, we strolled around the yard. She commented on the lovely scent of the hydrangea. I had never noticed it before - it is rather delicate - but now I sniff them whenever I am in the yard. As the blossoms age, the scent becomes less and less noticable.

Fruit on some shrubs is beginning to turn red. I was suprised to find some berries on the spice bush - it must be a female and someone else nearby must have a male.

Most of the winterberry holly is bearing fruit, but not all. Of course, the male bushes don't, but some of the female randomly don't as well. I noticed this phenomena last year. No real reason that I can discern.

Of course, the goldenrod is putting on a show. This tall variety which I have no memory of planting may be Solidago altissima, known as Canadian goldenrod. Or it may be Solidago gigantea, Giant goldenrod. I'm planning to swap the shorter fence in this photo with the taller fence around the 'meadow'.

The Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks', also known as Rough goldenrod, is a bit behind its big brother.

My daughter is moving to a new-to-her house that has not been occupied for a year. I asked if there were any way I could help that didn't involve stair climbing or heavy lifting. She suggested I take on weed control in the yard. That I can do!

Name that tune

Several years ago, I tried the bird identifying app Merlin and was not impressed. But I decided to try it again. It is much better. While I can visually identify most of the birds in my backyard, their songs frequently escape me.

It's no surprise that most of the birdsong in my yard is from sparrows. Merlin also picked up a black-capped chickadee's staccato cheeps; I located it in the (dead) tulip tree, feeding on bugs. Merlin identified the hawk I hear so frequently as a red-shouldered hawk. Mystery solved.

Of course, that is assuming the accuracy of the app. Ideally, one would visually confirm the link between the bird and the birdsong. A photo would be even better. But I'm lazy and don't want to move from my lawn chair. Or I just can't sight the damn bird. Or so many are LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs) and are difficult to tell apart.

My SO and I took a bit of a hike at Fox Island. Many (MANY) years ago, I participated in a ground water study there, which gave me an opportunity to view the wildflowers over several seasons. My tiny brain has not retained the names of those wildflowers, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.

I have a tendency to plan a project, purchase the needed supplies, then never actually complete the project. Yesterday I actually accomplished one: adding nonskid strips to the garden shed ramp. When wet, the ramp is slick, even moreso when covered with snow or ice.

The black strips were easy to install: remove backing and press. The narrow gray strips were a nightmare. The backing layers separated. My thumbnails are sore from trying to pick at the backing (I eventually resorted to using a box cutter). We'll see which ones last the longest.

This must be the year of the hydrangea. All over town, shrubs are dense with bursting blossoms. My own 'Limelight' hydrangea has joined in.

It looks like it will be a banner year for goldenrod as well.

Below is a photo of the morning sun. I took the picture because the sun was red, but it didn't translate onto the image. Too bad, because it was stunning.

While on the topic of photos, Dropbox no longer is working between my devices, probably because I have been using the free version which apparently is no long free, or free for only a limited time. How best to transfer photos from my phone to laptop now? Well, today I discovered I can link those two devices. It's not as simple to use as Dropbox, but it works fine.

Fall colors

We finally had a light frost, followed by what used to be referred to as "Indian summer" - the last of the warm days (one assumes). The sweet potato vines are kaput, except for the one in the flamingo planter. Almost everything else is in autumn mode.

The catmint decided that all the warm weather we have been having means that it should bloom some more.

The serviceberry is putting on a show.

The 'Limelight' hydrangea has reached its pink stage.

The northern sea oats are past the copper stage, now a solid brown.

The swamp oak looks more robust leaf-wise than last year.

Sean from Sanctuary Natives returned to replace the butterflyweed that did not survive its first year. He says he doesn't often get to revisit installations, so we took a brief tour of the yard. Something that I don't think he realizes is that all his planning of what plants to put where will eventually come to naught, as the nodding onion, penstemon, and columbine will spread willy-nilly. I don't mind, just as I don't mind the grape hyacinth, 'Dragon's Blood" stonecrop, volunteer violets, and other plants that have hung on, despite the upheaval from last summer. They are all welcome.

Non-natives killing the earth? Mea culpa

A columnist on the Washington Post claims that non-natives are "killing the earth". I can think of many other things that are more culpable than non-natives when it comes to ecology, so I was happy to find a post on the Garden Rant blog that rebuts the writer's broad condemnation.

There are all kinds of opinion wars about gardening. I recall being chastised for planting butterfly bush instead of butterflyweed because the former does not provide habitat for butterflies, only nectar. But don't they need nectar, too? And, so far, I have not had much luck with butterflyweed in my yard.

I tried growing a (native) oak leaf hydrangea, but the rabbits ate it. The 'Limelight' hydrangea thrives here, despite being native to China and Japan. What to do? I planted the 'Limelight'.

The "foreign" goutweed growing under the hydrangea is another issue. I wanted a groundcover that could withstand trampling. It can be invasive, but so far, the dogs are keeping it in check. Also, I cut back the seed heads.

At least I am not growing purple loosestrife, like a certain master gardener I know.

Let's leave that topic and look at some bugs!

I don't know what that bumble bee is doing in the video, but he looks busy.

More snow, despite the yardening

I managed to get a bit of outdoor work done before more snow arrived. The south side of the house is cleaned up and more of the arborvitae is taken care of. I also broke off the old blossoms on the 'Limelight' hydrangea. I am curious how that shrub will do now that the arborvitae are gone on that side of the yard. Hopefully, more sun will mean less spindly growth.

I didn't notice that one blossom I missed, at the tippy top, until I took the picture.

About that snow. This is in addition to last week's two inches, which melted. And this snow melted as well, but more fell last night. Winter just won't quit.

It occurred to me the other day that, if I am going to grow zinnias this year, I should get them started soon. That would be a great task for today.

BTW, my new shoulder feels *great*. Winter may not be the best time mood-wise to recover from surgery, but I am so glad to be able to do yardwork painfree. Well, except for the overall achiness the next day. But that's a *good* pain.

Doesn't feel like August

My memory of August is that it was hot and humid, but dry. The lawn would go dormant, which provided a welcome break from mowing. No more, I guess. The temperatures have been relatively moderate, as has the rainfall. And plants have started to turn.

The berries on the winterberry holly will be red in winter, but are now turning from green to yellow to orange.


The 'Limelight' hydrangea blossoms are beginning to pink up, too. I'm glad I kept this shrub, as it gets more sun now and should grow less spindly.

Birdwise, my feeders are populated mostly by multiple families of sparrows, but I have seen a few "newcomers" like a lone mourning dove (where's your mate?!?) and a downy woodpecker. The hummingbirds appear to have left the area, despite the natural offerings in my yard.


I'm loving that honeysuckle vine and plan to add a couple more along the back fence. I just have to remember to keep it under control, now that its growing conditions have improved.

I'm a little worried about the pagoda dogwood. All the leaves have dried up. I confess that I don't keep a close eye on it - maybe it has done this before? I know it is not from lack of water; could it be its feet are too wet? Google has been no help at all.


Like yardeners everywhere, I am constantly considering what to plant next year. Of course, I don't want to interfere with the newly planted natives, but I am missing the splendor of giant sunflowers and butterfly attracting zinnias.

Have a contemplative week.

August is almost over already

Yikes! It has been over a month since I posted here. I am obviously not spending much time outside in the yard, but when I do, I enjoy it despite my hip. How that the weather is cooling a bit, I hope to get some of the mess cleaned up before long. Meanwhile, here are some flowers to enjoy.

Rudbeckia subtomentosa

'Wild Romance' aster

Aster laevis

'Purple Dome' aster

Cosmos sulphureus

Coreopsis Tinctoria

'Limelight' hydrangea

'Royal Standard' hosta

A little catch-up

Sometimes I think I have too many hobbies. Other times I just seem to be inefficient or lazy. I'm retired, so all "goals" are self-inflicted, but I know I am happiest when I feel like I have accomplished something by the end of the day. Blogging tends to fall by the wayside.

Monarch update: I think I have put six caterpillars into the butterfly habitat. I'm hesitant to check the leaves too thoroughly, as if a caterpillar falls off its leaf (a common reaction to disturbance), there is no way it can climb back on.

When it's time for cocoon formation, they will want to climb up and attach to the top of the habitat, but right now there is no way to do that, either. I'd like to add another milkweed plant, but a danger of doing that is introducing a predator. The newly hatched larva are SOOOO tiny I think the smallest spiders could make a meal of them. What is a monarch foster mom to do?

August is rudbeckia season. I have some scattered around the yard; next year, there should be a lot more. Thanks to all the rain we have received, the coneflower and rudbeckia transplants are doing great (as are all the weeds). The butterfly weed is okay; it takes a while to get established.

It's easy to forget about the 'Limelight' hydrangea. It is in a corner I don't visit often except to mow, and then I am looking down, not up. I caught a glimpse of it over the fence while walking the dog the other day and realized it is in bloom.

The late season 'Royal Standard' hosta is in bloom as well. The hosta in general have somewhat recovered from dog trampling but only because I fenced off that section of the yard. I would not be walking daily were it not for the dogs, but sometimes I wonder if my health is worth all the damage they do to the yard.

I continue to pluck blossoms from the cosmos and dyers coreopsis on a daily basis, and in less than 24 hours, there are MORE. A LOT more. There is a lesson in deadheading there, I believe (although the marigold are much slower to recover from just such a denuding). Some plants are in desperate need of deadheading - those flowers are definitely DEAD - but then I see goldfinch feeding on the seeds. Maybe the birds and I can reach a compromise of some sort.

Odds and ends

While I have been moving away from growing food, there are still a few food plants in my yard and garden. Despite my attack on the asparagus, it continues to produce, so I am enjoying that, tossed with a little olive oil and roasted in a hot oven for about ten minutes (the asparagus, not me). Then there is the rhubarb patch, which provides pie for me and mordant for dyeing yarn. And there are some pole beans, just about ready to bloom.

I keep contemplating eliminating the "orchard" but it is low on the priority list. The birds usually get the sweet cherries, but leave these North Star tart ones for me. Another pie producing plant. (Can you tell I like pie?)

Instead of dumping out the "mother plant" I use each year to create more coleus for the front porch, I pruned it up a bit and added it to the tableau.

Coleus are such a nice foliage plant and tolerant of shade that I decided to plant some under the purple-leaf smokebush. It is late in the season for purchasing annuals, so there wasn't much selection. 'Pineapple' was close enough. No pic yet.

The common milkweed in the yard is going to town. The neighbor's privet was providing an almost cloying aroma last week, now it is the milkweed, which fortunately is a tiny bit more subtle. I've seen a few random butterflies recently, but no monarchs.

The blossoms of this Hydrangea arborscens, a.k.a. smooth hydrangea, are not very showy. The plant also has a tendency to die back to the ground during the winter. My 'Limelight' takes a heavy pruning and keeps on producing, so I'm assuming once this baby is established, it will fulfill its potential.

And an early appearance by a coneflower.

I am STILL installing transplants, but the end is in sight. Last year I planted some butterfly weed next to the silvergrass; one clump survived, so I tried again, plus added some coneflower and rudbekia. I also put an ornamental fence around the grouping, in hopes of deterring the dogs. I've also been planting a variety of natives in raised beds, theoretically so they can get bigger and stronger before going in their final resting places; they just aren't quite ready to complete.

And I have been weeding, weeding, weeding. More rain is in the forecast, plus higher temps, so I am "making hay while the sun shines". Ooh! I just saw a monarch. Huzzah!

Bedraggled

The weather is just not cooperating with my gardening efforts. Too hot, too humid, or like today, too wet. I did clear out the asparagus bed and planted coneflower and rudbekia there. Now I am looking critically at other difficult-to-manage areas of the yard and garden to determine what might be easier to maintain. Like the "orchard" and the rings of castle block around the redbuds. I love my yard but sometimes it is overwhelming.

The leggy annuals are not putting on much of a show (yet), but the random blooms do look perty.

Giant Scarlet-Red Zinnia

Dyers Coreopsis

Torch (Mexican) Sunflower

The lance-leaf coreopsis is supposed to reseed itself, but this year there is just one lone patch. I *suppose* if I kept that area weeded better, there would be more. I think mulch may interfere with the reseeding, too.

Ignore the burdock

I really did weed the south side of the house but somehow missed the thistle growing up in this little patch of shasta daisy. It is one of the bedraggled-by-the-rain flowers.

Ignore the thistle

Another bedraggled specimen is the Stella d' Oro daylilies. They are busting out all over town, though, so hopefully mine will pull through soon.

Put the rain on 'pause' please

The goutweed, a.k.a. bishop's weed, is doing its thing. This bed is relatively isolated so (fingers crossed) it won't become a pest. However, if it keeps the weeds at bay, maybe letting is spread is not such a bad thing. (Can you tell I am tired of weeding?)

Soon the utility boxes will be hidden

This is its third season. First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.

Seed on!

We were hoping to eliminate the weed pile in the driveway today but RAIN. I've been keeping up on the mowing and not much else. Right now the forecast is for a wet week, but hopefully we can get some things accomplished in between showers.