Strong enough

I have been so busy lately that I castigate myself for not exercising beyond walking the dog. But surely yardening counts, right? I'm strong enough to be able to do what I want.

Withstanding the heat is another matter. The past week has been rather delightful temperatur-wise, so I tackled the beds in the front of the house, cutting back spent flower stems and weeding; it looks better now. Today I transplanted some of the volunteer nodding onion to the backyard, then mulched a bit in the shade, as that sun was HOT. More hot weather is on the way. Hopefully it will bring some much needed rain.

The oak tree in the backyard was installed with a stake to hold it up while it established its roots. Last week I checked the collar that circles the trunk and discovered it was time to remove that thing. Ditto the flowering crab in the front yard. One of those things that is easy to forget.

Despite being new, one of the culver root plants is blooming. If I didn't water all the newbies every day or two, I would have missed it.

I have seen more butterflies - swallowtails and monarchs - in the backyard this summer than I have the past several years combined. They don't stay, but it is still a good sign that they are at least checking things out. Nothing discourages the cicadas - the song of summer.

Home is the sailor...

No, I'm not a sailor, but we did take a trip up to Michigan City for our early family Thanksgiving. The weather was halfway decent (for a change - we frequently seem to bring rain and wind with us), so we spent some time outside.

One stop was the Galien River County Park, which is a mix of upland and marsh. We ambled out onto the Canopy Walkway, which is 60' high and *sways*. Despite the safety fence, adults are warned to not carry children in their arms on this structure; strollers and backpacks are de rigueur. A l-o-n-g stairway leads from the upland to the marsh (we went down it, but not up), then there is a nice path that took us back to the beginning.

At a different park (don't remember the name), I was taken with this red oak tree. It could be one of many several, but I'm going to guess it's a pin oak.

While wandering around Chesterton, we spotted this vine on a chainlink fence. I was puzzled about the "flowers" until Google Photo Lens revealed that they are the seed pods from a "white clematis".

From our AirBnB, we were able to walk down to the shoreline of Lake Michigan. In the neighborhood, there were several vividly red trees. Only after I arrived home did I realize they were probably Japanese maples, just like the one in front of my dining room window.

Yes, we received some snow yesterday. It's gone already, but a good sign that winter is on its way. I plugged in the birdbath and set out the feeders yesterday. The birds have found them already, especially the blue jays who are actually fighting over the whole peanuts.

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.

A flutter of sparrows

I find the descriptions for flocks of certain birds to be amusing. A parliament of owls, a murder of crows, a murmeration of starlings. Sparrows look like a "knot" when clustered around the millet feeder or perching on the bird bath, but they take flight in a "flutter" for no apparent reason at all.

I put up another bird feeder, the one for mealworms, but so far no takers, not even starlings. There is one more bird feeder to be cleaned, one that is too big and heavy for the utility sink, so it is sitting in the bathtub, awaiting a hosing down and a spritz of 10% bleach solution.

Sean from Sanctuary Natives and I had a great discussion this past week about the yard design. He spent two hours here, explaining the why's and wherefore's of the plants he chose. I learned A LOT, even why my elm tree surpassed the older tulip tree in growth. It turns out the leader of the tulip tree had been whacked, so it had to develop a new one before it could really get going. So if you are purchasing a tree from a nursery, make sure its leader has not been cut if you want it to get off to a strong start.

One change to the design will be more trees, like an oak and a hickory. There is a mature oak on the next block that I just love. The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the second best time is today.

Some of my guests this past Thursday came bearing gifts, including a xmas cactus. Did you know that there are apps that can identify plants? We were able to name the ones I received in October, so now I know that some of them are toxic to cats. (Beau the Feline Destroyer of all Things Nice has been nibbling on some of them and then vomiting, so I had a clue about that. And I moved the plants to where he can't reach them.) I wax and wane on houseplants, but for some reason am waxing strong recently.

I'm still busy with physical therapy. My shoulder feels almost normal, there is zero pain, and I feel five years younger. My energy is returning, too. By spring I should be raring to go.

Lazy Fair

I confess I sometimes take a laissez faire approach to my yard, which is usually NOT a good thing. Plants get out of control, or worse, they die. The place starts to look like a jungle and becomes overwhelming in a very short time.

Topped cherry trees

Maybe it is the orchard and its requirements for severe pruning, but this summer I have been turning a critical eye toward the shrubbery and trees. That critical eye is frequently followed by a limb saw and/or lopper and/or snipper of one sort or another.

Topped apple trees

If I were more on top of things, I would have taken before and after photos. I might not have even taken these shots, but I'm reacquainting myself with an older, more compact camera, to take on the Garden Fling in Minneapolis come July. The light was not the best in most of these cases, but I think the camera itself will do.

Trimmed up redbud tree

The redbud tree closest to the deck was blocking my view of the backyard, so it was one of the first to get trimmed up. The other two received similar treatment. A plus to trimming up is it is easier to reach the base of the trees, which in this case allows me to keep the cardinal vine plants watered.

Trimmed up viburnum and redbud tree

Another plus to pruning is it keeps one shrub from impinging too much on its neighbor. This is a real problem with my forsythia, which are planted too close to the arborvitae. I've taken to whacking them severely.

Trimmed up arrowwood viburnums

Trimming up also allows more light to reach the bed underneath, inviting contemplation of what to plant as understory plants.

Trimmed up purple smoke tree

I have been more diligent about weeding. The other day it was the Canada thistle under attack, as the plants were starting to form buds. Yesterday it was something I don't know the name of but that is particularly prolific. Today I pulled errant northern sea oats from behind the rhododendron. (For more about battling weeds, see gardeninacity's post. What he said.)

Volunteer oak tree

More diligent weeding has uncovered some surprises: the baby oak tree above and the volunteer elm tree below. I plan to let the elm continue to grow in situ, between the Viburnum prunifolium and a Rose of Sharon shrub; it will break of the monotony of a row of bushes. If I keep the oak, it will have to move away from the house and into the yard, then survive absent minded mowing.

Volunteer elm tree

Regarding the gayfeather mentioned recently, I did move it, to the prairie sampler bed on the south side of the house. Initially, it is pouting - no one likes to relocate - but I think it will be very happy there, eventually.

Moping gayfeather

In sadder news, something got to the broccoli plants.

Bitten broccoli

I took a tour of the garden fence and discovered this breach.

Animal incursion

Previously, I had reinforced this corner with additional poultry netting, as little bunnies were squeezing in and out of there. Apparently, that did not stop something bigger (woodchuck? rabbit?) from bypassing my effort. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to grow edibles at all.