Wake up!

Now that it is officially spring, things are happening. The weather itself is still on the cold side, but the grass looks greener and some perennials are popping out of the ground. It won't be long now.

Cup plant

Rattlesnake Master

Goldenrod

I dismantled the dead hedge and relocated the branches to a somewhat hidden area, between mature shrubs and the privacy fence. May they rot in place.

I think the sparrow has finally ceded the bluebird box to its rightful owners. An employee at Wild Birds Unlimited commented that she puts a empty tuna can in the bottom of her bluebird box, to discourage the sparrows. I didn't have a tuna can, so I tried a plastic sour cream container. That worked against the sparrows, but it also seemed to spook the bluebirds - too white? I replaced it with several layers of corrugated cardboard, and now I think all is well.

A pair of mallards appeared in the backyard, apparently interested in the rain garden which was full of water on that day. They didn't stay long, but it was fun to see them.

My SO reports bees at his birdbath. I found a busy one at the witch hazel.

I've been transcribing my journals and am currently on year 1979. Back then I was just as itchy to get into the garden as I am now. Back then I had more energy, though. Hopefully, the arc of the yard is bending toward less labor-intensive activities as I ease into my later years.

Some surprises

It's August, and one doesn't expect miracles, but there have been a few surprises in the yard.

You know the adage for perennials: First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap. So I rarely expect newly planted perennials to do much the first year. The Joe Pye is not very tall, but it has surprised me by blooming. And it looks like one that the rabbits ate is recovering.

Another first year surprise is the Rattlesnake Master. Several of them are "blooming". The spherical flower heads actually are many tiny white flowers that are attractive to insects. I'm pleased.

Two exceptions to the sleep-creep-leap adage are Rudbeckia and Coneflower. I planted them last year, and they are doing exceptionally well. Unfortunately, the coneflower and penstemon hide the rudbeckia. I didn't expect them to get so tall, and the 'Goldstrum' rudbeckia is a shorter variety.

Other surprises are: the Virginia creeper has recovered from the infestation of Japanese beetles; the common milkweed the rabbits ate has resprouted, plus more is coming up here and there in the "meadow"; and today I saw a monarch butterfly!

In the spending-my-children's-inheritance department, I had a whole house backup generator installed this past week. It doubles as insurance against the Trumpocalypse in case you-know-who is re-elected and rolls back climate change legislation (although I feel hopeful that won't happen now). We've lost power twice this summer, and I worry about an outage that could last days or even weeks.

As a gardener, I see evidence of climate change almost everyday, but it is difficult to complain when the weather is as nice as it has been yesterday and today. I've turned off the AC and opened the windows for some fresh air. And I'm sitting on the deck while I type this. Of course, it won't last, but I'm going to enjoy it while it does.

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?

A bee paradise

Thanks to the heat and my bum hip, the backyard is a mess. I am very thankful that the privacy fence shields that mess from the casual observer. Occasionally someone needs access to my backyard, like the underground utilities guy (my neighbor has plans for her shed). I was prepared to deliver my usual apology about the mess when he pronounced my backyard a "bee's paradise". That led to discussions of beekeeping (a potential hobby I decided was too much work). His words gave my mess new meaning, though.

Despite my neglect, stuff is growing and blooming.

Cupplant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Cupplant (Silphium perfoliatum) - up close

Sweet Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)

Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata)

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Prairie Blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya)

Prairie Blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya) with bee

Also because of the heat and my bum hip, the front yard is not in much better shape than the back. Ordinarily, I am a weeder and a mulcher, but this year I am also a sprayer, as there is a patch of poison ivy I literally don't want to touch, growing under the gold mop. Despite my efforts, my hip is just getting worse, so once mowing season is over, I will probably get in line for a replacement. It's hell getting old.

More HOT

More oppressively hot weather is here for a couple of days. And it is dry to boot, so most of my gardening has been watering. I have two rain barrels and the kits for attaching them to the downspouts, but I have not been able to bring myself to cut up the downspouts. Good thing the outside faucets are on the old well.

Rattlesnake master is one plant that looks like it is made for the heat.

This is daylily season

Coneflowers are starting

Bee balm is also doing well

I think this coreopsis needs to be divided... in the fall

Hope you are keeping cool this weekend!

Flower power, part II

There were a few flowers that I forgot to include the other day in my photo essay. Some I walked right by, others are not easy to keep track of because of other obscuring plants. I don't want them to feel neglected, though.

Eryngium yuccifolium

I can't believe I forgot the rattlesnake master. The one I planted last year is doing so well I added two more to the area. They were once used to treat snakebite, hence the name. Oddly enough, they are members of the carrot/parsley family, Apiaceae, although they look like yuccas. A volunteer hitched a ride in the prairie sampler planted on the south side of the house. There it will stay, as their deep taproot makes them difficult to transplant.

Eryngium yuccifolium

This anise hyssop is one I walked right by, distracted by its neighbors. Also, it looks a lot like catnip. It is a member of the mint family and supposedly will spread like mint, but I have not had a problem with it.

Agastache foeniculum

Deadheading may prolong its bloom period. I'm not very disciplined about removing spent blossoms; maybe I should be.

Agastache foeniculum, with Japanese beetle

Does the prairie blazingstar always grow in crazy swirls like this? This is the biggest variety of Liatris. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, so it is unfortunate that it is planted on the south side of the house where few will see it, even me.

Liatris pycnostachya

I am rethinking the prairie sampler, considering moving some (most) of the plants to another area, to enhance my viewing pleasure.

Liatris pycnostachya, up close

There is a smaller variety of Liatris, Liatris spicata I think, a.k.a. gayfeather, in the front yard, nearly totally hidden by the blue false indigo. I didn't realize the latter would get so big (bought a restraining fence for it today). Also, I moved this particular plant to the prairie sampler on the south side of the house (where it is not yet blooming), but enough must have been left behind to survive.

I have a couple of varieties of New England aster. This is the big one, which is trying to bloom already. The size of this "shrub" is so big for the bed that it is a prime candidate for relocation.

This honeysuckle vine is completely hidden behind the Wentworth highbush cranberry and Rose of Sharon. It seems perfectly happy out of the limelight, climbing skyward in its search for sunlight. I hope the hummingbirds can find it.

Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler'

And just for fun, one more zinnia pic.

Yesterday a monarch butterfly drifted into the backyard, then right out again. *sigh*