Doesn't feel like June

Some coldish temps have struck our area. Tonight it is supposed to get into the high 40's. Very unusual, but I am not complaining about sunny days in the high 60's and low 70's. What do the plants and animals think of this?

My Japanese maple apparently is not happy with the climate, or something. It is barely leafing out. I don't know if a late frost interrupted its usual progression or if it needs more water or less or what. The gardening column in today's paper discussed problems with Japanese maples, one being that the root flare ("the portion of the trunk that flares out just before the roots begin") is covered by soil or mulch. I'll check this, but also, in my experience, the area within the drip zone needs to be free of mulch, too. I killed a previous Japanese maple in this location by covering the root zone with lava rock. The next one, a lacy leaf variety, I killed by underwatering. This one has been there since 2009 and has reached its full size, so I hope it revives and continues for many more years.

The petroleum jelly helped reduce the number of ants in the hummingbird feeder, but did not completely eliminate them. The oriole feeder has a built-in ant trap, but not the hummingbird feeder. My handy SO constructed one from these instructions.

My arms hurt today because yesterday I trimmed the boxwood out front. If it gets too tall, it blocks the electric light on that side of the garage. Even though I exercise my arms and shoulders, holding the hedge trimmers at that height put extra strain on my muscles. That, or I am getting old.

I'm new to strawflowers, and so far am impressed with them. Each blossom goes through an interesting progression until it reaches full bloom.

'Betty Corning' is putting out a good display this year. The 'Blue Muffin' viburnum is done blooming, so now it is time for 'Chicago Lustre'. I had forgotten all about 'Niobe', a clematis by the front porch. It has had a rough life but it hasn't given up and is blooming well. And today I saw a cedar waxwing in the Japanese maple.

Can we have a new normal?

Since the pandemic started, many (NOT ALL) of us have been wishing and waiting until we can "get back to normal". Well, that old normal was not all that great, especially for some people and some places. I try to keep politics and social issues out of my blogs - that's not why I write - but some things just cry out to be mentioned. I hope the protests lead (peacefully) to significant change, and the only way to change things for the better is to get involved however we can (money, time, letter writing, running for office, etc.) and to VOTE. If you don't vote, it looks like you don't care, and I can't believe anyone doesn't care about how we move forward from this point. (End of sermon.)

I was beginning to think that the only critters I was going to see at the hummingbird feeder were ants. I fixed that problem by applying Vaseline petroleum jelly to the metal pole holding the feeder. Soon after, I spotted a female hummer. But only one. I didn't know if that was normal (it is), so I looked up some info about hummingbirds at this site. Some friends of mine have been able to spot hummingbird nests in their trees, but my ranch house does not offer the same vantage point their 2-story home does. Caring for a hummingbird feeder is almost like having another pet - the nectar needs to be replaced every 3-4 days. It's for only a few months (she said optimistically).

Speaking of critters, my dog Clio managed to mangle her muzzle and ear, presumably in the torn hardware cloth skirting the shed. That lead to a bacterial infection AND a fungal infection. She was a mess, had to visit the vet, and now wears the cone of shame.

My SO helped me update the skirting around the shed with some plastic trellis. Since I didn't want to lie awake at night, worrying about whether we trapped a nest of baby bunnies under the shed and they were slowly starving to death, we left a gap for critters to come and go. Only later did it occur to me that Finn, my inside/outside cat, could also come and go. Finn was a stray who developed a taste for baby bunnies - he eats them, doesn't torture them - so I decided that was okay. Maybe someday there will be NO critters under the shed.

In my effort to downsize the garden, I moved some of the raised bed frames so that they surround the clumps of big bluestem and rattlesnake master plants near the back of the yard. The idea is to offer the dogs a visual clue so that they don't trample the plants - they like to run along the fence. I, the Toro jockey, will also have a visual clue and will be able to mow that area without damaging said plants. I plan to move some coneflower and rudbekia to those beds as well.

So now I have four islands of weeds in the middle of the garden. The weeds look rather grasslike - I'm guessing it's mostly quack grass. Ugh. I am not looking forward to dealing with that.

Meanwhile, up on the deck, the strawflowers are blooming. The plants aren't very tall, so maybe I will add something to the pot...

...like some zinnias. The seedlings are popping up. Zinnias and sunflowers are some of my favorite annuals. And marigolds, but I skipped them this year.

I was looking through some of my photos out on flickr the other day and marveling over how much better they look than the ones I take now. Back then, I was making more of an effort to take good pics, now I am barely documenting what is going on in the yard, and then only as a reminder because I suffer from CRS (Can't Remember Sh*t). Maybe I'll do better once things get under control (HAHAHAHA).

Share and share alike

My neighbor across the street, the one who blows my driveway and lends me his truck, asked for a rhubarb plant since he knew I was downsizing the garden. I was happy to oblige and threw in a dozen half-pint canning jars to boot. He responded by giving me a jar of tomato powder. He has made good use of the dehydrator I gave him several years ago (I used it maybe twice), and that includes the reduction of tomatoes to dust. It's a good way to add some tomato flavor and a thickening agent to sauces, or so he says. I'll have to try it out.

As promised last time, I hung out the hummingbird feeder, but only after spotting a hummer in the front yard. Deciding on a location was tough - sun vs. shade, less than 5' from a window vs. more than 15', viewable or not, etc. Initially, I hung it near the compost bin, just outside a window I can view while on the computer. That might have been too hidden, plus sometimes my indoor/outdoor cat perches on the bin. (Sorry for the reflection in the window in the pic below.)

I moved it away from the house but that was too far away, plus the view was blocked from just about everywhere. Now it is under the elm tree. I can watch it from the deck or the "exercise room" (spare bedroom where I do my physical therapy exercises), far enough from windows to discourage collisions, in an area more open but not too open. I don't usually see many hummingbirds until June - that one last week may have been an outlier - and it has been cool lately. Hopefully, they will come soon.

Several (20+) years ago, I laid a clear plastic tarp on the lawn, ostensibly to dry it out. Within a few hours, it had nearly killed the grass. So when I edged a bed along the fence on the south side of the house, I figured clear plastic tarp would be helpful in eliminating the grass and weeds growing there. NOT. Instead, the plastic is acting like a greenhouse. I'm guessing the sunlight is not intense enough to overheat the contents. I will have to switch to black plastic. Or dig out the grass and roots by hand, something I was trying to avoid.

I am amazed at how fast morning glories grow and provided them with a little help by placing trellises nearby for them to climb. Besides the 'Scarlet O'Hara', I planted seeds from my SO's morning glories, which are the traditional blue. I hope they climb all the way up to the top of the pergola.

I have never grown strawflowers, so decided to see what they are like. These are Mohave Dark Rose Bracteantha, or something like that. 'Mohave' is trademarked.

I also planted some sweet basil and English thyme. My cooking has become rather basic for the most part, but I still like some fresh herbs now and then. Also in this pic is a volunteer silver maple seedling. I have been toying with planting it in the backyard but for all the negative aspects of this native tree. Even though it is a fast grower, I will probably be long gone before it becomes a real problem, but STILL. I hate to create a problem but I also hate to throw away a perfectly good plant.

Today I started some zinnias and sunflowers in a tray of peat pots. The zinnias are Cut and Come Again Mixed Colors and Big Red, the sunflowers Mammoth, all from Burpee by way of Home Depot. We were properly masked while there and found the masks to be uncomfortably hot. Can't wait for July and August.

Oh, and I was wrong about being wrenless. The bird house is occupied.