One holiday down

Originally, the people who built houses in my neighborhood raised families in them, so there were a lot of kids. Now these houses are considered "starter" homes or, in my case, "ender" homes. There are still a few families with children of trick-or-treater age, but not many. About 20 visited me the other night, accompanied by just as many adults, most of whom were also dressed up. It was festive but very low key.

Tonight we are getting a little rain. We have had a hard enough frost to nip some of the coleus on the front porch. Most of the winterberry bushes are *loaded* with fruit, while the flowering crabs and hawthorn tree sport their share as well.

I admit that I lose interest in the yard this time of year. I'm ready to hunker down for winter... if it ever arrives.

Everything is HUGE (including the weeds)

As a rule, I don't water lawn at all, shrubs and in-ground plants only in times of drought. This spring has been wet, wet, wet, and it is amazing what a lot of rain will do. Everything looks ginormous.

'Chicago Lustre' and 'Blue Muffin' viburnum

Wentworth highbush cranberry

Catmint

I should have included the blue false indigo in the front yard as well. Last year there were loads of volunteer columbine, this year only a few plants. The creeping phlox and cotoneaster both need to be restrained from world domination.

Despite the weeds, perennials transplanted last year are faring well. I couldn't remember if I planted cup plant or compass plant by the back fence. As this photo shows, definitely cup plants.

These blossoms looked like they were on the chokeberry shrub; that's how weedy my yard is. They are a nightshade of some sort (bittersweet?), an invasive. Pretty, though.

Today we've had several downpours between bouts of sunshine, producing a fair amount of humidity. I've been trying to spend at least a little time each day yardening, but family and friends have also need tending recently. Thank goodness for privacy fencing!

Another way to feed the birds

As I have mentioned before, I stopped filling bird feeders because of the sparrows. My backyard is too sparrow-friendly, to the point they were the only birds I saw. Also, they were stripping bark from the limbs of my tulip tree, to the point the limbs were dying. Bad birds! So I put away the feeders, at least for the time being.

That does not mean there is nothing for the birds to eat in my yard. During the summer, there are seed heads of course - sunflowers, coneflowers, etc. - but there are also berries, starting in the spring with the serviceberry crop. That tree is stripped clean in no time at all, by robins. As other shrubs and trees produce fruit, some is eaten right away, some in a more leisurely fashion, and some remains into and over winter.

Aronia melanocarpa, a.k.a. Chokeberry

The size of the crop can vary greatly from year to year as well. I have never had more than a few berries on the 'Blue Muffin' viburnum, but its cousin 'Chicago Lustre' went all out this summer. The 'Wentworth' highbush cranberry and blackhaw viburnum bloomed well but neither produced much fruit even though I don't think we had a late frost. It's a puzzlement.

Viburnum Dentatum 'Chicago Lustre', a.k.a. arrowwood viburnum

I'm really impressed with the crop on the hawthorn. This tree is not that old, but it is loaded with orange fruit. It's a delight to view through the picture window.

Crataegus viridis 'Winter King', a.k.a. hawthorn

The 'Perfect Purple' flowering crab is young, too, but trying to do its part. My dad had a flowering crab that held its fruit all winter along, to be descended upon by a flock of robins in early spring when there is not much of anything else to eat.

Malus 'Perfect Purple' , a.k.a. flowering crab

I do miss feeding the birds from bird feeders, though, and am trying to figure out a place in the front yard where I (and the cats) can watch from the window. My indoor/outdoor cat is also a problem, but the older he gets, the more indoor he becomes.

The mulch pile is GONE

I started taking a series of photos of the pile of wood chips in the driveway as we chipped (HA!) away at it, but failed to keep up. Just moving all that mulch was work enough. Yesterday my SO finished it off while I made an semi-emergency run to pick up my granddaughter from her summer program (stomach bug). What a relief to have that gone! Maybe the neighbors will stop commenting on it now.

Meanwhile, more plants are blooming. I purchased this 'Chicago Lustre' viburnum because I was assured it would help the 'Blue Muffin' set fruit. I don't know how that could happen when they bloom at different times. I know I should just let that go, but it still bugs me.

At least the 'Chicago Lustre' doesn't smell like something died.

The good old 'Betty Corning' clematis vines are going to town. The tuteurs are doing a good job holding them up although I still needed to wrap some twine around them to keep them from going too far astray. I was more successful with this one than its mate, which is sprawling across the nearby juniper chinensis.

The 'Avant-garde' clematis is not blooming yet, but has already outgrown its own (shorter) tuteur. I forgot that it gets so tall. Maybe next year I'll provide it with something to crawl up once it reaches the limit of the tutear.

This hosta receives more sun than the rest, so it is blooming first. It is in the bed with the yucca that won't die, under the sandcherry. I think this variety is 'Francis Williams'.

The only long-lived coreopsis I have found is 'Zagreb' but this bit of 'Tequila Sunrise' persists nevertheless.

The smokebush shrubs are smokin'! The purple leaf one by the house almost always looks dramatic...

... while 'Golden Spirit' is more subdued. This is the second season for the latter, so maybe when it grows big and strong like its cousin, its "smoke" will make me go WOW. And if not, I still love the foliage.

Believe it or not, I *still* have not finished transplanting, but I'm working on it. Last night I repotted a few that I think need to be a bit bigger before going into the ground and took inventory of the rest. Despite the weather, my neglect, and several dog attacks, there are few casualties. This weekend promises to be a HOT one, so it will be a few more days before I complete this task.

Meanwhile, I did some pruning of redbuds. How old are these trees? According to this blog, I planted them in 2011, which makes them older than I realized. It seems like just yesterday they looked like sticks!

Falling behind

These pix are about a week old, record peak bloom times (more or less), and are already out of date. But here we go anyway.

I know I have posted photos of the blue false indigo before, but it has been one of the stars this spring. Every time I think it has peaked, it outdoes itself.

And it bloomed in succession, from south to north, so the show just kept on going. If only it bloomed all summer long. It's done now, of course.

I'm new to dogwood, so wasn't sure when the Pagoda dogwood would bloom. And when it did, it wasn't all that spectacular. I tried to get some pix, but the blossoms were all at the top and I was too lazy to fetch a ladder. This is the best I could do from ground level.

This catmint is another star that keeps looking better and better. What I thought was milkweed popping up in the middle of it proved to be Indian hemp, which I've decided to discourage since it can rapidly take over an entire area.

The Betty Corning clematis is further along than this pic shows. I have two; one gets more sun and is usually bigger and fuller, but they are both stupendous specimens. Last year I purchased new tuteurs for them. Luckily, I decided to anchor the tuteurs to the downspouts; otherwise, the whole shebang would have toppled over by now.

I think this is the 'Blue Muffin' viberunum, blooming away but rarely does it set fruit. It is done now too.

Despite my neglect, a few irises bloom each year. They came with the house. I couldn't decide which pic I liked best, so here are two.

These are 'Sunny Twinkles' allium. I planted them many years ago, and each year they look a bit better. They are not quite tall enough for the back of the bed, but they do peek through.

If they stood up more and splayed less, they would probably be more visible; I think they need more sun. In this pic, they are surrounded by 'Zagreb' coreopsis which is just going wild this year, spreading into large masses. This is the only long-lived coreopsis I have ever found. Can't wait for it to bloom.

This shrubby clump turned out to be yellow sweet clover, an alien. It no longer lives here.

The rhododendron was a disappointment this year. I also managed to miss the peak bloom time for the cotoneaster. That pile of mulch (which is nearly gone) has taken up a lot of gardening time.

Meanwhile, I decided to eliminate the asparagus bed. Keeping it weeded was just too much work. Since a farmers market may be found here almost any day of the week in summer (and once a week all year long), growing my own food has lost its urgency. Also, Costco. Need I say more?

No new beds!

At least, that is what I tell myself when I see a plant I WANT. Today it was Ninebark 'Ginger Wine' at the Home Depot. It needs full sun. The best location for full sun in my front yard is the southeast corner. I've contemplated creating a dogleg bed there. Wouldn't 'Ginger Wine' look nice, with a couple of 'Fire Chief' Globe Arborvitae and a ground cover of some sort? Maybe next year. I need to get the current beds under control.

The best bloomer right now is the blackhaw viburnum, a.k.a. Viburnum prunifolium. It needs a little pruning to get it out of the arborvitae's hair. There are also some interlopers trying to grow right along with it.

We had some frost a few nights ago, so the blossoms don't look so nice anymore. I hope that does not mean no fruit. That would be a repeat of last year.

When the privacy fence was installed last year, I asked the crew if they could raise the garden shed, to help discourage the resident woodchuck. They obliged, but a side affect was difficulty getting the push lawnmower in and out of the shed.

My SO is handy with power tools and there is an odd assortment of pressure treated lumber from various other projects, so he whipped together this ramp. As Red Green says, " If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." (My SO is handsome, too!)

The rain has abated for a few days, the gas lines were marked yesterday, and the other utilities will be marked tomorrow. THEN I will be able to plant the shrubs I purchased in April. Only gardeners get excited about digging holes.

Fruitless

Ideally, instead of dropping big bucks each winter for birdseed, I'd rather provide our feathered friends with food from my yard. Alas, this rarely works out. This year, thanks to a late frost, not even the Viburnum Prunifolium has fruit. The Wentworth Highbush Cranberry is not much better, despite blooming later.

I've complained repeatedly on this blog (and to anyone foolish enough to ask) about how the other viburnums, Blue Muffin and Chicago Lustre, don't put out much fruit, either. I sure would like to know the secret to producing even an average crop, let alone a bin buster.

The summer birds are happy to help themselves to the people food. This year I frequently witnessed robins literally diving into the raspberry patch. Fortunately, they shared the bounty with us lowly humans. There are just a few late berries left.

Robins and bluebirds like pokeberry, which pops up here and there around the yard. It won't be long before these green berries turn purple. They won't last into winter.

I believe this is the fruit of the bittersweet nightshade. It grows sparsely on the back fence. Some birds like it, notably European imports, which is also the provenance of this alien invasive. Its days are numbered.

At least the cotoneaster can be counted on, year after year. Rarely does it fail to produce a heavy crop, for birds and bunnies.

It looks like I will be dragging home bags of peanuts and sunflower seeds again this year. But first, I need to figure out who the vandal is.

I suspect a raccoon. *sigh*

We saw plants, too

It occurred to me that I have posted very few photos of plants from the Garden Bloggers Fling. Believe me, we saw LOTS of plants, from acres of daylilies to native cactus. I didn't photograph many, just the ones to remind me of this or that.

These orange lilies remind me of the "ditch" daylilies growing in my yard, but in color only. They are Turk's Cap Lilies, a native wildflower. The blossoms perch on long stems. They can spread to form large colonies, but usually not in cultivation, where growing conditions may be less than ideal (like my claybound yard).

At the Eloise Butler Wildfower Garden

This plant is growing in my blueberry bed, among the milkweed. I did not plant it, nor could I figure out what it might be. Now I know: it's Indian Hemp. It's the kind of cannabis one makes fiber with, not the kind one smokes. It's related to both Dogbane and Milkweed. It's also poisonous.

At the Eloise Butler Wildfower Garden

This plant is also in my yard. I did plant it and I do know that it is Blue False Indigo. I did not know it would get so big. So now I am thinking I need to move it to a location more accommodating to its future size.

At Vera's Garden

I used to have the tall reddish plant in my yard (if it is Red Husker Penstemon - I need to replace it), but that is not why I took this picture. Below it grows what I have always considered a weed. And of course, I can't confirm it's identity, but it is some kind of mallow or althea. We were shocked that it is deliberately allowed into the garden, along with other "weeds" like mullein (said the gardener spreading fleabane seeds all about).

At Vera's Garden

I was impressed with this tall specimen of what turned out to be Queen of the Prairie. It prefers moist soil, but so does Joe Pye and it grows in my yard, albeit through the deck. I bet I could get this going, too.

In the garden of "Ruth," a member of Wild Ones. At least, I think that is where I took this pic.

This is bent grass, the same kind of grass used on golf courses. Separating garden beds, it looks like a smooth green carpet. The owners said it was there when they bought the house, in the 1930's. It takes some special care, which made me remove it from my list of must-haves, but it still was a spectacular contrast to the lush garden beds.

At the garden of Lee and Jerry Shannon

My front yard is made up of primarily purple and yellow plants of one sort or another, but mostly purple. When I saw this Sunkist Arborvitae, I immediately pictured it as an anchor plant in my front yard.

At Bailey's Display Garden

Ditto this Golden Spirit Smokebush.

At Bailey's Display Garden

My Blue Muffin Viburnum refuses to produce the profusion of blue berries it is named for, so when I saw one lush with fruit, I had to snap it just to prove to myself that it is me, not the plant.

At Bailey's Display Garden

And finally, we have this echinops. I thought it might be some kind of rattlesnake master, but it is actually a kind of globe thistle. The pollinators *loved* it.

At Squire House Gardens

The Garden Bloggers Fling has filled my head with so many ideas, I barely know where to start. But hopefully I will at least keep in mind the plants above that I want to add to my yard.