Flowers, Birds, and Butterflies

Last week, we had a garage sale.

There wasn’t a lot of stuff put out and traffic was slow. People were expecting fishing stuff and my husband didn’t have a lot left.

So I sat under a tree with my phone and crochet in the hopes I would get started on a blanket for my niece. What I ended up doing was watching the birds and butterflies visit my pollinator garden.

The goldfinches were enjoying the mini sunflower clusters of the Cup plant. They moved back and forth, hiding from me and my camera, as they hung upside down carefully eating the seeds. The sparrows and other small birds left them alone to eat from the bird feeders hanging off of the porch.

Meanwhile, the monarchs were flitting around the milkweed. They would float around the tiger lilies and hollyhocks. But they actually stop on the milkweed, stopping for a moment before running away again.

I tried to imagine what music could be played to fit the movements and I kept hearing the soundtrack of My Neighbor Totoro. I could see Mae, the little sister, tracking and dancing with the butterflies.

Earlier in the spring and summer, I worked to limit the number of cup plants in my garden. I had to dig them out to ensure the cup plants did not exceed their area. These six foot tall plants with small flower heads grow fast and require a good shovel to remove them.

I was removing them while trying to retain the milkweed. The flowers were small pink clusters but now they are done and seed pods are forming. I keep looking for caterpillars. I see none but I do see holes in the leaves.

I hope those Japanese beetles didn’t do too much damage while they were here. I did my best to get rid of them by pushing them into a bath of warm water and Dawn dish washing liquid. I found them on the milkweed and hollyhocks. They dastardly bugs nearly killed my hollyhocks a few years ago. and they really whacked my rose bush a few years before that.

I thought about getting a trap but the husband told me it would attract every Japanese beetle in the neighborhood. I didn’t need that. But the little swimming pool worked out well. I put gardening gloves so I wouldn’t have to feel those creepy little things.

I am not sure a pollinator garden was my intent. This is a sunny area that has been filled in with purple cone flowers, blackberry lilies, tiger lilies, among a few. Next year, if we are still in this house, I am planning to put some Russian sage in an empty spot to bring in a bit of blue and remove hollyhock so that the lower part of the garden will get more space.

Over the years I have learned that gardens are ever changing, ever growing or shrinking, depending on how much effort you put into it. As the season begins to wind down, I have to wonder what next year will bring.

The One about the Chives Container

I have chives that have lived for near 20 years in the same pot. And every year I wonder what plants to mix with it to look pretty against the chives.

From yougrowgirl.com

Sometimes I have luck with it, other times the flowers die out too quick. and leave a mess. This time around I went searching for some potting ideas. What could I put with them to make it worth while. That is when I came upon this idea.

I really like what this blogger did with her pot. She used two different types of thyme along with a viola plant to add some purple. I liked it, really liked it. The purple against the pink chives, the variant colors of green from the thyme.

So I gathered the components. The chives pot was the easiest. Next came a four pack of violas along with two thyme plans. I told the husband to pick up two varieties. What I got was two plants of the same variety. Well, I guess it should have been me doing the buying so no whining this time.

I don’t have a nice galvanized bucket with handles but I guess the one I do have will have to do. This year, the chives are not as full as they have been. I suspect my husband became over anxious and took out last year’s dead leaves a little too soon. Our spring this year has been something close to normal. We had a frost the other night so when I did this pot, the chives were not as thick and full as they had been in the past.

Having recently attended a seminar on tricks from the pros, I guess I could have done things differently. Like leave the plants in the plastic cups so I could easily interchange them. Violas will not last through the hot summer and it will be a pain to dig them out. But that is not how I roll. I dug out holes for the plants, removed the plastic pots and stuck them in.

After they found their new home, I took the other half of the violas and put them in a back shade garden. Everyone was happier once I showered them with water.

Will this end of looking as nice as the picture above? I don’t know yet.

But I do know that the replica Easter Island statue is keeping an eye out on everything.

How is your container garden growing?

A Lovely Work Area

A found table, a few work tools neatly stowed away. that may be one part of heaven.

 

 

Strolling in the Mid Summer Garden

To say that this year’s garden is better than last year’s would be too easy.

Last year we were in the middle of a drought combined with mind-numbing heat. My favorite weather guy started a count of how many days in a row we had above 90 degrees.

If not being able to tolerate that kind of weather makes me a wimp, so be it.

But this year’s garden is different not just because of the milder summer. I have taken a more active role regarding the volunteer plants that are pretty but in the wrong spots.

Side view of the front garden

In the front garden I planned better for the fall in which I have always wanted to have Flowering Cabbage.  The husband picked up several plants for me and I worked it around a mum that was given to me. They are lying low in the front while the mid-section of the garden is filled with white Shasta daisies and purple cone flowers.

I love this section but plantings never seem to survive here. I have mixed in quite a few perennials as well as thrown in hundreds of seeds. Nothing comes back the following year. Early spring seedings fail. Once the season is over I might have to work over the space and have my husband or son overturn part of the space with compost.

Frenchie the dog

 

My other solution is to fill the site with statuary. This guy used to belong to  a man by the name of Frenchie. But he died and the dog went to our neighbors who sold him when they moved away. Sadly, the last set of owners managed to break off his nose and right paw. My son and his friend retrieved Frenchie from the dump for me and placed him in his new spot. At some point I must repair him.

Hollyhocks and Sunflowers

Now if you look on the west side of the house, you will see Hollyhocks  and Sunflowers co-habitating easily. Black-eyed Susans fill the lower spaces.

Four O’Clocks

But walk a few more steps at the right time of day and you will be greeted by a mass of Four O’Clocks. They prefer to bloom in the shade and get it on that side of the house during morning hours. My grandmother had these on the west side of her house but a tree gave shade in the afternoon so they burst out every day at the end of the day.

Gourd Vine

On the other side of the house is a new planting – bird house gourds. The problem is my vines are growing great but there is no fruit. I have flowers but they are not moving into fruit as one would expect. Bees have recently moved into a pillar on the front porch. I am hoping this will begin the fertilization process.

New Growth

Finally, I have made progress on the new rose bush. There are budding branches turning into growing green stuff. It is exciting to watch as this plant was delivered to me and needed planting almost immediately. I over-watered at first but then corrected myself, putting the new bush on the same schedule as the old one.

My neighbor states an old proverb about transplanting roses. The first year it survives, the second year it is live, the third year it thrives.

How is your garden growing this summer?

 

Related posts:

Working in the Spring Garden

 Working the Hosta Bed

Working in the Spring Garden

This has been a tough week as I start the 13th week without having a job. I can’t believe I have been out of work this long.

Luckily the spring rains have come to make the grass green and help my flowers grow. Sunday I took the time to transplant the Evening Primrose from the front of the garden to the back. Because it grows four feet high, I feel this is a much better placement.

However, that was not the first thing I did the spring. The first thing was planting some seeds. I love Sweet Peas but for what ever reasons, they have been growing where there are not any support systems beyond other plants. So these coated seeds have been placed at one end of the porch where they can start on some lattice work. If they grow higher than the porch, I will string some twine for them to follow as well.

Seed packets

The other side of the porch was treated to the bird house gourd seeds. That side has been taken over by Morning Glories which I intend to lessen – a lot. The seeds were interesting as they were almost the shape of a butternut squash about an inch long. I see a future 4H project if they are done in time.

Last year I tried to plant Scarlet Runner Bean which was destroyed by said Morning Glories.

So here are some of the plants that are coming up now.

Chives returning for the 15th year

 

Clematis starting to vine out. Note to self – do something about that stick.

 

Look, it is the red sprouts of peonies.

 

Look, even the tulips are getting in the act.

 

Because I think the coldest of the cold weather is done, I might even remove the compost this weekend that has safe guarded all of my plants. Why, I was brave enough to trim up the rose-bush today.

Here is what I do know. Anytime that I feel like going out and playing in the garden, I have gloves, clippers, and a little rake at the ready by the back door.

Tools

 

How are you getting ready for the spring garden?

 

 

Working the Hosta Bed

Hosta plants are valued because they live in the shade.

Happily.

But if you only have one variety, they can be boring. This is my hosta garden before I started playing with it. It had one type of hosta and nothing else.

I hated it.

So one year I tried planting snapdragons at the edges and the scalloped spaces between plants in an effort to add color. I also added a second hosta variety.  That was okay but not enough. Last year, I took leftover impatiens and planted them against the cement block wall of the house. I liked the look and wanted to explore the idea further.

The hosta garden now

So this year I went farther with the idea of planting shade friendly flowering plants. Can you see the openings? Instead of a wall of hosta, I now have pockets filled with coleus in a pink and green.

Coleus, snapdragon and impatiens mixed with hostas

In the back there are various colors of impatiens, snapdragons and dianthus. These are my three go-to plants that do well in shade on a consistent basis.

What I like is how the garden looks from different angles. I like how the colors mix and play. Now this picture does show a need for some weeding and that will happen – soon.

I would like to place some taller plants in the back for next year. During the K3 Kultivators’ garden walk this year I saw hosta gardens with red Gerbera daisies mixed in. And I can’t wait to try that out.

But I have to admit, I am happy with the results of this garden bed re-do.

Have you re-worked a garden bed?

 

 

 

Clearing Out for Spring

Are you getting itchy?

 

All of this nice weather makes me want to get out to the garden, clear off the mulch and dead plants from last fall, and get ready for spring.

 

So that is what I did Sunday. People were coming to take raspberry canes from a different flower bed so I worked up front until they arrived.

So many plants are making their way.

 

The tulips are quite high.

 

The hollyhocks are making an appearance.

 

The sedum is in a tightly knitted group, making me wonder if I should not do a little separating.

And there are a few things to look forward to seeing.

Hello, foxglove. Never had one of these before.

 

 

And then there is this plant. I am still not sure what it is although my guess would be grape hyacinth. Hopefully the picture is here although it was not on my preview.

I am trying to leave some of the mulch just in case another nasty ole freeze comes out way. But let me tell you, that is really hard to do. Instead, I plan to plant scarlet runner and black-eyed susan vine on one section, and hyacinth bean goes to another place. While I am at it, perhaps I will throw down some poppy seeds.

How are you getting at spring gardening chores?

  Related Posts:

         Bird and Flowers in the Garden

         Surprises in the Garden

         Getting the Impatiens Planted

A Little Green Appearance on Groundhog’s Day.

Image by Wallyir

We have had a strange winter this year. There has been one bad snow storm, a few days of cold temperatures, a little wind, and that’s it.

There have been fog and grey days that can make a person feel incredibly sad. I have to make sure I have something to do that gives me satisfaction with a sign of completion. Otherwise, I grow very sad without the sunlight.

 

 

Another thing I do is keep indoor plants going. I cannot do this at home as the boys have a way of destroying plants and other things in the house. But I have a  Philodendron in the office living quite nicely. Just this week I noticed beautiful glossy leaves and loved their bright appearance.

My goal with this plant is to water it on a regular basis and dust it every so often so that the plant’s pores do not get blocked.

 

 

 

 

My Front Garden

One has to wonder what this warm weather is doing to our plants. I know the bulbs will be ok because they miscalculate and still have wonderful flowers. My garden looks pretty dreary right now.

The green you see is our christmas tree that is place there for the birds who come to our feeders everyday. I request this so the birds have someplace to go when  they come in for a snack.

 

Some plants weather the cold better than others. Pansies, which some of us plant in the fall come back nicely. This year the warmer weather have kept my pansies from going totally dormant. I had flowers on some of my plants. But look at the picture, this plant is starting from scratch. If the weather keeps up being so nice, I will have new flowers soon.

 

The surprise in my garden this week were the mums. In the past I have had a hard time getting hardy mums to come back. The one particular plant is near my front stairs and benefits from air warming without the sun signing on it right away. I have been told that helps the plant by not getting sunlight on it right away.

While this plant is hardier than most, I do worry what might happen if we get a snowstorm or another big freeze. However, the groundhog did see his shadow and that means six more weeks of winter. 

Good thing I still have my gloves in tact.

Birds and Flowers in the Garden

Wordless Wednesday

 

Enjoy these pictures of birds and flowers.

Moonflower

 

Sedum

 

 

Obedience Plant

 

 

Purple vine that is new to me, do not know the name but it is lovely.

 

 

Sunflowers

 

Birds in the sunflowers. Many times we have Goldfinches who are too shy for the camera.

 

See the hummingbird? Sometimes we get two or three fighting for territory.

 

What is in your garden right now?

Surprises in the Garden

Every year, I can count on not knowing what is going to appear next.

Last year I was surprised by the super-tall sunflower and strawberries in the flocks. The year before that, I had a volunteer tomato plant in with the flowers.

There is always something surprising.

This year has been a whole host of surprises.

First was the pink Impatiens plant in the flat of red flowers the husband picked up for me.

 

Pink in a sea of red.

When I planted these guys, I noticed the first one. The second one was a surprise because not all of the plants had bloomed. The third one was placed in the middle of the red ones on purpose.

The next surprise was a plant I had never seen before, certainly did not plant and did not recognize until I did a search only to find it at an Illinois wildflower site.

Evening Primrose

I thought this was a Joe Pie Salad plant. Wrong!!! But it is lovely just the same and blooms in the evening. That was a nice surprise.

The other day I was looking at a new lily I planted. Could have sworn I order an orange-colored flower. But this is what came up.

It is not a Surprise Lily but what is it?

 

I was expecting a different flower than this. Problem is I don’t know what I have. Oriental Lily, yes. Variety, not sure.

While I was pondering this, I looked up and noticed another surprise.

Cream Hollyhock

 

A pure cream-colored Hollyhock. My other cream-colored flowers has veins of color running through them but not this one. I think I know at least one flower I am showing at the County Fair.

Right before I put the camera away I had been trying to get a picture of butterfly. Neither one of us was very patient for that. However, that is when this bright patch of blue grabbed my attention.

Bachelor Button Blue

 

This plant is hidden in the Obedience Plant and another Hollyhock. But here is it, so deeply brilliant. Makes me wonder what I might see next week.

What surprises are in your garden?