Plants of the (dry) Week

Just a few photos. I has been dry. Waiting for rain to release everything. The heat comes in the day, but it is still cold at night. What kind of summer is this?

 

 

 

 

Mid May Flowers and Birds

We've had a fantastic assortment of birds in the yard in the last few days. An Indigo Bunting came to the thistle feeders several times last Friday, though I have not seen him since. There are Oriole's, Hummingbirds, and two male and one female Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Plus the usual assortment of finches and Cardinals and Robins, etc. It is a colorful yard these days.

Flowers blooming also add to the color. Difficult to include them all. Tulips of course. Daffodils are fading, but some still going. The Serviceberry came and went in the last week. Apple Trees, despite our hard pruning, are pretty now. The Magnolia still going strong. The white Iris on the west border is spectacular. Lilacs coming in. Prairie smoke at its best. Wild Geraniums, May Apple, Jack-in-the-Pulpits everywhere. The Shooting Star is perfect now. And the Astilbe is putting up flower spikes - thankfully not fully up as of Saturday eve, when we had a light frost. Most of the tree flowers are done, but a few still going. Generally unspectacular, but important.

Just beginning to show themselves, but giving hope for a beautiful June and July, are the Butterfly Weed, the Asiatic and Oriental Lilies, the Liatris. Peonies that I thought might be dead are now, two weeks later, over a foot high. I'm happy to see the Heuchera finally relaxing, and some are even putting up flower stalks. And I'm thrilled that the Hibiscus plants that I bought and planted late last year are showing signs of some growth. They certainly seemed totally dead until about a week ago, and even now I can't fully trust that they will come back. But it is looking possible at this point - they each have a couple of small sprouts coming from the very bottom of the old dead stalk. I don't know this plant, so I don't know what to expect. We shall see.

Summer Weekends Too Few

Ah, this is what it's all about. A beautiful weekend in mid summer, the yard looking wonderful, and needing just enough attention to let me have some hours of enjoyable gardening, without needing so much as to require our complete attention the whole weekend.

We started at the Downtown Appleton Farmer's Market on Saturday. Picked up some local strawberries and, of course, some spring rolls for breakfast. Then made our way to three sites on the annual Garden Walk (for the Emergency Shelter) by car. Got home by 11 or so, and took to our bikes for the last three gardens, finishing at the Fox Valley Technical College, which we ride around often, but haven't ever taken the time to really see the gardens close up. We were still going strong, so we took off to the Fox River Mall to pick up some niacin and stop for a quick Orange Julius.

When we got home, Bill decided that he should begin the installation of another stone wall, this one across the front of what had been the tricorn garden until the blue spruce tree grew so large as to engulf it and change its shape. So now, with the remains of the stones that we bought a year ago for the front garden, he is extending the linear theme of the front yard. He finished Sunday afternoon, and it looks great. We still have 20 stones left to find a home for.

The yard is just so nice right now. I think this is the perfect time.

I spent Sunday cutting the flowers that had been blown over, spraying weeds around the yard, and generally "puttering". I clipped the mallow from the back of the Asclepias - Butterfly Weed plant. It is in full bloom now, and I must admit it is my favorite plant. I wait so long and with so much hope to see the tiny sprouts in the spring. And just as I am about to give up hope, it springs back and then grows so strongly into such a robust plant that I can hardly believe I ever doubted.

A small black cat has been flirting with me for the last few days. Just a week after we buried Smoke, this one is appearing from the woods much as he did 15 years ago. Tonight she even let me pick her up, though she would much preferred to keep eating the food I brought out for her. We will need to decide what to do about her.

This seems to be the year of the compass plant. Mine is larger and stronger than I have ever seen it, and there are at least two new plants that are looking pretty mature. I gave one away in the spring - I think to Patti. And I've heard that others who grow them have found them to be impressive this year. It's pretty, but a bit agressive, and if it continues to take space like this I may have to find other accommodations for it.

The Hardening

Things are starting to "harden" into their summer forms now. Funny how fast that happens. One day it seems so vulnerable and malleable, and the next time I look things seem to have taken on a permanent form for the year to come.

But at the same time, I am just discovering the last of the perrennials as they emerge from the winter sleep. And the spring bulbs are still blooming, though many have gone over in the last week.

Leaves are filling out on many of the trees, though the honey locusts are still pretty bare. The Serviceberry is in full bloom, and the apple trees are starting. The Magnolia is beautiful, but the Japanese maples, including Mom's tree, are still not relaxing into leaf spread.

This is the time of a million shades of green. I drove to the Chicago suburbs last weekend to be at Nancy's retirement. I saw what the coming two weeks or so will bring. Her maple tree is in nearly full leaf-spread, while mine is just beginnning. I love this time of potential.

This evening, when I finally got home, I went out to look around. There were two ducks in the front yard - I'll miss the ducks when they finally move on. I hope that I get to see a batch of ducklings this year. The trillium is still in full bloom, and the jack-in-the-pulpits are really taking over the wildflower show this week. I was thrilled to find the first shoots of the butterfly weed Asclepsis tuberosa. This plant is always so late that I almost give up hope. Then it comes back. This seems later than usual, and I really had just about written it off. But today I found at least 20 sprouts from what must be a pretty substantial underground structure. Looking forward to being able to photograph it in full flower, but the link above is to many wonderful shots of this spectacular flower....

Some photos below: The American Chestnut, the "mystery tree, and the Prairie Smoke in full bloom.