More Flowering Going On!

It’s looking like keeping things blooming isn’t a big problem this year. The squils are popping up everywhere, though not yet fully emerged. 

Snowdrops in full bloom Last year the snowdrops got buried on the late April snow, but remained in bloom nonetheless.



Winter aconite just starting.

June 1, 2015 - Amazing Growth

Things are really growing fast!  I can’t believe how much the yard has changed since May first.  Here are some shots of the yard taken on June first.

Crocuses, Snowdrops and Squills, OH MY!

All have arrived in the last week, along with the Winter Aconite and many sprouting bulbs of tulips, daffodils, alliums, etc.  Nice to see.

       

First Sprout!

The Alliums are always the first to emerge.  And of course it helps that this clump is only about a foot and a half from the south foundation of the house.  But I'll take it.  And on Monday I actually saw three fish swimming in the opening of the pond.  I'm amazed that any lived through this winter.

March 8th 2014, 2013 and 2012

2014  (after 2 or 3 days of melting...)

2013

2012

More Firsts

The first flower bloomed in the yard today.  It will be quite a challenge to ensure now that there is always something in bloom until next winter.  I can’t find many other things close, but there are many more of the snowdrops to come, so perhaps others will catch up. 

There have been robins in the yard for a week or so, and the cardinals are singing spring songs.  Juncos are still here, but I bet that won’t last long.  Many flocks of geese going North, and some ducks are sizing up the creek for nesting spots.  Still waiting to hear a redwing blackbird, though others have said they are around.

The pond is now completely thawed, and the fish seem happy for the ability to swim around more.  It seems they have made it through the winter quite well. 

 

Yesterday the temperature approached 60 degrees, with more warm temps headed our way.  Today is lower, around 40, but much nicer because the wind is diminished and the sun is out. 

OK, May is the Month of Spring!

This week has been the first that has really been spring-like around here.  But OH! what a change we have seen.  The radishes and lettuce are both up in the new raised beds, along with the broccoli plants.  I also planted the onions and potatoes in two other beds.  This was the first year that the garden centers sold onion plants in stupid little three packs, with three or four plants in each pack.  Geez!  Had to hunt all over town to find something worth the purchase price.  Ended up buying two of the three-packs, one sort of better square flat, and a pack of pulled and banded plants.  I will compare the results for next year.  But they were all far more pricey per plant than ever before.

We did get all 8 yards of mulch spread around the yard, and Bill finished the new compost bins.  So, when the weather finally seemed to stabilize, and the yard bloomed with daffodils and tulips, it was wondrous! 

This morning was a bird-watcher’s heaven.  I awoke and raised the window shade in our bedroom to look out on the evergreen garden.  There were many birds out at the feeders and birdbath there, including three Indigo buntings.  I’ve only seen one of those since we moved here.  Gorgeous.  But it got better.  A little later we watched three pairs of rose breasted Grosbeaks around the yard.  The three males were dramatic, and the females blended in, but were obviously there.  The usual Goldfinches, Housefinches, Song sparrows, and Cardinals were around as well.  There is a troop of three or more Brown headed Cowbirds serving as the bully gang in the yard, along with the Crows who are making life miserable for the Red-tailed Hawk in our neighbor’s Spruce tree.  I have little doubt they will hide their eggs in one or more nests of the others.  Mid-morning, the Cooper’s Hawk made an appearance, and everyone else vanished for a few moments.  But they all came back. I’ve seen a hummingbird already, and there are Orioles around, though they have not been to our feeders.  There are two or three birds that I can’t identify for sure.  About the size of of a large finch, smaller than a Robin.  Most obvious feature is a white eye-stripe, and crest, with black stripes between. Front is greyish, back more to brown.  Short tail.  At first I though they were the female Grosbeaks, but then saw them together and they are different.    Help, friends, please. 

Then and Now

Here is last year on March 15th in Sunnyview Gardens.  

 

 

 

 

 

And here is this year on March 23rd. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a difference a year makes.  I hope we catch up eventually.  The 12 inches of snow we got yesterday and the day before were discouraging for sure, especially since most of the previous huge snowstorm had melted and I was beginning to see the whole yard and begin planning.  It is melting again quickly in the bright March sunlight even though the temperatures are still way below normal.  The robins and redwing blackbirds and sandhill cranes that arrived last week are not the happiest birds I’ve ever seen.  Robins gather around the few places where there were deep puddles before and the grass still shows through.  I hope they can find at least enough worms to keep them alive til the rest of the yard thaws. 

We have more birds at the feeders and under them than we’ve had in a long time.  Even the redwings are coming close to the house for whatever food they can find.  The chickadees are consuming much of the seed, but also hanging upside down on the limbs of the evergreens picking at something I can only guess is small bugs hiding there.  A song sparrow, who we haven’t heard in many months, is sounding more mournful than joyful as it sits atop of the dwarf Alberta Spruce. 

I was ready to start the yard work this week.  We have a lot to do getting the new raised beds built and installed.  Also want to move a bunch of perennials around.  Gonna have to do everything quickly this spring I think. 

Spring!

OK, maybe not quite yet.  But it is in the wings, just waiting.  Even though we have had snowfall after snowfall, I believe that Winter is about to loose its hold on us.  For a variety of reasons.
The light is stronger in the afternoon for sure.  Punxsutawney Phil,  the most frequently cited groundhog in the prediction business, did not see his shadow this morning and thus predicted an early spring.  And yesterday, when we tried to move the snow away from the pond heater we found at least a three square foot opening in the pond.  Not sure why that happened, probably because the heater was buried under snow that acted as a blanket of sorts.  But it felt good.
The number of birds in the yard has been nothing short of amazing.  Must be 20 or 30 Goldfinches, as many House Finches.  A band of Chickadees checks in several times a day.  Quite a few Juncos, and many sparrows.  The Cardinals are frequent visitors to the feeders – not as many as in summer, but at least one pair is a regular.  I’ve seen two Nuthatches pecking their way down the trunk of the library honey locust a couple of times.   They collectively go through the contents of our five feeders in short order, which keeps Bill out in the yard filling them every other day or so.  I put out some suet, hoping to attract the woodpeckers that I hear occasionally to come closer, but haven’t been successful so far.
In the basement, the geraniums that have been hanging in the cold room are ready to be sliced up into cuttings and rooted for spring planting.  I hope that works better this year than last.  Our neighbors say that we start too late usually, and they do their rooting in the first week of February.  So that will be tomorrow’s assignment. 
There are also many other plants in the lighted basement plant stand that have been holding their own since I saved them last fall from the killing frost.  Mostly from cuttings, but some from the severely cut back mother plant, they have grown nicely over the winter with little attention.  Now is the time to cut them back again, and start thinking about hardening them off to make the transition to outside in a few months. 
Only three plants have survived from the Rex Begonia leaf cuttings I took.  I had over 15 plants a year ago, but they had all come down with some sort of fungal infection which no amount of anti-fungal spraying could cure.  They struggled over the summer, but never really recovered.  I took 7 or 8 leaf cuttings in fall and really immersed them in antifungal treatment before trying to root them.  They all rooted, but only three survived the transplant into individual pots.  I think I finally understand why these are so expensive.  I’ve always had such great luck with them until now. but when they go they go fast.

Shooting Stars, Warm Weather, Invasions

It is still hard to do much of anything in the garden, because I’m tired a lot, and I can’t lift more than 10 pounds at a time.  So I have to ask Bill to do the heavy work, and he’s already pretty busy preparing and painting the house, foot by foot. 

But the yard has a lot going for it, and as long as I can keep things from getting away from me it will continue to reveal its beauty. 

Today, the fish are showing themselves in the shallow parts of the pond – the Great Blue Heron of last fall finally has escaped their memory it seems.  The Water Lily leaves have broken the surface of the water finally, and it won’t be long now til they cover a significant portion of it. 

The Shooting Star plant has made one bloom, and will soon make more.  Seems late, considering how far ahead most things are.  But the native plants tend to be more careful than other things for sure, emerging later and not being as responsive to the oddities of the particular year.  The Pasque flowers are pretty much right on schedule.  It’s hard for me to be so disciplined.  I’ve moved several plants outside, perhaps earlier than usual.  Have to keep an eye on them, but I hope it will be OK.

Today we planted Cannas, earlier than usual,  but in fact a week or so later than last year.  I still have quite a few in the basement, and will have to find a place for them soon or they will be wasted.  My favorite tulips are the Darwin varieties.  The yellow ones that I planted in the first year or so in this yard have spread and I’ve moved them around, til there are great clumps in several places.  Very beautiful for a week or two in spring.

The big event of today was finding a clump of garlic mustard along the creek.  They were blooming, but not yet seeding.  This is an invader that I really don’t want to gain a foothold for sure.  So we spent some time this morning pulling up the plants, making sure to get every one, and putting them into a black plastic bag in which we can bake them in the sun and then toss them out.  Keeping the creekside free of loosestrife, garlic mustard, buckthorn, and other invasive plants is a constant challenge. 

Spring Marches on Quickly

Since the challenge of keeping something in bloom once the Winter Aconite started, there has been little challenge.  It has been such a warm gentle spring that things are just jumping up and into full bloom, sometimes faster than I can keep up with them.  Was away for a week last week, and the change in the yard was unbelievable.  The crocuses have bloomed and are done.  Daffodils are fully out now, some even past prime.  Tulips, Hyacinth, Squills, Grape hyacinth, all emerging. 

The Bloodroot came up, bloomed, and is done, pretty much all while I was in the hospital.  There is a single Trilium coming up next to the clump.  And Forget-me-nots are blooming there too, though I never planted them.  The Marsh Marigold has a single blossum, at least it comes up each year.  Forsythia is pretty much done, though it may have lasted longer if we didn’t have the 5 inch snow a week and a half ago.  Many Pulmanaria around the yard are blooming, as are the Pasque flowers.  Prairie Smoke is beginning, and so are the Darwin Tulips in the first berm.  Snowdrops have come and gone.  Shooting star is just getting ready to burst forth.  And I think the Japanese Lilac will be next. 

We had fresh asparagus from the garden for dinner tonight.  Not a lot, but enough to whet our appetites for more.  Also fresh chives for the baked potato, and a little mint just to smell nice.  And the frogs are singing in either our pond or the neighbors each night.  Hope we get tadpoles again this year.

It is surely good to be home.  Going to be difficult to keep up with all the changes in the next few weeks, but most things can make it on their own.  I poke around doing tiny jobs, and ask Bill to do the big things.  He’s also painting the house this spring, so he’s busy for sure.  Not sure when the garden will be plowed, but we are really still at least a month out from major planting time.  I should be able to do more by then, I hope.  

Spring Work Resumes

Oh Boy!  We worked pretty hard the last couple of days transitioning the yard from Winter to Spring.  Many of the things that had been bent and broken by the first snowstorm back in early December were just so obtrusive now that the snow cover had receded.  And it was a dramatic melt for sure.  A week ago it was Winter, and snow still covered most of the yard. Yesterday and today it has seemed like mid summer.  And the snow is almost totally gone from everywhere except the front porch, where the piles left from shoveling are protected by the shade of the house.  

Yesterday and today we worked a few hours each day to begin the cleaning up process.  I cut or pulled the dead old stalks and shoots of perennials around the mailbox, around the pond, around the gazebo, and in the Evergreen garden.  Bill spent the days cutting down about 20 or 25 Green Ash saplings, which could have become nice trees but which we feared would become just more that we'd have to pay to cut down once the Emerald Ash Borer made its way into Outagamie County.  As it is, There are still 15 or 20 that are too large for us to cut down ourselves, and some day they will cost us a pretty penny.

We have a pile of stuff that needs to be burned soon, but have to go get a permit first, and also let the warm air dry things out a little bit more.  And then wait for a calm day of course.  We put most everything that we can in the compost, and put out the woody brush to be shredded.  but there is still this stuff in between.  Some of the neighbors have trailers and cart theirs away every couple of weeks.  I don't really like to burn, but what else?  

The pond is now completely ice free, and fish are beginning to be visible.  We took out the aerator and the heater, and cleaned up around enough to start up the pump.  It took a little cleaning and a little pushing of water through with the hose, but it's working now, and should be able to keep an open area unless the temps fall below 20 for more than a few days.  The water isn't as clear as I wish it would be, and the fish are hard to spot.  But I've seen at least 6 or 7 at a time, and I'll find a way to clear the water soon, I hope.  

In the last couple of days we've seen Robins, Bohemian Waxwings, red-breasted Nuthatches, heard Sandhill Cranes overhead, and of course, the usual Chickadees, various Finches, Mourning Doves, etc.  The Juncos are still around, but I imagine they'll leave any day now. There have been many ducks in the creek over the last week or so, and small groups flying overhead.  And the Cardinals are certainly sizing each other up and claiming territory.  I'm still waiting for the first song of the Red-Winged Blackbird - the true sign of spring.  

Oh, and the first flower of the season has bloomed - the Winter Aconite.  I looked for it yesterday and found nothing.  But today, there were two new emergences, each with a simple yellow flower.  More will come over the next week or two.  This bloom is about 9 days earlier than last year, and it signals the beginning of the challenge I have each year to keep something in bloom from the first bloom in spring until at least the end of October. 

Signs of Spring are Adding Up

The sun is stronger, usually melting any light snow in a few hours.  And the days are surely longer.  The light is brighter, even when it is cloudy.  The birdsong is sprightlier, the “cheer” of the Cardinals is beginning to predominate.  I swear there are buds beginning to swell on some trees.  The roads are clear by mid-morning, even without the plows coming through. 

I’ll bet, if I could get over to the place, that I’d find a few alliums beginning to poke through the soil beneath the snow.  And, because the snow has melted along a strip in the South and East sides of the house,  Kate is finding her way around the southeast corner of the house and all the way to the other end of the east side.  Her world has expanded.  We saw her gazing longingly at the creek today, though the snow is still keeping her from attempting to get there. 

My orchids are all putting forth flower stalks, and even the 20 year old hoya that has never bloomed is setting buds.  (that last could be related to my having moved it into a bright south window after years of keeping it against a wall on the other side of the room.) 

It’s time to start propagating the geranium cuttings hanging in the basement, and soon to take out the cannas and assess their winter survival.