Each Little World

IVOM: Spring bounty

Frost was forecast for Friday night, though it only got down to 37°F, so the garden came through in fine fettle. Saturday the low was expected to be 39°F. but Weather Bug said it was 34°F. when I checked at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. Come on; we are at Memorial Day weekend. By the end of this week we will be in the mid-80°F. when it is not yet summer. The weird weather continues.

A couple of rainy days mid-week sent me to cut flowers before the frost arrived. Aquilegia 'Black Barlow' has seeded in so many places I no long remember where it was first planted. I also grow A. 'Nora Barlow' but she always looks a little fussy compared to this member of the Barlow family.

I cut a few broken fronds of Maidenhair fern and the native Thalictrum dioucum to see how they would work as foliage in a vase. After a few days the ferns were starting to fade and curl but the Thalictrum is perfect. This is a plant that seeded in the garden and I am going to start spreading it around as it is a great filler. 

'Bowles Golden' millet, a yellow Yew, a pale Heuchera leaf and two kinds of Euphorbia fill this little teacup. 

You really can't tell the flowers are from two different Euphorbias; but the difference in the garden in color and size is striking. One is Euphorbia 'Bonfire' which is about 10" tall and the other is Euphorbia palustris which is about 3'. I was totally surprised at the similarity when I put them together. 

Peony 'Burnished Bronze' is a real drama queen compared to all the soft colors in the garden at the moment. 

She looked lovely for a few days before she decided she was done. I love watching a Peony go to seed. 

I planted these Alliums at least 20 years ago and they got shaded out. But they have started to re-appear where I don't want them: at the base of special trees where it will be dangerous to dig deep enough to find the bulbs. I cut them all for a bouquet so they can't go to seed and make the problem a bigger one. I do love their ghostly beauty along with a shadow of the big Lohan sculpture. 

I have a serious amount of planting to catch up with after a couple of weeks of too hot and too cold temps, rain and very high winds. Hoping for a few days of rational weather to get some work done in the garden. 

Buddha released

Buddha had to leave his home on our deck last year when we had the old deck ripped out and replaced. While he was resting quietly under the Arborvitae tree, he got barricaded in with all the construction debris Mark wanted to keep on hand for this summer's pond project. 

Sunday two huge piles of concrete blobs and blocks all went into the bottom of the now empty pond. Buddha can come out now, but I am not sure if it's really safe for him to venture into this ongoing construction zone.

A quiet evening in the garden

I splurged on this Peony a few years ago more for its emerging foliage than the flowers. This photo was taken on April 23rd.

Now that I have more than one flower I admit they are rather nice looking as well. The buds come out pale yellow, fade to cream and then white. Picture taken on May 23rd. Hmmm, I will have to pay attention next year and see if it always takes a month for the flowers to bloom.

I have been babying an Iris germanica in the garden for a couple of years waiting for it to bloom. This year it did so and turned out to be the plant I was hoping it was: an old fashioned pale yellow Iris that was growing in Tim and Mary's garden next door, right at the base of the clothes pole. 

I asked if I could have a piece and Tim said to come and dig it out. So I did. Since then, Tim died and Mary sold the house and moved closer to one of her children. I am so happy to know that I have a memento of our long time neighbors and their garden. 

Happy as wet clams

It began raining yesterday afternoon and it is still gently coming down. Only about half an inch total so far, but no complaints from me. We sat in the living room all afternoon yesterday reading and talking garden projects. Continuing to do the same this morning.

A new water feature

It always seems to me that gardeners in the UK have so many options for garden items, both practical and decorative. In the US, there are lots of things for the garden that are cute and colorful, but not many items that appeal to our taste. Here is the kind of water feature I keep seeing in British gardens, but no one is selling anything like it that I could find here.

It may not look like much at the moment, but we are both thrilled with our version of the above water feature. This is what's known as a "tank end" from the end of a tanker truck.

A friend of ours who is an artist blacksmith, suggested a tank end as an option for our water feature. He found us one and cleaned it up and did some repairs. We picked it up from him Sunday. It weighs 100 pounds so Mark did an elaborate setup to get it out of his truck. 

It's currently resting on a dolly in the driveway, but we've already decided where it should go in the garden. We have never made a joint garden decision so fast in our lives, which shows how excited we are to get it in place. 

It's 39" in diameter, so it will make a significant statement when it's flipped over and filled with water. It has a valve on the bottom with a plug so we can empty it easily if we need to clean it etc. More pictures once it's place.

GBBD: 5.15.2021

Despite temps dropping down into the 30s on Thursday night, things are looking good in the garden. Now if it would only rain.

Trillium grandiflora

Malus sargentii 'Tina'

Rhododendron 'Yaku Angel'

Paeonia japonica

Peony "Molly the Witch"

Japanese painted fern with Epimedium 'Domino'

Primroses, late daffs and Tulips, Bleeding hearts, Ladyslipper orchids, Brunnera and Jacob's Ladder are adding color to the garden. But the group above are the main drama queens at the moment. 

Wordless Wednesday

IVOM: Before the next freeze

We got down to 31°F on Friday and tonight's low is forecast to be 33°F, so I cut flowers for indoors all weekend. 

White daffodils are my personal favorites rather than the bright yellow ones. This is Narcissus 'Dreamlight' with the peach ruffle and N. 'Stainless' below it.

I trimmed our 'Tina' crabapple and decided to add my prunings to the arrangement. 

I bring many of these daffs indoors for bouquets since they are in the bed by the street where I barely see them. Thus I never feel bad cutting them. 

This is a mix of early Iris, Muscari and Epimedium 'Lilac Fairy' with Heuchera foliage. 

Early May meander in the garden

Monday's rain has the garden in fine fettle. Things are popping up, opening up and standing up tall. I keep going out almost hourly to check on the progress of my plants. Here's a sampling.

Paeonia obvata var. alba

Dicentra spectabilis 'Valentine' has taken more years than I expected for her to finally attain some stature. (I know the plant has a new name, but I am not making the effort to learn it . . .)

Epimedium 'Lilac Fairy' is a very floriferous variety that bulks up fast, so you can get a nice patch of it fairly easily.

I've been growing Iris pumila 'Cherry Garden' since about 1990; a great plant with an equally great color.

Every time I notice one of these downy yellow violets in the garden — Viola pubescens — I dig it up and move it to a spot where they are slowly filling in. Just added a yellow-flowered Trillium luteum to the mix.

I have two different Ladyslipper Orchids about to bloom. It took me years before I found the right locations for them; places where they were happy, settled in to grow and finally produce flowers. 

I find ferns unfurling endlessly fascinating. (Say that quickly three times!) This is the Cinnamon fern, Osumunda cinnamomeum.

This Cinnamon fern is only inches away from the one above and yet is at a different stage of opening. 

I have a bad habit of always taking photos that are "plant portraits" and never taking wider shots. I am making an effort this season to take wide views every week; mainly to remind me of what is there that is an ephemeral or very late to arrive.

Rain at last

It has been so dry I finally started watering Sunday afternoon. Day after day, rain has been forecast but the storms kept passing us by. Finally we got an inch on Monday afternoon and evening. Maybe Thursday's potential rain will materialize as well.