Each Little World

Evening in the garden

A breeze to keep the mosquitoes at bay sent Mark into the garden with his camera. He started on this path across the front garden out by the street. 

Around the side of the house into the pond garden.

Looking west towards the Tea House above the pond.

The stream and waterfall that flow from the upper pool which is next to the Tea House on the left in the above view.

The pond looking west. 

Water baby's breath almost ready to bloom.

The route to the Tea House past the Weeping Beech and across the stream. 

Or you can walk around the other side of this upper garden and approach the Tea House by going behind the upper pool.

The back side of the Tea House sloping garden with the Martagon lilies starting to form seed pods. 

Small garden details

The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society has a FB page for members. We typically post photos of our gardens, ask for design help or aid to id plants and weeds. We also have the ability via official group email to let everyone know when members open their gardens for an evening. We have scheduledl open garden events but these are just spontaneous moments when a gardener thinks their garden has something worth sharing. 

This was a small back garden I visited in early spring with a wood fence/gate separating the garden from the drive and garage. I liked the design that made the area private but let you look out when you were standing. 

But the best part was this little fountain on the other side of that short wall, right outside the back door to the house. Add rocks and ferns and you have a perfect garden in a very tiny space. 

More rain, and then more rain

Last week it rained five out of seven days. I took this photo through the window during Friday morning's storm. This week began with a similar brief but intense storm Sunday afternoon. It was followed by a milder storm later in the day.

Both photos show our "dry stream" which is designed to direct overflow from the pond during big storms. It worked as designed but the ground is so wet that we had standing water (below) in the stream that took a while to sink into the ground on Sunday. Not a good sign. Yesterday's first storm dropped an inch of rain in about an hour.

From Sunday, June 30 (yesterday) through next Sunday rain is forecast from 30% to 60% every day. We had 5.73" (14.55 cm.) of rain in June; 3.50" (8.89 cm.) of that in the last week (Sunday to Sunday). The temperatures are perfect for growing corn and tomatoes but this rain is disastrous for farmers who are already suffering from late planting due to our wet spring.

Yesterday's winds brought down debris that unexpectedly clogged our gutter. That caused the water to overflow the edge into one of the basement window wells — something that has never occurred in 25 years of living here. Nothing ruined but rather a chaotic moment of crisis trying to protect things as water flowed into the basement; then suck up all the water with the shop vac. Trying not to be paranoid about the next rain which is supposed to arrive any minute now. 

Garden visitor

The fox has been absent and the ducks have not made an appearance yet. But we had an unexpected visitor yesterday. He must have seen all that open water and decided to take a closer look. 

He stayed in that same spot for almost half an hour, sometimes splashing about but mostly flicking his glance from side to side constantly scanning for danger. He was the bright spot in a cool, gray day. We've had Cooper's Hawks in the garden in the past but I believe this one is a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday vignette from Cleveland

This small pond and waterfall were part of the exterior landscaping around the main building and fenced gardens at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens which we visited last summer. I thought they did a lovely job of landscaping the edges. Lots of texture and color. The plants draping over the water at the back are particularly effective.

I also thought this mini dry stream was a clever way to funnel rainwater away while providing an attractive design in dry weather. 

My last post about the Cleveland Botanical Garden is here; and my review of the nearby boutique hotel is here.

(Not) In a Vase on Monday

Last Friday as I was leaving the gym, I ran into a friend-of-a-friend who said she'd been hoping she might bump into me there. The reason? She had an ikebana flower vase that had been in her family but it was time to send it out into the world to a new home. She wondered if I knew someone who might use it and appreciate it. Or perhaps, she suggested, it might interest me. She said she'd been driving around with it in the trunk of her car on the off chance of running into me.

The minute she opened the box and I saw the gleam of black lacquer, I was smitten. Moments later the box was being transferred to my car, making me the new proud owner of a beautiful vase and two narrow lacquer boards on which to display the vase. For Cathy's special charge this week (Not) In a Vase on Monday, I am using the two boards. The vase is staying in its box for another bouquet at another time. 

I decided that not only would I stay away from a vase this week, but I would not use fresh material either. These dried plants were part of other displays in my house. The pod is a Chinese lantern flower (Physalis alkekengi). The stem is from my new summer planting of Euphorbia palustris which can grow in up to two inches of water.

The cloth is a hand-stitched Indian Kantha that is draped over an upholstered chair in our living room. I took the photo with the lacquer boards resting on the seat of the chair. One more nod to (not) in a vase.

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden has been hosting this meme for five years. Stop by her blog to see what she's done to celebrate and to look at other vases from around the world who join in this meme every Monday. 

Wordless Wednesday

Lily season

Half the lilies in the garden are in full bloom while the rest are in big fat buds that will open soon — I hope. The recent heat produced multiple flowers on the waterlilies in the pond. I love the mirror-like reflections that water causes and I equally like the red stems that are sometimes visible.

You can see all the rips and holes in the leaves caused by the hail over the weekend. The wild weather also brought down lots of leaves and twiggy bits now resting on the swath of leaves covering part of the pond.

The water lilies that are blooming at the moment are almost all on the side of the pond with more shade but it does not seem to affect them. In fact, one of the interesting things I've noted is that water lilies close in the early afternoon on a sunny day. When it is cloudy and rainy they stay open for more of the day, usually remaining in bloom until late afternoon or early evening.

I am constantly fascinated by Lilium martagon 'Mrs. R. O. Backhouse.' Depending on the light and time of day, her color changes — at least to my eye. Here the flowers are an almost acid yellow. 

Now they appear much warmer and more golden.

But I always think of this lily as pinky-peach, which is the color of the back of the petals and buds. 

I've been growing L. martagon 'Claude Shride' for a long time. A few years ago I added 'Russian Morning' for a subtle contrast. 

The contrast is so subtle I can't see any difference among the blooms. Or maybe I'm just confused about what is planted where. 

A perfect weekend: Part ll

On cold, rainy and rather miserable days we often see Fred and Ethel splashing about in the pond, but they disappeared from the garden during the recent hot spell. So we were glad to see them here again on Friday. Mark was off doing Saturday errands this afternoon when I looked out the window and saw Ethel standing on the round stone at the edge of the pond. When I glanced out again a few minutes later I couldn't see her but there were a bunch of little birds wobbling around the pebble beach that edges the pond. As I stood at the window watching them, I suddenly realized they weren't birds — they were ducklings!

In the twenty years the ducks have been coming to our pond, this is only the third time that Ethel's brought the ducklings. We don't have enough secure cover for them to actually nest here.

Luckily Mark arrived home in time to take a few pictures. The minute he walked out the door Ethel and the kids started swimming away from him. 

This morning the pond was almost completely covered with seeds from the surrounding trees. Turns out the ducklings and even Ethel are almost impossible to see swimming amidst the gold and green and brown dappled surface of the water. 

They swam to the farthest edge of the pond from Mark and went into the Irises behind the big rocks that are in the water. Once Ethel decided it was safe, she let the kids come out into view again.

All ten of them were practicing their swimming technique while she watched.

Then she rounded them up and they all went to the back edge of the pond for a nap.

The ducklings must all be underneath her because they aren't in the water and they didn't leave the garden. Another perfect afternoon in the garden.