It started in mid-April when the weather suddenly warmed up. I visited one of the few local native plant nurseries, Redbud Native Plant Nursery. I bought some more shade-loving plants for the native plant patch near the shed:
bloodroot
wood aster, Jacob's ladder, phlox. I didn't get decent pictures of all of them, though.
And a few more for sunnier spots: a giant hyssop, golden star, spiderwort
bleeding heart
dutchman's breeches
Turk's cap lily.
So far: the bloodroot didn't bloom, but its leaves stayed green until just recently - it looks like it's starting to go into its summer dormancy. The Jacob's ladder seems to be growing quite well, and had lots of pretty light lavendar flowers. Some of them appear to have been pollinated - looks like I'll have some seeds to sow for next season. The bleeding heart is still blooming wonderfully, as is one of the golden star plants - the other seems unhappy, though I'm not sure why. The Turk's cap lily has grown from 3 inches tall to about 2 1/2 feet - hopefully it will bloom later this summer. The spiderwort started blooming last week - what a pretty purple! Since I planted it in my yard, I've noticed that along the train tracks I ride to work every day, there are thousands of spiderwort plants... too bad I didn't notice that last year, or I would have collected seeds.
Around the same time, on a trip to Lowe's to buy some gardening tools, I also bought two of these cuties - 'Starry Night' violas.
They've grown quite a bit since this photo taken shortly after they were planted; that was about 6 weeks ago, and they've now got about twice as many flowers as in this shot. They're much more vibrantly purple than the photo would suggest.
bloodroot
wood aster, Jacob's ladder, phlox. I didn't get decent pictures of all of them, though.
And a few more for sunnier spots: a giant hyssop, golden star, spiderwort
bleeding heart
dutchman's breeches
Turk's cap lily.
So far: the bloodroot didn't bloom, but its leaves stayed green until just recently - it looks like it's starting to go into its summer dormancy. The Jacob's ladder seems to be growing quite well, and had lots of pretty light lavendar flowers. Some of them appear to have been pollinated - looks like I'll have some seeds to sow for next season. The bleeding heart is still blooming wonderfully, as is one of the golden star plants - the other seems unhappy, though I'm not sure why. The Turk's cap lily has grown from 3 inches tall to about 2 1/2 feet - hopefully it will bloom later this summer. The spiderwort started blooming last week - what a pretty purple! Since I planted it in my yard, I've noticed that along the train tracks I ride to work every day, there are thousands of spiderwort plants... too bad I didn't notice that last year, or I would have collected seeds.
Around the same time, on a trip to Lowe's to buy some gardening tools, I also bought two of these cuties - 'Starry Night' violas.
On Mother's Day my mom and I went to Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. I restrained myself from buying anything at their plant sale, but on our way back we stopped at a nursery and I ended up buying two kinds of bee balm, Monarda fistulosa and Monarda didyma cultivars. I also bought an "obedient plant," Physostegia. Every time I think about its name, I wonder if I can train it to do dishes for me. My mom also brought me some plants from her garden: a cute native woodland wildflower called foamflower (Tiarellia), and some Jack-in-the-Pulpits and lily of the valley.
A week ago, my mom and I both took a day off and tackled a big project in the yard - I've dubbed it The Battle of the Back Fence. We have an old chain link fence separating our backyard from those of our rear neighbors. It does not, however, actually enclose anything, so the only purpose it serves, in my opinion, is to serve as a
trellis for poison ivy and a hindrance to me reaching the poison ivy that grows behind it. We suited up in long sleeves, long pants, two layers of gloves, and we started cutting back brush (mostly Norway maple saplings and brambles) and pulling out poison ivy. We created quite a large brush pile, and filled several trash bags with poison ivy. Then, we started taking down the chain link fence - a task complicated by the fact that in places, tree saplings were growing through the chain link so that the fence wires had to be cut around them.My plans for this area involve keeping it trimmed and poison ivy free for a year or so, and then planting some native shrubs and perennials where the fence used to be. Maybe a rain garden/mini-wetland in the back corner, where it gets very damp every spring.
I fiddled around with ideas for creating raised vegetable beds this year, but realized that I didn't have enough free time/energy/money for that. I'm hoping to get the beds built by fall, to use next spring. For this year, my edible gardening consists mostly of containers on the deck - basil, rosemary, sage, dill, cilantro, and two kinds of tomatoes. I also dug up some wild grape vines growing in several spots in the yard where they are most definitely not wanted (such as under the rhododendrons), and transplanted them next to the deck where, with any luck, they'll cover the deck, feed the birds, and give us a few wild grapes to eat, too.
And, for Jenny - a photo of the wild ginger where you can see a flower, to the left of most of the leaves.
I fiddled around with ideas for creating raised vegetable beds this year, but realized that I didn't have enough free time/energy/money for that. I'm hoping to get the beds built by fall, to use next spring. For this year, my edible gardening consists mostly of containers on the deck - basil, rosemary, sage, dill, cilantro, and two kinds of tomatoes. I also dug up some wild grape vines growing in several spots in the yard where they are most definitely not wanted (such as under the rhododendrons), and transplanted them next to the deck where, with any luck, they'll cover the deck, feed the birds, and give us a few wild grapes to eat, too.
And, for Jenny - a photo of the wild ginger where you can see a flower, to the left of most of the leaves.
3 comments:
Our prepackaged lavender plant - which included pot, soil, and seeds - failed to thrive.
You touch stuff, it grows.
I am so thrilled about your bloodroot. I hope it survives and spreads, such an awesome plant. It sounds like you are having fun gardening. I really miss it this year, since we are buying a house I am not doing any gardening, not even plants in pots as it would just be something else to move. Plus I want to save my money to spend on plants at the new place. SO thanks for sharing your pictures so I can live vicariously.
@Daniel - You're right, I 'touch' (i.e. try to pull out) poison ivy and thistles, and they grow right back. Too bad this magic touch doesn't extend to tomatoes, peppers, and pretty native wildflowers!
Post a Comment