There are few truly poisonous plants in my garden, but digitalis is one of them. There was a time in my plant collection days that I thought I wanted a poison plant garden, but I decided against it. This plant got to stay because it is gorgeous and it goes well in the back of the bed next to the stone wall.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Foxglove
There are few truly poisonous plants in my garden, but digitalis is one of them. There was a time in my plant collection days that I thought I wanted a poison plant garden, but I decided against it. This plant got to stay because it is gorgeous and it goes well in the back of the bed next to the stone wall.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
"French Weed?"
Most times when a gardener walks around in the garden a handful of weeds is collected. One could never walk past this one and not pull it. Sooner or later a garden stroll ends up at the compost pile. Caught in time this nasty weed can turn into something much better in its next life. Someone asked me once if I believed in reincarnation. I hesitated and said, "I'm not sure, but I definitely believe in composting!"
Saturday, June 28, 2008
First Zucchini Blossom
Something is definitely missing from this picture. Usually one would be hard put to take a picture of a squash blossom without having a honey bee in the shot. This year I have seen bees, but not the oh-so-familiar honey bee. But someone has been there because the little squash are growing and without pollination that won't happen.
Last night we heard fireworks from the little town up the valley. We went out to look, but the hills were in the way of the fireworks. What we did see was the most amazing display of fireflies. I never remember there being so many of them here.
This morning I picked strawberries for breakfast, lettuce for lunch and snow peas for dinner. The bluebirds were in the garden so it was quite the thrill. It is cloudy so it was a great day for weeding. Some of the plants were being crowded by my volunteers that come up from seed. I pulled some of the dill and laid it out to dry and cut back the catnip and stripped it from its stems to dry. It gave the striped mallow some breathing room.
The leaves are turning and there is thunder in the air. Time to get in the tools!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Evening Scented Stock
Evening scented stock or Matthiola longipetala subsp. Bicornus is a half-hardy annual whose tiny four-petaled white and lavender flowers open at dusk. Not the tidiest of plants, they are best placed behind showier specimens.
However, these rather modest unassuming flowers have a wonderful secret. It's an amazing fragrance that wafts on the breeze in the evening. It's obviously meant to attract some night flying pollinator. They make an evening visit to the garden bench a real delight.
I was first told about these flowers by the Colonel. He remarked that his mother grew them outside his bedroom window when he was a boy. I was intrigued. I searched and finally found the seed. As sometimes happens I had difficulty getting them started. Now they come up from seed and weeding is carefully done watching all the while for these little plants. To me their fragrance makes them so special that they should be tucked somewhere in every garden.
Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Snow Peas
Yes, it is a tofu recipe, one of the very best! If you are not a tofu fan the meal is almost as good made with chicken. The combination of grated fresh ginger root, sesame oil and rice vinegar creates an unusual taste that must be repeated. I'm sure there are other great recipes for snow peas, but my attempts to serve anything else are met with expressions of disappointment. I better check my supply of ingredients because snow pea season starts tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Purple Lupine
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Borer Wars
So far the squash bed is looking great! Ed has further plans to outwit these nasty insects. He planted golden Hubbard squash, supposedly the borer's favorite, in a different area of the garden. These plants, started much later than the others, are small and tender and we hope irresistible. With any luck these plants will show the leaf wilt that signals the invasion of the larva while the main crop goes to us.
Labels:
"squash borer",
acorn squash,
pumpkins,
summer squash,
zucchini
Monday, June 23, 2008
Ingeborg's Mallow
Who can resist the gift of a beautiful plant from a friend? I can't and so I bring them home like stray puppies and find a place to plant them somewhere. Ingeborg gave me this mallow years ago. I did like I always do, I put it in one of Ed's beautifully prepared beds where I could find an open spot.
Gardening friends always have extra plants. Perennials need to be divided. Plants self-seed. Face it, procreation is a plant's favorite activity. Remember the "birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees"? Weeding is a bit of a treasure hunt here. Just the other day I found a sweet Annie. It's not a favorite of mine so I potted it for Jane who really loves it, and will deliver it to her today.
Ingeborg's mallow is one of my treasured plants that pop up in unexpected places. It needs to be moved early as it has a long taproot. I'm always glad to see it. One must be on the lookout during early weeding. The plant must be seen and recognized if it is to be moved rather than composted. Listed as Malva sylvestris in most books, it is an annual here. It comes up from seed, blooms the first year and the original plant does not come back. This is my first bloom of many. In fact there are still plants that should be thinned out.
Note how well the hail damaged leaf has healed. It is torn but still green.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Blue Eyed Grass
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Bloom Where You're Planted
So there you have it, a fragrant, brilliant yellow flower in a less than perfect setting. Some of my carefully tended specimens should look so beautiful!
Friday, June 20, 2008
A Spider in a Bay Tree
A small yellow spider has taken up residence in one of them. The underside of the spider is what you can see. You can just barely see the superfine threads of her web. It shows up best where there are dark spaces between the stones in the wall. That tiny white dot on the right is something caught in the web. She is from all appearances, planning to have a large family there. Bays are troubled with scale and maybe the spiders will be a good thing. I haven't got the heart to evict the family anyway. I will keep an eye on them. If I need a bay leaf, I'll get it from the other tree.
Since we have been having rain, the bluebirds are hanging around the garden. It's always a thrill to see them, perching on posts in the garden or sitting on the roof of the house. A garden is a peaceful place, but if you watch there's always a lot going on.
Perfume on the Breeze
We are hoping to divide them and keep them going. I have a special interest in fragrant flowers. I look for old varieties that still retain their perfume. It's so disappointing to have a rose or carnation or any flower that no longer has its fragrance. They look pretty, but something important is missing.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Pruned by Experts
Back in January when the deer "pruned" this rose campion, ( Search; rose campion) I never believed the plant would turn out like this. Look at that nice compact shape. In this case my deer friends did some very nice work. If I could get them to work consistently it would be sweet. After all, they work for room and board, and don't complain at all. On the other hand they seem to want to pick and choose the plants to be trimmed. I guess teaching them topiary is out of the question. I just need to sharpen my pruners and get on with it.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Salad Days
The lettuce is in seventh heaven. It is crispy and fresh and gorgeous. It was a pleasure to go out right before dinner to pick the makings for our dinner salad. I like to mix the lettuce with some spinach from the bed next door. After that I get a little more exotic. Some lemon basil, chives, Johnny-jump-up blossoms, tarragon, and sweet marjoram get added to the lettuce and spinach. With all those flavors in the salad, a simple dressing is all that is needed. A raspberry vinaigrette is very nice.
These young lettuce plants will keep us in salads for some time. We have seeds planted for their replacements. Our salad days are here!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Blue Clematis
NYBG Alliums
I bought these alliums on a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens. They have been a favorite of mine ever since. I was concerned this year. The buds looked decidedly unwell after that last hard frost, but I worried for nothing. They are like big round balls of lavender stars. The stems may be a little shorter than usual, but the flowers are fine. They are Allium albopilosum. I found them for the first time in a catalog from John Scheepers,Inc. I ordered some more to plant this fall.
I always cut these around the fourth of July when they are beginning to fade, and put red white and blue streamers on them. As a dried arrangement they look like fireworks so perfect for the 4th, but for now I'll enjoy them in the garden and think about where to plant 10 new bulbs.
Monday, June 16, 2008
No More Asparagus
We have stopped cutting asparagus. It's time to get the bed weeded, the soil amended and let the plants send up their ferns. It's the first short season vegetable to finish. Now there's spinach to freeze and strawberries to pick. Mint, dill and catnip to dry. The lettuce is ready for use. The peas are blossoming. The potatoes are coming up. The scapes have to come off the garlic. There are plenty of weeds to pull and spent flowers to deadhead. New flowers are opening every day. It's a time of wondrous excitement for a gardener with so much to do.
But this morning we have rain! No watering cans are necessary today. The whole garden is getting a good soaking. Everything will wait. The spinach and lettuce will be crisper, the strawberries will be juicier and the swallowtail caterpillars will have all day to munch on the dill. The weeds will be a little bigger, but they won't go anywhere. A rainy day for a gardener is a lot like a snow day for teachers and kids, a glorious unexpected day off.
As we sat on the bench last evening, a male hummingbird buzzed right past my left ear on his way to the catch fly. A dragonfly flew over. The wind wafted the fragrance of the evening scented stock our way. Later, after we settled into bed we watched the fireflies put on their quiet country fireworks display out the bedroom window.
The rain, although a beautiful soaking one, stopped and the sun came out. We in effect got a two hour delay. So I got outside to take some pictures, froze half of the spinach and the ripe strawberries. Like the old days of newspapers this is the late edition of this post.
Labels:
" strawberries,
"swallowtail caterpillar",
asparagus
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A Garden of Friends
I finally found a spot where they are happy. This year they are gorgeous!
Plants from gardening friends are truly the gift that keeps on giving! Who could be unhappy with that?
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thyme Spillover
Friday, June 13, 2008
Half- a- Day lily
But the two lilies took hits from the hail. One was on the ground. This one took a glancing blow but blooms on. The garden is full of casualties and survivors of the blitz. Anything that got a direct hit is, well, compost. Some of the larger leaves have round holes or cracks. The plants look ragged but will survive. The peas are tangled.
The row cover over the squash is now Swiss cheese. It did protect the squash plants from direct hits, but will be no help in keeping out the squash borers unless it is replaced.
In the end we had more misses than hits. I'm grateful for that.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Oh Hail !
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
First Pink Poppy
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Snow In Summer
It's a perfect day to feature snow in summer. I've always loved this plant. It's a creeper with soft looking gray-green leaves and white flowers. It stands up to the hot sun and still looks cool and comfortable like a southern belle in her white dress and hat.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Aftermath of the Frost
Pernicious Weed
And the weeds, well stand back because they are doing their thing. I wanted to say a few words about the lacy leaf weed in the center of this picture. It is the worst, a really evil plant! It makes people sick, and it looks so innocent with its little insignificant flowers. It is of course ragweed. This plant is one of my sworn enemies. I pull it out every time I see it. If you can get it before it flowers with that nasty pollen you've won. If it gets a chance to go to seed, you lose.
There was a lot of it here when we came. I've made progress, but as you can see the rotten things still lurk here. This one lasted just long enough to have its picture taken. It's compost now.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Secret Pond
The yellow flag below was planted by us back at the water's edge. It looks gorgeous, but is spreading. I knew purple loose strife was a no-no, but I was not aware of yellow flag. So far it has been our experience when we try to plant things by the pond, either they grow like crazy or they die out because every thing else back there grows like crazy.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Fresh Chamomile Tea
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Blackberrry Blossoms
Blackberries are one of those plants that takes over naturally in a meadow if it is not grazed or mowed. The brier thickets are formidable. The deer change their path and walk around them, but the rabbits call them home. Like so many plants we keep them where we want them to grow and try to control the rest.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Before the Rain
Don't you wonder just where that path goes? It drops down through the dead ice sink. We call it the meditation spot because it is quiet and still, since it is sheltered from the wind. From there, it goes up the hill to the back meadow that overlooks the pond. It's wonderful back there. The pond, although small, has all kinds of dragonflies, salamanders and frogs to see. Behind the pond is a bit of woods. At night in the summer, the fireflies are like fireworks. When the milkweed blooms there are butterflies galore. From there, the path goes around the perimeter of the high meadow. There is a 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding area up there.
We love it here. It's a natural playground for someone who loves plants and stones. We got some much needed rain overnight, but if it clears off we'll check out that newly mowed path.
It's later in the day and I have this to add. We saw a Baltimore Oriole and the first tiger swallowtail butterfly of the season in the garden.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Temporary Stone Pile
I love this wall and don't like to think of it as temporary. But, I have it for now and sometimes temporary can be pretty permanent.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sweet Cicely
The leaves chopped and added to a strawberry rhubarb pie reduce the amount of sugar needed.
The young green seeds have a delightful licorice flavor. I frequently sample them while working in the garden. Chopped seeds turn an plain unsugared fruit salad into a gourmet treat. Garnish it with the flowers and leaves and you have a work of art! I always freeze some seeds in a zip lock bag for late summer and winter fruit salads.
Later the seeds become woody and then turn dark brown. They are no longer good to eat, but have been used for furniture polish.
This plant grows well from fresh seed planted in the fall. As with many plants that self-seed well, you can have the same success by planting the seeds at that same time. If you can't get fresh seed from a gardening friend, you need to look for a plant.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Yellow Iris
These gorgeous yellow iris were given to me by Jo Ann. She got them from a friend as well. It's a wonderful thing to be able to look at something so beautiful and cheerful and have it make you think a dear friend.
Finally some rain fell on the garden. A few cages blew over in the wind, but on the whole the garden is much happier!
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