Sun Follows Lee

Wisdom is reported to accompany age.  Perhaps age forces us to work smarter because we have a new found difficulty working harder.  Developing planting areas in our former pasture used to start with cutting out and removing sod blocks.  That is strenuous work.  We have recently discovered that grass clippings and time will kill the sod in place.  Raking grass clippings is also hard work.  Today brought the arrival here of a lawn sweeper.  Sweeping clippings is more like play than work.  With all of the recent rains the grass is growing at an alarming rate making abundant hay.  Today also featured brief periods of sunshine.  Storm aftermath makes travel impossible in three directions as the roads are simply gone in places.  We are here, so we might as well rake hay.

Cardinal flower, lobelia cardinalis, is a favorite here.  This plant survived without our intervention.  Its four stalks show that we did not divide this second year plant.  Now each stalk is making up to six daughter plants.  Crowded does not begin to describe the situation here.  Experience has taught us that none of these plants will survive winter if we divide them now.  As winter approaches we will loosely cover this cluster with the dead stalks.  Division will wait until early spring.  Without intervention these daughter plants will crowd each other out with none surviving.
 

Hardy chrysanthemum, Clara Curtis, looks great next to the stone wall.  Its appearance now is a not so subtle announcement that we are in the third season of the year.  A single purchased plant has undergone countless divisions.  We have them widely planted hoping that some will see spring.  These are indeed a treasure.
  

Spring Preview

Perhaps it rained overnight. Morning on the second day of 2011 brought winds from the south. A misty morning was followed by beautiful blue skies with  a thin white rippled layer of clouds. Ed couldn't wait to get outside. The beds in front of the house were a good place to begin. The winter sun,  and its reflection off the white house made this soil  more likely to have thawed. Weed removal  becomes a possibility.

 

Some of the weed's root masses were stuck in the frozen soil others released their roots easily.  Self seeded Nicotiana was the dominant dead plant in this allium bed.  It is a personal favorite, and it filled the bed with scented flowers when the alliums were past.  More complete weeding here will wait for spring.

Chrysanthemums need to be loosely mulched after the ground freezes.  Snowfall preceded frozen ground so the mulching waited for today.  Here Clara Curtis mums show good new growth.  In the three years that they have grown in our garden a single plant has produced multiple clumps.  We would prefer that they continue to prosper here.



Spent growth from this year has been placed over the new growth.  With any luck snow cover will return and carry these plants safely to spring.

The afternoon was spent cutting trees and brush under the electric wires.  For some reason I looked skyward as I was gathering my tools.  Silhouettes of two large birds circling above the pines disappeared from my view.  Moving away from the trees I caught another glimpse of the birds.  Wide flat wings suggested eagles.  When they cleared the trees again I saw white heads.  One bird was visibly larger than the other so I think that I saw a pair of mature bald eagles.  They were flying close to each other their wingtips almost touching.  One would dip under the other and fly on the opposite side.  After several effortless circles the eagles flew up river side by side.  Breeding season will soon be at hand and I would like to believe that I saw a mated pair of bald eagles enjoying a free day before the rigors of raising the next generation fill their days.

In Search Of Hardy Chrysanthemums

This "Emperor of China" chrysanthemum is quite remarkable. Even with nights in the twenties, heavy morning frosts and no covering at night, it continues to produce its pretty pink blooms. It seems that a hard frost is necessary before these flowers will open. Each fall we impatiently watch, hoping that these flowers will have their chance to bloom while the buds remain tightly closed. Each year, with the rest of the garden mostly brown, the "Emperor of China" chrysanthemum produces its dazzling display after the frost.

A closer look at the mostly brown garden reveals that all is not dead. These "Clara Curtis" chrysanthemums have started next year's growth. The dried stalks from this year will be cut and placed over the new growth after the ground has frozen hard. We can never decide when to cut the dead stalks. Sometimes they are cut early and set close aside to use as winter mulch. Other times they are left in place to be cut later.

Having long ago given up on the root bound cupcake mums that never winter over for us here, we search for hardy mums and plant them in the spring. Next year we hope to have these two, as well as "Mammoth pink" and "Mary Stoker" return . In the meantime the hardy mum search continues .

Chrysanthemum Weather

As is often the case here, the weather report has changed. We are now looking at some sunny days and warmer nights. It's chrysanthemum weather. If we are lucky we might get a week or two! That's very nice since some of my mums are just budding now. This Clara Curtis has been beautiful for some time. We got it early this spring and it has had all summer to settle in. I have high hopes that it will winter over. Most often the cupcake looking mums sold around here in the fall are totally root bound and have absolutely no chance to make it through our winter. Clara is planted on the south side of one of the stone walls so I like her chances.

Yesterday was a delightful day in the garden. Ed dug the last of the potatoes and some carrots. I worked at cleaning up some gone- to- seed plants and weeds. We both pondered where we will plant the bulbs we ordered early in the season. One package has already arrived. Another will be here any day now. Optimism has its rewards! As is usually the case we have ordered more that we have space ready to plant.