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.
  

Slowly Going Snow

The calender says that spring is here so I hiked to the back to check on the wilderness garden. It appears that this planting area is sited where the north wind piles massive snow drifts. Late snow melt could be used to delay the emergence of frost tender plants. Now that the natural order is understood, this disappointment can be turned to an advantage. For now I will recheck closer to April to see how the garlic planted here is growing.

Low winter sun combined with shadows from the pine covered ridge keep this area cold. Walking from the brown grass onto the snow pack is like stepping into a giant walk in cooler. Even when the snow is gone the temperature difference remains. Brown rivers amid the snow mark the path of the melt water. Springs keep this area wet year round and the action of frost here is unique. Vertical columns of ice crystals raise the soil several inches above its normal level. Walking here now can drop your boot well into the muddy mess as the surface crust softens.

Gravel is near the surface under the pond. Water flow from many springs keeps the pond full during summer. Winter stops spring flow here and the ice slowly depresses as the water drains from under it. Snow melt and spring flow have filled the pond and soon we will see salamanders and polliwogs. Plans call for another attempt to replace some of the goldenrod with other native plants. Ground nuts, blue flag and cardinal flower will be placed on the dike. Iris insata, not even close as a native plant, is also moving here. Personal preference trumps principled planting here.

Spring Fever 60 and Rising

With the snow melting, I was unbelievably excited to get outside with the camera today. I know my photography teacher would say this is a picture of dirt and so it is, but isn't it gorgeous? The plant in the center is one of Ed's beloved cardinal flowers. In spite of being inside a cage it has been trimmed level to the ground. Now who do you suppose did that?

The trumpet vine has a firm grip on this weathered locust fence post.

Can you believe the number of spruce tips scattered on the ground by the squirrels? I wonder just exactly how unhappy I am about this? They are cute and funny for a rodent, but have they crossed the line into unwanted varmint status?

Ahhh! Here we have more dirt, a catnip that needs pulling, emerging bulbs and perhaps some Siberian squill from seed!

Just yesterday snow had these plants covered and flattened. My salad burnett and this Johnny jump up flower are well pressed. One has to wonder if that flower was there last fall and got pressed to the ground by the snow, like the flowers Mom used to press in the dictionary.

The snow drops and tulips don't let the tree peony leaves stop them from growing. They just pierce the leaves and head upward. Rose campion had a great winter here. There are way too many of them at the top of this picture.

Never before have I seen fringed polygala leaves in the spring. Last summer Ed moved this plant from the back woods to the shade garden. It had always been May before I even looked for them. Located in my front yard, they will now receive daily scrutiny. The dark green leaves with purple underneath make me see how this plant once was called flowering wintergreen. It is too soon to declare the transplant a success but these new leaves are certainly encouraging.

This picture of lichens, moss , stones and oak leaves is no doubt a result of my reading Wiseacre's blog. In the past I might have ignored these things completely, but now I have to stop and get a picture. I didn't want to stop, but the camera insisted on a battery charge. Well fine then, even more snow will be gone tomorrow!

A Quick Spring Preview

Warmer temperatures and overnight rain have cleared the snow in the shade garden. Without knowing it, we sited the shade garden directly in the path of the north winds. Wind had already diminished the amount of snow cover here. Ed braved the wet weather to get a couple of pictures. My clumps of bluets look fantastic. It's a joy to see them again. This is the first time that bluets have survived the winter for us.

The cardinal flower that Ed transplanted into the shade garden looks great as well. Spending the winter under a blanket of snow has obviously been beneficial. Close to the house a few other plants have been uncovered. Green grass shows in places where the snow was not so deep.

We were standing by the window watching the rain when the a bald eagle did a low fly by and then made low circles in the area shown here. A second bird flew in and joined in the circles. How amazing that the birds were flying low enough to disappear behind the stand of spruce trees and then reappear into the open area. We watched them intently for several minutes until one bird disappeared behind the stand of spruce trees and the other flew off in the direction of the river. Speculation about a possible nearby nest is running rampant. These eagles may be of breeding age. A mature, white heads and tails, pair were photographed in a field near us early last year. It is a challenge to keep our excitement in check.

Now the few snow flakes falling in the picture above have been replaced with many more. The plants will again be under a blanket of white. I can't say I mind this time. It will give the brimming river and streams a chance to recover and protect the plants. Such a quick spring preview was a bit of a tease, but a welcome one!

Next Year's Garden

Almost without notice the focus of how I spend my garden time has shifted from the current garden to next year's garden. Peas, potatoes and garlic were harvested from these beds this year. Their plant residue and weeds have been replaced with buckwheat. Densely planted buckwheat shades out newly emerging weeds and supplies a generous layer of green manure for next year's chosen crop. It should be cut down before it sets seed or buckwheat will be next year's dominant weed. Bees swarm to the flowers so the plants remain uncut for now. It quite a thrill working next to all of the bees feeding on the buckwheat flowers. Stinging me is the last thing on their minds but I am careful not to stick my nose into an occupied flower.



The basal rosette of young plants points to this Cardinal flower's focus on next year's plants. How a plant that multiplies so freely can be a short lived perennial remains a mystery to me. I have come to believe that all of this year's plant will disappear over winter. Neither crown nor roots will remain from this parent plant. All that will remain is the rosette of daughter plants. Six new plants will have their roots in a tangled mass with little soil penetration. The mass of thinly planted roots are prone to frost heave and death for the daughter plants. If my theory is correct, intervention will be required to save these new plants.



My first bold act was to cut away all of the current plant. These firm stems were placed at the base of the stone wall out of sight. After the ground has frozen the remains of this year's plant will be used to mulch the cluster of daughter plants. If continuous snow cover looks chancy, snow will be shoveled onto these plants. Early next spring when the ground thaws, these plants will be potted up so that I can move them to the basement if severe freezes threatened. When I transplant these I will look for any remaining sign of the parent plant. Six stems show that I did not divide this plant this year. It was coarsely mulched. Each stem will likely create six new plants. Thirty-six new plants in such a small space looks risky to me.

Cardinal Flower

Lobelia cardinalis is described as a short lived perennial. We have nearly lost it more than once. How a plant that freely seeds, forms daughter plants and layers can be so hard to keep alive is a puzzle. The seeds must be tasty to some critter since the new seedlings are few in number compared to the millions of seeds we allow to drop. Each spring the rosette of daughter plants heave and freeze after frosty nights turn their bright green new leaves into grey mush. This year we have Cardinal flower in eight different places in the garden. Some have actually been pulled as weeds. Winter's lasting snow cover helped save many plants ,but that condition is uncertain.




These four Cardinal flowers were placed in 4" X 4" X 5" pots very early this spring. The rosettes of daughter plants were separated just as soon as the soil could be worked. Basement protection was given to these plants when cold freezing nights threatened. All of these potted plants grew well after being planted out when the weather stabilized. Similar plants set immediately in the garden did not all survive. Freezing and heaving killed many of those transplants.

A coarse mulch of tall phlox stems applied after the ground was frozen protected several other plants. Mulch for Cardinal flowers is tricky. If the mulch is too fine or applied early rot is the result. I did not expect much from the open airy stem mulch but it worked well.




The structure of each flower is as unusual as the color is bright. Three downward pointing lobes and two erect lobes are joined by a fused stamen that is tipped in white. Humming birds own these flowers here. More correctly, one humming bird owns these flowers. Aerial combat follows the approach of a second bird. Occasionally flying below the wall allows the second hummer to feed on the nectar unnoticed by bird one. For us the combination of the color of the flowers and the antics of the birds, keep us on the bench for considerable stretches of time. There is much to recommend this short lived perennial.

Just Try To Take My Picture!

When out in the garden with the camera, I am drawn to the cardinal flower and the closed gentian. The deep red and interesting shape of the cardinal flower begs to be photographed. The bizarre cone-shaped flower of the closed gentian has a fascination that no other plant can match.



Of course with the closed gentian there is the tantalizing idea that I might catch a bumblebee pollinating a flower. I was just a bit late with this shot. The bumblebee was up and out before I could snap the picture. I have gotten it right in the past(click here) but not this time. While I was concentrating on the bumblebee, I heard a familiar buzzing . Hovering just to my left over the stone path was a hummingbird. Time seemed to stand still while the bird looked me in the eye. It felt like she was daring me to take her picture. This is unusual behavior. Usually these tiny birds take off like a rocket whenever I get close. Either a female or a juvenile bird, this one seemed to welcome a chase. I took the challenge and spent several minutes almost but not quite getting a picture of the speedy hummingbird. It would let me get close and then increase the distance like a game of keep away.



It was when the tiny bird perched on the cage around the closed gentian that success was mine. It's not the same as getting a picture of a hummingbird flying, but it's a start.

Colors In Combination

Now that our gardening skills have progressed to the point where we only kill some of the plants some of the time, it is time to try new things. Placing plants in proximity so that attractive color combinations present themselves seemed a good place to start. Dark Landini lilies have proved hardy here. White Simplon lily bulbs were planted with the Landinis. Both lilies survived the Mother's Day freeze so expectations ran high that we would see dark and white lilies bloom together. As in comedy, timing is everything. Simplon lilies are in bloom here now. Landini lilies finished blooming here weeks ago. Both were beautiful in their solitary displays.

The purple flowers are wood betony, Stachys officinalis. In the photo the combination of purple and white looks sharp. In the garden the white lilies are chest high while the purple betony is ankle high. Prior to the photo I never saw both colors together.



Red and white are easy colors to mix. Cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis had planted itself in this spot. The location has proved a good one producing enough plants to transplant elsewhere. Adding the Leucanthemun "Fiona Coghall" seemed worth a try. Since both plants have been here long enough for us to know their bloom time, this combination worked. I guess the lesson learned is that it is easier to succeed if you have some actual information to anchor your plans.

Cardinal Flight School

It was an on and off rain day, so I had a chance to observe the garden from the window. A brilliant red male cardinal and his newly-fledged slender carbon copy of Mom were on the stone path by the clove currant bush. Dad fed junior as I watched. Next Dad flew up and sat on the post in front of the clove currant bush. Junior disappeared under the bush. I watched the bush quiver as the young cardinal struggled to get to Dad. As soon as he got there Dad promptly flew to the smoke bush. Junior hesitated, and then flapped his very best to arrive in the smoke bush where Dad was waiting. This time Dad fed the baby. I guess a reward is given for flying, but not for climbing. Almost immediately Dad flew to a garden post just a bit more distant. Again junior flew to catch up with Dad. This trip took them out of my line of sight, but I'm sure this is how they spent the day. Young birds have to grow up fast to survive. I don't know how long flight training lasts. This beautiful little cardinal seemed to be doing very well. I hope I get to see both of them them again.

Red Hot Garden Color

It's late August and the garden is aglow with brilliant red cardinal flower. The hummingbirds are delighted zipping happily from one flower to another. Even with so much to do in the garden, it's impossible not to take time out to watch them enjoy sipping nectar from these deep-throated red flowers.









The color in the photos is close to the actual color of the flowers. The pictures were taken in the light of morning. There is something about morning light that intensifies the color red. The cardinal flower looks its best in the morning light.

Up Tight Flowers

The closed gentian is blooming. This is the second year for this fascinating specimen here. As luck would have it when I purchased this plant , it turned out to be two , one blue, one white from the same pot. Sometime I suppose I will have to try to separate them, but for now I just enjoy their unique flowers. The white plant is ever so slightly ahead of the blue. Bumblebees have forced their way into many of the white blossoms,but most of the blue flowers are still closed up tight. It might be the end of August, but there is still cool stuff going on in the garden.

Ed dug more potatoes today. The copra onions have been brought in for braiding. The peppers are beginning to produce. That includes six plants that we bought marked new ace that definitely look hot not sweet. Tomorrow I need to suit up and cut the okra pods that are ready. We are looking forward to trying those.

The high humidity and frequent rain has take it's toll. The zucchini and summer squash plants are gone. The powdery mildew won this time. Sometimes it's best to face facts and dispose of infected plants for the good of the others. The tomato plants may be next.

For many plants it's all about going to seed now. Weeding done now is profitable, paying big dividends for next year. The goldfinches are visiting the sunflowers. In the fields the goldenrod has begun to bloom. A couple of varieties are blooming now, more will join them and continue until the frost. The New England asters are just beginning to show their purple. The purple and gold is a sure sign that September is upon us. I have to be honest, I love this time of year!

Hummingbird Futures

Peeking through the snow is a basal rosette of Lobelia cardinalis, cardinal flower. It's a big favorite here. The hummingbirds love it, and its deep red flowers and delicate structure make it so spectacular. There was a time when we had great difficulty keeping this plant alive. Now Ed divides it when the clumps get crowded and it grows in lots of places throughout the garden. This plant looks great so far. It has been covered with snow up until now. If the weather stays moderate, or if we get more snow before any deep freeze that might happen, this plant should be gorgeous. That is not to say that a cold snap would kill the plant, but both the cardinal flower and I would be happier without one.

Vivid, Red, Hummingbird Happiness

Looking for the quintessential red flower for hummingbirds? When referring to Lobelia cardinalis, Mrs. William Starr Dana (1897) said, "We have no flower which can vie with this in vivid coloring." This is a New World wildflower. The Europeans got it from us. My first cardinal flowers came from Sandy Mush Herb Nursery. The variety with green leaves is the most likely to winter over. Around here, this plant is given all the space it wants. With Ed's beautifully prepared beds, the plant self seeds sometimes. We watch carefully for it when we weed.

Cardinal flower has long been Ed's favorite. The flowers seem to him like a source of light. Success with this plant has been elusive. Every spring many of the bright green crowns are frozen out. This spring he tried dividing some crowns. Each crown contained several crowded plants that had forced themselves up out of the ground. The plants from these spring divisions are the best yet. Taller and bearing more flowers, they have made an impressive display!

Last weekend Amy and Ed hiked at Minnewaska to see the new growth in an area recently burned. The recovery from the forest fire is truly amazing. In places it is hard to see if the fire actually reached the carriage road. One such area sported many cardinal flowers. The cardinal flowers had attracted numerous black swallowtail butterflies. The combination of the red flowers and the black butterflies made quite a show!