March 1, A New Record ? !

There were a couple of very excited gardeners here this morning.  For March 1 in upstate New York, it was warm and balmy.  We decided to get ready and head down to play in the garden by the road.  It took us a while to get everything together.  Where did I put my favorite nippers last fall anyway?  By the time we were all ready to go out it began to rain!  I was crestfallen, but we decided to take the truck for a ride to visit the back. By the time we got back there the rain let up. We had a fabulous time  in the woods.  I saw a flock of bluebirds and that was fantastic. While we were back there the rain stopped, but the wind was picking up.  Our original plan seemed within reach so we made a pit stop at the house then headed down the lane to garden by the road.

A walk around inspection tour of the plants no longer covered by snow was first.  These foxglove plants flourished under the snow cover. They look terrific for now!

One thing we have discovered about this garden bed is that almost everything grows like Jack's beanstalk.   Here are three Dame's Rocket plants.  We love the flowers but these plants fill  the picture now and  will be gigantic later.  Ed will need his pry bar  and determination to tackle them.  They are definitely not the project for today!

The green tips of King Alfred daffodils are a welcome sight.  Just thinking about those bright yellow flowers makes me happy!  But what about today's fun?

Here is a close look at one of Ed's Autumn Joy sedums.  The time for cutting these plants back is right NOW!  It's a good thing I found those nippers!  Ed removed the cages and we worked side by side.  The idea was to cut back the dead stalks before the green shoots get bigger.  Ed dug out any weeds near the sedums muttering about the quack grass sneaking in from next door.
                                                                         

As we worked the wind was picking up.  Ed had to chase his hat several times and the trugs kept blowing over.  I'm a little rusty using my garden cart, but I only did one wheelie and I did not end up on the ground.

Now that's what I call progress! We finished the entire row of sedum plants.

When our mail was delivered, our mail carrier remarked, " In the garden on March 1, isn't that a new record!"  Maybe, but  we got a glimpse of spring and we grabbed the chance to enjoy it!  We knew it must be time for lunch.  Ed cut back just one Siberian iris and then we headed back up the lane to the house.

The rest of the first day of March featured rain, thunder, winds, plummeting temperatures and finally some snow  but we had a glorious morning!

Let's Make A Difference

We decided to take advantage of a break in the wonderful rain to get out there and make a difference.  We chose to work in the garden down by the road.  When Ed and I work together on the garden it is always time well spent.  Ed brought buckets of wood mulch  and started on the edge.  The mulch filled trench is intended to give the pasture grasses a place to grow in the direction of the garden without actually entering the garden.  If our weeding is timely, the trench is quickly cleared and none of those horrid white grass roots will have reached the garden.

I started cutting back dead flower stalks.  This patch of red bee balm was screaming to be cut back. That powdery mildew needs to be banished from the garden.  I filled the cart behind my tractor twice.

There is still so much beauty in the garden.  It was a pleasure to spend time giving it air and light.  These bee like insects are unknown to us since we do not recall ever seeing them here before.  Honey bees seem to have largely disappeared.  We are close to several huge dairy operations.  With them comes poisons to favor the growth of corn.  Their corn reached record heights but many of the honey  bees appear gone.

We spent just 190 minutes in the garden. I think we made quite a difference.  Perhaps others who drive by will not notice the change, but beauty has an impact on everyone.  We had a wonderful time!!!!!

Bee Sting

We have a history with bees here.  Early in our time on this land, a former student asked if he could place bee hives here.  Our quick yes was followed by the delivery of five hives.  Soon the young man left his children, his wife and his hives.  Taking care of the bees became our responsibility.  A bee suit and smoker were purchased.  I found that working in a cloud of bees caused me no alarm.  One afternoon Becky stood a some distance away to take pictures as I harvested some honey.  Apparently she had positioned herself on the line the bees were flying as they gathered food.  After taking several stings, she ran from the area with the bees following in hot pursuit.  I was never stung while working with the bees.  My feeling was the inner calm that carried me through 34 years of teaching eighth graders also quieted the bees.  Things went differently today.

We were working on the garden by the road this morning.  That patch of pasture grass at the end of the planting needed to be removed in preparation for expanding the garden area.  Dressed in my sun protecting clothing, only facial skin was exposed.  Suddenly something flew inside of the hood and entered my right ear.  An instant flashback to Star Trek had me ripping off the hat and hood and waving my arms wildly about.  A medium sized bumble bee left my ear and began flying about my head.  My sense of inner calm had been shattered and I was dancing about swatting at the bee. I've never moved like that before.  It first stung my cheek.  Then it landed dangerously close to my eye and stung again.  Trapped between my finger and thumb, life quickly left the bee.  My luck continues to hold as my eye is fine.  Becky couldn't believe that I didn't swell up at all.

Our plan is to continue the Autumn Joy sedum and Siberian Iris line to the sumac trees.  If the ground is prepared this year, we will have a chance to see if all of the quackgrass rhizomes have been removed before we plant.  If even a small piece is missed, it will quickly work to reclaim its ground.  Existing sedums will be levered out and cut in half with a huge knife.  One piece will return to its former spot and the other planted in an open spot up the line.  Our gardens will similarly supply Siberian Iris for replanting here.

These Black Dragon lilies are one of the few Orientals to have decent flowers here this year.  Their scent is best when it is unexpectedly encountered on the wind.  Placing one's nose near the flower does capture the fragrance and some pollen stains but it is nothing like walking into a sweet smelling cloud.  Bees gathering pollen are usually quite calm and uninterested in combat.  We frequently share flowers with no problems.

Impatiently Waiting

Warmth from the strengthening sun has finally revealed the top of the stone wall built near the town road.  Black road sand stains on the surface of the snow marks the limits of our snow blower's range.  Road sand mixed with snow creates a dirty appearance but the dark color will speed melting.  Still, there is hope.  Perennial flax is the first plant visible above the snow.  Deep snow cover may have helped clear frost from the ground by now and we would really like to see how this plant and its daughters handled winter.  An arc of summer sweet bushes are visible near the far end of the wall.  Clethera prefers a warmer climate so this may be a year without those sweet summer flowers.  Autumn joy sedum seed heads rise along the property line.  We will surely find new growth there when the snow finally clears.

Periwinkle peeks out near the wall at the top of the long driveway hill.  It is rugged enough to expand in size despite the pasture grass and briers that also grow here.  Our original piece of this plant was a gift from a fellow worker that needed a little help clearing the ground stump remains from her yard.  Many of our plants provide a connection with people from our past and trigger pleasant memories.

Enduring deep snow cover has confined our walks to the driveway.  We saw a chipmunk peek out of the snow that covers a stone wall.  The many voids in this wall provide spacious quarters for these squatters.  Seeds from the giant cherry tree nearby are stored in the wall.  There is no question about exactly how these creatures spent the winter.  The pictured tunnel is recent.  Perhaps the chipmunks also desperately needed a walk in the sunshine.

This foolishness illustrates just how desperately I need to see some green plants.  Snow covering the arbutus cage was delicately shoveled away to the level of the cage top.  This might allow for a safe early view of the plants still covered with snow.  It might also entice salad starved chipmunks or deer mice to dine on early greens.  I will stand watch but for only part of the day.  Hope that this shoveling was not a mistake.

Spring Preview

With our December thaw so far most of the beds still have a covering of snow, but here and there the perennial plants are putting on new growth to be ready when spring finally arrives.  I am encouraged to see this kind of growth at the base of my perennial flax.  This plant put on quite show last summer.  I can close my eyes and remember the beautiful blue flowers but it's a lot more fun to actually see them.  Those delicate blue flowers that sway in the slightest breeze that open in the morning  and drop their petals to the ground before noon on a hot day, are a delight!

Ed's Mammoth Pink chrysanthemum is sending new growth in all directions.  If this continues we will have plenty of these gorgeous dark pinks flowers to spread around.  It almost feels like money in the bank!

The Doone Valley lemon thyme  looks perfect peeking out from the snow.  The fragrant and tasty green and yellow leaves are the stars here.  In the cold their fragrance is somewhat subdued, but if you rub a small sprig with your hands the aroma of spring is right there just waiting!

I failed in my search to find a picture of the sweet clove scented flowers that remind me of the fragrance of the carnations I remember from my youth.  I would be really tempted by the carnations at the checkout in the but that aroma seems to be missing and without that the flowers have lost their appeal for me.  I'll have to wait for these to bloom!

New Autumn Joy shoots are pushing up through last year's stems. It's kind of amazing since they don't bloom until September.  They will wait right where they are until the warmer weather.  Planted in the bed down by the road, the  big round mound of leaves get larger every year. The flowers are loved by bees, and Ed uses the dried stalks to make trees on his train layout. 

Of course some of our plants show absolutely nothing above ground at this point.  That doesn't prove a thing. Nature has to save some surprises for later. It's part of the fun!

Easter Lily Leaves

Eighteen days after this pot was pulled from the ground in the garden, green growth appeared.  If memory stills serves us reliably, five L. longiflorum bulbs were placed in this pot last fall.  A large bulb was positioned in the center with four daughter bulbs surrounding it.  None of the bulbs were touching the pot but the first two to show green grew up against the pot side.  Plants grown for sale usually feature plant growth in the center of the pot.  I wonder just how that is done.

Green leaves are not the only signs of life in the pot.  We stubbornly continue to use our garden soil for our indoor plants in pots.  Bark mulch from a local mill covers the surface of the pot.  Tiny critters scurry across the mulch and also fly about.  One has to wonder if we have inadvertently included some of those summer biters with our early flowers.

A second pot of lily bulbs was pulled from the ground and placed in the basement today.  One more pot of lilies and a single pot of tulips remains outside.  Their move inside will occur in about three weeks when the second pot begins to show green.  This winter has been mild but it still feels good to see green plant growth now with its promise of summer flowers in March or April.

This is another form of indoor gardening that fills part of our winter days.  One end of the basement is home to a scale model depicting a local railroad that is long gone.  The New York and Ontario branch line to Edmeston ran very near us on the opposite side of the river.  Trees in the newly green area grew  in the garden as Autumn Joy sedums.  White glue holds the ground foam foliage in place.  Soon the weather will allow comfortable outdoor work and this job site will go quiet.

Planting the trees was easier done with the bridge out of the way.  The builder might be happier now that a picture is included that shows his bridge.

Beautiful Autumn Garden Days Bring Big Rewards

The last couple of days the weather has been beautiful for working in the garden and there is plenty to do.  Ed and I enjoyed spending the day getting this bed ready for winter.  Weeds were removed, plants were trimmed and  plant tags were renewed.  Finally Ed installed  the fence to keep the ever present deer out of the bed.  The fence is a little late as several strawberry plants and one day lily already served as lunch for the deer.

Yesterday while Ed worked on mowing for the last time, I cut back the Autumn Joy sedum plants. Twice  the wheelbarrow was filled to overflowing with the heavy stems and seed heads of these plants.

Next years growth is already visible at the base of the plants.  From the look of the new growth these plants will be even bigger next year.

In the past we have not necessarily cut these plants down in the fall but this year there  was quite a lot of leaf debris on the ground under the plants.  From the look of them, cleaning up this bed could only be a good thing.  I  also discovered that critter had dug a hole at the base of one of the plants.   Ed filled in the hole to cover the exposed plant roots.  With the plants cut back low wire cages can be  placed to protect the new growth.  Every nice day gives us a chance to work on more of the garden.  Whatever we can get done now will reap big dividends come spring.

Today the fall rains have returned.  It was a nice morning to take a drive to  admire the misty clouds and what's left of the trees' autumn color on the surrounding hills.  We hope for more beautiful fall days to work in the garden.  Every one that we get  brings us autumn joy!

Worth A Closer Look

After hard rain during the night, the garden remained wet today.  With the rain we are finally getting some green beans.  It's really not a great idea to pick green beans when the plants are wet, but if you take a closer look, there is another obstacle to moving the fence that surrounds the green beans.

Dripping wet but looking good, a monarch butterfly chrysalis hangs from the wire fence.

After the rain the Autumn Joy sedum has flattened out.  The weight of the water adds to the weight of all those flowers.  Their fragrance is heavy in the air.  It is not a scent that I find appealing.

A closer look at the sedum reveals a "Marge Simpson " spider and her web.  She has been there for several days and seems to find it a good hunting spot.

Fall is the time for lots of  purple and yellow composite flowers in the garden.  New England asters and Rudebeckia triloba add more than color to the garden.  They provide pollen and nectar for the bees that will be used to make food needed this winter.

A closer look reveals the tiny yellow flowers that open a few at a time, giving the flower the maximum amount of bloom time to produce seed and giving the bees the maximum amount of time to visit.
At first glance there is a lot to see in the garden, but if you just stop to take a closer look, you can see so much more!

Garden Fever

Our last day of 2011 was warm enough to allow garden work while in shirtsleeves.  Granted they are insulated shirtsleeves but this is the end of December.  Autumn Joy sedum are getting cut back for the winter.  New growth is normal and it looks promising.  The weeds get to stay since the ground shaded by the sedum remains frozen.  Still we had a chance to complete this one job ahead of the arrival of winter.

Winter has our pond firmly in its grip.  Daylong shade from the wooded ridge blocks sunlight from warming this area.  That one step from the bright sunlight into the seasonal shade is like walking into a refrigerator.   The temperature difference will be noticeable all winter.  Cold seasonal stability characterizes this area.  Plants here will be the last to break dormancy.

Some animal had what must have been a scary walk across the newly forming ice.  Its path was continuous to shore so a cold dunking was avoided.  My luck has held there also.  For reasons completely lacking all reason or logic, I always have to step onto the ice to see if it will support me.  So far that move has never been early but I know that cold wet feet are in my future.

Another clump of trees have been thrown by the wind.  Come spring some of this muck will be shoveled out of the pond and readied for use in the garden.  Its fine grain will improve moisture retention in our sandy soil.  Muck must be nutrient rich it is so dark in color.

On the last day of this year we had a chance to work in the garden this morning.  That made the day a great one.  Afternoon clouds brought a seasonal chill and we are now indoors.  More marks will appear in the seed catalog as we move toward 2012.