Second Flower

In many ways these purple tinged Trilliums look completely different from their initial form showing pure white flowers.  These transplants have held this ground for many years now producing blossoms sized much like the native plants across the river.  Maidenhair ferns in the immediate background have also been here for a number of years.  Somehow these plants cover and hold their ground.  It is the result of luck not skill.  The general area is also home to a large number of violets which pull the deer in for a tasty snack.  The wire cage is intended to keep the deer foot prints away from this ground.  Not native but it works.

Decades ago daughter Amy and I were hiking at the Buttermilk Falls park near Ithaca.  A sharply sloped shale ridge was home to a huge group of Columbine plants.  How these plants were able to send out roots into tiny cracks in the stone wall remains a mystery.  This single from seed plant growing from our drystone wall serves as a reminder of the day we happened on generously flowered cliff face.  The Ground ivy is viewed as an invasive pest but it does have blue flowers.

Bluets have a long history here of resisting our efforts to grow them.  This small group is inside of a small mesh wire cage but they are self planted on the horizontal surface of the stone wall.  These plants were originally taken from a sloped lawn that was moist from a septic dry well.  Subjected to mowing and dampness they thrived.  We have been largely unsuccessful in our many attempts to grow this plant.  These will stay caged where they are while we look for new from seed plants in the immediate area.

 

Prairie smoke is a Great Plains native that has held this spot near the house for a few years.  These after the flowers airy presentation is just super.  We do not know if the cage is necessary but why risk removing it?

 

It has taken several years for this Perennial bachelors button to hold its ground  The initial transplant appeared to have died but a low cluster of leaves could be seen during the second year.  It took awhile for the plant to reach a size that allowed blossoms.  Some care is needed to remove nearby weeds.

It seems that we hold a fascination for ditch weeds.  Dame's rocket seems to be everywhere alongside of any road.  It resists transplantation since it has a hefty tap root.  A true biannual, it shows a large coarse robust circle of  close to the ground leaves in its first year.  The explosion of growth in its second year features a variety of colored flowers.  We keep it in our garden by allowing plants from seed to grow in the stone paths between planting beds.  How could anyone not see these blossoms as desirable?

Pinxter bushes are more than welcome here.  When we still had a sense of smell, the calming effect of these flower's scent was a real mood booster.  Their growth habit of open flowers ahead of leaves  is unusual but the number of blossoms is amazing.

The fox has not been seen here for quite some time.  Its right front paw has sustained an injury.  Every step features a limp but when it is time to move on super speed is still possible.  When this animal was first sighted a slow walk straight toward the window was attempted since past movements inside of the house have sent the fox running.  It was in the freshly mowed lawn when first seen but my movement sent it away.  Several days after this picture was taken we came upon a dead fox in the road.  We were about four miles from here when we encountered it and hope that it was not the one that hunts here.
 

Rain For Tomorrow

When we first started this garden, Crocus were planted in embarrassing numbers.  Cages kept the deer away but this single flower is nearly all that remains now.  Voles moved in and we have been unable to end them.  We need to accept that this plant is here no more.

 

Bluets have been introduced to our gardens many times.  A friend had a lawn area filled with them downhill from the septic drain field.  Constant moist ground and frequent hits with the lawn mower prompted them to spread wildly.  These four plants placed themselves in this gap in the stone wall and continue to hold on but just barely.

This wire cage may be responsible for their continued existence here.

 

This plant is either Squirrel Corn or Dutchman's Breeches.  The correct identity will wait until the plants are larger and perhaps in bloom.  The pulled to the surface root mass went unnoticed until the picture was seen.  The deer hoof prints caught and held my attention.  A wire cage can be seen nearby but protects something else.  Following tomorrow's forecasted heavy rain, this will be replanted.

Kathrine Hodgekin's Dutch Iris are protected by a wire cage.  We have no tenable explanation for why these remain while the nearby Crocus are almost gone.

This Hepatica plant was nearly stepped on by a deer.  The invasion of wire cages is hard to look at but so is the near destruction of a treasured plant.

Our Shooting Star has a dandelion for a very close neighbor.  Loosening the soil before removing the interloper will be attempted but we fully expect the deep dandelion root to break guaranteeing that plant's return.

We went nonnative for this early blooming treasure.  Wind Flower is its name and very soon its bright blossoms will cover this ground.  Here we use a wire cage to mark its location  protecting it from both animals and the sometimes careless gardener since it will soon disappear..  We expect impressive growth following tomorrow's southern rain.  Who said that nothing worthwhile ever came from Delaware? 
 

56 Degrees In The Shade

Today was a day well worth waiting for featuring clear skies and warm temperatures.  A cautious walk across ice and snowpack led us to plants that are just today free of snow cover.  This is a picture of Bluets that have a long history of disappointment here resulting from their frequent disappearance.  Here we see a plausible explanation for that problem.  Fresh deer tracks in the snow and an uprooted plant likely illustrate the problem.  Today, Becky firmly replanted the chewed then spit out plant piece deep in a narrow crevice in the wall stones.

 

Columbine is a persistent native plant.  Breeders have developed wild colors for this plant but we prefer the red natural color.  John Burroughs had a blue flowered version of Columbine growing in front of his cabin located on land where he grew up.  During our visit there seeds were ripe.  We do not usually snatch plants but some of these seeds found their way into my pocket.  As a possible lesson in maintaining proper behavior, none of these seeds grew here.

 

This may well be the star of today's show.  Round Lobed Hepatica is a native woodland plant with the uncommon habit of carrying over functional leaves from the previous summer.  These tattered leaves will provide nourishment  for the first wildflower blossoms of the year.  They will be followed by a compact cluster of new leaves.

This fern was a new purchase last year.  Rock Polypody is its name and two fernlike leaves are visible.  Above and to the left may well be the freshly chewed stems that correspond to the nearby new deer tracks.  Wire cages are both unsightly and common in our planned wildflower woodland garden.  If the ground thaws tomorrow, another cage will be placed here if we can find one free of frozen soil's grip.

Chickweed suffers from the same ailment that keeps dandelions from being seen as a treasure.  Both are wildly hardy and excessively common.  Chickweed is constantly weeded out but we cannot eliminate it.  That may be a good thing since in the past persistent leg sores on an old man were cleared with the application of Chickweed tea when the doctor had no treatment to suggest.  As the photo shows, this plant grows under a thick layer of snow although new blossoms may be days away.

 

This plant is new to us and its name remains elusive.  A stone still hidden under the snow carries the name but we could not see it today.  This plant is obviously hardy and we remember its yellow flowers.  Safe from the deer, we look forward to another year with this plant.  When we learn more about its growth habits, a better location may be necessary.

Woodland Phlox may solve a huge problem for us.  It grows with reckless abandon and will soon fill a respectable area with yearlong growth.  Many of our shade garden plants are more reserved and leave much ground free of desirable growth.  After a winter of covid lockdown, it was simply wonderful to find living plants growing where just yesterday only snow could be seen.

 

Previews Of Coming Attractions

Gosh I miss my plants!  Today's weirdly warm weather allowed for a quick preview of coming attractions in the garden. This perfect little round clump of bluets in the garden down by the road means there will be beautiful little blue flowers arriving in the spring.  They are not to be missed!

This coral bells will be a coming attraction for the hummingbirds in the neighborhood.  True it has been nibbled on a little, but the mound of foliage with slender stems and tiny reddish pink bells will come back strong and have me all a buzz along with the hummingbirds!

This perennial flax is clearly planning to  put on a show of beautiful blue flowers.  Each delicate pale green feathery stem will have blue flowers on the top.  Individual flowers fade quickly, but keep coming and the plant looks great from spring to fall.  For me it is a must see!

Ed's pinxter is a budded and ready for it's dazzling pink display coming in May.  If you have never seen this native plant in person, you have missed something very special!

Cardinal flower is having a special grand opening here in 2018.  These magnificent stunning red native plants loved by hummingbirds and gardeners alike are still in the production phase.  We will tell more when spring arrives.  The rain has begun and our sneak preview is over for now.

Mid June All Stars

This is the time in the gardening year when there is simply more that needs to be done than what we can do.  Most of the potted plants are now planted out but some still need attention.  Afternoon temperatures in the mid 80s has us looking for work in the shade.  Becky spent considerable time in the shade garden and this is the result of her efforts.

Serbian Bellflower, Campanula portenschiagiana is an amazing plant with an unbelievably long name.  It flourishes when pushed into a crevice in the stone wall.  Some soil was first pushed into the crack but we did not expect the plant to survive in such a difficult location.  It continues to spread across the vertical face of the stone wall.  A tiny mail order scrap of a plant has now claimed a large section of the wall.

Bluets have been difficult for us to grow.  We have seen them spreading across a lawn that oozed with septic moisture.  Our plants were placed in the soil but have self seeded on the horizontal surface of the wall.  They receive frequent visits from the watering can in a attempt to keep them alive.

This is the neighbor's view of our garden by the road.  From a distance or when speeding by in a car this garden looks rather good.  It needs attention as too many plants are growing close together.  Deer are also feeding here nightly.  Asiatic lilies are safely enclosed in wire cages this year.  Last season the deer ate every lily bud just before they had a chance to open.  One cluster of buds is perilously close to the top of the four foot high cage.

So far the Siberian iris have escaped attention from the deer.  If that holds, these flowers may become our first choice for the perfect perennial plant.  The sword like foliage looks good all summer and the flowers are elegant stunners.  Some have become separated from their name bearing stones.  We think that this one is Silver Edge.

  Roaring Jelly was the first Siberian Iris that we purchased.  It is both hardy and a colorful eye catcher.  Divisions now have it growing in three different locations around our place.

Golden Edge is another beauty.  We find that the edge color rather quickly fades away from gold.  All have proven durable and we will continue to spread them about with early in the year divisions.  Jane, our friend in her ninth decade, has reported that when she visits places that she occupied decades ago only the Siberian Iris that she planted still remain.

Made In The Shade

Now that the locust tree has its leaves these plants have it made in the shade.  It's great for me too.  If you are looking for me in the garden and it is a sunny day, look in the shady spots.  The lovely purple Campanula portenschlagiana in the foreground is just getting started.  This plant seems to love growing in Ed's stone wall and it has yet to disappoint us.  

This year the Jack-in-the pulpit plants are huge and beautiful.  The large three lobed leaves provide even more shade for Jack.  You have to get down at ground level to get a peek at the fascinating flower.

These bluets growing in a crevice on the top of Ed's wall are in the perfect spot to photograph.  Small clumps of tiny leaves can be seen beneath the tiny little blue four petaled flowers. 

 When we first came here, I remember having just three red columbines that we would look for in the woods every spring.  Now the plant self seeds with abandon in this shade garden.  The flowers make a cloud of red blooms that the hummingbirds find irresistible.  Here columbine plants are crowding my small twinleaf plant.   Weeding in this bed gets a bit tricky.  I admit I am not an unbiased referee.  My favorite plants have the edge.  My maidenhair fern grows nearby. Too many beautiful native wildflowers is a great problem to have.  I will enjoy my time in the shade working on it!                                                                                                                    

A Gift Of Plants

Several decades ago when we began our serious gardening efforts, some female gardeners of age took us under their wings and supported our efforts with gifts of their plants.  Many of those ladies are now gone but their plants live on in our gardens.  We remember those caring people with sweet memories whenever we work among their plants.  The gift of plants is a tradition worth preserving and today we continue the practice.

These two arbutus plants were dug with the owners' permission today.  Located at the top of a north facing ridge, these plants were still covered with snow two days ago.  As we move toward summer and the sun climbs higher in the sky, these plants will exist in full sunlight.  Their response to this harsh environment is to keep their leaves small and reproduce freely.  They sense that they may soon die because of their poor for them location and desperately work to create the next generation.

Jane is one of the gardeners that has made  many gifts of plants to us.  Now well into her ninth decade we wanted to make it possible for her to once again enjoy the scent of open arbutus flowers.  We selected these two plants with the plan that they be planted out as soon as the flowers are finished.  Each of these small plants  are at least two years old.  A new plant from seed grows only three leaves during its first year.  The second year sees stem growth and additional leaves.  The flowers buds form at the end of the new stem growth.  Because these plants are small, they will very likely survive transplantation after their short time in the pots.  Jane will be able to raise the pots near her nose rather than going to the ground to catch a sniff of these unbelievable sweet flowers.

We have made countless attempts to grow bluets.  These plants grow like weeds in wet lawns.  They slowly fail for us because of our mostly dry ground.  This time around, we are placing this gift of plants at the base of the hill leading up to our home.  This is the wettest area that we have available to us.  Individual plants are either male or female.  We planted three in the hope that both genders are present.  Natural plant propagation is the goal.  Not only do we want them to live, we want them to prosper.

These four plants were left together because of their closeness to each other.  Dividing them might have increased the stress of the move.  Our rural mailbox is close by so a sprinkling can of water can make the trip down the hill to get the mail on rainless days.

Elaine was kind enough to allow us to take all of these plants from her home site.  Wintergreen grows abundantly there and she offered us a sample.  We have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to bring wintergreen under cultivation.  The growth habit of this plant makes moving it difficult.  An underground stem connects each of these clusters of three leaves.  A small amount of roots form at the point where the leaf stem leaves the underground stem.  Generally, this root mass is insufficient to sustain the part of the plant that has been separated from the crown.  We placed this wintergreen close by an arbutus planting.  Since we continue to bring water to the transplanted arbutus when rainfall is scant, we will remember to water the wintergreen.  The muddy plop is the remains of the soil that was moved today.  Nearby white pine needles were pulled in to cover the soil.  Now these plants look like they are growing in a wild natural location.

Changeable March

Our outside work on the first day of this month seems to have awakened in us a need to garden now.  We ventured outside in response to incredibly clear blue skies and blindingly bright sunshine.  Knowing that skies that clear only occur here when our air is fresh from the North Pole, we were expecting cold air.  It did not disappoint.  Gloved hands quickly began to ache and we soon retreated back inside the house.

Our inside plants suffer from less than perfect care.  Somehow days slip by and attention to basic issues is missed.  This rosemary has managed to stay with us for years.  Its twisted growth habit was the reason it was purchased.  Unusual traits and weaker plants seem to go hand in hand.  We were expecting this specimen to be nearing its final hours.  New growth was appearing so it seemed right to give this plant some help.  Dead wood was cut away and it now looks like this one may live to see another year outside.

Three small heel cuttings were taken.  We use juice bottles with the bottoms cut away to cover the cutting.  That keeps the air around the cutting moist.  Water in the saucer prevents the soil from going dry.  At this time of year cuttings usually die as the basement is chilly.  These early cuttings were moved upstairs into relative warmth.  My need to plant something today was satisfied.

The winter aconites finally pushed their flowers into the air.  In response to an overnight air temperature of zero, the flowers remain tightly closed.  One must marvel at the toughness of these plants.

Nearby snowdrops also have their flower buds closed in the cold air.  We will see their beautiful white flowers later this week as warmer temperatures are in the forecast.

These bluets self seeded in the top of the shade garden wall.  Our transplants were set in the adjacent soil and they prospered for a few years.  Bluets need moist soil and their former location was excessively dry.  Only the moisture captured by the stones keeps these plants alive.  We plan to move two of these plants to a better location soon.  It appears that one of these plants is not like the others.  Some bluets plants are male while others are female.  We will move the two plants at either end of the row in an attempt to get both genders and viable seed.  Their new location will include a nearness to water grabbing stones.  These plants are among Becky's favorites so I really need then to survive under my care.

Shade Garden Plus One

Fringed polygala is the pink flower that has had its spot in the shade garden invaded by other wildflowers.  Tattered evergreen leaves turned purplish by winter's rigors belong to the polygala.  Light bright green leaves mark the location of the invading Canada Mayflower.  Trout lily's brown spots have lightened to grayish white on the darker pointed green leaves.  Clover like three leaves belong to freely self seeding columbine.  Careful weeding is scheduled when the polygala presents its new leaves.  It is the chosen plant and this space belongs only to it.

The number of trillium bulbs we have purchased is shamefully large.  Three new ones just arrived and they will be added nearby.  We want a large display of this native treasure and persist in our efforts to have it here.  They need several years to make themselves at home in our garden and patience on our part is necessary.

This clove currant grows near the shade garden.  When it is in flower, the scent of cloves is carried on the wind for a great distance.  Going about our work, we frequently walk into a sweet smelling drift of  spicy air.  This plant makes this time of year here pleasant beyond description.

Quaker ladies grow as an invasive lawn weed if conditions are to its liking.  Abundant moisture seems to a requirement.  Our several attempts to grow this plant in our dry soil always result in the plant's slow decline.  This specimen self seeded in a crack at the top of the stone wall.  Located on the outer edge of the garden it benefits from frequent supplemental watering.

This bleeding heart is an alien plant here.  Native to another part of the world it is out of place in our wildflower garden.  A longer time in flower and its compact size make this plant a winner.

Maidenhair fern is among Becky's favorites.  Fallen trees in our woods have prevented us from visiting this plant in its natural surroundings here.  This is another native plant that is slow to establish itself following transplanting.  Fearing that it did not survive, we purchased it in two consecutive years.  Both plantings eventually took hold and we now have easy access to this beautiful, delicate, lacy fern.

Jack in the pulpit is a must have because of its unusual structure.  Late frosts have ended the flowering cycle in the past while the plant persists.  Frost is forecast for tonight and covering buckets are now nearby. The red seed clusters are well worth seeing so we will try to keep the frost away from these plants.  Wild or cultivated, alien or Native, plants these days need a little help from their friends to get through Mother Nature's mood swings!