Flowers Everywhere

This is one of the last Siberian iris purchased here.  The catalog picture displayed this plant as having dirty white flowers.  For several years no purchase was made since we enjoy pure white flowers.  Imagine our surprise when the new purchase first opened its blossoms here.  Over the years the mail order scraps have taken hold and are now impressive.  We want to divide our clump and will once again put it on the to do list.

Nearby our Unadilla home, an older woman lived in a very small building.  She was an excellent neighbor allowing us to tap her maple trees and engage us in pleasant conversation.  This plant was one that she carefully tended.  It was given to us by her daughter.  These plant to people connections bring to the surface pleasant memories.  This written record will help us remember since we would now be accurately classified as elderly.

 

This is another of our self planted treasures.  Digitalis is classified as a poisonous plant but only adults live here.  A former student has pleasant memories of her interaction with these flowers when she was a child.  She placed two potted plants outside of her door so that her daughter could have a similar experience.  We also find the shrinking tunnel wildly marked with colored dots magical.  Its chance occurrence close to our stone wall only increases the magic. 

This Woodland sedum has no flowers yet but its light bright leaves are beautiful in their own right.  Growing close to the sizeable stone placed to make the slope manageable adds to the appeal but that one weed needs to go.  In the not too distant past I used hand power to move this stone to its final resting place.  Repeated similar actions may be part of the reason why back ache pain is now nearly a constant companion.  The lichen covered grain of the stone and its companion plants looks great.

These Dianthus flowers look totally magical as they seem to float in the air.  Their scent is so compelling that we violated our do not pick the flowers rule with two flowers in a bowl on the kitchen counter.  These are truly a wonder.

 

 

These are the remains of an early flower named Prairie smoke.  It has been twice featured in earlier posts.  Most flowers leave nothing behind after their work making the next generation's seed is formed.  These look fragile but remain intact. 

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.
 

April Weather

Yesterday was warm enough to work outside as long as the sun was shining.  We were so focused on our plants that we did not notice the sun disappearing behind the clouds and hobbled indoors stiff and cold but pleased with what had been accomplished.  Jane's Bearded iris are a treasure both because of their source and their color.  Royal purple flowers are both beautiful and appropriate reminders of Jane and all that she did for us.  Prairie smoke fills the corner and is doing well as a recent transplant.  It likely should be divided but doubt if we will risk damaging it.  By early June its tight pink flowers will open widely into foam appearing clusters.  It is quite a visual treat.

 

We have recently been invaded by iris eating voles.  They have nearly completely destroyed our line of Siberian iris planted down near the road.  We watched with glee when the resident fox captured and ate  voles fairly close to the house.  We were fearful that Jane's iris might be in danger and were thrilled with this nearby deposit that may mark the foxes territory and possible protection for the iris.  It was placed by the fox at the edge of the stone path and will remain there.  We may be viewed as more than a little nuts leaving this where the fox placed it but it may afford some degree of protection for our plants.

 

We also worked at the top end of the bed initially dealing with last year's October skies growth.  This is not a native aster but it does possess certain traits that make it an excellent garden plant.  For some reason the deer have not eaten it.  Its arching branches form a huge closely spaced half sphere that is covered with purple flowers.  New growth is already evident and new plants could easily be dug for transplanting now.  Perhaps this year will see the edging stone path finally finished.

This native Sedum is new to us and has grown greatly in its short time with us.  It appears to be pleased with its location in the hot sunshine near the house.

Our native Early meadow rue and its mate reside in the shade garden near the road.  It exists in both male and female form.  We believe that this is the female plant but accurate identification will follow when more growth is evident.  Male plants are much smaller and there is a visible difference in the flowers.  These plants grow in abundance next to Irma's woods but we honored her memory by buying our two plants.  Both have prospered here and new seedlings are abundant.  Leaves will follow these early flower buds and another growth year will be underway.

Yesterday's chill kept us inside this morning but bright sunshine lured us outside to make the nearly half mile walk to the mail box.  Despite our years outside, we failed to notice the looming black clouds to the west.  Totally dry ice pellets began to fall while we were at the base of the hill.  Our return walk up the hill took enough time that the early scattered ice pellets increased in number as seen in the photo.  It seems that we get older but no wiser but it was an experience to be out in what was a brief but heavy ice storm. 
 

Gun Season Day 1

Our mowed field has been home for a large group of female deer and their offspring for the past several weeks.  Two bucks are sometimes seen but the ladies are for the moment left alone.  Each evening found them grazing or resting on the ground.  Flattened grass indicated that they may have spent the night sleeping here.  Then for no apparent reason they were gone.  This morning the group was back.  This youngster is looking at Becky who is watching it just outside of our living room window.  This deer gives every appearance of knowing that we pose it no danger.  The worst thing that has happened here in the recent past is us opening the window and instructing the deer not to eat, step on, harm or disturb Becky's Prairie smoke plants.

This group of four, one is hidden behind the trunk of the Trumpet vine, is just outside of the kitchen door.  That planting area has been lost to the weeds so no encouragement to move away has been recently given.  They know that we are watching them but they were slow to go elsewhere.

 

This is the view outside of our kitchen window.  A third deer is feeding nearby but was just beyond the area pictured.  Once again the deer is making eye contact with Becky before returning to its frozen breakfast.

Clicking on this photo will make it larger allowing the two deer to be more easily seen.  I was able to walk clear across the garden with these deer watching me to get this picture.  My movements were slow and my gaze was directed away from the deer.  An attempt to get even closer sent these two running through the trees up the hill. 

We have yet to hear any gunshots this morning but there may well be movement as the hunters seek a prime location on this day one.  For now we will not venture to our acres to the south.  I have not welcomed trespassers in the past and see no reason to give them a free shot at me.
 

Where There Is Smoke...

Ed snapped this great picture of my Prairie Smoke plant.  All of the pictures I took of these delicate  smoke plumes  were blurry.  Perhaps it was because I was so excited to have this plant whose pictures in catalogs and books filled me with burning desire.

There are actually two of these plants planted in front of Jane's dark purple iris.  You can have your winning lottery ticket.  For a plant person like me, this is winning big!

The Latin name for this plant is Geum triflorum. True to the name the flowers come in threes.  It is a semi-evergreen perennial.  I confess I had to look that one up.  It means that the old leaves die when the new leaves form.  This picture was taken on May 6. This fantastic plant has been  flowering for a month even though the weather has been  extremely erratic.

It was April 30 when this picture was taken.  I carefully tidied up around the plants and redid the stone beforehand.  Let's just say I was overexcited when I wrote Prairie Fire instead of Prairie Smoke.  Oops!  It is easy to see that there are two individual plants here.  One is much larger than the other.

I'm fairly sure that the water droplets on this newly emerged Prairie Smoke came from melted frost.  I have been enjoying this delightful native wildflower for two whole months.  Maybe love's passionate flame goes up in smoke, but it certainly is glorious while it lasts!