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. 

Self Planted Beauties

Foxglove is a common name for this plant.  That name makes no sense to me since nothing about this plant suggests an item of clothing that any wild animal might wear.  The tubular tunnel shape of the flowers would likely encourage a child of any age to insert fingers into the blossom.  An acquaintance remembers her childhood fascination with these flowers and bought a potted plant so that her daughter could also have her own memories of this plant.  Digitalis is another name for this plant since it is the natural source for the chemical used in a heart medication of that name.  All parts of this plant are considered poisonous if eaten but not all who admire this plant know that.

  

We did not plant seed nor transplant this Foxglove in our shade garden.  Somehow a seed found its way here.  There is no way that we could weed out this single plant despite its pure white color.  We prefer the more vibrant pink or purple coloration frequently seen.  This plant is self seeded and young plants can be easily transplanted when they are young.  The decision ahead of us is whether or not we will let this plant produce seed.

Rose campion is another self seeder that establishes a large number of plants in a rather small area.  This plant is a favorite here both because of its flower color and its foliage color.  Here again these plants can be easily transplanted when small.  We are unable to keep up with our several gardens and may harvest seed this fall to get something attractive growing on ground that we cannot take good care of anymore.

 

This photo shows the view looking out from the house toward the garden.  The rose bush and the Smoke bush occupy a planting bed that we have completely lost control of.  The rose bush was a gift from Jane and she was shocked to see its size if left unpruned.  These Rose campion plants are self sown and seem to do an excellent job of eliminating the weeds in their ground. 
 

Snow Is Going

It seems that snow has covered the ground continuously here for far too many weeks.  Those of us that have lived in the Southern Tier of New York State for even a short period of time know that some snow will return but its time with us will be brief.  Today is special because we are able to see evergreen plants or new growth for the first time this year.  These Arbutus plants were transplanted so long ago that they could now pass for a natural occurrence of a native plant.  Of course, the wire covering cage that keeps the hungry rabbits from eating these tasty green leaves tells another story.

Early flowers form their buds at the end of the previous years growth cycle.  That these buds spent the winter under the snow never ceases to amaze me.  Very soon we will bury our faces close to the ground to drink in the incredibly sweet fragrance of these flowers.

Snowdrops are native to the area that includes Iran.  Their first white flowers boost the spirits so we have knowingly included then along the edge of our native plants garden.  These flowers will likely be open tomorrow.  Seeds will follow and very soon this area will be thick with  new plants.  These bulbs were moved here just last Fall.
 

Growing the elusive native plant Cardinal Flower has been a passion for us for years.  A goal is to have these plants reproduce naturally from seed with no help from us.  These new plants are tucked under a west facing stone wall.  Heat stored in the stones may help these plants escape death from late frosts.  Foxglove still locked in ice may also offer protection as it grows in front of the wall.  We shall see.

Many other perennial plants are showing early signs of life.  These next few relatively warm days shall prove exciting.  We will be outdoors breathing in fresh air while moving about to see what new growth has pushed above the recently frozen ground.  It is becoming safe to walk on ice free ground so there is no telling just how far we will roam tomorrow.

Focus On Some Plants

Yes, it is only January 2nd and some of us are already raring to go.  This tiny little moss bump on an apple tree branch has a nice little start.  Despite the weather realities of January in New York, both the moss and the lichen are actively growing.  The moss ball is doing a nice job of covering evidence of a deer pruned branch.  The presence of the lichen may be a sign that the tree is under attack and will die.

Ingeborg is responsible for the existence of Hazelnuts in our garden.  Our first plant was a gift from her.  This second one was purchased to guarantee that two different plants were here so that pollination would occur.  When the gift tree was delivered, the suggested growth habit of an untrimmed bush rather than a tree with a single trunk was intended to increase the size of the harvest.   Additionally, just letting things grow suits the style of the workman here.

Our foray into gardening several decades ago drew several ladies of years to encourage our efforts with gifts of plants.  This yellow flowered sedum was a gift from Thelma H.  It grows here with weed like tenacity.  We try to limit its growth to the edges of the paths but buckets of it are weeded out every year.  Its yellow colored flowers are a welcome reminder of both Thelma and her impressive garden.  That it is evergreen is a huge bonus.

Coral Bells and Foamflower are related native plants.  Both of them are in the Saxifrage family. When these were purchased we were unaware that Foam flower grows freely in our back woods.   The reddish flowers appear on a thin tall stem providing easy access for hummingbirds.  Attracting hummingbirds and an evergreen growth habit make this plant a winner.  We divide the ever increasing clumps frequently since one can never have too many Coral Bells.

For years the plant Catchfly grew in limited numbers reseeding itself among carefully chosen plants.  It was a gift from Mary Jo and carried on with no help from us. Its flowers are a vibrant pink and a mass of these plants seemed to be in order.  Seed stalks were carefully cut and placed on prepared ground.  A mass of plants resulted.  This patch will provide many plants for placement in other spots.  In addition to the bright flowers, sticky brown rings appear on the stems.  We have no idea how captured flies benefit the plant but that is an interesting bonus.

Foxglove is another plant that makes its own way here.  They freely reseed themselves and some are moved to grow in specific locations.  Several different people provided gifts of this plant.  Its leaves were the original source of the drug digitalis and the leaves are widely recognized as poisonous.  The flowers are attractive and so far no leaves have accidentally appeared in my morning tea. 

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!

A Perfect November Day

The weather forecast for today predicted a fantastic day.  A hard overnight frost was followed by clear skies and temperatures that reached well into the 50's.  This glorious afternoon was spent running fallen maple leaves through the lawn mower creating perfect garden mulch.  The bags of shredded leaves will be piled and covered with a tarp.  If all goes as planned, we will find fine, dry, aged, ph proper mulch for our basil planting next June.  How much better than that does it ever get?

Our original Gloriosa daisies were given to us many years ago by Elle, an elderly gardener that took us under her wing.  Many of her plants still grow in our gardens so we remember her fondly and often.  This last of the season flower looks rather stunning dressed with frost.

Foxglove has found many locations around the garden to send down roots.  We prefer to have it grow at the base of stone walls.  That type of location seems satisfactory to the plant as it reseeds wildly there.  A generous coating of frost highlights the texture of these leaves.

Cone flower has been a favorite of the lady of the garden forever.  It now grows here in unmanageable numbers.  We hate to discard living plants but a run through the compost pile happens to this plant rarely.  An end of the season flower still holding petals and a perfect seed head looks lovely with its frost overcoat beginning to melt in the morning sun.

If our overnight freeze was harsh enough to end nearly all of the tiny biting black bugs, this will have been a truly perfect  day.

Spring Sneak Preview

Forget the groundhog.  No one can predict the weather this year!  This morning we had heavy rain.  It might not be spring , but it will do until spring comes along.  This afternoon I walked about to visit some of my plant friends.  This is Cardinal flower  coming back in front of Ed's wall down by the road.

I hope this a pink foxglove.  If it is white I will not really be disappointed.  Familiar green leaves are so nice to see!

This is a chrysanthemum that seeded on top of Ed's stone wall.  Exposed like that, I didn't think this little plant had a chance.  So far it is showing me!  One tiny stem has become two since I first noticed it in the fall.

No snow to peek  through doesn't stop the snow drops.  I thought about bringing the little bulb on the surface in the house to force.  More likely I will go out tomorrow and  push it into the empty space next to the others.

The front half of the ice plant  turned brown and dry where it was growing over the stone path.  The back half over the soil changed to red.  This plant is new to me, but I like all the green I see coming up under it all.

Many plants here die back to ground level here.  It is always great to see them growing again and this Sedum sieboldi is one of my favorite old friends.  I know it is still February but for me spring was here at least for today!

It Will Be A Cold Day!

With all this talk about our frosts and freezes you might think that the garden was history.  It's true some of the plants like this butterfly  weed have gone to seed.  Other more tender plants have blackened and died.  But a walk through the garden shows that plants do not give up so easily.

These Debutante Mums have been frosted and even frozen several times and they still look fantastic.  How wonderful it would be if all the hardy mums you read about were as tough as this beauty!

Catchfly is a plant that self seeds abundantly and has to be weeded out in the spring.  It must be the warm days that have it blooming again now.  Of course the hummingbirds that love it so much early in the summer have headed South weeks ago.

This is the first pink bud on the Emperor of China chrysanthemums. This plant gives late blooming a whole new meaning.  Frequently the flowers appear after the cold has changed the leaves to a dark burgundy.  So far the leaves are still green.  It's nice to have these flowers to look for after most of the others have given in to the weather.

 

Perhaps this pink gladiola flower is not a perfect specimen, but it was the most  surprising and exciting flower I found in the garden. It may not be hardy, but it is stubborn. These are not expected to withstand cold weather. Others in the same bed have gone limp and mushy.  A few days have passed since I took these pictures.   Perhaps a day or two later, some of the fragrant gladioli plants sent up flower stalks.  They looked kind of sickly and were kind of pale grey-green.  I cut them and brought them into the warm house.

Here they are today.  I don't know if these flowers will bloom , but their attempt is beautiful.  We are having a few days of warm windy and rainy weather.  Ed is stubborn too.  He stayed out there this morning doing his garden thing in the light rain.  When it seemed like the rain was serious, he put away his tools and came inside.  Later if the rain stops he will likely return  outside.  It will be a cold day when he gives up on the garden!  When the plants have gone dormant, he still has his stones.

Deadly Beauty

Common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is presently one of our garden stars.  Abundant pink flowers hanging from tall spikes catch and hold the eye.  This biennial has been with us so long that we cannot remember with certainty its original source.  We garden in the middle of old pasture land so shade here is only a dream.  Foxglove planted at the base of field stone walls finds daily periods of shade near the ground and ample moisture from nightly condensation on the walls. Sited favorably, it increases its presence here approaching weed status.

Our nightly walk about identified an area that needs weeding.  Plant identifier Becky pointed out young basal rosettes of foxglove that need to be moved next to the base of the stone wall rather than added to the compost bucket.  At their present size, they will transplant with ease and guarantee the continued presence of this attractive flower in our garden.  

Another advantage of placing these plants at the base of the stone wall is that foreground plants will hide the coming empty space when the spent flower spikes are pruned off.  The contrast between their present visual statement and the coming unsightly collection of tan seed pods and spent blossoms is stark.

Both the seeds and leaves of this plant contain a compound that affects the rate of heart beat.  Herbalists generally no longer use this plant medicinally since the dosage is hard to determine.  When our children were young we would not allow this plant in our gardens because of its poisoning potential.  Now my day always starts with tea made from garden grown leaves.  Mints are the most common ingredient but other plants are frequently added to the brew.  Many a mystery novelist uses this plant to off their victim.  Plants like this one are best kept separate from the tea herbs.  Mistakes can be made and it's best for everyone to remember that!

Second Thaw

It's just January 15 and the garden has already gone from a substantial cover of snow to no snow twice.  This afternoon I slipped on my green garden shoes and headed out to take some pictures in the garden.

Some of these strawberry plants look pretty good in spite of the fact they still have their runners and dead leaves plus a few weeds.  Somehow we just didn't get this bed cleaned up before the snow hit.

Ed did get a bed of strawberry plants trimmed and set out late last fall.  They look quite nice and don't appear to have frost heaved even though they were newly transplanted .

This time of year Ed's stone paths make all the difference in the garden.  They allow me to walk all around inspecting the garden beds which contain  muddy, waterlogged and, in some places, still frozen soil.  My feet were nice and dry when I finished my garden tour.

I was attracted to the rusty color of Ed's carefully trimmed and mulched Siberian iris.  There is no sign of new green here and that is a good thing.  It is still only January!

It was comforting to see the green of chrysanthemum plants peeking out from the stems meant to protect them.  So far they have done their job and our hopes for the return of the chrysanthemums in the spring are still alive and well.

This Dianthus looks spectacular spilling over onto the stone path.  The tiny green plants are the chervil that I planted last fall.  One of the fine herbs, it is easy to move around the garden just by laying the stalks with ripe seeds where you want them to grow.  Early in the spring I will have flavorful green leaves to brighten up  salads made with lettuce grudgingly purchased from the supermarket.  It will help to dull the pain!

Near the end of my tour, I did discover that the snow is not completely gone from the garden.  Here inside the square on the north side of the stone wall some snow remains.  Where it is located, it receives no direst sunlight since it is always in the shadow of the stone wall.  That doesn't keep the foxglove from looking all ready to do its thing in the spring. These low rosettes will send up flower spikes in the spring that will look terrific in front of the stone wall.  A few brand new lady's mantle leaves can also be seen.  Getting a glimpse of plants getting all ready for spring makes it seem closer somehow, but that is a pleasant illusion. It's January for Pete's sake!