Author: susansdailygarden

Almost

The tulip, crocuses, grape hyacinth, and Blue Bells clematis are are done blooming. The pink clematis is holding on to the prize for current blooming,

but the weigelia is starting to take over.

That clematis used to have double trellises, but when we replaced the air conditioner (and furnace) in 2021 it had to be moved because the new box was much larger. The trellises went to the little house up north and stayed there when it was sold.

I like the trailing look in late spring, but I am considering a clematis re-plant option. Time will tell.

One more week for the clover to stay, and then it will be plucked. By then the weigelia will be in full bloom, with the hostas and Asian lilies not far behind, and the bees will have plenty to feast on after that.

In sad news, I made a recollection error when I thought the Tirzah x Marque Moon seed had sprouted. It has not. The pollinator created South Seas, Marque Moon, and, of course, Purple D’Oro have sprouted though. Still hopeful for the intentional cross. Time will tell.

Not “exactly” the look I was going for

Every year the clover comes up before the gardens really start to bloom. This year the clover is very healthy. It is not exactly the look I was going for, but there is nothing else for the bees right now, except the clematis. I will keep the clover for another week or so until we start to get some blooms elsewhere. That will probably be the Guacamole hosta and the Asian lilies first, and then the Elegans and Blue Mouse Ears hostas, before finally the daylilies.

Linden gets love

The area at the base of the linden needed some love, and some annual spring maintenance was needed. The plastic needed cutting away, and it needed cleaning up. Last weekend I got at that. The plastic got cut way back, and all the suckers on the tree (within reach) got removed. Enjoy, linden!

That’s ok, Gramma still loves you

We are Grandparents to one sweet 2 year old, another on the way, and 4 very sturdy dogs. The kind of dogs where they do not, at all, get the “garden” concept – lol. When you are a dog, plants are targets, and, to be successful, getting the right footing to hit the target just right is pretty dog-gone important! Right? Sometimes they have to step on stuff. Sometimes it doesn’t spring back, and then later gets hits by the mower.

That’s ok. Around here we love our Grand-dogs wayyyy more than a hosta leaf. For absolutely sure! And now the baby bunnies have an opening to quickly identify a place to run and hide when the raptors visit.

All is good.

First scape

This is the first scape of the season, a hosta scape, on the Guacamole.

And, as part of my efforts to use the seeds I already had, some aging, I planted some some Guacamole hosta seeds I harvested. They were from 2020. When I planted them I didn’t put them in the seedling planter, and the birds and or bunnies dug at it a bit. I brought it in the house, and didn’t expect much. One day last week I noticed this.

I have never grown hostas from seeds before, and the seeds were pollinator creations, so we shall see what becomes of the seedlings.

Iris

At the historic cemetery there is what I have been calling “the iris bed”. It is an area that I understand was planted a while back by another volunteer. It is more of a naturalized garden, with grass within and no specific border except the line around it where the grass is cut. Right next to it, except separate, is another small area with another grouping of irises.

I absolutely love irises! I have the most fond memory of my mother and father-in- law coming to our first (owned) house, a new home, with no grass on the sides or back of the house yet. They arrived with a large tin bucket of 40 iris rhysomes they had dig out of their garden, which I love and admired each time we visited.

It was past October 1st because that was our closing date, so planting, everyone agreed, was a close call. We got down on our knees on the west side of the house, dug 40 holes, and planted those irises. The irises thrived there, I put in trim and wood chips the next year, and proceeded to build out my first garden area at that house. 3 years later there were almost 400 iris rhizomes in that garden! I dug out a bunch of those and put them along the whole back fence, I traded some with neighbors, and I even gave some away.

I have wonderful memories of those purple irises. But yet they do not grow here at the townhouse. And they also do not seem to grow consistently up north. You can probably imagine my delight yesterday, when I saw this in the “iris bed” at the historic cemetery.

I was doubtful they would bloom. They do not get much sun, do not look like they have been divided in quite a few years, and have a lot of competition for nutrients. But bud there is. Just one so far. We shall watch.

A remembrance day

In the U.S. we are celebrating Memorial Day – a day to remember those who have fallen in service to our country. At the historic cemetery is a grave for a soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the U.S. Civil War.

Being married to a historian, I know that there were many causes for that awful war. War is always awful.

I took time this morning to walk the historic cemetery. It is good and right to take time to contemplate our learned lessons, and reflect on the incredible price so many have paid for our benefit.