It is a day to celebrate! The giant snow pile finally melted it’s last, and it looks like no blizzards in the forecast – hahaha! Wow! It was a long winter this year!
Going, Going, Gone
Category: Spring in Minnesota
Are we there yet, are we there yet?
Spring is here!
Wait, another snow storm.
Yes! Warmer weather. The snow plow pile is almost gone!
Wait, an ice storm followed by more snow.
Such is a Minnesota March. But we have arrived at April! Hallelujah! Although we have had snow at the beginning of June – on the irises I was cutting to bring to our kids teachers – it is super rare. And, in fact, when we were out raking the other day, we discovered the ground is beginning to thaw and a few sprouts are starting to come up.
Over the winter up north we had a dawn and dusk deer parade – anywhere from 3 to 16 deer coming through. Usually around 9-10. We discovered their pattern and where they meet up. There were many wonderful hours of deer watching. And unfortunately one coyote, and one night yipping. The does will drop their fawns soon – always a vulnerable time. And the bucks are starting to grow their antlers – just starting.
I told my husband that for all the wonderful hours of deer watching we have had, it will be hard for me to be upset at their hosta browsing. But maybe stay away from the daylilies ok? We shall see.
More Asian Lilies
Asian lily time!
The Asian lilies are blooming! First to bloom are the orange sherbet color
Next are the pink color
Soon the fuchsia. But that’s for another day.
More goat time
Yesterday morning I went to go see the goats again. They have done a wonderful job of clearing the invasive buckthorn and I am told they eat the seeds, so next year their job should be lighter.
The babies who were primarily nursing last week are also now feeding on the ground foliage. The difference one week makes.
Today my friend sent me this picture
Clearly the goats are wrapping up what they are going to eat on the ground level right now and are looking for yummies at new heights. They will soon be picked up and brought to their next grazing site.
Thoughts will then turn to next year. If the historical site is able to raise funds again the goats will come back next year for round two.
If you are so inclined, donations can be sent to Hastings Area Historical Society at 104 Fourth Street East in Hastings, MN 55033.
The clematis are starting to bloom
The first clematis bloom opened Tuesday. Always a wonderful sight. Hopefully many more blooms to come.
I am reminded of the years where we kept a very tall trellis in that spot. Funny thing about clematis. They are kind of like work. They expand to fit the time (or space) allotted. We let that one get so big a bird built a nest in it, and we could see inside the nest from inside the window. We called them the “trillers” because they would trill each time Mama approached. Eventually we watched them get big and strong and leave the nest. It doesn’t take long, but it was fun to watch.
This year, I hear something that sounds like a bird in the gutter. I wish I had a drone. I could fly it high and zoom in. I don’t want to climb up on a ladder and try to see. We’ll just wait. Time will tell. It doesn’t seem like an ideal place to nest, but we’ll see.
Let the lilies begin!
It has been a long wait for the lilies to bloom this year. But yesterday, the first Asian lily bloomed in our townhome garden.
This morning, another very welcome set of new blooms
And yet another set will soon follow
A very wonderful time in the garden!
Restless
Something about the garden at the townhouse has me restless right now. I should be content to sit in the lawn chair on the patio and enjoy the view. The garden is lush and full. But I’m restless, looking and saying it needs adjustments.
Up north this would not bother me at all. But the scope here is so much smaller, drawing attention to planned symmetry and proportion that seems to be stretched this year.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been looking at new gardens, the refreshes that we’ve done in the association. They are at the start of their life and nothing is crowding anything. Nothing is blocking the view of anything. Their full potential is ahead of them.
That’s part of it. But there’s more. Things are looking good in parts of the garden here, but “missing” in others. Moving the aureomarginata out of our garden here last fall, and into other association garden refreshes, left an odd empty space now that the tulips and crocuses are fading – one I don’t like.
There are hostas I wish I had moved/divided last fall that are now overgrown in their current space and that I wish we had divided last fall and put as a post-tulip layer in place of the aureomarginata, like the ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ out front.
Under the tree is bothering me too. It feels hodge-podge this year. I love the ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ hosta there, but other hostas there feel crowded and random.
Maybe it just needs some daylilies to start blooming 😊
And then there are irrigation patterns that I need to consider, like how the sprinkler hits daylilies that have gotten tall. And there are mysteries – like why two ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylilies aren’t doing well this year, but everything around them is.
This weekend I know one decision for certain will drive some planting. The lavender I planted last year definitely didn’t survive.
There are two to be pulled out that will make way for the remaining two daylily seedlings from last year’s Purple D’Oro’ seeds. The other two I planted here are doing fabulously, and the two available spots are right around the corner, making a nice pattern.
Wait! Back up! Is that a new “mini rock feature”! Why yes, it is! The old two pavers at the bottom of the downspout were not enhancing that space, so I gathered a number of rocks we have collected and previously scattered in the garden, and put them together for a new look. Really liking that. We’ll see what else this weekend brings for ideas.
Clematis blooming, settled on daylilies up north
The clematis are beginning to bloom at the townhouse. First the white ones bloomed, and now a new pink volunteer we haven’t seen blooms on before is starting.
I had a few volunteers over the past few years that really took off this year, so I had to buy a couple extra trellises. Not easy in the current shopping environment, but it turned out ok.
Last weekend we went up north. I tell you! It’s amazing how fast things grow up there! You might say it’s wild – lol! The ferns that were fiddleheads last time were waist high!! We have thousands, and unfortunately some have to get cut back so we have a homesite/campsite that is reasonably free from ticks.
The butterflies and bumblebees were enjoying the dandelions. It was a fabulous sight to see. We don’t prevent dandelions up north so they have a nice supply of food.
A walk through the farther trails taught us we have an abundance of wild roses we didn’t know about, and even some scrubby maple trees. (I thought we were too far north for maples.)
By far, however, the big news is … the baby daylilies are doing well up north!! The deer are leaving them alone so far, and they are holding their own with just the natural rain. I am hopeful! The asparagus also survived the winter, and it looks like one asclepias. I cleaned up the raised beds, and put more black dirt in one. Man, I wish I had that $300 back! I don’t like the steel and boxy look nearly as much as I thought I would, and they heaved in the center so they look weird, but oh, well. Live and learn.
The fact that daylilies are doing well up there makes my harvesting decisions much easier going forward. It means I will probably harvest seeds from our townhome gardens again this year, and sow some in the ground up north as well as start seedlings in the winter again. Probably.
It’s also about this time of year, as the summer garden comes into full form, that I start to realise what fall divisions will be needed. The townhouse garden is getting pretty mature, and I will need to divide and split quite a bit this fall. This ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ hosta has definitely overgrown the space.
I love the coloring, and the leaves are a bit more tender, so I will keep the divisions at the townhouse.
I’m tempted, however, to try some of the ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hosta divisions up north, as the leaves are deer resistant.
So many ideas … but a bit of time to chew on them. For now, the daylily seedlings are all planted except two, which will go into the townhome garden in the next day or so. The lavender seeds are starting to sprout in pots – we’ll see how far they get – and the tulips are fading back and making way for the Asian lily blooms to come center stage next.
Forget-me-nots and new pine growth
Many years ago I planted forget-me-nots when my father-in-law passed away. Last year I stood in shock as I saw the lawn service for the association spray them and leave weeds alone. They moved so quickly I couldn’t get there fast enough. It was heartbreaking.
I understand I have to watch that they don’t get in the lawn, and I do. But they are an absolute delight in the rock.
Here’s a few that survived.
It is also the season that the pines get their new growth. Such a wonderful sight!
This year we think we have two nests in that particular pine. We’ve watched a robin and a couple house finches fly in with a beak full of nesting material. I leave small twigs and the shamrock die-back, and they take it like crazy. We have a bird bath too and they really enjoy that.
Hopefully we will soon hear the familiar chirping choruses of a nestful of hungry baby birds welcoming their food. Such a wonderful time.
Susan's Daily Garden 