A state of disrepair, I tell ya! Nah, just spring. The birds plucked away at the frog’s rope swing until it broke, and the maples had a bumper crop for seedlings. Soon all will be restored again. Just need a few free days to pluck the hundreds of seedlings, and a trip to the hardware store for replacement rope. At least it’s not ferns! Those things are ca-ray-zee!!!
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The trusty tulips
If you have read my blog in past years, you know that tulips come and tulips go in in our garden. The flowers are annuals here, the leaves are perennials. But we have one patch of tulips that is trusty, and it is this patch. It has been going for years. Hurrah for the purple tulips!
Resiliency
It’s well past garden season (but it’s cozy season). The hibiscus has aphids
(so I moved the shamrock next to it, with its one aphid eating ladybug that came in with it and is still alive). I’m tired of news click bait during this year of unrest and fear (so I need to not even look). I’m even tired of watching you tube (there’s books, quiet time, talks on the phone with family and friends I miss seeing). I’m not even interested in trees with lights this year (but walks in the woods still work). And so this year has been. Too much time separated from loved ones, too much drag me down news, more than the usual dose of needing to deliberately choose what I know nurtures me – and methodically walking away from what doesn’t.
We welcomed two new daughter-in-laws this year – who we dearly love! We are now waiting to meet our first grandbaby! The reno on the little (and I do mean little :)) house up north is almost done. We are healthy. We are very busy at our jobs. And our faith is strong.
So big deal the deer already found my daylilies at the little house up north. I hear they don’t like lupines. Maybe I’ll try those. Maybe from seed? Now you’re talking!
Triplets
I love it when there are two daylily blooms on a scape, and three are even better! Two sets of three are quite a treat! The bottom set was tucked under the taller scapes, close to the ground, but not to be missed.
And now for some more evidence of seed pods forming. Looks like there will be an abundance of “chances” again this year for 2021 seedlings.
And a couple more mid-July pics for good measure.
Cherry trees and tulips
The cherry trees in the association stated blooming a couple weeks ago. Who doesn’t love their blooms?
They are stunningly beautiful for two-three weeks and then fade to the background to start building for next year’s show.
Similarly, the tulips take center stage at the ground level at about the same time. Immediately following the crocus, they put on quite a show.
I love it all! Here’s my dilemma – Unlike the cherry trees, the tulips are more of a “one and done” most years. Essentially they are fall planted annuals that bloom the next spring. In the years after the initial bloom year they are awesome at growing … leaves, but no blooms.
This spring, last years tulips looked like this.
As beautiful as the tulips are, I have another plan. I am going to dig them out, reclaim that real estate, and plant some of the baby Purple d’ Oro daylily seedlings in that spot. If they take off, in future years they would look absolutely lovely in front of the sedum.
Having repurposed that space, when the spring bulbs start showing up for order and purchase later this season, I have an alternate option. I have, in past years forced tulip, hyacinth, and crocus bulbs in large plant pots. Maybe I’ll do that this fall again.
January
It’s January. I’m missing my gardens. I’m missing any gardens. Off to our local gardening center I went today. This is a thing I do – wander around, maybe buy a watch ’em grow garden, and maybe something additional. I suspect, no I know, I am not unique in doing this.
Today I got both. I could not resist.
The watch ’em grow garden
And a beautiful cyclamen
So fun!
I also bought a set of seed pods for when I start my daylily seeds. Now I’m committed to that because I have all the materials. I had started down the path of saving toilet paper and paper towel rolls to cut up as soil holders, like last year, but then I saw that the pods are ok for daylilies, so I’m going to try them. This will be my first year of growing only daylily seedlings. I had a bumper crop of ‘Just Plum Happy’ daylily seeds last fall, so I’m hoping to get something from those. Plus a few from our other daylilies. I’m also hoping this is the year I see flowers on the seedlings from the daylily seeds I planted out in the ground the past couple seasons.
And I’m playing again with the idea of trying to find a way to have daylilies up north. I know! How many times will I go back and forth on this? It’s just that I dream of naturalizing them. I know, however, they are deer yummies, and our trailcams have lots of deer on them. I have the two (failed hugelkulture) raised bed gardens up there from last year. I may try a seedling or two in there – from the ‘Just Plum Happy’ abundance. I could recycle some of my chicken wire from last year here to protect them. I know – ugly! We’ll see. Lots of time to decide.
More no work fall decorating
The gardens are in full fall color now.
A hint of fall, daylily abundance
The past few days have had just a hint of fall – a bit of crispness in the morning air, a few early leaves dropping, the seeds from the amur maple turning pink. (I will be pulling hundreds of seedlings again next spring, but right now they are beautiful.)
And the ‘Marque Moon’ daylilies are blooming abundantly – 28 blooms a few days ago!
The hummingbirds are also beginning to come by much more often, so both feeders are back out, and the butterflies are stopping long enough for me to catch a pic.
I am also starting to see the daylilies produce seed pods.
There will still be plenty of very warm days, but fall is starting to peek around the corner.
August
August is here. The grass starts to look tired. Every corner crevice needs to be swept at least once per week to prevent a webby effect, and it’s going from warm to nice to warm to nice.
This week was gorgeous. This weekend was a bit warm – high 80s and humid. Tomorrow is supposed to be 10°F cooler.
The dayliles are still beautiful and the hostas are in varying stages of bloom. The sedum look very full. Soon they will start to pink up.
Goodness!
The ‘Hush Little Baby’ daylilies I added last year are really a treat right now! I wish I had more! Maybe will divide in a couple years and start another wave going.
Susan's Daily Garden 