It must be our year for clematis blooms. Both the clematis are blooming beautifully!
The clematis out back
Tag: Garden
New seedling planter
I recently had a milestone birthday. The kids, as always, asked what I would like. I told them I wanted something special that would be fun for years. I asked for a long rectangular planter with a squirrel and bunny proof lid to grow my daylily seedlings each year.
Wow! It is beautiful, and perfect for me!
They bought the planter part, and put that together, and then designed and built the squirrel and bunny proof part. The top is built with a lip on the frame so it doesn’t slide around, and it just lifts off, so no hinge, no chain, and no tipping if there is no weight in it yet each spring.
I want to be able to move it at leisure, so no dirt directly in it either. (They brought me 3 buckets of dirt from the local garden store.)
I used to plant the seeds indoors in March, and have a table of seedlings indoors for 10 weeks, but last year I said no to that, and now plant all of the seeds from the same parent together in a pot (or two if there are a lot from that plant). I do that in late May, because we can get frost even until Memorial day, and I want those plants to be hearty. They get covers until germination and about an inch or so of seedling, and then – open air. I know – but last year I had a bumper year compared to other years with other methods.
This year I used five plant pots – two pots with seeds from Purple d’Oro, one with seeds from Marque Moon, one with seeds from China Doll, and one with seeds from South Seas.
I identify the parent plant just for fun, but, in reality last year’s seedlings all got planted in one new garden, with no markers identifying the parent plants. I know! 😦 But I’m not the propagator. The bees and birds are. I’m just in it to see what happens. So far a lot of greens, but no blooms. Yet. Still fun 😊
I only have one daylily from the direct sow years. It is four years old. I am hoping it finally blooms this year.
I have 15 plants from the potting method – three from two years ago when they were started indoors, and a dozen from last year when they were started in a “community pot” of same parent, outdoors. All still waiting to bloom. Some still tiny.
This takes patience – haha!
But it is fun.
Roof tomorrow
The new roof will be put on tomorrow.
Here’s some “today” pics.
Talk is not DO
As a student, I was definitely not drawn to history. Seemed like an awful lot of talk that may or may not be factual. Math, now there you have something! My love of math turned into a love of data. I am an analyst at heart, and by trade, with a whole lot of love for data driven project planning and implementation (“DO”) in the mix. Analysis is for a purpose – to inform on a course for future “DO”. And, yes, at the root, we analyze data based on history.
I fell in love with a history and political science guy, oh so many years ago. What a pair we have made all these years. Me wanting to dig deeper, find patterns, analyze trends, and him exposing me to things in history and politics which, to me, often make absolutely no logical sense.
Along the way I got interested in gardening and was particularly interested in the gardens at historic forts we visited. Those made sense – food, beauty, for the family, for the community. I used my love of data to study what would work in different areas of our yard. I started building out gardens. I found I liked plants with history, plants with a story to tell.
Alas! The kids grew up, we made the bumpy transition to townhome living, and my sprawling, sometimes out of control gardens came to an end. Townhome bylaws. But my analytical mind said why not petition the board to put in our own landscaping? What’s the worst they can say? No? They said yes – three times – initial plantings to augment the shrubs, and two expansions.
I have pretty decent gardens now at the townhouse – ones that kept my gardening mind busy for 18 years, gave me 9 months per year of exercise, and one that neighbors and friends say they enjoy. Remember we garden as much for others as ourselves. Wherever we may be.
We have also spent a couple decades now of time in northern Minnesota, and it is me who digs into the history there. It gives me perspective, appreciation of a much more rugged, challenging time, and really makes me appreciate all the incredibly hard work, personal sacrifice, and an attitude of resourcefulness that was exemplified in that time. It is a thing of beauty that explorers can come to areas that are maintained for them, purely enjoy, spend little to no money, experience time away from the stress of the city, and then drive away with no committment to better, or even maintain it. The “right” to enjoy all that now is because of all the “DO” respecting nature, yet making that beauty accessible, that was forged by those before us, and is done on a continual basis on our behalf . I am grateful.
And now we come to my latest thoughts. On my micro scale, I always wonder what positive, lasting, move forward “DO” I can contribute to continue what others before us have accomplished. I like to do that through gardening. I love to leave tiny trails of garden love and share abundance. I am reasonable with what can be used, and cognizant of what I can physically accomplish, but I still love to share and “DO”.
So I have a friend who quietly goes about this. She researches history, she shares her findings, and she and her husband have maintained the grounds of a historic cemetary when others walked away, when there is little money for “DO”. There is money for supplies, but “DO”, like cut the grass, trim the trees – that is volunteer. They fight for preservation of that history in a beautiful way that honors those interred there. Those that gave their lives to country, those that gave generously and served community selflessly, those whose place of interment would be left unmaintained because there is no money attached. And those whose contributions and life lessons would be lost as part of history informing further “DO”.
My friend and her husband challenge me. I have things to give. I have more plants to divide. Plants I won’t use at the little house gardens up north. They might look nice at the cemetary. A little trail of positive contributions. We garden just as much for others as ourselves.
The hosta pictured below can go to the cemetary in the spring, if they want it. It is an “Elegans” hosta. It could be divided into 3 pieces and form a lovely start to a woodland edge garden, away from the beaten path and not adding to any mowing complexity. Some cardboard, three hostas, some mulch. A little “DO”. We’ll see what spring brings as far as additional ideas and “DO”.
Quiet spaces
A few years ago I read an online article about quiet spaces. It was talking about indoor spaces – you know, with comfy seating, and cozy throws, and a stack of books, a candle, a good view. Yep, yep, and yep. For me, that type of quiet space at the time was outdoors in the townhouse gardens, and on our livingroom couch planning more things for the townhouse gardens. It was a different time. It was around the time when my work life was very stressful, yet I could feel changes coming. I fiercely guarded my Saturday mornings in the garden, sometimes starting at 3:30 am with a cup of coffee and a sit in the lawn chair right before the birds began to wake up.
Sometimes outward appearances of activity are not the “whole story”, and I “knew” I was entering one of those times. I knew there was a tide coming in and it wasn’t feeling like it was going to be a gentle one. We had been there a few times before. It felt “familiar”. I was “pondering” things in my heart. Praying. Seeking advice. It was about the time right before we turned the corner into the era we are in now.
The tide did roll in, changes did begin.
Sometimes years of waiting and watching and listening are needed before the next “do” time starts. When the “do” starts and the wind blows and props get kicked out, deep roots are essential. Those quiet times in those quiet spaces pay maximum dividends.  Continue reading “Quiet spaces”
What goes – #1?
It’s the second week of August. The Marque Moon is still blooming, one other daylily, and the hostas. Things are slowing down.
Today I sat outside and looked. What goes to the new gardens up north? What is crowded here? What is overdue for division?
#1 is one of the Patriot hostas. Poor guy. It got too much sun, it was a drought year, and I suspect the lawncare provider oversprayed weed killer – hint the grass is also dead along the pavers.
He needs some love. He needs a change. Maybe somewhere where there’s no need for weed killer. Somewhere where the yards are old and full of mini strawberries and wild daisies – if we let them grow. He might just prefer mulch to rock. We’ll see.
Pack your soil Patriot hosta. You’re moving north.
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.
Spring again!
It is finally feeling like garden season, and some hope after a tough few months for the whole world. The pandemic has brought so much fear and sadness, and our hearts go out to all the families who have been affected and all who have lost loved ones.  It is sometimes hard to imagine it has only been a few months. The heartbreak is incredible, and it seems like much longer. I just couldn’t get motivated to share garden news amid all of the tough news. But as sad as this sounds, at some point I decided reading and listening to so much aweful news and fearful projections was not good. I started to trust it was ok to severely limit partaking in media coverage and updates. It took a few weeks, but now some joy is starting to overcome the awfulness of this pandemic. And as the gardening season is fully arriving, it is bringing some positivity, very much needed during this difficult time.
Through the winter I dreamed and planned gardens. The association board work took form and the garden refreshes for this spring, now being done by an incredible local professional, are underway – 22 gardens at homes, and removing bricks, pavers, plastic trim, and various rock and mulch from around 42 trees and putting in only mulch. We hear it is healthier for the trees.  A couple larger gardens integrated around trees will remain with rock, to be done in future years. The garden outside our home is one of those, and our landscaper reports the tree is well established and very healthy. Mulch may come in future years.
From my personal overwintered plants, the hibiscus is now back outside, as is the green shamrock. The green shamrock has mostly gone through its spring die off. I watched as the robins do what they do every year – pluck the dead stems by the beakful, and fly them up to their nest. It is the annual cycle. The robins get their materials, and the shamrock gets hardy and fills out again.
Of over 100 daylily seeds I planted this winter in pods indoors, 13 daylily seedlings came up. 11 daylily seedlings survived. In previous years I have direct sown our harvested seed in the ground at the townhouse. A few lilies have grown from that and this year I am anticipating seeing what the pollinators produced three years ago. For the extra work, this winter’s results were not awesome (I don’t think?) but it was an experiment. We’ll see if I do a repeat.
The gardens here are popping back like crazy right now, and it looks like everything made it through the winter. It’s pretty full, so of the daylily seedlings from this winter, I’ve decided to keep the 2 ‘South Seas’ parentage seedlings here, and 4 of the ‘Purple d’Oro’ parentage seedlings. 5 ‘Purple d’Oro’ seedlings are going to be in the year 2 test garden up north, with chicken wire the first year, to give them a safe start. I am hoping they eventually naturalize, and am optimistic, as I see entire fields of lilies up north that have made it. We’ll see.
More to come.
Susan's Daily Garden 
