Tag: Hostas

Forward

It seems that “Poof! There went the daylilies!”  Not totally, but last week started a big wind-down.  There were lots of “lasts”.  Each day we said good-bye to some of our favorite blooms for the year.  The ‘Just Plum Happy’, the ‘South Seas’, the peach daylily, the ‘Hush Little Baby’.  I miss them already.  Even the hosta blooms are winding down and some of the leaves are already starting to look tired.

This is the time of year when looking at the garden could make me sad.  I have to discipline myself, to regroup, be thankful, and get my thoughts on how to make the garden even better next year.  And we are adding little touches already.  More on that in the next few days.

Yesterday morning I committed to our garden donations.  The two Aureomarginatas that are 5′ wide each deserve better than the crowded space they have overgrown into.  If we ate hosta greens I would keep them, but we don’t.  I may save a small division, but that would have to go up north and be put in chicken wire.  Much more joyful is the thought of them maybe being divided to share with many and absolutely being primary specimens in neighboring gardens.

I also decided to harvest the daylily seeds again this year, and they are plentiful.

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Above are the ‘Purple D’ Oro’ but almost every daylily formed seeds this year.  (The peach daylily is our exception.)  Those seeds will be my early April seedling project next spring.

Today we were cleaning the garage, going through things.  Some things with many fond memories were put aside to donate.  We don’t use them anymore, but we know others who are very excited about receiving them and will really enjoy them.  So it is with the garden.  We grow, we enjoy, we improve, we share, sometimes we pass things on, all with the hope the joy will continue.  We can be thankful.  We can remember fondly.  We can continue to move forward and improve.

A whole lot of thinking begins

We may have almost 6 weeks until the official start of fall, but fall is definitely poking it’s head around the corner here in Minnesota.

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Mid-week I also noticed we are past the half-way point of daylily blooms.  I still have a wonderful palette of all the colors each day, and seeing what the new day has brought continues to be breathtaking.  Sadly, however, we are only a few days away from having some colors wrap up.  The peach, the ‘South Seas’ and the ‘Hush Little Baby’ daylilies are at the “one bud left” stage.  The red daylilies are not far behind.  They  bloomed in abundance for the past couple weeks and were absolutely gorgeous individually and en masse.

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But … the sedum are looking so good, and their color is right around the corner.

And so begins the “thinking” time of year regarding the garden.  First I “think” and think and think and think.  Then I plan, then I do.  I have some Aureomarginata hostas that are huge and should have been divided last year.  Now a year later I have joined our association’s “newly formed” landscaping committee – as in three of us – lol.  There are people in our association that have expressed interest in a landscape refresh.  We have loosely discussed going more toward perennials.  They are beautiful and can easily be trimmed to ground in fall by the landscape service.  So I’m looking through my garden and thinking, and thinking, and thinking.

There will be gifting.  I love to do that.  But what scope?  The Aureomarginatas deserve space.  Could divisions be a good start at single, easy landscaping for folks that don’t or can’t do gardens, but like them?  I suspect that’s where I will reasonably land for this fall.  “Do not despise the day of small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10).

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.

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What is going on here?

Tonight I realized I never took a picture of the 18 ‘Marque Moon’ daylilies that bloomed all at once.  I enjoyed them tremendously.  I was thrilled that the whole wave had blooms today for the first time.  I even “rescued” one from not reaching it’s full potential because it was wedged between two stems.  I “freed” it – lol and it started to open.  Yeay!  But I didn’t take pictures.  So out I went, after sunset, to see if I could capture it.  Instead I scared a robin off its perch for the night.  Then I really felt bad.

Maybe tomorrow.

This is the second time I’ve done this in four days, and I did it up north a month ago.  I get caught up in the beauty, the whole big picture, the experience of being in the middle of it, and the last thing on my mind is to take a picture.  It might be because a picture just can’t capture something that big.

The bees are really enjoying the hosta flowers, the butterflies and hummingbirds are flittering through. It is just all so beautiful.  A camera can’t catch it all.  I just have to experience it.

Well, here’s some I have captured over the last week.  The blue mouse ears are done blooming, as are the gladiolas.  But all of the daylilies are blooming at once now and it is … incredible.

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Go lilies go!

In the “speed to come out of the ground”, besides, of course, the tulips, this year the lilies won.  Yeay lilies!  You go girls!!!

When I could barely see the sedum, and no hostas were visible yet, both the daylilies and the asian lilies were welcoming spring.  Last spring came with the realization that we had, inexplicably, lost quite a few hostas that were very full and healthy in 2017.  This May I was watching closely, and hoping we didn’t have a repeat.  Thankfully we didn’t and now the hostas are gigantic.  Right alongside them, the asian lilies that showed up early have been slowly, gradually getting ready for their big show.  Now literally overnight the asian lilies went from green buds to color.  We are right on the edge of dozens of asian lilies blooming!  Wonderful time of year!  And then the party will begin,  with hosta blooms and daylily blooms flowering and going right through September.  It’s summer in Minnesota!

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We’re running now – here and up north

As I enjoyed my “putz and pamper” time this past weekend, I had time to reflect on the gardens so far this year.

After a very long winter, and months of feeling like a horse at the gate, we are running quite fast now – both here and up north.

The cherry trees wrapped up their bloom here quite a while ago, but a pleasant surprise was that we got a  glorious “re-do” during one of our trips up north.  Such a treat to get multiple blooming schedules.

At the townhouse, sadly, my favorite long-lived bunch of purple tulips has faded.  They were an icon each spring.  I will try to find something just as iconic, but maybe a different species.  Not sure what yet, but it might be harvested daylily seeds.  Just thinking at this point.

The new tulips I planted here last fall were glorious this spring.

Now the blooming season of early clematis has also passed and the weigelia has hit it’s peak bloom.  Soon the asian lilies will start blooming.

What I did not expect was a hosta bloom so early – yet here it is, beginning to form.  And on the ground in that garden the forget-me-nots are beginning to pop up.

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To watch here this year – two plants from 2017 harvested daylily seeds – both from ‘South Seas’ – one of my favorites.  We’ll hopefully see a bloom or two on them this year, and discover what we got with the help of our pollinator friends. What I know for sure is that daylilies are deer munchies, so I have decided they will not be making the trip up north, as divisions or as seedlings.

In pots, the hibiscus and the gladiolas here are squirrel favorites.  I have put chicken wire around a number of the potted plants and bulbs – not a flattering look – but needed.

The Aureomarginata hostas here are gigantic again this year, the daylilies I added last year are looking good, and the Blue Mouse Ears are more full than ever.

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Which leads me to options.  Up north, the trail cams are showing us oodles of deer, a coyote, lots of bunnies, and a bear.  Makes sense – there’s lots to eat, including wild strawberries all over the property that just wrapped up their season.  I wanted to divide the Aureomarginata hostas and bring them up there but it’s probably not the smartest.  I will be fighting a munching battle that will only make me sad.

There’s also a sedum that has been crowded here for a couple years.  I wanted to bring it up north and put it in the sunny garden to let it shine.  But despite web lists that say sedum is on the list of “deer-resistant” plants, I am hearing reports that they too are tasty morsels up north.

What did work in the year one test garden up north is two types of seeds directly sown into the raised beds – malva zebrina hollyhock, and cinnamon mint.  Some free carrot seeds are also sprouting, and two asclepias plants have survived, so far. Coneflower seeds did not sprout, asclepias seeds did not sprout, and all of the kale and asparagus died back.  I think it needs more water than we can provide.  We are just depending on watering when we are up there, and rain.

And, after much deliberation, and my husband mentioning he doesn’t think he’d like the look, I have given up the idea of using a dog kennel as a critter-proof option.   Alas, I don’t like the look of chicken wire here.  I probably wouldn’t really like a dog kennel asthetic up north.

So the lesson so far is – some things will stay townhouse garden plants, and we will embrace what’s already on the land up north, plus seed sown additions that can survive with just rain, and that are not attractive to critters.

I heard lupines may be an option.  They do naturalize beautifully …

A day’s difference

What a difference a day, and especially two, make at this time of year.  Two days ago only the cherry trees had leafed out.  Today this site was common.

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Yesterday our ninebarks hadn’t leafed out.  Today they looked like this.

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Two days ago the clematis was inches closer to the ground.  Today it looked like this.

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The tulip are starting to show buds.  The sedum are starting to round out.  The daylilies are up 4-6″.   The asian lilies are popping up in back.  Even the new red asian lilies I planted in front popped up overnight.  And a few hostas are starting to come up.  Not as many as I’m used to this time of year, and that slightly concerns me.  We lost some very healthy full hostas during the 2017-2018  winter and I was at a loss as to what happened.  I’m hoping it doesn’t happen again.

But almost all the daylilies are up, including one from last year’s seedlings.  And THAT is very exciting.

Fall clean up begins

I need to begin fall cleanup today.  It usually takes six Saturdays, and I am right on the edge of running late.  Saturday is the day, because compost is open until 2 pm on Saturdays in the fall.

It’s always a little sad to start this process, but I cut everything back by hand (no weed whipping – yet) and if I don’t get going, it will be bitterly cold when the last bit needs to be done.  (Experience talking here)  Plus, there are those few things to be transplanted, or given to neighbors.  And then there’s that bag of 30 tulips.

The past few falls it stayed nice enough that some of the hosta leaves were able to turn colors before they wilted from frost.

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So I will leave those for another week.  I’ll start with the asian lilies, the fading hostas, and the daylilies whose leaves are browning up.

Yup.  I need to get started.  No more hanging on.  It’s time.  We have our “guest in the garden” this weekend.  He can lend moral support.  In 30 minutes.

If it were April/May, I’d be all over a day to get out in the garden early, but Brrr!  Who wants to leave the comfy house with cozy throws to go out and cut down the garden?

It does help that part of the garden came in the house last night – the hibiscus, shamrocks and amaryllis.  They are still in the entryway acclimating before I put them in their locations for the next 6 months.  Maybe I’ll enjoy them inside for just a few more minutes.

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No?  Okay, here we go.  Once I get going it will be fun?  Or at least familiar …

Fall planning begins

A few weekends ago I had time to sit on the patio, look at the garden areas, relax in the shade, and think.  Our small pine tree, the one with the bird feeders, has become a little ecosystem.  Finches and chickadees and cardinals and doves, squirrels of different colorings and even a mama squirrel comes by.  Our garden had humingbirds and monarchs and bumble bees and dragonflies.  All coming to feed and some stopping for quite a while.  It is peaceful.  I need that time, sometimes even with no phone to take pictures.  Yes, that was very healthy.

During those few weeks, it seemed as if the stores were sometimes quite successful in getting fall merchandise out the door – in 92° weather!  Scarecrows were showing up down the street!

But now fall is definitely here.  Our linden is shedding yellow leaves, one or two at a time, but there is a growing pile on the lawn. I have gotten out my boxes of tea for hot beverages.  The sweatshirts that sat in the closet over the summer are starting to come out.

In the garden, the daylilies and hostas are all done blooming.

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The sedum are in full bloom.

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But our little tomato plant, although looking quite tired, is still bearing fruit.  It had five waves of blooms!

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Now my mind is beginning to consider plant moves – like the sedum that didn’t get much sun this year because the ‘Aureomarginata’ hostas have gotten so big.

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Poor thing!  It needs much more spacious accommodations.

Some things have been fading, too, like the beautiful pink asian lilies that are getting crowded by hostas and sedum out front.  We have had them for probably a dozen years.  I don’t want to lose them, if possible.

It’s not quite scarecrow picks in the ground time at our house yet, but I’m thinking …  What do I want to move around so next year is even better?

Fall was also starting on the north shore when we were there last week.  One of the days we were up there we took a gondola ride.  Check out the start of fall color!

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