Animal Encounters of Another Kind

I thought I would take a video of the garden borders and bed above the rocky ledge (now a meadow after backfilling and reseeding by the developer).  The poppies mark the south corner of the deck above and the patio below and make a good landmark for getting your bearings about the layout of the garden in relation to the ledge and hillside to the east behind us. I'm not sure what the sounds are beyond the birdsong...

At the corner where the borders meet the larger bed, the poppies are growing under the bird house.

When looking closely at the photo, I noticed a feather sticking out of the the birdhouse (lower right).

I had seen some sparrows, female and male, with three youngsters learning to fly on the ledge in the morning when I was photographing the wildflowers.  I thought they might be the family from our birdhouse.  All was quiet during the afternoon.  No sighting of the parents with insects in their mouths at the birdhouse opening. And that feather seemed ominous. It was definitely not a sparrow feather.

But Larry claimed he heard babies in the birdhouse after dinner--and got it on his phone to prove that all was well.  Well, the video is sideways-- but the babies are hungry and still in the birdhouse.

So, the bird feather was not an omen that the sparrows were gone --but the long grey feather is now mysteriously gone...

The other animal encounter was ominous.  We saw another snapping turtle this morning burrowing into a mulched landscape bed.  She was muddy and half buried when we saw her. By the time we left, she was completely submerged under the mulch. Can you imagine planting some annuals around the bushes in the landscape bed and, suddenly, a snapping turtle's head emerges to attack you?  Not even the landscaped beds are safe now!  And those snappers are positively prehistoric!

Wildflowers on the Rock Ledge

Today's garden moment happened on the rocky ledge behind --and below--my garden.  A neighbor told me the lupines and foxgloves were blooming. It was an overcast day, so I grabbed my camera and took a walk down below.  Here is what I saw:

Rosa rugosa blooms partially opened

and fully opened.

Coreopsis in bud and bloom.

Lupines (Lupinus) on the rock ledge

and on the more gentle slopes in a meadow-like setting.

And a lupine landing site!

There were foxgloves (Digitalis) in protected nooks on the ledges.

The blooms are unique and easily identifiable.

Some wildflowers I could not identify as easily.

There were Sweet Williams (Dianthus) everywhere

In many colors.

But best of all were the native mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)

just blooming today.



Animal Encounters of a Third Kind

A snapping turtle laid her eggs on the sand bank across the street from the garden.  It took all afternoon and into the evening. She attracted quite a crowd of onlookers while she did her primal thing. Fascinating!

I found some good information on snappers at the CT DEP and the Peabody Museum web sites.

Two weeks ago a ruby-throated hummingbird was swept into the garage as the garage door came up and we drove in with the car.  Sara and John saw something right away but didn't know what it was.  They were sure it was up and to the left above the garage door rails. Then I found a hummingbird on the steps going up to the house.  After some speculation we finally figured out that the tiny hummer was covered in cobwebs.  And there were many cobwebs above the garage door rails we discovered later!  John used tweezers and small sewing scissors to remove the cobwebs (which were wound tightly around its body) while Sara gently held its small body.  She had held and resuced a hummingbird once before in Ohio when she was seven. Two hummingbird encounters in her lifetime!

All cleaned up

and ready for release

Maybe there's still some cobweb here

The hummingbird was gone in a flash once the last bit was removed.

Then, today I saw a groundhog near the bird feeder.  No photos of this creature--

and I hope I don't get any. I don't want it in my garden!

Two Poppies

This morning there were two poppies open.

and more to come soon...

At least four more buds.

Memorial Day

We took a rest and did not do any digging, transplanting, mulching or hauling today--a holiday.  Much needed after two weekends of really hard work in the garden. You don't get those garden moments unless you put in some sweat equity, I guess.  The work we did usually gets done in late April or early May when it's not so hot and humid. 

Yesterday we went to Ballek's Garden Center in East Haddam to find a garden bench. I told Sara the garden center would remind her of Ohio with the cows, silos, old barns and open fields on top of a hill.  She took this photo and posted it on her Facebook page.

She also loved the cat who wanders the greenhouse and entertains customers at the check out counter.

It's amazing how a cat can amuse people when he's only taking a cat nap!

We found a bench to put at the end of the hosta leaf stepping stones

I made with Alice a couple years ago.

And we bought a weather vane on a pole. I broke it when I tried to straighten it, but it was in bad condition anyway.  Larry is trying to fix the pole and I spray painted the weather vane and the ball with some bronze Rustoleum.

Flower power moments for today--no sweating needed.

The poppy bloomed fully this morning.

And looked like this in the afternoon out of direct sunlight. 

Papaver orientale 'Burning Heart' with candy pink petals, bright red centers

and reddish-purple pink stamens.  The petals really look and feel like tissue paper.

A great holiday weekend despite the loss of the Bevin Bell factory in town to fire.

After the Storm

A terrific thunderstorm blew up in the early evening. The power flickered but came back on.  Later in the evening we lost cable, Internet and phones.  This morning the garden was washed new--and a little frayed around the edges.

Pansies under the deck and tucked back near the house showed

some storm damage on the velvety leaf edges.

The Siberian Iris also looked a litter frayed--and torn.

But this one wound tightly survived without a scratch.

And this one seems untouched also.

The peonies were freshly blooming.

Fortunately, I tied them up last week!

The poppies were just unfolding as we began

a few more garden chores early in the morning.

And a couple hours later, it looked like this!

The roses didn't fare as well. They had damage on their petals.

A new plant with creamy white blooms with purple margins, Epimedium 'Bandit' 

looked fine even though the spider-like blooms seem delicate.  It's common name is Fairy Wings.

The prettiest sight this morning may have been the Lady's Mantle--

not frayed at all but edged in water droplets.

Blink at this time of year, and you'll miss something in the garden!

Border Patrol

I needed to divide my perennials this year--many of them. I planned to take some divisions to the garden club plant sale, but kept eyeing my neighbors' south side as a possible "new home" for many of those three-year old perennials that needed a sunny, dry spot.  Their south side is along the garage and slopes steeply toward the cliff we both perch upon.  On the lower level of their house, there are no windows, but our deck and living room look out onto this slope. The landscaper doesn't do anything to kill the weeds and it's very dry, and therefore dusty, in the summer in this area.  I primed my "garden man" for several weeks to dig a bed (remove what little sod there was and a whole lot of weeds)--a terrible job.  And last weekend we did it!

After removing the sod and weeds, we added manure and Miracle-Gro Garden Weed Preventer to the border. It could only be three feet wide due to our community landscaping guidelines, but it was going to hide the cement foundation and a utility meter as it matured.  Bonnie and Roy already had some plants for the lower slope: swamp milkweed, tickseed, and groundcover phlox to spread down over the stone wall. We planted these around their red azaleas and the "extra" hydrangea we planted nearby last fall.  We added a stepping stone of local rock we dug up last year when putting the hydrangea in place.  We placed some more local rock to create a rain gully at her downspout. And pulled nearer a stepping stone from their pathway garden along the fenceline to link the two gardens.

Then we started planting the border "up the hill" with some divisions from my garden.  In front of the yellow and purple old-fashioned iris I divided and transplanted last fall, we transplanted some Shasta daisies, coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans.  Further up the hill, Bonnie had a bright orange-yellow tickseed which should do well in the sun, heat and dry soil of the south border.  At the crest of the hill, I transplanted some sedum ground cover, artemesia or white sage, more daisies and black-eyed Susans and some Creeping Jenny groundcover behind and under the meter. With a good layer of mulch Bonnie and I picked up at Lowe's called Premium Brown (recommended by the landscaper as matching what he put down earlier in the existing landscape beds), we had a great bed started. 

A week of several wet, rainy days helped the plants off to a good beginning--and today in the heat another soaker assured the plants of "wet feet" as they enter their second week in new soil.  It was hot, dirty, back-breaking work, but the results of our "south border patrol" will be enjoyed for a long time by us! Thanks, neighbors, for letting us use some of your space to beautify our environment.

Maybe we can continue up the hill next year...  I have some Montauk daisies, Russian sage and yarrow I need to divide next year.  You know, it never ends! 

But now my garden is less crowded and could be mulched...

Planters High on the Deck Renewed

The herb planter sat in the garage all winter and the herbs survived: rosemary, two sages, a thyme --and two Gerbera daisies and a chrysanthemum that weren't even planted in the soil!  I replaced the soil with some Espoma Organic potting mix and replanted the herbs and flowers.  I bought fresh rosemary and moved the old rosemary to the lower patio herb planters.  I saved two sages and replanted them and moved another sage and the thyme to the lower herb planters also. I keep two herb boxes for texture and scent down below the deck on the patio. They don't get quite enough sun (only mornings) but they do provide a wonderful scent when brushed. I also have chives and some lemon mint in those boxes.  I added some parsley and some basil in my "kitchen" herb garden and we're ready for summer cooking.

In the hummingbird planter I put a small Mandevilla vine against the trellis. I may try to overwinter it this year following suggestions on the linked web site.  The hummingbirds love the red trumpets and last year's plant bloomed all season with no problems.  I replanted the Gerbera daisies on either side, added a Laguna White Lobelia Proven Winner in front (attracts butterflies), some trailing fuchsia on either end and a few moss rose or Portulaca on the back sides.  Bring on the hummers and the flutterbyes!

In the third planter, I used a yellow theme since I had a large yellow Gerbera daisy. I added a Blackie sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) Proven Selections (on the right side) and the replanted Chrysanthemum Hannah Orange. (I found the tag from last fall in my garden tote--it is supposed to be hardy.) on the left. In front, I chose two Pink Lemonade Suncatcher petunias. I also had a few moss rose or Portulaca left to add front and back corner and another lobelia. I hope to find a stand alone Black Eyed or Sunny Susan vine to place between the two planters for some height and to tie the yellows and blacks together. It's going to be a hummingbird and butterfly garden aloft.  We are high above the road below our cliff as you can see in the photo.  In the flight path...

Bruises, Bug Bites and Aching Muscles Signal a Return to the Garden

Three days of gardening are taking their toll on my body, but the gardens look great.  I worked on the planters on Thursday, finding plants at Paul and Sandy's Too and Jessica's Garden locally. I found some other plants at Lowe's--surprisingly.

It's Memorial Day weekend and I went with geraniums in this planter with a welcome sign. It goes well with the watering can my grandsons brought me last year.  My grandmother, Bido we called her instead of Violet, loved gerarniums --and my mother also.  They are a pop of color--and take the heat of the front porch which faces west and becomes an oven even in May. I had to remove the pansy planter to a shady spot under the deck for the summer.  The flags can stay for Flag Day in June and the Fourth of July--and my grandson's 12th birthday on July 5th.

I used the same planter from last year on the front walk but replaced the soil.  I used the Miracle-Gro Moisture Control potting soil because this planter also takes the afternoon heat. I hope it makes a difference in its watering needs.  I sometimes had to water it twice a day last summer.  I used Black Velvet petunias, Soprano White Osteospermum, a Proven Winner, Diamond Frost, another Proven Winner, and Superbells Plum Calibrachoa, also a Proven Winner. The Superbells look like small petunias but are not sticky, take the heat and bounce back right after rain. Hooray! 

I added a trailing fuchsia I found at Paul and Sandy's.  It has yellow-green leaves with red veins and stems. I couldn't find much about it online. The sign at P&S2 said it had insignificant bloom with foliage interest.  I chose it to pick up the yellow-green of the groundcover Creeping Jenny growing at the corner of the house and to harmonize with the red of the geraniums on the porch. I also added a deep red (almost black) and white and green and purple coleus to fill in the middle ground. Can't wait to see the planter fill out through the summer!

I added a little bit to the planter between the garage doors. I made this planter with Cathy Testa several years ago. She has an entire planting system with special soil and moisturizers --and often uses tropicals.  I no longer have the original banana plant, but the chocolate grass still grows in the pot. The planter was the source of all the Creeping Jenny I have in the other beds around the house. I added a heuchera and a chyrsanthemum last year which still look great this year.  I put another trailing fuchsia in the pot and some moss rose or Portulaca.  It is an old-fashioned plant but it can take the heat and the spikey leaves and its trailing habit gives texture to this almost monotone planter --and some color since I bought a six-pack of variegated colored plants.  No blooms on them yet. They were tiny (far left in front of the fuchsia).

April Days in May

The weather is still mixed up. It was a fine weekend with temperatures in the 80s and clear skies with low humidity.  We were able to get out into the garden for the usual April chores: applying composted manure and mulch after dividing the perennials--a little late for this but "better late than never."  We made a new bed for a neighbor that we can see from our deck and from our living room window on the first story of our home. It will be a nice addition to the back garden--and we can appreciate it from above as well as below from the covered patio under the deck.

This morning I continued to divide perennials even though we had a London-like mist.  I needed to divide the daisies, cone flowers, artemisia and black-eyed Susans.  Some I put in the neighbor's bed yesterday and some I put into pots this morning for the annual Belltown Garden Club perennial plant sale on Saturday.

It was fun to work in the rain, but within an hour it began to rain in earnest.  Perfect for my newly potted and re-planted plants!  This rain preceeds the first hurricane of the season which will pass well south of here but still bring "April showers" to us for the next several days.  We need it.

The resident sparrows are busy feeding their young, even in the rain.  The male waited for me to leave to approach the nest box with an insect in his beak--

but was "in and out" before long. He seems to sense that we will not harm him but is still wary by nature.

It was great to be back in the garden, sunny or rainy, but I headed in for the day, leaving nature to fend on its own through the next few rainy days.  I had done what I could do for now.