Inuksuk--What?

Inuksuk is an Inuit (Eskimo) word for a stone structure that can communicate knowledge essential for an Arctic traveller.  It has a strong connection to the land: it is built on the land, made of the land, and tells about the land.  It should be shown respect because it will protect the traveller in the harsh climate of the Far North. It represents the thoughts of the person who built it and left it upon the land.  I was told this by my neighbor who loaned me The Inuksuk Book.  She spends time in Canada each year.

I have one near my front step.  One of my grandsons built it of local rock they collected on walks down to Bear Swamp.  I have respected it and left it where they placed it. It reminds them to return to their grandmother and grandfather's house.

Turn here to Didi's house

I know the Native Americans in the lower 48 states also used rocks piled in certain formations to show directions, mark a trail, or tell where a cache was located.  They were called cairns. 

Another neighbor who spends time in Hawaii each winter told me she has seen similar stacks of rocks in Hawaii. I read that while they supposedly show respect for native deities, they are also troublesome to park rangers and scientists.

You are probably thinking how does this qualify as a "garden moment"?  Well, it's in my front garden--and it's been raining for 2 days. So all I can do is look out the windows and wish for sunshine.  Meanwhile, I was spending time looking through the front window at the stones piled up along my front walk and watering my houseplants...

Garden Discovery

Today I spent some time getting the supports around the peonies, the liatris, the False Indigo, and the bellflowers.  I noticed some jute on the patio, and then some frayed grass, and some soft material in the gravel near the window. When I looked up, I saw this:

a bird's nest in the diagonal support under the deck subfloor.  I'll have to get a ladder tomorrow and take a look inside, although it seems abandoned.  I kept hearing birds from my kitchen window but when I would look for them, I could never spot them.  Now I know why--they were under the deck beneath the kitchen window.

The peonies are filled with buds this year.

Time to support the peonies!  With the plant filled with buds and rain expected all next week, the peonies will need all the support they can muster.  Might as well put the others in their supports at the same time.  It will save me a day in the rain next week as they begin to sky rocket in height.  I'll just have to tuck the growing stems into the support rings as I watch them from the shelter of the covered patio.

False indigo is growing upright very fast

Could I possibly be ahead of the game?  No, a gardener knows you never know what to expect when it comes to weather and plant growth.



When Lilacs Last by the Dooryard Bloom'd

My mother and my grandfather often recited this poem by Walt Whitman to me when I was young.  It was my first thought when I saw that the lilacs by the garage door actually have buds this year-- the first year since we moved to South Hollow.  The two bushes were planted at the corner by the landscapers. I could not identify them for certain without a bloom except for knowing the heart-shaped leaves and the smooth bark on the stems resembled a lilac of some sort.  I think they have been pruned in the spring instead of the the fall these past two years by the landscapers. This year I have blooms. They may be by the garage door--and not the dooryard-- but I am happy.

In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,

Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,

With every leaf a miracle—and from this bush in the dooryard,

With delicate-color’d blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,

A sprig with its flower I break.                                  

 

Walt Whitman

 

The Lilacs Are About to Bloom!

Syringa patula 'Miss Kim"

Today's discovery!  The Miss Kim Lilac (which didn't bloom last year) has buds, not many--but some.  In my garden journals, I noted that it bloomed profusely in late May of 2009, but not at all last year.  I gave it blood meal last year after it didn't bloom. I bought the blood meal at Jessica's Garden Center, but I didn't record the brand. I'll need to stop in and see what brand she sells so I can record it here this year--and use it again.  I also read that the Miss Kim Lilacs don't bloom after drought if they have not been watered well. I will need to be more watchful this year of its watering needs.   I also read that this lilac attracts praying mantises, so I will be watchful also for a visit in my garden from that wonderful insect

.

I couldn't resist taking another photo of those Big Smile tulips.  Their curling petals and brilliant yellow dancing in the wind do make you smile!  And seem to be very healthy with no extra care and watchfulness required.  Another plus!

Rhododendron yedoense 'Pink Discovery' or Korean Azalea

The Korean Azaleas that flank the bird bath are blooming now, just as they did the past two years in mid-May according to my garden journals.  They always surprise me with their bloom because they look almost dead until just right before blooming. They seem to have some kind of rust on the branches. I gave them some compost and manure sprinkled with Osmocote earlier this spring.  I may need to give them some more care or treatment through the summer.

The secret to carefree gardening seems to be the right plant in the right place, but it's not always that simple.  The fragrance of the lilacs is worth some extra time and effort in their care until they are established.  The azaleas give me an extra season of interest with their bronze leaves in the fall and their compact size fits the scale of my garden.  Sometimes watchful, careful gardening is needed to delight the senses through the seasons.

Mother's Day 2011

A great spring day with light winds, plentiful sunshine until late afternoon, and seasonable temperatures in the low 70s.  Also a day full of spring color:

Landscape Rhodendrons are blooming today below front porch



Hydrangea 'Endless Summer' potted on front porch



and some pansies and Bleeding Heart picked from the back garden.

I learned today that my neighbor bid on the item I placed in the Kentucky Derby Auction with another gardening neighbor (and both husbands=our garden men).  We will be designing and installing 60 square feet of landscape bed for our neighbor (who happens to be between our two houses).  The garden bed will need to be very low maintenance and very colorful to match my neighbor, a non-gardener who loves bright hues.  The ideas are brewing in my mind:  Knock-out Roses in pink, hydrangea in bright blue, something yellow that doesn't need dividing or pruning or weeding or fertilizing or...

Monday--a day for reviewing last week and doing chores

Mondays are a day to rest after a busy weekend, a time to review last week, and, in the case of the first week of the month, to assess last month.  But it's also a day to begin the weekly and monthly chores to keep the rhythm of the week and month moving forward.  It's a good thing the weather was chilly and overcast once again. It set the mood today for reflection on April and replenishment for May.

First and foremost, I thought of the garden moments that didn't fit into any daily entries in late April.  The Bleeding Heart was blooming last week and a fern I don't recognize was unfurling its fronds.  Is it a Japanese Painted Fern? I'll find out as spring --and it--progresses.

Old-fashioned Dicentra brought from Carriage Drive garden

Primula vulgaris returns--and survives the mulching machine (Larry)

This yellow primrose came back. I'm not sure if it was a supermarket variety. I just planted another one I've been keeping on my windowsill through April to remind me that it really was Spring. Now that I'm sure Spring is here, I stuck it in the dirt--and clipped a sprig of quince to keep on the window sill.  With luck, I'll have something from the garden to display on the window sill each week as we progress through the growing season.

I didn't keep good records of what I planted last year.  That's one of the reasons I am pledging to keep up this blog faithfully this year--to keep a journal of what I planted and how my plants did this third year of the garden.

The veggie and herb planters on the deck are looking great.  If I take a photo each week, I may be able to create a slide show to illustrate their growth just before I begin harvesting the produce.

You might notice the slide show of the village center here in East Hampton last week on the right sidebar.  It shows the gazebo, traffic triangle and flag pole plantings maintained by the local garden club (of which I am a member). That's how and when I learned to make a slide show and insert it in this blog.  Amazing!

The other reasons to keep up this blog: to learn to use a web journal, to develop better photography skills, and to practice some creative writing.  Somehow it doesn't seem like a chore!

May Day 2011--Some help in the garden today

There couldn't be a better spring day than today!  Even those days when we were young and my sister and I made construction paper cones, filled them with flowers picked in our yard (and others' gardens), and delivered them to neighbors by hanging them on their doorknobs, could not have been better. 



My garden man (husband, Larry) got us going early this a.m. because the mulch was available gratis behind the clubhouse. He got out the red wheelbarrow, his garden spade, his red plastic tub and his galvanized tub, and began to tote and spread mulch on the back garden.  I worked ahead of him cultivating lightly and dividing and replanting or potting up some Creeping Jenny, Shasta daisies, Black-eyed Susans or Rudbeckia, and Catmint or Nepeta. 



'Big Smile' tulips just bloomed today

I also pulled out and discarded as much Artemisia as I could in an area just off the paver block patio beneath the deck.  The roots were everywhere and I am sure that it will re-emerge to become the scourge of my garden.  I purchased Artemisia ludoviciana 'Valerie Finnis' from Jessica's Garden which is not supposed to spread as much as older cultivars.  It is over by the air-conditioner and staying contained in its space.  I don't know where this particular plant came from--but I would like it gone!

All clear of Artemisia in lower left now--but just wait!

We could have used my grandson William's help today. He is very good about working in the garden with us.  Last year, he helped me put in the watering area by finding and laying the local stone and filling the space between with landscaping pebbles.  We could have used his help with the wheelbarrow up and down the hill, filling and emptying the tubs, and spreading the mulch, as well as making a few more rocky water runways below the downspouts.

The water area near the hose outlet that William built last year.

I had a big smile in the garden today--just like my tulips.  It's great to have help with the heavy work.  Thanks to Larry for making my May Day enjoyable. I am grateful for the help of husband and grandson alike in keeping this garden a delight.