May Winds Down

As the revels of the Merrie Monthe begin to wind down, there's still plenty going on in the garden. For example, that iris in front of the house turns out to look like this!

Delightful, hmmm?

There's plenty of promise for the future, too, as just about every plant begins climbing toward the sky. A few of them now have visible flower stalks rising, like this clump of foxglove.

These are buds of an early yellow daylily, that's popped up out of clump of thistle, clover and coreopsis. Looks like we'll have a blossom to greet June pretty early on.

There's also this rudbeckia to look forward to. If I'm not mistaken, this might be the one with the rusty orange flowers. It might actually be closer to the coneflower family, in fact. But it is always a crowd-pleaser. There's a bunch of stalks coming up there.


Two different clumps of lychnis are also beginning to send stalks up in the air.

I guess that proves I'm a garden geek, when I can see those very first leaves that are just different enough from the basal leaves for me to recognize what's going on...and to get a little thrill from the sight of it.

Speaking of sights to see, I was drawn out of our yard and down the street this morning, as I realized that the wisteria which seemed so blue the other day has clearly "purpled up" after a couple of days in the sunshine.

Their scent really smacked me across the face as I got closer. It's sort of rich and sweet, a little dusty and cloying perhaps, activated no doubt by the sun's warmth. It almost gives you the impression that it means to draw you in to some sweet doom(or at least serious entanglement, knowing the enthusiasm with which wisteria winds...), like the Witch's poison poppies outside the Emerald City.

Oh, but what a way to go.

Today's weather really was terrific here, with bright sunshine that brought us up nearly to 70 degrees. Of course there's still a breeze, which keeps things comfortable...even if it does make flower photography a little more of a challenge.


Yesterday, I made a visit to the nursery and decided to try out a bottle of this "Liquid Fence", which is meant to be an all-natural deterrent to bunnies and deer. And I expect it may do quite nicely...since it's more than a little rank.

No surprise there, as the primary ingredient is "putrefacted egg solids". Supposedly the scent fades upon drying...but remains strong enough on some level to keep the Nibblers away. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, I couldn't be more pleased with the Easter cactus, which is blooming very nicely inside. I had long expected the flowers would be the same or very similar to those of the Christmas cactus, just at a different time of year. But I'm really enjoying how different these are...and the color!!

Sunday Garden Report

So, look at this!! After only four days, I've got a nice variety of seedlings bursting forth from the sunflower plantings! Not bad for year-old packets of seed.

Of course, there are plenty unheard from as of yet However, of the Mammoth Gray seeds, who's package indicate 5 - 15 days for germination, there are four. Amongst the assorted varieties (pictured, left) there are 7 seedlings already climbing...and their package suggested 7 - 17 days. Not a bad showing at all.

In another ten days or so, I should be able to weed out any dud seedpots and maybe plant a fresh wave, so we can keep those sunflowers blooming throughout the summer.

I should also find myself a package of morning glory seeds and get some of those going, as well.

It was a late night at work, and then I got into photo working/blogging...and then I found myself surfing to catch up on my favorite blogs far into the wee hours and didn't end up finding my way into bed until around five...but still crawled back to life around 11.

A couple cupsa Joe later, I got myself properly moving and headed outside for the tasks at hand. As you can see above, the bleeding heart is up almost five inches, and that pinkness down near the center of the plant is, I believe, the first glimpse of the flower stalks to come.

Today's real floral moment comes courtesy of this lovely buttercream pansy (no, I don't have a dessert problem...I could stop any time I wanted).

I did get the pansies dead-headed today, so as to encourage some heavy blooming in the days to come. I was a little bit at a loss, not having Thumper George to munch up the spent flowers.

As I've mentioned, I have seen evidence of Nibbling in the garden out front, and I suspect its the neighborhood wild bunnies. So I left a pile of the deadheaded flowers in tribute to them across the driveway from the garden, in hopes of distracting them (tho it appears more likely I'll just be giving them a taste of the sweet garden's rewards).

In a more practical effort to divert them from their garden dining, I did collect a bag full of salon sweepings when I got my hair cut the other day. I've heard that human hair, discretely introduced to the garden, will deter such nibblings with the human scent it carries. We'll see.

Anyway, I sprinkled a little of that around (particularly around the crocuses, who've been chewed somewhat hard, as well as the other emerging bulbs), and tucked a few tufts into the edging rocks, as well. I've got more if I decide to re-apply later on, or as I finish off addition sections of the garden.

I also did some work on adding some more soil to the part of the bed that flooded this past week, having found a nice pile of fill behind the house which seemed well suited to the purpose. It's a little on the sandy side, but also pretty dark and rich looking. Since I'll be adding coffee grounds, etc., as the season progresses, I'm not too worried.

A call for assistance here, if you please. Does anyone recognize this plant?

I happened across it growing in the lawn on the east side of the house and it looks familiar, but I'm at a loss. That's its woody stem snaking into the ground just below the "little red floret".

Meanwhile, as I spread and leveled the new fill in the front garden, I noticed some new growth...particularly this tulip foliage, with a first flower bud in the center. This looks to be from among the "bunch" variety of tulips that put out a branching bouquet of blossoms, instead of just one.

Looks like I'll know it's identity (or something about it, at least) soon.

And to finish off, here's that columbine foliage I mentioned the other day. I've spotted the other columbine plants beginning to emerge further along the fence, as well. Additionally, today I spotted some more rudbeckia, a little more phlox and the first signs of what I'm pretty sure is beebalm.

As you can see, it was a bit of a dull gray day, but it's amazing how okay with that you can be when the temps in the low 40s and you're working with a lack-of-sleep hangover.