The Color Purple

Sunday Garden Report

Here's those orange tulips soaking up the wonderful and warm sunshine we were blessed with today.

I enjoyed taking a cup of coffee out front in the warm early light to have a nice close look at the border, to see the progress of everything.

Just about every plant out there has gotten a bit taller, or sent out a second level of leaves.

But the biggest news, for me anyway, is the appearance of the first lilies thrusting their way out of the ground.

To the right is an asiatic lily stem. I actually spotted this one in the rain the other day, but wasn't able to get a proper photo until this morning. Since it was, I suspect (I didn't take notes while I was moving everything, so I can't recall with certainty how many other lilies made the move from Eastham), part of the bag of mixed lilies I planted earlier, I won't venture a guess about it's color or habit--that's just one of the things to look forward to over the next two months.

This one below, however, I know very well. It just appeared for the first time this morning and it is the Casa Blanca lily, oriental in variety (which means it blooms a little later, the flowers are larger...and the scent is exquisite.). This is one of my favorite flowers of the whole summer, and so I had carefully made note of where I planted this one during the garden move last fall.


Elsewhere, all the peony plants are coming along nicely, the larger ones already a foot tall or better. And today, I spotted the first tiny buds on a few of them!!

For a week or so now, I've been trying to get a good shot of the bleeding heart in it's setting, to show you how large it is, and how nicely it gets along with its neighbors.

There's an understory of purple and white violets, the single white daffodil I showed you the other day, and further away are the purple blossoms of money plant. Way in the distance against the fence, is evidence that--when I refer to my Great Big Hoe--I really do mean a piece of garden equipment.


Once my review of the troops was complete, I turned my attention to the morning glory seedlings inside. As most of them are already showing their third leaf--the first true one--I wanted to carefully get them into larger pots, since I don't anticipate putting them into the ground before Memorial Day weekend. I think eight out of a possible thirteen is pretty reasonable, as indoor amateur germination goes.

To make sure I've got a great crop of them this summer, tonight I planted another twenty-four of them!!

I leave you tonight with another look at the much-discussed slender speedwell. Say what else you like about it, the tiny flowers are terrific.

Earth Day Weekend Garden Report

The violets of our old house are not numbered amongst the plants who made the trip with us. I was just starting to feel a little badly that I hadn't brought at least a single clump of them...when these pretty little things suddenly began blooming out in front of this house.

As the Full Frog or Planter's Moon made our evenings glisten and gleam this weekend, grape hyacinths have begun springing up along the outer edges of the front garden. Here, a pair of them frame a columbine plant and one of the pink Dutch hyacinths.

In fact, all of the Dutch hyacinths I planted in the fall have turned out to be pink, which makes me grin. I'm a bigger fan of the purple/blue ones, but these smell as lovely.

This weekend, Somewhere Joe pointed out that spring has made me prolific, and the season is certainly inspiring. Not only are new green things appearing in the border daily--old friends like moonbeam coreopsis and purple coneflower and assorted phloxes--but I also have a lot to get done when spring arrives. It's the nature of my job that I'll be busy at work when June begins busting out, and I like to head off to work in the mornings then knowing that all's well in the garden.

Toward that end, each morning this weekend I've been working on finishing off a little more of the front garden bed. Particularly, the far end where I wanted to get a nice big birdbath installed. We have so many birds around that I know it'll be popular...and it's always fun to watch them.

I had dug out this bed and broken all the sod into squares back in the fall, but had run short to finish the project then, with the moving and winter bearing down on us. So at least that tough part of the job was done...all I had to do was seperate all the dirt from the clumps of grass, which were just beginning to green up again.

By late this morning, I'd finished off the bed and was ready to embed some stepping stones and also the birdbath itself. Yah, I know the path of stones isn't exactly level, but they are reasonably secure, and water won't pool on them on very rainy days.

Here's a close-up of the birdbath, which you'll recognize from last summer in the old orchard garden. The stones in front are mica-flecked or have crystals in them, so they really catch and play with the sunlight.

They look a little stark here, but I hope soon to have them planted with some dianthus and creeping phlox, which ought to thrive on the spillover water from the birdbath and the full sun.

I'm glad to have this section finished off. It will be at least partially a vegetable bed, with some tomatoes and another go at the Three Sisters Garden.

Here's my next target: the section around the lamp-post. It will be slower work here, owing to both underground electric (danger Midnight Gardener, danger...)and an overgrown clematis vine I don't want to damage. But I imagine about the time I've finished that, the lilies should have begun to emerge, and then it will be safe to install the soaker hose throughout the whole layout.

Not all of us were hard at work this weekend. Em just loves to lie in the sun and bake her head, occasionally looking up as I dash past to the shed for some tool or other. It takes quite a bit of coaxing to convince her to come inside when its time to head off to work.


Owen's also been busy around the house, not only scraping off old exterior paint and re-glazing windows, but also replacing the old landscape timbers that line the backyard gardens with some of the new rocks we recently acquired.


It was while he was on a ladder working on the former project Friday afternoon, when he overheard two of the neighbors talking about us...one of them's a bit deaf, so it wasn't difficult. The reviews are good, though: sounds like they are very impressed with the work we're doing to clean up the place...but he also heard one of them refer to me as "the young one."

It's not untrue, four years seperate us in my favor, so I got a bit of a giggle from it all. He, on the other hand, is taking it a little more seriously. Meanwhile, Em's trying to convince him that they might think he's younger if he also took her for a walk around the block every day.

I was out examining newly sprouted things when this robin came bobbing along to inspect the new garden. I was happy to watch him try out the vantage point from each of the taller rocks in the edging, before hopping up to survey things from the fence. The sun was already sinking, so I wasn't disappointed that he didn't visit the birdbath. I imagine it was a little chilly. But I'll be watching for him in the morning sun.

Palm Sunday Surprise

Well, this is a little more like it!!

The African violet at my bedroom window surprised me with a few delicate blossoms this morning. I had hoped to see some flowers here soon, as the plant's been growing nicely over the winter. I just didn't think they'd come so soon! Yay...

Behold, the miracle! Inside this wierd looking husk lies all you need for some of the most fantastic flowers possible. Just add dirt and water.

I got a five pack of assorted lilies at the Christmas Tree Shop recently for pretty cheap. Especially since this particular five-pack had six bulbs in it! The last one was a little small...so I'll keep my expectations low.

But I remain excited about the bonus and look forward to seeing what colors these will be. As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat lilies for adding some spots of random fabulousness in a border garden.


And it was fun to get out there and dig a few holes in the ground. It wasn't nearly as soppy as I thought it would be with the recent rain, so the drainage seems pretty good, save one patch of clay pretty far down the fence.

I'd already chosen things from the old place which had thrived in similar conditions to plant at that end...so perhaps all will be well.

I also found, during the Move, a packet of sweet pea seeds which Mom and Dad brought me from their trip to England.

They're a few years old, as they'd been misplaced during a previous Move, but I planted a bunch of them just the same, around the fence posts. I have a good feeling about them and it's the right time of year for planting.

If they germinate, I'll make some string trellaces for them to clamber on.

More bits of green are appearing here and there...like these chrysanthemums. I can't be sure, as things got a little mixed up during transition, but I think these are the imperial mums which joined the family last year.

A TECHNICAL NOTE: It's amazing how time flies. As of this entry, I'll have posted to this blog 1316 times since I started in April of 2005. I know this because I realized recently that there hadn't been the option for post tags back when I started and so most of my entries don't have them.

I spent some time today going back and adding tags to about two hundred of the earliest posts. Most of those are just pictures, but still, it will be great to have them all cross-referenced. For example, click on the tag "lilies" and see what you get!

Catching Up

Whoops...it's been a few days since the last blogging. Which isn't to say that there hasn't been garden activity...in fact, Tuesday was nothing but! But it was such a full garden day, that it really sapped me.

Plus, work is busier this time of year and we are approaching the end of the traditional TV show season, so a number of my favorites are holding my attention as we race toward season finales. ("HEROES": best show on television, "LOST": finally paying some story dividends for my three years of attention, "HOUSEWIVES": always fun...)

Tuesday, as I mentioned, was a day devoted to the garden. It was a pleasant day, with cool breezes in the morning. I added a few more seedlings: dianthus (pink and assorted colors) and some snapdragons (yellow, red and pink this year...well, so far, anyhow...) here and there, imagining the pretty pictures they'll make a month or so from now.

I also transplanted some white daffodils (about to bloom; i know, not the best time to transplant, but I always forget when they're done, so now they've been relocated...and it looks like they'll be blooming shortly anyway...so nyah...).

There was also a large clump of what I had come to suspect were alliums too overgrown for blooming. They were crowded up too close to a promising clump of peonies which have not yet bloomed for me--they had to go somewhere else.

Digging them up confirmed their identity, or at least their general family, with the whole back garden smelling of onions for a while. I divided them and replanted in assorted locations, and we'll see what comes of that. I'm hoping for some flowering variety to whom I've not yet been introduced, but anything's possible.

I was giving all that a final watering in, when it started to rain. I had a feeling it was only going to be a passing shower, so I continued on with the hose and indeed, it passed pretty quickly and in a very short time, the sun was shining once again...and all before I was done watering.

During a lunch break inside, I heard a large bird noise outside the window, and glanced out to see a crow in this evergreen bush, where the cardinals had apparently built a nest. The crow's head was tilted back and I could see something white in his beak, which I assumed was probably a cardinal's egg. No photo of that dramatic moment, but here's the scene of the attack.

I felt kind of bad for a few minutes. Those cardinals have been trying real hard for a few years now to find the right place, and it seemed like they were making strides this year. Of course, just a week or so ago, I watched as a mob of crows dive-bombed a hawk or an eagle who was raiding one of their nests...so you know, it's just the Natural Way of Things, I suppose.

After lunch I decided to begin tackling the newest bed in the back garden, being built/dug out around the "foxglove factory." You can see the foxglove forming rows amongst emerging grasses here.

I started by digging in the rock border, then tearing out the grass clumps, being careful to work in between foxglove and some raspberry plants.

There was also some poison ivy vines, which I unwittingly ripped out bare-handed, only recognizing them when it was too late, as they are only barely leafing out. (On that front, I may have a tiny isolated patch or two of rash, which I'm being careful about, but I seem mostly to have dodged that bullet...whew...)

There was also a brief "Sopranos" moment when my digging uncovered this old glove, posed here with one of those foxglove plants.

My recent toilings in other parts of this old garden had revealed a large patch of lily of the valley, and I began transplanting them into the cleared areas, along with a few of the larger, "extra" hosta plants from the garden at the back of the house, which is on my list for renovation later in the season. I also left a space for a bleeding heart which should be arriving shortly.

Eventually, this was the result of my efforts.

Still plenty of grass and Lord-knows-what-else to be dug out, but it's nice to have a project I have begun which I can now return to, making a little more progress with each visit.

In a short time, it'll be cleared out and ready for transplanting of other things...such as some of our irises, who I suspect would love a little more sun. I envision a path of stepping stones weaving through this area, ending at the base of the apple tree (which is off-camera to the right).

Here was the view from our side porch at the end of a long hard day.

We've had a few thunderstorms pass near us this week, and spritzes of rain here and there. Now we're actually getting a nice soaking of rain, which was long overdue. The temperature's dropped off to 45 though, so brrrr...or at least I thought so, until I heard tell of some Adirondack snow showers yesterday.

Here's the first columbine to form a flower, and it's our second blue one (yay!! We've had only one of this color previously...so my seeding efforts are bearing fruit...a ha ha...), nestled against some wonderful ferns.

In the driveway garden, this pretty blue spire has come quietly into bloom. I know there's another name for it which is escaping me. Just now my tired mind is only coming up with "carpet bugle", which may be the name of a different, related variety. I'm sure it will occur to me after some much needed sleep.

Ajuga, that's what it's called!

The back garden at dusk, looking quite tidy and inviting. You can't pick them out easily here, but as I took this, there were a pair of robins as well as a pair of catbirds wandering the paths and leap-flying across the beds, no doubt finding all manner of yummy eats...but hopefully not all the flower seeds I've spread/planted this past week!!

Friday

Last night I dead-headed many of the early bulbs, primarily daffodils and hyacinths... even the grape hyacinths' moment in the sun is drawing to a close. But there's so much more to anticipate.

In fact, this time of year, there seems to be something new in bloom every day...like these white blossoms that suddenly appeared on a few trees in the woods yesterday.

And as you can see, the vinca's been putting on a show for a while now, in assorted locations around the property. This is just the first time I've managed to capture a good picture of it.


In the back garden, my little golden allyssum plant from the Farmer's Market is coming into bloom, too.

So there's no reason to be sad, since the show's just getting started...and there'll be so much to see this year.

I've been meaning to stop into the doctor's office in Orleans shown here for a years now, with a mind toward inquiring as to the identity of this red-blooming upright shrubs. They are quite handsome, but a complete mystery to this gardener.

Meanwhile, in one of our shady beds along the kitchen walkway, violets previously transplanted have filled in the border blooms quite nicely.

Following an afternoon drink, these red primroses are downright sexy in the late day sun.

And another different species of miniature daffodil has surprised me with its blossoms. I love the way they hang off the stems like little ballerinas. If they bloomed just a little later (and it won't be long, actually), they'd be a perfect partner with our columbines.


Here's another of this gardener's favorite things about the coming season!!

In the Violet Forest

The Forest of Violet beckons.