Wednesday, May 11, 2016

What Will It Be?

Many years ago, let's say six, a tiny seedling Japanese maple tree came home with me. Its parentage was questionable since the garden it came from had four different kind Japanese maples. Acer palmatum was definitely a part of, if not the whole genetic make up. Still it was a seedling, not a grafted tree.

I brought it home because of the red leaves. It still has red leaves. It is looking like it wants to be a full on upright tree. The wire cage at the bottom is to prevent it from being used as a scratching post.



























I am not in charge of so much of what happens in the Tall Flower Meadow. Things self sow. They wander. I edit out what I don't want and that is a mere drop in the bucket in the time of vegetation.





















Bulbarella goes on an iris buying jag after every year when the iris actually bloom well. That happens about one in four years. In those good iris years, there are different kind iris than Lorelei the Reliable. Lorelei is still the queen. There are great sweeping drifts of Lorelei that bloom faithfully every year.





















The Dwarf Crested Iris are having an off year. Only two patches are doing a mass bloom. All the others, and there are many, are pretty sparse.





















The columbine are self sowing wanderers. Mostly they are pink and blue. Until they bloom, you don't know what you will get.





















Somewhere in my weeding I came upon an very small unknown of orchid like appearance. Where ever it was it wasn't safe. It followed me home. What will it be?

It has a bloom stalk from last year. Hopefully it will bloom again this year. It already looks like it will be much bigger than when I found it.





















When the Lush hits four feet plus tall will the Dragoblinfly objet still be there? I got the biggest one he had. I'm thinking it is going to make a fine perch for the Smooth Carrion Flower, Smilax herbacea.


5 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I love watching thing hopping in your garden. I have several seedling Japanese Maples. I have let a couple go the past year to see if I can make them grow up. It seems to be working. Now the trouble is where do I put them or what do I do with them??

C. C. said...

Is it possible the maple is Bloodgood? I have one in my front yard that produced 2 tiny volunteer trees. I gave one to a friend and kept the other, and both are doing great. Hers is in mostly shade and has greenish bronze leaves, mine is in mostly sun and is deep red now.

Your garden gets more beautiful every minute, it seems.

Lola said...

Love it. Sure wish the Japanese trees would grow here.

Survival Gardener said...

It is all so lush. I've got to ask, how do you keep the chiggers out of all the lushness?

Christopher C. NC said...

Lisa the place where I got this and another Japanese maple has so many seedlings I have to pull them as weeds.

CC I'd have to do a little research and ID the parent trees to know its possible name. There are two upright trees about 25 feet, one red leaved and the other more of a golden green/yellow side by side.

Lola I am pushing the Japanese maple's tolerance at my elevation.

Cheryl I don't keep the chiggers out of the Lush. I just suffer for the six week period when they are active. Some years are worse than others. Last year was a mild chigger year.