Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
A Few Blooms For Bloom Day
It's Bloom Day again and there sure is a lot blooming. Too much really to effectively turn it all into a blog post. I'll just do a small sample. If you need more keep scrolling. Plenty Bloom Day worthy pictures here at Outside Clyde. If you need still more, head on over to Bloom Day Central at May Dreams Gardens. From there you can tour the blooming world.
We have Gooseneck Loosestrife, Lysimachia clethroides. Lots of it. Most Loosestrifes are hardy spreaders.
The native Rhododendron maximum have begun to bloom. They bloom much later than the showier hybrids. They also tend to bloom heavy one year and lightly the next. We are in a light bloom year with these native rhododendrons.
'Annabelle' is a naturally occurring cultivar of the native Hydrangea arborescens which was discovered in the wild. I have a lot of the plain specie H. arborescens in the garden becoming.
'Annabelle' and Rudbeckia hirta.
I love it when one of my baby shrubberies blooms for the first time. This is the Bottlebrush Buckeye, Aesculus parviflora. One day it will be a very large shrub.
And I particularly love this grouping. It has an exotic feel to it like it is from another continent. It is composed of the hybrid Feather Reed Grass and the natives Yucca filamentosa and Liatris. I'll be needing more of all of them.
That's it for Bloom Day. Hope you all enjoyed some nice time in the garden today.
We have Gooseneck Loosestrife, Lysimachia clethroides. Lots of it. Most Loosestrifes are hardy spreaders.
The native Rhododendron maximum have begun to bloom. They bloom much later than the showier hybrids. They also tend to bloom heavy one year and lightly the next. We are in a light bloom year with these native rhododendrons.
'Annabelle' is a naturally occurring cultivar of the native Hydrangea arborescens which was discovered in the wild. I have a lot of the plain specie H. arborescens in the garden becoming.
'Annabelle' and Rudbeckia hirta.
I love it when one of my baby shrubberies blooms for the first time. This is the Bottlebrush Buckeye, Aesculus parviflora. One day it will be a very large shrub.
And I particularly love this grouping. It has an exotic feel to it like it is from another continent. It is composed of the hybrid Feather Reed Grass and the natives Yucca filamentosa and Liatris. I'll be needing more of all of them.
That's it for Bloom Day. Hope you all enjoyed some nice time in the garden today.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Sweet Potatoes
The racoons will have to dig for their dinner this year. No sweet corn for you! I finally conceded defeat. Sweet potatoes were planted as a replacement for sweet corn. The real question is, will there be any sweet potatoes worth digging? They like it hot and we are as usual short on hot.
It rained. All . day .. long. Again. It is a wonder the roadside vegetable garden hasn't drowned. There are two tobacco fields I drive by regularly and they have indeed drowned in all this rain.
The wild flowers are still standing tall despite all this rain. The volume of bloom keeps increasing. I'll get back to my selective weeding soon. That will increase the volume of bloom next year and all the years to come.
Lucifer has arrived and the weather diagnosis for next week has more hot and less water. Perhaps there will be peppers. The okra might decide to grow. Squash and pumpkins will set. Cucumbers could lengthen.
It's the middle of July. There is no time to waste. I should even be thinking about planting any fall crops in the next two weeks. But why bother? The roadside vegetable garden has been more ornament than sustenance this year. If you don't harvest it you can't eat it. I've lost my focus.
The final act in the roadside vegetable garden, harvesting, is losing out to the intense focus on ridding the garden becoming and the sunny utility meadow of Clematis virginiana. Weeding or feeding, which will it be?
It rained. All . day .. long. Again. It is a wonder the roadside vegetable garden hasn't drowned. There are two tobacco fields I drive by regularly and they have indeed drowned in all this rain.
The wild flowers are still standing tall despite all this rain. The volume of bloom keeps increasing. I'll get back to my selective weeding soon. That will increase the volume of bloom next year and all the years to come.
Lucifer has arrived and the weather diagnosis for next week has more hot and less water. Perhaps there will be peppers. The okra might decide to grow. Squash and pumpkins will set. Cucumbers could lengthen.
It's the middle of July. There is no time to waste. I should even be thinking about planting any fall crops in the next two weeks. But why bother? The roadside vegetable garden has been more ornament than sustenance this year. If you don't harvest it you can't eat it. I've lost my focus.
The final act in the roadside vegetable garden, harvesting, is losing out to the intense focus on ridding the garden becoming and the sunny utility meadow of Clematis virginiana. Weeding or feeding, which will it be?
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The Garden Was Fetching
The hail storm the night before had been brief and merciful.
Blooms were plentiful.
The paths were clear.
There was no floppage.
The weather was delightful.
Mostly cloudy with dashes of sun and a brisk cool breeze.
It did not rain.
The turnout was pathetic.
It makes one wonder.
The timing must have been off.
But these things must be timed by the garden's clock not a human clock.
But the good thing was, compared to what I do most days, this was most relaxing.
My body was given a much needed rest.
And one of my most favorite visitors, always bearing gifts of living greenery, came to see the garden today that she has had a generous hand in helping to plant.
The new rustic benches on the Great Lawn felt their first foreign fanny.
The invasive Gooseneck Loosestrife always gets comments when it is in bloom.
The wild cultivated gardens were seen for the first time by a few new eyes.
On a day in a season when the weathers and the garden were in full cooperation for an abundant display.
Blooms were plentiful.
The paths were clear.
There was no floppage.
The weather was delightful.
Mostly cloudy with dashes of sun and a brisk cool breeze.
It did not rain.
The turnout was pathetic.
It makes one wonder.
The timing must have been off.
But these things must be timed by the garden's clock not a human clock.
But the good thing was, compared to what I do most days, this was most relaxing.
My body was given a much needed rest.
And one of my most favorite visitors, always bearing gifts of living greenery, came to see the garden today that she has had a generous hand in helping to plant.
The new rustic benches on the Great Lawn felt their first foreign fanny.
The invasive Gooseneck Loosestrife always gets comments when it is in bloom.
The wild cultivated gardens were seen for the first time by a few new eyes.
On a day in a season when the weathers and the garden were in full cooperation for an abundant display.
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Garden Is Ready
Now all I need to do is clean myself and do some light dusting and vacuuming.
There is a lot going on to capture the visitors attention.
Bulbarella and I have an advantage. We can stroll the grounds every day. Something we might miss seeing today will be seen tomorrow or the next day.
The dramatic is obvious.
Bright pink in the shade stands out.
Other things are far more subtle and mysterious. This fungus started sending up puffs of white smoke when I pulled the leaves off of it to get a better look. How bizarre.
Still other things are powerful and confounding. As I sit here typing a strong thunderstorm has rolled in. It is spitting hail! I went out on the front porch and pleaded. What will the garden look like tomorrow?
There is a lot going on to capture the visitors attention.
Bulbarella and I have an advantage. We can stroll the grounds every day. Something we might miss seeing today will be seen tomorrow or the next day.
The dramatic is obvious.
Bright pink in the shade stands out.
Other things are far more subtle and mysterious. This fungus started sending up puffs of white smoke when I pulled the leaves off of it to get a better look. How bizarre.
Still other things are powerful and confounding. As I sit here typing a strong thunderstorm has rolled in. It is spitting hail! I went out on the front porch and pleaded. What will the garden look like tomorrow?
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Barely Contained
The chicory is currently as tall as the Miscanthus 'Morning Light'. The two of them look like they are ready to break down the rickety old split rail fence. One day I'll get me a new old looking fence.
I think things will be looking pretty good on Saturday. The monsoon has ebbed though we are about to get smacked with a strong thunderstorm. Things were drying out and standing straight and tall again.
I need more Feather Reed Grass and more Liatris is more places. I already planted another dozen of the variegated Yucca filamentosa. A different patch of these bloomed last year and made copious quantities of seed. It will be interesting if I start finding baby yuccas in my weeding
The daylilies are all over the wild cultivated gardens. Those in more sun bloom much much better. They're not the least bit shy about self sowing. For now I leave them where they come up. Moving them is not a priority. They're just another wild flower.
The driveway is really all that keeps this bed pushed back. My editing out the tall things that flop over is all that prevents the driveway from closing up by the end of summer.
The Lush is a powerful force. Add lots of water and it gets even more exuberant. I weed. I whack paths through it. I keep adding shorter and better blooming things. Its only barely contained.
I think things will be looking pretty good on Saturday. The monsoon has ebbed though we are about to get smacked with a strong thunderstorm. Things were drying out and standing straight and tall again.
I need more Feather Reed Grass and more Liatris is more places. I already planted another dozen of the variegated Yucca filamentosa. A different patch of these bloomed last year and made copious quantities of seed. It will be interesting if I start finding baby yuccas in my weeding
The daylilies are all over the wild cultivated gardens. Those in more sun bloom much much better. They're not the least bit shy about self sowing. For now I leave them where they come up. Moving them is not a priority. They're just another wild flower.
The driveway is really all that keeps this bed pushed back. My editing out the tall things that flop over is all that prevents the driveway from closing up by the end of summer.
The Lush is a powerful force. Add lots of water and it gets even more exuberant. I weed. I whack paths through it. I keep adding shorter and better blooming things. Its only barely contained.
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