Birds In the Weather

Thank you Humberto. It rained all day. Finally. After two weeks with nary a drop it was beginning to look dry. It looks and is even dryer down in the valleys. I get a bit more rain up here it seems.

I am still fascinated with the way the mountains tear pieces of the clouds from the sky and pull them towards the earth.













Since I am kind of trapped inside and don't work on my cozy little cabin in this kind of weather, I can do things like take films of the birds feeding in the rain.

Note the Easy Peasy vegetables and herbs growing in pots on the deck. There are Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Sage, Leaf Lettuce, Rosemary, Parsley, Chives, Lavender and an herb formerly known as Dill.

In the background on the left you will note some of the brown soul-crushing damage from the Great Easter Freeze of '07'. They have now had all season to show some signs of life. It ain't looking good for many of the Cypresses, mostly Chamaecyparis species I believe.

Presenting "Birds In the Weather"



With a little more rain my tiny little stream gains more of a voice.















There is a fine spot up above for a little Teahouse, a spot in the shade for a quiet place to rest the mind with a babbling brook to soothe the soul.

A Shadow

Wonders, Worries, Watches



















While the sun sets routinely, calmly once again.

Walkabout

As is often the case, Chuck b started it and quite some time ago mind you. I guess everyone was too busy eating brownies while touring along with Chuck to think of getting out there in their own neighborhoods. Then Kim at a Study in Contrasts decided to hit the pavement. A matter of ethics was raised and well responded to and then Pam wandered into the heat of Austin.

No matter what one thinks of the ethics of posting pictures of other people's houses or the ease or lack there of to take pictures in your neighborhood and post them, this is a truly incredible look at America in 2007 and maybe soon other parts of the world. That is pretty dern cool.

It is reminiscent of Andrew Sullivan's The View from My Window. Be sure to check out Hawaii.

Not wanting to be left out I had to do a mini-tour. You can't walk my neighborhood. It is a long country road and the houses are a fer piece apart from each other. It would feel odd to me to stop in the middle of the road, there isn't much in the way of a shoulder around here, to take pictures. And frankly these people have guns and dogs and are wary of strangers.

So we'll start with the beginnings of the house next door to the resident gardeners were I am temporarily staying. Hooray! I poured the concrete around the last column today. Now I will continue to add a Heavy Duty Masonry Coating, a lot like stucco, to further water proof and protect the columns from any potential freeze/thaw damage.














Unless you are really into concrete though you are probably ready to head out.

That straw fabric on either side of my drive at the top was $23 worth. It would have cost a bundle to cover the whole hill to help stabilize it. When it stopped raining and the long term forecast was all dry, I elected to hand water the hill into germination and growth and hope I got a good start before the next hard rain. After three months with minimal erosion on a completely bare hill I think I will be fine.















Perhaps you would like to see the resident gardeners modest little mountain top home. I had to steal this picture from Tropical Embellishments.













There are a lot of these abandoned older farm houses in these mountains. My best guess is that the wiring, plumbing and insulation in these houses is so old that to renovate them would be cost prohibitive. It is much easier to plop down a new mobile or prefab home.















It is a real shame because so many of them have so much architectural and historical interest. Not all them though. And some of the abandoned homes, even in their decrepit state are more attractive than some that are inhabited. Chuck b can appreciate that.















This is Waynesville, the nearest town of any substance. It and Clyde are pretty much joined into one now, but Clyde is a bit further away. How my address in Clyde was determined is a mystery of mountain mapping.














Now this is truly my nearest neighbor and nightly visitor, a varmint. It is way bigger than the rats on Maui.















Hope you all enjoyed the mini North Carolina walkabout.

Speaking of Gardening

It was a wonderful two day symposium and I am totally glad I went. There was a lot of talk by major plant geeks about a wide range of plant species that should be suitable for gardens in this area. The more exposure I get to this new plant palette, for me any way, the better.

I met a Landscape Architect who wants some of my Hepatica, one of the plants Dan Hinkley recommended as new or unusual plants for the mixed border. Now mine is the straight species, H. americana, not one of the trendy cultivars on his list from Asia, but if it allows me an introduction into the horticultural circles of WNC I can sacrifice a few. Dan also recommended the native Diphylleia cymosa, Umbrella Leaf, as a bold texture plant for the garden. I just happen to have more than a few of those growing here too.

Better yet, I introduced myself to the Horticultural Director of the NC Arboretum and chatted with a lot of other Arboretum staff. My face will get familiar.

I also met a Daffodil show judge and invited her up to see the resident gardeners spring extravaganza. She seemed quite eager to do that come spring.

We still have fall and winter to get through first. A few trees seem to be getting a head start.















Brian Upchurch the owner of a local wholesale nursery spoke on plants with winter interest. He has a thing for Witch Hazels, Hamamelis cultivars, and has brought many of them over here from England. I have some of the native H. virginiana growing here.

At the plant give away my name was drawn for the Acer palmatum 'Arakawa', a fifteen foot tall Japanese Maple noted for the rough bark on the trunk for winter interest. I think "The Mayor" (Arakawa was the mayor of Maui County) will go in the vicinity of a future tea house to be built overlooking the stream for quiet contemplation.

All this talk about specific plants was good because I have a new garden to design. While I was gone my hillside of saprolite subsoil was busy turning green.















The speakers were not a pretty flower type of group. Hank Bruno, the Horticultural Director of Callaway Gardens in Georgia spoke about Conservation Horticulture and the need for gardeners to be part of the healing process for the planet. Richard Olsen, a research geneticist with the US National Arboretum in Washington DC gave an interesting talk on the history of early plant explorers like Asa Gray, John Lyon, Andre Michaux and John Bartram. Many of these early plant explorers spent a great deal of time in the southern Appalachia because of its unique biodiversity and strong resemblance to parts of Asia. He related this to the National Arboretum's mission as a germplasm storage bank and their work to find improved plants for release to the public.



















I need ideas because at some point I will want to plant this hillside. It will not be a grass slope and I do not want a high maintenance perennial flower garden on terrain like this. I have really liked the heath and heather gardens I have seen, the low mounding drifts of color and may try to create something along those lines. It will have full sun in a well drained soil.

Looking up.














Looking down.

This is the utility easement so trees are not allowed. Besides it is really the only full sun I have. Why mess that up?














The meadow full of wildflowers is a real treat, but it is not my style. I need more organization.















We were given a slide show presentation of Dan Hinkley's new garden, Windcliff, directly on the water in Puget Sound north west of Seattle with "The View" to pay big bucks for. I do not have his budget, but the concepts that inspire his garden can be used by all of us.

Texture was the big theme and this was accomplished by using plants that would adapt to his new sunnier garden and live without supplemental water in the dry summers like most of the west coast.

Nature and the elements were invited into the garden. Plants were used to frame the view and to create places were the view was the destination. Water invited in the wildlife and reflected the sky. Grasses and prayer flags made the wind visible.

Dyphylleia cymosa, the native Umbrella Leaf with dramatic blue seeds on a bright red stem. The leaves are beginning to fade away. This plant grows naturally along the stream edge in the deep shade. It was suggested with proper soil and water it could be grown in the mixed border in a bit more sun. I just need to encourage more of it and get rid of the Nettle along my stream and I may be done.














The rocks have a real tendency to roll down hill. Water actually does flow through here when it rains hard enough from the culverts along the road that are drained into this area. There will be plenty to use for a semi-wet stream bed and more water loving full sun plants.

The half of the wild meadow that was not mushed will be tamed and there are plans to put in another road across this slope to the other side along the upper line where you see the top section of sprouted grass seed meets the center section which has not sprouted. That was the last part I seeded.














I will have plenty of time to plan out this slope. I do want it low maintenance, but it will still need paths to access and enjoy it. Some terracing and short walls may be done to create a flat area directly below the cabin.














Taking many cues from nature, the site and my own desires and learning what will grow and thrive here, some day it will all blend in and look like it belongs here. By then I may belong here too.














For tomorrow though I have one last column to repair.

Sublimation

I went to the big city to try and get a job and all I came back with was some shrubberies.



















A couple of groundcovers to start propagating, Sedum tetractinum, Creeping Sedum and a yellow flowered Delosperma nubigenum, Ice Plant.

I came home with a Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium purpureum too. This one is a shorter cultivar in the three to four foot range with a darker flower color. Unfortunately I looked for the nicest plant with unopened flowers and did not notice there was no tag with the cultivar name in the one I picked.

And a Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' landed in my truck. It was cheaper than the Silverbell, Halesia tetraptera (aka Halesia carolina) and Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum trees I was coveting. I split the Miscanthus in half and made two plants, even better.

Tomorrow and Saturday I am going back to the big city to network with the horticultural elite of North Carolina, I hope, at a seminar called "Speaking of Gardening". The infamous Mr Dan Hinkley will be speaking both days.

Bountiful Pollens

Are you tired of cement yet? I am. Three down, two more of the tall columns to go. They will have to wait though. I have other plans for the next three days.

In addition to the abundant Ragweed (see post below) there are a myriad of other small flowered herbaceous plants busily spreading their pollen about. I even noticed a thin yellow film on top of my drying cement. Oh we are tired of that. Sorry I mentioned it.

This is the land of Asters. There has been an Aster or a near relative in bloom since the day I arrived and never just one species. It is a seasonal progression, a constant march.

One pale blue Aster. I am too tired to try and identify them.













One white forest Aster.
















One tiny lavender Aster. There looks to be a zillion of these.
















Then there are the Goldenrods. Three species at least. Maybe more. I would have to do a collection of samples and sit down with a key.




















The Goldenrods are very popular.
















The insects on the Angelica always seem stupefied. Drunk on nectar and too consumed with their feeding to fly away when I am very very close.

Alas the slightest breeze, muscle fatigue and this North Carolina lighting has made it difficult for me to get crisp closeups. It may be time for a fancier camera.













A bigger head of Goldenrod has room for more creatures.

















And there are the grasses.




















The big clump of Miscanthus has put out its tassels with dangling sacs of pollen.















Bountiful Pollens.

Ragweed - PSA

You might as well give the people what they want and ever since I posted some Ragweed for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I have been getting a lot of search hits for Ragweed. What does Ragweed look like? When does Ragweed bloom?

This is Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Common Ragweed folks. It is an annual that blooms late summer into the fall.















And this is Giant Ragweed, Ambrosia trifida. It is also a late summer/fall blooming annual. These are the two Ragweeds that are common in the western portion of North Carolina, though the common ragweed A. artemisiifolia was very common in Hawaii. It is probably very common world wide. These are just two of numerous species in the genus Ambrosia.















And this is an electron microscope picture of Ragweed pollen. It should give you some idea of why it gets stuck in your nose and causes problems. This single pollen grain picture is from the NC State University Center for Electron Microscopy. Ragweed makes oodles and oodles of pollen.

My hardy peasant genes are at work again and I do not seem to be bothered by Ragweed. I have been hand pulling it when ever I see it as I wander about. You can't get more up close and personal than that. That sneezing and head cold a while back must have been just that, a little cold.















And this is a collection of quite a few other late summer/fall blooming weeds. The tall pretty purple one is the Ironweed.














This has been a Public Service Announcement brought to you by OutsideClyde.

Cipherin with Jethro

How much concrete and how much work does it take to repair the ten columns that my cozy little cabin will sit on?

One bag of 5000 psi concrete weighs 80 lbs.
It takes six bags to fill one
of the seven foot tall tubes around a column.
Six bags knot 8o lbs figures to 480 lbs of dry concrete per column.
Added water weight not included.















Now that concrete didn't just fall in that tube by itself.
It had to be toted there.
It had to be toted from the concrete store to my truck.
From my truck to the wheelbarrow.
In the wheelbarrow to the water hose
and back to the bucket loading station.
From the wheelbarrow to the bucket.
From the bucket to the tube around the column.
How many trips is that moving 80lbs of concrete?
Let's see, 1-2-3-4-5
Five trips knot six bags knot 80lbs of dry concrete per column figures to 2400lbs of toting per column.

How many stems of Goldenrod are in the meadow
in the late summer?


















It took three and a half bucket loads
to empty the wheelbarrow of one bag of cement.
There were eight steps of the ladder to climb
to get to the top of the tube.
Going up. Going down. Sixteen steps.
Four trips per wheelbarrow load.
Four trips knot six bags knot sixteen steps
figures to 384 stair steps per column.















The new and improved short columns.
They look like shampoo bottles.

I have started test patching the much smaller holes on the upper portions with the Heavy Duty Masonry Coating with the Acrylic Fortifier added to the blend. It is much more like a stucco coating than the grout between tiles effect I thought I was going to get. There are so many micro holes the patch job looks horrible. Even the new cement bottoms, while much much much better still have minor pitting in the surface. I think I am just going to stucco over the whole things.

I may be obsessing over freeze and thaw damage to this concrete. I do not know. Most of it will be below grade. Either way they will be made repellent to water.


How many spots are on each leaf of this Pulmonaria?

I really like this plant. It does well here and very well in the shade. I think it will make a nice texture in big drifts in the future shade garden.















Now this is something you always see in catalogs, but I have never seen this in person, even though I have planted tons of Liriope in my life. I have never seen Liriope bloom like this before. It must not do this in warmer climates.

How many flower spikes are in this row of Liriope?















So here you have seven feet of 5000 psi cement with fiber mesh added and placed in a tube around one of the taller columns that was coated with Concrete Bonding Adhesive.

Now multiply this whole procedure by six and a half. One and a half is for the ten feet of concrete around the five shorter columns.

Six point five knot 2400 lbs of toted dry concrete per column
figures to 15,600 lbs or 7.8 tons.
Six point five knot 384 steps per column figures to 2496 stair steps.
I have four to go. Oy!



















There is so much of this Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica around here I have lost count. It seems to do fine in sun or shade.


















This New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, I think, really does mean the end is near. This is a fall aster. It and a much smaller blue aster are every where. I expect the meadows to turn blue at some point.














I have lost 25 lbs since I stopped working and moved from Maui to North Carolina. I was not that big to begin with. Now I am down right wiry. According to the BMI charts I am propably in better shape now. I would love me a good plate lunch with two scoop rice though!

I am very happy my concrete store has a nice garden center too. This skinny weary body needs a pick me up some times. The Salvia nemerosa I had been looking for showed up there and I had to buy a few. This is S. nemerosa 'Mainacht'. I also bought another Picea abies 'Nidiformis'. These are the start of the new bed above the utility pole.














How many flower spikes do you see on this Salvia?