Gardening is something you learn by doing — and by making
mistakes.... Like cooking, gardening is a constant process of
experimentation, repeating the successes and
throwing out the failures.
- Carol Stocker


The bridge of my nose is sunburned and I’m peppered with mosquito bites but my lawn is mowed, three containers are planted with annuals, and most of the weeding is finished. I guess that’s a fair trade off.

In June there is such an abundance of blooms. There doesn’t seem to be any way to include all of them on my blog. Here are some favorites.

The daylilies have begun blooming.

Siloam Double Classic is my favorite today. I love the pale apricot color and the vivid yellow center that looks like it is lit from within.

Prairie Fire is a pretty red but the bright color streaks. It seems to be a common trait in the dark colors.

Clear yellow Hyperion, the old faithful standby.

Oriental lily Mona Lisa.

Here are a few of the shrub roses I didn’t include in previous posts.

Westerland

Autumn Sunset, a sport of Westerland.

Hybrid Tea Double Delight

Meideland Magic

Hybrid Tea Tiffany

On the ground wrens run through the garden like mice. This spring they are nesting in three of my birdhouses. The parents are in constant motion, frantically searching the garden to provide enough bugs to keep the growing chicks satisfied.

I found the first Japanese beetle Friday afternoon. So far there are just a few but by the first week in July there will be hundreds. I’m enjoying my roses now. When the beetles begin to destroy the blooms I will deadhead all the bushes and prevent them from blooming for the rest of the season. Sad but there is just no other way to battle these beetles.

The blackberries and strawberries are ripe. I think I’ll have a bowl of icecream with blackberries while sit on the porch and watch the last cardinal visit the feeder and the lightening bugs begin to flash one by one.

“I eat like a vulture. Unfortunately the resemblance doesn't end there.” ~ Groucho Marx

I spent a rather Edgar Allan Poe-esque Saturday gardening with a vulture. Even for a lover of birds, gardening while a turkey vulture sits above and watches you is a little creepy. As he sat on my barn roof looking at me, lines from Poe's poem 'The Raven' kept running thru my head.

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! - Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore...

Apart from the ugly head--which does look like a turkey's, I think they're very handsome birds. Their wingspan is six feet or more. I often see them gliding over the house and fields and they look magnificent. I believe they nest nearby, probably in an outbuilding or barn loft.

(Apologies for the extremely poor photo quality.)

After eating, vultures rest in the sun. My new friend must have just dined because he sat there on the barn roof, shaking his head. This is to rid his face of pieces of his lunch which contain bacteria. The sun's heat helps kill the bacteria. I could hear a large flock (or do they call it a murder?) of crows in the field so there must have been a dead animal there and the smaller crows were finishing what the vultures had left.

Things I learned about vultures: Vultures are not buzzards. Buzzards are European birds related to the hawk family. Vultures are new world birds related to storks and ibises. They don't kill their food, they eat only dead things they find with their excellent sense of smell. They cannot carry their food away and must eat it where ever it was found. In addition to meat, they will eat pumpkins and other vegetables.

Turkey vultures are masters of the air. They can glide for six hours without ever flapping their wings. They venture out as the day warms, quickly finding pockets of rising warm air, or thermals. Once they find a thermal they are uplifted and circle finding other rising warm air currents to sweep them across the skies at speeds of up to 60 mph. What a truly great engineering accomplishment this bird is. Nature never makes mistakes.

Later in the day a small blackbird, probably a redwing came and attempted to drive the vulture off. I think the vulture was willing to make an exception and eat this live pest but the blackbird was too quick. When the vulture finally flew away, I could see the blackbird pecking at his back and head.




From vultures to roses. Bloggers don't have to follow the 'rules' other writers are bound by. We can veer off course and combine any number of odd things in one post.

My English roses are blooming now. These are elegant roses having the look and often the scent of the old heirloom roses. The advantage of these modern Austin English varieties is that they bloom all season and not just once in the spring.

Abraham Darby

Charles Austin

Pat Austin always looking downward.

Gardeners are - let's face it - control freaks. Who else would
willingly spend his leisure hours wresting weeds out of the ground,
blithely making life or death decisions about living beings, moving
earth from here to there, changing the course of waterways? The
more one thinks about it, the odder it seems; this compulsion to
remake a little corner of the planet according to some plan or vision.
~ Abby Adams

There is so much to be done in the garden and never enough time. Oriental lilies need staking , sedum must be cut back, more mulch needs to be spread after I top dress with alfalfa. The edging is looking ragged, bearded iris need to be dug and thinned, the trees all need cutting back, and on and on. I doubt I’ll ever get to it all.

Sunday afternoon I stopped worrying about chores and just enjoyed the garden. The roses are blooming. I overlooked the chewed leaves. My roses are never sprayed and they do surprisingly well. They may get some holes in their leaves and a little blackspot, still it seems better than a residue of poison left from spraying for inperfections. The poor gallicas got moved every year for four years and always had mildew. The unsightly white powder bothered me more than it effected the roses. This spring the gallicas did not get dug up and transplanted and they have no mildew.

(Gallica rose Surpasse Tout)

The annuals got planted late this spring and haven’t filled out much--disappointing. On the other hand some plants are performing much better than hoped for. The Jupiter’s beard has been blooming for two months, what a great little plant. The dicentra still have pretty hearts dangling from their stems and phlox pilosa is still covered in pink blooms. Geranium Rozanne is decked in pretty blue flowers. If she does as well as she did last year, she will bloom non stop through September.

I think my Griffith Buck roses deserve a tribute. These are some of my favorites and almost as easy and carefree as Knockout roses. Dr. Buck devoted his life to breeding beautiful roses that were both hardy and healthy.

The pale apricot Golden Unicorn.

Country Dancer with big bunches of blowsy pink blooms.

Different Drummer, the prima donna of the group but with lovely blooms.

One more photo. Sweet William--loved by butterflies. I enjoy the spicy, clove like fragrance. Sweet William seems to bloom for quite a long period and is never bothered by pests or disease.

The peonies have just finished blooming

There are a handful of flowers I look forward to every year, lilacs are one, peonies another. Both have delicious fragrance as well as beauty, but both have very short bloom periods.

Three years ago I found Shirley Temple as a tiny root at one of the box stores. The photo above shows how she has flourished in my newest lasagna garden.

I've never had six foot tall foxgloves. This year they are huge, leaning this way and that and finally falling over. Note to self: foxgloves do better in leaner soil.

The peony below is Festiva Maxima, quite an old bush that gets too much shade. Hopefully this fall I will have time to move her to a better spot.

The photo below is an unknown red.

A subtle, heartening fragrance
Comes piercing the warm hush,
And from the greening woodland
I hear the first wild thrush.
They move my heart to pity
For all the vanished years,
With ecstasy of longing
And tenderness of tears.
~ William Bliss Carman

A reminder of how dependent we have become on modern technology. Sunday a squall roared thru the area driven by wind gusts of almost 60 mph. The power went out and stayed out all afternoon. No water, no lights or electricity, couldn’t read, couldn’t watch TV, couldn’t even clean house. About 8 pm , when the ComEd truck finally drove up and a little Howie Mandel-looking guy jumped out, I almost ran out and hugged him.

This morning a reminder of a different kind. This time it involved my border collie who had a close encounter with the call of the wild. I let her outdoors at 5 am and as usual, she made her rounds investigating the scents of animals passing thru her yard over night. About ten minutes later I heard her bark. I walked outside expecting to see some raccoon in a huff waddle across the lawn, instead a coyote jumped out from under a spruce and made a run at Aggie. I jumped off the porch and poof, the coyote disappeared like smoke. Aggie wasn’t upset, nor was she injured but I was upset and still am. This is the first time in 21 years a coyote has ever threatened one of my pets. I know they do attack pets in other areas but seldom do they attack female dogs or dogs as large as a border collie.

Note from Blogger: Monday, June 07, 2010

We're aware of isolated access issues in certain regions within the US. We're investigating this now and will follow-up as soon as we have more information to share. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Apparently I am in ‘certain regions within the US ’ because I couldn't post a comment on any blogs nor publish my own blog on today. My week is not off to a good start! Hope the entire week won’t be like this:)

Today’s photos are of oriental poppy, Allegro. I haven’t had an oriental poppy for years but have been admiring the ones I see on blogs. I found Allegro, red with a black center, locally last June and decided to add it to my garden.

This spring the foliage put an a pretty amazing growth spurt and suddenly I have super-poppy eating up a three foot by three foot hunk of garden real estate. The second shock comes when Allegro blooms in bright orange instead of red. Orange isn’t my favorite color, not even close.

May your blooms be floriferous and in good form. ~ Georgia Gudykunst

The garden with its little gate of green,
Invites you to enter, and view mysteries unseen,
Its vine laden bowers and overhanging trees,
The air filled with sweetness, the hum of the bees,
The flagged walks with Iris galore,
Of most beautiful coloring, unknown before,
Pink, white, purple, yellow, azure blue,
Mixed and mingled of every hue,
You come away wondering, can more beauty be seen
Than in the garden with its little gate of green. ~ Winstead.



The pink iris above is currently my favorite, Beverly Sills. This has been a good year for tall bearded iris. They don't mind the lack of rain. In fact, the spring storms that nature frequently schedules for iris season, usually damage the tissue thin ruffles and falls.

The yellow iris with the white falls above is Magic Rainment.



After two years of searching, I've finally found a name for my NOID. This is King Tush (who thinks up these names?) This is how Shadowood describes King Tush: ...azalea pink with pinkish white stripes, infrequent splashes of indian lake and spinel red; beards bright medium orange; ruffled; slight fragrance.

Their descriptions sounds so much better than mine: Muddy lavender with streaks and splotches and an orange beard:)

A few late yellows and faithful old Superstition are still blooming into June this year.

Siberian Iris Caesar's brother.

Haven't mastered the art of collage making yet. Joey at the Village Voice does such beautiful collages, I thought I'd give it a try. I need more practice:)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Oops, Tales of a traveling phlox

I want to apologize to Gail at Clay andLimestone and to everyone for my mistake in yesterday's post. An incomplete post was actually automatically published--my error, I did not pay enough attention. The post that was meant for yesterday had the same topic but was much more complete. Sorry.




If PPP could talk, she would have quite a tail to tell. Dug out of the ground, stuck in a little box and jostled and bounced around for a week. Finally the box opens and here is an unfamiliar landscape.

PPP took the US Mail in stride and settled into her new home in my woodland garden. She remained mostly evergreen under last winter's snow and this spring she is at least four or five times the size she was last year. I needn't have worried she was planted in too much shade, that hasn't fazed her either. Her job is blooming and she does that really well.



Gail at Clay and Limestone sent PPP to me last year. Gail has become a good will Ambassador for native plants in general and PPP in particular. A lot of gardeners around the country would never have heard of PPP or had it growing in their gardens if not for photos and stories from Gail's GOBN (garden of benign neglect:). Lately I've seen PPP featured on garden blogs from Florida to Chicago. All these little plants courtesy of Gail. Thank you Gail for introducing so many of us to PPP.



A little something about PPP, known to sticklers for botanical nomenclature as phlox pilosa. It is a native of dry, open woodlands, meadows and prairies over most of the US. It reminds me a little of woodland phlox, p. divaricata, but blooms over a considerably longer time period. A great plant for a woodland garden but also perfect growing among hybrid perennials and shrubs.

Tales of the traveling phlox

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. ~ Albert Einstein

Every year we have set aside a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died to keep us safe and free. Every year we pray that soon the world will change and become a better place where the bravest and best no longer fight and die. Somehow, things never change. War continues to rage and men continue to die.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
-- General George Patton

In World War II, General Patton made a decision to send troops to the left instead of to the right. In doing so, he saved a small group of airmen trapped behind enemy lines, among them my father. I honor Patton for that but can't completely agree with his sentiments on the death of soldiers. As much as we have gained from their sacrifice, we have lost much and should remember and mourn the loss.

God bless everyone who has fought and died for our homeland and bring our troops home safe and whole.

Ornamental onions and a soap box rant about puppy mills

Some onions are pretty enough to plant in the flower bed. Chives for example are very attractive when blooming. I like their tubular, bluish leaves even after bloom is finished. My onion chives have pale lavender blooms and garlic chives bloom in white.

Garlic looks a lot like chives. I planted one garlic bulb about 4 years ago and now have a nice little patch.

Most of my allium flower in mid spring.

Allium Purple Sensation is not edible but it certainly is attractive.

The unusual allium karataviense. The best thing about this allium is the foliage.

A. karataviense are very low to the ground. They aren't particular about soil except that it drain well. In my garden, allium has no pests or disease.

Another Purple Sensation beginning to bloom. PS seeds freely, the seedlings look like grass. It takes at least three years from seed to bloom.





Wednesday morning the Associated press broke a truly heartrending story about the death and suffering of puppies in puppy mills. This topic always disgusts me. Seems that the USDA inspectors who are charged with protecting the welfare of animals in puppy mills haven't been doing their jobs. They've been ignoring violations, waiving fines, allowing repeat offenses, and turning a blind eye to neglect and cruelty. The result has been the death of several hundred puppies in various kennels around the country. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack admits to these charges and promises to make some big changes. Right, isn't that what they always say? We can all be absolutely certain that nothing will change and that these helpless animals will continue to suffer and die.

If you have a little extra time, I would urge you to write to your congressman and demand the Dept. of Agriculture do a better job of protecting companion animals. If you are thinking of getting an animal, please adopt from a rescue organization. Don't buy from a pet shop, breeder or kennel. There are already far too many dogs in need of homes, none of us want to encourage breeding for profit.