Posts Tagged: spring
The Bellis Perennis Obsession
The Bellis Perennis Obsession
The lunatic is on the grass.
The lunatic is on the grass.
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs.
Got to keep the loonies on the path.
This is a snippet of the lyrics for Brain Damage by Pink Floyd. Every time I hear it I think of my time in England and the profusion of white lawn daisies – Bellis Perennis – that would adorn each and every lawn for miles around come spring. Lawn purists hate the lawn daisy because it can grow lower than the grass is being cut and just like our dandelion, the little white daisy soon pokes through taunting said purist. I could never understand how anyone could not want this flower to grow en masse but alas.
The lawn daisy, to me, is such an amazingly beautiful little flower that evokes pure happiness and joy. Lazy summer days sitting on the grass making daisy chains is something all should experience. Should you not know what a daisy chain is, basically, you pick the daisy as far down as possible ensuring you have plenty of stem. You then join each stem of each daisy forming a circle. That circle can be as big or as small as you like. A scene comes to mind of a young girl making a chain big enough to fit over her head. Pure joy!
Interlude:
Even Chaucer adored this beautiful simple flower:But for to looke upon the daisie,
That well by reason men it call may
The daisie, or els the eye of the day,
The empress and floure of floures all,
I pray to God that faire mote she fall,
And all that loven floures for her sake.
Longing for those days in an English Garden
As the years have passed, the longing for the ideal gardening conditions of England has not really dissipated. There were plenty of plants that graced my English garden I never thought twice about or in some instances actually considered a nuisance (geraniums for example) that I now tend to pine for. An English garden is something extraordinary to behold and when I find myself missing my own personal piece of paradise of yore, I attempt to grow plants from my gardening past. There is always the hope that perhaps I will get it right and the plants will move beyond survival and actually thrive.
While I could easily find the taller, Bellis perennis double varieties at practically any garden center, this is not the simple lawn daisy I was longing for. They are too fancy for a start and they are not the English lawn daisy I knew and loved. Trying to find plants proved impossible so I had to opt for seeds. I found a good vendor selling them on eBay. I just checked my online order history and it seems I started this project to grow lawn daisies in July of 2012 which would have been one month after moving into this house. I am trying to remember now where I would have planted them. I have a bed along my right fence that I dug out for the purpose of growing bulbs. It is quite possible I planted them there but if that bed was not formed yet, I would have planted them somewhere else – perhaps under my aspen in the retaining wall. I wish I had created a journal entry to mark the occasion.
Regardless, it seems this endeavor failed because I ordered more May 24th 2014. I do have a journal entry for that and I did plant them in the bulb bed near the front. Here is that entry:
Seed planting! I have been putting random seeds in random locations. For example I potted up the sweet potato vines in the hanging baskets and added some sweet peas along with borage. I took a bunch of miscellaneous seeds including some Achillea and broadcast among the withering bulbs. I also planted some Flanders Poppies. My Bellis perennis seeds arrived and I planted them at the base of the bulb bed. My Phacelia also arrived and I planted them in the right corner near the patio where I placed some Gladiola bulbs. I also put some in four small starting pots and they now sit on the dining table outside. They are also planted in the black planter near the old stand where the converted watering can sits. I hope to see them come up.
The Ever Changing Garden!
I am amused by that old journal entry. While it does accurately record my first planting of the Bellis, I realize that the other seeds planted are now nowhere near their original locations. The Phacelia now is controlled to one area under the kitchen window for example. It is only this season that I had a successful bloom of the Flanders poppies and I never did see the achillea come up. Well, just today I was cleaning up that bulb bed a bit and I think I did see some small sprouts of achillea but it is doubtful they are from that original broadcasting of seeds but the result of my residing birds doing their own bit of gardening.
Phacelia
A bee enjoying one of the many poppies that bloomed this season
So, what happened to the Bellis planted in the bulb bed? Well, they came up and I did receive a few small blooms but I discovered a problem. They were growing way too close to the lawn. Now, I know that these plants can be mowed down to ground level and would come back and bloom BUT that was in the ideal growing conditions of England. Here, in my arid, cold Colorado garden, I was not willing to risk putting any stress on these plants so I had to schedule a surgical procedure. I took out my Hori-Hori and dug deep down in a perfect circle around the healthiest specimens and managed to extract a large clump. I then found a space that received morning sun only, cleared it out, amended the soil with all sorts of yummy compost and the like and transplanted the clump.
Post-surgery, I monitored my patient and I babied it something terrible. I hand watered it and ensured no weed came near it. The area I cleared out was of decent size and I thought perhaps my little Bellis Perennis clump could use some company so I performed another surgical procedure. This time, I lifted some Labrador violets and placed them to the left of the clump of daisies. Days and weeks passed and both patients seemed to have adapted quite nicely. Oh, the reason I moved the violets is due to them being planted in an area that had wonderful deep, morning shade but then horrible, menacing afternoon heat and these plants do not like full sun let alone full afternoon sun!
Labrador violets growing happily in their new location. This is an image from this season.
Happy Little English Daisies!
The summer of 2015 came to a close and autumn arrived in grand fashion raining down reds, oranges and gold’s upon the earth. I raked these gifts over my patients tucking them in for a long winter’s nap. After winter released its grasp from the land, I was once again amazed by all the new life in the garden. I slowly removed a portion of the earthly blanket I created from my two patients and was so happy to see green underneath. Weeks passed and soon, the last frost date arrived so it was time to clear the entire blanket of leaves not just from the Bellis but from all parts of the garden. Each day more and more leaves appeared on my treasured plants and then I was graced with blooms. Success and blessings!
Today, as summer starts to wind down, the Bellis Perennis patch is not much to look at but there is a decent amount of growth and there have been many, many flowers and I am confident the seeds are making traveling plans in their quest to spread throughout this entire space and beyond. Well, that is what I would like to hope. Next spring shall tell.
Final Thoughts
Some say there is no room for sentimentality in a garden. Some adopt the notion of ruthlessness when it comes to achieving the perfect ‘look’ for their little bit of earth. Why? Yes, you can come to regret it if you are not actively maintaining your garden. You know, the usual deadheading, trimming, dividing, weeding and the like are integral to the success of any garden but some take it a step further and refuse to allow anything that does not ‘fit’. Take the manicured lawn scenario for example. A greater portion of our population will go to great lengths to ensure there is no form of adulteration within their patches of green. Yes, a lawn is gorgeous but it is also a menace. Perhaps not so much if you live in England where you have the rainfall to sustain the perfect lawn but for where I live, one can waste so much time and more important WATER trying to achieve the perfect lawn. Come Late July, early August, no matter your efforts, your lawn is going to be more brown than the coveted green. Thank you to those wonderful watering restrictions! (And I mean this most sincerely)
Sorry, I went on a tangent.
I get attached to plants. I am sentimental and I make no apologies for it. I love the stories behind the plants and I have shared one such story with you today. I hope it has inspired you. Perhaps you too have a special plant you have cultivated in your garden that evokes some special memory. If so, please share. Have I inspired you to grow the humble lawn daisy of old? If so, here is where you can order some seeds.
Put some down in the autumn and see if you get some sprouts in early spring. I promise you will be delighted by these petite, humble white flowers popping up to greet you throughout the late spring and early summer – and if you are lucky in early autumn.
I thank you kindly for reading! Blessings to you all and happy gardening!
PS: Oh, yes, after that horrific hail storm mentioned in last post, I am very pleased to say that overall the garden DID bounce back for the most part. Yes, I lost some plants, the trees were damaged as was the roof of our house but overall, after all is said and done, the garden doesn’t look too worse for wear. And now, some photos!
One of many volunteer violas gracing the garden with their happy faces.
Beautiful rose in full bloom
A bee enjoying one of the many poppies that bloomed this season
Honey Locust leaves
Gold finch scoping the area before getting some water
Happy little fly on a climbing hydrangea leaf
Desert bluebells
More desert bluebells
Clamtis in full glory!
A beautiful variety of achillea (yarrow)
Hail Stone Meditations Part II
Well, this is NOT the Bellis Perennis article I have spoke so much about. 🙂
I sit here now, dejected, demoralized and on the verge of tears. No sooner was I wrapping up the previous post, preparing photos, etc. did a huge storm role in. Sitting having my lunch and watching a bit of Little House thinking I would head outside to take more photos but use the monopod, the entire room went dark. A storm was closing in and fast. The rain started lightly, then as the winds kicked up, sheets of moisture fell and then crash, crash, bang, crack. My garden was once again under assault. Let me say this, the hail storm mentioned in the first entry consisted of marble sized stones. The stones that fell just now were slightly smaller than a golf ball. My garden can typically sustain such an assault as long as there aren’t many stones and it ends relatively quickly. Not this time. The stones fell quickly and accumulated everywhere once again giving the illusion of snow.
I revert back to the quote from Old Herbaceous:
The gardener is a frustrated being for whom flowers never bloom at the right moment. Change and decay in all around he sees. It is all very sad, and how gardeners manage to keep going in the face of such adversities is one of those things that no fellow will ever understand.
The poppies before the hail storm.
In my current frame of mind, I don’t feel much like carrying on this season. The sunflowers mentioned in the large resin pot? Stripped. The budding poppies I was so happy to see this morning? Gone. What can I do now I am thinking to myself. At this moment, it is proving difficult to hold true to the philosophy mentioned in the previous post — nature’s will be done and perhaps she will be kind enough to leave us with something beautiful — a reward if you will for all of our hard work. I don’t know this time. I just don’t know. It is moments like this when one wants to give up but these words are formed when the wounds are so raw both in the literal sense with the plants outside and with the man typing these words inside.
I will close this for now but wanted to share this all with you. Thank you for reading. Have you suffered any setbacks with your gardening endeavors? Please share if you have. Together we can help one another with words of encouragement. Blessings to you all.
Brand new impatiens stripped down
Cosmos
Buried Cosmos Seedlings
Viola sprouts
Corn
What’s Left of the Dahlias
Size of hail stones that fell
No more sunflowers
The poppies that once were
Can you feel it?
Sensations
Phacelia tanacetifolia lacy rosettes
Day lily shoots poking through in the whiskey barrels
Daffodil shoots
Strawberry leaves
Hollyhock leaves
Viola flowers
A sun rising earlier and setting later each day
A brightness foretelling glorious warm days to come
Sweet, embracing, comforting warm air
Energy flowing through the ground
Dried flower heads crackling between the fingers to release its seeds
Soft viola leaves
The warming earth
Stereophonic bird song
Dried grasses dancing in the wind
Seed heads rubbing against the rocks
The wet earthly aroma of the ground heaving off its winter blanket
The remnants of the autumn leaves offering themselves to the earth
Sweet violas
The tanginess of the first chives brave enough to emerge early
Prunus armeniaca, Armenian Plum in bloom at Denver Botanic Gardens
The moment I walk out the door my eyes capture little leaves emerging seemingly everywhere. I walk to the pots near the outside table and already see small leaves perhaps belonging to a viola or hopefully a petunia. I am leaning more toward the viola though.
Interlude:
It was Alice Morse Earle who wrote about the viola being the first flower of the garden to greet you in the spring before most others. I realize this is long but here is the exact passage. I just love the way she goes on about this flower for her thoughts mimic my own as far as the excitement of seeing this flower show up seemingly out of nowhere in the bitter cold:
For several years the first blossom of the new year in our garden was
neither the Snowdrop nor Crocus, but the Ladies’ Delight, that laughing,
speaking little garden face, which is not really a spring flower, it is
a stray from summer; but it is such a shrewd, intelligent little
creature that it readily found out that spring was here ere man or other
flowers knew it. This dear little primitive of the Pansy tribe has
become wonderfully scarce save in cherished old gardens like those of
Salem, where I saw this year a space thirty feet long and several feet
wide, under flowering shrubs and bushes, wholly covered with the
everyday, homely little blooms of Ladies’ Delights. They have the
party-colored petal of the existing strain of English Pansies, distinct
from the French and German Pansies, and I doubt not are the descendants
of the cherished garden children of the English settlers. Gerarde
describes this little English Pansy or Heartsease in 1587 under the name
of Viola tricolor:–“The flouers in form and figure like the Violet, and for the most
part of the same Bignesse, of three sundry colours, purple, yellow
and white or blew, by reason of the beauty and braverie of which
colours they are very pleasing to the eye, for smel they have
little or none.”In Breck’s Book of Flowers, 1851, is the first printed reference
I find to the flower under the name Ladies’ Delight. In my
childhood I never heard it called aught else; but it has a score
of folk names, all testifying to an affectionate intimacy: Bird’s-eye;
Garden-gate; Johnny-jump-up; None-so-pretty; Kitty-come; Kit-run-about;
Three-faces under-a-hood; Come-and-cuddle-me; Pink-of-my-Joan;
Kiss-me; Tickle-my-fancy; Kiss-me-ere-I rise; Jump-up-and-kiss-me.
To our little flower has also been given this folk name,
Meet-her-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery, the longest
plant name in the English language, rivalled only by Miss
Jekyll’s triumph of nomenclature for the Stonecrop, namely:
Welcome-home-husband-be-he-ever-so-drunk.These little Ladies’ Delights have infinite variety of expression; some
are laughing and roguish, some sharp and shrewd, some surprised, others
worried, all are animated and vivacious, and a few saucy to a degree.
They are as companionable as people–nay, more; they are as
companionable as children. No wonder children love them; they recognize
kindred spirits. I know a child who picked unbidden a choice Rose, and
hid it under her apron. But as she passed a bed of Ladies’ Delights
blowing in the wind, peering, winking, mocking, she suddenly threw the
Rose at them, crying out pettishly, “Here! take your old flower!”
Here are images of my own violas.
As I finish this entry, it is cold outside as a front comes in from the west bringing in cooler air and hopefully some moisture. The temperatures will warm again though and so it will go. I have completed some tasks such as spreading some prairie seed in new beds at the top of the garden and also planting my anemones. I will discuss that more in the next edition. Until then, here is what is coming up now:
Tulips planted beneath a spruce tree
Brave little vinca flowers planted beneath a lot from a downed olive tree.
Silver lace vine leaves. I hope they don’t shrivel up in the pending cold temps.
One of my favorite spring bulbs — iris reticulata! Love that blue!
Potentilla leaves. Planted also beneath the spruce tree.
Flax leaves also beneath the spruce.
Day Lily shoots emerging from the whiskey barrels.
A chive bud
Aspen Catkin! Don’t you just love it when the aspens flower?
One more of an aspen catkin.
I thank you for reading and until next time many blessings and happy gardening!
Equinox to Solstice
I think of springtime and the words I left behind. I see the images now reeling in my mind. Greens of all shades and life springing forth. Now with summer, those images have evolved into various oranges, reds and yellows. Summertime.
When I woke this morning the sun was shining in my eyes and returning again were the words I left behind. Making the most of time is in art form itself. The ground thawed, the clover sprouted, the daffodils came and went and projects needed to be done. Summertime.
My life is made of all the things I find beautiful. Summertime.
Autumn is edging its way ever forward and I still cannot find my feet. Would you agree to meet me summertime? Summertime.
The tasks mounted and I would give to them all my time. The sun was shining on my face and the tasks at times seed rather insurmountable. Summertime.
I sat and left the cravings for more tasks far behind. I enjoyed and listened and smelled and engorged on summertime.
Would the love given to the planting of a seed bring forth all the things I had dreamed? Would it fade as some plants are already starting to do? I would like some lemonade. Summertime.
I walked into the clover and grass with the snap of sandals and mowed it into submission. The flowers that began drying exhausted from the sun are dead headed. Such a fancy sort of life. I will give to you all I can. Summertime.
My eyes grew heavy at the end of day. I tried to stand but I could not find my feet. There was a familiar line emerging from all corners of the garden. Sit, enjoy, love, appreciate. This is for you. Summertime.
The rains have been a blessing and I could take some time off from irrigation. I give to you extra when you need it though. Here, some amendments, here and there. The sun is shining in your eyes now and it is at its strongest. Summertime.
I have a craving for the lazy days now. Oh, yes. I shall rest. Summertime.
First colors of spring
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Sensational Cosmos and Enchanting Christmas Cactus
Author’s Note:
First, please forgive the amount of time since my last post. Next, as you will soon read, this post was written in late March. I have many more things to write about but wanted to get this posted. Thank you so kindly for reading.
Despite the cold winter, there has been a lot of indoor gardening, and the idea of this particular article has been floating around since November when the Christmas cactus proliferated in bloom. It truly was enchanting but more on that in a bit.
It is the eve of the vernal equinox and I am taking pause to allow for some rumination. In my last entry I spoke of summer giving way to autumn and the eventuality of winter. Not only is autumn over but winter is also officially over as well. Five months, just like that. An equinox and another solstice, finished. I love all the seasons as each provides nourishment for the soul, but I suppose my order of preference would be the autumn equinox, the winter solstice, the vernal equinox, and then the summer solstice. I love cold and the peace that accompanies the short winter days. I love the snow and how it provides the perfect blanket for the slumbering plants. And now, today, a new season is about to begin. The snow has receded and all around, the soil is bursting forth with life. I shall devote an entire entry to the celebration of the vernal equinox but for now I wish to share my thoughts on two incredible plants that deserve celebration.
Drifting oceans of pink sway in the wind as the sun glances upon their perfect flowers. Immediately and significantly the swathes of cosmos sensation I planted from seed have lived up to their namesake by inducing a sensation of appreciation of their old world beauty.
The back border makes one perfect home for this plant, or if you have the space, you could incorporate this into your wildflower patch. Regardless, this for me is one of the more friendly summer annuals. I have seen these naturalized in fields as well as in the English cottage garden and in either setting, they stand tall begging to be noticed but are not so imposing as to overshadow the other beautiful plants and flowers around them.
I am instantly attracted to any flower that has an open face similar to a daisy, and couple that with the fern-like foliage and you have a plant that is a must for the summer border or grown en masse on their own. These flowers greeted me in the garden until the first hard frost came and I shall be forever thankful for blessing me with their beauty throughout the season.
Photos of the incredible, versatile Cosmos Sensation. I have applied some artistic filters to these images and I hope you like what I have done. Any and all of the images on this site can be purchased. For details, please email webmaster (@) bennysplace (dot) com and indicate what photo you are interested in, size, etc.
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Admittedly, I have not had much luck with growing Christmas cactus indoors. For whatever reason, previous specimens became unwieldy and tattered looking. Worse yet, once the initial bloom had finished, I rarely saw flowers again. Fast forward a few years and I was given a combination of different colors in one pot. The specimen was indeed beautiful and full of gorgeous blooms but previous experience prevented me from becoming overly attached to the plant.
After its initial bloom, I repotted it, removed the spent flowers and thought to myself, well, let’s see what happens. As winter faded into spring and spring into summer, the plant itself thrived and I allowed myself to become hopeful.
Then, it happened . . .
Just before Thanksgiving the following year, there were buds abound on this lovely plant and I let my excitement get the better of me. I had a thriving Christmas Cactus! It is important to note that in its native habitat, Christmas cacti grow within rock crevices and on tree trunks and branches, so a large pot is not needed but moisture is. In my previous attempts at growing this plant, I treated it as a succulent that required little to no water. Also, because in their native environment, they are shaded by a canopy of leaves, I moved my thriving specimen out of the direct sun and now I think it is perfectly content. So much so that I am about to get some more blooms! This time, white.
The enchanting Christmas Cactus gallery. Enjoy!
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As time passes I hope to write more features on specific plants. I thank you all for reading, and until next time which I promise will be very soon – Happy Gardening!
Summer Lamentations
I surreptitiously slip in softly, quietly, gliding along the winds of spring. The last remnants of cold and winter soon become just a fleeting memory.
Spring O! spring! What a vibrant, multi-colored tapestry you have woven! I offer all this precious new life my protection with my warmth and long days.
Heraldry! No other mornings compare to the aubades sung with such fervor by the growing numbers of my winged followers.
My fiery sun glowing strong provides all the radiant heat welcomed by the earth below.
Days o’ days. They are long, lazy and meandering which is the intent. The rising moon graces the sky albeit briefly before my sun chases it away to bask the earth in glorious splendor.
Life is flourishing, life is everywhere, life is inescapable, life is alive with love, passion and energy. Emerge my children and let me cradle you in my warmth. Sleep in peace secure in knowing you are safe.
Days o’ days passing without care, breeding happiness, excitement and laughter all the while. My strength continues to grow as does everything beneath me. My personal flowers, O! Flowers of faith, you are bounding each day only to ready yourselves for your days of endless adulation.
Helianthus annuus they have called you. You are the embodiment of the season. You reach higher and higher, yearning to be closer to me. We were once one, you and me and so we will be again.
SHEER JOY! The virtues of patience have paid off and the day has come! Your blooms have opened and with each passing minute, your face sways, turning and contorting so that we may look into each other’s eyes until I drop out of view.
Beauty is fading. Your days are expiring and as the finches come to feast upon your leaves, your precious blooms begin to wither. I am fading too it seems. The solstice has come and gone.
Preparations of moving on. My freshness of youth is transforming into something more mature as I feel myself losing my reign with each passing hour, day and week.
Soon there will be nothing left of me but a memory.
Your flowers are gone now but you have procured enough nutrients to gather seed. Prolific you shall be when a new season comes around again. A year. Annuus.
The dog days are here and in protest I shower all below with a heat not as yet known this season. Fiery blasts upon the earth as I lament my inevitable passing.
The earth turns are constant. Days o’ days. I am forced to let go. The dog days are over now. The footsteps of the autumn equinox are drawing nearer until the inevitable day when we meet face to face.
Grinning shyly, I bow gracefully knowing I must be off to bless another part of the earth as a new spring in a different land approaches. Perpetual motion. As I bid the northern lands adieu, I embrace the southern lands. Cycles.
The land ever coaxing prompts me to stay as long as I can but autumn is waiting patiently and with her arrival comes the much needed preparation for another type of solstice – winter. One of shortened days and much needed rest. Autumn’s hands are careful and intentional as her winds summon the northern winds. Colder nights, shorter days. She sees winter approaching and knows she has much work to do before her arrival.
I cannot maintain my protection much longer and with each passing evening, I feel myself slipping further. Frosts have already fallen upon the land like a blanket as if to say, shhhhh, it is time for sleep.
Life is fading, drifting wearily and preparing for protection against the cold. Shutting down. Life functions become slower, disciplined and minimized to the bare essentials.
The clocks, ticking in unison all point to my hour of departure and I shall leave grandly with a fiery exit. Your pleas have not gone unnoticed; O! Beautiful creations! Let this be my final gift in honor of autumn. The fiery colors of my palette I shall infuse into all the leaves of all the plants below. Emblazoned now below the autumnal sun are the tones of earth, fire and sun setting the world alight with an elaborate fireworks display. Take solace, breathe in the cooler, stiller air, reflect and prepare for rest.
As my robust, energetic, invigorating, warm days end and new days of frost, cold and stillness begin,
Summer has become autumn
Young has become old
Then has become now
I leave you with your memories.
Images of Autumn. Please click on any of the thumbnails below to start sideshow. Thank you.
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Images of the Garden in Late Summer. Please click on any of the thumbnails below to start sideshow. Thank you.
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Sweet Cicely
26 May 2013
06:35 a.m.
The title of this post immortalizes the feeling I had the day I planted four of these seeds. They were unusual looking seeds and I am looking forward to them sprouting.
Here is an excerpt from my written journal I created that day:
I sit now in relative peace and quiet and it is very relaxing. I was up with the sun and I feel blessed to have seen it rise. As I write these words I am reminded of Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun as she writes a postcard for someone else. I am reciting what I write in my head just as she did in the movie.
There is a slight breeze which makes the aspen sing; this combined with the bird chatter creates a peaceful melody.
There should have been more to write in my journal that day but as it turns out, three hours later, I was rushed to the hospital due to a nosebleed that just would not stop. When all was said and done, the suspected cause was stage two hypertension and the severe nosebleed was a symptom to alert me to this. What an alert it was! After that, I could not do any work in the garden for over a week which was very frustrating considering all there is to do.
Mass of seedlings competing for space.
Beyond the sprouts in this pot, there has been a prolific amount of growth everywhere in the garden and each day’s new discoveries are so humbling. There is a beautiful sort of magic that only tending a garden can provide and I am so blessed to have such a tremendous amount of beauty surrounding me.
Viola rescued from grass
Volunteer viola via plant purchase
Aspen stems with dead leaves
Back in February I wrote an article about how I was waiting for some Impatien seeds to sprout within containers inside the house. Well, to date, none have but a few weeks ago I nonchalantly threw a few into the whisky barrel at the front of the house and today I am pleased to announce I have sprouts! As I added all the varieties I purchased from Plant World Seeds, I do not know which will come up but the fact that any are growing at all is very exciting. I will provide updates over the coming weeks.
Before closing, I wanted to journal some plants I purchased from Wilmore Nurseries over last weekend (15-16 June 2013). The main reason for going there was to replace a St. John’s Wort, Mother of Thyme and trumpet flower that did not break dormancy. While there, I purchased some new plants to help fill in some blank spots. Here is what I purchased:
Two Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’
Two Penstemon “Scarlet Bugler”
One Lemon Balm
One Mystery Grape Vine
Two ‘SunPatiens’ Compact Deep Rose (Note, I really should have looked at the labels of these plants. I do not like engineered plants really. Despite being for the sun, these were placed in the shade)
One more thing for the journal is to note that the Strike It Rich rose did not make it sadly. I was able to exchange it and I chose this as a replacement:
Olympiad Rose Bloom
Olympiad Hybrid Tea
Description: Each large bright true-red bloom is held on long stout stems and holds their color to the very end. Distinctive grey-green foliage on a very vigorous upright plant.
Color: Bright true-red
Height/Habit: Medium-tall/Upright
Bloom/Size: Medium-large, double
Petal Count: 30 to 35
Fragrance: Light fruity
Parentage: Red Planet x Pharaoh
The world of gardening is probably best summed up as ordinary miracles happening every day. Being a gardener is a sheer joy and to make something out of a little bit of earth is a blessing. I hope you are having an amazing start to the growing season and until next time, Happy Gardening and Blessings to you all!
Grass gone to seed
Delphinium
Cranesbill Geranium
Morning Glory Seedlings
Snapdragon Bloom
Hollyhock Seedling
Mystery seedlings in pot
Artistic photo of Day Lily Leaf
Purslane Growing
Container tomato flowers
Red Yarrow
Artistic photo of white dutch clover bloom
Winter’s Shadow
Dear Friends,
I have developed a routine of when and how I eat my lunch. I start off by putting a Dr. Pepper in the freezer around 12:00 and I have timed the freezing process perfectly so when I retrieve it at 1:15, it is of the perfect slushy consistency. I take the soda from the freezer and then get to work preparing what I will eat for the day. I then peer out the window and take sincere joy from watching all of the winged visitors indulge in all the treats I have provided for them. Each day I see something different and I truly consider these moments among my most blessed moments. Today I watched in fascination at a house finch couple courting. Well, he was courting her by dancing around her, nudging her now and again and generally showing off for his girl. She responded with nudging of her own and seemed to love all the attention. They eventually flew off and I continued to eat in anticipation of seeing the next set of visitors flutter in to the feeders.
This winter has seemed longer than normal. For the last few weeks, we have been blessed by moisture but that moisture arrived in the form of snow bringing with it record low temperatures. This has wreaked havoc in many gardens across the Denver metro area. The Denver Botanic Gardens has reported that the devastation caused by the cold is something not seen by those working there in all their years at the gardens. Yes, it has been cold but it is all cyclic and I personally am grateful that everything in my garden seems to be patiently waiting for a longer spell of warmer temperatures before springing back to life. I have the formation of buds on the aspens, elderberry and willow and from what I can tell these buds are still okay and very soon should burst forth into that unique translucent hue of spring green we all know and love.
I did make some mistakes though and really I should have known better. We took a trip to Arizona at the end of March and of course spring had arrived there in all its glory. As such, my favorite family owned garden center Rillito Nursery had an amazing selection of plants to choose from. I was not so foolhardy to choose tropical but instead, I bought a couple pansies, a blanket flower and I simply could not resist bringing home an autumn sage otherwise known as Salvia Greggii. My thinking was I would extend the growing season of the pansies for they would have soon perished as the Arizona temperatures began to soar. Further, the blanket flower can handle cold. Well, my philosophies and ideas did not work out too well. First, the pansies – Right now, they are a burned mess in a pot with slight hints of green here and there. I cannot say whether they will come back but I am hopeful. Next, the blanket flower – I kept this in my little plastic greenhouse and when those single digits arrived, the plant suffered. It is now indoors and kept alongside the salvia I brought home and will not be going out again until our last frost date comes and goes. Thankfully, that is the end of April so only a few more days!
The temperatures here have begun to rise and with that the urgency to garden has intensified. Like many who are anxious for the cold weather to end, I have gone out and purchased new plants for the garden to add some instant color. Well, becoming overzealous may have its price for it is due to snow yet again this evening. The moisture is so very welcome but I would love it to fall in the form of rain and I would like to see the temperatures well above freezing. Alas, it is not to be. Tonight it will drop into the 20’s and tomorrow night into the teens. It will remain cooler well into next week and I think at this stage I shall hope and pray that everything trying to make their start in my garden will survive. I will bring in the Parrot’s Beak along with the oregano and thyme I purchased over the weekend. There is no sense in letting them suffer.
Getting back to the purchasing of new plants, I am happy I did not get too crazy. I did buy plants that should survive this cold spell just fine. On Saturday, the 28th, we went to Wilmore Nurseries and here are some images representing most of what I took home:
Ajuga Chocolate Chip
Bellis Perennis Pink Flower
Mint Julep
Primula
Stardust Rock Jasmine
Trifolium Dark Dancer
Zizia aptera — Heartleaf Alexander
How will all these plants cope with the drop in temperature? Most are accustomed to the cool weather but with temperatures below 20 degrees, I may be pushing the boundaries of survival. Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will report the effects of this latest cold snap and snow! ?