The business of spring is reproduction. Pawpaw flowers open at the same time as the trees start to leaf out. The dormant buds look like tiny pieces of fur, and the flowers remain surprisingly furry as they expand.
Pawpaws and the Business of Spring
Month: June 2019
Bleeding Hearts Come Full Circle
The bleeding hearts are going to seed. This is a plant that scatters its seed a little, but is easily controlled. They are very nice around potentially leggy things like roses and lilies.
A month ago today, the bleeding hearts in the full shade of the house were in bloom; the red bleeding hearts started blooming a couple of days earlier. With even a little sun, the soil warms a little faster and plants bloom a little sooner. Continue reading “Bleeding Hearts Come Full Circle”
How to Move Daffodils
Daffodils are forgiving of many things, but too much shade is not one of them. Last year, I realized that the bed of daffodils that were under the witch hazel were getting shaded out. They were lanky and few bloomed, so I needed a plan. Continue reading “How to Move Daffodils”
Evolution of a Flower Bed
The space under the witch hazel was rendered very sparse by the Scilla bifolia purge last year. The Diamond Tiara hostas survived being lifted, put aside, and put back. The hyacinths that have been there for decades survived being rearranged. The Scilla bifolia seedlings that had the temerity to sprout have been removed.
Time to look at the rest of this rather bare flowerbed and scout for new residents.
A Quick Peek Into the Backyard
The continual rain has made it very hard to keep the lawn tidy. It’s never good to mow wet grass, but with a reel mower, it’s virtually impossible. Fortunately everything else has been very lush, even if a little behind schedule, for the same reason. Here is the entry into my backyard from the driveway.
Late spring and early summer flowers are beginning to show, while the early spring flowers are producing seed, including one of next year’s weeding projects—silver maple seedlings. I can reduce the number of seedlings by raking soon, but I will not get them all.
Editing the Hosta Border—Deadheading and Tidying
The bluebells were the splashy stars of April, but by mid-May, they are winding down.
They go fast at this point. Continue reading “Editing the Hosta Border—Deadheading and Tidying”
So, How Wet Was May?
I am not really sure. We have had moisture streaming up from the Gulf and dumping on us continually all month, in highly localized storms. The Weather Service says about 2 ½ inches for us, for May. Many towns around us have had flooding, and some severe, but we have not. I love rain, but I am tired of it. A week off would be nice. It is squelching out there, despite less than an inch of rain last Saturday. Continue reading “So, How Wet Was May?”
Solomon’s Seal, True and False
I never thought of Solomon’s seal as a garden plant—it was a plant from botany field trips into the woods in college, so I was struck by a neighbor’s planting of dwarf Japanese Solomon’s seal, Polygonatum humile, several years ago. They had planted it in a shady little patch of earth on a street corner with road on one curved side, and sidewalk on the other two sides. At about 6 inches tall, it is a very nice orderly little plant for such a small space. They stand sturdily upright, about a leaf-and-a-half’s distance from stem to stem—with a great texture, and serve as a very nice ground cover.
