Picture Perfect

Yellow flags blooming on left Golden Standard hosta in front right

I've talked about my rain garden before, but this weekend I weeded, planted, and mulched with cocoa bean hulls so it is picture perfect right now.  The blooms are at their peak or just past so it has been a stunning show. With our early warmth followed by cooler temperatures bloom time was lengthened on just about everything this year.  

Blue flag in center, very small Japanese maple on right

I added a Japanese maple to add some future height in the back ground.  We also added some new river stone to the downspout  areas to refresh the old ones which also adds a bit more water break for the rushing rains we tend to get.  I also found a couple of perennials to fill here and there.  

Dwarf Alberta spruce near center with Amsonia in upper left

I was able to put in some of my annuals over the weekend, petunias for one, but will hold off on the coleus and impatiens until the traditional Memorial Day weekend planting.  My dwarf Alberta spruce enjoyed the mild winter.  I did not leave it up to nature to water with so little snow.  I put the hose out twice during the mild temperatures of February and March to get moisture around the roots.  I also piled snow around it to add some winter protection each time we got a fleeting amount.  It came through beautifully with no winter burn.  After three years in the ground, it seems to be taking off this year.

I used some salvaged netting from a tree shipment to train the sweet Autumn clematis away from the hand rail this year.  I love the way individual leaves have poked through and expanded on the opposite side making the netting a bit more organic looking.

Lined area of rain garden, ferns, reeds, native irises, and trollius fill the bottom

The ferns have found their roots this year and are rooting in other areas.  The sensitive fern has completely left its original spot and is coming in through the field stone lining the rain garden.  The hostas were happy to lose the competition the Aruncus was providing as I moved it to the "dry berm".  I did not have much luck growing coleus in this spot without having to water frequently.  The Aruncus seems to be thriving in this spot quite well.  
A perennial garden can be planned, but there is always room for improvement.  Things die and there is always something that catches my eye and I really have to have it.  I always add a few annuals into the perennial beds to give it continuous color throughout the summer.  The few woody plants that I have in this area provide anchors for the vegetative plants that dominate the spot during summer, but add nothing during the dormant months.  Size does matter, so I always keep in mind what the potential size is for a plant.  I'd rather leave room for annuals while the perennials are getting established and reduce those each year as the permanent planting get larger.  
Weeding is a must.  I have seeds from maples, box elders, buck thorn and a whole host of annual weeds that blow in.  A perennial garden is never care free.  Even with edging, grass finds its way in with self sowing seed heads.  Mulch helps keep the amount down but it is not fool-proof.  I will not use weed barrier cloths especially in an area that I will be moving and digging on an annual basis.  The cloth will not allow the mulch to decompose and become part of the soil around the plants.  Years ago, my husband and I removed some over-grown shrubs around the school property.  The mulch added year after year was decomposing on top the cloth while the gray clay soils underneath remained unchanged.  Weeds managed to grow on top the cloth and we had to pull and rip it out of the shrub roots.  A tree of heaven had grown on top the cloth and pushed roots down through the cloth making it very interesting to remove.  Nix the weed barrier cloth in the planting beds, use it around your tomato plants instead (to reduce soil splash and related fungal problems).  It is also good under rock paths and the like.
Get out the camera on those days when you are all done doing the hard work so you have lasting memories of how good it looks when you put the time in.  I really enjoy looking back at the garden throughout the season and from year to year.  With digital, even an amateur can do some amazing picture taking.

blue flag iris

Mother's Day Tribute to my Mother (and Happy Birthday, Mom)

Door County cherry pick, Mom and Gwen

Mom knew how to eat local.  This is from a Door County cherry picking trip.  It wasn't exactly local eating from where we had to drive to pick the cherries, but it was a day trip which meant lots of pitting and canning the following day.  Going out to pick berries from the surrounding area was local and it happened every year, in each season of ripeness.  There was also the gardens that we grew as well as trips to the "muck farm" for massive amount of fresh produce for home preservation.  Canning is a skill I learned through observation and repetition.  

Mom with her camp cookware

Cooking outdoors was also a skill I learned from my mom.  In my 6th grade year she gave my dad an ultimatum.  Less time in the bar, more time with her.  They bought a camper.  Mom was quite an outdoors cook.  I think it stemmed from growing up with wood stoves on the farm.

Mom and Dad at Boulder Lake September or October 1970's

Those camping trips with my parents were special times.  Half of my sisters were grown and out of the house by the time the camper came into being, but that didn't stop them from becoming family trips.  These photos are from sister #3 and the car in the background belonged to sister #2 and her husband.  (I am #6 in a line of seven girls.)  We would take week long trips in the summer.  Sometimes it was a long weekend trip to go hunting or fishing.  It was always good to get away from the TV and spend some time talking around a campfire.

Mother's Day camping trip late 1970's

Mother's Day weekend became our first official camping weekend of the season.  Our most memorable trip was to northern Wisconsin (more north than we already lived).  The temperatures were in the high 70's when we left on Friday.  They never were that warm again the rest of the weekend.  The kids wore socks on their hands to warm up as we didn't bring winter gloves.  We also warmed rocks by the fire to warm our hands.  There's a whole story there which ends up with stitches in the emergency room...another time for that one.

Picnic 1970's Mom and Dad

We went on picnics frequently as a family.  We didn't stop and eat in restaurants.  The large number of people in our family made that cost prohibitive.  We would pack a lunch and eat it in some nice spots somewhere along our route.  Dad and Mom liked to take Sunday drives through the woods that surrounded our area in the Nicolet National Forest.  Dad never owned a 4-wheel drive vehicle in his life, but that didn't stop him from taking us boldly where only logging trucks have gone before.  Dad gave us an adventure every time.

Lunch during tree planting 1970's

We also learned a work ethic from our parents.  No one was too young to contribute in some way.  In order to earn tuition money for my older sisters to go to a different district's high school (this was also a lesson in political activism), we went in groups to plant trees for the Forest Service.  Grown ups would make the hole with the planting bar while we little ones put the trees in for them.  Looking back, it was the little ones that carried the bag of trees and did all the bending.  I'm sure some would consider that child abuse, but we lived through it with mostly fond memories.

Mom in front of the old Red Owl store

Even after dad passed at an early age, Mom continued to teach us how to make it in this world.  She went back to work to earn some extra money beyond Dad's pension.  She also passed on her great sense of humor to all of us.  Dad was the prankster in the family, Mom had a finely tuned wit.  Laughter is a gift that should never be over looked when considering the legacy you leave your children.  We have a rich legacy from our parents in that department.

Gwen and Mom 1960's

I also learned early on how to enjoy a cold beer after a hard day.  Before any one out there gets the wrong idea, my parents did not get us drunk to sit and laugh at us.  It involved a sip or two to see our reaction to such a different taste.  No children were harmed in the taking of this picture.  Enjoying the little things in life is really the best take-away my parents could give me.  I still can be happy with the small stuff in life.  It's all the small stuff that makes a big impression.

On the "to do" list today

1.  Clean all the debris out of the "pond", change water, and get the pump running.
2.  Flood the pressure washer trying to start it so you can clean out the "pond".
3.  Weed all the maple seedlings out of front beds while you wait to try starting the power washer again.
4.  Successfully start the power washer and clean all the Lannon and field stone in the wall around the "pond", the "pond" liner, the wooden park bench, and the bird baths.
5.  Find the Teflon tape so you can join the two hoses with no drips.  Use it and be happy there are no drips.
6.  Now that the pond is done, look over and notice that the herb garden needs attention.
7.  Re-pot  the catnip, peppermint, and sage into larger pots and sink them back into the herb garden.
8.  Move the rhubarb into the herb garden from behind the garage in case John really does build a bigger garage next year.
9.  Water in everything you moved, potted, and neglected this morning with water from the rain barrel which is overflowing after 3" of rain this weekend.
10.  Realize your back is killing you from bending over so much, go in the house for a beer, and sit at the table to enjoy the backyard.

Eviction Notice

The larger, hardy plants have gotten their eviction notice.  Such a cruel thing to do on a cool, rainy morning.  But, it had to be done.  My jasmine, scented geranium trees, mandevilla vine and rosemary all got moved to the north side of the garage to start the acclimation process.  They are just steps away from the service door, so should cold weather strike, I move them in there to take cover.

I moved a few of the potted items outdoors as well this morning.  My ivy geraniums and citronella geraniums were put into larger pots and put on the rolling rack.  The alpine strawberry boxes are added weight to the shelves for now, but will find a home hanging on the fence or someplace else soon.  I added casters to this shelf last fall.  Now I will be able to roll it into the garage on cold nights instead of moving the flats in one by one to the floor of the garage.  Next week will result in more evictions as I need the space indoors.

The reason for the evictions was two fold.  First, the larger plants need to acclimate.  Second, I ran out of room and transplanting had to be done.  My tomatoes have a good set of second leaves with strong centers.  I upgraded my Black-eyed Susan vines (Thunbergia). I flatted up the rooted coleus.  Also completed transplanting of tomatoes, agastache, some petunias, and parsley.  I came up with a solution for getting the new transplants within 6" of the lights.  I turned over 4, 4" pots at the corners of the flats to give them a boost up towards the lights.

I had great germination of the Thunbergia which are starting to vine.  For Christmas, my sister gave each of us a Topsy-Turvy strawberry planter.  I was not going to use it for strawberries so that became my transplanting vessel for some of the vines.  The variety I bought this year is Spanish Eyes, which is slightly lighter than the traditional Black-eyed Susan vines I have had, which I grew from saved seed with a 25% germination rate.  Some of these will go along the fence to vine in with the sweet peas, which will fade during the warm weather.  I also had some with the Sweet Autumn clematis last year.  The yellow and white combination was beautiful last fall.  

I have to balance the check book now so I can get over to the garden center today for more potting soil.  I am sticking with a light-weight mix which has served me well for indoor use.  I will also get some for the pots which will be coming together soon.  This winter I purchased an organic blend which was intended for indoor use.  I was skeptical of the heavier weight it had and it seemed to have "something" weird about it.  White flies showed up soon after (which I never had in my house before).  Another minus of this blend was that all the seed I started with this as my base layer had extremely poor germination.  Hard lessons are learned when I try to move forward against my better judgement.  Maybe I will listen to myself next time.  I really need to get a move on as time is running short in the day.  The garden center will not be a quick trip as I will want to browse.  Enjoy your own weekend.  Now that spring is really here, take time to stop and smell the flowers.

Jasmine