Between rainy days...

... stuff is getting done.

Since I'm started fewer things every year, it's takes very little time to bring up the basement sprouts and plants. (Only 4 flats of annuals are left under lights downstairs right now.)

Daytime temps are ranging from the high 40s to low 60s (frequently on the same day!).  Nights are still flirting with high 30s so schlepping back and forth from the sunroom is the current deal.

The geraniums are good to mid-40s easily, so they don't get schlepped as often.

Anyway, all the greens are up too so it's way easier to grab chard, beet greens (actually purple), and collards for sandwiches (way more 'umph' on a sandwich).

While the sunroom is empty during the day, the view from the skylight is lovely - the dogwood is going great guns right now.

I've cleaned out the privacy bed, removed the cuke trellis (will not be growing veg in that bed anymore), popped out uncounted dandelions from other beds, nooks and cranies, hauled baskets of debris to the depot, and ran the trimmer around a bit.  

I also set up the 4 big pots on the bench in front of the deck readying them for the upcoming geranium installment.  May 18th is our traditional final frost.  Will be interesting how it shakes out this year due to the crazy inverted weather we've had so far.

Elsewhere, views are improving:

The view as you come down the driveway toward the house.  The crabapple is in full bloom, the double-file viburnums and ready to pop and soon the grey-twigged dogwood will join the party.  

The original curved section of the privacy fence does a great job of screening the back yard and swing bed so I can sit there anytime and not be distracted by road traffic.

When rounding the garage, the brick border and crabapple bed is the view.  The Robinson crabs have done blooming, but the amount of perennial green underneath is bursting forth now.  Kenilworth ivy is in full bloom on the brick border.  All those tiny blue flowers, so delicate - and tenacious.

Finally, a look at the burning bush hedge.  Planted in spring 2014, these guys are doing great.  The fence canopy have so far thwarted the deer, allowing for some good root and stem growth.  Well-timed application of Milorganite is also helping a lot.

More rainy weather over the next few days.  Mom (who is NOT sick LOL) will be spending the weekend for some Mother's Day fun.

Hope all you and your Mom's have a great holiday too.

Crabs et al

It's been a terrific year for the crab trees - we had no ice/snow/sleet/freeze/frost on the blossoms this year.  By the time the last (very light & no freezing) on the 14th, the blooms had been mostly gone anyway (persistent heavy winds).

It's just wonderful to watch the crab bed fill in with all those shade perennials I installed last year.  They could sure use some rain though.  We've only gotten 3/4" this May and only 4" all April - less than half what we got in 2014. 

I was admiring the bed this morning and realized that the crab trees are getting heavy.  They needed a trim to keep them in shape and (ironically) to allow light and air circulation for the shade plants.

Here's the before and after pics.  You can see that the arbor bed can now be seen in the background and there is a bit more light under the trees.  I'm keeping the crabs in check - I've seen how rangy these things can get.

On a sad note, the yoshino cherry tree planted in the front lawn 3 years ago is dead - the deer just kept at the poor thing.

I pulled it out yesterday and cut it up.  It made such a sad little pile.  It never had a chance.  RIP

Then I went to Marcs for some groceries and right there, outside the door amongst their spring plant selections, was an 8-foot-tall potted SNOWDRIFT CRABAPPLE tree.  My favorite crab!!  And only $20!!!  Be still my heart.

With the help of a willing stock associate, we tenderly loaded up the the tree into my hatchback.  (Gotta love a hatchback!) 

I'll plant it where the cherry used to be.  Hopefully this one will have better luck.  I'll be diligent and beef up defenses.

While I was on a roll, I tried out the new pump on the rain barrels.  Here's the post on the Garden Projects page.

And, finally, a sad tale.  There is a lonely male mallard duck frequenting the feeder these days.  He's obviously lost his mate since a couple weeks agao and will be 'batch-ing' it until he finds a willing hen (although this time of the mating season, I doubt he'll have any luck).  At least he's cleaning up the spilled seed.

Meanwhile, up in the attic, I'm replacing a vent screen.  Check out the story on the Household Adventures page.

More to crab about! Yay!

For the past couple of years, I've kept my eye out for a crabapple tree to replace the one that did so poorly behind the privacy fence.  (It dropped leaves prematurely and by the end of June it was always bare, so I had it cut down.  Why keep a tree that always looks dead?)

Anyway, I couldn't afford trees from local nurseries.  Prices were outrageous.

Big box stores got poor trees with little selection.  (I still feel blessed to have gotten the Robinsons when I did.)

And what with the horrible winter killing off all my nice butterfly bushes that I trained to look like small trees, another bed (the bed with the Black Knight) went all naked.

I am LOATHE to buy trees off the internet.  I need to see them, check the trunk, bark, root system, etc.

So I was in a funk - 3 years since the big crab came down and now I decided that the b'fly bed should also sport a crabapple.

And I wanted the blossoms to be white.

I went everywhere affordable and found - nothing.  Oh sure, HD had some $50 Snowdrifts which I would have lusted after, but the trunks were tall, thin and splits.  I knew they were just heartache in a tub.

Then, just last week, I visited a local nursery that I'd totally forgotten about for years.  I pulled in and first thing I look for anymore is for the tall stuff back in the corners.  Sure enough, there was clump of stuff.

I walked through dead semi-dwarf apples, some semi-dwarf sour cherries (Montmorency! Oh, if only I didn't have deer!!), a spindly Prairie Fire crab and a couple of other things I now forget.

Then, at the end, I found 2 crabapples.  They'd been there for some time.  One had no tag and the other had one so broken and faded that I could only just make out "sarge...".   Sargent??  Omigosh.  Almost potbound, full of suckers, grown tilted, but the trunk was straight.  Hey!  Somebody!  I need help back here!

Click to ENLARGE

I found the owner and she confirmed it was Sargent.  As for the 2nd, slightly taller tree?  "SugarTyme".  Be still my heart.   SugarTyme will grow 12-15' high and wide.  With white flowers.  Perfect for behind the fence.

Sargent will grow 5-7' tall and perhaps 8' wide.  Perfect for the b'fly bed.

Now for the 2 big questions:

How much?    $50 each.  I remained calm.

How much for delivery?  $10.  Total.

Bingo!!  The deal was made and dollars were exchanged for hoped-for beauty.

A couple hours later the trees arrived.

They were in 15 gallon pots.  You can see how suckered the Sargent was and how tilted both were in their pots. (1st pic)

I trimmed them up, snipped out the crossed branches and propped them so the trunks would be straight.

Now they looked like real beauties. (2nd pic)

It took me a couple days to get my helper to come and plant and that's what we did yesterday.

The SugarTyme went in easily in the loose loamy soil where the old crabapple was.  Planting at an angle so the trunk was straight and true, it looks great. (4th pic)

The Sargent took us nearly 3 times as long.  The b'fly bed was on top of where the Blaze Maple had been removed 2 springs ago.  While I had the stump ground out, we found that just 8" below the surface it was still solid with stump.  Grrrr.   We finally gave up trying to break through that barrier and moved a couple feet toward the house.  Same frustrating results.

It was hot.  We were tired.  But I was determined that the tree WOULD LIVE THERE.  So we went to the very back of the bed and YAY, we finally found the edge of the submerged maple bed and were able to dig a good hole for the Sargent.  Downside - the soil there is just mostly clay - and with all the rain we've been getting, it was a lot like slicing jello.  We ended up adding buckets of good compost to the soil before backfilling the hole.

The final result - just wonderful!  (3rd pic)

Lots of happy happy joy joy dancing for the rest of the day. :-D

After 5 years - SUCCESS!

Back in 2009, I hankered after a couple of curved beds about 10 feet off the driveway turnaround.

Here's pics of that ongoing project for the 1st 5 years:

2009 - original lasagna bed development
2010 - 2 Robinson crabapple trees, lavenders, agastache, catmint & annuals
2011 - agastache, salvia, catmint and annuals in pots
2012 - ravaging deer so only agastache, catmint
2013 - pretty much the same as 2012, but add a drought to that, sparse foliage on trees and my debilitating illness

Then we were hit with the hardest, longest, coldest winter that started before Thanksgiving and went well into April.  There was a lot of winter kill.  No agastache, lavender, butterfly bush or mum made it out alive.  The crab bed sported only catmint (what a trooper!), sedum, turf lily and a lone pink perennial salvia.  Oh, and the 2 crabapples.

But the crabapples turned trumps for sure.  Lots (and I mean LOTS) of rain in April & May (and now June).  Both trees bloomed beautifully!  And the canopies filled in at last.  Full, dense and gorgeously colored dark green and bronze.  And you know what else they grew?

SHADE!  Lots of SHADE!  At last!!  What I'd originally envisioned for that bed has been realized.

Here it is, readers.  The 2014 crabapple SHADE bed:  (Click to ENLARGE)

Instead of annuals, the bed now sports hostas, ferns, daylillis, hucheras, columbine and burgandy ajuga as well as the existing turf lily border (back), Walker's Low catmint, perennial pink salvia and autumn joy sedums.  There's some room left for a couple of small astilbe yet, too.  There are a few annuals in the front pots and about a dozen various coleus for a bit of shady color. 

I can't tell you how pleased I am at how this has turned out.  I'm really going to enjoy watching this fill in over the season. The trees are lush and laden with crabapples, the catmint is taking the increased shade well and (*knock wood*) so far the dear haven't bothered anything.  Well, luck AND the 'salad dressing' I've been spraying on the plants. *heh*

====== P.S.  update:

The deer really seem to LIKE the salad dressing.  :-(

My kinda snow

The Snowdrift crabapple has never looked as glorious as it is this year!

 


Almost makes the long cold winter worthwhile.

Almost... :-/

Afternoon update:  Cloudy.  Then lots and lots of lightning and thunder.

Then the heavens opened and we got 1/2" in about 6 minutes.

Hear how hard it was hitting the sunroom roof?  You couldn't even make out all the thunder in this vid.

The vid was cut short, though, because I had to edit out the swearing.  The roof started leaking!   Aaaaarg!  (Upstairs gutter overflowed.  Torrent washed up and into gaps in the window flashing.  I'll have to fix that!  I'm getting too old to stand on a roof and clean a gutter during a pouring thunderstorm.  At least there was no wind, but I'm soaked like a drowned cat.)


Next morning - update:

Now I'm sooooo thankful for yesterday's quick downpour showing me that the upstairs gutter was blocked.  Because had I not cleaned it out then, the next heavy thunderstorm (again, no wind thankfully) in the middle of the night that dumped a whole INCH more rain within 20 minutes would have totally flooded the sunroom while I slept.  Talk about your silver lining!

The radar show LOTs more potential storms/showers for the next couple of days.  I already have 5 barrels of water but no need to use it on anything at this point, that's for sure.   Why, I can actually see the broad beans back in one of the golf course bins grow by the hour.    Yay.  So is the lawn.  *sigh*  At least the sunroom is dry. :-D

Oh, how much rain are we "enjoying"?   Ask the ducks.  Even they are looking for high ground and are perching on the roof!

Happy and sad

This is the 5th year anniversary of the crabapple bed.  The 2 trees have had 4 years of staking and trimming and it's all paid off.  They are making a gorgeous show right now! What a delight.

Off to the left, the big Snowdrift crabapple is also in full glory and buzzing with early bees.  After such a long cold winter, these blooms are like a balm.

I've been very busy this past week and you'll see I've update 4 of the sidebar blogs.  (Glenda - a special pic for you on the Veg Page.)  Enjoy catching up on the details over there.  :-D

On a sad note, the blogosphere has lost one of it's own.  Carol L. Hattrop (known as Annie's Granny from Annie's Kitchen Garden) has passed away.  With the loss, we are all diminished.  Please take a moment, pop over and say goodbye to a good gardening friend.

 

Good news, bad news, hopeful news

Well, yesterday (Tuesday) was .... interesting.  (I'm getting to hate that word.)

First some good news.  After 3 years of enduring the ravages of d^mn deer, the 3 prairie fire crabtrees that I planted at the same time as the Robinisons in the crab bed, are in full bloom this year!  Sure you'll notice that all of the bottom branches have had to be cut off - all broken/ eaten by deer, but I guess (hope!) that the rest are now growing out of reach of the 4-legged plague.  I really like how deep the color of the blooms are (compared to the Robinsons which are a decided light pink).

Notice the teeny weeny one on the right?  That thing used to be twice as big, but now a mere shadow of itself due to deer.  There are few branches left, but still, this year, somehow those buds were overlooked and are blooming away like the big guys.  I call it - The Little Prince.

Now, for the bad news.  Yesterday, around 11:00 am, I suddenly realized I was going to have another of those terrifying episodes of fizzing, weakness, panic, etc.  I knew it was coming.  I don't know how.... but it was.  It's like if you were in a room and everything looked fine and then somehow, the light changed and things didn't 'feel' the same.  That's what I felt.  These episodes are like nothing else that I've had in the past - this isn't prickles/numbness, this isn't hunger/light-headedness.  This was --- different.  And scary.   What the hell could these be?  What?

I'm relatively smart.  And lately, I've had to get smarter (as my doctors seem to be getting dumber).  These episodes start from the middle of my head, move down my neck and then I'm in full fainty - abject fear mode.   Now what....

I headed for the web.  And found an answer.  And it was terrifying.  I may well be having hypoglycemia-induced seizures.  Not enough glucose in my brain.  Probably compounded by my continued dehydration problem (I'm drying out no matter how much fluid I get).   Y'see, I give these symptoms to my GP and she wants me to see a shrink.  I TOLD her I'm hypoglycemic.  Did she react?  Did she offer to do any glucose testing?  Did she give a damn?  No.

At the first 'hit' on the web, I ran and got some glucose tablets, chewed them down, then slurped down a Klondike bar while I continued to research.  These spells sure read like seizures.  (Don't panic.  The glucose tablets went right to my blood/brain and, thankfully, reduced this current event to a minimum, though the 'hangover' from it lasted most of the rest of the day.)

Now the good news.  While at the neurologist on Friday, I convinced him to refer me to an endocronologist.  I WAS worried about my hypoglycemia and even though it was NOT in his bailiwick, he asked if I was fatigued?  Hell yes!  Okay, he referred me to an endocrinologist.  How fortunate.  By yesterday, however, I'd not heard from the endo people (and with this new discovery, I needed attention RIGHT NOW) so called over there to see when they were making my appointment based on the referral.  "What referral?"  You guessed it - no paperwork was ever sent.  *FUME*   I explained the situation and they set up an appointment and then I called the neuro people and got them to fax the referral.  GOOD FRACKING GRIEF do I have to do everything?

So tomorrow (Thursday) should be busy.  Not only do I have a Therapy evaluation for the cervical DDD in the morning, I have an appointment with the endocrinologist in the afternoon.   Maybe now I'll get some answers - or help.  Because I never knew (and it was never explained to me by my GP) that hypoglycemia is not just "oh eat something, you'll feel better".   No!  Without sufficient glucose in the blood and the very-demanding brain, you can have seizures!  Or worse...

So tomorrow, hopefully, we'll take my endocrine system to the shop and have all those pesky little glands put up on the rack, so to speak.  Because somewhere, something is very very out of whack....  Please, keep your fingers crossed that the 6th time (with doctors) turns out to be the charm.  I'm so due for one!

A tale of two trees

I planted these two Robinson crabapple trees back in April, 2010.  They had a few blooms that first year and more in 2011 and 2012.

This year, however, on of them is bright and bountiful while the other is barely there.  I wonder why one has blooms all along the branches while the other only has them at the tips?

A couple of years ago my front crabapple did the same thing - just tip blossoms.  I don't know why crabs do that.  I thought it might be weather related, but the two in the crab bed say otherwise as they enjoy the same conditions.  Go figure.

As you can see, the front crabapple is in full splendor and, if the rains come this year, I may have a bumper crop of crabapples.  I hope so, as I'm totally out of crabapple jelly!

Meanwhile, I wait patiently for my favorite crabapple tree to bloom - the unknown white.  The buds are swelling now and should be in glory in about a week.  It's not to be missed. :-D

Giving up, giving in

Ravaged crabapple

Hoop nets - trampled and torn & eaten mums

Savaged pines & crabapple

That's it.

I'm done.

The government obviously prefers wild, uncontrolled deer vs property values.

The veg fences and a lot of the poles have been trampled down.

The trees are shredded and broken.

Mums right on the deck are eaten bare (though totally soaked with hot pepper spray).

I'm one older person with limited means and resources.

The idea of a sanctuary had always been a dream and I've worked hard on it for almost 6 years.

Now, with an increasing, uncontrolled deer population, it's become a nightmare.

This is the last time I'm walking the beds this season. 

I'll mow the lawns, mulch the leaves and try not to see the increasing carnage.

My heart is broken and, probably, at this moment, won't even try to continue with plantings.  Why?  I'm angry.  I'm old.  I'm tired.  And I can't afford to. That's why.


Fracking deer.

The dire deed is done

Broken Blaze maple

Click pic for full story

For the full story on the tree removal, click on the pic of the stump.

In other happier tree news, the front crabapple that had been trimmed and shaped last June was completely covered with blooms this past month.

Now, thanks to the bees and other pollinators, it looks like there's going to be a bumper crop of fruit this year.

Lovely!  I've been without crabapple jelly for FAR too long!

More apple, less crab

The front crabapple had grown by 4-5 feet in the 9 years I'd been here, and it was getting in trouble: dropping lots of apples into the gutter, getting too close to the top of the chimney (fire hazard), rubbing against the roof shingles, and putting pressure on the TV and phone wires that attach to that side of the house.

Front crabapple in full bloom - 2010

After the tree bloomed in 2011, I had it cut back (pros) and shaped (me).  This year due to the warm winter and exceptionally warm March, this tree is blooming a good 3 weeks earlier than last year.

Front crabapple in full bloom - 2012

It's so much more manageable now.  It's trim and tidy and still shades the front bay window and looks fabulous from inside and out.  (Two different cameras lent 2 different colors to the flowers. Odd, that.)  I don't think there could be any more blossoms on it!  The bees are loving it!

Oh hey, speaking of crabapples.  Here is a pic of the crabapple trees I brought home 4/1/2010.

And here's what they look like only 2 years later.  These 2 are Robinson crabapples and I trimmed them back last year.  Now they are only 9' tall.  Can you believe how those little sticks in pots turned into something this big in such a short amount of time?  Wow.  But --- I'm going to have to move them.  They obviously will become entirely too big for this location.  I'm thinking back behind the privacy fence to replace the crabapple I took down last fall.

Meanwhile, back in the garage, there's more *fun* with the mower to be had.  Click HERE for the latest ridiculous adventure.

Crabby squirrel

Bitter cold (12F) and heavy frost this morning.  These days I sip my morning coffee looking out the kitchen window.  Waaay too cold to enjoy the sunroom now.

I've been watching the new crabapple trees lately.  They held their russet leaves until just a couple of days ago.  While they do have some fruit, I've never seen anything eating it (unlike the older crabapples which attract a lot of attention).  Then this morning I saw this fox squirrel climb up and help himself to 2-3 apples, then it left.  Good to know that the fruit won't go unappreciated!

Meanwhile, as I looked through the camera out past the squirrel, I noticed that something ELSE has been appreciating my gardens - something I myself certainly DON'T appreciate!

Click on this sorry stem for the full story. 

Stumped

Hey!  Where did all that crabapple wood go?

Click the pic for more clues.

Cutting down

Uh oh.  Now, what the heck is going on here?  Click the pic for answers.

Gloom and gloomer

There is very little to blog about.  It is cold (35F this morning), wet (raining since Sunday), windy (now from the North) and the clouds are dark and heavy.  Even the crabapples are late in opening, like this unknown variety behind the privacy fence.

The birdbath keeps filling and overflowing even though I bail it out now and then.  I hope it's finally crested...  Guess I should be happy at least that the water isn't frozen!

The deck plants are shrouded against the cold (nights in the 30s) and the persistent wind.

About the only thing enjoying this dreary weather is the new Hakuro Nishiki willow.  As for the cuttings I previously took, I think they've rotted in their cold wet cups.  *sigh*

I envy the willow.  At least it's thriving.  Me?  What's a gal with a head filled with chlorophyll supposed to do when winter just won't leave?  *sigh* I hope it's Spring where you live!
=========

Thursday a.m. update.
At last!  A break from the rain!  
This morning the lawn is white with frost and the birdbath is frozen again....


Oh well, the weather IS supposed to warm up for the next 6 days.  Today should be sunny!  Yay.  Then it's going to rain for the next 6 days.  Boo.  (and Hoo!)

* * *

(Use links on top of sidebar to view my other garden pages.)

Crabs a-blossom

In spite of the bizarre roller coaster weather we're having this year, my crabapples are hanging tight to their blooms. Here's a pic of the front (unknown) crab in full glory. Last year for some reason it only bloomed near the tips of each branch. But it seems to have reconsidered that look and gone back to full and fluff mode.

I'm happy to report that there is a LOT of bee activity this spring. I've been almost overrun with carpenter bees on the shed. The crabs and ground covers (lawn violets, violas, dandelions, pachysandra, myrtle, etc.) are a-buzzin' with hover bees, mason bees and the like. As the rest of my crabs bloom, I'm hoping to catch sight of some orchard bees too.

Hope your beds are buzzing!

Finally... Fall

Even though we had a cold September with early frosts & freezes, November (so far) as been one heck of an Indian summer. Lovely mild days (sometimes near 70!) has encouraged me to go the 'extra mile' when it comes to Fall projects. And I'm not the only one who seem to be over-achieving right now....

Take, for instance, the Robinson crabapple I posted about earlier. Remember how surprised I was to find it blooming in September? Those blooms actually set fruit (see pic). And now, two months later in mid-November, that branch is blooming again! I've never seen the like. I hope it's not an indication of some tree disease or danger to it.

These warm days actually motivated me to address the problem of weeds in the ring bed. I had gotten so caught up with other chores that on nice days I found myself out there pulling weeds just to be outside in the good weather. Good grief!! Most of the perennials have pretty much shut down due to the many freezes we've had, but some are either holding their own and actually excelling at this time of year.

The "Blue Bedder" perennial salvia still sport new flower stalks. These things have bloomed all summer from this season's WS'd seeds. I'll definitely start more of these blue beauties next year.


The native asters have been blooming for 7 weeks now and going like gangbusters. They seem to laugh at nighttime temps that dip into the 20s. I have an 8-foot strip of these along the far side of the ring and show off as a dusty blue mass of petals. I'm going to collect seeds and plant perhaps another 30-40 feet of aster on that far side of the ring. Who wouldn't want a couple of months of color like this late in the year? And the bees? Oh yes, the bees are on those blossoms. (Sorry the pic is blurry, but click on it and you'll see a more focused pic.)

In Fall there is lots of bird activity as flocks of over-winterers or passers-through visit the feeders and birdbaths.

I love crows.


And no one loves a bath more than a robin. Unless it's a bunch of robins. At one point 10-12 birds where splashing in the bath with more waiting around in the Japanese maple nearby.

Of course here at Melissa Majora we cater to the entire food chain. Here our resident (and magnificent) female red-tailed hawk keeps tab on all the lesser critters....

There are still leaves to gather/shred and use as mulch, but, bottom line, I'm pretty much done outside. I still have some deck furniture that needs to be stored in the shed but with weather like this - and the arbor rebuild - you can be sure I'm still using it on a daily basis. ;-D

More surprises in the garden

I'm continuing the 'garden surprise' theme on this post because, well, there have been more surprises! ;-D

First off, we had a couple days of very high winds, gusts that even toppled over those 3 pots in the pic above. But the castor beans rode it out! I watched those things dance back and forth for hours, but none of them snapped. After that I did notice that the stems (actually trunks now) were starting to deform from their own weight, so I lent a little support by bungee-ing them to the fence frame behind them. (See, the frame really was a set of stakes for the castor beans after all!)

By the way - those plants (which I might mention are only 4 months old from germination!!) are now blowing past the 13 FOOT MARK!

Here's another surprise I found yesterday. I was gazing out the front bedroom window and noticed a spot of color on the Robinson crabapple I installed last Fall. (But it got re-installed early mid-June this year. Deer had nibble off all the branches heading away from the house and all the rest were heading toward it. Can't have that. So I dug it up and rotated it 180 degrees.)

It didn't seem to mind at all, although it must have gotten a little dizzy due to that spin around. Here it is - blooming away at the end of branch.

Here's a great surprise. One of the packs of gift seeds I received from a gal from the GardenWeb Winter Sowing forum was Lobelia Cardinalis (cardinal flower). I got great WS germination and have planted clumps all around the place and gave away probably just as many. The hummers LOVE the tall red flower spikes.

So the other day I was out in the Arbor garden doing some deadheading and was taken aback to see a shaft of bright BLUE in the middle of a clump of red (cardinal flowers and red salvias). Whoa!! It was a lobelia - but Lobelia Siphilitica - blue lobelia). Apparently a stray seed ended up in the wrong seed pack! And while it seems only the hummer enjoys the cardinal flowers, it's the native bees that are all over this blue beauty. :-D Hopefully it'll still have time before frost to set seed so I can germinate more next year.

And lookee here. Just a couple of days ago I posted on the Propagation Page that I did not believe the WS'd native asters would bloom this year and here they are. Well, I guess a single blossom doesn't actually constitute a 'they', but I'm seeing more buds now so soon they will be 'them' in no time. LOL








And as a followup to the previous post, here is the last apricot daylily bloom that greeted me this morning. It still just amazes me - a daylily not only reblooming, but so late in the season.

I'm beginning to believe that plants actually have personality, and seem to enjoy keeping the gardener on their toes. You just never know what's going to happen next.... LOL I'll keep an eye out and continue to keep talking to them. But the day they talk back...well...now THAT'll be some post!