Sunday Snapshots

I was out planting some more squares (beets, carrots, radishes, lettuce, Swiss Chard, turnip, spinach) when I realized I have not shared some shots of the garden. The back garden has a front and back. The front is nearly full sun while the back has the shade that allows the ferns, hostas and bleeding hearts to thrive.

This particluar bed is the first one I put in nearly 8 years ago. It has changed some since then but it still has Iris, salvia, sedum and echinacea that were original to the bed then. Of course the roses along the fence line have changed a great deal as well.

I love this little vignette.

While I was hacking out the dead portions of the roses (another post) I heard a squawking and flapping. I've never seen two red bellied woodpeckers at the same time!  They actually sat on a branch together for about 10 minutes before flying off. Click on the pictures for a close-up.

That's it for a Sunday's work. Monday, I'll clear out the back area, burn the roses cuttings, and make a trip to the nursery for row covers and the hardware store for trellis materials.

Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Walk about before chores

A few things have changed since we left for Texas a week ago. I'm taking the next week to try and get the garden in shape fro the coming season. I find a big push now makes life easier inthe middle of summer. The unseasonably cool weather continues here outside Chicago.

Let's take a walk...

The Magnolia is in bloom, sadly it is a gray day, I hope to get some pictures with the sun shining. My neighbors don't seem to mind that I plant the Daffodils and Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) in the lawn. It's my excuse not to have to cut it until almost June.

I like the Lilliputian perspective.

The Shasta Daisy buds are still tight.

I very much like the sedum family, they are hardy and have so many forms. This one is in the "red bed."

Speaking of Sedum, this one "Autumn Joy" is under attack at the root level. I've never seen this type of damage. I suspect the dreaded voles. The mouse traps will come out.

Another item that needs correcting is the pernicious Hops. Oh, they are nice to begin with, but once they take hold, look out!  To control them I suggest planting them in a container then burying them to nearly the  depth of the pot. Else they run wild. I suspect  taking these out will require the better part of a day.

While we were away the Bleeding Hearts have started to bloom, they are not yet tendrils heavy with fully opened blossoms, but they will be soon.

Sometimes just green is good, I liked the subtle variegation on the bleeding heart leaves as it thrust into the center of an emerging fern.

Harry Lauders Walking Stick (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') is starting to bud out.

The wild ginger will need thinning. I have about 5 big patches of it.

And finally, feathery Coreopsis (Moonbeam) is coming up.

I should get outside and get started, before it rains....

How is your garden coming along?

Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Color on a rainy morning

I can hear the cardinal singing birdie-birdie-birdie and it's been raining for the last day,  and though it is quite cool, the moisture has spurred the plants, particularly the spring bulbs and ferns to furious growth.

Lets take a walk.....

The first Narcissus is blooming.

These tulips will be the most delicate cream color when they bloom. For now, I'll enjoy the green.

The water is beaded up on the sedum.

And the lilies look prehistoric as they thrust up.

The creeping phlox will be spectacular when it blooms. You can see an iris bed in the background.

The lungwort is in bloom. Some years ago a fellow gardener gave me some, and it continues to pop up around the garden, I love the speckled leaves.

The Hellebore is in bloom! Just in time - The "Lenten Rose"

This tiny tulip is one of the first that I planted seven or eight years ago. I like the way it looks with the volunteer fern.

Speaking of ferns, what a difference a few days makes!  I need to move some of these out.

The bleeding hearts are growing fast as well. These get enormous back in the shady area of the garden.

And the final shot, fern, lungwort and bleeding heart all together.

How does your garden grow?

Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!



The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Honey!? I'm Home!

After a day in the office, an hour on the train, one more day left to the money work week, I'm almost ready for the weekend!

Honey!?  I'm home!...

No answer.....

Oh wait, the Student is out taking a test, crushing all those poor souls who dare to compete on a curve with her. Oh, I love her dearly.

But, being all alone, I decide to grab the camera and see what pops today!

Not a single Iris reticulata - but a whole clump!

The tulips have thrust through some leaf debris. I love when "delicate" nature shows her force in  discrete ways. It's not like a hurricane, or a tornado, but still - a tender sprout growing through a leaf? That's pretty cool!

Do you know what this is? It's not in my records but is a gorgeous tiny spring bulb.

The bleeding heart, previously Dicentra spectabilis, now Dicentra Laprocapnos is pushing up. These get huge - 3' high and 4' wingspan.

No the bed is not cleaned out yet, get over it. The weekend is coming as is my holiday (more on that later).

Finally, the columbine (Aquilegia) is pushing up. This is one of my favorite flowers, and is beautiful to watch. It is protected against the harsh winter because it is up against the house.

So even though no one is home, it doesn't mean there is no one to greet you!


Until next time, Keep Digging & Eat Well!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener