Of Peonies and Clematis

It's going to be another hot one. I took a turn through the garden with the camera and a cup of coffee to see what was on the agenda for the day.

There is one major bed that I will get to and clean out today, and then it's ongoing maintenance time.

I'll report on veggie garden progress tomorrow.

For now, enjoy the spectacle that is the Peonies and Clematis. The Peony hedge was one of the reasons I bought this house. They must be 30+ years old. These Clematis I planted just 2 years ago.

The scent of the peonies is lovely.

And the Clematis...

The little white blossoms are from the black locust tree. It also lends its fragrance to the still summer air. They are a mess to clean out of the rain gutters!


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

Warmth + Rain = Green Explosion!

Is everybody settled after the Blogger outage? I hope so. I was getting worried there for a bit.

It was unseasonably warm this week and we had a good bit of rain on Thursday night. The result is explosive growth in the garden. A lot is going on so get a beverage, sit back and enjoy.

Let's start in the back. I haven't given much blog time to the Japanese maple - here she is - fully leafed out.

The ferns continue to grow out - They are almost at peak, and are enormous. Lush is a good description!

There are some hosta back there. This variegated one is practically glowing.

I like this, there are at least 4 different plants in this shot.

The bleeding hearts are almost at their peak as well.

There is something about weathered wood, that I enjoy. A little moss or lichen on it gives me a sense of time, of belonging. Something about a bit of decay amongst the new life is.... poignant?

The creeping phlox is in full bloom, a puddle of color as you enter the garden.

Lilies of all stripes are growing happily.

The peonies are not far behind.

Finally in the side garden, lupine, larkspur, beardstongue and ?

Next to update, food production progress.

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

Peony bed clean out and signs of life.

I'm itching to get out side, it's about 40F, a grey and windy day. But ... the snow is almost gone - a couple crusty patches in the shady areas still stubbornly cling to existence, but there are signs of life.

Last year I didn't clean out the peony bed until April 10th,  so I feel good about being ahead of schedule.

Here's where we start, Notice I don't use the hoops, as this bed grows almost as a hedge and in this bed hoops don't work well. The wire fencing works very well, supports the plants and disappears once the plants get going.

Lift off the screening, cut off the stalks, and rake it out. Some of the plants are already starting to come up.

Put the screens back up. What an improvement!

Cleaned out the rest of the bed, back to the fence. In one spot, where last year I had geraniums, I decided to plant some False Indigo. The soil is gorgeous.

I got the seeds from accomplished blogger, author, and all around great human being Shawna Coronado. These seeds are way cool. They were once used to make baby rattles.

Split open, they look prehistoric. Hopefully they will sprout and  in a year will bloom.

I poked around a little bit, the crocuses are sprouting.

Tulips are thrusting up through the lawn.

The sedum "Hens and Chicks" wintered well.

But there. in the bed, a vole hole.

We'll deal with that another day.

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

Still Blooming

A walk around the garden this cool autumn (I love that word) morning and there is still color and form in the garden. The hummingbird has been visiting the nasturtium, it's doing very well after a slow start. Some of these blossoms are bound for the salad plate.

The stone crop is feathery in front of the echinacea which the goldfinches have been enjoying.

Got the tomatoes out of the kitchen garden, will pull most of the basil to get in the late lettuce crop. The basil is vigorous to say the least!

In the side garden the rudbeckia and geraniums look good together.

I like this, the decay of the peony which are finally drying out, the old pot, and the bright red geraniums. A nice contrast.

The little cherub greets you on the path.

The miscanthus' feathery bloom. It looks like hoarfrost to me.

Hops cones.

It is likely that both the miscanthus and hops will be de-install for good this fall. The hops are so invasive they cause some issues and the miscanthus have grown so large they flop over and lay down on other plantings. There are three big clumps, at very  least I'll split them up and only keep a third of them. Anyone  want some?



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

Sunny Saturday

It was a grubby day weeding, taking down the hoop house, and general maintenance. Hot and sweaty, but with a cool beverage I bring you this update.

The hoop house came down. It served its purpose well. Time to harvest the lettuce and plant our tiny “kitchen garden.”

The irises are in full swing. I like the purple and the yellow in the east bed.

 

And the varigated ones bloomed for the first time this year. In fact there are a few things that this is the first year. Exciting!

The Lupine is doing it's thing. The blue by the drive has bloomed before, but the ones on the west side of the house are blooming for the first time

Even the false Jacobs Ladder is blooming!

The Peonies are starting, the anemone ones along the house are always first.

Finally, the black locust is in bloom and it glows at twilight
 

So that is all for today. In a few days I hope to have a special report from our company's "social day", where we spent a day to do over the yard and garden for a worthy organization. Stay tuned!