Summer Days

I missed posting in June. We'll just say I was very busy in the garden! We have had lots of rain this year, and most plants have done very well. Unfortunately, my spinach drowned, and I lost one of my rhubarb plants to rot. On the other hand, my lettuce was fabulous (as the 'keets can attest), and we have had wonderful berries and flowers. I am looking forward to lots of tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, beans, and cucumbers. Some photos follow!


Purple Coneflower and Lavender


Blueberries (The robins get most of these. They take a berry in the beak, then toss it back like a shot of whiskey! You can see the big ones going down into the crop. One day I may have to do a Heimlich maneuver on a bird.)


Bush beans and Lettuce


Passionflower "Maypop"


Daylilies (the deer didn't eat the buds off this year!)

Peonies

Peony "Sarah Bernhardt"


Peony "Raspberry Sundae"

The peonies are finishing up, and they were fantastic this year. I have two that did particularly well. One, "Sarah Bernhardt", has huge flowers, aptly named for a Victorian actress. The other is called "Raspberry Sundae", and does look good enough to eat. Peonies live for decades, and have more showiness and punch than an annual. They also are very attractive to little ants--so give a good shake before you bring them in the house!

Rhubarb Harvest

I've been harvesting our rhubarb, and enjoying it in pie. Our favorite is rhubarb-strawberry, with lots of sugar. I use about 1:1 strawberries to rhubarb, and at least a cup of sugar per pie. I always use tapioca as the thickener, rather than flour, to get a clear filling.

Rhubarb is very sour--due to all the oxalate in the plant. In fact, there's so much in the leaves that they are poisonous. The stems are fine though, and make a wonderful springtime treat. I even like it a little sour. It's been so wet this last month that one of my three plants developed root rot, but the other two pulled through. I hope I can split one in the fall, and replace the one I lost.

Dwarf Crested Iris

Iris Cristata "alba"

I've heard these called "handkerchief iris", presumably because they look like a handkerchief dropped on the lawn! The slugs got to them this year, leaving many little holes, but they are still lovely. Each blossom only lasts a single day.

Musk Strawberries

I planted musk strawberries about 3 years ago, and this is going to be the first year that I have a really good harvest. I am excited!

Bellwort (Uvularia sp.)

From my rain garden. Looks unremarkable, until you bend over to see the flower.

Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

The color of the season has changed to the overwhelming, intense, glowing green of full spring. Every day there is something new to see! These have just popped up in the last week. My grandmother used to have them in the dark, moist garden next to the path between her house and the neighbor's. The area was only about 5 or 6 feet wide! There was just enough sun for ferns, and in the spring, these little guys.
If you are interested in native plants for your yard, and live in Maryland, consider paying a visit to the Lower Marlboro nursery website (www.lowermarlboronursery.com). I purchase plants there frequently! They stock many of the plants I have featured on this blog.

The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)

The dappled rectangles of sun
Shine through the stained glass leaves,
Ripple on the beech and poplar pillars,
Brighten the mossy floor
Dotted with fern and violet,
While angels sing above unseen.

Welcome back, wood thrush! This bird is hard to see, but easy to hear! They arrive from the south in April, and I know they have returned because I suddenly start hearing their song--"Ee-oh-lay!". It is repeated several times here, flute-like, sweet and joyful. The nesting pairs need a lot of woods, and I recorded this in the big park near my home. I've also heard them near my back yard, which abuts on another large wooded area. I've only seen them once or twice--and then only briefly.

Tulips: "Orange Bowl"

I got these last fall, thinking I needed a little color in the yard. Loud, yes, but that's the point of tulips. I think I'll put some more in next year, if I can find them at the garden store. These are Darwin hybrids, and are supposed to perennialize. I've had lots of compliments, and I also like the orange tulips with the blue muscari.

Syringa vulgaris: Lilac

All week we have been enjoying the springtime perfume of lilac--it carries a long way! I always cut a few, and bring them into the house to enjoy the fragrance. It's heavy, luxurious, and completely singular. Nothing else smells the same--even the other lilac species, which are disappointing, no matter how lovely the flowers. The smell is the thing!
Mine is a "French lilac"--a double flower--the variety is "Nadhezda".

Violet spp.

Another favorite spring flower (well...weed!). When I was a kid, we had a lot of violets in our lower yard, growing in the long green grass. We used to pick little bunches as presents for my mother. There are many species, and the native ones have a bad rap as "weeds", because they invade the lawn. I'm not a big fan of lawn monoculture, so these don't bother me at all. I think this is Viola odorata, but I'm willing to be contradicted.

Barbarians on the Lawn

Dandelion (Taraxacum sp.)

Little stars of golden fluff
Burst sudden on the lawn;
Ripen to an airy puff;
Blow at them—and they’re gone!

Monotony of turf grass
No longer greenly chaste.
Dandelion, divinely crass,
The triumph of bad taste!

Beech Trees In Flower

The American beech is my favorite tree. They are in flower right now, starting the process that yields beech nuts! The flowers are pale green and white puffs, surrounded by the glowing translucent leaves. Wonderful, unless you have a pollen allergy....

Pear Blossoms

The Bradford pear trees along the sidewalks are in bloom.
When the wind blows, we have "snow" in April.

Rhubarb

The rhubarb is emerging. This one is "Crimson Red".

The Equinox and Spring Beauties!

Spring is well and truly here, and there are little marvels to see everyday. On the creek bottoms in the park near my home, thousands of spring beauties (Claytonia virginica) are just blossoming out. They are tiny jewels--the anthers are pink!

March Irises

Every day now there are a few more blooming spring irises. The purples and blues are Iris reticulata. The yellow--Iris danfordiae.
The blooms are fragile-appearing and complex, but they are among the earliest bulbs to bloom, after the crocus and snowdrops.
An assurance that beauty need not be large, loud, or surrounded by luxury!

The Last of the Snake Plant Flowers

The flowers are fading now, but they turned out to be quite lovely and impressive.
Too bad that I'll probably be waiting years to see the next one!

Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer)

It's spring! Warm rain, and the night is full of the the love calls of hundreds of tiny frogs!
These were recorded about 100 yards from the pond near my house.

First Crocus

We've had two cold days, followed by two warm days. Typical March weather.
The spring bulbs are coming up, and these crocus blooms are my first.

Amaryllis

In the winter, I enjoy houseplants, and the amaryllis is the last and best! I start mine around Christmas, so there is something to look forward to in the cold, tedious days of late winter. This is a "mini" variety, that I bought at my local garden store.

African Violets

My African violets (Saintpaulia sp.) are enjoying the February sun and day length. The days of February and March are their optimal bloom time. The purple one, with the frilled edges, is a descendent of ones that my grandmother had. The pink one was from my mother-in-law. They are easy to propagate at this time of year. Just stick a small, healthy leaf in soil, and it will root. They make lovely gifts, last for years, and remind one fondly of the giver!

The Snake Plant Blooms!

The snake plant is blooming. Not showy, but delicate and pretty!
Grandma would be happy!

Ice Storm

The world was ice-coated this morning. One of the local squirrels literally slid off the feeder while trying to eat breakfast. Beautiful, but best appreciated from a warm house, sipping a hot cup of tea.

First Snow Drops

I just noticed these yesterday. It was only 23oF, but spring is coming!

Snake Plant Update

The snake plant flower spike is lengthening out, but the blooms haven't opened yet. More later!

Hot Cross Rats

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and today is Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Rat. My daughter and I found a way to observe both Lent and the Year of the Rat simultaneously! Hot Cross Rats... We made a simple hot cross bun dough in the bread machine, and then shaped them into a rough teardrop/rat body shape, added a dough tail across the back, with dried cherries for ears and currants for nose and eyes. Any rat put in a hot oven would be cross!

Recipe:
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 lightly beaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp bread machine yeast

Use the setting that allows you to take out the dough and shape. After shaping and placement of eyes, ears, and nose, let rise for 30 minutes, glaze with egg/water mixture, bake for 15-17 minutes in a 375oF oven.

My Snake Plant

My "Snake Plant" (Sanseveria trifasciata) is blooming. This is a very old plant. I started it about 25 years ago from one that my grandma brought my mom as a gift after my birth. The original is still alive, and has only bloomed twice. It's about 50 years old now (I'll make it just a little older than I am!). The flowers are not beautiful in a decorative sense, but very interesting. (At least I think so!) Each has a little drop of nectar where the flower separates from the stem. Apparently, the African violet and the snake plant (also African in origin) were among the houseplants Woolworth's sold in the 1930's. My grandma had beautiful African violets, and I have several plants that are descendants of hers. Grandma had a sense of humor. An alternative name for the plant is "Mother-in-Law's Tongue"!
I'll update my photograph as it unfolds!

January Thaw

We've had an unusually warm week. Temperatures got up into the 70's at the start of the week, and plant life is very confused. The daffodils are starting to break ground, and some of the Bradford pears are beginning to bud. Temperatures are trending downward, though--and we should be solidly back to winter next week.