What's Blooming: Black Lace and Roses

So much is going on in the garden that I fear I have missed a glorious moment or two. I still have plants to get into the ground and the days seem to whir by like dragonflies ... are those dragonflies already out prowling the garden? Yes, they are! And evenings seem to sparkle ... yes, those are fireflies! The Catbird has finally come out of hiding and I watch him hop about the Potager. He even dares to perch on a trellis and study me. It's mid June, and time to pause, sit in the garden instead of running around frantically with my shovel leading the way.

Out front chives are cheering like pom poms and Sambucus Black Lace is revealing her best show ever.

Sambucus Black Lace

Clematis are creeping and peeping from corners along the drive. My native clematis, Virginiana were coming up nicely until Mr. Rabbit ... well actually it must be Mrs. because now there are little rabbits hopping about! ... decided they would make a tasty salad. I have wrapped them so that they can hopefully, reestablish themselves.

Clematis Claire de Lune

Clematis Rooguchi

This year I am enjoying the changing palettes of the garden – pinks and purples, blues and yellows.

Spiderwort, Tradescantia Osprey

Yellow Evening Primrose with Cranesbill

The foamy yellow flowers of Lady's Mantle

Blue Flag Iris

Amsonias with golden Creeping Jenny

Overnight, my swamp rose burst into bloom and surprise!, this year a neighboring rose that was on our property line decided to creep under our new fence and join us.

Swamp Rose, Rosa palustris

The flowering raspberry bushes, Rubus odoratus, that the Rabbit seemed to enjoy dining on so much this winter are bigger than ever in spite of all my worries. Their blooms resemble wild roses. Their leaves are big and beautiful.

Thank you Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day the 15th of each month.

Berry Berry Good!

This year I can finally boast a few berries! Berries attract birds and just last evening a male Cardinal stopped by – a rare, but very welcome, occurrence in my young garden – the cover is not yet thick enough for a Cardinal's liking. Robins are still lingering. Robins actually spend the winters here where there are enough berries and fruit to sustain them. I see them regularly in a nearby state park through the entire winter where there are many dogwoods and chokeberries. (It is the Red-winged Blackbird that announces Spring for me.) The Catbird's calls were closer than ever this year, and more frequent.

My plan is for my garden to eventually offer a natural Winter feast. See, I hope to be able to migrate along with our feathered friends in the upcoming years. The Winters, though beautiful, are just too long here. My backyard birds will be able to feast on berries and seeds still standing in the garden instead of my feeders while I follow the sun. The progress in the garden looks promising.

The wild grapes were very abundant this year. I have seen migrating flocks of Cedar Waxwings enjoying these in the past.

Wild Grapes

Rosa Palustris Hips

Rosa Setigera Hips

Virginia Creeper Berries

Virginia Creeper will attract fruit eating birds such as Chickadees, Nuthatches, Mockingbirds, Catbirds, Finches, Flycatchers, Tanagers, Swallows, Vireos, Warblers, Woodpeckers, and Thrushes through the Winter.

Redosier Dogwood Berries

Cardinal Dogwood Berries

Cardinal Dogwood Berries

Elderberry Black Lace

Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, Orioles, and Grosbeaks are attracted to Elderberries.

Purple Prince Crabapple

Many birds enjoy Crabapple. So birds, enjoy the berry feast while I feast on, ah, hmm, er ... a bird of a different feather.

I am always thankful for the joy, work, clarity, groundedness, peace, harmony, abundance and enlightenment of the garden and life. Happy Thanksgiving.

Front Row

You've seen them, front row borders. A straight line that mirrors the front foundation of a house. Usually 1-3 feet wide. Most of the time accentuated with a row of shrubs. Maybe punctuated with an arborvitae at the entrance or corner. Well, I inherited a front row, minus the shrubs, with the exception of what's now one mother of a barberry. Again, I ask what is there to do on a patch of lawn this size? Aside from mowing it, I mean.

I started with the tiny patch of lawn between the sidewalk entrance and driveway (Spiced Up Sidewalk). Then carried on through to the other side. I threw some curves into the front row. Our porch curves outward and I thought it would be nice to mimic this. I added sambucus black lace next to the barberry. I like the burgundy and dark foliage shades against the stucco of our house. (Hopefully the white paint on the stucco in front will wear off in a few more years - it came that way.)

The front of our house receives full sun all day into the evening. The soil is true clay - rock hard cement that literally cracks when dry, muck that you can literally sculpt when wet. I then connected the other side of the sidewalk entrance to the main bed. I added a little stone shortcut. It has taken me several seasons to get to this point. The soil is still not great but is improving. Silver brocade, snow in summer, lamb's ear, sea holly and russian sage standout against the dark foliage. A number of different sedums and thymes do well here.

Originally I had planted a cornelian cherry tree here but it just did not like this spot. It is much happier out back. So, I have continued the tapestry of dark, silver / blue, and chartreuse foliages with karl forester grass, blue star juniper, iris, agastache golden jubilee and sedum maestro. There is a wildlife friendly cherry tree seedling in the cornelian cherry's place that will either "make it or not."

 

The plants are now beginning to fill in and weave together. I will continue expanding this bed over time right up to the sidewalk. I envision more sedums, groundcovers, and hardy low growing evergreens but would like to incorporate natives. Not to worry, the inukshuk will show me the way.