Wednesday Wandering Through The Aquilegia

I have many different varieties of Aquilegia in bloom in my flower gardens. I started all of them from seeds over the years. They are also commonly known as Columbine or Granny's Bonnets. 

 

Wednesday Wandering

New in the flower garden this year is Fritillaria Michailovskyi. Only about 6 inches tall it is supposed to be honey scented (I haven't gotten my nose down that far to see if that is true)  and repel deer and rodents. That's fine to repel rodents as long as they aren't repelled into my house instead.  I planted lots of bulbs last fall here and there in dappled shade areas along some pathways and I hope it will naturalize over the next few years. 

Fritillaria Meleagris (Guinea Hen Flower) also pops up here and there in the flower garden. I think some people also call these Checkered Lilies. 

Some of the Daffodils are still in bloom.

But it has been raining here off and on for several days and the rains have kind of beat down most of the Daffodils. 

I have several different kinds of Daffodils and since they are one of the first flowers to bloom in Spring they are always a welcome sight. 

So far the rabbits and deer have left my Old Spice Sweet Peas alone. For many years I used to have a large section of trellis covered with sweetly scented Sweet Peas but I think the last five or six years I have not had any luck with them because something usually eats them as soon as they sprout. This year I started the seeds in a pot on the deck and transplanted them so we shall see how this works. Watch this space.

I thought something was eating my Hellebore buds because it sure seems like it is late blooming this year. But now I have blooms so either I was mistaken or whatever critter was eating buds went on to greener pastures. 

And in the Fairy Garden I spy a little patch of Grape Hyacinth (and weeds).

The Bluebells are starting to bloom. 

They have spread over the years and I think this year I may dig some up and put some in the new native wildflower garden. I think I read that they were native but there are two kinds of bluebells and this may not be the native one. I'll have to check my notebook. 

I have 4 Tree Peonies for many years and I thought for sure they were all dead this year because the wood showed a lot of deer damage. But I have been so excited to see new growth on all of them. 

That Bee Balm (Monarda) spread across the path so I'm going to dig it out and put it in the new native wildflower garden. 

This year the Stinging Nettles look like they are sprouting up everywhere already. There is a reason they call it "stinging". I have to wear heavy gloves when I pull it up. It is good for the compost pile and in a few years past I have made Stinging Nettle tea and used it as fertilizer. But that's more work than I want to go to now so usually it just goes into the compost pile. Supposedly you can make beer or soup or salad with Stinging Nettle but I'm not going to try that unless I'm starving some day. 

I also have herbaceous Peonies (there are three types of peonies - tree, herbaceous and a new one called intersectional) and I see those sprouting up in several places. I really need to get some of those round things to put around them to keep the flowers from drooping on to the ground. 

And here's another pathway I bordered with  those little Fritillaria Michailovskyi. 

Remember last week I told you I stuck plastic forks here and there throughout the strawberry bed to try to keep squirrels and rabbits and who knows what else from eating the strawberry plants?? Well, so far so good.  The forks appear to be working. Stick a fork in it! The real test will be if the critters will stay out when the strawberries bloom and bear fruit. 

Radishes are up! They need a little thinning. 

Asparagus is sprouting up.

I think this will be a very good year for asparagus. I spread a lot of compost on the bed a  few weeks ago and now that we have had lots of rain I think after a few days of sun we will be eating some asparagus. Last year I had so much asparagus I was able to share with several others. 

I still haven't weeded the rhubarb bed but it doesn't seem to mind. It has grown a lot in one week. I've dug out my rhubarb recipes! My fav is a recipe of an aunt of my husband called Sompun' Else and another I copied out of a library book long ago before internet and when I could not afford cookbooks--rhubarb bread. 

And finally the Bleeding Heart is starting to bloom. I used to have a white version but it disappeared a few years ago. And that's the way it goes. 

 

Wandering Wednesday

Time to move off the beaten quilty path and into the garden. 

We are still harvesting lots of peppers. These are all different varieties of sweet peppers. My husband has pickled some, used some in canning spaghetti sauce and salsa, dried and ground some and we eat them fresh for lunch every day. Now we have been giving them away to family and friends. My sister-in-law came with one of her granddaughters to pick up a big paper grocery sack of them. Her granddaughter picked several of them out of the bag and ate them like apples while we were chatting.

The wild asters are in bloom.  They just appeared in the flower garden last year and were a pleasant surprise again this year. Since I didn't plant them I've probably pulled them out in the past thinking they were weeds. Since I've retired I've been studying native species including the leaves and stems so I can recognize things that just pop up here and there. 

It is finally cool enough during the day to see the Four O'clocks open. Despite their name they are temperature sensitive and not daylight sensitive so open when the temperatures are cooler. Usually during the summer they open in the late evening and close up in the early morning so I rarely get to see them open. 

The Japanese Anemones are blooming. 

I've tried separating and transplanting some of these but evidently they are happiest where they are.  They are basically growing in gravel along an old gravel drive now overgrown with grass that goes through the lean-to next to the barn. I planted two plants about 25 years ago. They are an Autumn delight. 

I'm still harvesting broccoli side shoots. These will be for broccoli cheese soup for supper tomorrow night along with some homemade sourdough bread. After the main head of broccoli is harvested a lot of side shoots appear for later harvest. I soak in salt water to lure out any little critters that may be hiding within. 

Yesterday's harvest included several Butternut Squash, Delicata Squash, Zucchini and some small cabbages. Usually my cabbages are really big heads but I think the hot temperatures and drought conditions had an adverse affect on them. The last several years I could use on head to fill a gallon jar to make sauerkraut. I probably won't make sauerkraut for hubby this year. 

Sweet Autumn Clematis is in bloom. It fills the air with a vanilla scent. I guess it can be invasive but I keep mine confined to the trellis and look forward to the blooms and sweet scent that is a sign that Summer is winding down and Autumn is near or is here.  It is time to start collecting seeds. More on that on the next Wandering Wednesday. 

 

Just Working on Garden Patchwork

I've been working on garden patchwork instead of fabric patchwork. 

Seems like most of the flowers that bloom in May are purple or blue- trillium, pansies, allium, iris, rhododendron, indigo, geraniums, petunias, lilacs, farewell to spring, cornflower.   

Veggies and flowers are all planted.  Time to battle bugs and critters who eat sprouts and leaves. Rains have stopped for now.  Let the weeding commence! 

Butterflies, Kaleidoscopes, Kaleidoscopes of Butterflies

Not much butterfly or kaleidoscope sewing went on here this month. 

I did start sewing my 10 inch blocks together in a light and dark configuration although it is sometimes difficult to tell which blocks have the light corners and which blocks have the dark corners.  

Maybe next month I'll have a flimsy.  Or maybe not. 

I have to say that these blocks only put a small dent in my butterfly fabrics but it did make a dent in my floral fabrics.   

For the last several weeks I've been going on garden walks with camera in hand every afternoon after work looking for butterflies. I've seen several large monarchs and more colorful butterflies when I'm not camera ready.    Don't know what this fellow thinks he's going to get from that pesky Dutchman's Pipe leaf but he sat there posing for a long time. 

And this lady sat awhile sucking on wild mint flowers. 

I plant Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower, an annual) every year because it usually attracts lots of butterflies; however this year all I have seen on it has been bees.  But that's okay too. 

I started several perennial Butterfly Bushes from seed but have yet to catch a butterfly on them either. 

Did you know a group of butterflies is called a Kaleidoscope? 

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