Tags
anemone, arnica, columbine, dahlia, elder, harebell, hazel, lavender, lovage, milkweed, Ozark sundrop, pyrethrum, roses, rue, spiderwort, thyme, vervain, wood poppy
It’s odd to see the butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and the swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) in full bloom at the same time. Usually the former blooms first and is just setting seed when the latter is opening, but I suppose like so many other things this year the butterfly milkweed is blooming late. It’s something of a colour palette disaster in my opinion, though: the combination of bright orange and dusty pink doesn’t do it for me.
The other early summer blooms recently opened are the elder flowers (Sambucus canadensis), the Ozark sundrops (Oenothera missouriensis), and the swamp vervain (Verbena hastata). Meanwhile the Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis), harebells (Campanula rotundifolia), American arnica (Arnica chamissonis), dahlias, and Ohio spiderwort (Tradecantia ohiensis) are still going well. Among the herbs the lavender (Lavandula sp.), rue (Ruta graveolens) and the lovage (Levisticum officinale) are in full bloom. And the thyme (Thymus vulgaris and T. citriodorus). I like thyme. I have it in pots all over the garden, not just the herb bed.
The wood poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum), eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and pyrethrum daisies (Pyrethrum cinerariifolium) are also still going, but I think those are about to fade.
Speaking of elder flowers…elderflower wine soon! A pity it wouldn’t be ready in time for the Master Gardener potluck coming up, but I guess it just means more for me.
The roses are finally in full bloom too. I just put up a page for the roses, but it’s still a work in progress and I’ll add the missing types when I get half-decent pictures of them. I might make sub-pages about roses and rose care if I’m ever bored enough in future.
Unfortunately, I think I have to admit even to myself that the hazel (Corylus americana) I planted in May is truly dead. They’re usually tough little things, so I held out hope that it would resprout, but it just kept dying back and no new growth. Sigh. Next year.
I now have garden furniture! It was a windfall, really: my next-door neighbour’s mother passed away a few months ago and they recently got around to clearing out her storage locker (she’d been in a retirement home for the past dozen years). They’ve been scrambling around trying to find homes for all the furniture, so they offered me a bunch of plastic garden chairs and tables. I felt bad taking it all, but they assured me I was doing them a favour and wouldn’t take any money.
It does feel kind of odd in a way, because I never had any garden furniture except a potting/worktable and a small bench that’d been in the garage for donkey’s years and I have no idea where it came from. There was never really any incentive to get garden furniture because I’m generally the only person in my garden and if I feel the need to sit down, the ground or the steps are good enough for me (the aforementioned bench usually being covered with pots). Sadly, the first thing I did with them was stick the chairs in a corner, and put plants on the tables.
…I wonder which is longer: this rambling post, or the list of tags…
