I feel a bit guilty keeping all these lovely blooms to myself. I am surrounded by living treasure.
Moonlit Masquerade
There are flowers everywhere. All the spring rains have produced a riot of color.
Emperor’s ButterflyMabel Nolan
The sun has been bright but with scattered clouds to keep the heat down.
South Seas
I am limiting my walking to necessity only. I am glad I got so much done before my hip quit working.
Yabba Dabba Doo
The daylilies seem to be in competition for the best bloom award. All the fences and lights and sprinkled stench has done the job.
I move from chair to chair and watch the birds, lizards, chipmunks and snakes enjoy the garden. That will be my next post…my chairs and my little friends.
I did something Daddy would have done today. I patiently detangled a vine that reached for support and found only more struggling vines to cling to. They were hanging down strangling each other.
Tangled and strangled
Instead of lazily chopping the tips off to begin again. I patiently and carefully teased them apart and guided them to the trellis. This is like parenting you see. When children grow up they reach for things beyond them.
Detangled
Sometimes they grab onto the wrong things for support, so a parent has to carefully undo their grasp from the wrong thing and attach it to the right thing. That way it can grow in the right direction and be supported.
These are my last Lablab purpureus seeds. These plants have been a long time coming. I searched for them several springs before I ordered seeds off the internet that turned out to be a close cousin to Kudzu. I finally found a package in person at a reputable garden center from a trusted company. The common name is Hyacinth Bean ‘Ruby Moon.’
I am aware that flowers and leaves use the sun’s energy for photosynthesis and heat. I have seen fields of flowers turning their faces as the sun crosses the sky. I have never witnessed such an obvious example of this in seedlings until I witnessed it on this very day on the deck of my own house.
The first seeds went in the ground. Only one germinated. It seems to be waiting for something to happen. It is still a tiny, deformed sprout. I will allow it to continue its struggles.
Next, I soaked some more seeds and started them in small pots. These are now in a big pot climbing their trellis. I fear they will need more space eventually.
These last beans are my shot at getting a stand in the ground. I admit to hovering over this tiny, shallow terra cotta pot. It could dry out within hours. Because of this helicopter parenting, I noticed the leaves in the afternoon were flat like little umbrellas. Then at sunset they were tilted with their surface area facing west.
It amazes me how much information is programmed into a seed’s DNA. There are no mama plants ordering them to face east, stand up straight and bend west as the sun descends.
In the morning surface area faces east. Notice the shadows.Near noon the leaves are catching the sun overhead like two little green hands.In late afternoon, one leaf is horizontal west and the other in vertical west.
This is an adaptation called tropism that may have given the Lablabs an advantage over other vines…such as Kudzu perhaps?
I admit it. I cried. The herd is one step ahead of me. The Easter Lily buds were eaten along with Strutter’s Ball buds and even one Tiger Lily.
I will show you my “Moving Rings” method of protection. This requires proper timing. Too late is too late.
In early spring the rings are low. To protect the tender new shoots as they emerge. Deer do not like putting their head inside a ring.
As the bloom stalks rise, the ring must rise higher. I place a stake against the ring and hang it around the buds.
A lot of trouble you say? Yes it is. I was here before the deer. I would never have knowingly planted a “Deer Delicatesan” had I been aware of their presence.
I will be moving my favorites, like Nutmeg Spice (below) into the safety of the bunny yard without bunnies.
Nutmeg Spice
Poles and rings are everywhere. Not the scene I had envisioned. Ghetto Gardening is my name for it. I am not too proud to use junk to save my treasures.
We must all adapt as changes come.
FLOW
P.S. Local gardeners: I have been trying to hire a garden concierge to help care for my gardens. Hip surgery may be in my future.
If you know of a young, energetic, quick learner, please show them this blog.
Next week I will be leaving the garden again. It is much like leaving pets. I circle the yard thinking of the future. Will this pot be too small by next week? Will this stem need a stake as it grows? Will there be rain? The deer have all ready be-headed a daylily I failed to fence in. Some roses have black spot. Many amaryllis bulbs have not bloomed.
Which brought me to this morning’s epiphany.
I caught myself saying, “They are too tired to bloom.”
I am too tired to bloom, too.
My garden has good bones. My plants have been planted and cared for properly. It must survive my absence while I rest and recharge.
If I could stop time, I would have done it on Saturday. I was with my husband and two children in the midst of 8,000 different plants. This is where I belong. I was among the familiar faces of many of my green friends. Every turn of the paths was a new discovery of delight.
We visited J.C.Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina which has an amazing collection of plants. I wish I had been more able to focus on the flowers, but was distracted by a bride and dozens of beautiful young folks in prom attire. They were like human flowers moving through the gardens in their colorful and sparkling garments.
I have a habit of photographing the plant and then a close-up of its markers. I will pair up the photos and names of some of my favorites. You may want to click on the markers to enlarge them.
Attention Local Friends. I have two Century Plants that produce pups each year. You can adopt one.
Here are some I that I found unusual.
This is a giant version of a Bee Hotel that was lovely.
Random flowers in good light.
I am always interested in garden art. Here are some concrete leaves that add interest.
I loved this lady in blue. She reminds me of the lady sitting among the flowers in Blowing Rock.
It is raining again for the third day in a row. The gardens are much too wet to be in them. Everything is green and thriving, including the weeds.
I use cardboard as a weedblock under mulch. I prep it by removing all tape and labels. Then I season it in the rain so that it is less stiff and more rough to adhere to the soil below and mulch above, especially on hills. This cardboard block lasts a year or more before it decays.
I also have various containers to catch rain for house plants and potted plants. I cover these to keep out oak chains, leaves or curious lizards.
floweralley 