Critters

It's been a busy week.  I spent a couple mornings going to the Special Olympics National Games, since they were in our city.  I don't think they got any national news coverage, though.  It seems like the networks cover fewer and fewer stories, and run some they have into the ground.  CNN was blaming the news people "on the right" and the Department of Agriculture for not getting all the facts before airing or making a judgement, but CNN was reporting Ms. Sherrod's comments out of context before they found out they were.  They are just as guilty as anyone for the problems that ensued for her.  (I don't think I've ever vented on this kind of thing, so please bear with me.  I could go on about some complaints I have about the news networks, but won't.  Yet, I do watch some news every day.)

Anyway, I took my camera the second day of the Special Olympics, but remembered the batteries were low, so left it in the car.  When I returned, I saw a butterfly on some bushes, and remembered my camera.  There was enough power left to take a few photos of what I believe is a question mark butterfly.  I think it was Iowa Gardening Woman who showed one last week.  I'm not sure what kinds of bushes these are, but there are a lot of them around the parking lot.

I found some more photos from the week for Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.  The link is in the sidebar.

I don't often get photos of monarchs with their wings open.  It took lots of tries to get this one.

When I opened the front door to check the mail a few days ago, this squirrel was eating perched on the hook.  I took a few photos from the closed screen door, then opened it and took some.

The squirrel wasn't aware of my presence yet, here.  I'll write a little commentary of what the squirrel may have been thinking.  I wonder what it really was thinking.

"Oh, it's you again!"

"OK, I'll look cute for you while I get another bite."

"OK, you've taken a bunch of photos, don't you have anything else to do?"

"Oh, good here comes another squirrel for you to pester."

"Have you noticed I've been eating across the street more, and not in your garden?"  (Yeah, well I don't trust that you'll stay away for long.)

The grackles have been singing from high places.  This one was there for awhile calling out with a loud voice.

I had the previous photos loaded and waiting for me to write about, but went outside to do a little gardening before the arrival of our grandson.  Well, look what caught my eye, and sent me in to get my camera!  It was so big, I thought it might be a giant swallowtail, but after referring to a book, those are darker colored.  This appears to be a male Eastern swallowtail.  I got lots of poses of it.

I found a different kind of wasp on the short toothed mountain mint.  I can't remember if I've seen this kind or not, but this is the first one I've seen this year.

This isn't the clearest photo of the other black wasp we have, but I like to show more than one insect near each other on plants.  Is that a lightning bug?

I took lots of photos because the wasps were moving around a lot.  I kind of like this one, even though it was a total accident that I captured this angle.

As I was taking the above photos, I heard neighbor dogs barking and looked up.  Heidi is such a good girl most of the time.  She was very calm, but looking at something in the street.  Can you guess what it was?

Look at that silly squirrel!  It seemed like it wanted her to chase it.

It ran into the yard across the street, and looked to see if Heidi was looking at it, and then, looked to see if I was.  Do squirrels crave attention?

Heidi must have decided she's not as interested in squirrels as she used to be.  She stayed in her spot and continued to watch the world.

As we were about to go in, I saw a grackle getting a drink in the bird bath.  I took a quick photo as the water was going down, then it turned and flew away.

I hope your weekend is going well, and your encounters with critters are good ones.

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I'm (probably) baaaaaaaack.

[When a man gives you cut flowers, it's nice. When a man gives you a rose bush (pictured above) on your first date... you might be a goner.]

It's been a year since I posted about my pending divorce and cross-town move. It's amazing how much has changed during that time, and how much hasn't. I think I put the T in Transition, because I didn't exactly delve into gardening at the new house like I thought I would.

First things first. Like my sanity. A little peace. Furniture, which I still don't have. Finding a new groove with my teenage son every two weeks for two weeks at a time. A new (and very important) relationship.

In 2009, I "lost" a husband of twenty years and two cats. The eldest of the two cats just passed away at nearly twenty-one years old. I'd had her for the entire length of the marriage. I do miss that cat.

In the last year, I blogged very little and Tweeted halfheartedly before deciding I hated Twitter. I did, however, do a lot of Facebooking. I loves me some Facebook. And gardeners are on there chattering away, posting pics and inspiring others the way blogs had in the past. And nurseries and garden shows are starting Fan pages on Facebook, so it's getting easier to keep up with the latest.

Will I continue to blog? Maybe. Maybe not. I do love being able to search my blog when I'm trying to remember something I planted or what time of year a certain plant bloomed, etc. And connecting with kindred spirits is an important element of blogging; Otherwise, why don't I just keep a plant diary, right? Note to kindred spirits: Find me on Facebook in case I ditch the blog.

So many more gardeners are blogging now, and it's hard to keep up. I abandoned the notion of adding more blogs to my blog's sidebar. There. Are. Too. Many. Again, Facebook can be a time saver in the sense that you aren't obliged to post anything but you can still keep in touch with friends far and near. And meet new ones in that weird past meets the present, Friends of Friends Facebookey way.

The downside to Facebook is that it isn't archived or searchable or editable. Argh! Not good when you want to find dated posts and photos. But you can play Scrabble with your friends and loved ones! Super fun!

And you can share articles and YouTube clips, not just on gardening, but on anything that floats your boat. Wanna make fun of Tiger Woods? Go for it. Want the latest news from all your favorite news sources? Look at your Wall. And, you know, good old garden talk too. It's all good.

Life continues to shift between peace and chaos, and in those moments of peace I finally feel the urge to garden again. Working part-time at the cutest little ol' nursery in town has definitely helped to reawaken my enthusiasm for plants. And the fact that it's Spring.

Time to bask in sunshine and to plant flowers and tomatoes and basil and those yellow zucchinis I love so much. And time to to yank out those God-awful Home Depot plants the sellers put in and replace them with cool stuff.

I also intend to buy a gas grill this summer. Yep, that'll be me... grillin' and chillin'. Because life is short and I intend to drink in every moment of bliss that comes my way.

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Wildflower Wednesday a Day Late, and a Request for Fall Garden Tips

When I looked at the calendar, and saw there was one more Wednesday this month, I thought incorrectly that Gail at Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday was next week.  It's not the last Wednesday of the month, it's the fourth.  Not one to like to miss out on this event, I went out after work in the rain and took some photos.

I planted 2 beauty berry bushes last summer, after seeing it on blogs, and liking it.  I didn't realize it was a wildflower when I planted them.  I did know birds eat the berries.  They will have plenty this year!

I cut the milkweed back this summer in hopes it would get bushier.  As a result of that, it has not bloomed.  The coneflower planted last summer, is just now starting to bloom.  There are two of them in this area, and only one is blooming so far.  I still like the vertical shapes of the liatris, even though the blooms have faded.  The goldenrod on the right, I've shown recently.  Just to its left, is the ironweed that has gone to seed, or is in the process of doing so.

I can't remember if this liatris bloomed yet this season.  If so, it is having a second flush, even though I didn't think they normally did.

A few weeks ago, I cut deadheaded the skullcap, 'Mongolian Skies' by cutting it back, and it is loaded with blooms again.

The Short Toothed Mountain Mint is continuing to look good.

The rudbeckia, 'Herbstonne' is on it's second flush of blooms, and is ready to be cut back again.  The helenium on the right may be the native kind, but I'm not sure.  It was much later to bloom than the others I have.

I got this pitcher sage from our Community Crops' plant sale this spring.  I am tickled to see that it is blooming.

The false sunflowers are still on their second flush of blooms.  The amsonia and baptisia still look good, even though they have been finished blooming for awhile.

The 'Fireworks' goldenrod and boltonia I planted across the street are nice and bushy.  The smoke tree on the bottom left had been cut back by the previous tenants.  When I pointed it out to the owner of the property, he asked me to keep it.  I was pleased to, because I remember how much I liked it when it didn't have competition from other volunteer trees.  I'll have to move one of the goldenrods in the spring.

The boltonia on the left is the clump that the ones across the street came from.  I am enjoying it next to the eupatorium, 'Prarie Jewel'.

I don't think Russian sage is a wildflower, but I'm glad this one is blooming near the spent liatris.  The foliage on the amsonia hubrichtii is starting to turn gold.  I like the coreopsis near the house, but don't think it's a wildflower, either.

I noticed this aster type plant in the side bed.   I think it's a volunteer, but I could have planted it.  I think I've mentioned before that I can be forgetful.

I've also mentioned that I am a special education paraeducator at a high school.  Some of the other paras have been playing around like they are newscasters, and have taken it a step further, saying they are going to do some stories.  I told them I'm a news junkie, and would be glad to watch their news.  They said, no they want me and another who also said she'd watch to be guest reporters.  Today, one of them had a bunch of notes in a notebook, and they asked me to give some tips on fall gardening.  Now, only one or two of the other paras has a place to garden, but at the end of the day today, they asked me if I had given thought to what I was going to report about fall gardening.  I thought I'd throw it out to other garden bloggers, especially in zones 4 to 6.  Fall is not my favorite time of year because I am tired at the end of the work day, and don't make it out to the garden as much as I'd like.  Plus, with the cost of the dental work and night guard coming up in October, I have not been able to do any plant shopping to fill some holes I have.  By spring the finances should be in better shape.

Whatever tips I get, I plan to copy and paste into something to give to my co-workers.  Some tips I can think of are to let most plants keep their seedheads for the birds to eat and to add something to look at in the snow; enjoy being outside as much as you can while the weather is warm enough; plant garlic in September, and bulbs, as close to just before the ground freezes as you can.

Yes, it is fall, isn't it?  I am not yet to the point I'm accepting that, but it will come.

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New England Wildflower Society

Two weekends ago I visited the New England Wildflower Society's Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts. I got there pretty late, maybe about 4:30pm, but they were open until 7 pm. It was nice to get out of the city, and I went on that rare type of day this summer -the cool kind, before the intense heat of last week. I stepped out of my van and I felt my blood pressure drop.

The Garden in the Woods actually contains a number of gardens, linked by trails that can be somewhat confusing to navigate -but we figured it out along the way (we had a map). There are also woodland trails not part of the garden proper, but connected to it. I saw many plants in flower, all quite beautiful, but it has taken much too long to put this post together, and so will give my best impression of brief.

Many of the plants were tagged, and there were different opportunities to learn what one is looking at. For instance, the "What's Blooming Now" sign board at the trail's beginning, but you can't take that with you, and the garden couldn't possibly tag every plant specimen, so it is that I have not identified many of the plants I found interesting. That said, I will try to find them on the internet. I should also point out that the NEWS website goes pretty deep, with a lot of information should you want to find information about particular native plants.

After parking, you approach the visitor center and nursery. There's plenty to buy, including sandwiches. I saw on their website that goldenrods were to be on sale ($5) the weekend I went, and, since I had killed my seaside goldenrod last year (moving it in fall), I thought this a perfect opportunity to buy a new one, or two. I bought a Bluestem, S. caesi, and a Showy, S. speciosa. These sit sadly, unplanted, in the side garden until I figure out where to put them or the heat breaks -whichever comes first.

The nursery had a lot of other plants -most are well-known garden perennials. They do sell some native perennials and shrubs that are hard to find at our common nurseries, like Threadleaf Ironweed,Vernonia lettermanii or New England Blazing Star, Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae both of which I picked up because that's what plant people do in the face of plants new to them. If you are looking for rare native plants or those in quantity, look to their Nasami Farm -that's their major nursery operation.

The plant that was everywhere and eminently garden worthy is Black Cohosh, or Cimicfuga racemosa. Brilliant spires shooting above dark foliage.

One of the first gardens we stopped for was the 'idea garden.' Most of what we found here was this charming little garden shed with a planted roof. Notice the plant baskets on the fence line.

Pitcher plants in a basket.

On the other side, flowers.

As we walked downhill, we spotted this young deer prancing back and forth. I wondered how much deer damage there is in the Garden in the Woods.

The lily pond. Islands show different plant communities. Educational, but I didn't like the effect.

Along the pond trail, Slender Blue Flag, Iris prismatica.

I believe this is Cardinal Flower, or Lobelia cardinalis. This is one where I couldn't find a tag, but was well reminded of the plants from my Nissequogue canoe trip last summer.

The stems of the above are flattened, with ridges -not unlike celery.

Friend Steve in the meadow. Our timing landed us in between the two floriferous periods, and so it appears mostly green.

Although this plant is intriguing, I do not know what it is. Any ideas? *Desmodium paniculatum -thanks Steven Ziglar!

Nope, its not Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria. This specimen, however, was just a few feet from the former. Purple Loosestrife is listed as invasive by the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group which is a comprehensive body of interested parties. Like the cheshire cat, it appears when you least expect it, smiling as if to say that even here, amongst the native plants of the New England Wildflower Society native plant gardens, I will appear -deal with me. "The proper order of things is often a mystery to me. You, too?"

And as if to reinforce the cat's position, a jail pops up. Beyond the absurdity of plants being held in jail, it's the unfortunate, misplaced metaphors like this that allow certain nay-sayers to harp on what they suggest are Nazi sympathizing, anti-immigration purists amongst a community of invasive plant policy supporters. As far as I can tell, nothing could be further from the truth. This kind of comparison only works in the mind, on the internet, in print, on paper. In the field, amongst scientists, the comparison loses traction. So the 'Plant Jail' has to go because it is a stupid visual pun that underestimates our intelligence and gives ammunition to those who'd rather look the other way than pull a few plants from a palette of thousands.

Okay, back to the fun stuff. Field of Asclepias tuberosa, or butterfly weed.

The large leaves and berried umbels of Umbrella Leaf, Diphylleia cymosa.

Have no idea, but was near the education center and rain garden. *Spigelia marilandica -thanks Ellen and Steven!

I believe this is a cultivated aster, Stokes Aster, Stokesia laevis.*Nope, sorry Frank, that's Barbara's Buttons or Marshallia grandiflora -thanks again Steven!

If you're ever in eastern Mass or anywhere near Boston, it's worth a trip. I wouldn't look to the Garden in the Woods as an example of great garden design, but more as a palette of plant choices that can inspire design. It's worth mentioning that the staff were very helpful and friendly even though I was purchasing plants at the last minute, never letting me sense that they were itching to go home. They even watered my plants with compost tea before I loaded them into the van. Now to get those in the ground.

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