SPRING 
2014  

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN

 The bounce is in my step and I am ready, but Mother Nature has been slow to wake up this sluggish season.  After three weeks of daily inspections, I'm encouraged by some good things I see and disheartened by some losses or changes.  Whenever I have been asked which I'd like first, the good news or the bad news I always go for the bad. Get it over with.  Move on.  And so...

THUMBS DOWN

1.  Out of the 4 dozen or so seeds I planted for Sweet Pea flowers only ONE has germinated!  And it really is too late for a second attempt. I love their colors, their sweet aroma, and they will be missed.

2.  I lost both of my Dianthus Deltoid Zing Rose. They were such bright spots.  It is a very hardy perennial, one I have never lost. Easy replaceable, though, and always reasonably priced.

3.  GOODNESS SNAKES ALIVE!!!!  Some gardeners would put this in the thumbs up column, but not me.

4.  No lupines or flax wintered over, but no surprise there.  I have to accept that in my garden these are annuals, not perennials.

5.  Ticks are back in force - look for more on the subject in a future post.

6.  My favorite purchase last year was a new cultivar of pulmonaria, a pure white blossom spiking above lush  green leaves spotted with white.  Apparently it didn't like me as much as I liked IT.  Gone.

7.  Worst and very worst, my three year old New Dawn Climbing Rose which covered the trellis has no sign of new growth.  Not a single new leaf pushing out. This is  not a tender perennial.  And only two of my five Knock-outs are showing life.  I have had them F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  Is is as if I fertilized my roses with Roundup instead of Epsoma Rose Tone.  I am mystified.  Never has a green thumb felt so brown.  Hope springs eternal, though.

THUMBS UP

1.  I have seen no evidence of bunny destruction.  It's still early, but last year I lost multiple plantings of multiple perennials.  The rabbits were unstoppable.  Could it be the "early and light" application of Deer Defeat that was recommended by the vendors of that product? (As opposed to the late and heavy application last year)

2.  I also have had no evidence of the "Spring Sickness" which has plagued my day lilies  every  year since moving here five  years ago.  (See the May 7, 2011 post)  I'm looking forward to a very good daylily season.

3.  Five out of eight chrysanthemums returned, surpassing any previous record by four!  I will be their Florence Nightingale until they bloom this Fall.

4.  The lilacs are loaded with buds.  Because last year's blossoms were very sparse I invested a lot of time and labor into pruning, cutting out suckers, feeding, etc.  I really like it when an effort is rewarded.

5.  My miniature rose bushes (meant for indoors or outdoors) are thriving!  These are sentimental favorites.  Our son's girlfriend mailed one to us as a thank-you after she "met the family" and joined us on our Adirondack vacation.  It's initial appearance did not offer much promise. It had sweet little pink blossoms that turned brown before they could open. I called the company and they sent me another one right away.  And the same thing happened.  To save them from certain death I cut them back dramatically in August, planted them outside and hoped for the best.  Lookin' good!

6.  The Daffodils were amazing!  They multplied and nodded their lovely heads at me every day.  Many varieties have given me a long season with successive bloom. Again, why?  Is it because I scratched a little bone meal into each old site last Fall?  This could go to my head. I might plant 200 next Fall.

"It is Spring again.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems by heart."

Rainer Maria Rilke

Praying Mantis

 Mother Nature was showing off  her "deceit by camouflage" today.  

With an underbelly the color of the living leaves of daylilies and a back the color of the dried scapes, this praying mantis was nearly missed. I was de-browning my daylily bed when I saw a leaping movement. My gaze followed the leap and landed upon this majestic and dignified insect!  She graciously held her position while I ran into the house to search for my camera.  It has been years since I've seen one and it made my day.  I treasure the surprises that gardening brings!

Little Bouquets

One would think, judging by the way I go on and on about my flowers, that I would be bringing armloads into the house every day for bouquets.  Not so.  My gardens are actually very small in size; I prefer trying many varieties rather than lush quantities from fewer plants. I lack the space for "drifts" of any one variety of a perennial.  But I have more plants to talk to this way!    I rely on a few favorite annuals to fill in the blanks and to weave the perennials together throughout the season.  If I were ever to bring in a large and beautiful bouquet the garden would probably looked ravaged and quite bare.  So instead, I borrow a little stalk here and a little blossom  there and focus on small accents in small containers.  Nevertheless, when I see them in my house  they brighten my day.  It didn't take much to fill this sentimental little treasure, a china tea cup that belonged to my mother-in-law.  A couple of years ago I purchased a "frog," which I have used over and over to hold my flowers upright.  Might be the handiest little item I've ever bought.

My favorite garden color combination is of cream, pink blush and pale green.  In the Spring I find it in Helleborus, Astrantia "Roma" and tiarella.  In the summer I find it in clethra and hydrangea.  I love combining different varieties of hydrangea in small arrangements in the month of August.  For this I borrowed from Annabelle, PeeGee and my Hydrangea Tree (which is my favorite of all the trees we have).

I would show you the little vase of lavender and salvia "Cathedral Sky Blue"in the room that I just painted a nice shade of purple, but I just can't bring myself to post a picture of a porcelain throne.  You'll have to trust me. It is a very sweet little accent.

Bouncing Back 'Neath a Perseid Sky

     I have three and a half hours before the half-moon sets at 1:00 a.m., darkening the skies for the Perseid Meteor Shower, a celestial event that will not be this outstanding again until 2015.  It is a cool night, the katy-dids are in full chorus, the sky is crystal clear and my lawn chair is ready. I am determined to return to my very neglected garden blog between runs outside to preview the sky.  Hillcroft Posies has fallen victim to an exceptionally busy summer with company, travels and events.  And as readers know, my spirits were initially dampened by bunnies munching their way through the whole menu of new additions and established perennials.  They seemed to favor tender early growth, though, and have slowed down in recent weeks, allowing a  bit of a resurgence of both the plants' growth and my enthusiasm.  I grabbed my camera early one morning as I was having my cheerios/newspaper moment on the patio.  The sun was still low in the sky and had not yet washed out the colors:

This yellow/gold daylily above is a particularly prolific one and brings me great delight EXCEPT that each time I saw it from the kitchen window it just seemed to clash with its neighbor, an equally prolific pomegranate yarrow. Hot pink and gold together was making me very restless to FIX something.  I admit, I have a bit of a thing about harmonious colors.  Certain combinations make my eyes and heart happy and other combinations just agitate me and I can get over-particular.  This is a distinct liability in home decor, where every color decision is made at glacial speed and with much hand wringing.  But I digress.  Back to the garden, where I refuse to believe that this color obsession is a liability.  I think I have already found another lily to move to that spot.  What do you think?

Feeling better already.  Just can't stop fidgeting and moving things around.  But isn't that the fun of flower gardening?  I hope I'm never satisfied or content!

Yin-Yang of a Tree

I know this will be a long post.  But therapy sessions are usually an hour, aren't they?  And this is therapy.

According to Webster, yin-yang is "opposite sides, elements or extremes."  This is my yin-yang tree because it hosts something not-beautiful and something beautiful.  I'll begin with the former.  With apologies to animal-of-all-species-lovers, the not beautiful is snakes, the true subject of this passage.  The lower branches of this tree provide cool shelter  for a family of garter snakes.  Out of respect for readers who abhor the sight (and I know one in particular), I did not begin with the snake picture.  It is below.  It is a small picture.  Consider yourself warned.

This Alberta Spruce is in the garden that closely surrounds my patio and is in the area where an occasional garter snake has been spotted in recent years.  Every instinct I have, told me that if we vacationed the last  two weeks in April, I could expect the snakes to claim my garden as their Eden, make themselves quite at home and in fact multiply.  The morning of my return I tip-toed out to check my instincts only to find FOUR snakes sunning themselves in their new-found paradise.  FOUR!!!  AND TWO WERE BIG!!!!!  I knew it was time to face my fears, separate the irrational from the rational and find some coping skills.

Let me say from the start that I am not, technically, afraid of them.  Intellectually, I know they are not poisonous. I know they can't hurt me (let's not bring the possibility of cardiac arrest into this therapy session).  But to put it simply, they creep me out to the fullest extent of my sensibilities.  And that is the only negative to their presence in my garden.  I know they do good things:

     1.  They eat insect pests.  Not giving them a lot of credit here. How are they going to eat aphids on the top leaves?  And when have I ever seen a snake leap into the air to snag a mosquito?  But okay, let's give them a point anyway for eating bugs.
     2.  They kill mice.  No points here. I'll take a cute little mouse any day.
     3.  When they attain a length of three feet they can eat moles and voles.  ARE YOU SERIOUS???  THREE FEET???  Does anyone see anything wrong with this sentence???

Solutions 

     1.  Sprinkling "Snake Away" is not an option.  Too many garden areas - they'll only move around.  What if it traps them inside the garden and they can't get past the barrier?  What if it sends them slithering to my basement?
     2.  Assault and Battery.  I am loathe to swing a garden shovel over my head, Paul Bunyan style, and bring it down on the body of a snake.  I would never sleep again.
     3.  Summon St. Patrick but I think he's still tired out from his Ireland experience


That brings us to Coping Skills, and I do have some.

     1.  When beginning a garden work session,  approach the area slowly with watchful eyes darting, speak sharply, clap hands, stamp feet and bang the shovel on the patio wall a few times.  This takes care of all facts and fiction I haven't bothered to sort out (Snakes don't have ears?  Snakes can hear? Snakes can't hear? Snakes react to vibrations?).  Bases covered. The combination usually sends them back under the tree.
     2.  NEVER sit or kneel to work an area of the garden. At my age there is no such thing as a fast escape from that position if one should come into my view (I hate to keep bringing up cardiac arrest, but......)
     3.  In stronger moments attempt creative visualization through positive comments. Talk to the snake in a matter-of- fact, confident, relaxed voice.  Sweetly inquire if he's enjoying the sun.  But not all moments are moments of strength.  Which brings up a real fear and that is a fear of being turned in to the authorities by my neighbors. BECAUSE if I spot a snake and unleash my feelings in a screaming torrent of verbal abuse "Get out of my sight you beastly vermin.  I rue the day you came into existence!" and the only living thing in sight is my dear husband, what are the neighbors to believe of me??

For readers who dare, you may now look, and yes, that "thing" re-emerging from beneath the brick to the right of the black pole is a tail, making him very long indeed.

The bottom line is, I will not allow garter snakes to rob me of the pleasure of gardening. That gives to the snakes the power that is rightfully mine.

For those who like happy endings, I offer a picture of the nest of cardinal eggs I found at the top of this same life-giving Alberta Spruce.  I'm feeling better already.  Thank you. This therapy session is over.