May

Not much to report.  Got a guy coming this week to clear out the backyard.  Before and after photos when that's done.  As soon as that's under control, I'll be ordering fence.  Whipper will appreciate that.  Then I can begin to think about gardening back there.  Ok, I've been thinking about it all along, but until it's cleared out and fenced, I can't really visualize what I have to work with.

At the top of the left-hand menu, you'll find a couple new pages.  One for Garden Tips, the other for nature identifications.  I'll be updating those pages as needed.

Weather has been wonderful.  Been getting some daily gentle thunder-dunders, but not a lot of storm or rain from them.

tnt
Natureschild

Mystery Solved

I think.

I got to thinking about that mystery daylily I talked about in the last post.  A couple (few?) years ago, I realized I had very little pink in the daylilies, and ordered several that spring.  I could account for 3 of them, and didn't recall a 4th.  This is why I keep certain catalogs as reference.  In my dejunking, I got rid of all the magazines, including those catalogs.

This morning, I went to the catalogs' websites (there's only 2 I ever ordered from), and found a double whose name rang a bell.  The more I thought about it, the more I'm sure it's what that is.  "Over The Top" fit what I was seeing, especially the described size of the bloom.  They say 8", but I'm seeing 6", maybe 7".  It's still a pretty good size flower.  Here it is this morning.

Not terribly impressive for a double, but since this is its 1st year to bloom, maybe it will be better next year.  Also probably the reason I forgot I had ordered 4 pinks that year.  It failed to remind me.  I'll keep it.

Here's another double I had almost forgotten because it hadn't put on a good show until now.  "Yellow Submarine".  This is an impressive double for sure.  Looks more like a rose than any other daylily I have.

The next photo is one of the other pinks from that order with its neighbors.  I labeled it for my own reference.

"Pink Attraction" is the truest clearest pink I have.  Since "Over The Top" is taller than "Frances Joiner", I'll make a note to that fact and plant them together again.

BTW, I'm not absolutely positive about this, but FJ may be one of the oldest if not the 1st doubles.  I've had it a really long time.  So long that its name was lost to me until recently when I saw it in a catalog.  For lack of a name, I called it "Sunset Waves" (I do that).  It's good to know its true name, and once I found it, it fit that vague memory of its tag.

There's another long time resident that just started blooming so I haven't snapped it yet.  Its name was also lost, but I loved it for its heavy substance and high fragrance, and so it moved every time I did.  I called it "Heavy Yellow".  Recently saw it in a catalog as "Isle of Capris", and confirmed it with a search.  That catches up most of my lost names.

If you have "old" daylilies you can't identify or only vaguely remember the name, here's a really good database.  Daylilies.org.  Use the "database online" search tool.  One thing that helps ID old cultivars is the year it was registered.  If you can remember the years you've had it, it helps to narrow it down.

One more.

"Moonlight Sail" was given to me last year.  As I was getting this photo this morning, I realized it's also quite fragrant.  It pays to stop and smell the daylilies.

tnt

Natureschild

Daylily Season

In garden design, trees and shrubs are considered the bones of a garden.  In my gardens, the daylilies are the small bones.

When I revamped this garden last year, I only had the memories of the colors and heights as I designed the layout.  I love the way it turned out.  I was concerned about the fact that most of the plants in this garden have a spikey leaf form (hey, it's what I had on hand), but they differ enough to give some variety in texture.  The daylily flowers themselves add some texture from the open and rather sloppy habit of Prairie Moonlight (tall yellow on far left) to the tight double and clumping form of Frances Joiner (light orange far right).  I'll use this photo as a guide in my next garden.

While taking that photo, I discovered a surprise.

I have no idea what this is.  Don't remember buying anything like this.  It's behind Frances Joiner in the previous photo.  My best guess is that it's an unauthorized seedling of Frances Joiner x one of the nearby pinks.  Many years ago, I dabbled in hybridizing and used FJ quite a bit.  The double gene seems to be dominant.  I'll tag and pot this one for the move. It will need a name, too.

My most successful and only surviving hybrid is D. Lemontime, and this year it has proven itself as a keeper again.

This was a cross of Stella D'Oro x Ice Carnival.  Stella is, of course, the mother of all rebloomers.  Ice Carnival was my first "white".  Lemontime came out pretty much as I hoped.  Dwarf and early like Stella, light clear yellow and held above the foliage like IC, and it reblooms.  This year I realized it was much better than Stella.  Stella covers itself in blooms all at once early and then it's done until it reblooms later in the year.  Lemontime is still kicking out enough flowers to earn its place as a player in the peak season design.  That's it below Frances Joiner in the top photo, but Stella is nowhere to be seen.  In fact, I decided I'm over Stella, and won't be wasting time and a pot on transplanting it when I move.  I don't really care for that gold color anyways.  I much prefer the clear yellows.

Speaking of white, here is my whitest, Ruffled Parchment.

This is a fairly prolific bloomer when it gets going.  Definitely coming with me.  I want to get back into hybridizing when I get settled in my new home, and I'll try it with Frances Joiner.

Still trying to get the place ready to list.  I have a contracter lined up to do the necessary repairs to the outside of the house, and they keep pushing me back.  Grrr.  I've made a lot of headway inside the house and by the time they get that job done, I should be done inside.  I took a 3rd carload of junk to the dump this week.  Yeah, I'm still finding a lot of trash, but should be near the end of that.

Weather is still holding the unsouthernly coolth we've had all spring.  Some days in the high 80s but mostly less than that.  It has been humid, however, so it feels hot.

I have to say, it's a huge relief to not worry about rabbits in the heat.  I do miss them, especially baby bunnies, but not the worries and other negatives that went along with raising show rabbits.

Oh, by the way.  I have a new Facebook personal account for the gardens, and other things that interest me outside of rabbits.  I've posted more individual daylilies there.  Come on over and join me if you like.

tnt

Natureschild

Currently showing

Iris are the stars of the gardens right now.  I don't have that many.  I had more, but over the years, they were lost or something.  It happens.  Here's the ones that are blooming right now.

Siberian Iris

Bearded Iris 'Stairway to Heaven'

"Heritage" and Siberian Iris.  I call this "heritage" because in a way, it is just that.  This was one of several iris that were already there when I bought my place in Michigan circa 1995.  I brought some with me when I moved down here, and this is the only one still in residence.  I don't know what the variety is called, but I assume it's an old-fashioned cultivar.  This photo doesn't really do it justice (cloudy day).  I'm not crazy about yellow and red combos, but here I like the gold and burgandy look.  I call it "Brandywine" for lack of a known name.

I captured some wildthings in the last few weeks.

Bumble Bee on Chive flower.  I think she was watching me as I snapped her closeup.  She became very still, and when she did move she faced me.  I'm sure the big black camera lens so close was off-putting.  After a few moments, she seemed to relax and went on about her business.

Brown Thrasher.  Taken through window screen.  Don't see these very often.

Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.  Yes, Virginia, hummingbirds have feet.  Someone asked me that once. This guy was very close to me.  The feeder is hanging from the porch roof so I have a great vantage point for captures.  I just sit in my chair with camera in hand and wait.  I just wish I could have caught him with the sun shining on his throat.  As you can see, without sunlight hitting it just right, he's actually black-throated.  That's the tip of his tongue sticking out the end of his beak.

I wonder how that unusual feature came about on the evolutionary plain.  I believe almost all hummingbirds have that ability to "turn it off and on".  How did the birds learn that facing a certain way made their colors shine?  Did they notice how their adversaries reacted to it?  Hummers are notoriously territorial so anything that gave them an advantage against usurpers would be an asset. Or was it attractive to the females?  That's usually the reason male birds are the more colorful sex.  I can't say I've seen a male sit and flash his intended.  They have an amazing mating dance flight which wouldn't show off that color.  At least I can't see how since it's such a fast dance.  They swing wide loops in front of the female.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.  I only see these for a short time in the spring.

Indigo Bunting.  I began to see these when I let more and more of the property revert to natural habitat.  They appear in spring and summer when those grassy weedy areas are well grown.

I doubt I'll have a vegetable garden this year.  I'm thinking about moving the garden boxes to where the old shed used to be.  Closer to the house and water tap.  So, until I make up my mind about that, I'm not doing anything there.  I might try some tomatoes in containers.  Got some plastic bins kicking around here that would be good for that.  Wonder if I could grow cukes that way.  Might try.

Nice days finally.  It could be like this all the time.  No hotter, no colder.  Dream on.

tnt

Natureschild

Spring 2013

Wow, it has REALLY been a long time (3 years!?!) since I touched this blog.  This post is just a quicky to update.

Out of sheer laziness, I began to do all the garden/nature blogging at the other blog, Spring Creek Gems.  It was laziness because there's 2 different logins.  I was usually logged in (or half logged in) at the other so I just stayed there.  I decided today that I should use this one for garden and nature stuff again.  So that's what will be happening here from now on.  In the meantime, you can read past posts about all that at the other one.  I'll probably begin transferring some of it from there to here as time permits.  I might create some pages as well.

tnt

Daylily Daydream

I wrote this one lazy hazy day in the garden during daylily season. I just came across it in my archives. Anyone with a large daylily collection might appreciate the sentiment.

Daylily Daydream

Daylilies like fireworks
Bursting on high.
Daylilies like starbursts
In the summer sky.

Starting out slowly,
One bloom at a time.
Charming me, teasing me,
One day at a time.

Then the Grand Finale,
Building in tempo.
Filling my senses
With the final cresendo.

Alas, the Grand Finale,
It comes much too soon.
The last sparks fall and fade,
And leave me wishing for June.
~ Natureschild ~