I heard baby wrens in my wren house this afternoon. :)
I saw my first female firefly tonight. The females are wingless and release pheromones to attract the male. I noticed that she has a light at the end of her body, too.
Earlier in the evening I had a girls night out with Rita and Bekah. We met up at a theater to see a movie. :)
It's been warm enough now to turn the AC on and I've been out in the sunshine checking out the garden and picking strawberries. Yes, they ripened. But for now, let me share highlights about what's going on at the front of the house. First, I'll mention that the two potted dianthus on the front porch have been blooming well for me this spring, although they're now past their showiest peak. They liked the ample rain we've been receiving. And the rununculous in its big pot has dropped all its petals while three of the sweet pea seeds planted in that same pot have done sprouted upward and have leaves and tendils. Some new plants I've purchased that have been sitting around the porch for a while now are lobelia, sweet alyssum, 'nutmeg' scented geranium, sweet marjoram, and variegated lemon thyme.
Out in the small circular bed in the front yard, the coreopsis has grown big and is in flower. Those bright yellow faces contrast with the magenta blooms of the Sweet William that's growing among it. Over at the corner of the house in the yew bed there are a couple of volunteer rose campion starts residing in the mulch. They're near the spiderwort which is in bloom at this time, also. Then at the start of the southwest facing bed, the 'Snow Hill' salvia has put forth some nice white flowers while catmint just thrives. The poppies there (which are not the common field poppy) have long shed their fancy orange petals and 'Alaska' shasta daisies have budded.
In the weedy fairy garden there is some large feverfew growing. I've not worked on that area yet this year, but when I do, I plan to pull up that feverfew because its overpowering that little garden. The tall yellow-blooming columbine, by the way, is leaning over and the flowers remind me of stars. And my potted tansy fern next to the unattached garage is doing rather well. Then peeking around the corner from behind that garage is the rose bush with fading blooms whose pink petals compliment the candy colors of the Sweet William that are taking over the wildflower bed. Larkspur is near the rose bush and somewhere on down the bed, a calendula flower is open. While I'm out there, a wren is perched on the rim of the compost bin in front of which a hollyhock has been budding. It's quite a small bird.
Although the wildflower bed is yet to be weeded, the main garden got taken care of the second Saturday of May. Dad didn't till it this year; instead I mostly hand-pulled the weeds and hacked with the hoe. I sowed seeds, too, which are 'Tangerine' sunflower (left over from last year) and some other sunflower (given to me), near the compost bin, wild cowslip in the shade of the corkscrew willow, and common primrose by the foxglove. Those foxglove, by the way, have been beautiful. They're still in bloom in white, cream and shades of purple. Some other seed I've sown is field poppy (although I have some mature plants). It was seed I'd kept for awhile so time will tell how well they'll germinate.
I had mistakenly said in a previous entry that I had breadseed poppies come up, but I've discovered that they're the field poppies instead (which are welcome in my garden since they're herbal and have eye-catching red flowers). The poppies are at the edge of the garden in front of my strawberry patch, and their petals blend with the red color of the ripening berries. The new lovage I bought this year has been transplanted near the foxglove, and the borage by the butterfly house is growing nicely overall. Another borage that grew by the cup plant has been in bloom a long time and the cup plant itself is big. Close by are pea plants which came up from seed I planted last summer or fall. 'Bouquet' dill is sparse (since I weeded some last year) while yarrow has taken over quite a bit of area and is topped with clusters of white blooms. For a while, I would see lady bugs on the yarrow, but it's been days since I've seen one visit it. There's also a clump of yarrow with flowers tinged in pink or lavender. Speaking of lavender, my lavender herb has buds on it, and the sweet woodruff in the shade of the willow tree has spread. A wren house is up on a pole across from the willow and I saw a black bird perched atop of it. Above that are telephone wires where two robins were perched. The black bird wasn't gone long when a wren went inside the house. The robins didn't stay long, either, after I noticed them.
The other side of the garden has a lot of bare space, but there are healthy bunches of common dill- plus little starts of it here and there. And sprouts of 'Bells of Ireland' have taken claim to the territory, also, as well as nasturtium which obviously has reseeded itself since I haven't sown any this year- at least not yet. ;) Meanwhile, ladies mantle is capped with yellow/charteuse flowers.
A hyssop came up on its own in one of my little pots and I've got it sitting by my succulents in front of the greenhouse; and some catchfly has taken up residence in a couple of places near both corners behind the house. Each catchfly is growing by some feverfew. As for the cherry tree, I've been enjoying its ripe fruit.
Out in the small circular bed in the front yard, the coreopsis has grown big and is in flower. Those bright yellow faces contrast with the magenta blooms of the Sweet William that's growing among it. Over at the corner of the house in the yew bed there are a couple of volunteer rose campion starts residing in the mulch. They're near the spiderwort which is in bloom at this time, also. Then at the start of the southwest facing bed, the 'Snow Hill' salvia has put forth some nice white flowers while catmint just thrives. The poppies there (which are not the common field poppy) have long shed their fancy orange petals and 'Alaska' shasta daisies have budded.
In the weedy fairy garden there is some large feverfew growing. I've not worked on that area yet this year, but when I do, I plan to pull up that feverfew because its overpowering that little garden. The tall yellow-blooming columbine, by the way, is leaning over and the flowers remind me of stars. And my potted tansy fern next to the unattached garage is doing rather well. Then peeking around the corner from behind that garage is the rose bush with fading blooms whose pink petals compliment the candy colors of the Sweet William that are taking over the wildflower bed. Larkspur is near the rose bush and somewhere on down the bed, a calendula flower is open. While I'm out there, a wren is perched on the rim of the compost bin in front of which a hollyhock has been budding. It's quite a small bird.
Although the wildflower bed is yet to be weeded, the main garden got taken care of the second Saturday of May. Dad didn't till it this year; instead I mostly hand-pulled the weeds and hacked with the hoe. I sowed seeds, too, which are 'Tangerine' sunflower (left over from last year) and some other sunflower (given to me), near the compost bin, wild cowslip in the shade of the corkscrew willow, and common primrose by the foxglove. Those foxglove, by the way, have been beautiful. They're still in bloom in white, cream and shades of purple. Some other seed I've sown is field poppy (although I have some mature plants). It was seed I'd kept for awhile so time will tell how well they'll germinate.
I had mistakenly said in a previous entry that I had breadseed poppies come up, but I've discovered that they're the field poppies instead (which are welcome in my garden since they're herbal and have eye-catching red flowers). The poppies are at the edge of the garden in front of my strawberry patch, and their petals blend with the red color of the ripening berries. The new lovage I bought this year has been transplanted near the foxglove, and the borage by the butterfly house is growing nicely overall. Another borage that grew by the cup plant has been in bloom a long time and the cup plant itself is big. Close by are pea plants which came up from seed I planted last summer or fall. 'Bouquet' dill is sparse (since I weeded some last year) while yarrow has taken over quite a bit of area and is topped with clusters of white blooms. For a while, I would see lady bugs on the yarrow, but it's been days since I've seen one visit it. There's also a clump of yarrow with flowers tinged in pink or lavender. Speaking of lavender, my lavender herb has buds on it, and the sweet woodruff in the shade of the willow tree has spread. A wren house is up on a pole across from the willow and I saw a black bird perched atop of it. Above that are telephone wires where two robins were perched. The black bird wasn't gone long when a wren went inside the house. The robins didn't stay long, either, after I noticed them.
The other side of the garden has a lot of bare space, but there are healthy bunches of common dill- plus little starts of it here and there. And sprouts of 'Bells of Ireland' have taken claim to the territory, also, as well as nasturtium which obviously has reseeded itself since I haven't sown any this year- at least not yet. ;) Meanwhile, ladies mantle is capped with yellow/charteuse flowers.
A hyssop came up on its own in one of my little pots and I've got it sitting by my succulents in front of the greenhouse; and some catchfly has taken up residence in a couple of places near both corners behind the house. Each catchfly is growing by some feverfew. As for the cherry tree, I've been enjoying its ripe fruit.
A poppy has opened in the southwest facing bed. :)
I somewhat helped film another wedding this rainy afternoon, but since there's something wrong with my camera 2, I pretty much got to just stand there and watch the ceremony. So camera operators 1 and 3 were mostly used (with camera 3 on stage for close shots of the couple). The bride's gown was something to behold and the bridemaids' dresses were an attractive green. I noticed that the wedding was small and simple (which I liked) and the stage wasn't decorated like last time, but there was a small table covered in a white cloth with a couple of candles on top.
It wasn't the pastor who married the couple this time, but someone who used to be in the media ministry with us whose name is Mark. I thought he did a good job. He started saying some things to the bride, and Bekah, who was on camera 1, could've cried. Rita was in the media room running board and she was hoping that Mark wouldn't cause the bride herself to cry. One of the statements that Mark made is that she (the bride) is the princess that he (the groom) had prayed for and other wonderful stuff. The wedding was short and I stayed in the media room afterwards with Rita and Bekah for a while. The camera 3 operator came in, too. Then we all left and I went home. And like last time, I'll get paid for doing this. :)
It wasn't the pastor who married the couple this time, but someone who used to be in the media ministry with us whose name is Mark. I thought he did a good job. He started saying some things to the bride, and Bekah, who was on camera 1, could've cried. Rita was in the media room running board and she was hoping that Mark wouldn't cause the bride herself to cry. One of the statements that Mark made is that she (the bride) is the princess that he (the groom) had prayed for and other wonderful stuff. The wedding was short and I stayed in the media room afterwards with Rita and Bekah for a while. The camera 3 operator came in, too. Then we all left and I went home. And like last time, I'll get paid for doing this. :)
Here's an update on the gardening. Last weekend I weeded the southwest facing bed on the side of the house and cut back old growth. The result is a more clean view of soft greenery. Then on Tuesday, the bulb bed in the front yard got weeded again and I sowed an ample amount of moss verbena there. This should help suppress this certain pesky weed that likes to come up in that spot and I'll get some nice purple blooms.
Out behind the unattached garage I've got something called wallflower that's come up here and there and they are attractively adorned with pretty bright orange flowers. They're from that batch of wildflower seeds that I sowed before, but wallflower waited until this year to come forth. Another surprise newcomer is dianthus. This should be a treat when they bloom, too. Both of these wildflower specimens are welcome to their garden home. :)
Now here's something special that I discovered a while ago out in the fairy garden. Remember the lily of the valley that resides there? Well, it has bloomed for me and the little white bells are neat. Also, that new columbine that's growing there is flowering, too, and the petals are a deep purple.
As for the big pot by the front porch, it's going to be interesting this year. I bought some rununculous earlier this evening and transplanted it there. I like the foliage of rununculous and the bloom on it is a bright yellow. The plant also sports two buds. One is kind of a fuschia color while the other appears to be red. Before I stuck the plant into the pot, though, first I pulled out a healthy clump of henbit. Henbit thrives in the main garden, also, and I've noticed that bees take to it. It will eventually get tilled into the soil. :) A good thing about henbit is that it's easy to pull up and for anyone interested, henbit is part of the mint family. Observe closely and you can see that it has a square stem. Along with rununculous being put in the pot, I also left a nice start of feverfew that had sprouted there on its own.
And this evening I also purchased cilantro and repotted it. It now sits on the kitchen counter close to the window. :)
Out behind the unattached garage I've got something called wallflower that's come up here and there and they are attractively adorned with pretty bright orange flowers. They're from that batch of wildflower seeds that I sowed before, but wallflower waited until this year to come forth. Another surprise newcomer is dianthus. This should be a treat when they bloom, too. Both of these wildflower specimens are welcome to their garden home. :)
Now here's something special that I discovered a while ago out in the fairy garden. Remember the lily of the valley that resides there? Well, it has bloomed for me and the little white bells are neat. Also, that new columbine that's growing there is flowering, too, and the petals are a deep purple.
As for the big pot by the front porch, it's going to be interesting this year. I bought some rununculous earlier this evening and transplanted it there. I like the foliage of rununculous and the bloom on it is a bright yellow. The plant also sports two buds. One is kind of a fuschia color while the other appears to be red. Before I stuck the plant into the pot, though, first I pulled out a healthy clump of henbit. Henbit thrives in the main garden, also, and I've noticed that bees take to it. It will eventually get tilled into the soil. :) A good thing about henbit is that it's easy to pull up and for anyone interested, henbit is part of the mint family. Observe closely and you can see that it has a square stem. Along with rununculous being put in the pot, I also left a nice start of feverfew that had sprouted there on its own.
And this evening I also purchased cilantro and repotted it. It now sits on the kitchen counter close to the window. :)
I've given a couple of succulent plants that sit on my kitchen window sill a good trim. And I'd like a new herb to set on my kitchen counter. The herb I've got in mind is cilantro. Flat Italian parsley is another good choice.
So yesterday I walked around the house and yard to jot things down to write about, and stuff is doing well- including the many weeds. But the focus will be on the positive side such as the two potted dianthus on the front porch with their green grassy foliage hanging over their pots. Last year or so someone had mailed me some variegated artemesia and I'd overwintered it in a yellow pot on the ground against the porch. Well, it survived and its new growth has been nice to look at. And then at the front left corner of the house, the spiderwort has come up. I enjoy its purple blooms when they happen. Remember the daffodil bed with the pink hyacinths that I mentioned in my last entry? Well, that little bed's full of red and yellow tulips in bloom now which the previous owner of the house had planted, and there are more tulips around the oak tree and by the mail box. The tri-colored tulips with the variegated foliage that I'd planted myself are in bloom, also.
Yellow seems to be a popular color with nature in the spring. The euphorbia in the southwest facing bed on the side of the house is crowned in golden yellow bracts while swedish ivy sports flowers in a paler yellow. Of course, a good contrast for yellow are the purple blooms of common blue violet. The alliums which are in bud will eventually develop their purple globes, and those hollyhocks have come up for me again this year. They won't flower for a while, but their leaves look nice and healthy right now. Then near the alliums are some plants growing that I suspect might be the 'Alaska' shasta daisies that I sowed as seed last year. We shall see. Also, there are some hairy poppy leaves and catmint framing a candytuft that's adorned with white flowers. Meanwhile, a plant grows by the corner of the bed near the back of the house that reminds me of a tobacco plant, but I'm not sure what it is. As for the sedums, their fresh foliage has emerged and the old growth needs to be cut back.
Now going across the yard we pass the side of the unattached garage where there's a potted tansy fern. It obviously made it through the winter with flying colors and looks fresh and healthy. Out in the main garden I found the sweet woodruff that had been buried under debris. It appears like it has potential to take over some of the area which would be good. It could help suppress weeds and I like this herb anyway. And I've got cup plant green and healthy for me again this year and there are strawberry blooms already. One day when I was out there, I discovered a pleasant finding. Borage is growing by the butterfly house again. And by the way, I have a birdhouse that sits on a pole not far away now. I'd had the privilege of putting this birdhouse together one day at a park where I'd volunteered to help plant trees. (Someone helped me with it). Dad's the one who put it on a pole for me several days ago.
And I want to mention that the variegated iris which was also given to me thru the mail(from same person) is doing well. It continues to reside in the fairy garden under the apple tree. This apple tree as well as the one across the driveway are white with blossoms.
As for the weather, it was sunny, clear and cool when I was out there yesterday, and more than once I heard a woodpecker. Today is warmer. :)
Yellow seems to be a popular color with nature in the spring. The euphorbia in the southwest facing bed on the side of the house is crowned in golden yellow bracts while swedish ivy sports flowers in a paler yellow. Of course, a good contrast for yellow are the purple blooms of common blue violet. The alliums which are in bud will eventually develop their purple globes, and those hollyhocks have come up for me again this year. They won't flower for a while, but their leaves look nice and healthy right now. Then near the alliums are some plants growing that I suspect might be the 'Alaska' shasta daisies that I sowed as seed last year. We shall see. Also, there are some hairy poppy leaves and catmint framing a candytuft that's adorned with white flowers. Meanwhile, a plant grows by the corner of the bed near the back of the house that reminds me of a tobacco plant, but I'm not sure what it is. As for the sedums, their fresh foliage has emerged and the old growth needs to be cut back.
Now going across the yard we pass the side of the unattached garage where there's a potted tansy fern. It obviously made it through the winter with flying colors and looks fresh and healthy. Out in the main garden I found the sweet woodruff that had been buried under debris. It appears like it has potential to take over some of the area which would be good. It could help suppress weeds and I like this herb anyway. And I've got cup plant green and healthy for me again this year and there are strawberry blooms already. One day when I was out there, I discovered a pleasant finding. Borage is growing by the butterfly house again. And by the way, I have a birdhouse that sits on a pole not far away now. I'd had the privilege of putting this birdhouse together one day at a park where I'd volunteered to help plant trees. (Someone helped me with it). Dad's the one who put it on a pole for me several days ago.
And I want to mention that the variegated iris which was also given to me thru the mail(from same person) is doing well. It continues to reside in the fairy garden under the apple tree. This apple tree as well as the one across the driveway are white with blossoms.
As for the weather, it was sunny, clear and cool when I was out there yesterday, and more than once I heard a woodpecker. Today is warmer. :)
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