As night falls...

The nicotiana is starting to bloom in the fragrant bed.



Datura is budding in several places around the yard. This plant is a self sown volunteer.



Orlaya grandiflora glows. These seeds came in a trade. I didn't know much about them. I sowed them. They germinated. It's blooming. I'm happy.



Have you ever seen variegated pokeweed?



It's 84 degrees. The yard is mowed. The breaker for the microwave was installed with only 3 calls made to Robert. Or maybe it was 4. I still have laundry to do and dinner to eat. There will be more rain Friday and Saturday.

A summer day in April.

It's still 92 degrees. I feel like the daffodils, dry and crispy.



It's not all bad. The butterfly bushes seem to be growing several inches a day. Finally, I've got butterfly bushes that don't sprawl out across the ground.



While planting some wintersown seedlings in the perennial bed, I pulled some clover to discover Jim's alstroemeria. It's the one with the variegated foliage.



I scattered seeds like a mad man today. I even tossed out some left over potting soil on a bare spot where I walk a lot. Grass seed went over it and I watered it in.



Scattered seeds include Salvia subrotunda, Four O'clocks, lemon basil, cosmos, zinnias, melampodium, and others I can't remember now. It's the heat. Yeah, that's the ticket. I did sow a few more containers. Basil Gonovese, Lemon lime basil, sunflowers (a wide variety from mammoth to red bloomers), Limelight four o'clocks, and a striped four o'clock I have never grown before. It's not as though I don't have enough to plant out already.



I tried to relax in the swing, but after an hour in the hammock, I'm exhausted. The meadow is over a foot tall. Larkspur, red clover, and many weeds make up the majority of the tall seedlings. Rudbeckia and bee balm have been spotted along with a few cosmos around the outer edges. I'm afraid what might be lurking in the middle of all that clover. I bet something that slithers has made itself at home.



I just can't believe how fast everything's growing these days. We haven't had rain in over a week. Thursday, we're supposed to have PM thunderstorms. I hope so. The pollen was so thick at times today, I thought I lived on a dirt road again. All my roses have buds, summer blooming perennials are shooting up flowerstalks, all the crape myrtles are leafing out now, including the white and red ones I started from seed last winter. It's incredible.

After the long winter, I was hoping for a gradual transition into summer. Not a chance of that now. We're running 23 degrees above normal today. As I sit here with the windows open, pollen covering me and everything inside, I can hear the leaves on the trees rustling in the wind. The houses on Brown Avenue are quickly disappearing thanks to the foliage. The stream has dried up. I'm filling the birdbath twice a day. Two crows came in for a drink while I was laying in the hammock the second time.

Maybe on Sunday, things will be cooler and I can plant out more seedlings. They're getting watered twice a day too. Some have succumbed to the heat already. But reseeds will fill the gaps and get moved as spring moves forward. Today, I found a batch of self sown nicotiana and datura. I think every seed that fell has germinated. Lucky too, I was about to have to head downtown to snatch more datura pods. But it's too hot.

The sun made a rare appearance today.

It seems that lately, as soon as I walk outside, the sun disappears behind thick clouds. I know it's just my imagination, but with all the rain and even more in the forecast, I miss my shadow's company in the yard. I got a short chance to see my shadow for a few minutes during my lunch break today. I snapped some images as I walked around the yard surveying the damage.



Wine & Roses wigela with the found canna lily. Surrounding it, the purple lantana is still blooming.



Nicotiana



A red knockout is still blooming. More to come.



Sedum and sedum passed.



Next spring's red clover with Bunny Larkspur donated by Janie, the Obsessive/Compulsive Plant Collector.



I spread the love of althea all over the back edge of the perennial bed.



Alstroemeria from the Gaudy Garden's Jim with grape hyacinths



The butterfly weed finally died down. I got no seeds from these plants, but Cameron at Defining Your Home Garden sent me a few and other varieties.



Kris from The Gardens at Melissa Majora will appreciate these perennial aster seeds. I'll collect them in the morning to add to her growing pile.



Nell, the Seedscatterer, had butterfly ginger that bloomed, but mine didn't. Next year, they'll be moved in the spring to a sunnier spot.



Catherine from A Gardener in Progress grows these too. Veronica speedwell. Still blooming. Slowly spreading.



The lantana formerly known as Miss Huff.





That's about it for what's still going in the yard. It's 34 degrees and clear according to AccuWeather. My thermometer reads 42 degrees. It's been saying that for nearly a week. So much for digital accuracy. Tomorrow, I have plans.

Last night...

When I pulled into the driveway just after 11pm last night, the smell was overwhelming. The daturas next to the driveway had put on a stunning display. It was dark, so I took a picture this morning. Twenty-one blooms, many are buried in the foliage of sprouted bird seed, zinnias, and weeds. This will become my datura bed. I'll never collect all the seed before they fall to the ground. May as well let it be.



The nicotiana in the same area has come back nicely. I gave it a very hard pruning a few weeks ago. This one has green flowers and very little fragrance. I've been collecting the white and will add it to the edges of this spot next spring.



In January, I stuck cuttings of the brown fig from 6th street. This one was planted in my shrub island over a month ago. The leaves are 4-6" across. It won't fruit this year. I'm expecting it to be well established and should survive the winter.



It's 78 degrees, sunny, and very humid (96%). Thunderstorms are in the forecast this afternoon and evening. 40% chance of rain today. Tomorrow, the chance increases. Bring it on.

10:57am - 82 degrees. It's nasty out there. Inside, it's warm, but I'm determined to not use the a/c this summer. Too cool in the house and it kills me on the concrete at work. Too much time spent at the computer in the store is not good either.

I found a frog in the basement this morning. Toad, frog, I don't know the difference. But I gave it a new home in the perennial bed. Where I pulled a few plants, I spread out some trash bags, put some stones around the edge, and filled it with water. This used to be a tree stump. In less than 2 years, it's gone thanks to all the critters in the soil. The pool is temporary until I find an object that will hold water and work with the feel of the garden. I'm even considering hand forming some concrete in this hole, but that'll have to wait until fall. I just wanted to give the little guy (or gal) a place to sip water and cool off. Hopefully this one will hang around.

Surprises

I worked late yesterday and didn't get to spend any time wandering around the yard. This morning, I found several surprises.

Purple nicotiana. It's not scented like I was told, not even at night.


Morning Glory. knola black.


In the white bed, a purple petunia is blooming. It was supposed to be gomphrena, white.


Another wintersown petunia is blooming.


This one has purple stems.


Ditch lilies by the front steps are about to bloom.


Coreopsis "Early Sunrise". Blooms early and all summer if deadheaded. Tends to flop with rain.


I'm off today. As soon as it warms up to 60, I'll get dressed, mow the yard, do some edging, weed the potager a bit, and set up my outdoor propagation chamber. There will be pictures.

It's currently 58 on the window and 52 on the web. Another cup of coffee should be had. Been up for 3 hours. Can't sleep late even on my day off. I listen to NPR in the truck. It's not uncommon to find me mumbling to myself in the yard wondering where I left my trowel. It sucks getting older.

A day of rest

It's 64 and mostly cloudy. I took a coffee stroll through the yard this morning. Two cups. Lots of new things to discover.

The first picture of the day before the clouds rolled in.


A new petunia bloom. I really like this one.


A new poppy.


Nicotiana in the moongarden.


The direct sown garden with cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and butterfly host plans near the potager.


Beans, cukes, and corn.


Squash, cukes, beans, and who knows what else.


Cabbage is just starting to form heads.


The violets are taking over on the front slope. Periwinkle that I transplanted are doing fine, mostly.


In the pile of composting leaves, pill bugs are having a great time.


Down the street, the smell of honeysuckle and mock orange drifts through the perennial bed. I wish honeysuckle wasn't so invasive. I love the smell.




The perennial bed from a different angle.


Going to spend some time today potting up my daylily seedlings. Looks like they grew an inch or more overnight. I may try to pot up some more dogwoods too. Althea is ready to be potted. And I want to take some cuttings of a few more things for the cloner. It's still too early for the perennials, but petunias and other annuals should have solid growth on them for now.

New blooms

It's 72 and sunny. A small shower passed through some time during the night.

Wintersown Petunias are blooming. New colors.



Wintersown nicotiana is about to bloom. The first bloom opened and faded before I could get a photo.



Wintersown on September 11, 2008, this rudbeckia germinated and spent the winter in the hoophouse. It's the first to bloom even ahead of those that were planted last year while blooming.



This afternoon, the grass needs mowing and the house needs cleaning. More showers/storms in the forecast overnight. Off all weekend and planning to get the rest of my planting out done.