The Birds and the Bees.

The Goldfinches have arrived. I've seen a couple pairs hovering around the birdfeeder the past few days. They aren't content with the seed I've given them. They're ripping apart the rudbeckia blooms too. Notice the petals on the ground.



They attacked the poppy seed pods near the mailbox. I pulled those plants yesterday to collect about a 1/4 cup of poppy seeds. Not all are ripe, but I should have enough to make a nice display next spring. They will be sown in the fall.



The bees are downright dizzy. The purple blooming veronica by the front walk is always a favorite.



The dusty miller I planted last fall attracts all sorts.



They call it bee balm for a reason.



It must be June. Suicide is painless. Keep eating those Four O'clocks.



The butterflies will be here soon. We're ready.



It's 64 degrees. The high today will be in the low to mid 90s. No chance of rain.

Friday.

A few things blooming in the yard today.

Anise hyssop "Golden Jubilee"



Rudbeckia "Cherry Brandy"



A daylily from one of my customers. She brought it to me last year in exchange for a hardy hibiscus.



White Swan and Icicles.



Echinacea and Shastas.



Castor beans near the swing. These plants provide a quick, temporary summer screen. They grow to 10' or taller. Frost kills these plants in my zone. They outgrow the poke weed.





It's 72 degrees and hazy. The high today should reach the upper 80s. Chance of afternoon rain, 30%.

Burgundy

So it's not the color of passion, but it appears in various plants around the yard, usually in the form of foliage. There's also purple and pink.

Veronica spicata "Red Fox" with perilla.



Purple heart (or purple queen).



Etoile Violette clematis on the perennial bed arbor.



More bloody dock.



Thundercloud Plum.



Castor Bean.



Agastache "Golden Jubilee" and Perilla.



A sea of self sown Amaranthus and Crabgrass. Pink bee balm will bloom later in the summer.



Camellia sasanqua. This was the large pink flowering camellia that I cut down in the summer of 2008 to provide the backyard with more sunlight. It was probably 20' tall.



It's 63 degrees. The high today will reach the low 80s. No rain, plenty of sun.

More blooms and learning.

Over the weekend and through the afternoon Monday, we had a lot of wind. The Dame's Rocket didn't fare too well given its height. Next year, I'll cut it back before it blooms to make it bush out more and keep it from growing so tall.



I haven't had a chance yet to mow the yard either. I had hoped to do it last night, but it was sprinkling rain when I got home from work. The clouds looked as though it would storm at any moment. By the time it was dark, the clouds were gone and the nearly full moon was shining through the window. The white clover has received a reprieve. With rain coming today around 2pm and all afternoon, the mowing will have to wait until another day.



Clearance purchased Veronica is starting to bloom. The white has buds, but no color yet. Those plants are larger than the dark purple.



Wine & Roses weigela. The foliage isn't as dark as it should be. There isn't a place I can move it to with enough sun to turn it nearly black. The blooms are more pink than red too. Same as with the ones we have in the store.



Pyracantha is blooming. The bees are loving these plants. I have 6 or 7 of them scattered around the gully and one behind the upper meadow. They'll grow to about 12' tall. Mojave is the variety.



The sweet Williams I planted out last spring from wintersown seed are starting to bloom. They've got a nice fragrance. Other blooms are dark pink. I like the red.



Blue girl. Hybrid Tea Rose. Very fragrant. Silver to pale lavender in color.



It's 52 degrees. The high today will reach the upper 60s. Rain will be moving in this afternoon. There could be thunderstorms. I know the tomatoes will enjoy the rain.

Contemplating Purple, Pink, and White

There's the root mass of an ancient crape myrtle in the backyard. I cut it to the ground shortly after moving in. It blooms pink, the color of bubble gum. It's the starting point for the Crape Myrtle bed. Last year's growth is now about 6' tall. Powdery Mildew attacks it every summer. Now that the oak tree is down, the increased sunlight should help.



In this bed, I have echinacea, both purple and white, veronica, purple and white, Russian sage, and a packet of cosmos seeds that will be sown in late April, pink and white. Along the back edge of the perennial bed, there are altheas, or Rose of Sharon, moved here from the front of a house in Winston-Salem several years ago. They'll be used to form an edge along the top of the broken concrete retaining wall at the gully. They bloom purple and white.



To make way for these shrubs, which need more light than I have allowed them in the perennial bed, I need to move my Snowball viburnum. Maybe that will be done today. Maybe tomorrow. I'm still trying to find a suitable location.



It's sunny and 30 degrees. We might reach 60 today.

12:04pm - I've been to Carla's to unload the stone she purchased last night. It was on the back of the truck. Then I went to the store to pick up the stone she gave me from the leftovers. It was another $10 deal for some edgers that were used in the store last summer. They don't match the house exactly, but the red will be fine of what I intend to use them for this year. Tomorrow, she'll come over in the morning to help me set them where I want them.

I also moved the Rose of Sharon shrubs.



The snowball viburnum found a new home along the edge of the woods near where I hang my hammock in the spring. It'll do for now. I also moved two pyracantha to the impromptu path along the dead oak tree trunk. A few years, they should fill in and block the rotting carcass. I had already moved the vitex to behind the swing.

It's 48 degrees. The tomato seedlings are getting their first taste of the outdoors. I've got them in the driveway, shaded by the truck. There's a light breeze which should help harden them off a bit. They've gotten leggy in their enclosed containers. I'm hoping to pot up the four Marseilles fig cuttings today. Maybe after I get back from the mountain.

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.