A little bit of everything out in the garden

Things have been quiet on the garden front over the past week or so. It almost feels like the "calm before the blooming storm" as many of the perennials (coneflowers, daylillies, russian sage, phlox) are about to put on their show but they're not quite there yet.

Still, the garden is always developing and there are new surprises even if it they aren't obvious to the naked eye. This includes all of the new visitors to and fro; some wanted and others ... not so much. Here's what's been going down in my garden 'hood of late:

One shrub I have virtually ignored since planting it about three years ago is Hydrangea 'Lady in Red'. I've never witnessed the supposed red fall foliage and haven't had more than 2 blooms total to date. In fact, it has been difficult to tell the difference between it and 'Endless Summer'. Well, this year it has shown some serious promise with multiple blooms and a more interesting foliage color:

Every time I am outside with the camera, I snap off at least one photo of my Hypericum 'Albury Purple'. I can't get enough of the foliage color along with the small yellow flowers. It is now loaded with berries so it stands out like no other shrub in my front bed:

Speaking of berries, my Viburnum 'Shoshoni' is also loaded with berries and the birds swarm to them like mad. I'd love to say that I successfully planted another Viburnum cultivar nearby in order to get these berries, but truth is, I have no idea why they have formed now after having nothing the first few years:

A bird photographer I am not. But I don't let that stop me. I stalk them whenever I can and then try to figure out what I am actually taking photos of. My wife bought me a new book on New Jersey birds so watch out, a new obsession is in it's infant stage:

I f'n hate bunnies: 

But really dig bees, especially when they are practicing their gymnastic moves:

I tend to lean towards the OCD side when it comes to my garden. I would love to say I like things a bit wild but that would be a lie. Reseeding has rarely appealed to me as it brings up nightmares of pulling tiny seedlings out all spring and summer. I am happy to report, however, that my purple coneflowers have re-seeded like mad this year and they have filled in beautifully - "controlled chaos" works for me:  

I received this Coreopsis 'Star Cluster' in the mail earlier this spring from Skagit Gardens and the first blooms have emerged. What do you think? I'm digging it big time: 

Thanks for reading!

John

Wordless Wednesday - taking advantage of the sun's light

Soon enough ...

This rarely visited gem:

Will be inundated with these:

This nondescript plant:

Will create many of these:

These soon to burst buds:

Will open to expose a plethora of these:

A hint of blue:

Will become overwhelming blue:

Wordless Wednesday

Helenium autumnale (Sneezeweed)

I have an unfinished garden bed on the side of my home that is rarely ever visited by anyone other than myself and maybe some hungry deer. I have vowed to finish it and have a ton of paper scraps of rough sketches to prove it.

For now though, it serves as the minor league stadium for the plants that are "stored" there until they prove themselves worthy of a promotion to the "big leagues". This bed gets slammed with heavy winds, pounded by afternoon sun and visited frequently by the critters. Like my boy Frank Sinatra would sing "If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere." or something like that. Throughout the spring and summer, I'll move the survivors from this hidden bed to more prominent locations.

This past weekend, all of the Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed) were rewarded for their awesomeness and moved to the back bed surrounding my deck:

This was an easy decision as I officially gave up on all of my Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan). Their foliage looked awful by mid-summer, they re-seeded uncontrollably each year and truthfully, I was just bored with them.

So out with the old and in with the new ... and more interesting:  

I've only had the sneezeweed plants for a little over a year, but they bloomed magically only after being in the ground for a few months:

The only problem I had was that they got too tall by August and began to flop. If you look closely in the photo below, you can see my poor attempt at trying to stake this plant:  

The flopping issue can be controlled by simply cutting the plants back now (mid June) so they reach a height closer to 3 feet rather than their maximum of 4 or 5 feet. I decided I would test this cutting back theory so I kept one as is when I transplanted it:  

And cut back another by about 12":

I'll be sure to monitor this situation as the season progresses and I'm crossing my fingers that the yellow leaves in the two photos above are simply transplant shock. Like a dope, I moved these in the middle of a hot and dry Summer day. 

Before I go, here are some quick facts about Helenium (sneezeweed):

• Zone 3-8
• Prefers full sun
• Blooms late Summer into Fall
• A US native found in moist soil along streams/ponds and in moist meadows
• Reaches 3-5 feet tall with a spread of 2-3 feet
• The origin of the name sneezeweed - dried leaves of this plant were used to make "snuff" which causes sneezing which in turn fights off evil spirits
• The origin of the name Helenium - believed to refer to Helen of Troy and the fact that this plant would flower wherever her tears would hit the ground

Grats!

John            

The kids are alright

This past weekend was all about the kids, although I did manage to sneak in some gardening related work on the sly. I love my kids to death and we had a phenomenal time, but it will be a bit of a relief getting back to work today.

Friday was my daughter's kindergarten graduation and that little woman melted my heart yet again:

Don't ask me how, but the stars aligned and for one brief second, it looked like brother and sister actually enjoyed each other's company:

Saturday was all about my daughter's dance recital which is maybe just a step below the Academy Awards. Any photography or videotaping within the same zip code could land you in the slammer for 10-15 years. I'm talking hardcore. But I must admit, the show was amazing and my daughter was stellar. What I loved more than anything was that she is still young enough to wave at us during the performance. A memory we'll never forget.

After a busy Friday and Saturday, we all agreed to a "do nothing" Sunday where we could sleep in and then chill outside all day. A true summer's "hang".

As soon as we set foot outside, the kids noticed that there were little sticks all over the deck. Sure enough, we found a bird's nest under the umbrella. This coincided well with my new Backyard Birds of NJ book as the kids immediately had an interest in what birds we see flying all over the yard. I love those moments:

Thinking I had them in a vulnerable state of nature lovin, I tried to encourage them to check out some bees with me. That backfired real bad as they ran away in terror and insisted it was slip n slide time:  

So on to the slip n slide we went. It was hilarious to watch them fail miserably at first but then they got the hang of it with the occasional wipe out:

The following photos were not staged (pinkie swear). I caught my son eating lettuce right out of the container. That's my boy:

As the kids became more consumed with the slip n slide, I managed to sneak out my trusty wheelbarrow so I could get down in the dirt:

My ever observant daughter immediately noticed and I was chastised for about five minutes: 

I promised to just spend a few minutes moving some Helenium to a better location so I could at least satisfy my addiction. I also pretended to take their photos which distracted them from the photos I was really taking:  

Oh yeah, I also sneakily played musical chairs with my containers trying to find the right combinations and locations. I find this task maddening, especially someone like me who has so many OCD tendencies:

Well, time to get back to the grind today. And damn I miss the little ones ... just a bit.

John