Wild Kingdom
I went out to water the garden at lunch today instead of going out somewhere and spending money. We need cat food, we need birdseed. We need many things and that money will get spent eventually, but I felt guilty today about doing it. So, I did what I needed to anyway and watered.
I realized that I (or we) don't spend nearly enough time in the garden as we should. Part of it for me is the lack of privacy currently. Things are in the works to resolve that, but we are at the whim and speed of nature in those cases. I can't make my evergreen wall of yews grow any faster, though they are doing quite well. The holly bushes are another story. If they continue to look as sickly and scraggly next Spring I think we need to just dig them up and replace them with something else. Perhaps green giant arborvitae or hemlock.
We can see now another reason why I don't enjoy the garden like I should. Because currently I can only see what needs to be done. I can't just enjoy what is there. At least at lunchtime there tends to be a bit of privacy though, as the people on the corner are usually at work and the only one on the other side during the day is one of her crazy men that likes to burn things.
The bushes by the road seem to be settling in okay. I am seeing a vision of what things will eventually look like up there. Even though it was all random happenstance that we planted everything we did (mostly based on what was on sale), I always saw in my mind the future of it, if everything grew well. I think the variety of color and evergreen versus deciduous bushes is all going to work out.
An interesting note, we have red and a yellow twig dogwood up there. The yellow twig is now completely leafless thanks to the dogwood sawfly caterpillars that were all over it. I find this interesting because to me it indicates this species was already in the area before we planted this first dogwood and was ready and willing to make itself at home here. I planted a second yellow twig Sunday about 12 feet from that one, and we have a third in front of the yew hedge that is doing quite well. Oddly, the damage on the red twig is minimal.
Something like that makes me feel good, even if the caterpillars did literally decimate every single leaf on the bush. It means that nature is finding its home here. All we need do is plant the right natives for them. The shrub will likely recover next year, so it is fine. Though I am sad we won't get to see the fall color on it.
I desperately want to start working again on that area. There's so much more mulch to get in place up there. And I have started planting perennials up there in the form of a giant catmint plant that I got from my mother's house last year, that she got from me some 12 years ago or so when I moved out of Boystown. The plant is massive and I am hoping it takes to its new home okay. It was in almost total shade at my mom's and survived. It was in full sun under our flag pole for a year. Now it is in morning sun up by the road until about 1:00 PM.
When I was watering the vegetable garden I was surprised to see a tree frog tucked into the leaves of one of the Sparrow's cabbages. I hadn't seen any all season yet (I don't think) and we had oddly just watched videos last night about making "Frog Hotels" out of PVC pipe. Something apparently popular in Australia. Little moments like that are a true joy to me and the reason why I started thinking about enjoying the garden more.
I also so bumblebees around several of the flowers we'd planted and it made me feel good again that we are providing something for these creatures. When we moved in the only flowers she had were some asiatic lilies that barely bloomed and some daylilies that didn't bloom at all.
I walked to the bottom of the hill where things are really becoming a success. We have butterfly weed, ironweed and a few yet unidentified plants that have spread on their own without my doing as they have popped up in areas that I was mowing last year. The reason I couldn't mow the spots this year was because of the oak tree that fell that's still laying on the ground down there. I do think some of the seed from the many packets I threw down there two or three years ago have finally matured into viable plants. The ironweed being one of those success stories.
Last year I planted several cup plants, and those have reached a height of about 4 feet and are flowering this year. The one I had at my last house, in dryer conditions, was over 6 feet the second year. These should love the wet soil down there. Some of the other stuff I planted did not seem to survive from last year. The plants I got at the arboretum plant sale this year seem to be doing okay.
There are also a few common milkweed sprouting up, I am sure they must be from seeds I threw down there. A ton of swamp milkweed dotted about both from plants we bought and those plants spreading their own seeds. And some black-eyed Susan from my mom's is blooming now. This was another area I had a vision for that seems to be coming together. Previously it was just grass all the way up to the slough with its reeds making a wall along the perimeter. Now I've given the area real purpose. With the vigor of native plants it will only be a few short years before the area is alive with flowers. All the more reason for us to consider putting in a deck off the hill to enjoy it once the house is paid off. And the more moisture tolerant plants may well seed into the slew creating an even more diverse environment.
I was able to enjoy things out there today in spite of seeing the laundry list in my head and the actual areas in person where I know work needs to be done. When do we find the time? I do not know.
I would like to get the mulch pile dealt with before fall. Though I don't know how much longer those turtle eggs need to incubate in there. And those damn yellow jackets are still living in that hive, even though it is exposed now. The nature I love also complicates things.
I've commented already I think on the sheer numbers of birds at the feeders this season. Yesterday blackbirds started showing up, grackles, cowbirds and the return of many redwing blackbirds. There was a huge flock of them feasting at the end of the afternoon yesterday. No sign of the turkeys though since last week.
I realized that I (or we) don't spend nearly enough time in the garden as we should. Part of it for me is the lack of privacy currently. Things are in the works to resolve that, but we are at the whim and speed of nature in those cases. I can't make my evergreen wall of yews grow any faster, though they are doing quite well. The holly bushes are another story. If they continue to look as sickly and scraggly next Spring I think we need to just dig them up and replace them with something else. Perhaps green giant arborvitae or hemlock.
We can see now another reason why I don't enjoy the garden like I should. Because currently I can only see what needs to be done. I can't just enjoy what is there. At least at lunchtime there tends to be a bit of privacy though, as the people on the corner are usually at work and the only one on the other side during the day is one of her crazy men that likes to burn things.
The bushes by the road seem to be settling in okay. I am seeing a vision of what things will eventually look like up there. Even though it was all random happenstance that we planted everything we did (mostly based on what was on sale), I always saw in my mind the future of it, if everything grew well. I think the variety of color and evergreen versus deciduous bushes is all going to work out.
An interesting note, we have red and a yellow twig dogwood up there. The yellow twig is now completely leafless thanks to the dogwood sawfly caterpillars that were all over it. I find this interesting because to me it indicates this species was already in the area before we planted this first dogwood and was ready and willing to make itself at home here. I planted a second yellow twig Sunday about 12 feet from that one, and we have a third in front of the yew hedge that is doing quite well. Oddly, the damage on the red twig is minimal.
Something like that makes me feel good, even if the caterpillars did literally decimate every single leaf on the bush. It means that nature is finding its home here. All we need do is plant the right natives for them. The shrub will likely recover next year, so it is fine. Though I am sad we won't get to see the fall color on it.
I desperately want to start working again on that area. There's so much more mulch to get in place up there. And I have started planting perennials up there in the form of a giant catmint plant that I got from my mother's house last year, that she got from me some 12 years ago or so when I moved out of Boystown. The plant is massive and I am hoping it takes to its new home okay. It was in almost total shade at my mom's and survived. It was in full sun under our flag pole for a year. Now it is in morning sun up by the road until about 1:00 PM.
When I was watering the vegetable garden I was surprised to see a tree frog tucked into the leaves of one of the Sparrow's cabbages. I hadn't seen any all season yet (I don't think) and we had oddly just watched videos last night about making "Frog Hotels" out of PVC pipe. Something apparently popular in Australia. Little moments like that are a true joy to me and the reason why I started thinking about enjoying the garden more.
I also so bumblebees around several of the flowers we'd planted and it made me feel good again that we are providing something for these creatures. When we moved in the only flowers she had were some asiatic lilies that barely bloomed and some daylilies that didn't bloom at all.
I walked to the bottom of the hill where things are really becoming a success. We have butterfly weed, ironweed and a few yet unidentified plants that have spread on their own without my doing as they have popped up in areas that I was mowing last year. The reason I couldn't mow the spots this year was because of the oak tree that fell that's still laying on the ground down there. I do think some of the seed from the many packets I threw down there two or three years ago have finally matured into viable plants. The ironweed being one of those success stories.
Last year I planted several cup plants, and those have reached a height of about 4 feet and are flowering this year. The one I had at my last house, in dryer conditions, was over 6 feet the second year. These should love the wet soil down there. Some of the other stuff I planted did not seem to survive from last year. The plants I got at the arboretum plant sale this year seem to be doing okay.
There are also a few common milkweed sprouting up, I am sure they must be from seeds I threw down there. A ton of swamp milkweed dotted about both from plants we bought and those plants spreading their own seeds. And some black-eyed Susan from my mom's is blooming now. This was another area I had a vision for that seems to be coming together. Previously it was just grass all the way up to the slough with its reeds making a wall along the perimeter. Now I've given the area real purpose. With the vigor of native plants it will only be a few short years before the area is alive with flowers. All the more reason for us to consider putting in a deck off the hill to enjoy it once the house is paid off. And the more moisture tolerant plants may well seed into the slew creating an even more diverse environment.
I was able to enjoy things out there today in spite of seeing the laundry list in my head and the actual areas in person where I know work needs to be done. When do we find the time? I do not know.
I would like to get the mulch pile dealt with before fall. Though I don't know how much longer those turtle eggs need to incubate in there. And those damn yellow jackets are still living in that hive, even though it is exposed now. The nature I love also complicates things.
I've commented already I think on the sheer numbers of birds at the feeders this season. Yesterday blackbirds started showing up, grackles, cowbirds and the return of many redwing blackbirds. There was a huge flock of them feasting at the end of the afternoon yesterday. No sign of the turkeys though since last week.