My Wildflower Garden May 23, 2015

 Above and below, this is wild bee balm just beginning to turn lavender.  It doesn't get dark purple like domesticated varieties, but it is quite pretty.  And it is a good reseeder.

Above, I threw bunches of Ox Eye daisy seed heads into the wild garden hoping I would get some new plants.  Ox Eyes are perennials, so they would be a good addition to the garden.  This year I had some verbena bonariensis spring up as well as some Laura Bush Petunias, poppies, wild carrot, phlox, and blue bonnets.  It will take some time, but it will be very charming some day,

Old Fashioned Leek Flowers May 23, 2015

I dug up these leeks from the yard on Nixon Lake Road.  They pop up every winter around the same time as the paper whites.  They bloom in May.  And then they go dormant until winter again.  They are good multipliers.  And look at these fascinating flower heads.  I planted the bulbs in three beds in the Rose Garden.  Super cool plants.

Crinum Powellii Roseum May 23, 2015

My sister gave me these crinums.  Good multipliers. I have several varieties in addition to this one - procerum splendens, milk and wine, and Ellen Bosanquet.

I wish I had planted them in the middle of the border rather than the bac of the border, but too late now.  Crinums like to be very deep, and they will claw their way down to the depth they like if they are not planted at the right depth originally.  Very hard to dig them up and move them.

China Chiffon Althea May 23, 2015

I have a couple of double altheas and a couple of singles.  This althea, which I just planted a few weeks ago, is a semi double, and it will grow quite large.  I absolutely love it.  So pretty.  I planted this one in the Long Border. The weather has really cooperated so far by preventing my new plantings from drying out.  We have had an incredible amount of rain in April and May.  In fact, we are already over our yearly average.  Bring it on.  

Weekend at the Farm May 15 - 17, 2015

 

These are photos of my saturated Star Garden.  It has rained for two months.  

• Arrived Friday afternoon.  Didn't do much, just looked around making mental notes of what I want to do Saturday and Sunday.  There are ripe plums on the trees, I need to pick them this weekend.  Verry vines are loaded.  The grape vines are loaded with tiny berries.  They are much smaller than the mustang grapes growing wild on the property.  Lots of big green tomatoes in the Vegetable Garden (please, squirrels and racoons, let me have a few this year) .
• Saturday morning I picked squash blossoms and filled them with ricotta for later.  Picked a few yellow squash as well that we will have for dinner tonight.
• Spent most of the morning cutting back all the floppy Ox Eye daisy stems.  They have already thrown seed everywhere and tiny little Ox Eyes are sprouting all over the paths.  I filled about 10 bucket-fulls and threw them in the wild border next to the Rose Garden.  That's a good place for them.  Maybe I can get a good stand of them started in there.  I'm still not finished with that job, but I got a good start on it.
• Picked plums while Bert held the ladder.  I have a large bowl of them.
• Picked blackberries.  I have a really big bowl of them.
• Sunday morning I picked squash blossoms and asparagus.  Stuffed the squash blossoms with ricotta and put them in the fridge for later.  There were lots of asparagus spears, plenty for dinner.
• Started right in cutting back the Ox Eyes in the Rose Garden and in a few spots left in the Star Garden. The rain held me off, so I went in the house.
• Made blackberry jelly with the some preserve jars I bought on my way to the farm..
• Weeded, weeded, weeded.  Laid down some mulch that I bought when I purchased the canning jars.   Need more mulch!
• Sowed some pink zinnias in the Star Garden.
• Went back to the Rose Garden and worked in there for about three hours.  Got most of the Ox Eyes cut back.
• The wisteria was growing into the oak trees nearby.  Bert blasted the vines with the shotgun.  Problem solved.  He turned to me, deadpan and said, "You know you're a redneck when you trim your wisteria with a shot gun."  That was a giggle.
• After dinner we sat on the porch, drank wine and watched the lightening bugs. 

The Rose Garden May 8, 2015

 Above, Cadenza rose.  Below, Cadenza, the Noisettes blooming in the background, Ox Eye Dausies, irises, black eyed Susans, and Moss Verbena.

Graham Thomas May 8, 2015

 This is Graham Thomas rose.  In the photo below is Caldwell Pink (a "found" rose) in the same bed with it as well as some old fashioned leeks with golf ball sized flower heads just about to open.

 Below, Caldwell Pink, covered with flowers.