Friday, May 30, 2008

I'm Covering Several "Bases!"

This is a "wordy" post...
It's a rainy day. I'm shivering in the cold downstairs in front of my computer,
in my jammies, with a cup of hot chai,
waiting to do the myriad of things that need to be done
before I leave town, again!
You may notice that I've included some Sunday Photos and my June 1st Muse!

Tomorrow morning, at 7:30 A.M., a group of 10 of us leave for Vancleave, MS. We will return home on Sunday, June 8. Between these two weekends, we will be working on a Katrina Relief project. At this point, we don't know exactly what our work will be. It depends upon the group that has been working this week, and what they accomplish. :-) YOU will get a full report when I return!

But this week....
Just One More Scoop!

I picked this up Tuesday morning.
Just enough for 3 or 4 wheelbarrow loads.
:-)

I was able to stay home ALL MORNING and until 2:00 or so, Wednesday!
I finished filling the bed I enlarged earlier...
(this is the Eastside center bed) and planted a few items there.
(The following photos were taken last evening
as dusk had planted itself firmly! I took the photos without a flash,
which meant re-takes were the norm. It's hard to stand so still! lol.)
Plus... do you see my unfinished project from last summer??? I forgot to finish painting the inside of one of the shed doors!!! Embarrassment!
Click on the photo. It won't get extremely large, but perhaps you'll see these items better!
In front of the white rock, is "Blue Mouse Ears" Hosta.
Behind it, "Bubble Gum" Pulmonaria/Lungwort is growing.
(Of course you can see my impatiens.)
On the right are Tricyrtis/toad lily. The marker is still outdoors.
There's also the "Pink Skyrocket" tiarella.
On the left of the tall "City Lights" hosta, is a Japanese Painted "Ghost" fern.
Can you see my 'Toad House' flower pot? :-)


I created this next bed yesterday (Thursday) morning. Yea!
(Well, it's almost finished.)
And I finally planted the last of those patient little plants.
From left to right and counterclockwise...
another tricyrtis, a little hosta, a big hosta, and Leatherwood fern, impatiens. :-)
All the tags are still outdoors and I haven't entered them in my map, yet.


Below is the reverse view of the Eastside center bed.
In the foreground, a fern-leaf bleeding heart,
brunnera, and two tall tricyrtis.
(The labels are still outdoors.)

And now,
"A Moonlight Sonata-Serenade"
through the "Woodland Gardens!"
:-)
You don't see the bench yet. I want to "weatherize it" first.
In the foreground is a bed of liriope (two varieties).
Toad Lily "Lightning Strikes", hostas... the hosta on the right is "Night Before Christmas."
Beyond that, can you see Heartleaf Brunnera and Ostrich Fern?
Perhaps you can see my "Watch Toad?" ;-)

Below is what you'd see on the left as you begin this walk.
"Gold Standard" hosta; my hellebore is still blooming! and a tiny one behind the tree.

As you pass the tree, you'll see that same tiny H on the left
and a new Hellebore "Brushstrokes" strain on the right.
Can you tell me what this hosta in the foreground is????
Then we have "Palace Purple" heuchera, another unnamed hosta (help!),
"Strike it Rich Gold" Heucherella,
and on the left, more unnamed hosta. (Humphf!)

Now... I'm very excited. Iowa Victory Gardener
told me about her Arums. Iowa Boy posted about his
some time ago... I planted mine two Falls ago.
Last year they were leaves (I have these in three places).
This year... my Arum Italica - at this site - decided to blossom!
I've watched it for three days. Yesterday afternoon, it opened.
Can you tell the blossom was reunited with its stem? Will it bear berries, now? You can see that the other plant also is beginning to bear a blossom. And, if you look carefully in the second little photo, you'll see a tiny white "thing" lying on the ground.
It was the Blossom for which I've been anxiously waiting!
Oh, well. :-(

Maybe a rabbit or a little "chipmunk?"


Now... since I'll be absent on both June 1st and Sunday, this is what's blooming and I'll be musing (amusing?) below.
Green Thumb Sunday's Photos
My Meadow Rue









"Thriller" Lady's Mantle and Pasque Flower after-blossoms









Columbine (Colorado's State Flower)










And Astilbe (unnamed). Can you help me?? Is this "Red Fanal?"
Not all astilbe has the dark red bordered leaves...








...sometimes when I plant bare-root items (astilbe, especially) they die back and I think it's permanent. In the case of a "load" of astilbe I ordered 3 Springs ago, when I thought they'd died, I pitched the tags. Oops!

and my June 1 Muse from
A Spring Poem from Bion
(last stanza)
by Eugene Field

"But, thrice welcome, kindly spring,
With the myriad gifts you bring!
Not too hot nor yet too cold,
Graciously your charms unfold---
Oh, your days are like the dreaming
Of those nights which love beseems,
And your nights have all the seeming
Of those days of golden dreams!
Heaven smiles down on earth, and then
Earth smiles up to Heaven again!"

I can't think of a better way to describe these beautiful, green Spring days! And how much I've been enjoying them.


Now. One last thing for you to ponder while I'm absent... what is THIS? ;-)


Looks kinda' Shady! ;-)








Join Green Thumb Sunday!
I've posted early.



and don't forget Garden Blogger's Muse Day by Sweet Home and Garden Chicago

11 comments:

Sweet Home and Garden Carolina said...

Why you shady lady, you ! What a wonderful posts covering all the bases : )

Loved the poem and it's one I haven't read before.

Thanks for helping out the Katrina victims in Mississippi. I heard one remark that touched me deeply. An old man said that " we didn't have anything before and now we've got next to nothing. " God bless.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Have a good trip, Shady! Your new beds are looking good. That Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' could be the picture next to the definition of "cute." It's amazing how the critters always attack the single new bud you've been waiting for. I've taken to dousing such things in critter repellent repeatedly. I'm not a Hosta expert, so I can't guess what your mystery Hostas are.

Shady Gardener said...

Carolyn, Thanks for your visit and your encouragement. :-)

MMD, I'm getting excited about going. Much packing to be done, yet!

Blue Mouse Ears IS Cute! I like Iowa Boy's "Mouse," too. (Did you see his post of a few days ago?) ;-)

Anonymous said...

I loved the poem. I'm amazed at all you've accomplished. It looks so inviting!

Helping the Katrina victims is a wonderful thing to do. I hope you return weary from well-doing, but peaceful from a job well done.

Is this a church group or volunteer organization? Or just a bunch of friends going down?

Bengbeng said...

once everything is complete, it is going to be a lovely place

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

My hearty thanks to you for helping out those Katrina survivors! Isn't it a shame that nearly 3 yrs later, such efforts are still so badly needed?

You've been busy! Things are looking absolutely fantastic out your way, and you must be having so much fun getting to plug in all sorts of new finds.

And congrats on the Arums! It's so exciting to see them bloom for the first time, and though we don't have these particular ones yet, we want to put some in in the fall. And what I learned from your photos is that the leaves look almost identical to our Dracunculus vulgaris or Dragon Arum, which has just sent out this year's bloom stalk! Should be blooming in a week or so, so stop by for progress reports. I'll be eager to see if you get those funky orange berry/seed thingies later in the summer, so keep us posted!

PS... no worries, but I'm a guy. :-)

Dirty Fingernails said...

WOW you have been busy!!! We are putting in beds. I see you are like me, gardening first, blogging later.

Unknown said...

Oh wow... what a beatiful shady garden! I love all of the plants you're showing, and the combinations... you have some nice stonework, too.

You know, whenever I visit your blog, I always think: "Man... if she thinks that everything grows better in the neighbor's yard, and hers looks this good... she must live next to a botanical garden!" :)

Hope you have a safe and productive trip...

Anonymous said...

Shady - What a delightfully long and informative post. Wonderful plant choices and so much space! I feel positively congested here, compared to your acreage. I'm still trying to find room for a few vegetables plants.

I hope all goes well in Mississippi - what a worthy effort from you and your group... Deb

Curmudgeon said...

Beautiful beds! Hope your trip was productive and fulfilling.
--Curmudgeon

Shady Gardener said...

byrningbuddy, Thank you for stopping by. I arrived home in just the shape you described. :-) This group was spearheaded by a couple of friends of mine who had joined a group last year. Several of us (at church) were very interested in going, so they organized us. Camp Hope at Vancleave, MS is run by the Methodist Church but would probably be open to having anyone contact them who'd be interested in helping!

bengbeng, Thank you. :-)

IVG, It is a shame, but it's total reality due to the fact that so many thousands were affected. There are many people who are unable to do things for themselves for a variety of reasons.

Dirty Fingernails - I'd assume most people work this way... or we'd be way behind in our work! ;-) Thanks for stopping by!

BSG-Kim, You are so very kind! I appreciate your comments. :-)

Thanks Deb. The flip side of having a lot of area to fill is that it takes a long time to do so, and to get it the way you'd like! (But that in itself is also pleasurable.) ;-)

WWW - Curmudgeon, Thanks! Yes, it was all that and more!