Herbaceous Plants!

is a term that stands for non-woody plants - annuals, biennials and perennials - not trees and shrubs with woody stems and branches.

Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium montanum
(Click on these words: This is a great site for information about this plant.)

I'm smack-dab in the middle of taking the Master Gardener Training/Class sponsored by the Iowa State University Extension Service. Last evening's 3-hour session centered upon the subject of Herbaceous Perennials. I was so excited! I've been reading and reading the text ... all about my (OUR) beloved subject of "Flowers!"

Herbaceous Plants

YOU post on them all the time, too!
Don't we love our garden plants and flowers?

I brought up the subject of these little greenhouses in class last night. There was a bit of interest. I don't anticipate owning a Real greenhouse, but most of the time this little endeavor works! And, for the moment, that's good enough for me! :-)

Anticipation...

The photo below illustrates the readying of our milk jug mini-greenhouses last January.

The first set of greenhouses - outdoors during the first week of January.

These were set outdoors in January, also... but this photo was dated March 6, 2010.

May 3, 2010 - on the front deck

from the bottom towards the top: Money Plant, Gaillardia 'Fanfare,' Blackberry Lily, Tennessee Cone Flower (I think) or Joe Pye Weed (I can't tell from here).

Below:
Ligularia

Other seedlings are in the backyard... this photo of the ligularia was taken about 1 1/2 months ago. It's looking even better now...

Last year's Tennessee Cone flower seedlings

are still in their nursery bed, but they bloomed profusely this summer!

Herbaceous Perennials! Gotta Love 'em! :-)

Happy Fall!

Aint Nobody Happy if Nasty's Aren't Happy!

But, I'm not complaining today!

These Nasturtiums have shown that they Really Prefer cooler weather. They started very well this past spring. However, once summer weather arrived, even though it wasn't nearly our traditional hot, dry summer, the nasturtiums began to yellow, die back, and generally look terrible. I was quite disheartened.

However, if you click here, you can see the difference between September 9 and today!
Amazing, don't you think?

Happy Days are Here Again! :-)

These 'Spitfire' nasturtiums were provided by Renee at Renee's Garden (click here) for the "Grow Project." Thanks, Renee!

Clicking on the logo below will take you to the Grow Project where you'll find the other participants.


Thanks Mr. Green Thumb! :-)

Tongue in Cheek - Akin to Blogging? GBMD

ou, Reader

by Billy Collins, poet and Poet Laureate of US 2001-2003
author of seven collections of poetry, including this volume -
The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems.


I wonder how you are going to feel
when you find out
that I wrote this instead of you,

that it was I who got up early
to sit in the kitchen
and mention with a pen

the rain-soaked windows,
the ivy wallpaper,
and the goldfish circling in its bowl.

Go ahead and turn aside,
bite your lip and tear out the page,
but, listen---it was just a matter of time

before one of us happened
to notice the unlit candles
and the clock humming on the wall.

Plus, nothing happened that morning---
a song on the radio,
a car whistling along the road outside---

and I was only thinking
about the shakers of salt and pepper
that were standing side by side on a place mat.

I wondered if they had become friends
after all these years
or if they were still strangers to one another

like you and I
who manage to be known and unknown
to each other at the same time---

me at this table with a bowl of pears,
you leaning in a doorway somewhere
near some blue hydrangeas, reading this.


Shady's note: Actually, I'm sitting at the computer and you may be enjoying your hydrangea... is it blue? Or is it like this below... my 'Pinky Winky' in its second year?

I know, I know.
I understand that the name is slightly silly... but the plant is not. :-)

Now visit Carolyn at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. She began this muse. Aren't you glad?
Have a great day!

Hypertufa

Photo taken this month.

Photo taken in June.
(woodland walk - click on photo below to see all three projects)

I'm needing to create just a few more projects!

Mostly for me.

But a couple for Christmas gifts.

This was created by inverting a large plastic squirrel baffel and laying the hypertufa mix over the top.

I just brought a 10x14" and a 6x8" box home from the grocery store. I'll use these as forms in creating a rectangular hypertufa container.

I have several children's plastic balls (8" diameter). I'll cut out a 3" hole in the top of each and fill them with the mix. I plan to cut a larger hole in one, fill it 3/4 full, add a small plastic pot and fill the ball (around the pot) with the mix. Later the pot will be pulled out, leaving a nice 3-4" deep hole in the center of the ball... for soil and a small plant.

Now, if you haven't yet heard of hypertufa, or if you had and you'd like a refresher - click the link below for some nice instructions.

Fine Gardening - link to making hypertufa

There are many other sites out there. There are also recipe variations. You might find more ideas, yourself!

Serendipity

“Self-sown flowers provide a lot of serendipity, which is one of the reasons people garden. When they come up, it's a delight.”

Renee Shepherd

Love these little self-sown impatiens!

Alert!

Be.

Two weeks ago, aster 'Alert' looked like this.

(Buddelia 'Adonis Blue' (a short cultivar), "Mattie" Phlox nearby)

I've never much enjoyed mums. Everyone has them (not a good reason),
they seem to be the yellows, browns, rusts of Fall (already prevalent)...

but check out Asters! :-)

'Alert'
Here's a website that has much information (there are many such sites).

If These Are Bees... They're Taking a Hit at Chez Shady!

I've been enamored by the number of butterflies seen everywhere, lately. In fact, as I stood looking out my kitchen window yesterday, I saw what I thought were a dozen or so Monarchs fluttering and landing in the Sunny Corner Bed.

So, out came the trusty camera. On went my scuffy garden shoes. And out the door I went.

Look what I found! A Monarch and a Red Spotted Purple (right?). Believe it or not, I didn't even notice the floating cadavers in the hummingbird feeder, so intent was I in capturing the butterflies on camera! (If you can stand the sight of the "floaters," click for a nice large image of each photo!)

Trying to catch them in action.

And attempting to get yet a better photo!

It wasn't until I had finished that I noticed the poor floaters. The butterflies had had enough of my hanging around and left. So I took the feeder down and went back to the house. I considered myself fortunate to have extra hummingbird food on hand in the refrigerator.


Back in the kitchen, as I was washing and refilling the hummingbird feeder, what should I notice . . . but a humongous spider hanging outside the window!

And he was struggling a bit with another one of those ... bees?

Great looking specimen, don't you think?

A "blue bird day!"

It seems these "bees" are having quite a time here.