The Daylilies Are Coming! The Daylilies Are Coming!

(An apology to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...)

Listen my children and you shall hear, 

of the mid-day bloom of daylilies dear!

'Twas the 30th of June, in late afternoon,

taking my photos - none too soon...

Hemerocallis blossoms have just begun to dazzle and brighten... and a few are now blossoming.  Future blossoms will be featured in another post.

Rosey Returns

My Melinda

 Unnamed - Apricot daylily from Dad and Mom

 Stella Supreme

Unnamed - double peach

 unnamed yellow/gold from Dad and Mom

“A garden should make you feel you've entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”
― Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education 

 unnamed yellow daylily - Sunny Corner Bed - front yard,

surrounded by Veronica Speedwell

“Gardening is akin to writing stories. No experience could have taught me more about grief or flowers, about achieving survival by going, your fingers in the ground, the limit of physical exhaustion.” ― Eudora Welty

Purple d'Oro

backyard bed next to house

larger double daylily in center pond garden - backyard.  Lovely!

next to driveway and front of house... a little "flower collage"  :-)

“It didn’t occur to me that… that gardening, like music, could demand practice, patience, a willingness to make mistakes.”

― Amy Stewert 

You can perhaps tell I haven't been home in a few days... and that I truly need to be deadheading tomorrow morning (something to which I look forward!!!).  That being said, the mosquitoes are quite prevalent and hardy this year... so I will be "suiting up!"

Happy end-of-June gardening!  SG

Blue Mouse Ears

After surviving the past two summers' severe drought conditions, 

and my huge concern that my watering was Not Enough to carry all the plants

through to survival,

 

this little Blue Mouse Ears made it!

This month of June 2014 has been extra-rainy!

And 'most everything is enjoying the extra precipitation.

(Hopefully the ground moisture level eventually rises!)

I hope YOUR season is going well, and that you are able to be enjoying your gardens!

SG

Cicadas Arrived a Couple of Weeks Ago!

What is the purpose of a Cicada?  The nymphs crawl from holes in the ground, obviously where they have over-wintered.  Shedding its skin, the Cicada leaves its outgrown shell hanging...

The adult emerges...

 

They begin singing in the early morning hours... and chorus all day.

(Calling a mate?)

I've not done a bit of reading about them...

What do YOU know??

SG

June Is Bustin' Out All Oh-Oh-ver!

Happy June!!

 A peak at part of the front gardens...

Background Iris:  Iris Aurovariegata - Variegated Sweet Iris and light yellow, species unknown. Heuchera - coral bells, blooming is 'Ruby Bells' and to the right is Heuchera 'Dolche Key Lime Pie'

Foreground:  Bearded Iris, species unknown

Bearded Iris, species unknown with Heuchera 'Dolche Key Lime Pie' at foreground right and Campanula glomerata 'Supurba' (Clustered Bellflower -ready to bloom soon) at far right.

Geum triflorum - Prairie Smoke - a great grandchild of a true prairie plant!

 

 Sunny Corner Bed:  Siberian Iris 'Ruffled Velvet' in foreground, pink dianthus at left behind hanging planter (species unknown), Salvia 'May Night' in background and yellow bearded iris (species unknown) behind.

Dianthus 'Firewatch' - located in front bed

Clematis - 'Nellie Moser' - located in raised garden beds

Spiderwort - thanks to the birds! - located in the front garden bed

Again!  Happy June 1st!  Enjoy this month... there will be many changes!!  :-)
SG

Flower Chorus

by Ralph Waldo Emerson    

O such a commotion under the ground,

When March called, "Ho, there! ho!"

Such spreading of rootlets far and wide,

Such whisperings to and fro!

 

(Now, before we finish this poem and post, you probably noticed that since we are no longer in March, but in the next "M" month... we'll alter the poem in our minds and substitute "May!")

          :-)          

Jacks-in-the-Pulpit!

This first one is a newbie in my "Way Back" yard!!  I threw out a few seeds last Fall.  :-)
The one on the right is Arisaema sikokianum - Japanese in origin - a gift from former blogger "Iowa Boy."

 "Are you ready?" the Snowdrop asked,

" 'Tis time to start, you know."

"Almost, my dear!" the Scilla replied,

"I'll follow as soon as you go."

 This year's photo of my most interesting trillium.  Follow the link to see last year's post on this anomoly!  This year there are two "buddies" with three leaves and three petals each, and there's a baby on the ground.  :-)

 Then "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came

Of laughter sweet and low

From millions of flowers under the ground,

Yes, millions beginning to grow.

 Epimedium 'Lilofee'

 "I'll promise my blossoms," the Crocus said,

"When I hear the blackbird sing,"

And streaight thereafter Narcissus cried,

"My silver and fold I'll bring."

                                                                        Hellebores

 "And ere they are dulled," another spoke,

"The Hyacinth bells shall ring."

But the Violet only murmured, "I'm here,"

And sweet grew the air of spring.

Bleeding Heart

                  White Bleeding Heart                                 Fern Leaf Bleeding Heart

 Then "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came

Of laughter sweet and low,

From millions of flowers under the ground,

Yes, millions beginning to grow,

 

(Renegade Allium and hybrid Columbine that have escaped into the walkway 

from their designated spaces!)

And well may they cheerily laugh "Ha! ha!" 

In laughter sweet and low,

The millions of flowers under the ground,

Yes, millions beginning to grow.

Who Knows What Manner of Leaves Lie in the Heart of the Raised Beds?

To see a nice slide show of the photos, click on the first one (after you've read the post, of course!) ;-)

Or in any other sites around the yard, such as next to the house south of the front deck...

And the front of the south side of the front deck...

Or, looking north a bit further, you can see the rest of this front bed that has been unraked, contrasting with the parts that were raked (today!).

It's Spring!  It's Spring!  That Heady time of year, when tons of wicked little leaves (and rakes) suddenly "appear!" 

These  leaves await my rake.  They are along the southeast side of the house...

 


This side of the driveway looks really great!!  Raked the lawn and beds Friday!

So far, I've only raked one tarp-load of leaves today... a few minutes ago, dark clouds and thunder rolled in.  It rained hard (!) for a minute or two...

But now it's stopped, and I'm ready to head back outdoors to rake another load!  The worst thing about raking wet leaves is the fact that, piled on a tarp, the load is much heavier than dry leaves... and harder to pull any distance at all...

Not complaining, much.  It looks so NICE and CLEAN and I am so happy when I get an area raked!

Sunny Corner bed, raked yesterday

Now, with regard to Camelot:  I haven't seen the movie in many, many years.  But we haven't yet reached the month of May, and I have a LOT of raking to do before I can attempt any other thing!  (Except to enjoy the Spring blossoms that appear at this time of year!)

 Hellebore (Royal Heritage)

Siberian Squill

Can you spot a few of the daffodils I planted a couple of years ago... in the "way back?"  (I hope to plant a lot more this coming Fall!!!)

Getting ready for  Virginia Bluebells!

Happy Spring!  Happy Spring Gardening to you, my blogging friends!!
Shady Gardener... though, until the leaves appear on our deciduous Oak trees, I'm really feeling Sunny!  :-)