Tuesday, May 31, 2016

End of May in the Garden

Clematis in Bloom
Some, but not all, of the clematis around the yawd.
By "kennel" door
 SE garage corner
 South fencerow
 1st bloom- West Gate
 2nd year-Big garden entranceway

The Big Garden
Sweet potato patch- Row 2
 Burgundy Pole Beans- Row 2
 Squash Cage & pepper plants- Row 4
 Row 3
 Blue Potato flowers
 View of Rows 1-3
 View of Rows 3-5
 Planted basil between tomato cages
Also planted zinnias & salvias in these gaps

Critters
Kiki with plants going to streetscaping
 Potato bug on potato leaf

Foodstuff
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Lamb's Quarter Pie (both from garden)
and roasted white beans
 Strawberry Freezer jam (from Holly's garden)
 Asparagus curry
 Sesame Tofu (broc from Scharf's)


Propagation
Cuttings: L to R: Catmint, Black & Blue Salvia, Clematis, 
Hydrangea, Sedum
 Milkweed seedlings
Fruits and Flowers
Unknown, but delicious Roses
along South fencerow

 Just ate a couple Black Raspberries today!

Hardy Kiwi vine

Currants

Poppy

Another Poppy


Garden Art and Junk

 Cultivator "flower"
 

The found headboard project
(w/Chuy Sanchez)




The vent whirligig and a beer to celebrate

That's all folks!




Natives in Bloom/Fruit

I would really like to "bioblitz" my yard- identify as many of all species and keep a record. I'd probably start with trees (the fewest) and work my way down to herbaceous plants (being the most). I'd also like to do other things- mammals to invertebrates. I suppose blogging is close enough for now. I'm posting twice today- once on natives and another on the garden.

Long-sepal Penstemon
Penstemon calycosus
 Grey's Sedge
Carex grayi
 Downy Wood Mint
Blephilia ciliata
 Serviceberry
Amelanchier (need to look into species)
 Scarlet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
 Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica
 Butterflyweed
Asclepias tuberosa
with Milkweed bug
 Indian pink
Spigelia marilandica
 Carolina Lupine
Thermopsis villosa
 Scarlet Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa
 Path Rush
Juncus tenius

Thursday, May 19, 2016

April Wildflower Hike- Salt Lick

It appears the nights of frost are behind us. We had two the week of April 15th (our last expected frost day) and this week's forecast appears to be days in the 70s and nights in the 50s. I was itching for a hike to see the spring wildflowers. We decided on Salt Lick Point Nature Preserve in Valmeyer, Monroe County, Illinois as it was close and we could spend some time in the yard and Sean could work on the bees.

So- what was in bloom on Saturday April 16th? These are the highlights, in order along the following route: parking lot, Salt Lick Trail to Newman Trail to Johnson Trail and back to parking lot.

Nesting sight of Swallows- Cliff Swallows?
Erigeron pulchellus- Robin's Plantain 
Packera pseudotomentosa
Camassia- Wild Hyacinth
White Blue-eyed grass- Sisyrinchium
Jack in the Pulpit
Yellow Violet
Spring Beauties
Fragile Fern
Wild Larkspur- Delphinium
Goldenseal
Hydrophyllum (canadense?) Waterleaf
Dutchman's Breeches
Waterleaf
Trillium, Geranium
False Anemone
Corydalis
Waterleaf
Buutercup species?
Bluebells
Johnson's Trail
Bloodroot

The bees were all over it.