Rainy Days and Sundays ...

I had grand aspirations for today...

April was a month of cold, windy, cloudy weekend weather;  there was not much garden "maintenance" accomplished.  Now there is a pressing need for composting and weeding.  With recent rains and soft ground, pulling weeds should go smoothly.  Well, it would have ... with a forecast of partly sunny, 70 and only a 20% chance of rain today.

Then ... the thunder rolled ...

(From the creative minds at Microsoft Clip Art)

Outdoor plans were cancelled when it became evident this was really going to be our weather for the day.  I love thunderstorms, the smell of impending rain and damp earth.  The rains, with extra Nitrogen from lightning, have transformed all the vegetation outside to a saturated emerald green.

Besides garden maintenance, I had hoped to get some plants in the ground.  After waiting to get past the 'last frost/freeze' date (almost) for Zone 5A - I have had some impulse buys.  I bought a new Hosta (Albo-Marginata Plantain Lily), to fill in a gap in the front garden.  Last weekend, with the intent of window shopping, I found a "Banana Cream" Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum superbum) with my name on it.  (Checking that off the 2012 Wishlist).

"Banana Cream" Shasta Daisy (Leacanthemum superbum)

This past Friday, the local Boy Scouts were having their annual plant sale.  I was able to pick up two more Anemones (sylvestris), a "Turkish Delight" Sedum (ussuriense) and a perennial Pink Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) that could grow up to 8-10 ft tall!  Yesterday, when picking up some compost to plant, I found "Golden Globe" Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Globosa Aurea').   My intent is to pair them with the "Royal Purple" Smoke Bush in the front.  I think the chartreuse-tipped evergreen will contrast beautifully with the dark plumb leaves of the Smoke Bush.

"Golden Globe" Arborvitae - soaking up the rain today
(see the Royal Purple Smoke Bush in the top left corner - a match made in Heaven?!)

Pampas Grass, Anemone and Sedum - waiting for a new garden home

Between rain bursts, I did make a quick trip around the gardens.  Here are a few quick shots...

Sweet Autumn Clematis
(Amazing how delicate leaf tendrils hook a 'death grip' on the trellis; sculptured elegance/steel resolve)

Walk around the garden - 5/6/12
(White Asiatic Lily, Hollyhock, "Fire & Ice" Hosta, Weigela & Cheddar Pinks,
Sedum, Pink Double Knockout Rose bud, Candy Tuft, 'Shade Garden')

And last but not least, the pair of "Wine & Roses" Weigela I planted last year are heavy with blooms.  They are absolutely stunning and I highly recommend it if you like burgundy as a plant color-option in your garden.

"Wine & Roses" Weigela - a new fave in 2011

I also wanted to mention that I have had the good fortune to have two fellow bloggers nominate me for "Versatile Blogger".  Julia at Polka Dot Galoshes and Petro at The Seaman Mom have wonderful blogs you should check out.  My next post will feature the "Versatile Blogger" meme.  I look forward to putting it together!

Until then, pacem, amicis ...

©  All content and photography by Shyrlene Foster @ the Bunnies Buffet (unless noted)

Up Close and Personal: Views of Spring

The excitement of unseasonable temperatures is over - as is the warm weather.  It might have been "Summer in March", but now -- it is definitely "Spring in April".  It's windy and "brisk", but that's Ok.  Plants continue to emerge from the ground in spite of cooler temps and dandelions are still thriving.

Blooms are budding on the variegated Jacob's Ladder
(a new addition in 2011)

Spring is a great time to get an 'up close and personal' view of the garden(s).  With plants just at 'ankle' height, at least in Zone 5, you have to really get down to a grass roots level - usually on your knees or in a 'downward facing dog' position to see plant detail.  It's worth it - contorting into yoga positions to see the more intimate details of your plants.

Happily, new additions from 2011 are breaking ground in 2012.   Here are a few 'discoveries' in my travels around the yard:

Amsonia Hubrichitii - Blue Star: barely out of the ground
(Another new addition in 2011)

"May Breeze" Phlox - up and as iridescent as I remember

"Wine and Roses" Wegiela
(It cohabitates in the "Sun Garden" with Pink Guara, Moonbean Coreopsis and Cheddar Pinks"

I have taken a ton of pictures, mostly for historical purposes.  Encouraged by some really talented blog photographers, Garden Walk Garden Talk and The Whimsical Gardener, I continue to play with my DSLR to see how well I can showcase what I see... and keep it interesting.

Here are a few of the 'long timers':

Royal Purple Smoke Bush
(It's growing habit is facinating:  reminds me of a tall cactus)

A sunset view of "Crimson Pixie' Lillium Hybrid

PJM Rhododenron
(Back in action from a dicey Autumn and a pounding the last snowfall)

'Sargent' Crabapple (Malus sargentii)

I hope your gardens are doing well.  It's compost, a dandelion 'slayer' and a spade to enlarge my gardens, for me.  Wouldn't it be nice to notch out a few more hours in each day?  

Looking forward to catching up on your blogs ...
Namaste my friends !!



©  All content & photography by Shyrlene Foster at The Bunnies Buffet (unless noted)

Carpe Diem! ("Skip School" and enjoy...)

Previously, before gardening (BG?), I never thought much about the Autumn season - other than the changing of the leaves.  I certainly didn't get "up close and personal" or think of November as a month with a lot to look at.  THAT is a lot of lifetime to be missing the views I captured yesterday, on a simply gorgeous Autumn day.

Sugar Maple in sunshine
 - one of the last trees to shed leaves for the Winter

It actually started when I was out running errands, and stopped for a 'to go' coffee.  As I pulled up to the store front, I immediately noticed the Autumn-themed landscaping in the sidewalk garden:

Note to self:  add Dusty Miller (Centurea cineraria) to gardens next year

Even though the Garden Mums were starting to fade (it is November in the Midwest after all!), this garden looked so robust.  As the bright colors of summer start to pale, the russet colors autumn are a warm & welcoming segue to the change of seasons.  Once my errands were done, I took a 'San Antonio Stroll' around my gardens...  it was an eye-opener.

November Images in the Garden at the Bunnies Buffet

Stole a quick photo of the neighbors' Burning Bush

The garden glider blanketed in late Autumn leaves...
(... and playing with the color saturation in Photo Studio)

Hollyhock - robust in November

The last of the Pink Guara

Sugar Maple with an Azure Sky backdrop

The last Double Pink Knockout Rose bloom...

The colors just blew me away.  The fact that so many plants were still hanging in there was fantastic.  And we will take all the sunny, 60-degree days we can get!  There is still garden maintenance to be done, and yard art to be put away (while the ground isn't frozen) - so I am due for a 'power day' cleaning up.  In the meantime, I will enjoy the last fading images of the 2011 garden season.

Sweet Potato Vine - paling in the sun

Weigela - with burnishing leaves in November

Sugar Maple in sunshine and shadows

I've missed being on the Blogosphere.  Our 'shared' home PC has been dedicated to school use recently, but I'm getting a foothold back on the family 'schedule'.  Looking forward to catching up on your blogs!!  Happy gardening...

Is it the "Buffet" or "Bed & Breakfast"?

Gardening this year as certainly been 'interesting' in the Midwest.  It's been unseasonal - continuing to be cool, cloudy and rainy (with intermittent hot & humid days interspersed).   As a matter of fact, I am starting to feel like not only do I provide a "buffet" for the local bunny population - but also 'refuge'.  Case in point:

Bunny 'Foo'
Seeking refuge under the tumble composter during a downpour.

There has been area flooding, but certainly nothing like Tennessee and Louisiana.  Standing water like this typically happens in March & maybe April - not June:

Even the neighbors with dogs try to protect their lawns with orange snow fence.

In spite of it all, my gardens continue to do well.  Here is what is in bloom:

The Pink Double Knockout Rose is in bloom -
protected by bird netting & "budding" Red Twig Dogwood  branches

My classic:  Stella D Oro Daylily bloom
(they've been with me since the beginning - the first time!)

Royal Purple Smoke Bush - reaching for the sky

'Crimson Pixie' Asiatic Lily

New garden addition:   Sweet Autumn Clematis - a gift from friend Lydia's garden
(If it ever stops raining, I'll get the trellis in the ground and get this growing wild!)

Rounding out a garden 'walk about':

From top left: "Wine & Roses" Weigela, variegated  Jacob's Ladder,
Actaea Ramosa "Brunette" Bugbane, Royal Purple Smoke bush, Moonbeam Coreopsis,
Double Knockout Rose, variegated Ribbon Grass, Asiatic Lily bud

It's another cool, rainy Saturday - but there is great hope for tomorrow, sunny and 70.  Time to plant the Bugbane, Jacob's ladder and a couple of new Anemones, to be clustered with the first one.  With all the rain, it does continue to look "lush", like Spring.  Now that I've finished my post, it's time to start surfing my favorite garden blogs.... batten down the hatches my garden buddies!  Can't wait to see what you are up to!

The (plant) Will to Survive...

Now that the existing plants in the gardens have been strategically be rearranged, I've been on a mission to start picking off/purchasing the plants on my "2011 Wishlist".  As I've been rooting through my garden tools, my husband started straightening the garage.  Low and behold he uncovered this......

This poor thing had been buried under a stack of 'stuff' by the lawnmower.  It's been buried - alive, smashed with something on top of it, covered in darkness for at least 6 months (...just a guess??...) with no water!  I feel terrible!!  How could this have happened?!?  It's lack of photosynthesis makes it tricky to identify.  There are very few 'key indicators' of what it might be - other than it's leaf structure.  It didn't have a plant tag and looks more like a 'friend gift' than a purchase (which makes me feel even more neglectful).  So, I immediately brought it outside in the light and gave it water.  It resembled a Hosta, so it's sitting over in part shade - just in case.  I'll post updates on it's recovery (wouldn't the joke be on me if it ended up being a weed?).

"Wine and Roses" Weigela

Obsessing over the extended forecast for the last couple of weeks, waiting for a decent weekend - I decided to seize the moment and took last Tuesday afternoon off.  First stop - the garden center at Lowes to see what was what.  There was a gift card burning a hole in my wallet.  I found a couple of Weigela - to set as book-end anchors in my "Sun Garden".  There was a Patriot Hosta with my name on it, for the new garden under the front bay window.  It will take your eye from the West to the East in the front yard.  Then there were (3) little lime Sweet Potato Vines that said "buy me" - so I did.  Who can refuse a $3 plant?!   After the heat of an unseasonably warm (92 degree) day, I spent the late afternoon planting.

'Morning Light' Maiden Grass, Candy Tuft and Bee Balm

The weather crashed and burned this weekend, but that did not dissuade me from hitting one of my favorite nurseries yesterday.  In the cool 55 degree wind and drizzle, I wandered around Platt Hill Nursery with a cart.    It is highly recommended to come prepared with a list of plants that you want to buy - for two reasons:  (1) you never remember what you need without it, and (2) it slows temptation to buy everything you see!  My eyes are always bigger than my budget - so I bring 'cash only', to slow the insanity.

Anemone, Butterfly Bush, Amsonia (Blue Star) and Phlox

By the way, after rubber-necking a fellow plant shopper's cart, THIS was an impulse buy.... (and I swear, I was not stalking her cart - pinky swear!)

"May Breeze" Phlox

I only made it partially way through the "sun plants" list (with the exception of the Anemone) before the cash/math said it was time to stop.  Looking at those treasures - just waiting to be planted - gives me an adrenaline rush.  Today will not be that day.  It is currently 44 degrees, cloudy/rainy with 30-40 mile-an-hour winds.  It's gloomy out, but there were still some photo ops in the garden....

A flowering Ajuga reptans - 'Black Scallop' Bugleweed

The Double-Pink Knockout Rose -
is recovering from bunny near-annihilation, thanks to bird netting 

A little creative planting - with Variegated Ribbon Grass in the Shade Garden
(growing it in shady conditions keeps it in check, it's aggressive in sunny ares)

The "Berri-Magic" Holly is flowering
(there still has been some winter damage, so next cold season - it gets covered up)

In quick summary, here are a few other plants 'in progress' on a cold, windy day....

From top left.... Royal Purple Smoke Bush (finally budding), new Patriot Hosta, Center Glow Ninebark, Dappled Willow (recovered from last year's slugs and bunny snacking), Asiatic Lilies/ Rudibeckia/Yellow Day Lily, Hosta ('Gold Standard' ? or 'June Plantain Lily'), 'Fire & Ice' Hosta, Pink Guara, Japanese Painted Fern and Vicary Golden Privet in the center (also recovering from near-fatal bunny decimation)

Here's to garden planting ... sooner than later would be nice!