Moon Garden Plants

I'm not quite done with the Moon Nook, but I managed to get the other Brunnera in the ground, so I'll share pictures.

This is the one that was totally root bound. I actually dug it up again, broke up the roots even more and replanted it. Now it's not wilting at the end of every day like it was. This one is called 'Alexander's Great.' The root bound condition is probably why I got it marked down, but that's OK, it should be fine in a while.

The surface of the Moon Nook still needs one more block, but enough is done that I could get the placement of the Brunnera at the other end. This one is 'Alexandria.' As I think you can see, the leaves are more solid white. I've really fallen in love with Brunnera, and the deer hate them because the leaves are as rough as sandpaper.

I picked up some end-of-season Artemesia 'Silver Mound' for $3 each. They look all scraggly now, but should be fine next year. At that price, I couldn't pass them up. They are in the foreground of this shot. You've seen the other plants here previously. This is such a tiny beginning, but it counts! I'm still watering these every day, but they didn't seem as wilty this afternoon, which is amazing because it's SO hot outside. I think they are getting established.

I do need to move that grass yet this year, but there is plenty of time yet.

Now, for the super exciting one (to me, anyway). I paid full price for this. I hunted up the palest blue hosta I could find that was actually available to buy anywhere. (Yes I know 'White Feather' is almost pure white, but it can also be tricky to keep happy, and it's not white all season.) Anyway, I LOVE this. It's called 'Steal the Spotlight.' The undersides of the leaves are extremely pale. I'm leaving it in the pot for a while to develop some better roots, and I don't have the space where it will go dug up yet.

The deer are partial to hosta. So, except when I'm showing it off, it's currently in prison.

I ordered another plant today too. About 60% off and shipping wasn't outrageous. This is a good time of year to get cheaper plants if you aren't too impatient for a "finished" garden.

In other news: I did my little summer job in the morning. Thankfully the laundromat is air conditioned. The afternoon was pretty much a bust. It's 85° here with 70% humidity. I managed to keep breathing and read a bit. That's about it. Went to the library and the senior center briefly. Qualifying seniors can get $25 of free produce, so I signed up.

See Moon Garden Beginnings

Gifts from Bud

One of the guys who stayed here last weekend was Bud. We stayed in touch with him and his family even after they all moved away. We went to North Carolina to visit them and Bud took us rapelling.

But then Bud got married and moved to the Pactific Northwest. Actually, Om got to visit him a couple of times, but I hadn't seen him for probably 45 years. He brought me three gifts! First of all, I did not know that we have a mutual love of gardening, and particularly for playing with succulents. He makes these planters out of old records and then fills them with random goodies. (He also has a greenhouse and I am trying not to be jealous.) They are not hardy, but can stay outside for the summer. His wife Annie painted the little rock for me.

He also brought me this garden decoration. Since it's mostly white, it may end up in the Moon Garden. We'll see.

But probably the most meaningful is that he gave me one of his carved birds. These are made from a single block of wood. (Trail friend Glen also makes them- I've showed you some of his.)

I tried to get a lot done today. Did fairly well although it got pretty hot this afternoon. Edited, shopped (but forgot to take the pop cans, so they are still in the middle of the floor :/ ), worked in the Moon Garden, but didn't get as much done as I had hoped. Should go do some more now that it's cooler, but the nasty gnats are out, so I'm probably just going to give up and take a shower. Gave one of the gardens a long drink. I'm watering things in the Moon Garden pretty much every day until they get established. Took a road walk in the morning before it got too hot.

Miles walked in 2026: 205.5. Just a couple of road miles.

See 50 Year Reunion

Spirit of the Woods Hike- July 2026

Today's hike was on a section of trail that, somehow, the group has not hiked recently. It's hilly but very pretty.

Here's the group- 19 in the picture, one more showed up. Several people we hadn't seen for a while, and one person who took her very first North Country Trail hike today!

This section is mostly on the bluff high above the Manistee River. There aren't many view spots in the summer with all the leaves. And it's too hazy for the far bluff to show in the picture, but it's over there in the bright spot.

Not much blooming as far as flowers. Some tick trefoil, but my picture isn't in focus.

Several nice puddles of northern maidenhair fern- always one of my favorites. Adiantum pedatum

Parasitic plants were represented. Here is indian pipe, Monotropa uniflora. A small patch, but always interesting to find.

We also saw bear corn, Conipholis americana, and I thought I took a picture, but it's not on the SD card, so who knows what happened. Sort of looks like cream-colored pinecones growing out of the ground.

We did see a beautiful patch of one of the Clavaria fungi. Basically a coral fungus. The names have changed like crazy. I used to call this one Crowned clavaria because the ends of the stalks are divided into little "crowns," and its name then was Clavaria coronata. It seems to have changed more than once, and is now Artomyces pyxidatus.

Most everyone walked 6 miles total, and a few did shorter distances as they were able. Five of us went farther and did 7 NCT miles plus the little bit extra to get to the cars.

Miles walked in 2026: 203.5
Hike 100 challenge 2026: 69.75

North Country Trail, Manistee County, from Coates Highway south 3.5 miles and back plus roadwalk to cars. 7.4 miles.

Not a lot else happened today. We started early and got most of the hike done before the air heated up. My temperature/humidity internal sensors started giving off warning signals about a mile before I finished, but it wasn't too bad.

Here's a news flash! Despite the fact that we live on a major highway, Google can not seem to understand where we live. I had tried 7 times to get them to change it, including sending a picture of my driveway and mailbox on request, but they basically said that I don't know where I live.

I tried again a few days ago. Try #8. I got notice that my correction has been accepted! Amazing! Now we'll find out if that is real.

Some of the proof of my claim that they wouldn't change it. And at the bottom, this week, it was accepted. This has irked me to no end, and has resulted in several lost packages, so I'll be very happy if it's fixed.

See Spirit of the Woods- June 2026

Front Garden Report 2026- #3

The Front Garden is turning out so amazing! I have a lot to share.

First is the general view of the west side. This never fails to make me smile.

And of one part of the east side. I had to take a picture of either the part in sun or shade this afternoon. The shaded part only has greenery right now since the blue Globe Bellflowers finished blooming, so here is the part that has afternoon sun.

There is quite a lot to talk about right now. Let's start with Astilbe. I have one pink one and three white ones. These were some of the plants that cost me 10¢ each a couple of years ago, so I can't complain. But despite being where they should be happy, I've never had much luck getting Astilbe to thrive. I'm thinking about replacing them with other things if I find something I like better. They are OK, but they should be bigger and fuller.

The pink one is 'Rheinland.'

And the white one is 'Bridal Veil.'

I have one new hosta here. Betsy gave me a multi-clump of 'Hacksaw,' which is fun with narrow scalloped leaves. (Small Halcyon behind it- I just moved several of those this spring too)

And speaking of hosta- the 'Tiny Tears' are in full bloom now. A whole lot of this bed is edged with it.

I'm still trying to get this patch of white Lamium (Deadnettle) to fill in better. As you can barely see, it has white flowers too, although I'm much more interested in the white foliage.

Finally for today, the 'Landini' lily bulbs I bought on closeout at the end of 2024 are really looking great! I thought these would be more maroon based on the pictures, instead of the almost candy-apple red. In fact, most of the pictures of it on-line are much deeper- from maroon almost to black. It's possible they aren't getting quite enough sun as they are in almost total shade. Nevertheless, I really like these.

And the flowers are huge!

I've been working sporadically at putting a broken brick edging around this garden to make it a little easier to mow around, so I don't have to do as much hand trimming. You can see the Seven Sisters Rose in this shot.

There are still things that need to be moved around, and one section is pretty much a "weed patch" of bellflower and dwarf Solomon's seal. I'll continue to work on replacing some of that with other things. Additional plans for this year are to buy one Heucherella I want, but most of my upcoming plant purchases will have to do with the Moon Garden.

Here's a news flash! I was outside just after dark last night and saw... FIREFLIES! I don't know when the last time was that I saw any here.

In other news: I edited, walked a mile on the road, did some housecleaning including getting some of the recycling ready to take to where it has to go. My special hosta came today. Stay tuned. It came bare-root, but looking very healthy. It's in a pot and should be nice and perky in a couple of days.

Humidity not too terrible, so I kept moving pretty well.

Miles walked in 2026: 196.1

See Front Garden Report 2026- #2

Moon Nook Begun

I decided that I'd make a little "nook" where the small bench will be in the Moon Garden.

This needed to be started ASAP as one of the Brunnera I bought to go beside the bench was totally pot-bound and it had to get in the ground very soon because it was totally drying out and wilting every day despite heavy watering.

This was a couple of days ago. I had four blocks in place.

I've learned that there is a name for the building materials I'm using for paths and whatnot. (Broken concrete blocks, bricks, chunks of concrete, etc). It's called Urbanite! Love the name. I have some more coming, but I'll take broken blocks and bricks off your hands if you have some to get rid of.

Although today was quite humid after 0.8 inch of rain last night, the temperature stayed a little lower, so I was able to work outside a bit although the bugs were annoying.

I now have 6 blocks in place for the surface of the nook. There are 6 to go, I think- unless I decide to make it a little bigger. I'm using a variety of blocks so that I don't have to cut any of the larger roots of the tree. Several are full size, unbroken blocks. Two are thinner, one is a paver, and the others are broken in places that allowed me to slip them around the roots. It's pretty level the long way- I might have to adjust it a bit crosswise yet.

The Brunnera for the other end isn't as root-bound, but it needs to get in the ground soon- maybe tomorrow, depending on the heat.

This is all in the deepest shade of the Moon Garden. The pictures were both taken late afternoon when a bit of sun hits the west end, but it's all in shade for most of the day. It's good that I'm getting this section organized because I got notified that the one special Hosta I bought is on its way. I'll show you the plants more closely when I get them in place.

In other news- I edited; I fixed a couple of small broken things in the house.

See Moon Garden Beginnings