Purple Parade

 After I looked at the pictures, I decided this is an interesting collection. Individually, most people would call all of these purple (maybe with some fading off to maroon, but if you had to pick one of the 6 basic colors, most people would pigeonhole them into purple).

The first one is PURPLE purple. This is Jewel Baby Iris, and it's the first time it's bloomed in a while. So far this year, I've had two blossoms. It's about 4 inches tall.

We all call these purple lilacs- just the old farmstead standby. But compared to the Jewel Baby they look pink.

The Sempervivum sp. 'Arachnoidea' looks really nice. The one I used to have was smaller and green. It's long dead. This one came from Betsy, and it's certainly pushing purple. EDITED: This is not arachnoidea at all. It's the variety 'King George,' growing right where my plant records say it should be. I did not realize it also has some slight webbing.

Its friend is Sedum reflexum, what I call "blue spruce sedum." I've had this forever from a freebie pile. It spreads easily and sprawls all over but never looks all that great. Well! I guess I now know what it needs to look better. In two places where a clump is crowded between rocks it has made this nifty "fountain spray." I like these together.

Found the Sedum 'Cherry Tart!' This is another of the Sunsparkler hybrids. I actually ordered this and got a tiny, tiny sprig for $7 plus shipping. I really wasn't expecting to see it this spring. And then, I wasn't sure where I put it. But I at least got it labeled, even if it didn't get in the notebooks. This is going to be gorgeous when it starts to spread. You might almost call this red compared to some of the purples. Keep in mind this is clump is about 2" on a side. But, it's no smaller than when I planted it, and it's alive.

Just for reference, these are true purple; I think we'd all agree. Plain old common violets, but they fill in open spaces nicely.

And for today's final purple, here's Sedum 'Ezawe' again. I showed you this earlier, and thought it looked more blue then, but maybe not. Today it seems purple. I do like the plants that display multiple colors depending on the time of year, the light, etc. As a reminder, I wasn't sure this one was going to make it, but it seems very happy so far this year.

Today was packed full. I worked on some volunteer stuff. I did 108 miles of campsites. I was interviewed by "Senior Games" for a podcast. It will be out in a couple of weeks, and I'll post a link when I get it. I managed to work for an hour in the rock garden.

I'm tired, but that's the way I like to end the day.

See Sedum Scramble

Revisiting the Lilac Hedge

In 2016, I discovered this hedge of lilacs that must have surrounded a shed or small builing of some kind because they are planted in a square.

I spent a couple of years after that trying to remember where it was I'd seen it, then I did find it again. Cathy and I drove past it again yesterday. The bushes have grown a lot. Other small trees have grown up in front of it now. And it's not quite in full bloom.

I really should work up the courage to stop at the house and ask if I could go on the property to look at the bushes and take pictures. I'm pretty sure there are at least 5 varieties. Sure, there are the common light purple and white ones, but for sure there are dark purple, a medium purple, and that very interesting two-toned one I talked about in the post linked below. And I can't see what kinds are on the back side at all. You can see the two-toned one at the right on this strip picture.

The dark purple ones show over the top of a lighter bush.

Today was a stay-at-home-and-try-to-get-some-things-done day. Well, I did that, but it's never enough to even hold my own let alone make progress. My excuse for this month is that I have to remain focused on staying in shape for the completion of the hike in the UP in a couple of weeks.

See A Lilac Year

It's a Purple Day

 
I walked to the library today, and the predominant shades of the flowers are purple. Lots to see. A whole raft of light purple iris.



The hanging baskets on the light poles in Scottville have lots of varieties of purple petunias.



These allium are pretty in the shade. You could say they are pink, but they look quite purple when not seen against other dark purple colors.



I'll try to get a picture of this bush when it's open. These are dark purple lilacs in bud. A recent commercial landscaping project, and they all look healthy.


Even the Silver Maples got in on the act. Look at the newly fallen keys. I hadn't ever realized how much color they have.



Finally, a few of my iris are hanging in there despite the neglect. Just an ordinary old-fashioned purple one, but it's pretty.


In other news: I wrote in the morning, did a couple of errands in town. I'm trying to get the pictures sorted from the hike I'm writing about. Up to nearly 100 of them in the correct order. Want to finish before I move on to writing the next chapter. Oh, and had to figure out what I accidentally did that changed a setting on my camera. It drives me nuts. Somehow I manage to push buttons by accident and screw things up. This change was one I hadn't made before, so I had to spend a bit more time to fix it. But, I did get it. It got really hot here today- almost 90 degrees. Wow. I'm not used to that yet.

	See Iris- Out and About
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Beauty Surrounds Me

 
Spring is in full-tilt loveliness here, so I want to share. You've seen all these before, but not this year, so I hope you enjoy them again.

The is cowslip primrose, and it continues to do well in my un-kept garden.



The crabapple tree is wonderful, as it almost always is.



Lots of common purple violets, but just because they are ordinary doesn't mean they aren't beautiful.



I think my lilacs are going to look really nice this year. I'll take any blooming things I can get!



And finally, the pear trees are looking great. The sour cherry trees also had great blossoms. Now if we don't get a late hard frost, this might be a good fruit year.



In other news: I wrote all morning, and then worked on my newspaper column in the afternoon. It's due on Monday. Seems like these months between deadlines get shorter and shorter! Also went shopping. Wow- Meijer was packed. I guess everyone local decided to shop before the weekend really began. I ran into 4 separate people I know that I hadn't seen in a long time. That was fun. But then a lady cut ahead of me in the checkout line. Instead of being gracious, I fussed at her, which didn't make her give me my place back, or make me feel better either. Wonder why I decided to be snippy today... I don't usually bother--it's such a small thing, and I wasn't even pressed for time. I also got ready for the weekend- I begin the summer vendor events tomorrow morning. Here we go. I think I'll need to hang on for the ride, but I've decided I've got to go all in to sell books.

	See Primrose Lane
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Being Good AND Having Fun

 
I managed to leverage a task that needed to be done with a series of fun events.

The recycling that we can't do close to home needed to be delivered, and that's also where we buy trash bags for pickup. We were completely out of bags. So, I drove up to the landfill and took care of all that. Then I visited four nearby sites that needed updating for GetOffTheCouch.info. Actually, two of them need to be added.

First I stopped at Hoags Lake. It's just a pretty little Forest Service spot where one can picnic or fish. All info was still correct.



Then I stopped at Canfield Lake. It's not much of a lake and didn't have true public access until a couple of years ago. (Just a local party site). Now the DNR has added some parking and it's "official." There was a guy there playing frisbee with his dog. The dog was named Prince, and he was friendly. He let me throw his frisbee for him.



There's often a swan or two there. Today was no exception. Just a mute swan, but they are always pretty. And I like the horizontal ripples with the vertical reeds.



My serious goal of the day was to hike all the trails at Magoon Creek Nature Area and make good notes. It's complex because there is a whole booklet of interpretive info. There are only about 1.5 miles of trail, but I managed to make it 3.5 by the time I walked every part of every loop and got correct info. It's particularly nice because there are several ecosystems even though the area is small, and there are some good hills.

Here's where Magoon Creek empties into Lake Michigan.



Just one more quick stop at Sundling Park. It's pretty much just a narrow access to the Lake Michigan beach, but Filer Township has done a nice job of landscaping that strip so you can enjoy shade and have a cooler place to picnic or rest, as well as climb down to the beach.



The lilacs are in full bloom and I think I'm getting high just taking in the scent. I drove home with the window open and it was wonderful!



In other news: I tried to get all those pages updated after I got home, but there is something wrong with the FTP. It was working FINE two days ago. I'll have to figure that out. All in all, a mighty fine day. A perfect fit into my master plan for my life. See a very early blog post I Could Do This for a Living.

	See Spirit of the Woods at Magoon Creek See A Lilac Year
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A Lilac Year

 
The lilacs this year are impressive! Even my often marginal ones are nice. Mine are just the common light purple ones. Whatever color, they smell divine.



Did you ever look closely enough to realize that each blossom is really a long tube with flared petals at the ends?



At the house where I grew up we had a hedge beside the creek that alternated bushes of light purple with white. I always thought that was pretty. And until having a lilac hedge of my own I did not realize how much work my dad had to do to keep it in check. The one here is out of control. Or maybe they don't grow as many suckers in clay as they do here.

I don't have any white ones but my neighbor does.



Although I'm not a particular fan of purple, I do prefer intense colors, so I've always sort of wanted one of these dark purple ones.



This was a fun find. The building this hedge surrounded is gone, but someone sure loved lilacs. There are quite a few different varieties (and a snowball viburnum) in the lineup.



I may have to go back and look at this one more closely. It seems to have two tones in each cluster.



There are lots of specialty lilacs. They were particularly popular in France around 1900, and many cultivars were created. Originally, they are native to the Balkans.

	See Just Add Water and Sun
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Just Add Water and Sun

 
Just add water and sun, and we went from hazy green on Thursday to trees in full blossom today. Wow!

Our own fruit trees look amazing. It might be another good fruit year. Sour cherry...



Pear...




Crab apple...




Even the lilacs are starting to open...



and on my walk, I saw an apple in full bloom too.




It's amazing how soothing such ordinary blessings can be!

	See Good Fruit Year?
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