Purple Promises

So many purple beauties that are ALMOST blooming! We actually got some sun today, but it wasn't quite enough to make this open. This is a giant crocus- must be one my mom gave me. I know that when I did some cleanup in this flower bed last fall there was an odd bulb I could not identify. Maybe this is it, although I still don't think it's the right shape.

Here's another gift from my mom from probably the 1980s, maybe late 70s. I don't know if this will do much or not. Common hyacinths don't last forever. This poor thing has been moved multiple times, but it's actually trying to bloom this year, even though it doesn't look very full. I'll take it!

The 'Blackberry Wine' corydalis is just starting to bloom. It hasn't spread for me very much, but it has, at least, refused to die.

OK, I'm cheating a little on this. It's more blue than purple, but one of the common primrose is blooming nicely. There are several other patches. We'll see if they bloom this year. I moved a lot of them last fall. These may have been a gift from Loretta, or maybe I bought it. I've killed a few.

We are supposed to get even more rain for the next two days. If you are in Michigan, you know that there is flooding and serious washouts all over the state, imminent dam failures with evacuations possible. So... these promises might get drowned or broken so I decided to post before they really bloom.

I was hoping to get in a moderate walk before bell practice, but only managed a short one. Better than nothing, eh? Shopping, errands.

Miles walked in 2026: 142.9

Methodist Trails: 1.7 miles

See Flower Friends

How''d Those Marigolds Work Out?

This is the peak of the marigolds in the front garden (along with a lot of fallen birch leaves). Not too bad, but not really sufficiently successful compared to the amount of work. They need to be started earlier and there should be more of them. A bunch died while I was gone in June.

They did end up looking a lot better than in early August when you really couldn't even see them.

Will I do them next year? Not sure. I may collect seeds and throw some around in the spring. I don't think I'll try to start them inside. I have to dig up most of that section to thin the daffodils this fall. I am working on a collection of coleus that can go in after the dafs are done. So far, those are alive and fine. There's not an actual frost advisory for Tuesday or Wednesday, but it's going to get right down there. I have to pull some plants out of the rock garden.

Today I woke up tired and lay in bed until my brain cleared. Worked some, did some errands and shopping. Still tired. Just one of those days.

See Annual Mistakes, Part 2

A Few Re-Bloomers

A few more plants delightfully refuse to admit that the blooming season is over.

The Fleeceflower often gives me a few fall flowers. Only one so far this year, and it's short. But that's OK. This is not my favorite plant, but for now, it's fine.

I really love this one. This is the 'Firefly' Heuchera that Margaret gave me. In the picture the flowers look pink, but in real life, they are almost red.

This is the Dianthus 'Olivia Wild' that I bought this year to replace something else that died. I'm liking it a lot. And it keeps on blooming as well.

Today, day 10 after the oral surgery, I had a salad for dinner. No problem... I just chewed on the other side, and nothing hurts. This makes me quite happy. I've been missing my salads. One stitch is annoying as all get-out, and they don't get taken out for a month. It doesn't hurt, so I can't complain too much. They aren't the dissolving kind, but the dentist said they might come loose on their own. Hoping this one does.

Worked on projects, went shopping, blah, blah.

See Last of the Rock Garden Color

An Allium Solution?

last fall at the Garden Club plant sale, I got a big allium plant that I was able to split into three clumps. Here are two of them today. The bee is just a cute freebee!

I thought they were going to bloom in the spring. That is more the norm for most alliums. But this is actually a good time of the season for some extra color, so I'm happy enough that they bloom now. These are also not as tall as the giant alliums. They are 12-15" high.

I looked up if you can plant allium and daffodils together (Allium is actually an onion, so I wasn't sure if it affected nearby bulbs). You can. The daf bulbs should be a bit deeper, so they actually can work well together. And the allium starts to bloom as the daffodil leaves are finishing. Here are two of the plants on August 3, when they were finally starting to turn purple.

But they've been fun to look at for a lot longer than that. The first picture I took this year was on July 26, when the heads were formed and turning white. But they were making the balls for several days before that. So there are probably at least 3 weeks of interest including both form and color.

The daffodills need to be thinned again anyway. I may have to try mixing these this fall. That's the correct time to be moving all these bulbs.

And this late bloom time has helped me identify this as Allium sphaerocephalon- which means "round head," so there's another clue. They would be in more sun out where the daffodils are, too, which would probably make them happier.

The heat today was brutal. I managed to work on things in the morning. Then I cancelled my participation in some trail work in the sun. In fact, by 1 pm, the heat was just about unbearable. It hurts my skin, makes it hard to breathe, and I can't even keep the computer on my lap very long because it's so hot. Lots of cold drinks and very little activity after that. Some days, I just have to give up. It's starting to cool down now. Maybe I can move a few boxes of stuff this evening.

See Annual Mistakes - Part 2

The Annual Mistakes - Part 2... and Salad

Here's a mistake I've made twice now. Although I tried to make it not be a mistake this year. I started a whole tray of marigold seeds in April. I will confess that I tend to be not very good at dealing with seeds started indoors. I forget about them just long enough so they die. But this year I did it all right. At the beginning of June, I had 49 healthy little plants.

The idea is that after the daffodils die back that are along the curve of the front bed, there will be something colorful to fill in. Yeah. How much color do you see here? There are a few spots of orange. I showed you the best looking one yesterday, but it's not a raging success for the amount of work.

Today, I counted 19 plants that I could still find alive. About 6 are blooming. Of course, more of them probably will, but it's getting late in the season. One conclusion is that if I want marigolds to look nice by August, I need to start them in March. Another conclusion might be that I should forget marigolds and try something else.

Coleus would look good there, in a variety of colors, but I need to NOT spend money on annuals. Coleus can be re-started over the winter, but see problem mentioned above with my care of indoor plants that need fussing over.

I'll have to think more about this space for next year.

Meanwhile, I spent a whole hour cutting up veggies this morning so I can try this cabbage salad. The recipe picture has it all packed in glass jars so it's pretty, but I only had a couple of empty wide mouth jars, so a lot of it went in refrigerator plastic. That keeps it just as well, and there are two jars that look nice to show you.

Had a huge serving for my supper. It is yummy. Very yummy. Yummy enough to spend an hour making it? Maybe. This should last me most of the week, so it's good meal investment.

I did most of the usual things, although I did start on a fairly significant sorting and cleaning job that I want to get done in the next 10 days.

See Annual Mistakes - Part 1

Front Garden Report 2025- #2

None of the gardens is completely cleaned up since I got back from NY, but the front bed is close, and it looks pretty good.

I know I show you this view over and over, but this space genuinely makes me happy. And it proves that it stays colorful all season. The light is dappled. Sorry about that, but it does give you one more "look" of that space. I'm particularly happy with the purple Heuchera near the right edge just above the middle. It's called 'Electric Plum.' Interestingly enough, the other red-to-purple Heuchera were more colorful earlier in the season, but this one seems to glow even brighter as we get into high summer.

And just above center is the white hosta with green edges, 'Loyalist.' It was damaged earlier, but it's doing well now. On the other side of the walkway is one of the large 'Krossa' Hosta. Both of those are doing great.

The white Globe Bellflowers have been blooming for well over a week. They seem to be a little later than the blue ones which are now all done. They are also a little shorter. I'm not sure I'm in love with these, but they come up and bloom, so, hey...

This is the one week a year that I don't detest the Seven Sisters Rose. Enjoy it quick.

Moving to the east end of that bed, the poor Vulcan Hosta is really struggling. I think it will survive. I'm still not sure what made it so sad.

Here's another space that is making me increasingly happy. If you want to compare, it's the first picture in the east report below. The Astilbe is blooming, although not prolifically. The Japanese Fern bit that I moved there (just left of center) is very happy. It's gained several fronds already. The 'Wiggles and Squiggles' Hosta is wonderful, and the dark purple 'Season's King' Heuchera is great. Way in the back, a 'Francee' Hosta is in bud.

Today was unbearably hot. But I got myself moving while it was still in the 70s, and got some outside stuff done. Edited before it got too hot in the house, and then went to the air-conditioned store for groceries. After that, I lolled in my chair with a book and iced tea.

Tonight it's supposed to rain, and be much cooler tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a good amount of outside work done. My energy level is good when it's in the 70s. Not so much above that. After 90, forget it!

See Front Garden West See Front Garden East

Front Garden Report West 2025- #1

I am SO happy with the way this garden is turning out that I go outside probably twice a day just to look at it (in addition to any work I do).

First a couple of real success stories. I already showed you the painted fern this year, so I'll skip that picture for now. I've compared its picture with some old ones, and I think my attempt to spread it a bit last summer was successful. Maybe I'll be brave and try to move a piece. I hold my breath every year that it survives where it is (it should be too hot for it there).

Another real success is the 'Firefly' Heuchera that Margaret gave me two years ago. I split it into three plants and they have all grown and look great. One is dead center in this picture with the two-toned green leaves and the bright pink flowers. It's the only Heuchera I've seen that has flowers worth mentioning. They are mostly grown for the foliage. I love how the cool green contrasts with my several colors of darker Heuchera. The one behind the flowers is 'Electric Plum.' Down front is 'Amber Lady.'

Another success that makes me really happy is that the 'Cathedral Windows' Heuchera that I bought in 1995, and has never been anything beyond tiny and barely alive since then, is actually grown up and looking great. Maybe I can stop holding my breath to see if it will reappear each year.

This was a plant I bought just last fall at the Garden Club sale. Columbine 'Winky.' It's covered with buds. It's not as tall as I thought it would be. Maybe I'll move some to the middle after it gets established.

Here's a surprise. The Iclandic Poppy 'Spring Fever Mix' is blooming again. It has this flower open and five more buds. I'm a little sorry I bought this. It is beautiful, but when I read about it, I learned that it's a short-lived perennial, so it only lasts 2 or 3 years. I wonder if it self seeds?

I'm the one who managed to damage this hosta. I had a piece of fencing sitting right over where it needed to come up. It's on the mend, thankfully. I bought this in 2000 for full price. It's one called 'Loyalist.' Looks like it will recover pretty well this year. It was one of the plants that more or less disappeared over the years I didn't weed anything, but it has reasserted its right to be here.

That's enough garden talk for today.

I spent most of the day getting food ready for the Adirondack hike. There is one store run in the future, but I don't need to buy very much. Mostly, I can use up things I already have on hand. Some gardening and yard work.

See Front Garden East- 2025 #1

Late May Garden Color

The rock garden is sort of in between color phases right now. However, the Bloody Geranium is beginning to bloom. Most of the magenta-purple you see in this picture is that geranium.

Some of the geranium I have in the rock garden is a light pink (looks white in the picture). It spreads very slowly which is good. I'm trying to get a few other spots of it started and remove more of the Bloody one as I get good things to replace it. It's OK, but it's a little too tall and it's SO invasive. The roots are really a pain to dig out.

Also in the rock garden is another plant I wish I'd never bought. I have to keep fighting with it all the time too. However, it's a little easier to control. I try to keep it restricted to some clumps instead of letting it send runners all over the place. It's the variegated Vinca. But it does have beautiful large blue flowers at a good time of the season.

Moving to other locations, because I cleared out a bunch of autumn olive last fall, a few of my iris got enough sun to bloom. Purple...

... and yellow. Nothing unusual or fancy, but I'm happy to see some of them bloom again.

Best color display? The front flower bed. This is a teaser for a more complete report another day, but I'm waiting for one more flower to open before I do that. Best of all, only two of the colors you see here are from blossoms. Most is foliage, so it will look great all summer.

I think I can safely show you the knitting project one more time without giving away the final goal.

Not much gardening happened today. Editing, errands, wrote my column for Mason County Press, finished mowing the lawn. Maybe I have time to get out there right now for a few minutes!

Tomorrow is a book vendor event in Rockford.

See Nailing the Spring Color Palette

Front Garden Report East 2025- #1

This post will get long, but I want to get all this documented. Browse until you get tired of pictures.

I sure never thought I'd get the east end of this flower bed looking this good in only a couple of years. Due to the birthday money this year, and a bunch of free and marked down plants in the past couple of years, I've been able to fill it in fairly well. But I need to remember to take pictures earlier in the afternoon when the light isn't all dappled like this.

This is the east end of the east side.

Here it is from a lower angle with the lily of the valley patch (that is really outside the garden) behind it.

I've showed you some of these already this year. The blue is the Variegated Ajuga

The west end of the east side is a jungle. This is mixed up Globe Bellflower and the Dwarf Solomon's Seal. This is going to be a real mess to separate. I'll probably just rip out the plants that aren't in the section where I want them. This is what happens when you don't have a plan and you let two aggressive plants grow without control. However, I'm going to wait until the Bellflower blooms because it's already getting buds.

Now lets do a tour of some plants. Here you can see the 'Wiggles and Squiggles' Hosta I showed you earlier this year. It's really happy, and one leaf of the 'Forbidden Fruit' Hosta is on the right. Above that is an Astilbe (really cheap two years ago) and some tiger lilies (plant sharing with a friend last year). The new plant here is another purple Heuchera, 'Season's King' (reasonably priced).

If you look in the first picture above, you'll see a reddish heuchara encircled by the 'Mouse Ears' Hosta, 'Wiggles and Squiggles,' and 'Forbidden Fruit.' OK, I gave into temptation and paid full price for this one. It's another Heuchera, 'Carnival Cinnamon Stick.' I orginially put the 'Season's King' there, but it just needed something brighter. I resisted buying this one once, but the next trip to the store, it jumped into my cart.

Here's an unhappy Hosta, 'Vulcan.' It was another of my almost freebies two years ago. Not sure why it's so small. I don't seem to have any pictures of it from last year, so maybe I accidentally cut it off and it's just recovering. Now it's labeled so I can find it, and it should be OK in another year.

Mixed in with the old 'Francee' Hosta are two of the Allium I got at the Garden Club sale last fall. They are healthy, but I don't think they are going to bloom this year. That's OK, they'll be a nice surprise for the future. The 'Francee' is finally recovering from being chewed to the ground by the deer two years in a row.

Now let's talk about lilies. There are a couple of pathches of Tiger Lily that I was given last year. They seem to be healthy and growing, but they might not bloom this year.

This is the yellow mystery lily that I have no idea where it came from. One year it got eaten, last year it had three blossoms. It looks pretty good this year, but I'll probably miss seeing it bloom because of my hike.

I'm pretty excited about these. Can you see three lilies starting to come up among the 'Francee' Hosta? I got six bulbs for half price earlier this year. They are a variety called 'Landini.' I'll keep it a surprise what they will look like, and of course they may not bloom this first year. But I'm happy to say that all six came up. If they bloom it should be after I get home from the hike.

Finally, this is one spot of organization in the west mess. Last year I put in some of these small hosta near the front of the bed. I have no idea what variety these are. I think they came from Ester. They don't match much of anything in pictures I peruse. They stay small, and the leaves have narrow yellow edges. They make a nice border (you can see the black edging along the front of the photo). Oh, I guess I didn't catch it in the pictures, but last year I spread more of the 'Tiny Tears' Hosta to the very front of this edge as well, and it's spreading nicely.

That's plenty! But I did get a pretty good record of the work done.

I mowed all the grass up here on the hill. I'm not a super lawn-care person, but I have to say that it looks pretty nice mowed as opposed to the mess it's been a lot of years. Also did the computer tasks, blah, blah. Quite productive, and the mower is good conditioning for my core since I still don't have the seat modified. Tomorrow I play.

See Front Garden Report 2024 #3