Stay Safe

Sorry that I haven't posted since last Autumn...

Covid-19 hasn't really affected me much, but... with no internet at my house... posting from my truck is tedious.

Some beautiful weather this year at my house... It never got cold enough last winter to put up plastic over my windows... and... this Spring, more warm weather, rain in due season....

Of course... people out in the clay soil... might have felt like they were getting too much of a good thing! .

It's April and the poppies have been pretty as usual...
I didn't plant any last winter, so... They have all been self sowed .

I hatched some eggs....

Patch of Canada columbine... last month...

Nicotina

Here's something I didn't expect to see... rumex with root knot nematodes... I was also finding these beasties on Pokweed... unfortunately, I didn't get a picture...

Rose that I grew from a cutting... 2 years old.

Another rose... also grown from cutting 2 years old.

 I have brown thrashers acting like they are setting up house keeping in the Cherokee rose...

Tiger swallowtail visiting lemon blossoms...

Poppies again....

Still dry

Last of the peony poppies...

And the goldfinches are enjoying the seed I've thoughtfully provided for their pleasure...

After they finish the poppies, they'll move on to the sunflowers... speaking of which...

First bloom! (Helianthus debilis)

Cactus bloom...

stiff verbena (Verbena rigida)

Poppies!

 

 It's always excitin when the poppies come in... 

The bees pitched in and created some fantastic colours...

And... The goldfinches sowed them...

I don't have to do a thing... I don't even pull weeds...

I started growing the original plants back in '89 or so... from 2 colours came brilliant hues...

May Day

Poppies! 

Poppies grow in the winter, when we have extra space... and bloom in the Spring...

And then we can plant veggies... if we want...

Fresh mulch and bearded iris

White phlox

A daylily in April....

A tightrope act...

Papilio troilus spice bush butterfly visiting salvia macrophylla

Poppies!

When the poppies start blooming... I forget any other flowers... I've even begun to use them as a winter cover crop...

Personally, I'm a big fan of lots of variation... seems like I'm seeing lots of subtle in-between colours...

Even starting to see hues of pastels.... sadly... the camera simply can not do these beauties justice!

And... Trying to get any kind of picture depth? Really can't get the long picture... unless.... I post a pic that takes up the entire screen... let's give it a try...

Ok... click this one... The colour bleeds away in the sun... but still... pretty.

New section of vegetable garden going in... remember those piles of manure that I posted?
The manure did the work of killing the vines and loosening the soil... now... turn with shovel and plant beans and tomatoes...

Gardening Challenges and Successes

It seems like the more work I do to improve the soil, the worse the rodents get... Stupid voles are having a population spike in spite of anything the cats can do... and they do plenty...

Looking for prey?

Actually... Mom caught this one...

They took turns questioning the prisoner... before eventually eating the evidence...

Got some taters up... trying to out-wit the voles by planting this patch next to the house in the foundation planting... Where the cats poop... 

Poppies are up...

Magenta spreen (chenopodium giganteum) seedlings... Gotta 'preciate food that self-sows...

Returning verbesina virginica ... Yall remember the frostflowers

Peaking Hellebores
And camellias

Spreading Mountain mint (pycnanthemum spp.)

I'm a real fan of this stuff...  it spreads very well, and is a valuable resource to the native pollinators...

 as seen on this video

This winter I found that It worked beautifully to clear my lungs when I had that bug that went around... I googled expectorant herbs and then went out and harvested the pitiful offering of leaves... This year... Ima dry some ahead of time...