The Plants
This is the image that inspired this post's title:
The swamp milkweed pods have popped, revealing the seeds with their silky fibers. I wonder if I'll see some volunteer milkweed plants next spring?
And if you remember the bin for weeds, here it is filled:
Supposedly, two weeks of darkness and baking in the sun should deactivate the seeds. We will see what this looks like at the end of the month!
The Animals
The wildlife continues. Here is a bee on my Blue Giant Hyssop:
The bees have really loved that plant.
I wish I had pictures of the hummingbirds. I was eating in the yard with a friend this past Friday -- socially distanced in the good weather -- and saw at least two, possible three of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds that make it to Minnesota. I haven't had a satisfactory picture of them yet.
One showed up about five times to a feeder near the house yesterday (Monday), but still, I wasn't in position to get a good picture.
But the most unusual visitor was this:
We believe it is a Red-Tailed Hawk, which is common to our area. I even heard one on Friday, when I was outside having lunch. But I think this is a juvenile, because it lacks the red tail feathers (it flew into a tree after this, and we could see that lack). Normally, if we've seen a hawk, it is up in the air; a couple times, we've seen one swoop through the yard. And there was one memorable time where a hawk sat on the kids' swingset and ate some small animal. So who knows what we will see next?
What's Happened Since Last Time?
Not too much. Some weeding -- you saw the bin -- and mostly keeping up with the birds. Most of our focus has been on a basement improvement project, and we've been moving things around down there to expose the foundation walls. Our house was built in 1930, and the concrete block walls aren't good at keeping moisture out, especially if there's heavy rain.
We're getting drain tile installed, from inside the basement. This approach means the contractor guarantees the tile for the life of the house. It also means that the garden isn't disrupted at all. However, we do have to put up with some jackhammering in the basement this week, while they excavate the trench for the drain tile and sump!
In other news, I did put tomato cages around my Winterberry Holly plants; the female bushes were being eaten by deer!
What's Next?
There is always weeding of course. I suspect we will need to get another black bin to hold more weeds.
I need to get some of those metal half-circle supports, because some of my plants just flop around. They probably do better in huge fields with lots of plants crowded together.
And I should start thinking of any plants I want to put in the ground in preparation for the spring. Summer is coming to a close!
I'm a Little Late
I wanted to try and get posts at least once a week, but sometimes things don't quite work out. There have been some things which have turned out very well, and some that turned out in an unexpected direction.
Milkweed Regrowth
I bought a second swamp milkweed plant this spring, but something ate it, and I had this earlier:
But it has completely regrown, and bloomed, and is getting visitors:
East Bed Progress
When I started the East Bed, I only had one metal label for each group of plants; when the weeds overwhelmed the bed, it was hard to identify all the plants. So I was able to prepare more metal labels to put in the ground:
The weeding of the East Bed was done by my wife, as I mentioned in the last post. But the weeds keep coming back, and I was able to get them pulled today:
I thought she had pulled one of my White Wild Indigo plants; I had five, but after her weeding, there were only four. Today, however, I found the root stock and new growth!
I don't have a picture, but my Dotted Blazing Star, Liatris punctata, is still going, but it is kind of limp. I have three small plants that are still alive. My hope is that that will do much better next year.
Weeding Battles
So, when plants were coming back, one that seemed not to have survived was the Butterfly Weed. But I thought I found one:
It turned out that this wasn't Butterfly Weed, but Horse Weed. I'd kept the plant alive for months. Well, it got to get composted with the other weeds.
Speaking of, I've read on-line that weeds that have gone to seed can be "pre-treated" by putting in a black garbage bag, and left in the sun for two weeks. The heat kills the seeds, and the weeds can be added to the normal compost. I tried this, and it does break down the plants quite well. But the bags fall apart. So we went and got a large black bin to do the job. I think we need to get another:
I'll report further on this in a couple of weeks!
Grapevine Recovery
Remember in late March when we put up the new arbor for the grapevine? We had to do a severe pruning, even though it was already sending out shoots:
Well, any fears that it wouldn't come back are put to rest:
Grassland Weeded
My native grasses are doing quite well. I got rid of a bunch of weeds today, and it all looks quite good in the late-afternoon sun:
Garden Goods
My wife's vegetable gardens are doing very well, here is one of her sweet pepper plants, and her broccoli:
The lettuce has all bolted by now, though.
The Jungle Cat
One of our cats likes to go outside with us. I caught her settling down in an area that still needs weeding:
How's Your Health?
I have another couple of months to wait to see for sure. But I still get interruptive events. That's why it was so nice today to get outside and do some stuff!
As I've said before, you have to take each day as it comes.
What's Next?
I need to weed another area. But then I can start thinking about some other activities.
Most of what I've been doing is making sure the bird feeders are going well. I do get plenty of wildlife; in fact, I've had deer coming in and munching the Winterberry Holly plants! I finally put some old tomato cages around the female plants; we'll see if that deters them at all.
It is hard to believe it is mid-August, isn't it?
My Wife the Weeder
Since I've been inside mostly, my wife has been dealing with weeding tasks in the garden. I have thanked her often for this (even though once she yanked a Butterfly Weed by accident!), and you can see the effects. Here are some before and after pictures:
A significant improvement! She says it helps her to get out of the house and not dwell on the various tasks she has to deal with.
And here is the growth in her raised vegetable garden beds, going wonderfully:
Flower Visitors
There have been a large number of insects visiting the flowers.
The Wild Bergamot plants have had a riot of insects on them, especially bees:
The Dwarf Joe-Pye Weed only recently bloomed, and this is the first insect I saw on it:
A Monarch Butterfly is at the top of this image of some purple coneflowers planted years ago by our driveway:
The Gray-Headed Coneflowers haven't had as many visitors, but this shot shows the various stages of the blooms, which have gray centers early on.
It is very reassuring to see the flowers attracting many insects. This is why I wanted to plant more flowers that bloom early, so I could have a continued source of nectar for the insects throughout the growing season.
What's Next?
I need to get outside more. I've been feeling better this past week, and I hope to get out much more often. I was actually able to cook a decent meal and go grocery shopping in the last few days, so that's good. On the down side, I had a couple of health issues interrupt me this past week; not unexpected, but they do prevent me from being more active.
Just taking it day-by-day, and doing what I can when I can.
Looking In to the Yard
I am still recuperating, though I did login and do actual work today, for the first time in a couple of weeks. But I want to talk about some of the wildlife in the garden.
First, the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is back. While I'd left my kids an e-mail during my absence, including how to care for the bird feeders, they just brought the hummingbird feeders inside rather than try to clean and refill them. I didn't have the wherewithal to do it, either, last week. But I did on Sunday, and today I saw a hummingbird at one, then fly off. It is so reassuring to see the hummingbird again.
Second, we have a baby rabbit, or a very young one, at least. I'd put together a brush pile -- this is one of the wildlife-attracting items, like water -- and I saw it hop under that a couple of times. It is smaller than a full-grown squirrel, and was chewing up the weeds in the flowerbeds, so it is welcome to continue doing so.
Third, the goldfinches are hungry. They have been hopping through the sunflowers, climbing up the stems until they can reach the flower heads, and going for any seeds they can.
Fourth, there's a Chipping Sparrow that has a fledgling Brown-Headed Cowbird begging for food. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests. So the Chipping Sparrow has been raising an intruder. It was certainly going through a lot of work to feed it.
Fifth, we've had deer visit the last two nights. My older daughter, who sleeps through the day now, says she saw two adults and a fawn Sunday night, and last night she saw one adult and two fawns. And they will linger for quite some time. It appears that they were eating some of my dogwood (Cornus sericea) as well. It does grow back, but I think I'll need to plant more to keep up with the hoofed mammals.
Looking Out of the Yard
Last night was clear, so around 10:30 PM we got outside and went comet hunting. We found it! In the middle of Saint Paul, Minnesota, with streetlights and light pollution, we were able to find the comet and clearly see the tail with binoculars. That was pretty cool. And we did it standing in our front yard, the western edge of the north side.
Looking to the south, over the house we could see Saturn and Jupiter just over the roof of our house. My cell phone was capable of getting a picture of them.
I'm sure it would all have been more spectacular if we drove out of the cities, but that would likely have taken a couple of hours. This was sufficient unto the day.
Freely-Given Help
Best of all, my wife decided to go outside and weed the East planting bed, the one that got overrun by weeds. She did a fabulous job, and it looks so much better. When I felt able to get there I intended to work on it more, but I was getting light-headed carrying hummingbird feeders. She also weeded around the dogwood, making it stand out much better. So it was a great gift.
If you ever need to give a gardener a gift, give them a hand-made coupon for so many hours of free weeding. It should be a hit.
What's Next?
The grasses need some clean-up weeding, and there's the last of the weeding to do around the perennials I planted last year. There is clean-up wedding around the herbs. When I have that done I'll feel I've earned the right to start clearing the hummingbird section.
My Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum, is still alive but doesn't seem to be thriving, and I'm not sure why. It could simply be that we planted it after its fruiting season, and it will do better next year.
My serviceberry, Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance,' sent up several suckers this spring. I've noticed some white dusting, maybe a mold or fungus, on some leaves. It needs pruning anyway, and from what I've read, it can be pruned anytime if needed, unlike oaks. The dusting sounds like could be taken care of with a soapy water spray.
I need to do something with my cilantro plants. They have all gone to seed, but haven't dropped it yet, and I'd like to keep them in their zone. Also, I need to do a better job of harvesting some seed to plant at staggered intervals, so I always have some fresh cilantro in the warm months.
Along those lines, I have some Thai Basil I should try to plant. Seed was given to me as a gift, but I didn't have a cleared area for it originally.
Again, no lack of things to do!
Just so people aren't left hanging, I will say that my surgery went well, and my recuperation continues at home. I'm better, but I'm by no means well right now. I was told not to strain through lifting or pushing anything of five pounds or more, for instance, at least until the end of this week. (Though I did have some mirth at the idea this referred to UK pounds sterling as opposed to American pounds of weight.)
I can say that all my Wild Bergamot bloomed in my absence, and the bees and butterflies seem to be enjoying it. I saw what I think is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail today, and a Monarch butterfly was on the Swamp Milkweed earlier this week. That I noticed. I haven't been standing much!
So I plan to be back as soon as I can, with more updates on how things are going. Thanks for your messages of support and encouragement!
