Plum Pretty

The plum tree bringeth forth flowers yet produceth no fruit.

These are among the loveliest blossoms of all the flowering
trees in our yard.  Yet the tree is barren.  It was specifically
"designed" to provide spring color without the bother of a
messy fruit later on.

When the bloom is gone the tree will stand there by the
entryway, all red-faced as though apologizing for its lack
of produce.

Dick's Flowers, 2014

I like to stroll through Richard's garden several times during the summer.  Two decades ago he set out to develop a daylily garden in his yard.  There can never be too many daylilies, hence his entire yard, front, rear, sides, turned into a daylily display.

At the time he was building this, full of vim and vision, I doubt he ever realized that as an octogenarian he would have this much display to manage.  And so far, he manages.  But I hear him mutter on occasion that it is hard to keep up with it.

In any event, this is doubtless one of the premier gardens in the county!

Beauty even to the little bindweed that sneaked in under the foliage.

Hemerocallis fulva

We have several stands of orange day lilies, the common roadside lily, or ditch lily as some call it.  When I first came to Indiana in the 50s, one of life's little pleasures in June and July was to drive down the roads enjoying the massive displays of these flowers. They could be seen along berms, beside small streams, and even in some yards from time to time.  Some roadside areas were populated with what many called cornflower, which was wild chicory, and Queen Anne's lace.  These Delft-like displays of color often alternated with the vivid orange of the lilies.

I have a fondness for these flowers, whether aesthetically pleasing to my eye, or nostalgically pleasant to my mind.  Most people consider these lilies to be weeds, even referring to them as "noxious weeds."  Those people are seeing their apparent wishes to eradicate them come to pass, for with the growth of population, expansion of commerce and industry, increased need for more arable land, and especially the transformation of highways into freeways, and the upgrading of byways into highways, habitat for these flowers is shrinking rapidly.

The Hemerocallis fulva, scientific name for these lilies, does indeed have an invasive habit, and thus might be viewed as a weed.  (Weed: any plant that is where one does not want it.)  Certainly one would be unwise to plant one, just one, of the tubers anywhere near hybrid daylilies, for in a matter of a very few seasons, there will be only orange lilies in that area.  However, by dint of sufficient effort to dig away and corral the rascals in the desired location, they become lovely flowers.

The Midwest in my mind's eye, viewed on a leisurely drive along an eighteen-foot road, today exists only in the memories of those who experienced it long ago, or in the fertile imaginations of east coast city-dwellers who think that we still live in the stone age out here.

Reporting from Perfect, Indiana, this is your fly-over country correspondent, Buford Bumpkin.

The Earth is Alive!

I have probably posted something about the resurrection lilies, or naked ladies, every year for the past several years. But as they are springing from the earth, it occurs to me I have never shown you the foliage. This is how it all starts in March. The foliage will grow to a height of about forty centimeters, then it will all die back and disappear into the earth.

 

 As July comes to an end we will be revisited again.

Elation!

the flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle* is heard in our land;   Song 2:12 KJV

And there they are!  The shoots of the daffodils rising from the earth, the robin entertaining me with song.  Oh, yes, it is the song of the robin, yet not the same song he sings a bit later, but rather a loud welcoming of the new season. The mourning doves are fluttering back and forth from the ground to the eaves, their wings whistling as they flit.  Yes, the construction of the nest is already underway.  Unfortunately for them, they shall be evicted, for they have chosen to lay the twigs in the gutter.  Not acceptable.

I have observed over the years that the dove is rather thoughtless in its management of its domicile.  First, the selection of its location is often inappropriate (gutter) or careless (low-hanging branch, easily accessible by cats and small boys.)  Second, the construction of the home is quite haphazard, careless, almost, as though the poor things are so anxious that they cannot take time to construct a proper nest.  (Adolescent behavior.)

And yet for all that, the race continues to survive year after year.  Perhaps if they were more attentive and careful, the breed would overrun the earth, and thus nature protects us all.

The sap riseth in the birch, yea, and drippeth on the ground, leaking from the fissures created by the ravages of winter winds.  High in her branches, in all his flaming red glory, the cardinal percheth.  He screameth his song, "Wheat, wheat, chew, chew, chew, chew."  And eagerly he awaiteth my planting of the flower seeds so that he can gobble them up, should I carelessly leave them atop the soil.

Happy vernal advent!

*Turtledove.  In Jamesian English, the given translation is appropriate.  Scholars agree that modern English would identify the creature as avian not reptilian.

Crabapple Products

The crabapple tree atoned for the paucity of last year's crop by providing abundantly more than expected this year.  Picked apples.  Got the ladder; picked more apples.  Filled a box.  BBBH did stuff with the apples, then we started processing them.

Burbling away!

 We got a bunch of crabapple butter!

Then we canned a gob-lot of crabapple jelly!

Then we cleaned the kitchen.

The end.

Ta Da!

C'mon, Bloom Already!

I anticipate bloom of naked ladies on July 28 each year.  Missed for sure this year!

July 29, 10 a.m.  One shoot, less than an inch.

July 30, 10 a.m. Same shoot, over 2", plus four more shoots,

two of which can be seen in this picture.

July 31, 2 p.m.  First shoot now 7".  Eleven sprigs above ground!

August 1, 11 a.m.  13".  Fourteen spears, two showing color.

August 2, 2 p.m.  19".  Sixteen have emerged.

August 3, 1 p.m.  23".  Seventeen, but not yet.

August 4, 10 a.m.  Two feet, eleven of seventeen show color.

Four Rabbits and a Catalpa Leaf

Beautiful and I walked to the secret garden in the cool of the evening.  We were perhaps six or seven yards from the edge of the garden when a rabbit burst forth and ran behind the neighbor's barn.  "She's eating our bulbs," BBBH remarked.

But then as we stepped into the fringes around the plantings, we saw these bunnies.  We stood about five feet from them, oohing and aahing.  The one farthest from the camera couldn't take it, so it ran off into the grass under the windmill. When we took another step closer, a second one ran, but at first it ran toward us.  Then it realized that that was not the right direction and turned away.

The other two remained still, supposing that maybe we couldn't see them if they didn't move.  But finally when BBBH slowly crept toward them, cooing and talking to them, they, too, decided that they had someplace else to be.

Mama Rabbit seemed to have instincts for self-preservation stronger than the proverbial mother's instinct to protect her offspring.  I have had birds attack me when I approached their nests.  So "flight or fight" proclivities differ from creature to creature.  In the case of the birds, they used both.  

I nearly allowed myself to be sidetracked here with a rehash of Jimmy Carter's rabbit tale.  But that's 35 years old, and has been done to death.

Coming Soon!

For several years I have written about the emergence of the naked ladies in the garden.  As a general rule I predict they will dance on the 28th of July, though once or twice I picked the 27th.  This year, a big miss.  On the 28th there was no sign of any life beneath that bare spot of soil.

This morning, though, there is one, just one spear standing an inch above the ground.  The ladies will be dancing soon!

Midsummer's Garden

Some of our daylilies were crowded out by the very aggressive wild tiger lilies to which I foolishly gave a home.  This bloom may have been the best of show for this summer.

I spent the morning cleaning the wildflower garden.  It had become largely overrun with tiger lilies and yarrow.  Now I like these flowers, but they are aggressive and left to their own devices will crowd out everything they come up against.  I need to do some digging, but it is still too hot for that.  Mowing, raking, and pulling thistle is about the extent of my ambition at this point.  It is at least cleared enough now that we will be able to see the naked ladies when they appear, and that should be in about a week.

Still standing are a few oriental lilies, some echinacea, and the four tomato plants in the front of the garden.

The catalpa, as usual, has produced an abundant crop.  BBBH says, "Too bad those aren't edible."  It is too bad that there is not some way to turn them into nourishment or money.

Another rather nice daylily.

More Springtime in the Yard

It is very likely that I have shown similar pictures of the same beauties in the past.   The wonders of the new life in the Spring never cease to amaze me.  I am in awe.  So, once again, walk around the yard with me.

 The holly beside the front door blooms prolifically.  I wonder how many red berries there will be in the fall.

 The redbud on the west edge of the flower garden backdropped by the austrees along the property line.

 The lilac on the south side of the barn.  Fifth year from a stick in the ground.

Nemesis or another of nature's wonders?  It is both.  A weed, by definition, is an unwanted plant.  I don't mind this lovely in the wild flower garden, but it sows its seeds into the lawn where I consider it a weed.  What to do?

Wisteria