Around our (Maryland) Yard in December 2012

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Maryland in December is the time for the trees to take on their winter starkness. All the leaves are gone from the trees in the forest and the sycamore in our garden.

The dried hydrangea flowers have lost their pink color.

More of the onion seeds have been rattled out of their pods.

 

 

The shelf fungus on the oak stump looks a little battered

And the forsythia at the edge of the forest is a bit confused - blooming in the fall rather than its usual spring cycle.

Around our (Maryland) Yard in November 2012

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Maryland in November is the time the raking of the leaves peaks. The leaves on our sycamore have stayed on longer than I thought it would since we already had a few of them falling in early October.

 

The hydrangea blossoms have deepened their color as they’ve dried. I am considering bringing some inside for a dried flower arrangement. 

 

 

The seeds for next year’s crop of onions are ready to fall in the garden.

And it’s definitely time to rake the leaves into mounds to they won’t kill the grass. The maples and tulip poplars are the most prevalent in our yard.
 

Falls Creek Falls and Cumberland Mountain State Parks - Tennessee

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A few weeks ago when I was in Tennessee - I enjoyed several state parks in the area between Nashville and Knoxville. The first one was Falls Creek Falls which is located near Pikeville, TN. It has shady trails and water falling over rocks and over cliffs. The rhododendrons were blooming when we were there. The trails are well maintained and labeled - but prepare for some up and down hills if you want to see the waterfalls really well. Many trails don’t require a long hike and hikers can take advantage of the water to cool off (wading…some swim) once they make the trek.

Right outside the park was a trading post where I found some great earrings and bracelets at very reasonable prices. It was a spur of the moment stop but it was probably the best shopping of the entire week.

The next day we went to Cumberland Mountain State Park near Crossville, TN. The 7 arch sandstone bridge that was built by the CCC is relatively dry with the lake lowered to rebuild another bridge. We hiked to get several vantage points of the bridge; the quality of the work overall and the drainage structures from the road bed were impressive. The slide show below is from our hike. After enjoying the park we toured one of the houses built as part of the Cumberland Homestead project in the 1930s.

There is a brochure that has a blurb on all the Tennessee state parks that is available at Tennessee rest stops and parks; another good source is the Tennessee State Parks web site.

Around our (Maryland) Yard in July 2012

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I got up early on the 1st to take a walk around our yard. We had been without electricity for about 18 hours and were going to go on our quest for ice shortly. A hot day was forecast but it was comfortable in the morning. The grass was heavy with dew. There were only small branches and leaves strewn across the yard from the storm that caused the electrical outage….no sign nearby of why the power was out since our neighborhood lines are underground. Our young sycamore tree with two trunks was bent over when we first got up yesterday but had righted itself in the past 24 hours.

 

The day lilies blooming last month have spent themselves; there are large buds on some others that should add color later in July.

 

The dahlia bulbs I planted in the spring have buds that are just beginning to open. I need to remember to water them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hydrangea that was just budding last month now has large beautiful pink blooms. I cut some to take into the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have gotten enough rain recently that some large mushrooms have come up next to an oak stump.

Previous Months:

June 2012, May 2012, April 2012, March 2012, January 2012 

Around our (Maryland) Yard in June

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We have had some hot days and then some rains. Everything is very green so the day lilies are conspicuous with their golden color. They are doing much better this year and last year when the deer nibbled them to the ground.

 

 

 

The dahlia bulbs I planted in the spring are up but not blooming yet. The blazing stars are still just green too. Both will provide some color after the day lilies are done for the year.

 

 

 

 

The mint is back and looking robust enough that I’ll start trimming it to add to iced tea.

 

 

 

 

The hydrangea next to the house has a lot of potential blooms. They’ll probably be a profusion of pink by the end of June.

 

 

 

 

As I walked around I noticed some delicate mushrooms in the newly mowed grass. They must have sprung up since the mowing.   

And finally - the maple is settled into its summer state - lots of green leaves. Some are old enough to already have evidence of munching by insects!

Previous Months: 

May 2012, April 2012, March 2012, January 2012 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Water

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Longwood Gardens has a lot of water features and they were all in working order last week for our visit. I’ve included two photographic montages in this post. The first is of water features inside the conservatory. There were pink hydrangeas framing the pools of water as we came in. The rooms of tropics plants had water gurgling everywhere and water droplets on the plants as well. There were whimsical fountains with ferns around them and colorful tiles under them in the children’s garden.

And then there were the water features outdoors. Our last visit in the fall has been late enough that the Italian Water Fountain was dry; the water spewing frogs and the stairway of cascading water were all in working order this time. The blue Eye of Water was also in good shape for the beginning of the season. The fountain I hadn’t noticed before was the tall one in the woods that simply fell onto tile where the water quickly drained away to be lifted into the air again. It was a fountain the creator of the garden could enjoy from his house years and years ago. I liked the fountain in the woods.

Of course - Longwood has many more fountains and they host light displays on summer nights. Those will be a topic after our summer visit to the gardens.

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens: