Summer Morning Gardening

The gardening time rule-of-thumb for me in August is - every morning from 7-8 that it is not raining. There is always something that needs to be done and something unexpected to note. The unexpected yesterday was this beautiful little mushroom with its gray pleats and white filaments.

I’ve caught up enough on the weeds to move iris and day lilies that have not done well in their current location because a young sycamore has gotten big enough to deny them enough sunlight - and they were getting too crowded. I didn’t realize the extent of the crowding until I started digging them up and found very dense bulbs/rhizomes. Next year there will be lots of flowers in the sunny bed where I’m moving them.

While I was digging and separating - I thought about how these plants are part of my heritage. The day lilies were a house warming present from my mother-in-law when she moved in with us 23 years ago. She’s been gone for about 22 years now - those day lilies are a wonderful reminder of her. I’m glad I remembered to dig them up to take with us when we moved to our current house. The irises are descended from some my mother dug from her Texas garden; they had been very prolific in her garden and she planted the excess for that year in my Maryland garden….over 15 years ago.

There were other items I’ve added to the garden over the years that I happened upon as I was digging

A small chunk of pale green glass purchased in a shop on the road to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Shells picked up on some beach

And tomorrow there are still more day lilies and iris to dig up and move!

Around our (Maryland) Yard in July 2012

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

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