planted stuff

I put my new rosemary in the ground. In the corner of the garden. By the rue- so you can see it's really still quite small, considering the final size it might get- but four or five times larger than any rosemary plant I've had in the past!

I trimmed those droopy tips a bit too, to reduce the transplant shock.

Also planted out- on the backyard slope that I want eventually to have no grass- the shining sumac. So small from the house I can't even see it!

The iris are likewise nearly invisible-

And the two shrubby St. John's wort. Near the other ones. Now I suppose that my larger St. John's wort (the first one I planted) might also be a 'shrubby' one, and the one with very small leaves, another variety? I didn't realize before there's different types, though I ought to have guessed.

And indoors, I took all the crypt balansae out of the vase and planted them into the aquarium. They're down the center. Hard to get on camera though. Here's a side shot

and one with the fish in it. He's not quite as bright as before. Maybe the excitement of loosing his tankmates has evaporated. Or he doesn't like the change in weather (colder now). He still brightens up when I feed him a worm or fly, but then darts away from the camera, of course.

plant swap!

I made this bench on the front porch (some of the legs a bit wonky, it's not nearly as sturdy as I'd like, but it does the job of holding up whatever I need to set down for a moment)

and here it is with plants ready to go to the swap. I took two rue, four pots of echinacea, the mini geranium, some coleus, three potted catnip, and some aloe vera babies. But nobody wanted the catnip, I had to bring it home again. And I'd had it identified wrong all this time- I thought I was growing catmint, but it's catnip- no wonder it seemed too tall, and the flowers not-quite-right. I was corrected at the swap.

and what I brought home! Here's some, plus more pics below of individual detail- the one lower front left is buttonweed. Not even sure I'll plant that one now, having discovered it's considered a difficult-to-control lawn weed . . . 

The rest I'm pretty happy about. I got slender mountain mint-

'Shrubby' St. john's wort- Hypericum prolificum-

Elephantopus carolinianus or Elephant's foot (referring to the root) makes small purple flowers, in the aster family. Seemed interesting!

A sedum that looks different from the ones I already have-

Virginia sweetspire

Also a small rosemary plant, two New England aster (yes, trying that again even though every time they disappear. I think get eaten) and a wild bergamot (monarda, or bee balm) why do plants have so many names for the same thing. And- shining sumac! I have wanted a sumac for many years, although I was hoping to eventually find a stahorn sumac, this will do for starters.

American beautyberry!! Very excited about this one.

and a good-sized rosemary that someone had obviously just pulled out of the ground, so maybe I'll have one that gets through the winter at last. It's as tall as my hip.

Plus a few little houseplants- two little succulents, Haworthia and a dwarf snake plant, plus this one with purplish tint that wasn't labeled- it looks like another begonia variety to me, but I'm probably wrong on that.

and three bags of iris bulbs- 'Black Gamecock' Louisiana Iris, 'Pallida' and 'Victoria Falls' both a tall bearded iris. I've never grown iris before but I have a damp area I think they'd do well in.

time to joyfully plant stuff

yard plants renew

Many of them seem to be doing better now the weather is cooler. Arum has sprung up around my rhubarb again

hellebores have fresh new leaves growing in their centers

Rumex even looks nice, now-

My iris has proved itself happy-

it appears to be doubling at the base! Not sure if I should divide it, or let it be

the largest nicotiana are up to my knee- but still no flowers

Echinacea are all gone to seed-

wow look how thick the younger generation!

Heucherella I moved looks good in its new spot near the garden- if it doesn't get overwhelmed by the mock strawberry

the milkweed I cut back has regrown! (surrounded by vinca)

Weeks ago I yanked out all the dead sweet peas- but now quite a few are springing up again

I only have three tithonia plants now. One got broken by wind and never recovered, another succumbed to insect pests. I spent hours out there last week cleaning dead leaves and flowers off the remaining plants, trying to keep them more tidy. Also swiped aphids and fed to my tetras. Found one leafhopper- squashed- and two cucumber beetles- missed 'em. I hope there are not more (cucumber beetles- they have ruined my entire garden before)

things around the yard

I thought my fanflower was all dead, but here's a little one hanging on.

I took cuttings of 'scat plant' and just stuck them straight in the ground, before a rainy day. They didn't flinch.

My younger heartleaf brunnera have grown a bit.

Hellebores are still steady plants. I appreciate their everlasting foliage.

My ferns in the back perennial bed did much better this year. I am not sure if it is due to all the heavy rains we had, or because I squashed a lot of those boxelder bugs- which I did see crawling all over the ferns. Sometimes it's hard for me to tell if the plants are withered from dryness, or illness.

Rhubarb is still plagued by - slugs? I need to spread coffee grounds. I still put those regularly around the vegetable/herb garden and have no slug troubles there. But I often forget to do the same in the back beds.

Rumex got hit, too. Probably won't grow this again, since it didn't do so great, isn't visible unless I'm up close, and I've decided not to eat it.

Iris sure is happy in its new outdoor spot! I'm glad I finally figured out what it was, and would be thrilled if it got established and started multiplying.

Unsure if I will grow salad burnet again. I haven't found many dishes I like to use it in, and I constantly have to remove older stems from the base of the plant that get sickly-looking (probably from leaf hoppers).

I do still find the leaf pattern and shape very pretty, but I don't often get an up-close view to appreciate it. Also, it seems to need a lot of water to keep in good shape. Maybe it would do better in the garden bed, than in a deck container.

Something not a plant: fungus on one of the wild cherry logs I have sitting around the yard (they're handy as makeshift seats, or places to set things down on). I think it's called turkey tail.

Also, a happy note: today I saw a monarch butterfly on the tithonia, and was able to approach it very closely. Its wings looked bright and new, vivid contrasts and no worn or faded areas like the previous butterfly I photographed. I wonder if this individual hatched from one of the caterpillars I fed. That sure would make me happy. I've also seen a swallowtail butterfly in the yard several days in a row, so beautiful- one that's dusky, with blue on the trailing edge of the wings.

identity

I finally learned what this plant is. Which I have kept indoors in a pot for two years! It's grown a lot, and I had a hunch it really wasn't a houseplant, but didn't want to put it outside until I figured out what it was.

It's an iris. I was walking with my youngest behind the local nature center, and we paused at a small pond. I saw these plants in clumps around the pond edges, with the same narrow, straplike leaves that grow out in that flat fan pattern. I had never guessed it was a riparian plant! Immediately I thought iris and looked at some closeup pictures once home. Yup.

Except- I still don't know which variety. I don't have a pond, and the two damp places in my yard are in full shade. Well, I planted it out (today is part-cloudy and tomorrow supposed to rain) in the lower part of the yard near a fence. It's a real long chance- doing a transplant at the onset of summer- but the iris certainly wasn't happy in the house anymore. I have been watering it heavily throughout the day. I do hope it survives and may bloom next year, so I can see!