small herbs

I have potted up and planted most of the herbs. They are pathetic. I was wrong about those summer savories in the planter box. I don't think they grew from prior rootstock, but from self-sown seed. Found a number of savories down in the garden beds, where I certainly didn't plant any last year! They just grew so much better, at the right time (mine started way too late).

Now into a pot (and trimmed, which parts we ate on fish)

I was cleaning up the garden beds (don't want weeds taking over and scattering their own seed everywhere) and dug up/moved half a dozen summer savory plants and four dill. Left this one where it was. It's over a foot in height, whereas the few dill I started from seed, are barely an inch. 

I think the younger plants are really struggling in the heat. A third have died.

As for the other herbs- my sage never germinated. So I guess that seed from mother's garden is finally too old! But I got some sage cuttings from another gardener. They had been left out on her driveway (for no-contact pickup) all night, so I'm not sure if will recover. I have two large pieces with woody stems, and several smaller ones with tender young stems that I pulled off the larger. Dipped all in rooting hormone and crossed my fingers. They look super sad right now.

 It's nice to see in that bed, the winter savory recovering! (Maybe I should cut it back hard every spring) 

Sculpit is really taking over the space, I had to trim it back (need to eat it more!) You can see tarragon just behind the sculpit to the right- I'm glad that one's growing again because just finished using up all the dried tarragon from last season.

Lavender is also sprawling all over needs a serious trim (after the bloom time) and sorrel starting shooting up flowering stalks that I've been cutting off. 

My garlic chives are doing okay, but the green onions I started got nipped by cold one night, or withered in heat one day. Hasn't been the greatest year yet. Most of the parsley died- I have one seedling left in the pot I moved them to

Of all the thyme, just two small plants alive. Also potted up now.

The fenugreek all died, but two more of the seeds sprouted in the tray (I hadn't dumped the starting soil yet) so I hope those will make it. Fenugreek is one I always seem to plant too early and then struggle with.

But the basil is doing great! 

Of all those that grew, three lived and that's enough for me.

So the herbs I have: winter savory, summer savory, tarragon, sculpit, dill, basil, sorrel, a small amount of thyme, one parsley plant and maybe sage- if it recovers at all. And the bay leaf tree! Also chocolate and ginger mints, and the established pot of chives. Not too bad, but I hope also for fenugreek and wish to plant rosemary yet again.

I had a bird in my hand

I'd been out in the sideyard, pulling a few weeds and watering some of the newer plants. My cat followed, and there were several wrens scolding harsh little buzzing alarm calls from the euonymus shrub, over and over. I wonder if they have a nest there, although it wasn't just one pair scolding, but three or four birds. Did two pairs nest in the shrub? or another pair nested nearby and they gang up on my cat? probably

Anyway, I went back in the house, where I'd left the sliding glass door to the deck open for some fresh air. Heard a wren again, chirping but it sounded particularly clear, and too loud. In the house. I turned and yes there was a bird in the house fluttering against the window and when I went to try and shoo it outside, it flew onto the mantlepiece, then down near the floor into a corner, then around into the kitchen where it landed on the counter among some dishes, and so on. Trying to hold my coat wide and coax it towards the open exit didn't seem to be working, so I got a lightweight small towel. 

When it flapped along the kitchen windowsill (that has a bug screen so I couldn't just open it for the bird) I moved to hold the towel up behind and kind of cupped it around the bird and suddenly it quieted in my hands. I held them both loosely around the bird in the towel, and stepped outside. Opened my hands more, and for a few moments the wren was just perched on the towel, on my hands. So small, and so very light! If I'd had my eyes closed, I wouldn't know there was anything sitting on that towel at all. When it sprang into the air dipping flight away into a tree, I didn't even feel it leave. 

I was glad to help it out into freedom.

so very late

but I did finally pot up my herb seedlings. Even though they will probably go into their larger pots and/or the ground in just a week or two, they needed nutrients from regular soil. So small still! Basil

Dill 

Summer savory 

Thyme

Actually got a few fenugreek- two more sprouted in the seedling tray

The parsley, 

garlic chives and green onions aren't quite big enough to prick out yet 

It seems like the cardinal climbers leapt overnight- this was a few days ago when I potted them up

And now: is it my imagination, or are they slightly larger already

Here's a more visible difference in size: summery savory seedlings just before I took them out of their tray

compared to a few of the same plant, that grew back from roots in the planter box on the deck! I didn't know this herb could survive the winter, but these two did just that (only two out of the dozen I had growing last year, so not much but still)

I was wrong

 about that plant. It's definitely not false indigo. 

The flowers are spiky, and yellow.

I still don't know what it is, but I think it's something I don't want growing here. Although- a quick search tells me that false indigo plants can have yellow flowers! So now I'm even more unsure, ha.

I've been trying to figure out

the identity of a plant growing on the sunny hillside. I can't remember if I transplanted it, or perhaps it spread by seed naturally. I think it's the same as this one- the false indigo down in the back near the compost heap. This one, in more shade, has longer leaves, which made me think it wasn't the same plant, but perhaps they grow longer because of the light difference.

The second false indigo in the original location by the panicle hydrangea is not there- I remember it was faltering one year, and I can't recall if I dug it up and moved it over here to have more sun . . . that would explain this. I looked back in my record here to see if I'd made note of it, but nope.

Here's the one I'm wondering about. 

Closeup of the leaves

They look so much the same, with that simple pleated fold in the middle, except some of these have slightly serrated margins? It does have a very vase-like shape viewed from a distance, which clued me in. Nearby are two smaller plants I think are the same, though at first I thought they were some kind of clover (ha) and almost pulled them:

The large one is about to bloom- so soon I can make a more positive identification (and remove it promptly before seed sets, if it turns out I once again nurtured a weed!)

I do recognize this clump nearby- one of the sedums I transplanted over here from the other dead stump spot in the front yard (which is so rotted out now I could remove all that sedum and put a new young tree there . . . )

some things

around the yard: boarage is getting big leaves and filling in thick around the mailbox spot!

Some sensitive ferns are growing in among the lilies of the valley- I don't mind how it looks mingling, but probably will have to dig/pull some ferns before they go too far. 

My first cranesbill, that seemed to have died off earlier in the year, is doing just fine now! Although still half the size of the other one.

Spiderwort blooming. Looks taller and fuller this year.

All the joe pye I hastily dug up and moved to be against the house wall on the first sideyard, survived the winter and are coming back. They did much better here than the swamp milkweed (I still haven't found more than the first three clumps to move) so I think the milkweed wasn't really thriving here.

That one orange flower came up again among the bleeding hearts and hellebores.

Mountain laurel is starting to bud! Though it doesn't look so happy in this spot- still doesn't have many more leaves. Now I'm starting to wonder should I move it yet again.

Rumex. I always like seeing this plant in spring, though later in the season it always looks ragged from the bugs. . . 

first true leaves

are out on my cardinal climber seedlings. They're not quite big enough, and it's too cold (got chilly this week) to plant them yet.

Which saddened me a little, because today I glimpsed a hummingbird on the deck, it flew by the window and paused a moment. Sad that I don't have many flowers to offer it. The black-and-blue salvia has grown quickly- its foliage two feet tall now! but not close to blooming. I think hummingbird will feed on the clary sage, the lilac, and maybe the columbine?

but those aren't many in my yard. The poor lilac only has one half of it blooming. The other side, bare stems. I am still not sure if deer have nipped it, or the neighbor's tree shades it too much, or the tree that was growing in its middle choked it some.

But it smells lovely as always.

days of grey

and drizzle, perfect for planting out the new stuff. I got all of them in the ground except the new england aster, and the solidago rugosa (below) which I gave away, as I realized it's in the goldenrod family and makes sprays of yellow flowers. Just not my favorite flower color.

Near the top of the second sideyard hill, where I'm trying to establish groups of flowering plants, I put the little brown-eyed susan on the side, uphill from the new daylilies.

Further downslope, the Liatris spicata.

Opposide side of those, flanking the gladiola bed, some obdient plants. I put a few near the garden in the backyard, too. Some of these not sure if I've spaced them out enough . . . 

Here's the top of that sideyard hill. I'm very pleased with the clary sage, it really stands out when nothing else is really blooming yet. That's older daylilies to the left of the pink clary, and turtlehead filling in between and behind. In front of them are the lyreleaf sage (shorter plants) and a bunch of volunteer violets. I also put in two or three coreopsis, but the foliage is so fine, can't hardly see them.

Here's a closeup of other coreopsis I planted on the first sideyard, near the steps.

In the back near the camellia, I put the late thoroughwort, or boneset.

These are the lady ferns, in where took out the small-leaved holly.

While doing all this, I found a small baby stinkin' hellebore on the second sideyard! It's probably too sunny for it there now, so I dug it up and moved to grow behind the lady ferns above. 

Also dug some sensitive ferns where they were encroaching on the walking space. Yanked out grass that always grows tall in this gap between the basketball hoop and the little patio, that I always have to cut by hand. Put them there. I think ferns will look nicer.

There's more pics and things to say, but another time.

woodpecker!

I was happy the other day to hear a catbird calling, and to see the wren poking through garden beds I had just cleared of weeds. The house finches joined them. But today was even better- I got a good sighting of this large woodpecker digging out one of our empty stumps. There's two in the yard that have been getting hollowed out, I wasn't sure which animal was working on it. Pileated woodpecker.

What a stunning bird. Difficult to get a photo becuase I didn't want to startle it away- these are from across the lawn. 

Video:

a few days ago

I saw the pink geranium opening its first flower, looked like a rosebud

now it's open completely

tired now

 after doing just three things outside. I cut out the small-leaved holly that grows under the big japanese one. I do like its small, neat and glossy leaves, but it has such an untidy shape- all leggy and sprawling, probably reaching for more light. I chopped it down to a bare trunk six inches, might make the effort to dig that out later if it regrows. I couldn't picture planting it anywhere else with the awkward shape it had.

 In its place under the japanese holly, I planted four lady ferns. They look so nice there. Will take a picture tomorrow.

Then pruned the row of viburnums. Still uncertain if I regret having planted the volunteers. I've kept all the younger ones clear of the fence- cutting out branches on the back side, there's actually enough space to stand back there. Hopefully this makes it easier to chop them out if I have to remove in future. My pruning job made it look a lot neater- an actual hedge now.

Earlier in the week, sitting outside after some work, I was admiring the light airiness of the spider azalea across the yard, moving in the breeze. Yesterday I looked and it wasn't as easy to see. It looked sparser. I walked over and yes, there were twig ends nipped off, fluff of foliage missing. I found deer droppings near the panicle hydrangea. I looked around the yard- the deer haven't once touched the young japanese maple hybrid on the second sideyard. They haven't eaten any of my transplanted forsythia scion, or the new growth on the younger euonymus shrubs. Just this plant right now. They had to taste something new? 

I got my husband to help me remove the fencing from around the japanese maple, and we moved it to surround the spider azalea. Sigh.