Springtime and Gardening

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by masser

<snip>
You've convinced me to be on the lookout for Mexican Hat seeds this winter. An attractive, hardy plant - I see a lot of them along roadsides on my commute.

If you can pull over where some Mexican Hat stalks are still standing, you can probably gather plenty of seeds. When I gather seeds I don't intend to plant immediately, I hold an open sandwich bag underneath a seed head with one hand, then grasp the seed head between my other thumb and index finger, and gently squeeze/rub so the seeds fall into the bag. For storage over winter, I add a bit of insecticide powder, and store the bag in a well-sealed jar with a dessicant pack.

Mexican Hats are a "short-lived perennial." Individual plants live only a few years. But during those few years, they produce plenty of seeds. Apart from full sun and well-drained soil (and perhaps weeding), they are quite undemanding. Even better, rabbits and deer usually leave them alone, probably because Mexican Hat foliage and stems have a distinct aromatic scent. (One day last year I noticed a number of flower stalks lying on the ground at the base of one of the Mexican Hats, neatly snipped at a 45-degree angle. And that was the only rabbit damage I have ever seen to them.)

This past summer, I noticed something else about them: the flowers have a pleasant fragrance, quite different from the scent of the foliage. However, at least during the day the fragrance is released only intermittently. I finally figured this out when I was doing yard work, and kept noticing some sort of floral fragrance. But it would come and go. It took me quite a while, and a lot of eeny-meeny-miney-moe, to determine that it was the Mexican Hats.

I have no clear idea what determines the variation in color patters on the rays ("petals"). They can be pure yellow, pure maroon, or just about any combination of patterns of the two. Some are mostly maroon with yellow at the end or edges. Some are mostly yellow with a bit of maroon. Some have streaks of yellow and maroon. I suspect that "microclimate" may play a role, and perhaps soil minerals, but I really don't know.

[Dr Sardonicus]

My tulips were first up this year. Their green leaves poked above ground a little after mid-January.

I had planted them the fall before last, after rescuing them from a neighbor's yard - with their permission of course!

I had been helping take out some small trees trying to take over their garden beds, and the husband said, "We've got these "mother-in-law's tongues" growing over there. I keep mowing them but they just keep growing back." I was intrigued, because I thought mother-in-law's tongue was a tropical houseplant (Dracaena trifasciata) that couldn't survive Illinois winters. I asked him to show me. He did. I took a look and said, "Those aren't mother-in-law's tongues." He asked, "What are they?" I said, "Those are tulips." Unsurprisingly, they had never bloomed, so they didn't know what kind they were.

And so it came to pass, the very next day I dug them up and replanted them in my garden.

Last year, they came up in late February or early March but did not bloom, so I still don't know what kind they are. They had been chewed down by rabbits early on, which didn't help them, but I made a protective enclosure and they had grown pretty well after that.

Yesterday (February 11) I took advantage of the fine weather (sunny and in the mid-40's F) to drive some rebar posts and put up steel poultry netting to make another enclosure to protect them from rabbits and deer. Rabbits generally leave the tulips alone after some initial nibbling. The deer usually wait until they are about to bloom, then bite off the buds. Sometimes they eat the flowers a day or two after they open.

This year, my tulips are putting up many more leaves than last year, so I am hopeful they built up enough reserves last year to bloom this year.

After finishing the enclosure, I checked my garden beds for new growth, as I have been doing since my tulips came up. And yesterday, I was rewarded by the sight of crocuses coming up, and also some narcissuses (narcissi?), and possibly a hyacinth.

My irises have had green leaves since last fall, but haven't yet really started to grow.

My tulips came up in time for me to inform my next door neighbor, who loved flowers. She was in home hospice care. Her time ran out early in the fourth week of January. She was 92 years old.

[xilman]

Spring is here, spring is here!
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring, don't you?

Most but not all of the almond trees in these parts have burst into bloom in this las week.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Mother Nature is reminding us that it's still winter. Today, it may get into the low to mid-40's F (around 7 C) with rain, before falling to near freezing this afternoon, and to the low 20's F (around -5 C) tonight, with a chance of rain changing to snow. Tomorrow it will struggle to get above freezing.

But during the past few days, it was sunny and pleasant, with highs in the mid-fifties F (between 10 and 15 C). I got a fair bit of yard work done. I turned over my back yard garden beds, digging in chopped-up leaves. On Monday, I got warm enough doing this that I had to shed my hooded sweatshirt. Tuesday I finished digging in chopped leaves. It was warm, but cloudy, and I finished just as a few drops of rain started falling.

A couple of people living nearby already have early flowers blooming - winter aconite and snowdrops. Honeybees are visiting them. The winter aconite was blooming in January.

My snowdrops aren't up yet, but they aren't well-established yet.

Also in the last few days, rabbits tried without success to sample my tulips. My enclosure kept them out. However, I was prompted to do a bit of reinforcing.

One of my hyacinths is definitely up, and more of my narcissi. Also, on the south side of my now-late neighbor's house, the daffodils, nowhere in evidence on the 11^th, have suddenly sprung up and are several inches tall, with buds already forming.

A couple of years ago, a rabbit snipped a bunch of leaves off those daffodils and left them lying there. Rabbits do that sometimes with plants they do not actually want to eat. Nice neat 45-degree cuts are their trademark. I have no idea why they do this. In the case of hyacinths, daffodils, or narcissi, I have a fantasy of the rabbit's last thought being something like, "Oh, my - that is quite tox..." But I have yet to find the culprit lying next to its handiwork.

[masser]

I seeded three rows of cool season crops in my raised beds today. I will add more rows sometime in March and a final set of rows sometime in April. It's a bit of a gamble as we will will continue to have light frosts, possibly into early May. However, we also have warm springs sometimes, with the final frost in mid-to-late March. All of the crops planted today can tolerate light frosts, but a few will be killed by hard frosts:

Sugar Snap Peas
Chickpeas
Kale
Daikon Radish
Garden Cress
Parsley
Chervil
Mustard
Chicory

Fingers crossed, maybe I'll have some nice early spring salads from this group. With subsequent sowings, I'll add carrots, chard, endive and lettuce to the mix.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by masser

Fingers crossed, maybe I'll have some nice early spring salads from this group. With subsequent sowings, I'll add carrots, chard, endive and lettuce to the mix.

Good luck.

Personally, I tend to regard salad as something which food eats, but degustibus non disputandum est.

[Dr Sardonicus]

I've now got snow drops blooming. More of my narcissi are coming up. More crocuses too. My tulips continue to grow well.

My "surprise lilies" (Lycoris squamigera) AKA "resurrection lilies" are poking above ground. They put up strap-like dark green leaves in early spring (or in this case, late winter) which begin to fade in late spring, then turn brown and dry up. But in late summer, they suddenly send up flower stalks which grow very fast, and bloom.

I was gathering some dry leaves in case I need to protect my tulips against the cold snap that will follow the rain and wind bearing down on us. But we are lucky. Further north, they're getting a lot of snow, and it will get a lot colder than here.

Anyway, while gathering leaves, I saw that my Columbines are putting out leaves.

In my herb patch, my thyme has green leaves. No new growth on my other perennial herbs yet.

UPDATE: After an inch and a half of rain yesterday, I looked out on my verge, where a few years back I had planted dozens of crocuses (Crocus Tommasinianus AKA Tommies) but only a few had ever come up. And what to my wondering eyes should appear...

[Dr Sardonicus]

We've had a nice stretch of glorious Spring weather. Highs around 80 F (26 C) and overnight lows around 50 F (10 C). Flowering trees and shrubs went into overdrive. Spring wildflowers that usually bloom in sequence, instead started blooming all at once.

My native plants are doing well. My little patches of Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica) are blooming. The patches have increased in size since last year. Under my tulip tree, my Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), initially mowed down by rabbits when they first came up, grew back, persisting after the rabbits gave up on them, and are now blooming. My native wood poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) are blooming. My Wild Geraniums (Geranium maculatum) have buds on them. My Wild Ginger (Asarum canadensis) is growing well.

In the sunny part of my back yard, the clumps of Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) [native tall-grass prairie grasses] are up. Some of my Common Milkweed (Asclepia syriaca) is up (there is also a remnant of the colony that grew from my original planting in my front yard, which I am trying to annihilate). My Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), Culver's root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), and Prairie Blazing-star (Liatris pycnostachya) are up.

Along my south fence, where it is a bit less sunny, I have the annual Spotted Touch-me-not AKA Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) and perennial Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica). In the shady area on the north side of my house I have more Orange Jewelweed and perennial Prairie Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). The columbines have sent up flower stalks, and will soon be blooming - which will be a bonanza for the hummingbirds which have already been sighted in the area, and will soon be arriving in force. I also have a few Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) which survived the winter, but aren't at present looking too good. My Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) is up, and has "had babies" - little ones are coming up near the one I originally put in. I moved the Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) that had been languishing on the North side of my house out to a sunnier location, and it is growing well.

My Mexican Hats (Ratibida columnifera), a Western cousin of Gray-headed Coneflowers imported to Illinois by Yours Truly, are doing well, as are the Indian Blanket AKA Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella). I also imported some seeds of the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulata AKA Peritoma serrulata), a Western annual which apparently also is native to Illinois. I made sure to scatter some seeds last year, and some of them are coming up.

Oh, and the native common violets (Viola sororia) are about at their peak. I let them grow in my lawn, but have to dig them out of my garden beds.

In the ornamentals department, my lone surviving Hyacinth (pink flowers) has bloomed and is fading. My "rescue tulips," now in their second Spring in my garden, are finally blooming, so at last I know what color they are. They're sort of two-tone pink and off-white. My Narcissi are blooming wonderfully - including the row I'd planted along my sidewalk and didn't bloom last year or the year before. I muttered that if they didn't bloom this year, I would move them. They must have heard me! Also blooming is a Verbena I planted in my front garden last year. It has pink flowers that are very fragrant. I am a second-hand pass-on recipient. I don't know the variety, but it's an older one.

My peony is up. I finally identified my "monster petunias," which - literally - came to light when I redid my front garden beds. They are a cultivar known as "Old-fashioned Vining Petunias" (Petunia multiflora), and were popular a century ago. They still grow around farm houses out in the rural areas. They never need deadheading, and they become very fragrant at night. Large-scale commercial plant and seed sellers have long since abandoned them in favor of varieties with larger flowers, more spectacular colors, and no fragrance. Mine are up. My "pink pom-pom" poppies are also up. My various Irises are growing well, but are nowhere near blooming yet.

The warm spell has come to a screeching halt. Last night a cold front came through, with temperatures falling along with some much-needed rain. Late yesterday afternoon it was 78 F (around 26 C). It is now 43 F (around 6 C), and still falling last I checked. It's not predicted to get much warmer today. Tomorrow it might get into the low 50's F (maybe nosing above 10 C). Tonight and tomorrow night, it will be teasing with freezing. Well, maybe the cool weather will let the blooming flowers last a bit longer...

[Dr Sardonicus]

This year's gardening efforts have been beset by a new problem. Squirrels, or possibly chipmunks, have been digging around some of my new plantings. This has not happened to me before. One morning, I found two of my pepper plants lying on the ground. I replanted them. They survived. I sprinkled cayenne pepper powder around all mypepper plants, and they have been left alone since. However, a newly planted Tithonia ("Mexican sunflower") was broken off at the ground, which killed it. The diggers have also gone after one of my new prairie grasses, and my new Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata). I'm not sure the grass will survive, but the milkweed seems OK. The critters may be after the moisture.

Earlier, a mole had taken up residence in my front garden. It wasn't hurting anything, but I decided I wanted it gone. I put cayenne pepper powder and mothballs down the burrow. It vacated that burrow, but dug another nearby. I put cayenne pepper powder down the new burrow, and the mole abandoned my garden.

Grasshoppers are starting to appear in force. However, when I was watering the other day, I saw several Great Golden Digger Wasps (Sphex ichneumoneus) looking for places to dig their burrows in my garden. I leave them alone. Their burrows probably aerate the soil to some extent, and the wasps take grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets, which they paralyze, put down their burrows, and lay eggs on.

I replaced my Tithonia with one from a local nursery, and got some "Benary giant" zinnias and an ornamental Datura while I was there.

My sunflower patch had a late start, but is coming along well. My wildflowers are doing very well. My columbines are almost done blooming. My Mexican Hats will be blooming soon. Likewise my Common Milkweed and my Butterfly Weed. My Gaillardias are blooming. So are my lance-leaf coreopsis and my Wild Quinine. My Monarda ("wild bergamot") and gray-headed coneflowers will bloom a bit later on.

In the ornamentals department, my Old-fashioned Vining Petunias have started blooming. My "pink pom-pom" poppies will be blooming soon.

In my herb garden, my thyme bloomed like crazy, and is still blooming. It is being visited by many kinds of small bees and wasps, flies, and larger bees - honeybees, bumblebees, and carpenter bees. Last year I planted a single small lavender plant ("Munstead lavender"). This year, it has gone completely bonkers, spreading out over a sizable area, with many flower stalks. It has just started to bloom.

We are now getting summer weather. Yesterday it hit 92 F (36 C), but there was an unexpected short shower in the evening which delivered a small amount (.05" or 1.3 mm) of rain. We'll take it!

High temperatures are expected to hit around 90 F today and tomorrow, with a slight of afternoon thunderstorms. Friday is predicted to be even hotter. If I can keep my plants watered, they will grow very fast!

EDIT: I went to a rural-oriented supply store buy some parts to do maintenance on my lawn equipment, and some other stuff. Before I even got in the door, I saw plants for sale. Of course, I had to take a look. They had some peppers. The first few I looked at were mild. Then - a Carolina Reaper! It was the first thing in the cart after I got in the door. Now it's in the ground, at the head of the row of peppers marked by a road sign I claimed as abandoned property (it had been leaning against the outside of my neighbor's back fence for over 15 years) and repainted:

[Dr Sardonicus]

In the wildflower department, my Mexican Hats, Gaillardias, and my Common Milkweed are blooming like crazy. My Butterfly Weed is blooming. Still very few butterflies. I saw one Monarch in my front yard and one in my back yard on Saturday. I saw the one in my back yard swooping around the Butterfly Weed and the Common Milkweed, but I didn't see it land. Of course, it could have been there for some time before I happened to walk back there. My Wild Quinine is blooming. My Mountain Mint and my False Sunflowers (Heliopsis helianthoides) are starting to bloom. (The false sunflowers have spread so much from the original single small plant I put in, I massacre the genus name and call them "heliopolis.") My Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata), a new addition this year, appears to be starting to bloom. My Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulata AKA Peritoma serrulata) is starting to bloom.

My Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpura) has flower buds. I have four Cardinal Flower plants (Lobelia cardinalis), at least two of which look like they will bloom later on. My Columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) have mostly gone to seed, but there were still two flowers today (June 13). I have gathered a good crop of seeds, with plenty more on the way. My columbines have been almost completely defoliated. I know some had leaf miners, opening the door to mildew or something.

My lance-leaf coreopsis is mostly done blooming, but still has a few flowers left. I put in a two-year-old Illinois Bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis) and it is doing quite well. Also, one of my leadplants (Amorpha canescens) which I put in last year, and I though was dead after it was eaten to the ground by rabbits, turned out to be alive, and is now growing again. I have now protected it from rabbits. My Liatris plants are growing well, and are starting to produce flower buds. My Spotted Jewelweed and Great Blue Lobelia are doing OK, but have needed watering due to the dry weather.

The rain predicted for Sunday June 11 did come, but not the 1/2 to 3/4 inch predicted. My rain gauge had 3/10 inch in it. Disappointing, but we'll take it!

My Halberd-leaved Rose Mallow (Hibiscus militaris) is growing well. It will bloom in late summer. My Missouri Ironweed (Vernonia missourica) is growing very well. I expect at least one of them to grow higher than my fence, which is about six feet high.

In the ornamentals department, my "pink pom-pom" poppies and my petunias are blooming. The poppies are "one-day wonders" - each blossom lasts for a single day, then the petals fall off. But during that day, bess visit them, especially honeybees. My zinnias are doing well, despite being nibbled by rabbits. I have sprinkled cayenne pepper powder to prevent further depredations. Some of them have flower buds, but aren't blooming yet. I have a number of volunteer Cosmos (the kind with feathery leaves, Sensation or Picatee), and planted some seeds from last year's Diablo and Bright Lights Cosmos. There are also a number of volunteer flowering tobacco plants (Nicotiana sylvestris).

In the herb department, my Lavender is now in full bloom. My Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) is getting ready to bloom. My Oregano will be blooming soon, so the best time to harvest is at hand. Besides, the stuff grows like a weed, and needs to be severely cut back. My parsley is doing well. My tarragon and sage are growing vigorously. My Lemon Verbena is starting to grow well. I recently put in some Basil, and it is doing fine. I have a couple of stray Borage plants, whose seeds somehow wound up over 25 feet from where I grew a single Borage plant in my herb garden last year. They are starting to bloom. Borage has sky-blue flowers. Nearby is a stray Spotted Jewelweed. I have no idea how the seed it grew from got there. It is at least 50 feet from where any of my jewelweed is growing. It too is blooming. It has orange flowers. Hail to the orange and blue!

My chile peppers are doing well, despite two of them having been dug up by squirrels (which were apparently seeking moisture after I'd watered). I replanted the peppers, and they are doing fine. My single tomato plant is growing well.