I am tickled that February is almost over, and the temperatures for this week are going to be warmer than they had been in awhile. It was in the upper 50s Tuesday, and even though it was very windy, I was able to go outside without a coat on, and managed to get some photos taken. This is going to be a hodge podge post for Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.
I am glad to see the prairie smoke geums coming to life.
The short toothed mountain mints are looking great.
I don't remember which kind of penstemon this is.
I have noticed this winter that my memory seems to be getting worse. I know full well what this plant is, and I am wanting to call it a verbena of some kind, but I am not remembering for sure. It will have clusters of lavender colored blooms in spring.
We have had a warm up since the last snow, and it is pretty much all melted now. The flower beds look a lot different than how they did in my last post.
There are still some seeds on the cup plant for the birds to finish if they want them.
The Heuchera richardsonii clumps are greening up.
I think wild quinines have the longest season of beauty. They bloom pretty much all summer, and continue to look awesome in fall and winter.
I am not sure if birds eat the seeds. I did a brief search, but did not find the information.
Illinois bundleflower is another beauty in the fall and winter.
I have been spending a bit less time on Facebook the last few days. I am hoping to keep up with blogging a bit more. I am excited to see the changes spring brings in different parts of the country, and for it to make it our way. I hope things are going well with you.
I am glad to see the prairie smoke geums coming to life.
The short toothed mountain mints are looking great.
I don't remember which kind of penstemon this is.
I have noticed this winter that my memory seems to be getting worse. I know full well what this plant is, and I am wanting to call it a verbena of some kind, but I am not remembering for sure. It will have clusters of lavender colored blooms in spring.
We have had a warm up since the last snow, and it is pretty much all melted now. The flower beds look a lot different than how they did in my last post.
There are still some seeds on the cup plant for the birds to finish if they want them.
The Heuchera richardsonii clumps are greening up.
I think wild quinines have the longest season of beauty. They bloom pretty much all summer, and continue to look awesome in fall and winter.
I am not sure if birds eat the seeds. I did a brief search, but did not find the information.
Illinois bundleflower is another beauty in the fall and winter.
I have been spending a bit less time on Facebook the last few days. I am hoping to keep up with blogging a bit more. I am excited to see the changes spring brings in different parts of the country, and for it to make it our way. I hope things are going well with you.
I like brown. I can't say it's my favorite color, but your garden is a great example of the interesting effects of brown. It has many variations, textures and movement. It's subtle, but stands out in distinct contrast to the green grass. You could make an entire box of crayolas from the different shades, each with it's own distinct name. And when I see the natural look your garden provides, it makes me want to get down on my hands and knees to peer into the undergrowth and see who and what is hiding there. Unfortunately, I'm getting to that age that each time I crawl around, people come running over to see if I'm okay. It's also getting a little harder to get up each time, so I'll have to politely refrain. But I'm indebted to you for sharing your garden, and I'm looking forward to seeing it transition into spring. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun comment to wake up to! I can't crawl these days, either, or I will get dizzy. I am glad you enjoyed the colors and textures.
DeleteA fascinating thought, BriarRabbtz, making a box of crayolas out of prairie wildflower browns! I agree with you, Sue's garden is full of fantastic colors and textures, even in late winter when so much of the rest of the landscape looks abysmal.
DeleteSue this crossed my mind while wandering through your beds: How do you remove the tall dead grasses. I burn off my large clump of miscanthus but I am sure you can't do that.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any miscanthus, Glenda. I cut back the different grasses with long bladed clippers, whatever they are called. I use these clippers for some of the other plants, and others I use pruners for. I cut the clumps of grass into about a foot sections, and put them on my paths.
DeleteSheep shears. I have a bag of grass I pulled, then wished I had clipped to mulch as I went.
DeleteHello. I think your garden is lovely in all the shades of brown! Oh to have that sun and deeper soil! I am hoping that the seeds you sent me germinate. Fingers crossed! When do you cut the grasses back?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gail! I am trying to remember when I cut things back. I think I do it when the temperatures are consistently getting into the 60s. I go out and do parts of the yard at a time. It is too much to do in one day. Spring is later than in the last few years. I hope the seeds come up, too!
DeleteIn Kansas, I cut back in sections when I really started seeing a lot of spring greenup and I noticed that some plants were beginning to grow up into the remains of last year's foliage. Down here in the Florida panhandle, I'm finding myself cutting back species by species, based on when each different plant seems to be starting to grow rapidly and whether or not there seems to be any chance of freezing in the forecast. More variability here, I guess.
DeleteI start under the big oak tree and move out. It doesn't drop all of its leaves until January so it would be useless to try and clean up before then. Usually there is a big windstorm about halfway through and it blows the unraked leaves back under the tree. It takes me all winter but I choose days when I am fighting cabin fever. It is a crazy system, but it works for me.
DeleteJeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry
It doesn't sound crazy to me! You know what works at your place.
DeleteWonderful! Your garden is beautiful in all seasons!
ReplyDeleteI love the photo with the pretty light pole in it.
Happy Wildflower Wednesday!
Hi Sue, Our gardens look a lot alike right about now. I do love the brown colors of the dried stalks. If you really look, there are so many different shades. Won't be long now! My blog is fixed. Actually, there was nothing wrong with it. It was my Kapersky! I just came into the modern world and bought an Iphone. Kapersky didn't recognize it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love the browns, but am ready for the greens and other colors to show up. I still got that message when I clicked on your name, Sally.
DeleteHi Sue, whenever it's autumn there and i see lots of dried plants, i immediately feel the difficulty of removing them for the compost. If i were there i might not be able to remove them at all, hahaha. But at least your plants can push through the thick mulch.
ReplyDeleteLooking very end-of-winter! You've got a lot of handsome grasses.
ReplyDelete