love for lilies

July is a colorful month, especially if you grow lilies. They are among my favorite perennial/bulb/tubers. I was very into learning about the endless varieties back in the day, and shopping sales. I love lilies, but they don't love animals. Most are poisonous. Luckily, my cats only like them for shade.

When we bought our land and moved, my favorite lilies moved with me. Here are some snaps, along with a few other fluers blooming throughout this month:

Hymenocallis

Smells like a Cattleya Orchid, but a whole lot easier to grow.

Amarylis



Amarylis

Can't get my Amarylis to rebloom indoors. Apparently they think Christmas in July.

Cheyenne Spirit Echinachea

Orange Coneflower

Candida Clematis 

One of two remaining transplanted clematis.
This one is on the struggle bus. Used to be prolific, with huge white blooms.
It could use more sun.

Yellow & Pink/Peach Asiatic Lilies

Alison Daylily

Beautiful peach & my younger daughter's name :)

May May Daylily


Smaller soft butter yellow, blooms like crazy



Mary Todd Daylily

One Mary Todd get's huge & goes blooming nutz

All my daylilies were transplanted and already need to be split!



Charles Johnston Daylily



fragrant rebloomer!



Naturalized Charles Johnston

Do not recall the name of this Daylily, without looking it up.

It doesn't bloom a lot, but so pretty when it does!

Shaded Barn Front (Impatients)

I used to grow Impatients bareroot IN my pond (waterfall stream).
Now I grow them in pots, and boots.

Side Barn Bed is long. Easy keeper and colorful in July.

newer Jackmani Clematis replacement

Phlox (both ^ v transplanted)



Phlox


One of few Zinnia blooms this year (started indoors)

Black Dragon Trumpet Lily

Grows taller than me & smells scrumptious! Also transplanted.

Black (ish) underside

Black Dragon reaching for the sky

Epiphyllum Cactus


Started from a small stem section, given to me by my gardening mentor.

Fun fact: His massive parent plant was gifted to the little-big city tropical conservatory!

Epi Cactus (aka Orchid Cactus)

Eucharis Lily lightly scented blooms (indoors)

Yes, I have a plant problem. I inherited it from my mom.

This is me cutting back *^*

nature of things ~ butterfly garden edition

This has been a different gardening year. Without rain, only the hardiest plants grow in our sandy soil. Mostly weeds. Tall Verbena is the only plant that reseeded itself in the butterfly garden, regardless of rain. I saved a lot of different seeds in 2022 and purchased several packets that never sprouted. Even with hand watering. 

The good news is, 95% of the purchased perennials plants returned! The ones I grew from seed and transplanted did not return. Except for some Milkweeds. I have yet to see a native milkweed take in the garden bed. Odd. They grow willy nilly all over our land. I've tried planting saved seeds (chilled and not) and transplanting with roots intact. They can be enjoyed growing elsewhere.

...................

Looking back at where the butterfly garden was when we started...

"My mind wanders with endless possibilities...a path to ride through? a place for my old horse bench, after refinishing? a solar water feature? a stone walking path? a butterfly house or three, made out of wood and/or my really really (really) dried gourds? rock features? or just a big beautiful patch of wild flowers, flutterby's and future foto fun?!!”

It is easy to see where those dreams are (not) today. The only thing from that list that exists is the dirt-n-weeds walking path. I am back to not riding, unless you count a four wheeler. I think it's safe to say I am more of a dreamer than a do-er *^* 

My Butterfly Garden was planted last May, 2022. There was SO much hope the first year, for colorful blooms & flutterbys. I enjoyed seeing my hopes come to fruition. Every single time a butterfly floated to and fro, or landed on the blooms. Spreading it's beautiful delicate wings.

...................

Our parched land finally got much needed rain late July. It was amazing what the rain water did for the butterfly garden! Much to my surprise struggling plants started flourishing. Blooming ~ and ~ my saved annual flower seeds sprouted!! Zinnias & Marigolds popped up everywhere, and even a few (originally from Val) Four O'Clocks! YAY! It is late in the growing season. Many are now in bud and should bloom IF we continue to get some rain.

I tried seeding Cosmos and Cleome this year. Annuals I easily grew at our previous home. The Cosmo's I grew indoors from seed are trying to bloom. Nada from the sown seeds.

I might cave and plant Monarda. Perhaps it will behave here, and not mold. I yanked it at our last home. No Yarrow for me. Never (ever, ever) planting that again. Extremely invasive. Nothing kills it. We tried everything. Pretty sure it is still growing where it didn't belong, in the yard. Too bad, both can be pretty.

Perennial seeds from last/this year stayed dormant. Echinacea, Black Eyed Susan, Milkweed, Delphinium, Penstemon and more. It appears planting plants are a much better bet here. I am waiting for the native plant sale to add a few more. Hehee.

Tall Verbena (self reseeded) 7/16/23

Hoary Vervian (returning plant)

Cleopatra, Coneflower 7/25/23
(returning plant)

White Swan, Coneflower 7/16/23
(returning plant)

Cheyenne Spirit, Coneflower 7/16/23
(returning plant)

Tall Verbena with snapdragons, alyssum and marigolds.
 7/19/23

Yellow Coneflower 7/19/23
(returning plant)

Pale Coneflower  7/19/23
(returning plant)

NONE of my Black Eyed Susans returned. I know they are short lived perennials, but... Last year I had a nice patch of blooming plants, started indoors from seed. This year I reseeded, and eventually bought another sale plant (and split into two). Both are on the struggle bus. Black Eyed Susans will likely be included as plants I cannot grow.

I am a firm believer of grow what grows for you.

More Purple Coneflowers (grown from seed) were transplanted and seeded this year. There is one plant left. Sigh. Last years similar efforts vanished. 

Black picky Eyed picky picky Susan
(New plant)

My orange Butterfly Weed plant also came back and bloomed. I started orange & yellow versions indoors from seed last year. They are currently re-blooming!

I started this post early July. The garden still doesn't look like much, but it is trying. Surviving parched among the weeds is not easy. Even for plants dubbed as drought tolerant.

8/5/23

yes, I am back to weeding

Patience. Not one of my better virtuous. As you know, it takes a good three years for perennials to establish. Longer for wild flowers. I am really looking forward to plants filling in, like the Verbena. It has become a large vibrant purple thick patch. A butterfly magnet.

My whole self smiles when I watch butterflies fluttering about.

8/5/23

the nature of things

Spring has picked up warp speed. Days are so full, and flying by. I continue trying to live it while I am in it. Some days find me deep in thought, and my emotions bubble up. I wonder, where are all those feely feelings coming from?

We bought our property in 2016. 7 years have passed, already! Most of you were along for the ride. We continue pouring our heart and souls into this land. Every single thing has been built from the ground up. We moved here in 2018. On Mother's Day weekend. The same weekend we moved into our first house, 20 years earlier. It has always been a pivotal and sentimental weekend for me. 

My mothers bench area is on a long list of things to finish. Her tree made it through the Winter and is in bloom on, you guessed it ~ Mothers Day weekend.

Remembrance Crocus
4/15/23

curly leaf species tulip
5/7/23

Hummingbirds and Orioles were spotted earlier this month. For the first time both of our nesting boxes are occupied!!*  The favored box that housed a Bluebird family last year was occupied first.

*Unfortunately I just rechecked Box 1 (5-15-23) and found a dreaded Starling IN the box!! Even after I knocked and took a photo...UGH!! Now that I look at the two sets of eggs, Box 1 eggs are larger than the eggs in Box 2. Box 1 has bad mojo!

four bluebird eggs, in favored box 2

(last year there were five eggs)

two eggs and counting, in box 1
5/12/23

Like all the other farmers in the area, Brad has been busy trying to get weather delayed field work done. I wish I could help, but know little to nothing about field work. Other than it takes priority. Our horses need to eat!!

He did squeak in one land project this Spring. Brad redid the little but steep hill I mention every now again when I write about walking our property. He took care of "two birds with one stone" by using a pile of our leftover sandy soil fill (dug out from the horse shed) to regrade the hill. 

Once the grass takes, we will be able to hoof/wheel/walk up and down ~ all year round!

Last year I decided to try planting a few dried Trillium tubers I purchased, in two different locations. I was SO excited to find them growing in our Enchanted Forest area! I am watching for a bloom.

5/5/23

a lucky find
5/12/23

Last year, I found two four leaf clovers in the same area on our property.

While recovering earlier this year, I added about a dozen drawings to my phenology journal. Using my past phone photos as reference. It is fun to page through the journal!

As for Hope, I mentioned to Brad "I cannot believe how one little horse changes everything". 

Change. The one guarantee in life. Everything has changed. Including me.

I fell off the blogger train and am SO behind on sharing all things Hope. Hope-filly I can sit long enough to do a condensed catch-up post on her, sooner than later. I hope!!

While walking past our windows last weekend, I saw our barn in a new light.

I turned my attention to the West. It stopped me in my tracks.

Do you see what I see? 

5/7/23

It made my eyes water. I am so grateful to be here, for this beautiful mess.

Happy Mothers Day