It’s summer, what can I say??
I had a lovely time in the garden on Sunday. Usually I go out early in the day, between 5:00 and 9:00, but I overslept last Sunday. I went out at 10:00 and worked for three hours. By the time 1:00 rolled around, I was more than ready to quit, but I’d had a very satisfying morning.
I went out this morning to take pictures to make it easier for you to understand what I’m writing about, and discovered the battery on my camera was dead. I prefer early morning for herb garden pictures because you aren’t distracted by shadows and the colors are gentler. It just wasn’t to be. Maybe I can get the pictures later today.
I finished cutting back the chives, and I’m halfway through the oregano. I clipped off the top of the basil to keep it from flowering, and brought the leaves in to make pesto, and I harvested the first of the cherry tomatoes.
I also cleaned out the east walkway inside the garden. If you wet the chat down first, it’s not a bad job. I left one of the poppies and two other groups of volunteer plants that are growing in the walk, at least for now..
Since I never remember to take before and after pictures, I left the west walkway until I could get a picture. There’s still some work to be finished from this Spring’s renovation, but it’s minimal. Eventually, I hope to add more chat to the walkway, and we might even consider laying the bricks that are supposed to cover the chat.
Once I’ve finished the weeding, I need to mulch the herb garden. It will help to keep moisture in and may save a plant or two if I fail to water regularly.
The chipmunk that lives at the back door decided he didn’t like the rudbeckia that I had planted above his home. He burrowed around two sides of it, and it was in pretty bad shape, so I moved it into the herb garden. I have two lavenders to plant, as well.
I suppose when you look at the list of things I’ve been doing the word “WORK” floats through your mind. Well, it IS work, but the grounds look so nice once it’s done that it seems like a worthwhile way to fill my time.

I have spent the past few months trying to get gardens cleaned up from winter, and getting the new plants into the ground. Then, we reach a point where peonies, iris, poppies and lilacs are in bloom, and we sit back and enjoy the view. At that point, there’s another flurry of cutting back and cleaning up. I’ve been waiting for the daffodil leaves to ripen so that I can pull them out. We’re just about there.
At the same time, everything in the herb garden has been growing like crazy. I SHOULD be cutting back chives and harvesting sage and oregano, but we’re having a lovely rainy Saturday. Cutting back will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday. I plan to share some of the harvest with my friends at exercise.
I wanted to show you a picture of the overgrown herbs before we get to the mid-summer trim:

The chives and oregano are so wooly that you can’t even see there’s a center box in the garden just beyond them. St. Francis is in that center bed, and you can just see his head and shoulders. This year all that oregano will be shared, rather than going to waste. YEA!!
I plan to throw in a little catnip, too. NO, I won’t mix the two together! *G*

I rolled out of the sack before six this morning so that I could deadhead the peonies before I had to go to exercise. The driveway garden looks better for a little trimming back. I carried rings of hardware cloth down to the driveway garden because bunnies have been at work. The wonderful orangey-red lily that I planted as a focal point in the long driveway garden was stripped of it’s leaves and flowers, and the stems have been pulled from the ground. I set rings around the rudbeckia, because the bunnies were testing the flavor of the leaves. I didn’t want to drive past and find them eaten to the ground!
When I got back from exercise I pulled the hose out from the area where it nests and watered the herb garden, the ferns and rudbeckia, the plants waiting to be planted, and the containers along the sidewalk. Watering is the perfect time to take stock of what needs to be done.
I haven’t quite gotten everything planted yet, even though it’s almost mid-June. I’d like to get the last of the plants into the ground and then start trimming back or harvesting some of my herbs. The chives all need to be severely cut back, and the oregano should be harvested. There are areas in the center box of the garden that need to be dug up, to remove weeds and get more things planted. I’d like to see if nasturtiums will grow starting this late in the season, and I’d like to get a little more dill planted..
Three of the tomato plants need either to be staked or caged. The construction debris in that section of the garden still needs to be removed, and I’ll have to weed the walkway once the poppies stop blooming. I hope the guys will help me add more chat to the walkway.
It’s time to pull out the spent blooms of the ox-eye daisy, and I need to unearth several iris that are having some kind of problem with rotten stems. I think I can save the corms if I do it soon. And, I have several iris to divide and share.
There are ALWAYS things to do when you are a homeowner, and a gardener. These lists are reminders to me that I need to get these things done, and a way to look back over the years to see how little things change. I bet I have at least one, or more likely MANY entries just like this for each year I’ve blogged. Sorry for the repetition. *G*
It was a good start to the week.

Each year I have volunteers in my garden. The chipmunks have seen to it that I have a steady crop of dill to be found in a number of the beds. One year Cleome took over half the sidewalk garden. Despite that, I’m thinking about sowing Cleome when I move the Dutch Iris this year.
Out in the herb garden, I’ve grown a number of things in the center of the center box. Some of those things are herbal, and some are just for color. The annual poppies have decided that it’s their turn to volunteer.
If you can see the picture above, there are Ox-eye daisies (which have volunteered now for about 16 years), and the red poppies. The salvia is a perennial. I was thinking the other day that we almost have Red, White and Blue going on, if you overlook the purple-ish cast of the salvia.
The walkway of the garden is supposed to be covered with a very white “chat” or tailings, or screenings. It’s a very tiny limestone particle. We had intended to settle brick into the chat to make a brick walkway, but we haven’t gotten there yet. I like the look of the volunteers in the chat, but it’s been so disturbed with the rebuilding, that I may have to dig things up, lay down more chat, and maybe even lay the bricks. Right now, in addition to a few weeds, we have garlic chives, fever few, lamb’s ears, the poppies, ox-eye daisies and thyme on the walk.
I’m frequently of a mind to let volunteers grow. God’s surprises can make for interesting gardens. I purchased a pack of wildflower seeds, intending to have DH rototill an area for me, where I could strew the seed. I don’t think we’re going to get to it, so I might strew the seed on the edge of the property where we don’t mow. I wonder if we will see visitors and volunteers for years to come, or whether we will be simply providing appetizers for the chipmunks?
“Bloom where you are planted!” Is this the lesson of the day, or is my mind just absorbed with the gardens? *G*

At least we HOPE wet weather will becoming this way. We’re supposed to have scattered showers over the weekend, and it should be overcast for the best part of a week.
My immediate goal is to work in the gardens at the sidewalk. Quilting Bee is tonight, and I’d like for the entryway to look nice as the ladies come in.
I think we have a quiet weekend ahead. I want to putter some more in the gardens, weather permitting, but I don’t have any hard and fast plans. I might even check the paper to see if there is anything I want to see at the movies!
I hope you all have a great weekend.

We’ve been absorbed with counting the egrets and herons we see as we drive to exercise or to the grocery store. We’re well into their season now, and we’ve seen groups of them congregating where they “fish” for food. Normally, both the herons and egrets are very solitary birds while hunting, but they must have a social side we’ve never seen before.
Elegante Mother pointed out a new bird at the feeder. We both thought it was a woodpecker, but it turns out it was a Northern Flicker. I checked Sibley and read the description out, and this bird fit it to a T. They have an interesting little black bib, and are larger than most of the woodpeckers we see here. I hope this flicker will become a resident. He/She is a fascinating bird to watch!

I hope to get in another long day in the gardens tomorrow. I have to make a short trip to the bank, and to the nursery tomorrow morning, but the rest of the day I can focus on the gardens. I planted several containers today, rather than pitching out the extra plants. I still have a few more plants that had been intended for containers, and Dear Husband says that I should plunk them in the garden, where ever I have the room. It could make for interesting gardens.
I hope to weed for two hours very early in the morning, run my errands, and then come home and put more plants into the ground. Things look amazingly good so far, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. The 10:00 news just reminded me that we are on cicada alert, but the ground was cool last night, so that might delay their visit. Apparently, the ground needs to be 60 degrees or warmer for the cicadas to make their appearance. I hope that they stay dormant until I get all these plants into the ground! *G*
We did a little mowing, and Dear Husband spent most of his time readying the Arr!! for the trip to Lake Michigan. Boys and their toys. He’s just like a kid! He’ll be gone all day, and I’ll be in the gardens.
I’ve been holding off using the air conditioning. I figured it was just May, that I didn’t need it, but they are talking about some really warm weather coming up. We’ll have to see how things turn out. Perhaps, with all the windows open, we’ll be able to bear the heat.
Here’s hoping for a cool evening, a good night’s sleep, and a safe and productive day tomorrow!

I have had the most satisfying day!
We went to bed at 9:00 last night. I fought the urge to watch a little more TV or read another few chapters in my book. I hit the sack and slept soundly until about 5:45 or so. I was ready to wake, as the light was changing, and felt, at last, that I had gotten a decent night’s sleep.
I left DH sleeping soundly, and had a cup of tea and some toast, before going to the office to work for an hour.
By 8:00 a.m. I was out in the gardens. I had planned to tidy up the driveway garden. It’s the first garden you see as you enter our grounds. The peonies bloom there (or will very shortly), and there are some iris, perennial salvia, day lilies, bleeding heart, hosta and a lot of purple coneflower in that bed. I wanted to trim the edges of the bed, get one area ready for some rudbeckia, and pull a little grass that thinks it should live there. Instead, that work has been delayed until early tomorrow morning. Today, I worked on the north side of the house.
I have two areas of ferns on the north side of the house. The biggest bed really gets too much sun, and it’s surrounded by brick on two sides, so it’s probably too hot, too. But, the ferns have come back year after year. They have been spreading out into the lawn. I decided to dig the volunteers out of the lawn and replant them into one end of the bed that looked a little bare. Then I weeded most of the bed, and moved a timber over to create a finished edge to the bed.
I watered the ferns, and the herb garden, and then mulched around the ferns and watered them again. Then, I cleaned out a tiny garden box to the right of the back garage door. I’m going to try rudbekia there. It may like the heat.
And, I took a break!
When I went back out, I moved a chunk of English thyme, planted two silver thymes, a lemon basil, an Angelica (something new to try this year), and planted six tomato plants. I like the miniature yellow pear-shaped tomatoes for salads, and the Sweet 100 Cherry tomatoes. I planted a good-sized Early Girl bush tomato, and a Better Boy (I think..).
By 2:00 there was nothing more important than my date with the shower! I’m feeling (and looking) more human now, and I’m VERY satisfied with the work I finished. (Pictures soon, just for Janet! *G*)

3 Homestead Purple Verbena
4 dark ruby petunias
1/2 a packet of Rose Queen Cleome seeds
1 purple calibracoa
6 sweet basil
1 purple ruffles basil
2 curly leaved parsleys
2 flat leaved Italian parsleys
2 upright rosemaries
1 tricolor sage
1 cilantro
4 lemon verbena
1 large fever few
As usual, I have loads left to plant, including tomato plants. May 15th is the last frost date for this area (Zone 5, Chicago suburbs), so I could have planted them today, but I held off for two days to let a storm system go through. It seems that all around us are getting rain, but we’ve just had a sprinkle or two.
I need to have Elegante Mother choose more pots to plant. As usual, she bought more plants than needed. Perhaps I can send a planted container to one of my sisters, when EM goes to visit at the end of the month.
I still need to find a Bridal Wreath shrub (spirea), annual purple fountain grass, Goldsturm rudbekia, Victoria Blue salvia, Bluebeard shrubs/perennials, and more Russian sage. I haven’t planned what I want to add to the little garden across the driveway, yet. And, I’m waiting for Dear Husband to move the dingy so that I can plant the south raised box of the veggie bed.
Ya know….I’m glad I live where the snow flies part of the year. I don’t think I could keep this up year round!

Yes….I have poison ivy in my garden. Woe is me. This morning I rose and donned clothing that I wouldn’t mind throwing away: long socks, long pants, a long-sleeved mock turtleneck, and an old bandanna. I carried another bandanna with me to cover the lower half of my face, in case the ivy juice became airborne as I pulled out the roots. I wore two pairs of latex gloves.
At first I thought this was going to be easy. I should have known better. The root making its way across the ground was roughly half the diameter of my little finger. I should have watered before I weeded. I might possibly have gotten ALL of the root that way. As it it, I think I left some small suckers. The poison ivy had twined itself around and through a pod of Dutch Iris that I’ve been meaning to replant.
I got most of the root, except any that grew through the roots of the iris. After they’ve bloomed, I’ll dig up the iris and re-plant them, checking for poison ivy roots as I separate them. For some time to come, I’ll have to be careful when kneeling and planting and cleaning up in that area. The irritant (urushiol) from the poison ivy is likely to taint the ground and plants for some time. Luckily, I’ve gotten into the habit of wearing gloves when I work in the gardens, but I’ll still need to be careful.
I had a great morning. I got two thirds of the outer bed at the front of the house cleared out of old plants. I was able to see what made it through the winter and what needs to be replaced. The Russian sage is coming back nicely, and I pruned away the dead wood. The two French lavenders didn’t make it, but I was surprised to see that there were starts of Homestead Purple Verbena, which is usually an annual in this area.
I hope to do a little early morning gardening before we go to brunch for Mother’s Day. And, there may be time in the afternoon, too. It’s time to put plants into the ground! YEA!!!