Wild Geranium
Coral Bells
Wild Columbine
What looked like bleeding hearts yesterday has today revealed itself to be wild columbine. Which means that the bleeding hearts didn’t make it through the winter. I’m sad about that, because I really like them, but I can plant more.
Those silly coral bells are deliriously happy where they are, though. The dumb things didn’t even have the sense to die off over the winter. Same with the wild geranium.
I finally got around to planting tomatoes and peppers. Just seeds, though, which makes me a little nervous. Hopefully, they’ll sprout.
I also bought four o’clock, zinnia, and columbine seeds. The columbine is a white variety, which isn’t very interesting on its own, but it was the only kind they had. Hopefully they’ll make a nice contrast to the wild columbine I already have.
I haven’t seen any sign of bud stalks on any of the irises or lilies yet, but they’re in deep shade, so it might take them longer than normal. Everyone looks pretty happy, which is encouraging. The coral bells, bleeding hearts, and somethingorother I got from Ms. Lea that I can’t recall the name of, all have buds, though. I should be able to identify the mystery flower after it blooms. (This little web tool has come in handy for identifying flowers in the past.)
Addendum: According to the Wildflower Identification guide, the mystery plant may be a Celandine Poppy or Wood Poppy. That would make sense, as it seems to be thriving in deep shade.
It poured rain this morning, and most of the day the sky was wall-to-wall grey, but the clouds are starting to break up. And I’m not really complaining. I just checked on my garden, and it’s happy. There are tender shoots popping up everywhere. Primroses, irises, lilies, columbine, bleeding hearts, and all sorts of other stuff.
Sedum
I was telling my mom this morning that I probably wouldn’t see any green in my garden for awhile, because it faces north and is really shady. I spoke too soon! The sedum is up, as are some of the irises. The coral bells don’t look like they ever fully died off, so they should be fine this year, too.
I think these are resurrection lilies, but I’m not sure. I would help if I’d make a garden plan, so I knew what was where.
This bumblebee really, really, really likes sedum. Even repeatedly bumping the plant with my camera strap didn’t disturb him.
I’m pretty sure that my mom originally told me that the sedum she has is bright red, but then she decided that she also had some pinky-colored plants, as well. Since she didn’t see where, exactly, I took this start from, she didn’t know which color I had. I’d say those are pinky, which is not at all the same thing as bright red, but I’m not complaining. The color is light and delicate and very pretty. Andalsoplustoo, this means that there is still red sedum to be raided at my mom’s house. Ahem. We’re practicing looking on the bright side, see?
My sedum is finally getting ready to bloom. The little buds are starting to take on a pink blush, and a few of them have popped their outer skin.
As I was photographing the sedum, I noticed that 1) my volunteer basil plant has gotten ginormous and B) there was a praying mantis hanging out in it.
I’ve also got something else volunteering in another bed. I’m hoping that some of the seeds I planted last spring finally decided to grow. Otherwise, it’s just a weed. It’s got buds forming, so I should know soon, either way.
And speaking of things I didn’t think were going to grow, the purple aster I got from a coworker is blooming! The grounds crew scalped it not long after I planted it, and then it got hidden by the basil, so I didn’t notice that it had come back.
1. If you’re a supervisor, shouldn’t you know that it’s kind of inappropriate to say “Good job, girl!” to a black employee? Aieee!
2. Slowly but surely, all paths to the library are being eliminated by road work. This morning, 10th street at the bypass was closed. WTF?! They really shouldn’t make it difficult for me to get to work in the morning, because I just might take it as a sign to turn around and go back home.
3. One day last week, I came home to a note from FedEx on my door, telling me that they’d left my package with Charlene. Okaythen! Who the hell is Charlene (an apartment number might have been helpful), and whose package is FedEx trying to deliver to me? Because I hadn’t ordered anything, so I knew it wasn’t mine. Nor did I have any way to find out who the package rightfully belonged to, to inform them that Charlene had their goods.
Of course, my iPod is being shipped FedEx. Hopefully, they won’t leave it with Charlene.
4. Windsor and Newton’s Galeria line includes an iridescent acrylic medium. I didn’t buy any, but I did make note of it. Ooooh! Shiny! I did get a tub o’ acrylic structure medium for the new painting, as well as a few new brushes and two big, fat tubes of cerulean blue and naples yellow paint. There shall be painting this weekend!
5. Across-the-hall neighbor trapped a kitten, and I got to go over and hold it. She’s super cute and not nearly as wild as my neighbor first thought. I’m betting that her owner moved out and left her. That tends to happen a lot in college towns. I held her for about 30 minutes, and she was perfectly comfortable. She purred, but not in an anxious way, and when I rubbed her ears, she leaned into it. So if any local folks are looking for a nice cat, I can hook you up. (Yeah, fat chance, I know!) She’s all black, short-haired, with two little white toes on one hind foot, and a small white patch on her belly. And a DC-10 motor.
6. Harriet could not be any cuter, not even if she tried. I have no new photographic proof of this, because I was too in awe of her ubercuteness to take peechurs. She was in a Mood, last night, though, so there was much kidney beaning, boinging, and wrinkly-snarly-smiley face making. (Lamprey face-making, even. Totally ridiculous.) And much rolling around with legs in the air, flippy-flapping like a happy trout. I should also mention the snorting and the nubbin wiggling. There was quite a bit of that, too.
She was very happy about something, and when Harriet is happy, it’s impossible not to be happy right along with her.
Surprise Lily Keeps Surprising
I’m definitely planting more of these next year, and in different colors, too. For one, I’ve proven that they are impossible to kill. Second, they are prolific bloomers. Just the three stalks I planted have maybe 50 flowers on them. Third, the blooms last quite awhile.
It stormed this morning. I waited until it pretty much over before driving across town. I should have taken my camera with me, because the sky was stunning–bands of high clouds to the west, with muted sunrise colors reflecting off them, and lower down, scudding grey clouds, and to the east, the back side of the storm front, with its wall of grey behind giant, fluffy white cumulonimbus.
The sun is out now, but the flowers are still dripping with raindrops.
red paper boat 