Lawn And Garden Musings

I've been busy around the yard lately. One small job, which I've considered doing for a long time but never accomplished, began with dumping some compost over the fence into the dogs' yard:

I used it to cover up two rocks and to fill in a low spot. How much good it will do and if the dogs will leave it in place remains to be seen:

One of the most ubiquitous wildflowers in the yard began to flower. It is Bladder Campion, a member of the Pink family. And of course that is Red Clover below:

You've seen lots of photos of the healthy Ninebark, but I've been distressed about the one which got sick last year and is now stunted and haven't photographed it. Today I noticed that it is growing and doing well, albeit a year behind its nearby relative:

The little rock garden is so crammed with flowering perennials now that I can't even pull weeds - except at the outer margin. I took this photo to illustrate the Asiatic Lilies preparing to bloom and the three or four stems of Blue Sea Holly which are developing rapidly. Only the one on the right is beginning to turn blue so far:

Photos of the Blue Sea Holly flowers show it to have feathery, blue "petals." If they're going to have such blue petals, they'll need to start growing some soon:

I was surprised to see that the Magic Carpet Spirea had nearly doubled in size and was blooming profusely. It is a dwarf variety, but looks as if it will be able to hold its own, even as the other plants outgrow it:

And another shot of the old fashioned rose. It was putting on such a display that I couldn't resist. It pleases me to think that it survived a decade or more of being mowed down, and that I then saved it by simply mowing around it:

Another common wildflower has begun to bloom. It is a member of the Mint family and I have trouble remembering its name every year. But this year I recalled it with a glance at my field manual. It is called Motherwort because tea from its leaves was used to ease tension and other ailments of new and expectant mothers:

And in the lawn, the ubiquitous Heal-All has begun blooming (and so has White Clover). Also called Self-Heal, the plant has been used as a poultice for all kinds of wounds, rashes and skin ailments. I have read that new studies seem to indicate it can also inhibit the growth of viruses, including HIV:

Do you remember the trouble I had getting a Globe Thistle to grow? It took a few years and lots of effort, but I finally have one healthy plant - and this year it is sending up about three flower shoots:

At the top of each shoot I can see one baby "globe" developing, though I suspect there will be more of them. Maybe it will spread and I will have more Globe Thistle plants in the future. I've read that they are not invasive and several attempts to grow them from seed have failed, so that may not happen. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have this one:

Around The Farm

The pigeons are social animals, and the 21 of them in their room have a busy society with lots of activity and interactions. I guess that's why they aren't interested in going outdoors:

 The chickens would like to go outdoors but I won't let them because we have so many hungry foxes:

 The Rugosa Roses are still blooming:

 And the horses and cows are living a summer of leisure:

 Remember the stray kitten I presented a couple days ago? His brother, looking like an identical twin, showed up at the door two days later. Luckily, the Potsdam Shelter was so pleased with the first one that they were happy to take kitten number two also:

 And wildflowers are blooming everywhere. This is Common Cinquefoil:

 Catnip by the barn door. Last year I harvested most of it for my cats, but this year I'll at least wait until it drops seed. It'd be nice to have more Catnip around:

 Heal-All, a member of the mint family which grows in the lawn:

 And White Clover, also abundant in the lawn:

 Northern Bedstraw, one of our most abundant wildflowers. In this case, it was draped over an old tree stump so artistically that I thought a photo was in order:

 Pineapple-Weed, which grows in the gravel driveway or where concrete is cracked - basically where nothing else wants to grow. It really does smell like pineapple when stepped or driven on:

 The tiniest yellow flowers are Least Hop Clover. You can judge its tiny size by the White Clover and Pineapple-Weed also in the photo:

Summertime Around The Farm

I had just finished doing chores one morning when I saw a bird on a gate post, singing. He stayed there, singing a fancy, flute-like song, so I got out my camera. By then I had seen enough to recognize it as a Bobolink. This was only the second time in my life I've seen a Bobolink, the first time I've heard and recognized its song:

The five baby chicks were growing rapidly and I had to fix them up a bigger brooder after only two weeks. Introducing them to the rest of the flock will be tricky as I don't want them to be attacked, but I'll figure something out:

And speaking of the rest of the flock, they are doing well, ranging far and wide over the property. They travel across the lawns and into the hay field and pasture. In fact, they go everywhere and are especially fond of going inside the barn. All I need to do is leave a door open for a minute:

The old fashioned Peonies have bloomed:

And a yellow Day-Lily appeared in the middle of one clump of Peonies:

And the Mock Orange produced perhaps the most beautiful display of all times:

This variety doesn't have much aroma, but I can't imagine a more beautiful or bountiful blossoming:

The Mock Orange bush has grown to a large size and sits close to the old fashioned rose I saved:

 My "lawn" is filled with wildflowers, so I took a few photos while mowing. This is Hawkweed, species unknown:

 Maiden Pink. It was really prettier than the photo would indicate:

 Least Hop Clover:

White Clover. My camera seldom gets useable pictures of white or yellow flowers, so I was happy when this one turned out. It may be a common flower, but that doesn't mean it isn't something special: