Signs of Life

Spring, again. Were it less than twelve months since the last time we saw green shoots pushing up through winter dirt, would we be as delighted? Another instance of the human psyche and the earth's cycles working in perfectly-evolved harmony.

First to bloom, as usual, is the ground ivy, generally considered a weed. For a pest, it's pretty.















Also making an appearance, a few crocuses (croci?). I just learned that saffron is actually crocus pollen. However, apparently it's the pollen of the fall crocus. I think the pollen of spring crocuses may be toxic. I'm not going to test this theory myself, however.















The hollyhock emerges.















Also, some tulips.



















And daffodils, and hiacynth.





























And the sedum. It starts out so sweet-looking! By late summer, it's all bulked up.
















Signs of trouble: all those pods are morning glory seed pods. All those black specks are morning glory seeds.















I'm tempted to bring out the shop vac and deal with them once and for all. Hmmm ...
















photo courtesy of Pacific County Historical Society and Museum

Would you like to leave a comment on A Garden Grows in Brooklyn?
Click on # COMMENTS below. Thanks!

Hollyhocks at Last!

At last, I get to see what a hollyhock is all about. It's blooming!

[Click on any image for a magnified view.]




































So far, I haven't noticed any scent. But they are lovely to look at.


The reliable coneflowers are also blooming, in their reliable way. As summer goes on, they get a little scraggly, but now they are crisp and lovely.





































Mystery plant no longer a mystery!


















It has become obvious, at last, what this plant is. A globe thistle. Of course. I vaguely remember ordering it, thinking the round heads would complement the allium seed heads. Right now there is only one allium seed head, being swallowed up by the ever-shaggier fountain grass.


















Maybe next year, the effect will be more complete.



Jack's beanstalk?



















Only if Jack would accept a morning glory as his stairway to heaven.


A surprise

I used to have a few mallow plants (malva) in the back where the hollyhock is, but every year they were decimated by rust, an orange-brown fungus. So I gave up on them. However, when I saw this one volunteer making a go of it, I left it. So far, no rust. It chose a lousy spot, just outside the edging of one of the beds, and it may not survive the laying of new pavers currently in progress (see next post). So enjoy it while it's here.



















Would you like to leave a comment?
Click on # COMMENTS below. Thanks!

June issues forth

Roses (or Rose, as the case may be)

After a spell of crazy hot weather, the garden is now licking its wounds, and, thanks to plenty of rain and a dose of nice weather, doing okay. (I know how concerned you were.) It's June again in Brooklyn, and that means roses.














[Click on any image for a magnified view.]

The first bloom of roses, which was plentiful and luxurious, got scorched. This time around they're holding back. There is only one rose right now.



Oh ye of little faith!

Admit it, you thought that the dogwood was a dud. You thought it was DOA and would end as expensive compost fodder. Not so fast, sister!





















Maybe it was just waiting for that wave of 99-degree weather before coming into its own. If so, it will be quite happy in our Brooklyn backyard. We get lots of that 99-degree weather, just usually in August, not June.







* * *


Personally, I had no idea what mullein was capable of. I'm pretty impressed! It's got to be about five feet tall now.


















Another mullein plant is a bit behind, but looking nice as well.


















Gaura and friends

I didn't even know that gaura existed until Robert gave me this plant last year for Mothers Day or our anniversary or something.















This variety is called "Ballerina" and Robert picked it out for me because at the time, I was finishing up a book about ballerinas. (Ballerina Dreams: A True Story, published by Feiwel & Friends). I really like it -- sort of wild and refined at the same time. It has just started blooming.

Other friends are still getting warmed up. The hollyhock is stretching up and soon it will bloom for the first time -- I only planted it last year.

















And then there is the Mystery Plant #2. Its buds are starting to form. I keep expecting to have my memory jogged -- after all, I am the one who bought it and planted it -- but I'm still at a loss.

















They call me spready ...















Ah, lamium. It never holds back, it just leaps at life, and anything else it encounters. Usually I pull some out every other day or so, but I left it just so that I could take this photo and write about it here. (Pathetic, I know.)

This is what it was doing a few weeks ago. Actually, I weeded it heavily after this photo; since then it's come back, and then some.
















Jolanta is my dear neighbor who first gave me a little clump of lamium a few years ago, duly warning me of its homesteading tendencies. Jolanta, if you are reading this, please don't take my good-natured rants personally. Do forgive me, as I have forgiven you. ;-)




Would you like to leave a comment?
Click on # COMMENTS on the line below. Thanks!