Roadside shots

Between the struggles at work and concerns of family, I've been keeping myself fairly busy the past couple of months. This morning I went for a walk to just enjoy the quietness of the morning. Most folks don't know about the small cluster of homes on top this mountain. We are surrounded by woods that meander down the mountain and small country roads that wind through them. Each year I live here, the woods encroach a little more on this small cluster of home; something I don't mind at all. This morning the peacefulness of this mountaintop wrapped around me like a warm cozy blanket and the birds and insects serenaded me. It's a good day.

Some shots of local and distant areas I've been visiting.

Somerset County - many coal strip mines have left this area barren. The earth is healing itself, but is taking much time to do so.
The Safe Harbor Dam.


The railroad that follows the Susquehanna River


Indian writing on the walls of the dam.

The burial site of Flight 93.

A country road.

A bridge over the Conestoga River at the Port of Lancaster.

The Holiday

Yellow Daisy.

I spent most of my holiday around the house weeding and digging up volunteers that weren't in a good spot. I also planted a new shade garden under the oak. Very pretty. Nice weekend so far.

This is Oranges and Lemons Gallerdia

Mister Lincoln Rose

Asiatic lily, Kansas

Asiatic daylily, Grand Cru

Fanfair Gailardia

Baltimore Oriole daylily.

Daylilies in the garden

Some of the really fine daylilies in my garden. I do enjoy these plants.



Wineberry Candy











Red Hot Returns













R&R Rose Crush












Night Beacon








Little Girl










Julie's Pick. This one is unusual because it is a cross between Pink Damask and King Porcelain. This is not one that you will find in any catalog as I call it this. I think it is a very lovely Daylily and it has been in my garden for the past two years. I have three fans of it now and will most likely divide it for my sisters. Maybe I should see about getting it registered if it holds another year.

Indian Giver

Forgotten Dreams

Barbary Corsair

Aurora Raspberry

From the garden

Night Beacon Daylily

Electric Lady Miniflora Rose

Barberry Corsair Daylily

Aurora Raspberry Daylily

These are just a few of the wonderful flower bounty this year.

I know I've not been here much, but things have been happening. More on that later.

New Favorite Roses!

Who says climber aren't as pretty as hybrid teas? These two older large climbers are topping my chart right now with the shear number of blooms, the amount of new growth and the strength of very good roses. The color of Summer Wine is very luscious as is the fragrance. There are few coral/pink roses that I really like and this is one.

Summer Wine ~ Kordes, Germany, 1984, Parentage Unknown.

Another new (for me) variety that has impressed me is City of York, a lovely white rose with very yellow centers and stamens and a fragrance that is extremely mouth watering and unique.

This is also an extremely vigorous rose similar to a rambler. The buds are a creamy yellow opening into a lovely white bloom with the bright yellow stamens. It was named after the city of York, Pennsylvania.

City of York ~ Tantau, Germany, 1945, 'Professor Gnau' x 'Dorthy Perkins'.

Both these roses were planted last year and allowed to grow a full year before they started blooms. It is normal for climbers to bloom on old wood, so they do need that first year to gather their strength and grow some wood for the following season.

I was also impressed with the strength and ability to overwinter in my area. Neither had any winter kill and started just where they left off this spring. I've been watching these roses as they pushed out this spring and budded up. Now I will get to see them boom in all their glory and wonder why I hid these terrific beauties back around the square foot garden. Actually it was the only place I had with a fence large enough for these large beauties to grow on. And when I thought about it, I spend a good many of my early mornings and almost every evening back in the garden tending it, so they will get seen and enjoyed on a daily basis.

I spent a year deciding on which roses I wanted for this area and another year as they got their start. It was a decision that I am not displeased with at all.

Mornings

There are morning when I don't have to report to the office until a bit later. Those morning this time of year are my favorite. I get to do the things I love to do most - inspect my garden with my morning coffee and water the pot plants. The earlier it begins to get light, the earlier I'm outside.

This year my beech is looking exceptionally stunning. Usually a lovely shade of pink this time of year, this year it is a deep pink. Just beautiful.

The rhododendrons are beginning to be done now. This Roseum Elegans which was found two years ago dying in a Walmart parking lot, is now one of the most stunning of my Rhodies. Still quite small, it is just knocking itself out trying to let me know that it likes my care.

The trees are finished blooming now and the perennials are just getting started. I was very happy this morning, complete content as I picked the first strawberries for the season. I see good eating coming.

Spring

Spring here is always lovely and sometimes heartbreaking. Last autumn we had a buck rub the bark off our Sweet gum tree. It was really bad and totally around the tree, so we replaced it with another sweet gum. This spring, the new sweet gum didn't even break dormancy and we knew it had died almost as soon as it was dug. So, we gathered all the paper work and took it back to the nursery and got another Autumn Purple Ash for back there. This one is in leaf and for the past week seems to be adjusting well to it's new environment. Of course there has been nothing but high wind and lots of rain. The rain is OK, but the high winds can be a problem. I really need to get out there with some of the systemic for bore for it. Then next month this time I will give it a second douse of the fish emulsion for the roots. Then it will be allowed to grow and establish for the rest of the season.

Every year I try to plant something interesting that we found somewhere. Three years ago I found a little rhododendron that was half dead from no care and sitting in the blazing sun in the middle of a parking lot at Walmart. I had gotten several plants that day, but this one looked interesting. It turned out to be a mismarked variety, was very, very weak but cost $1. Oh, what the heck, if it died, then it died. But for $1, I bought it. Today it is strong and healthy and gives me the most beautiful 'Roseum Elegans' blooms you could ask for.

Last autumn I was strolling through Home Depot looking for bargains when I ran across a cart that had a bunch of half dead plants on it. I checked out the plants closely than asked a clerk about the plants on the cart. She told me that they were headed for the "burn pile" and she would get me a manager if I wanted anything off that cart. When the manager arrived I had asked about a very tiny Threadleaf Japanese maple that had most of its branches broken off from the dry summer. So, for a few dollars, I brought home this small, sad looking maple that pushed out this spring and grew like it was completely happy. The original price tag was still on this tree when I acquired it. $79.95. This was quite the buy and I was able to save this little guy from the burn bin.

There are some things you will pay full price for but every now and again I do run across this wonderful acquisitions. This little tree has the makings to be a really beautiful, low, spreading maple which is what I want for this area. It came out nicely and is growing very nicely.

Changes Coming for Spring

I think there will be big changes in the garden this year. It seems after a long evaluation that a good many of my roses didn't make it over the winter. That in itself has been happening over the past couple of years, but this year I lost or am losing four OGRs! These roses never die! The dead one was Charles de Mills a huge gallica that's been around since before we built this house. It lived in a pot for 2 years before moving here and being planted in the garden. I am sad. I'm thinking I might be able to save Red Rose of Lancaster. It is starting to push but is late and weak. But it must be moved anyway so I might sacrifice the blooms for this year to move it and hopefully get it thinned out and strengthen for next year. Last but not least, I'm extremely worried about Wild Spice. This rugosa has been growing like gangbusters in the garden for the past 4 years and all of a sudden, this one becomes so weak it's frightening. It's in a prime spot in the garden too. But it does seem to me that we've been having trouble, until this rose growing things in that spot. I might have to save up my money and see about a nice BIG fountain for there. But first I'll wait to see how Wild Spice does. Frau Karl Duschki is looking more than a little sad this year. It never did good for me and this one was the last hold out of the roses I got from Antique Rose Emporium. Their roses just didn't do all that good for me.

There were two other roses that were lost that make me sad. Artistry, a large HT that has done very well for me in the past has been failing for two years and finally died. And then Chicago Peace, my favorite pink. That one might have to be replaced but not this year.

Other roses lost this year were Gemini, Irish Creme (this one was amazing that it lasted 5 years in the garden, being a tender rose), Vasuzious, Arizona (I finally gave up on this one), and two Scent from Above (They started growing out of the root stock).

Roses that I'm not so sure what I want to do with or on the near death list: Sunsprite, Love and Peace (I really don't like this one anyway), Touch of Class, Chihuly (I really don't care for this one either, it's not a nice plant), MME Paul Massad (probably will go) and Pink Gruss an Aachen (I might move this one first).

There are two roses slated for moving. Red Rose of Lancaster if it continues to improve and Happy. Poor Happy is crowded under the huge canopy of a very large Marie Pavie and needs out from under her shade. I will have this little one moved to a nice sunny spot with well drained soil where the roses are doing exceptionally good.

So far this year I have two Tahitian Sunset roses one of which is planted, the other will be planted today. Two Sunny Knockouts and three miniatures for a pot. I also have a Peace rose and a Pink Peace in pots and a Mister Lincoln planted. I have three miniatures to go into pots this year, Jennifer (which isn't a good overwinter rose), Sweet Hanna, another delicate rose and Lovely Lorri which doesn't seem to do well in the ground but is wonderful in a pot and is winter hardy.

I also have coming yet, 2 Dublin Bay climbers for the one arbor and a Julia's rose for a pot.

I've replaced Charles de Mills with a small crabapple tree that is such a lovely color! If Frau Karl Druschki dies, I will replace that one with another Hybrid Perpetual. That one just was never all that good for me. Yet my other Hybrid Perpetuals are wonderful. I'll check Landis Valley this year and see what I can find.

I have been getting away from the grafted HTs more and more over the past couple of years and going with the own-root shrubs and OGRs more. I find the shrubs and OGRs actually do better and live longer for me (until this year!).

And wait until you see what we do with the back perennial bed! Most of that stuff is coming out and we're going to weed block it and replant any of my precious perennials that we can find. Most, however will be buried along with the wheat grass from the farmer's field. Some of those plants are getting scrappy; others want to take over; and the weeds, oh the weeds. That bed has been killing us for too long now. The grasses will stay; the roses will stay; and I'll just replant the perennials that I like. The bulbs will be dug out this season, dried and replanted in other spots in the garden. It's time for this to be done anyway.

It's a lot to do in a week and it probably won't all get done. But I do have the summer and it will get done. Right now, I'm mostly planning on planting the garden with my flowers I have waiting.

Sandcherry

Crabapple tree - Flame

Camellia, April Remembered

Pictures of Spring

Lemon Yellow Columbine

Lemon Glow Daffodils

Flowering Quince 'Toyo-Nishiki'

Epimedium 'Pink Elf'

Periwinkle, Creeping Myrtle, or Creeping Vinca. Three names, one plant.

The garden is starting to come into color now. Every day brings something different.

A Stress Breaker

With the situation at work, I need a stress breaker when I get home. Remember now that my Husband is going though the same thing at work and his stress release is to talk about it ALL THE TIME!


Tonight when I got home, in mid sentence AGAIN! I grabbed the camera and went outside.

The grass has turned a rich green and color is beginning to pop up all over the garden. I have yellow and dual tone daffodils; very lovely deep blue native violets with very deep purple leaves.

The wee tiny bright yellow flowers of the spice bush, show here with a fly resting on one. This is a native bush to this area. When a bird planted a mulberry tree right next to it, I asked a environmentalist which I should move. He said the mulberry tree as it is not a native. But whatever I do, DO NOT disturb the native spice bush. He mentioned that they were rare.

Then there is the very lovely Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry. This little tree is very happy with it's home and grows and blooms wonderfully.

Last but not least are my little primroses. I simply love this little flower and use it as a ground cover. If they make it through the first summer and winter, they will return to a very thick colony and be better than ever. I have several that are a number of years old now.

It was so pleasant walking around the garden today looking at all my plants. I still have some work to do out there and yes, it will get done, eventually. But right now, just watching them bloom and watching the birds in the garden are all I need.

Early Spring

Flowers on the red maple

Crocus

Black Pussy Willow in full bloom

The 1st thunderstorm of the season

More of the thunderstorm

It was a very unstable day, but I was able to get outside and do some work in the garden. The weather is like this through March and early April. Everything is feeling the effects of early spring. Even the toads.