Woodpecker Elevator

When I’m in the garden, I typically hear the birds before I see them. Last night when I was watering, I heard the rat-a-tat-tat of the downy woodpecker. I stopped and looked around to see if it was in one of my trees or in a neighbor’s tree. I spotted him -- waaaaaay up in the silver maple. It drummed methodically down the branch and then hopped to another branch, drumming up. I laughed (quietly) as I watched. It reminded me of an elevator.

I watched for a while and then went to the house to get the camera – hoping it would be there when I got back. It was! Still drumming away up and down the branches in the silver maple. Trying to follow the acrobatic bird was a challenge, but I was able to get a few shots before it took off for another tree.

I was surprised to see when I zoomed in on this one that his head is blurred – showing him in action! I'm grateful to you for encouraging my photos and for being patient with me as I try to improve my photographic skills.

Magnificent Mushroom and other Surprises

On my way through the garden the other day I bent down to move a stone that had fallen out of place in the border of the fragrant garden. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it wasn’t a stone at all, but a mushroom! Most likely, this guy popped out late last week after all the rain we had. I took the photo on Sunday morning. It’s the biggest mushroom I’ve seen outside a forest setting. It’s still there. The squirrels and birds and bunnies are leaving it alone, even though it is very close to the feeder.

And, when I was weeding the lavender hill later that day, I went to pull this and then realized it’s a baby rose shrub! It’s not supposed to be there, but I’m going to leave it for now. The best part of this garden surprise is that the “mama” plant was mostly dead when I got it from my sister a year ago. Neither of us was sure the rose would make it. Clearly we were wrong.

I found two small coreopsis under a peony and three small geraniums (Johnson’s Blue) under some day lilies, too! I was able to get the coreopsis moved, but still need to move the geraniums. (That was a happy accident, since I needed a couple more to add to the lupine hill!)

What surprises have you discovered in your garden this week?

Two Additions to My Gardening Bookshelf

I stopped buying up gardening books years ago, but picked up a couple recently. The first is “Good Bug, Bad Bug,” by Jessica Walliser. Like Marguerite over at Canoe Corner, I wanted to know more about bugs this year. I asked several Master Gardeners about the bugs I saw in my garden, and there was little consensus about what they were and whether they were helpful or harmful. So, when I was volunteering for the Hort Society at the Fair and saw this book, I snapped it up!

I like that the “bad bug” pages show pictures of the mature bug and the larval stage. It also provides organic options for controlling the pests and which plants are most desirable by the particular bad bug. Japanese Beetles were my nemesis this year. Ugh.

The “good bug” pages tell you which pests they control and how to attract them to your garden! I had a few bugs in my garden that weren’t pictured, so I’m going to have to search for a more comprehensive bug book. (I was told they were innocuous, but I’d like to know for certain.) If you’re learning about bugs, like Marguerite and I, check it out!

The second book I picked up (used) is “The curious gardener’s Almanac—centuries of practical garden wisdom” by Niall Edworthy. I love the illustrations; and the “warning” up front to not read too much at one sitting is charming. He suggests, instead that “readers may delve into it from time to time in the hope that they will be intrigued, amused, enlightened, surprised, or even inspired.” I’ve delved in a few times over the last few days and was all of those things. I know I’m going to have this one handy by the fire on those long winter nights that are getting closer and closer.

p.s. It's the Tuesday Garden Party over at An Oregon Cottage. Visit the link and check out what other gardeners are doing today!

Gardening “Go To” Resource(s)

A friend and I were having dinner the last week and ended up talking about our gardens. (Surprise, surprise, right?!) She is a much more organized gardener than I am – having a master list of plants, with purchase dates and growth success. (I make a map at the end of the season – partly so I can see what I want to move around next year, and partly so I can see if everything comes up again in the spring. But, I don’t have a master list of plants. Maybe that needs to go on my list to do this winter!)

Later in the conversation, my friend mentioned that she has a gardening Go To guy – Don Engebretson. He has a web site and does a column for the Minnesota Horticultural Society magazine “Northern Gardener.” On the way home, I tried to think of just one person or book or website I’d consider my “Go To” resource and couldn’t. I have, instead, an assortment of resources. I like to sort of compare and contrast and see what they all say, and then I throw in my own experience.

Do you have one “Go To” resource – be it a human, book, web site? I’d love to know!

Sunny Sunday in the Garden!

Finally. A full day to work in my own gardens! And the weather was PERFECT! Cool and clear in the morning and sunny and warm in the afternoon. I was in the garden by 9 and came in about half an hour ago – giving me almost 11 hours to start the fall clean up and move things around some more! Yesterday, I got a head start and moved and leveled the veggie boxes in their new location close in the front walk garden.

This morning, I moved the soil from the old location and to re-fill the boxes, adding a few buckets of chicken manure for good measure. Then, I set two concrete squares into the configuration so Elmer and the herb pot would each have a level “summer home.” I had a few pots of ornamental allium looking for a home, so I stuck them in as a border. I’m happy with the result. I think it will be much handier to have the veggies closer to the house, and in a location where they’ll get more sun. Monty the wonder dog says he approves, too.

My next project was to dig up the peony bed. My neighbor wanted to give me some of the plants from her garden that had originally come from her mother’s garden. And, the only place I could think to put them was in the peony bed. I left the peonies and dug everything else – lamb’s ear, artemesia silver mound, pasque flower, knautia Macedonia, geranium sanguinium – out. I then found them homes in other gardens and then went next door to dig out the sedum, roses, and peonies. (Night time photo, sorry.)

There’s still a bit left to do, but I’m happy with today’s progress.

Themes and Memes

I started blogging earlier this year after careful consideration about what I would blog about and whether I could sustain it for longer than three posts. (So far so good.) Garden bloggers are creative folks, and I’m learning a lot about the craft of blogging by reading their blogs!

A few of the bloggers I read regularly have themes in their blogs. I like that. It’s like a day set apart for something special.

• A year of Mondays – Miss Rumphius’ Rule
  
• In my Reader – Miss Rumphius’ Rule
  
• Triumphs and Tragedies – Canoe Corner
  
• Monday’s Menu – An Oregon Cottage
  

I haven’t developed any themes for my blog. Maybe I’ll think of something original. Maybe I’ll just continue to enjoy the themes of other bloggers.

The other thing I’ve learned about in my short time as a garden blogger is the meme. I stumbled onto these memes and enjoy seeing the contributions from around the world.

• Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – Hosted by May Dreams Garden—15th of the month.
  
• Monthly Garden Bouquet – Hosted by Ramblings from a Desert Garden – begins on the 21st of each month and runs until the end of each month.
  
• Tuesday Garden Party – Hosted by An Oregon Cottage—Tuesdays.
  
• Wordless Wednesday – Hosted by Wordless Wednesday – Wednesdays.
  
• Wildflower Wednesday – Hosted by Clay and Limestone – Fourth Wednesday of the month.
  
• Sad Saturdays – Hosted by An Oregon Cottage – First Saturday of the month.
  

I’ve participated in a few of these, but forget sometimes. I collected this list to help me remember, and then thought it might be an interesting post.

If you have a theme in your blog or if you have a favorite meme in the garden blogosphere I haven’t mentioned, post a comment and let me know! I love finding out about new things.

September Garden Bouquet

Whew! The rain finally stopped. “Baby Bear” Turtle (my rain gauge) measured just over 3 inches. But, south of here, places like Owatonna and Amboy got between 8 and 10 inches. Schools and roads were closed today and people were evacuated from their homes because of the flooding.

I thought everything in the gardens would be either drowned or shredded after having been pelted with heavy rains for two days, but when I went out this morning, the roses and lavender were still looking fresh and lovely. So, I cut a few blooms and brought them to the office with me! It’s been a while since I cut a bouquet for the office and it turned out to be just the thing to perk up a dreary day. The fragrance of the roses and lavender periodically wafted across my desk and for a few moments, it wasn’t 56 and blustery, it was 85 and sunny. Ahhhhhhh.

I’m sure these will be the last roses of the season. Tomorrow, I’ll cut the rest of the lavender for a sachet. Who knows what will be blooming in the gardens a month from now? I’m guessing asters and maybe some hyssop, which seems to be making a comeback.

Thanks to Noelle at Ramblings from a Desert Garden for hosting the Monthly Garden Bouquet.