Fibermania

The Garden of Eden, Cary Illinois

Cranesbill Geraniums, a hardy perennial which besides abundant flower clusters have a wonderful leaf that fills in empty spots, can hardly be killed and are easily transplanted. We have three varieties in our yard and I highly recommend them.

It's poppin' Poppy time!

And this Lupine is going for the record for height. Two more buds are in contention however. It sits in the bed with hosta, columbine and bleeding hearts.

This is my new clematis from Trader Joe's. The vine is wrapped around a bamboo harp and I couldn't unwind it while the flowers are blooming. I certainly hope this is hardy enough to return next year. I will mulch it abundantly just in case.

Yesterday the weather was absolutely perfect, and my paintings had to wait to dry more anyway so I tackled the front bed. We are cultivating bindweed like crazy, and if you don't know what that is, come to Cary. It is wild morning glory and the vine strangles everything in sight and makes a tangled mess of flower beds. So we dug out the front bed and made a deep trench. Out went the dirt, bindweed (we pray) and tons of crocus, daffodils, scilla and grape hyacinth, which had all lost vigor from the clay/sand soil.

The daylilies were transplanted from a bed in back where they were getting leggy from living in the shade of the maple tree, and now will have a staring roll in the front garden. They are one step away from a weed themselves, so I assume they will thrive. The peonies are done and the hot weather approaches, so a flurry of yellow blooms will appear in minutes.

This has been an amazing Spring and I am hoping we are done with drought conditions. While I was away on my long trip (in the southwest desert) it rained continually here. But amazingly, when we dug, we did not find that the soil was wet very deep. Not good. It needs to rain every night for about six months. Not likely. The bed pictured above, has phlox, daylilies, asiatic lilies and larkspur. There are some volunteer shirley poppies which are pale pink and multi-petaled. So lovely. And free! I love it when flowers decide to reseed. Except for the larkspur, which will never be depart.

The bed that held the transplanted daylilies is the new home of transplanted hosta. Many new varieties were added and it looks like more will find their way here too. The center plant is a tree peony which flowered for the first time in four years. It is yellow and gorgeous. And over.

I love hosta and have many varieties in the yard besides in the beds. They are dependable and some are gargantuan. We refer to this one as the Hosta That Ate Cary.

One note: The painting pictures are details of a larger unfinished work, not small paintings themselves. The size of the canvas is 36x36 and is taking it's sweet time drying. Not that I worked on it at all yesterday. When it is finished, you can bet I'll show it.