Iris... Lots of them.

One of a very select group of deer resistant flowers, Iris, thrive in my natural gardens. Right now we have a family of Canada Geese, hundreds of rabbits, woodchucks, herds of deer (including a crazy protective mama and her fawn) and various other creatures roaming about our gardens. It takes a lot of tenacity for a good looking plant to survive with such shady characters around. A few years ago I received a bag of rhizomes as a gift. Very few bloomed the first year. The second year was thrilling to see these new beauties bloom by bloom. This year there are even more blossoms that I have never seen in my garden. Once, I thought these plants too old fashioned but, now I've learned that there is a good reason some of these old standbys stick around.

All Photos © Lauren Taylor

Better than Cotton Candy!

 

photo © James Kusmierski

 

photo © James Kusmierski

My  husband planted these fruit trees before we were married. The dark pink in the background is a Purple Plum and the light pink is a Weeping Cherry. They are flowering about a month early here in Michigan which is lucky for us. We leave in the morning for a two week trip to Mexico. If the weather had been like other years we would have missed the blooming fruit trees. 

There really is something magical about cherry trees blooming. The smell, of course is wonderful, and it looks beautiful...really beautiful, but, I think it is the wild life that it attracts. For the brief week or so that it blooms it brings Orioles, bumble bees, and all sorts of other critters to our yard. 

So, while the ground in most of the garden beds is still pretty bare, we have flowers overhead to keep us mesmerized.

Brunnera macrophylla 'King's Ransom'

photo © Lauren Taylor

How's this for brightening up the shade? This is King's Ransom brunnera, a sport of Jack Frost. It is a perennial favorite in my garden for so many reasons. First of all, check out those adorable, super bright, blue flowers! They are just like forget me not blooms but when the flowers are gone the show is not over. With cream and silvery veiled green leaves to rival the beauty of hosta and stellar pest resistance, this one is a real winner. After the deer and rabbits have eaten everything else in the garden I can always count on having at least this one little plant; a real die hard.

two or three or four lips

Growing tulips can be one of the most frustrating attempts a natural gardener can withstand. To plant hundreds of bulbs, wait a full term of human pregnancy, watch the bulbs give birth to pretty green leaves, spray the pretty green leaves with deer repellent, watch the spring rain water the bulbs, and wake up the next morning to see that the deer took advantage of their window of opportunity during the rain is heart breaking. This year I didn't try so hard. The deer had their feast and I looked the other way. Hey, we've all got to eat. It's like handing an ice cream cone to a starving African child and saying you can look at it but don't eat it. Right! I have pity for the deer. Sure, sometimes it seems that they must be mocking me while the saunter through the garden eating only my favorite plants, but, I can't blame them. Michigan has had some hard winters. I don't think I saw a single thaw this winter. They ate any green thing they could find.

It just so happens that our yard is surrounded by woods. We do not live in the country, nor do we really live in the woods. We just have enough trees in the lot next to us to give residence to a small heard of hungry deer and their babies. Babies...I love the babies. Some people put salt licks or carrots out to attract them. So, in the spirit of things I will use my tulips... to attract the deer. Hey, if you can't beat them join them, right? Although, at one time I had hundreds of tulips and now I have about five, I can sleep soundly at night knowing that my generosity to the deer has not gone amiss.

photo © Lauren Taylor

  

photo © Lauren Taylor

 

photo © Lauren Taylor

Summer time

Summer in our gardens are great for photos. Here's a shot of Aubrey & Patrick (one of our favorite couples) with green headed coneflower in the background. I think they were about 7 feet tall at the time. In that sunny spot they grow up to about 10 or 11 feet!

photo © Beautiful Wedding Photography

Spring Cleaning

photo © Lauren Taylor

Spring cleaning is in full swing outside but, with all the pruning, edging, organizing, and propagating our yard and gardens may actually look slightly worse! 

Dear husband, Jim, started the season with a chainsaw. The house's foundation plantings are getting a total makeover. Well, nearly total. 1 diseased Pine: down. 1 overgrown Arborvitae: down. 1 oak tree sized Honeysuckle: down. Next step: rent chipper! We have brush piles lining the yard that must be heaved to the top of our hill and chipped. Not to mention the battle of keeping the branches in the piles once we get them there (See photo above!)

I just pruned the butterfly bushes back hard. My fingers are crossed that my timing was okay. Last years branches had just started sprouting new leaves. Since there were sure signs of life it only made sense to use these cuttings to start new shrubs. So, I've added about twenty terra cotta pots with butterfly bush cuttings to this Spring Mess.

My least favorite task by far must be edging. With three acres and 36 beds (most of them islands) I must be crazy to edge them all by hand. Seriously! There must be an easier way? 

Someday, when I'm rich, I'll hire myself a man servant and he can do all this work for me. For now, I'll take a different stance on this idea of yard "work" and enjoy the simple meditation and extra calories burned.

Pretty in Pink

photo © Lauren Taylor

After reading a great little post over at goawayimgardening all about sedum and succulents I had to post one of mine.  I love this little tricolor stonecrop. It's hot pink this time of year and gets hot pink flowers in a month or so. It's just the cutest little creepy crawler. That's all I've got on the subject. Now, head on over to goawayimgardening and read more about these terrific plants!