Let the Orange-Fest Begin!

 

...and after the Big Weed ( probably 40 linear feet of flower bed)

 these photos of three stretches of it.

 My husband is the patient one. Persistent and methodical.
The results are always gratifying.

End of June

 In between rains

 (storms, actually)

 weeds and flowers

 grow here with abandon.

 It's next to impossible to keep up.

I'm itching to get my hands (gloves, actually) on the thistles 

and volunteer trees taking up space in our flower beds!

A Formidable Task

 What a formidable challenge he faced!

 Undaunted, he dug in...

 Bedsides weeds, the size of perennials required ruthless thinning.

 Strength, patience and perserverence

 are words I use to describe my husband at so MANY levels!

Weed and Read

 Some of the FIRST blooms of the season are the most exciting ones to me.

 I try to enjoy them in spite of the fact that the weeds are multiplying

faster and farther than I remember them doing other years.

Our weather overall has seemed very cool and very wet 

which no doubt contributes to their abundance.

Last night, my Main Gardener and I sat and read for a short while.

The storm clouds were moving toward us, and when the wind

started to pick up, we resumed our reading inside.

green, green, it's green they say....

 Rains have finally ceased enough to allow some serious weeding!

 G. took these photos after working one bed

 to document progress, I think.

 I came home to admire his work

and was enchanted by the flowering of the bush-trimmed tree-like (below).

Green, green!  It IS green.

the view

The view.  From our yard to the one next door.

Do you see the challenge?

Any suggestions?

Weeds

 There's really no getting around THIS part of maintaining one's flower beds...

and he's been hard at it this week!

Another bed....Another day

 The results have been gratifying.

As some have said:

Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons.  ~Dave Barry

I always think of my sins when I weed.  They grow apace in the same way and are harder still to get rid of.  ~Helena Rutherfurd Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903

But make no mistake:  the weeds will win; nature bats last.  ~Robert M. Pyle

Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere

They know, they just know where to grow, how to dupe you, and how to camouflage themselves among the perfectly respectable plants, they just know, and therefore, I've concluded weeds must have brains.  ~Dianne Benson, Dirt, 1994

If you can't lick 'em....

 ...JOIN 'em!

Recent rains have encouraged the proliferation

of some VERY large dandelions around here!

Unfortunately, I'm dealing with some severe shoulder pain

and haven't been able to keep ahead of them...
Has this ever happened to you?
(What's YOUR excuse????)
Fortunately, the same rain that encourages weeds
also produces some wonderful plants and flowers...

The Care of Feeding of Lamb's (Ear)

Believe it or not, this ^ is the BETTER looking 

patch of my Lamb's Ear!

OK.  I admit it.  I have paid little attention

to it over the past three or four years since planting it.

Now I see that I should have been encouraging

 outward growth by deadheading the flower spikes shortly after they begin to wilt. 

Also by trimming the outermost leaves I will encourage the foliage 

of each lamb's ear to thicken.

Lamb's Ear is a drought-resistant plant,
doesn't like a lot of watering,

and was once considered a weed!

Speaking of weeds...

Is THIS a weed or should I encourage it?

It grows close to the ground between our stepping stones.

is

A Come As You Are Party

 "You should get a picture of your 'flower',"  he said as he came in from his car.

So I did.  Weeds and all.

It's a kind of "Come As You Are" party.

Remember those?

Sherlock Solves Mystery!

~Gardener on Sherlock Street asked me, 

Could your mystery plant be the one shown on Margaret's site: http://awaytogarden.com/what-weed-is-it-putting-names-to-pesky-plants?  

...this is the one in our flower bed...

At first, I thought the leaves on my plant were more pointed than the one on Margaret's site.  

But after checking out images of garlic mustard on the internet, I was quite sure that's what it is!  

After smelling it, I KNOW that's what it is!

Gardener on Sherlock Street certainly lives up to her name!  Thanks, my friend! 

Garlic mustard is an herbaceous, biennial forb that is an aggressive invader of wooded areas throughout the eastern and middle United States. First-year plants are basal rosettes with green, heart-shaped, 1-6 in. (2.5-15.2 cm) long leaves. Second-year plants produce a 1-4 ft. (0.3-1.2 m) tall flowering stalk with small, white flowers in the early spring. Plants can be easily recognized by a garlic odor that is present when any part of the plant is crushed and by the strongly toothed, triangular leaves. A high shade tolerance allows this plant to invade high-quality, mature woodlands, where it can form dense stands. These stands not only shade out native understory flora but also produce allelopathic compounds that inhibit seed germination of other species. Garlic mustard is native to Europe and was first introduced into New England during the 1800s for medicinal and culinary purposes.  (http://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=3005)

Can YOU Help Me?

OK.  Here's the dilemma...Every year I pull out some legitimate flowers, thinking them to be weeds.  No matter how I mark them, seems the markers disappear over the winter.  SO....can anyone tell me if the above plant is a weed or a flower???  It is about 18" tall (seems a little "mature" for a real flower...)

Just above the middle of this cluster is the first bud to unfold...

I am VERY impatient to see the entire cluster in bloom. 

I don't know what I anticipate more--the sight or the scent!
Every year, lilacs surprise me all over again
by their beauty.

White Out

 I wish I had a ga-zillion of these!  They are so beautiful.  Before we moved to Harlan six years ago, I don't remember seeing Rose of Sharon (I'm sure I did--just don't remember).  But here, they are EVERYwhere.  I dug up three extras from an alleyway a couple of years ago.  Wish I'd helped myself to more.

 

The white on this particular hosta is SO attractive.

I didn't venture out to photograph the white roses.  The grass is very wet from recent rains.

I notice the weeds are growing like crazy, too! 

Mystery Solved!

Who knew? Wanda first! But I looked up just Celandine and it didn't look like what I have here. Then, I followed up Kathy's tip about Greater Celandine. Mystery solved. Not only that, but apparently I have a medicine cabinet growing in my flower bed!  Thank you, gardening friends!

According to one source (Health Benefits of Organic Greater Celandine) this invasive plant has some of these benefits!

* Stimulates production of bile in the liver
* Encourages production of enzymes by the pancreas
* Promotes cleansing and detoxification of the liver
* Motivates a sluggish gallbladder
* Can help relieve spasms in the gallbladder
* Acts as a mild sedative to soothe the body
* Helps prevent respiratory difficulties
* Provides relief for abdominal cramping, nausea, and other symptoms of indigestion

Questions: Why didn't I know this BEFORE my gallbladder was removed?! And would you dry it and steep it in hot water as in "tea" to get the benefit?