Monarchs and Eddie

I’m kicking myself for not planting more reds, purples and hot pinks for the hummingbirds and monarchs, especially for the monarchs.
I did plant some red verbena and while I was out watering the forever thirsty, run up my water bill annuals, I watched one lone monarch light on it. As I stood and watched it gather nectar, a cat crept out from around the powis castle. He was in full stalking mode after my monarch! Out of nowhere and yet somewhere from deep inside of me, I heard myself quietly say “No! That’s Ed’s monarch.”
Ed was my brother and he died last January. Last summer while at his farm, I had watched Eddie stand each day at the kitchen window in complete reverence watching the monarchs on the butterfly shrubs out back. He never got tired of watching them. He’d call you over again and again and say, “Look at that! Can you believe that?” For Ed, each butterfly was always the first one he’d ever seen.
So I did a lot of picture taking of the monarchs for Ed, maybe for me too.
Today, my lovely and beautiful sister in law frets over those butterfly shrubs like she did so tenderly and adoringly with Ed. She tells me the monarchs are all over the back garden. I must go see them; I miss Eddie.

It was an excellent Saturday in Asheville, North Carolina. It did start with a rousing game of tennis, which I know has nothing to do with gardening, but hey!
Anyway, I made the best pesto ever afterwards. The basil leaves went into the food processor no more than 1o minutes after I cut them. Also, I measured everything this time and now have the ratios I like. It’s heavy on the garlic which gives it a good bite.
Later, I walked my yard and weeded. If I could do that every 2-3 days instead of every 2-3 weeks, why then I can visit my plants without moaning. It only took a half an hour and was so enjoyable. I visited my pee gee hydrangea, (paniculata hydrangea) which is full of buds. When it does bloom, I will get a picture and post it. It is in the very back of my woodland garden and will be like a beacon of light, at least that is how I envision it. I think maybe two more weeks for flowers.

My woodland ferns are marching right along too. This year they really woke up. I’ll get a photo of them. Be prepared though, I’m a farmer at heart and planted them all in a row! Ugh! This fall I’ll bunch them more. Then the black eye Susans are popping and I can’t imagine a flower garden without them –so easy, so carefree. I think they will be separated and spread out too. Why not?!
I ended my gardening with cutting some Russian sage, black eye Susans, red lantana and the last of my yarrow and put them in a vase, all the while sipping lemonade with the scent of basil on my fingers. It doesn’t get any better than that now, does it?

Blue Sedge

I am finally finished with the yard, again. All my plans of blogging and highlighting my plants went to the weeds. Two thirds of my .18 acre lot is mulch and plantings. If I could have grown more grass, I would have but I would have had to been part mountain goat, part he-man to be able to cut it. I’m neither. And I’m tired. Everything yard wise now seems to be nothing but an endless chore. And it’s hot, boiling hot. Frankly, I just want to sit back, eat my tomatoes and make pesto. Craziest thing though, the whole time I was out weeding, cutting back my gaura and fretting over those darn pepper plants, and thinking what a ton of work this gardening thing is, I was making a mental list of what I was going to do this fall. I want to separate my yarrow so that I can have three plants and make a statement. I also need one more glossy leaf abelia, maybe two, for the “woodland” garden. Then I am going to move the Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) uphill from the blue sedge that I planted just last fall to give the sedge more growing area. (What type of sedge, I haven’t a clue. I have lost that tag along with all the others.) Anyway, it is wonderfully invasive… and I can’t believe I just said that! How we shy away from anything that may take over and take up any precious space for yet another flower. However, the color is so eye catching and it seems to love my yard. Plus, it seems to be taking care of shading out most of the weeds! I think I’m in love…