better

better wordless Wednesday than flowerless any day !  and a dark red flower is not bad either!  three images…

back when

this is an older flower in two very different ways.   Orchid Corsage dates back to 1975.  the flower in my garden dates back to the days when i started making seed.  my earliest experiments in hybridizing.  now that i have doing this awhile it is still an experiment.  i have heard told that the combinations of daylily genetics are like the stars in the sky.  there are to many combinations to begin to count.  maybe that is why there are so many surprises.  three images..

just sit down

and start looking.  maybe a little concentrated seeing.  slowly.   when you meet the unusual do not be in too big a hurry to put it in the usual categories.  you just might skip something.  three images…

Smoke Scream

there are seedlings from this flower all over the garden.  and no doubt there will be more before the year is through.  then again i do not have enough daylilies.  and no i do not have a problem.  and as long as there is still a driveway and a bit of lawn i do believe things are still under control,  three images… and to see some of those Smoke Scream crosses put Smoke Scream into the search box.

other variety

mostly i could look at skinny star shapes and twisty pinchy stars and not complain.  mostly.  even i like a little variety.  too much of anything – except more garden – can be well too much.  so when a flower with big yellow eyes and a comparatively small pink petal comes along it is not a difficult choice at all.  three images…

that and that

and a couple more thats for good measure.  new seedlings have sprouted.  there is hope again. it is what gardening is about.  and there was a new flower open this morning.  and two others opened, ones that we have already seen this year.  momentum is building.  and little larkspur – pink flowers, tiny pink flowers with even tinier purple freckles have found their way before the lens of perception.  little things to hold the day.  five images…

composting 102

this could also be called the zen of the grape hoe and shovel.  there are many ways to compost.  anaerobic, aerobic, fancy containers, and simple.  it comes down to choices and in the city with neighbors close by that puts some constraints on the choices.  compost materials can be turned often.  the pile literally cooks itself with biological action.  even in winter a good size compost pile stays warm.  if you open it up to add fresh material to the center of the pile you can see the steam rising into the cold air.  the guide is to combine organic matter in two basic groups, green and wet and dry and brown.  so fresh weeds and spent dried plant matter would be an example.  and a bit of dirt.  things like egg shells and coffee grounds can be added too.  avoid adding meat, dairy, and waste from carnivores like cats and dogs.  i use a layered aerobic method.  usually in the spring there is more green materials and in the fall more dried brown materials.  i do what i can with what is available even if it is not the ideal balance of one part green one part brown.  once it is 12 to 18 inches high a layer of dirt is added.  then repeat the layers as more material becomes available. keep the pile covered so it does not become soaked with rain water.  a soaked compost pile will be anaerobic and give off a strong odor.  now about the grape hoe and the shovel.  i turn the compost pile once a year when i empty it for use.  the grape hoe makes short work of chopping through the layers.  especially if you put in sticks.  some consider putting sticks into the pile a no no.  for me the bigger sticks go back into a working compost pile and seed it with bacteria.  i also throw in black walnuts.  the squirrels turn the pile to get to them and even though the shells seem like iron the first few years they do eventually break down.  when i turn the pile the robins are quick to jump in and grab any worms that are turned up.  turning the pile is good exercise and it gives me a close up look at the health of the garden.  now one of those flowers that grow in the soil enriched by that cmpost…