nudge

my computer must be getting old. lately it requires a nudge to wake it up from sleep mode. kinda like me. tonight one daylily and one larkspur. one tiny and one not so tiny. it is very early and now seems like a good time to add the flowers and go to sleep…

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  16-000 seedling

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not

the larkspur images were not hiding in the car. they were hiding in the camera which was hiding in the bedroom. it has been found. sometimes the pink larkspur have purple freckles. yesterday this one had a purple streak. the planting list and the seeds made it out to the garden. the big garden ruler and the string were used to layout the plantings. two rows were planted. soon the rest will follow. tonight two flowers from last summer follow the seeds. some of their seeds will be planted this summer…

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  14-153 12-0729-002 ? X Capulina

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  14-0722-001 Black Plush x Trahlyta) x Wind Frills

overcast

what it was only cloudy ? ! ? and no rain. i was able to gently fill in and level the turned over seedling bed. somehow i think planting will be like planting spring peas. poke a hole and mush the mud over the top. and balancing over a board to plant the middle of the bed. now who doesn’t like playing in the mud ! there are no daylilies blooming today. there are carnation poppy, columbine, and larkspur… oh and the grounds crew is hard at work munching on the lawn and the extra larkspur.

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larkspur, carnation poppy, daylily seeds

the trickle that proceeds the bloom has started. the larkspur self seed throughout the garden. we thin them down to a fraction or there would be nothing else. and still they cannot be missed. spikes of color everywhere in the garden. the carnation poppy are about to burst into bloom. grey sculptured leaves reach for the sky. and they are topped by buds that hang upside down until they are ready to open. from what i can find the carnation poppy is closely related to the opium poppy. the main differences being the double flower form and the lack of the opium production. the last few days have been spent preparing the seedling beds. last year’s seedling crop was sparse and the plants were consolidated in a single bed. the oldest seedling bed was cleared of plants. then the edges of the bed were dug to remove the worst of the tree roots that creep into the them. the beds are prepared using shovels, a grape hoe, and rakes. between the heavy clay soil, the tree roots, and the small bed size a rototiller makes no sense. and the digging is good exercise. if the rain ever pauses for more that a day or two they just might get planted.

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or beneficial

or ?   why doesn’t the spell checker have a yoda detector ?  why !   because it is technology not nature.  it could start with pause.  and go to ‘or beneficial’.  and then again nature does not pause.  the lupine first bloom is going to seed and there are just two flowers left at the very top.  the wisteria is a tumble – a waterfall – of bloom cascading down.  the larkspur in the shadiest corner of the garden is blooming in the middle of itself.  not bashful just very secure in itself.  and the little white weed is not a weed at all.  a weed is something gardeners want to pull out.  and if you look at the close up you will see the miniature wasp that they attract.  a wasp that keeps things in balance in the organic garden.  a beneficial plant and its beneficial insects that come along wrapped in a wonderful package.   oh and one of those oh so delicate columbines – watch my moves…

 

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…

no blush

not with this one.  this is a granddaughter flower.  named for Vera it is Vera’s Verse.  the little blue and pink flowers are larkspur.  three images…

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larkspur

and almost.  the larkspur have opened up.  and there will be two new blooms with the daylilies in the morning.  there are some daylilies blooming.  and they are all the same as those from the last two or three days.  soon that problem will be totally gone.  there will be more than i can count or photograph.  until then we will bide our time.  six images…

  

do the bees care ?

yellow or purple ?  larger or small ?  annual or perennial ?   larkspur or daylily ?  no, i think it is only nectar or not…

though one day it would be very interesting to see flowers as the bees do, with ultraviolet light.  i think the landing beacons, the calling cards of these plain yellows and purples would be quite different.  two links to flowers in ultraviolet

purple larkspur

the larkspur self seed throughout the garden.  there are enough that many are removed to make room for planned plantings.   and new ones keep coming along during the course of the summer.  they are a nice and delicate addition to the garden.  three images