Seven Trees for Six Bucks!

Despite having our car filled with luggage, cooler and Jeff's knee-scooter (his foot is broken), we stopped at a yard sale on our way to get together with friends.   I never expected to see oak trees for sale there.   Pretty tall trees, too...grown from acorns by the owner...but with limited space for roots.  They were grown in 2 liter pop bottles!

I got two chestnut oaks and four white oaks--one of which had a silver maple growing with it in that tiny container.   Jeff picked that one, and I agreed.  I didn't expect to be able to extricate them from each other with their roots do entwined--I planned to let the fight it out... and grow together if they could...but later, found they separated rather easily--without my trying.

For that price, I could not pass them up.  They are local (well...about an hour and a half from our home).  Somehow, we managed to get them in the car along with everything else we had packed.

After a great visit with friends, we packed them up again, brought them home, and, today, I potted them up.  I am hoping they will be able to develop a more healthy root system before I put them in the ground this fall.

Rain, Rocks, and Mugwort

Last year, I finally dug my main pond--the larger pond that I often refer to as Phase II.  Although I have yet to disguise the liner, this year, I planned to start digging for the streambed and a wetland area. 

This was supposed to happen early spring or even late winter once the ground was thawed.  I always view that time of year as a clean slate.  However, with an over abundance of rain and being busy with work, things rapidly got out of control.  Just trying to find time to mow the grass and paths was difficult.  I was always playing catch up.  Needless to say, I had no time to dig--well...I did dig several holes and transplanted several trees from the starter bed to their forever homes--something else that really needed done before they got too big.  [Hopefully, I will post about that even this long after the fact--if not, my blog (my gardening journal--will be even more incomplete.] Anyway, the end result:  the mugwort that has been invading our property had field day.  :( 

Yesterday, I finally got around to weed-whacking and sickling the slope leading down to the pond.  I intend to create the look of a rocky cliff here. 

I hate to show the mess I am dealing with, but it will make the "after" pics that much more amazing. :)

Slowly, I am moving the rocks (I obtained last year ) to that spot so I can fit them together on the slope. 

In the process, I had fun playing fitting the puzzle pieces together.  I photographed some potential pairings.   :)

Shoeing the size with a shoe for comparison. 

Not having enough for what I envision, I may end up using a liner to create the illusion of more rock--covering it with scree or fine soil/sand and a veneer of smaller stones.

Comparison

After posting about potting up my seedlings, I decided to do a comparison of those I put in the ground and those I had left overcrowded (and recently potted up from the original container).

I am hoping this is swamp milkweed, but I will be happy if it is common milkweed--I want both (but I don't have swamp milkweed in the yard yet--I really have to do a better job of labeling).

Getting them in the ground sooner, or direct sowing should be my goal--but having robust potted plants to add as needed is great, too.  I am hoping potting them up will give me good results.  I need to prepare more ground for planting

Results of Winter Sowing

This blog is the closest thing I have to a gardening journal.   Way back in February, as I have done for years now, I sowed most of the seeds I had collected.  I never got around to posting.

 In April, they began to germinate.  I never posted.

Most years, I end up planting a few of the plugs out into the yard...then other chores started to take precedence...then the heat of summer sets in--not ideal for planting.  Normally, in the fall, I end up planting the stunted plugs.

This year, I had hoped to get them planted out in the yard when there is plenty of rain predicted.  This week's forecast was supposed to be three days of rain...but then that changed.  Rain is still coming, but not as originally predicted--and my schedule didn't allow for getting things planted in the meadow--BUT, today, I did take the time to do something I have not done in years past.  I potted them up to larger sized pots.  This is what nurseries do.  I am hopeful that, even if I do wait until fall, the plants should be much more robust.

I condensed them...but, I am still hoping to divide each pot into four or five plants when I do put them in the ground.

It's an improvement.

From Outside the Bay Window

Two days ago, this was the first thing that greeted me, in the morning, as I walked into the livingroom and glanced out the bay window.

Beautiful.  We even made eye contact while I was taking her pictures.   She didn't seem fazed...I am wondering if she has encountered me out in the yard a few times.  After a little while, she did mosey away.

I have mixed feelings about the deer.  I am always thrilled to see them...but, as a friend pointed out, because they are overpopulated,  they are contributing to the depletion of native plants...and giving invasive species an even more competitive hold.  They used to be a rare, thrilling sight...perhaps things would be better if they were more rare.

---as I typed this out on the deck, I noticed my shrub dogwood [silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), I believe] was shaking.  Very odd.  Too much shaking for it to be just a bird.  I got up from the swing, trying to get a better look.  At that point, I saw, what looked, by the size, like a fawn running toward the front yard.  Too bad, no pictures.--

I do have pictures from the other day though:

Surprise Guests

Our last day of school was Friday, but it wasn't until Monday morning that summer vacation really felt like it began.  I visited a nearby state park... and got a half decent shot of a blue heron.

Upon my return home, I backed into my driveway, grabbed the camera, and opened the car door.  Before shutting it, I spotted a cedar wax wing on a bare branch near our serviceberry tree.  Without shutting the door and with camera in hand, I slowly began taking pictures.  I rarely have a chance to be that close (this is likely the closest I've ever been).

At first, I did not realize this was a juvenile bird; it was not until its mother (or father?) brought it a berry for it to occur to me.

Despite the blue heron, this moment and these shots were the highlight of my day.  My goal to create habitat for native plants and the wildlife they support seems much closer to becoming a reality.  :)

Finally Transplanted!

Quite a few years ago, I bought some bareroot seedlings of alder to add to our property.   I planted a couple out in the yard (apparently they didn't make it)...and planted the majority in a decaying mulch pile.  They did well there, and I intended to move them two years ago...and again last year.  Today, I finally put two of the three or so into the landscaping.   (I suspect at least one of them is two trees growing together.)

I believe I have two more potted elsewhere.

In the process of digging them up, I dug out a red oak that I put in as a germinating acorn.  it looks to be about 4 years old--so, I dug another hole and added the oak to our developing woodland.  :)