clay and limestone

Adventures of Priscilla F Peahen, Queen Of The Neighborhood

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Priscilla F Peahen was roosting in a neighbor's tree. I saw her last night just before the sun disappeared. When I ran out to take her photo ... Mr I hollered a warning: "Don't have eye contact. She'll take that as an invite to move back in! We don't want her flying over the fence and taking up residence on my car!" Have I mentioned how very much he loves his car?

The eye contact comment was too funny, considering that peafowl are the only wild birds that will look you in the eye! Just don't stare at them, it makes them nervous. She was there very early this morning, then gone as soon as the sun began to warm the day.

Longtime readers will remember that Priscilla came to stay at Clay and Limestone just before Thanksgiving and then returned a few weeks later. (here for the full story)
She must really like this part of the neighborhood. What giant roosting bird wouldn't! There are plenty of trees and there is still food everywhere. She could live off of the bird food from bird feeders all winter. Earthworms are still active and the ground rarely freezes. There are tons of acorns and the streams will be running until summer.

She may very well be hiding in the wayback backyard. More then likely she's wandering the neighborhood in search of food and water! Like all peafowl, she needs a large property to explore and grub about in. She seems an adventurous girl and wouldn't be happy living in my small backyard. A farm would be perfect.

Please don't worry about Priscilla. She's a survivor. I will make sure there is water and food all winter. Do you think my neighbor will mind that I'm leaving it in her yard!

Gail

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

It was love at first sight for Mr I and the Palm Tree~~Who could say "No" to the idea of an artificial, Christmas lights trimmed palm tree? I certainly couldn't veto it! He was so excited when he called me from the Curious Heart shop. That's where he finds the most outrageously funny gifts ~~ Mr I is a man who's not really attached to things...so, I knew he must really like this Palm Tree. He was so right, it's a perfect tree for us! Since that fateful day about a half a dozen years ago, we have had a wonderful time theme-ing up the tree. It's a tropical celebration in a four seasoned part of the world!

On the whole, we aren't thematic types... Each year our tree is decorated with an eclectic assortment of favorite ornaments that were gifted, made or purchased with specific people, events or interests in mind. Except for the Palm Tree...which was always dressed appropriately in flamingos,

sparkly palm trees and then adorned with photo ornaments of family and friends and what ever theme we decided. But, this year the Palm Tree is dressed

in bee hives, seed packages, small flower pots and Rose doesn't the bird house look great on the tree!
Thank you!

the cutest straw bird nest. ~~It's all dressed up for The Girl Friend's Get Together (GFGT). The get together is always themed and I get to choose the theme.

The GFGT started a few years ago.... as a way to simplify holiday scheduling with half a dozen people. It has grown into a very fun evening. I prepare the entree and everyone else brings the side dishes. It always works out just right. No matter what the entree, the sides are perfect! Of course, there is dessert. Chocolate~~ and this year there is plenty of it.

Last year's theme was comfort. (go here to read about it). This year's theme is one that is near and dear to many a gardeners' heart~~Pollinators.

Fall 2009

Those glorious creatures without which gardening and agriculture would cease to exist!

So party favors, Christmas gifts, decorations are pollinator oriented! What do you think of everyone's gift this year~~Leaf Cutter Bee houses for all~~Leaf Cutter Bees are important pollinators for veggies and flowers~~The table is set with the funny little critter lapel pins and the cutest little scrolls from India. The scrolls were a really great find! Rolled up in each one is an envelope that's supposed to be filled with dollar bills. No money, instead they are filled with Rudbeckia hirta seeds! Susans for everyone!

A perfect Clay and Limestone Merry Christmas to the dearest friends ever.

I so wish you could be here, too!

Warmest thoughts of you all,

Gail

"To know someone here or there
with whom you can feel
there is understanding
in spite of distances or
thoughts expressed
That can make life a garden."
~ Goethe

Bumble and anemone

Foliage Follow-Up To GBBD

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Worth the time to enlarge

It's too cold to ask you to sit with me in the garden. But, do please join me in the house after Foliage Follow-Up for a cup of tea or hot cocoa. You can tell me about your garden dreams.

Thank you Pam/Digging for organizing Foliage Follow-Up. FFU is new meme that celebrates foliage and other non-blooming natural things around the yard on the day after Carol's/May Dreams Gardens' Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

December has been a strange weather month...We've had the usual rain, some extremely cold weather and 60 degree temperatures a few days ago. Not too long ago we woke to a foggy frosty sight. There was beauty in almost every corner of the garden.
Backlit spider webs were doing their very best to capture my attention! Little beads of frozen water made it shine.
Frost wrapped around the ever blooming sunflower and the Frostweed bloomed again and again. It bloomed this morning and was gone by mid-afternoon.

This time of year the birds have almost finished off the coneflower seeds~~Seen here with a New World ex-aster.

Where once The Susans held court are dried and browned stalks. The promise of next summer in every prickly stem. What you can't see well in this over-exposed photo are the asters, the hypericums, the grasses and the Christmas Ferns! Trust me they are there! ~~I am just about ready to chop down the Susans' stalks. They are almost devoid of seeds~~but, not quite. There is also the teasing possibility of snow. Gardeners in the northern states know that grasses and seedheads look their best in snow covered gardens. We hope for snow;) We dream of snow;) We complain if it stays longer then a day;)

In my mostly browned garden (see above) are rich spots of purple and green. 'Redbor' ornamental kale is a must for the garden and it pairs nicely with 'Grey Owl' Juniperus virginiana. Rosemary and grasses round out the planting.
For your viewing pleasure~another over exposed photo! I still like it~ and suggest you enlarge this one. The Hamamelis virginiana is poised to bloom in The Garden Of Benign Neglect. Last year the trio of witch hazels bloomed delightfully in their burlap root pants! I found them on sale in the late fall and they were finally planted out months later. Autumn Fern is planted beneath the witch hazels.

The False Dragonhead is not blooming! This little flower is hanging onto its color~~just for you!

This little flower really is blooming! It's a Western Daisy and one of my favorite wildflowers. I know this is a foliage post, but while climbing around to capture the grasses and sedges there it was...

This may be my favorite foliage photo of the post~~It's Hypericum punctatum a sweet native also known as Spotted St Johnswort. Do enlarge this photo to see those freckles upclose and personal. Thank you Frances for this gift. It's settled in beautifully and I have great hopes for it in the garden. I love that it seems evergreen in both our gardens!

Native foamflower being pushed around by a very aggressive ajuga...We'll be sure and move the ajuga to give the foamflower room to grow. Now where shall the ajuga go~~~One more item to the to do list.

Hardy Begonia seed head

Thanks for joining me in the garden ...It's a little chilly so I'm going to sit by the fire You're welcome to join me~The kettles on, there are warm scones in the kitchen...Now catch me up with your life and garden.

Have a wonderfully sweet weekend and may it be filled with love and celebration.

gail

Most people don't see the sun, soil, bugs, seeds, plants, moon, water, clouds,
and wind the way gardeners do.
~Jamie Jobb

It's A Wonderful Time Of The Year! December GBBD

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0000

But, not necessarily a very bloomy one!

Rudbeckia triloba

Welcome to Bloom Day December 2009 at C&L....There's still a bit of flowering color to be seen here and there in the hidden and protected micro-climates that make up this garden.

Physostegia virginiana

Tucked behind walls and beneath tall trees

Lonicera sempervirens

A few plants bloom longer then others

almost mushed annual

But, they can't bloom forever when the temperatures drop to the teens and below~

Rudbeckia triloba after the frosted meltdown

We enjoy them while we can. Savoring each petal or the faded colors the frost leaves behind.

Solidago speciosa

Frosty ice covered seedheads add their own beauty

Eupatorium

drama and color to an otherwise brown garden.

Fairy Queen earlier this week

These last of the colors are precious all the more for their brief time left in the garden.

Thank you for stopping by... For more Bloom Day posts then we can see in a day, pop over to May Dreams Gardens. Carol a prolific and talented writer/blogger and hostess extraordinaire created Bloom Day when she was inspired by Elizabeth Lawrence, who wrote, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” The rest is Bloom Day history~~

Have a wonderful day and loads of fun out there~

Gail

and if you can, please imagine Andy Williams singing~~

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call It's the hap- happiest season of all

Mea Culpa

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Sciurus carolinensis Summer 2009

I can't help it....They look so darn cute romping about in the yard. So, I feed them and any other creatures that venture in the yard. They get all kinds of goodies! Watermelon and cantaloupe in the summer. Cracked corn in the winter.They love peanut butter straight from the jar! They get the natural unsweetened stuff, because that's what we eat!

That may well explain how Ms Priscilla Peahen came to stay for an extended visit last month. She knew there was a buffet of goodies waiting for her behind the closed gate! Did you know that she packed her bags and decamped? Just as we were getting used to her and began trying to figure out how to keep her tootsies warm for the winter.

My ~~belief~~ ~~hope~~ delusion is was that if I feed the denizens regularly they would stay out of the bird feeders. That has so not worked! Regular readers might remember the squirrels taking turns hanging by their toes from the top of the pole to get to the suet. They were so bad! You can read about their escapades here. I know they have more mischief planned.

They do provide endless entertainment for Coal, the Kat King. We have a little id game going on here. I am trying to tell them apart! They all look alike to me. I can't tell the males from the females. I do know that there are 4 to 5 that hang out in the Garden of Benign Neglect. But, seriously, they all look like clones to me. They are very well organized and smart. I'm pretty sure they send the youngest to knock on the patio door when they run out of food!

Ssh! Please, don't tell an other critters how good the residents of C&L have it! It's bad enough that they already know that You big softy is written across my forehead.

Gail

PS I've found this new toy for them~~It's a bungee feeder When they jump on the block of corn it will bounce up and down! This could be fun for a little while.

“Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius.” - Edward O. Wilson

Have You Seen The Frost Flowers?

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Verbesina virginica (White Crownbeard) is a queen among the rough and tumble flowering natives in my garden~This tall asteraceae family member is a plant that most of us wouldn't give a second look....But, don't get that weed whacker out too fast!

On those first cold and frosty mornings you might be able to see Verbesina virginica (more info here) transformed into Frostweed. A wonderful natural process that happens with just a few plants and Verbesinas are one of them~ But, it can only happen if you have been a very good little gardener! I was just checking to see if you were paying close attention!

Here's what really happens! Imagine a beautiful late fall day. It's warm, the sun is shining....just like most days this past November... The verbisina's roots draw water up into the stem. Late that night, temperatures drop well below freezing and the stems freeze, splitting open, emitting the plant juices, which immediately freeze into ribbons of ice that curl around the stem and the base of the plant!

Isn't it lovely! Isn't nature grand!

Everyday there is something of the marvelous to behold.
Now aren't you glad we didn't mow this plant down after one look at those flowers!
Frost flowers will continue to form as long as the temperatures are cold, the plant juices are flowing and the sun cannot melt them away. Yesterday was warm and last night the temperature dropped 20 degrees. Today never really warmed up, although, the sun was shining brightly enough to melt the flowers. But, in the shadowed wildflower garden, it was cold enough to keep the frostweed blooming.

Just in case you still don't want this rough and tumble flower in your garden~~

Verbisina with its friend the Pokeweed

White Crownbeard/Verbesina/Frostweed has been selected for monitoring by Monarch Watch because it's an important nectar plant for monarch butterflies.

If you don't like the white it does come in yellow!

v alternifolia or Yellow Frostweed

Gail

There are two ways to live your life - one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

Wildflower Wednesday~~Let's Be Honest About Honesty!

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Lunaria annua Spring 2009
It's not a native wildflower!
It just acts like one in my garden.

"That's a lovely bunch of flowers!" said a neighbor I passed on the street a few months back.

It's an introduced species from the mustard family!

I looked at the 'bouquet' of lunaria annua seedpods that a neighboring gardener had given me and suppressed my urge to respond with anything other than a smile and thanks.

It's not invasive in Tennessee, but it does seed itself about a garden.
It looks lovely in a woodland setting or natural garden.

There was no way to explain that the lunaria seed heads were beautiful in my eyes. Seed heads of most plants have an unconventional charm and beauty that gardeners appreciate.

The early stage might be my favorite seed look.

The subtle tans, the deep browns and even the gray coloring just before the seeds are released are not dulled and dead flowers to us.

The flowers attract long tongued bees and butterflies.
Cabbage Whites feed on the foliage

We see a flower and a garden in every seed.

That's exactly what I envisioned walking home with my bouquet of brown and mildewed seedpods...A swath of white flowers in my

It blooms in early April just before PPPP

mostly pink and lavender spring garden. ...These seedheads were special.

They were from an all white garden~~A yearned for color. There was one white Honesty plant in my garden~~Only one each season, no matter how often I spread the plant's seeds about. Cross your fingers that the gifted seedpods may grow into beautiful white lunaria.

But, even if,

Lunaria is a biennial and is known as Money Plant and Honesty

the flowers are magenta

Happiest in hardiness zones 4a to 8b
Think Garden Of Benign Neglect to get the full picture!

There's nothing to complain about.

Honestly!

Gail

Honesty is the best policy. - Miguel de Cervantes

Mishing And Mashing on Monday

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Thank goodness there is kale for winter color.

We've had our coldest day of the winter at 22 degrees and everything that was blooming is a memory. So, I am so very appreciative of the winter kale and cabbages that I've planted here and there in the garden. This is my favorite~~ I love the lacy texture.With no snow white blanket over the garden~~ kales and cabbages are important winter color. But that's not all...They survive winter assaults and keep on looking good for most of the winter here in our zone 7-ish garden. Here's what you can look forward to each spring. Sweet yellow blooms that look especially nice with the tulips. You'll also have loads of little fluttering Cabbage White Butterflies for most of the summer. There are no photos of them in the C&L archives to show you. They are nearly impossible to capture ....But, they are one of the most common little butterflies in the USA and you've probably all seen them.

Now, if you want these nice yellow flowers, you'll have to forgo the temptation to pull the scraggly looking plant out in late winter or early spring. Just let those surviving plants alone and they will set buds and bloom...They are so worth it for me. Maybe not if you're growing broccoli and cabbages~~You can always use row covers to protect those crops from the cabbage white lopers;-) Don't the yellow flowers look especially sweet with violas? (flowering kale spring 2009)

Did you mind the fast forward to spring? Shall we get back to the now!

The little birds are here almost every morning. They arrive once the sun peaks over the tree tops and warms up the patio. They are fun to watch and occasionally a good photo can be captured through the glass doors.
They jostle each other for space on the feeder...It might be time to fill all the feeders! One of my favorite little guys...Mr Tufted Titmouse! Isn't he a perky little fellow! He's waiting for me to replace the suet.

Speaking of birds, I wanted to show you this photo from my trip to Providence. We were on our way out of town and chanced to look out the hotel window to see this sight~

What do you suppose the pigeons know about the roof at this house? Camouflage? Warmth? Group think? Don't laugh, pigeons actually do have flock behavior~~When one pigeon flies about looking for predators they all follow suit. We waited quite a while for the elevator and they never flew away. What a fascinating roost....I hope their tootsies were warm....and the folks living there don't mind.

Thanks for joining me on Mish Mash Monday~The brainchild of Monica of Garden Faerie's Musings.

I do hope you've all had a wonderfully peaceful and restful weekend.

Gail

Tell Me, Please

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Do you see what I see?
It's that cunning peahen!

Somehow she has found a way into my garden and has settled in!

She's a clever girl and has even managed to fly away from the neighbor's bothersome cat!

If she thinks she's here for keeps, she has another think coming!

I have responsibilities!

The little birds need my attention!
They are cute and pose so adorably

If given a choice would you opt for a big bird that pecks at your plants and makes a lot of noise or the sweetest little birds ever?
Sigh!

Tell me please! Is You Big Softy written across my forehead?

Gail

ps Is there anyone out there who wants to adopt this beauty? Kim, don't you think Gizmo needs a friend? Marmee, do you have room on the farm? Marnie, I know you like birds! Frances, Kitty needs an outdoor pal! Sweetbay, she could certainly take out those Japanese Beetles! Hey, all you Texas gardeners, have I got a treat for you!

Wild Flower Wednesday~~Sugar Frosted Seedheads

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

(Don't forget to enlarge the photos)

False Dragonhead seedheads have been left to stand all winter.

It's Wildflower Wednesday and the planned wildflower post was set aside
when I saw the garden all frosted white. The weather had been humid and chilly when we went to sleep and this morning everything was covered with frost...The roofs were so white it looked like a light snow cover. There was no stopping me from grabbing my camera and trying to capture as much of the icy beauty before the sun melted it all. The seedheads of liatris, silkgrasses, goldenrods, asters and The Susans have all been left to reseed or feed the critters. Those long limbs to the left are Natchez 'Crape Myrtle'....underplanted with spirea, goldenrods and monardas.They have never looked better then covered with frost and glistening in the sunrise.
The pink and burgundy leaves of the x-asters massed beneath the Bur Oak look fantastic frosted....When I stained the garden chairs purple, I had hoped for snow cover to make them pop, but they look wonderful
Each summer The Susans cover this area~Now you can see the River Oats, amsonias, asters, cotinus and juniper share the space, too.

The spireas never looked better~which is good, I had been planning to move them to the wayback backyard! Now they have a reprieve...We'll see..that space could still be used for a wildflower or two.

A spiderweb has knit the branches of a crape myrtle together.

What would a frosted garden be without at least one rose.

Fairy Queen.

There's no denying that Nashville's long growing season has come to an end! What a glorious end it has been!

Gail

ed. Just a quick note~~surgery has been rescheduled and I couldn't be happier!

Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.
Victor Hugo

It's All In Your Perspective

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I hope you enlarge this photo

Our Providence, RI hotel room overlooked India Point Park at the confluence of the the Blackstone and Providence Rivers. Walking distance from our son's apartment. The park is an interesting amalgam of wind twisted trees, invasives and natives, old moorings and calm waters, where scullers row and swans float.

Do you see the wire sculpture on the old moorings?

In the distance you can see the towers of the hydro-electric plant. But, at that perfect moment, my eyes only saw
the fantastic sunset reflected upon the waters.

Gail

When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the creator. Indira Gandhi

It Bears Repeating

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Gaura lindheimeri 'Passionate Rainbow'

My blogging friends. You are the best and dearest folks!

Thank you for enriching my life...

Sono veramente grato
Ik ben echt dankbaar
Je suis vraiment reconnaissant
Estoy verdaderamente agradecido
Jag är verkligen tacksam
Jestem naprawdę wdzięczny
Jeg er virkelig taknemmelig
मैं सच में आभारी हूँ
我真的感谢
Estou verdadeiramente agradecido
私は本当に感謝しています
Go here for I am truly grateful translations. I hope I got them right!

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving...I wish you a joy filled day with loved ones and calorie free foods!

Warmest thoughts of you,

Gail

The Fairy Queen's last bloom

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

There's Something Strange In The Neighborhood!

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Who ya gonna call?

I'm gonna call meems~she knows about peacocks and peahens! Hoe and Shovel Garden has seen more then its fair share of the beautiful, but pesky critters. Meems has written about how a muster of peafowl had besieged her Florida neighborhood making a big racket and damaging gardens.

We aren't having that problem here~~Just this confused peahen who has been wandering the neighborhood since September. Neighbors have posted on our listserv that they had spotted a "large bird, that sure looked like a peacock". Everyone was convince that the local coyotes would find her. But, here she is 3 months later still exploring and looking for her friends.

This is my first sighting of her. It's kind of eerie to be kneeling in the garden when you hear rustling sounds in the leaves and grass....All kinds of creature possibilities run through your mind. No where on that list is peacock or peahen! So, when I saw what looked like a very large bird, my first thought was that there were Wild Turkeys in my garden! But, there she was, a healthy peahen pecking along the ground. What a time to not have a camera with me....I rushed into the house, sure that she would be gone...She wasn't!
You can tell that she has been socialized to humans. I 'googled' and discovered that "peafowl are very intelligent and adaptable birds. They love to roam around eating bugs and grasses." That they are the only wild birds that will look you in the eye...but, being stared at makes them nervous! "In the wild they live in deciduous tropical rain forests. They sun and preen on a low perch or dig in soft dirt for a warm dirt bath. At night they roost 40-80 feet up in trees, or as high as they can get. Peacocks preen and dry their feather before leaving their perch. Then they drift gracefully down from the trees and walk around their territory, checking things out and feeding. Peacocks are excellent bug hunters, and they like small chunk dog or cat food and poultry feed." Go here for even more info.

She walked away when I approached, but she never fled the scene. In fact, she stared at the gate into the Garden Of Benign neglect for 15 minutes. It sure appeared as if she was waiting for a human to let her into an enclosure. I went back to gardening and she headed for my neighbor's where she appears to be spending the night.

Just in case she returns~~Does anyone need a peahen?

Gail

Fairegarden Style

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The yellow shrub is an azalea! Seriously!

It must be true that the third time's the charm..my trip to Frances' had already been rescheduled twice when Mr I Don't Garden and I headed over the mountains this past weekend. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather with day time temperatures in the high 60's and the sky a fantastic deep blue. Even though we had missed the big time fall color parade, Fairegarden's color was far from over. Just take a peak at this~~ The hollies are luscious. Just what you hope they will come to be when you plant them in your garden. I love this part of the garden~~It's the front yard and even though Frances let's it be, you can see that the design works very well.

This blogger would be remiss if I didn't show you the famous Fairegarden Muhly~~You have to love a grass that continues to dazzle this late in the season. It is extremely happy in this garden. I have no such success, but there is something in the soil...in those magic pebble river stones....that makes the Muhly grow and set seed everywhere. We met at her favorite nursery,Mouse Creek, to do a little gardener bonding before we even got to Fairegarden. Frances knew how much I enjoyed MC and called to make sure that it was open this late in the season. We didn't have near enough time to see all the offerings of Mouse Creek or chat with the owner Ruth. There was time to find several must have plants. They were gently tucked into the car and Mr I followed us on to Fairegarden. Frances and I wanted to visit and the Mr didn't care...He was along for the drive! Technically, Mr I was my driver! He was a sweet heart for agreeing to spend a weekend with two ~~obsessive~~ fascinating gardeners. Luckily, he and The Financier had met before and it looked to me like they had a pretty good time telling stories and rolling their eyes at us!

Just in case you're wondering what plants I had to have: A non-vining clemmie, Salvia guaranitica 'Argentine Skies' and a really nice chrysanthemum....and an interesting looking new cultivar of hybrid Coreopsis 'Red Shift'.

We had a great visit. We spent time really looking at her garden.

Walking through the garden, talking about plants and checking out the views.Gardeners assessing a garden;)
It was so enjoyable I didn't take nearly enough photos! Blood Grass

We took a road trip to the Bald River Waterfall The waterfall was running heavy from the recent rains and trees looked ghostly when photographing straight into the mist and sun.

Above the falls~~ HeucherasWalking Fern and Seersucker Sedge grow everywhere.
It was native plant heaven!
Thank you Frances for taking us to this special spot.

Bat Faced Cuphea

Visiting Fairegarden was a treat. Frances is delightfully funny,
a good hostess and a truly remarkable gardener. This one you must enlarge!

What makes Fairegarden~ Fairegarden?
Full sun? Great drainage? Magic pebbles?

A cuphea grown from seed

Frances adds something special and deeply significant to the mix...
She believes in doing the very best she can with everything she undertakes.

leaves at the Bald River Waterfall~~more on that in another post.

That's her philosophy.
She's not afraid to plunk a plant in a new spot and move it two months later...
Nor, is she afraid to tackle big projects: I mean big~~like an entire concrete staircase!
Go here to see my post about my visit last year and more photos.
Or creating her own Zen Garden, even trying a new look in the existing lawnette.

Some of us talk about our ideas~She makes them happen!
Not a bad way to garden or live.

Gail

It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.
Marlene Dietrich

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News!

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

I've had two visits with doctors recently. Last month, the tree doctor made a house call to see a white oak that suddenly dropped 2/3rds of its leaves over night~~It seemed strange to drop so many leaves. My neighbor has lost several oak trees to some kind of fungal disease and we wanted to make sure this oak was healthy. Not the possibly sick oak!

Knock on wood that this tree is fine! Not only would taking a tall oak down mean a sudden change in the garden...it would be very expensive to do. It's situated right next to the front porch steps off the flagstone path. You can see its denuded branches in comparison to the shag bark hickory and oaks that are lit by the setting sun. It's one thing to make a decision to create a sunny garden and remove trees. It's altogether different when the change is forced.

Hammelis virginiana in the GOBN
We have a few leaves at C&L

I met the Doctor at the bottom of the driveway, where he greeted me with a hearty "Hello" and an exuberantly delivered, " Where is your suburban lawn?" As you can see Doctor...there is practically none! Witch Hazels last week

He reassured me that what we were doing~~ Not planting a monoculture of grasses and letting most of the fallen leaves mulch the trees and beds ~~ was the very best garden practice for overall tree health. He shared that he is usually called to a home to see very sick trees in the middle of over fertilized lawns. He and Aaron, the arborist he works with, spend a good deal of their time educating homeowners about maintaining tree health.

We walked around the yard and he gave me the thumbs up on all the trees. Noting that there were a few limbs that needed to be thinned in trees in the wayback backyard. It was late enough in the season that it was hard to see how denuded the tree looked. Most of the trees were similarly denuded by the time he was able to visit. He didn't find any evidence of oozing wounds that might indicate some fungal diseases. He asked if we had done any recent digging around the base of the tree. That's when I told him we removed a concrete walkway and added the flagstones~~ It's possible that the root disturbance and the 2007 drought had combined to stress the tree.
He suggested a conservative plan~~ watch the oak to see what the spring would bring.

The bad news is that it could be dying. But, the good news is that we don't have to take it down immediately.

and,

Yesterday, I saw my orthopedic surgeon about my very sore hand. Several months ago I was diagnosed with de Quervain's Tenosynovitis and was treated with an injection of cortisone. It worked beautifully, but, eventually the pain came back. I have decided to have surgery. It seems to make sense based upon how quickly the cortisone wore off! So on December 3, I will arrive at the surgery center hungry, caffeine deprived, cranky from 5 days off ibuprofin, where I will wait for several hours for a ten minute procedure to release the roof of the tunnel that surrounds the tendons. Believe me it is going to be worth it!
Thanks for listening~~You are the best!
Gail

What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.
Lao Tzu

The Remains Of The Garden~ November 2009

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Welcome to C&L's Bloom Day Celebration!

We are now serving pink sunrises and crisp mornings with our breakfasts~

Coffee with your sunrise is a wonderful way to start the mornings! Grab your cup and have a nice time visiting~~Gail

We do have spots of color here and there. Red leaves on the Rough Leaved Dogwood and the few remaining flowers of New World Asters or ex-asters as our friend Mr McGregor's Daughter refers to them. My favorite spot of color is the purple of the adirondack chairs. Now that the bugs have disappeared it's a good place to sit and dream of next season's garden.

Not all the bugs have gone....A little pesky grasshopper with Coneflower.
Have you met Fred? He's the sulphur butterfly that has been visiting with me for many warm days. He follows me around the garden, teasing me with his flitting and then gently lands on the Pineapple Sage for a rest...I prefer to think of it as posing for me.
A fall blooming crocus...Charming flowers that delight at this time of year...
Salvia 'Coral Nymph' will bloom until a killing frost takes her out...If you're lucky, there will be seedlings next spring.
Flowering cabbage will light up the garden all winter~sometimes it sends up a flower stalk in the spring....It insures the garden has its fair share of Cabbage White Butterflies.

A New World Aster;)

I love Susans and Rudbeckia triloba is tied with all of them for favorite !
A few of the New World Asters that this garden cannot do without!

Hyacinth Bean

A bloom from the Bottle Brush Tree~

Thank you for stopping by~Bloom Day is the creation of Carol, our delightful hostess. For more Bloom Day celebratory hosts then you can imagine pop over to May Dreams Garden.

Gail

Stay tuned for reports on an exciting visit over the mountains to Fairegarden.

Mr I~ Tear Down This Hedge*

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:24:00 +0000

Let's imagine a sunny border in place of Hedge. I so can! It might be like this planting at a rather delightful store that sells pottery, garden accessories and brewing supplies. It's where I found the Bottle Brush Tree that came home with me earlier this week. The designer has done a great job of planting for late season bloom...and for critters! Bees of every kind were busy on the Blanket Flower and the Blackeyed Susans

But they were especially busy buzzing around the large planting of mint.
The bees were everywhere and reminded me of the extensive mint planting at the Lurie Garden in Chicago. (You can go here for a late summer or here for our Spring Fling visit.) Did you know that you can smell blooming mint on the air? It was at the Lurie Garden with it's vast mint planting that I noticed the sound of happy bees and a the hint of spearmint on the air. It was delicious! So surely any full scale sunny border would have to have a mentha or two! I'm imagining the possibilities right now...

Or, perhaps, you might enjoy this planting of Mexican Bush Sage at Cheekwood Garden...It was close to noon and with no clouds it looks even more fluorescent. Salvia leucantha is spectacular in a fall garden and it's still fall here. It was covered with bees; a buzzing frenzy.

I love the mixed border in Cheekwood's Perennial Garden
It was a lovely grouping of grasses, annuals perennials and shrubs.
A good mixture of natives and exotics.

It was a Pleasant Interlude. An October day in the middle of November~~Now, back to reality!

Tearing down Hedge and planting a sunny border is wonderful to imagine~ There is a fly in the otherwise pleasant ointment of imagining! Hedge's main job is Noise Abatement and Privacy Maintenance! Perhaps we need a very tall
holly hedge, or
a fantastic wall. I have always wanted a walled garden~~ You know, one of my favorite books was A Secret Garden. To build a wall, I would certainly need the backing of folks like the Cheeks! This wall is the official gated wall to the former home of the Cheeks~~of Maxwell House Coffee fame. Cheekwood was opened in 1960 as an art and garden center. From their mission statement~

"Cheekwood is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate. Cheekwood exists to celebrate and preserve its landscape, buildings, art and botanical collections and, through these unique means, provide an inspiring place for visitors to explore their connections with art, nature and the environment."

They do a pretty good job of it.

I want to thank Peter Robinson, one of Mr. Regan's speech writers for inspiring the post title. Thank you all for indulging my little play on words; a segue for the the garden tours....Well, we hope!

I leave you with this last photo of a tattered Autumn beauty.

Gail

Wildflower Wednesday~Native Bottle Tree

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Not what you expected!

Perhaps, you were thinking of this beautiful Bottle Brush Tree~~C&L November 2009

Aesculus parviflora, dressed in the Nashville fall "it" color. I fell for it when visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens a long time ago...We were walking away from the Climatron when we passed through a planting of very tall shrubs with palmate green leaves (5 to 7 leaflets) and foot long brush like spikes of white tubular flowers. The flowers had showy red anthers that attract hummers. Missouri Plants website*

It was gorgeous and smelled delicious.... Finally, it's growing here!

C&L's Aesculus parviflora is a baby plant! It's planted in the Garden of Benign Neglect on the edge of the dry stream~~In somewhat moist, but, well draining conditions. Bottle Brush Buckeye is not native to Tennessee~~It is found naturally growing in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina DC, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It's hardy to zone 4 and will grow in sun or shade. It is not a xeric plant. Here's what it looked like this morning~~All the pretty fall color has faded to a rich brown. You can see hints of the golden color that it once had. It's a slow growing plant that's known to sucker and create colonies! Although, it's described as not invasive. A big bold planting is just what is needed in the back garden...

Here's a photo of what we can hope to have some day!

Thanks to Mobot for the photos of the mature specimens

The Southern Bottle Tree on the other hand
Has no need for anything other than a level spot of lawn or garden.
The new 'garden tree' is sited for maximum viewing...(You might even be wondering where in the world the stock tank can be found? I promise to finish that tale in another post!) I've been hoping to find a bottle tree that had a tree form.

I think this one fits the bill.

The flowering gaura has absolutely nothing to do with this post!
It's just a pretty bloomer that's still going strong in the garden!
I am so very glad you stopped by!

gail

photos courtesy of MOBOT and J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
http://www.missouriplants.com/Whiteopp/Aesculus_parviflora_page.html

Mish Mashing Away

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Witch Hazel/Hamamelis virginiana

The garden is slowing down even more...
There are no longer great swathes of fall blooming asters; even the long blooming Goldenrods have fewer blooms to tempt the late season visitors.
Grasses are turning deeper browns, clearly on their way to decay. Seedheads of perennials are everywhere
and bulbs have arrived in big and small boxes.

Gardening does not come to a full winter stop in this Mid South Zone 7 garden, activities merely slow down. There is no rush for us to get bulbs into the ground before snow covers the garden....The ground may not even freeze for months. But, this gardener has her own time line. Let's get those bulbs planted by the end of November, please!

Gaura has been the best surprise in the Garden of Benign Neglect.
It flowers and flowers!

Our perennials act like perennials everywhere else and die to the ground. Most annuals disappear with the first big frosts. Pansies, violas and cabbages will add color to the garden all winter. Hamamelis virginiana has already begun to bloom (see photo above); next will be H intermedia 'Diane' and then the vernalis witch hazels will bloom during the late winter. A few cyclamen might pop up. It's in full bloom now. There will be cold days and the ground might freeze for a few weeks, but, the sun will warm it all up and you can move plants around safely. It's not unusual to see aster blooms in December and a few brave bees venturing out. The biggest deterrent to winter gardening will be the winter rains and the gardener's need to take a break! Let's get those bulbs planted by the end of November, please!

Purple has popped up in the garden again! A few of the sweet last flowers of the native PFKAA~~Plants Formerly Known As Asters dot the garden. Also, still in flower are fall blooming crocus where I found a sleeping bee one morning this weekend.

The biggest pop of purple are these Adirondack chairs~~

They have have been reborn. All it took was cleaning and sanding and an afternoon of staining to make this big change in the garden! My favorite shot~below~ It gives me a better sense of the promise of purple coloring! It's also a truer photo of the purple stain. The asters, golden leaves of the nearby Juneberry and the red leaves of native dogwoods will be showcased next fall against the purple chairs. For a nano-second, I was tempted to paint the chairs red. Red would have been fun, too, but, the purple is perfect! Instead, Tulipa gregii 'Red Riding Hood' has been planted at the feet of the chairs. Aren't the gregii's delightful tulips! This photo is from Paghat's Garden~~Have you been there? Paghat the Ratgirl has been an online resource since 1999! Her site is chock full of good garden info and nice photos. I thank her for use of the photo.

I know you love befores~~ You can see (well, maybe not clearly, it's a fuzzy, low light shot) that the bluish asters will get along well with the purple chairs. This winter they will be a spot of color in an other wise brown landscape.

Elsewhere in the garden the Sheffield Mums are attracting these diurnal moths!

Yellow-collared Scape Moth and a multi-colored Ailanthus Webworm Moth

There is still enough pollen and nectar in the fading bloom to attract
the small pollinators. Little cutie pie bees and wasps have been visiting the Sheffies since they started blooming.

Check out these members of the mint family!Agastache x 'Raspberry Summer'

Hummingbird agastache has been covered with little metallic green sweat bees all weekend.
If you enlarge the photo you'll see what I mean.

Salvia elegans and Fred.
...and Pineapple sage has finally come into her good looks and is attracting Sulphurs like nobody else. If you want to see some very lovely photos of Sulphurs and honeybees~~Please pop over to my friend Sweetbay's blog!

Thanks for joining me on my meandering Mish Mash Monday posting.
MMM is the brain-child of Monica, Garden Faerie's Musings.

Gail

“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.” Abram Urban

Gentle Bee The Hand Of The Gardener

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The gathering bee

rests upon the goldenrod

the hand becomes the flower

Goldenrod is still blooming at C&L. It is a goldmine of goodness in any garden~~A protein rich pollen and good sugar nectar source for visiting critters. They are still flocking to its golden goodness.... Bees of every sort, wasps, moths and even predators have staked a claim and a space on the last of the flower clusters. They've come to drink nectar, collect pollen, nibble leaves and stems, prey on other insects, or lay eggs.
Its rough and tumble golden beauty has begun to dim and most flowers have
turned to fluffy seeds that will soon be blown about the garden.
Until it completely fades away it will be
a cozy bed for sleeping bees to cling to and
the last stop for many on the journey to winter.

Gail

Warmest thoughts of you all~~Have a good weekend and thank you for stopping by.

Moments In A Garden

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass

you live more richly those moments.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Gail

Crocus sativus

Autumn Scenes For The Fall Color Project

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Do please remember to click to enlarge!

Shagbark Hickory in full golden glory at C&L

All photos taken at Edwin Warner Park and C&L garden

I CRIED over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.

The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the copper sunburned woman, the mother of the year, the taker of seeds. The northwest wind comes and the yellow is torn full of holes, new beautiful things come from my garden

in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind, and the old things go, not one lasts.*

Fall finally arrived and cloaked our world in beautiful colors...Please join our host, Dave, The Home Garden and other participants in celebrating the Fall Color project.
Edit: Has anyone noticed their comments disappearing? I had a lot of trouble with blogger this weekend and a commenter has told me she knows her comment posted~~then wasn't there later.

Warmest thoughts of you all.
Gail

* Poem is Carl Sandberg's Autumn Movement
For a list of the trees at the Warner parks go here

It Was A Dark & Scary Walk!

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Wait a minute!

That sounds familiar.

A gnarly dead tree and shadowed woodland paths.
Wasn't that last year's dark and spooky garden post?
(I liked that post)

Do you remember when
the wayback backyard REALLY was scary?
If you don't recall go here to see it!

Today, it's all dressed up in fall colors.
But, once upon a time, it was a muddy, dark, weedy space
fit for hide and seek with my nieces and nephews and a
hidey hole for the dear deer that found the gate open!
It was a dark and scary walk, but not anymore.

The Dancing Tree kicking up her heels in celebration.

But, just in case,

you are the kind of reader
who likes to sit on the edge of the seat,
thrills at being frightened, or
delights in the ghoulish....
Here are a few really scary things going on at C&L!

Vampire mosquitoes still biting when it's 50 degrees!
20+ inches of rain that's be-witched hamamelis 'Diane' to mildew!

New invasives taking root overnight!
Were they dropped off by alien space ships?

Close your eyes if you don't want to see anything too scary!

The area near my computer
has spilled over into bedlam!

If that's not scary enough
Take a look at my mosaic shed! There are surely cobwebs in the corners!

YIKES!

This scary looking Pterodactyl Seedpod has taken up residence in the garden!

But, it's not completely horror filled!

The sun did manage to peak out from behind the clouds
for a few minutes and fall has arrived in Middle Tennessee!
But you'll have to wait
to see those photos!

~Happy Halloween~

I sure hope your holiday has just the right amount of spookiness!

Gail

Wildflower Wednesday~Carolina Aster: Not Just Another Pinkish Face!

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +0000

It Clambers, It Climbs! It's Fragrant!

Need I say more to convince you to rush to your favorite on line native nursery to get this pretty!

Ampelaster carolinianus

Not convinced yet? How about this~~ niche gardens describes it as "tough as nails". What's known so far~~ It appears happy at C&L and for that we love it! It's not a Tennessee native, but, is found happily growing in NC, SC, GA and Florida. I am sorry to say, that it's marginal in anything colder then zone 6. It's a fall blooming member of the asteraceae family with sweet scented pink lilac flowers that resemble Symphyotrichum patens flower and leaf form. What makes this aster unique is that it's the only woody perennial scandent aster in North America. (Horticulture wordsmiths already know that scandent means climbing! Here's another tidbit! This aster has a chromosomal uniqueness that places it in its own little genus and plant geneticists have had tons of fun confirming this over the last few years. They really know how to play!)

I must be honest~~I bet you're wondering what will follow! This is Carolina's first year at C&L! She has yet to be trialed in our wet winters. Which is the true test of most plants that move here. Can they survive wet clay soil for months on end? Regular visitors know that C&L plants have to be tough. This is one reason why there are so many cedar glade endemics in the garden (here for more on them). They are tough as nails; enduring wet winters and hot, dry summers. If these are your conditions, don't despair! Cedar glade endemics can take it! Austin gardeners, you ought to be able to grow them! Go here for ideas! But, I digress, the point is that Sweet Carolina is not a cedar glade endemic.

Carolina Aster has been described as a woody scrambling shrub, so it might be one of those plants that looks equally good climbing on a wall or romping through the border. We'll see how it grows after the winter tests it! It was happily growing in containers at Growild Nursery. My hope is that it will continue to grow well here and reach toward the 12 feet size it's purported to grow. It's planted on a trellis against a southwest facing wall. A sunny and protected spot; the former home of Carolina Jessamine, which started to grow under the roof shingles and was moved to the wayback backyard's ugly cyclone fence, but that's another story!

Bottom Line Info:

*A pretty little southeast coastal native, that might or might not survive the harsh growing conditions this garden likes to throw at plants! But, worth the trouble, if it climbs and scampers. We like climbing and scampering.

*It will grow as far south as Zone 9 and with protection as far north as Zone 6.

*While some garden centers claim it's tough as nails...It is by NO stretch of the imagination a xeric plant!

*Like all asteraceae, it attracts many pollinators looking for nectar and pollen. It's a caterpillar food plant for the American Painted Lady butterfly.

*It has a sweet honey like fragrance.

*Fall blooming until frost for all the bees and late visiting butterflies.

That's all I know folks! But, doesn't she sound like she might be worth some ~~trouble~~ coddling!

Gail

May I leave you with this~Pollinator shot of the day

Bumble on native aster

Autumn Meditation On Gold

gailtiles@gmail.com (Gail) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Autumn at Clay and Limestone is golden Shagbark Hickories
towering 70 feet or more above the house.

Imagine the birds eye view of a garden you would have
if you could climb to the top of the tallest tree...

Majestic and beautiful;
their golden coloring is a perfect match for October Blue skies.
Carya ovata are home to many woodpeckers and far too many squirrels.

At least once a day during the warmest days of autumn
you will find me lying in the grass beneath this tree.
It doesn't feel like autumn until
I see the October blue sky through its golden leaves.
(Some rituals are sacred)

Lying there I notice the
fruity smell of ripening persimmons
and the earthy smell of recent rains.
Bees buzz around me and birds begin to sing again.
My heartbeat slows down and my breathing deepens.
Relaxation sets in.

It's a wonderful place to meditate on Autumn's gold.
Go ahead and give it a try!
I promise it will, at the very least, make you smile.

Gail

"....everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." ~Elizabeth Lawrence