Jewelry Monday, Mar 3 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos and Trees , , acairfearann 10:22

Taking a break from Grey and Cold here (and yes, I know it is slightly out of focus!):
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Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud) branches seen from above.  It blooms in May and the flower buds occur all along branches, and sometimes even on very old trunks.

An extremely tough tree, native to eastern North America (there are related species elsewhere in both North and Central America, Asia, and Europe). The seed pods, which look like snow peas, are a winter food for chickadees, woodpeckers, and other tough little over-wintering birds.  The wood and bark is very fibrous and it is relatively resistant to rot, allowing it survive breaks/tears caused by storm damage, which is good because it tears easily.

The little blue flower in the lawn below is gill-over-the-ground, also known as ground ivy, it accounts for most of the east lawn.

see also: https://acairfearann.com/2011/08/20/cercis-canadensis/

 

On Vegetable Gardens Thursday, Feb 27 2014 

gardening , , acairfearann 10:50

There are plenty of reasons to have them of course; but one particular point has been on my mind the last few days.

Along about September, I am begging for a frost: the bugs are having a field day, I can’t go away without mutant squash sprouting, there is an overall sense of rot and decay…and the freezer is in decent shape.   But then comes the end of February: the snow is still snowing, cold enough that where it isn’t ice it is drifting, there isn’t a green thing in sight, my car is grey*…and the freezer…

Well, it isn’t just the freezer, it is also the jelly cabinet.  I am charged with shopping and keeping the dinner budget within shouting distance of inflation.  But, the wealth of a garden is beyond measure.  This week I was playing around with some pork chops and chicken thighs.  One night: pork chops braised in a sauce of elderberry jam and mint vinaigrette; another night pork chops in a strawberry/fig (thank you Betsy!) with sage (freshly frozen) and onion; another night, a bit of apple butter, or maybe some tarragon butter for the baked chicken, or maybe a winter squash as a side dish, or some frozen green beans, or some parsley on the the top….  Now the pork chops and chicken don’t come from here, but elderberry jam and mint vinegar?! You can Not buy that.  Not here anyway.

February and the vegetable garden more than answers the need.  Maybe we couldn’t live off it year round; but we certainly couldn’t eat the way we do unless it was there.

*It is grey anyway, but it is Grey-er.

 

The Ginkgo Tree Tuesday, Feb 25 2014 

gardening and Historic Photos and Modern Photos and Trees , , , acairfearann 11:59

The big one that is, as opposed to the other one, which isn’t small but is smaller.

Here it is in 1905-1910* on the right hand side of the picture, standing out nicely against the dark conifers behind it.  You can see that it already has a very upright growth pattern rather than a spreading one.  I believe that it was planted in 1893-94, when the north end of the house was completed.  WWE and family were, at the time, living in New York City. The ginkgo was a commonly planted tree in Central Park and along the streets; to stretch for meaning a bit, it was a tree that signified a modern and cosmopolitan culture along with an interest in exotic botany.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was the first ginkgo planted in the town, though how I’d go about finding that out…

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Here it is in 2013, the size has changed, but the growth pattern has not:

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*I have an exact date, but like an idiot I didn’t put it into the computer…

 

 

Targeted Advertising Tuesday, Feb 18 2014 

gardening acairfearann 14:33

Several plant companies are going to drive me nuts.  It is snowing, there are several feet of snow on the ground, and it is cold.  So, of course, my email keeps getting inundated with spring sales pitches, attractive ones with interesting plants from companies with good quality stock.  Nice full color photos of lovely, lush plants in full bloom.  It is very hard to resist buying a plant under those conditions.  And they Know that! Grrrr.

(And it isn’t just my email…thanks for the banner ads and pop ups on my news sites!)

 

Amaryllis rather than snow Friday, Feb 14 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos , , acairfearann 08:15

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These photographs aren’t from this year; but it looks like all but one of the dozen amaryllis (some of which are many years old) will bloom this year.  Not bad, now if we can just remember what we did with them last year.  I think we just chucked them out on a shady porch for the summer and let them go dormant in the fall for a month or two.

For those wondering, top to bottom: ‘Apple Blossom’, ‘Apple Blossom’ and an unidentified red, ‘Jewel’ (double, tall, very fragrant), ‘Red Lion’ (very tall), ‘Apple Blossom’ red, and ‘Picotee’.

 

Old Roses Tuesday, Feb 11 2014 

gardening , acairfearann 07:17

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One of the old Moss roses in the garden. This is the only nearly white one; most of them are light pink with deeper pink edging.   It is not uncommon for the medium pink ones to have flowers that range in shade from white through blush pink to a classic rose pink, all on the same bush.  The buds are always edged with dark pink. There are one or two bushes as well that are a solid deep pink.  They do not repeat bloom and have only a little fragrance.

These roses date from an unknown era; they resurfaced when the Norway Maples were cut down about fifteen years ago.  It is remotely possible that they date from the 1960’s; but it is much more likely that they date from the turn of the century.  They are tough, but not overly vigorous, sometimes having only one or two canes.  Although apparently disease free, they tend to be attacked by Japanese beetles and aphids.

 

Winter trees Wednesday, Feb 5 2014 

gardening and Modern Photos and Trees and Uncategorized , , acairfearann 08:30

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It isn’t a perfect job, or even close, but since I simply cut and pasted in wordpress rather than any stitching tools, not too bad 🙂

Just playing around, and how does one take a complete photo of a tree that is over 100 feet tall when one is close to it?

 

The first of February Saturday, Feb 1 2014 

gardening acairfearann 18:30

One of the wonderful things about a cold winter is that first day when it feels like spring.  You can only get it if it has been solidly winter for awhile.  There is something about the melting snow, the angle of the sunlight, maybe the sounds of running water or a bird practicing.  You can almost sense the sap in the trees, though they haven’t yet begun the run.  Such was today.

Nothing actually melted of course, though light snow in sunny spots vanished into thin air without a trace.  There will be at least another month to six weeks before anything even considers growing, even the bravest of crocus.  But the world is turning.

 

A Classic garden Friday, Jan 31 2014 

gardening and Landscapes and Modern Photos , , , acairfearann 08:52

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Clematis ‘Henryi’ and ‘Nelly Moser’; unknown old single red peony, mixed columbine, unknown old yellow and blue iris. Purple Heuchera, variegated Asian grass, woodbine (Virginia Creeper).  The Little (summer) kitchen south of the house.

 

50 years apart Thursday, Jan 23 2014 

gardening and Historic Photos and Landscapes and Modern Photos acairfearann 11:17

I couldn’t quite get the same photo angle, what I ought to do is go out and exactly retake some of the early photos. But it is interesting to look at these two photos.  The first is from 1961, the second from 2011:

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Moving from L to R: you can see two low branches of the Gingko in the upper left, since pruned out.  Behind that is the white pine which came down in two pieces during the 1990’s; the garden area (mid left) appears to be largely an overgrown thicket, just off left-center midground is a young blue spruce, that never flourished in what was much too wet and shady an area.  Directly behind it is a double trunk black cherry, removed in the mid 1990’s.  The small garden path between the cherry and the hemlock is visible, this remains today.  A particularly interesting tree is the small sapling in front of the hemlock.  This is the leaning oak, it is an important piece of the landscape today, but is still an awkward looking tree because it does lean.  However, it really is gangly in this photo.  To the right of the hemlock is a pine that came down in the 1990’s (we lost several in that decade, self-thinning).  The pillar has no euonymous bush on it.  The fringe tree on the far right still remains.

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Not quite the same photo: You can see where those low gingko branches were finally taken off, much later than they should have been (when it became apparent a fire truck would not be able to get in the drive).  The garden and the area beyond the garden has regained a lot of structure.  Those maples are actually in the previous photo, but because of the overgrowth (mostly Norway Maple saplings) you couldn’t see them.  The hemlock on the right has not gotten much wider, though it has gotten taller; the thicket of dark shrubs to the hemlock’s left is where the black cherry was. The oak is the real change: all you can see is its trunk.  In front of that is a young Norway spruce planted about 8 years ago.

 

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