Time For the Yearly Invasion

Well I have good news and bad.
The dreaded hard freeze and frost did not happen
as predicted. Thank Heavens! I was dreading looking
out the window to see all of the dead plants and
flowers. I just knew if it was 27 degrees they were a
gonner. When I looked out they looked a little wilted
but were not mush so I checked at in was 35 degrees.
So we missed the big freeze so far.
And now we are having a few days of beautiful
sunshine and some warmer temps, it being up to a
whopping 63 degrees. Yeah!!!
Buttttt--- with the warmer weather it means the
farmers are rushing to get in their crops from the
field which is good, buttttt............ when the corn is
getting picked and it is the last warm days of the season
that means that the old pesky, dirty, stinking Asian Lady
Bugs are trying to get into the houses for the Winter.
I will not expound on how much I hate them again this
year by posting a whole section on them .If you want to
read up on them go to a posting I wrote last year
Lady Bug Invasion



Oh, I know you just love Lady Bugs, Birds or Beetles.
So do I but these are not your usual Lady Bugs.
There is a big difference.



The Autumn leaves are falling so fast here
in the Hills this year. With a little rain all
of the pretty leaves will be gone and all that will be
left will be the brown oak leaves. The big Sycamore
trees along Salt Creek have already fallen and
the trees are bare but their white bark will still
make them pretty this Winter.



I have a stand of beautiful yellow Maple leaves
behind my house and they are falling off fast.







I also have this Maple tree that always has the
brightest red leaves on it and they are going too.
One year I had a car load of college students that
were from Japan jump out and set in the yard and
take pictures of it. I wondered at the time if they
thought they were on park owned land. I was glad
that they were enjoying the leaves.





There are touches of orange leaves around in
the woods behind the house too.

The Sumac are so pretty in Autumn with their
red leaves and berries hanging from them.



The Sassafras trees which are in large supply
are so golden yellow. How many love Sassafras tea?



Even the brier leaves are pretty in the Fall
with their variegated leaves.




The berries of the Green briers are in plain sight now.

The field across from the house was so pretty
last week with all of its colors and pines.



Trees of russet color are nearby.




Autumn splendor at its best.

Jack Frost

Jack Frost

"Someone painted pictures on my
Windowpane last night --
Willow trees with trailing boughs
And flowers, frosty white,

And lovely crystal butterflies;
But when the morning sun
Touched them with its golden beams,
They vanished one by one."

- Helen Bayley Davis -

Well Jack Frost came early to us here in Ohio
for the first day of October, but I am sure it has painted
the fields and gardens of many across the states.
I rushed yesterday in between the sprinkles
to set the remaining pots of flowers on the
front porch and made sure others were
under the trees.



One of the disappointments of this summers blooms
was that only one of my hydrangea bushes bloomed.
So waiting until the last minute this Nikko blue
hydrangea just decided to finally set on some blooms.




I was so excited when I saw it getting some blooms,
thinking better late than never but now with the frost
coming it will be touch and go to see the blooms grow
big enough to get her pretty blue flowers.
It made it through this mornings frost being up
against the house and under the eaves, we also
had a lot of fog so this helped save it.
I will baby it along hoping that we still will have some
warm weather yet.



All of my flowers look to be alright, even all of
the Impatiens and the little coleus plants that
are planted in different places.



Even the bugs were looking for some sun this
morning to get warmed up.




Congratulations to all of the wonderful gardeners
that were winner in the Blotanical awards.
I was so appreciative of the nominations that I
received from you who have become friends over
the last year and I am looking forward to many
years of friendship with my old blogging buddies
and to the new.
I have learned so much from you and gained so
much from your giving nature.
You all are a wealth of knowledge and have been
there to answer my silly questions.
Also thanks to those of you who have shared
your seeds and you know who you are.
Now the pressure will be on to get them to grow ;-)

Thank you!

Fields of Gold

"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer."
- Helen Hunt Jackson -

Looking Up Through The Trees

Gardening Gone Wild is holding an August Photo
Contest with the subject of "Down on Your Knees".
The contest was named and will be judged by David
Perry who is one of the best in Photography. It involves
as the subject suggests that the photographer take the
pictures from the knee down. The idea is to take pictures
with a different angle or perspective that makes the viewer
gets a fresh and unexpected look at textures and angles.

The contests ends Saturday August 22, so do not be late.

My entry is of this pink lily where I literally had to get down
and shoot up at the drooping lily. When I did it picked up
the back drop of the trees above it and the sunlight reflecting
on the back of the lily making it seem transparent.
It was a fun project and there have been some amazing
pictures entered.





Happy Gardening Everyone!

A Little Yellow to Brighten a Rainy Day

It has been raining here for two days and after the drying March
winds we have had it is welcome to help the Spring growth. After
looking at the weather forecasts and seeing heavy snow storms and
flooding along the Red River valley I am not going to complain
one iota. I am hoping though that the new grass seed sown in
the back yard will benefit from the rain and that it is not washing
down hill because we never covered it with with straw after
sowing. If not they may have a nice growth of new grass
down in the hollow before long.

Monday while it was warm and sunny I got a few pictures of what
was blooming now. Some of the daffodils were just starting to
bloom and a few hyacinths.
Maybe all of the rain will bring out the blooms on the redbuds and
the dogwood trees soon.
My camera is in the ready for anything that dares to bloom.

A question for all of you Master Gardeners. Is Bergenia invasive?
I have thought to plant some but wanted to know first. I do not
want to get another plant like the "Purple Volcano" Salvia that I
constantly pull up.

What Could Be Prettier - Birds & Buds

The buds are bursting forth on our Maple tree and
as I was looking out my kitchen window at the birds
coming to the tree to feed from the feeders, I could not
help but notice how pretty the birds looked against the
buds on the tree.
So I grabbed my trusty camera to get some shots.
Not that I really need more pictures of birds as I have
so many but this was an opportunity to good to resist.
After I saw the pictures I knew it that taking a few more
had been surprisingly a good idea.



The Gold Finches are getting their Spring feathers
of bright yellow back.





The female Cardinal almost matches the colors of the
buds.

The male Cardinals are always gorgeous and stands
out against the buds in the background.

This Junco and another little Goldfinch are waiting for
their turn at the feeders.



The Robins came back about three weeks ago, another
sure sign of Spring. I have had a hard time getting a closeup
of them so far with nothing to hide behind and I guess I am
not a very good at sneaking up on them.

The Robins and Grackles love the torn up back yard
which I cannot stand to look at until it is raked and
grass sown. They like it though for getting the worms
and insects. The Grackles just came back last weekend.


I saw my first butterfly yesterday and ran to get the camera,
you guessed it, it was nowhere in sight by the time I got back
out the door.
So the signs of Spring are getting more prominent and more
beautiful.

A Time To Plant & A Time To Uproot

I had to say goodbye to my Mimosa tree over the
weekend. A collapse in the septic system meant new
lines had to be put in and of course my little Mimosa tree
was in the way and had to be uprooted.



It was just getting big enough to get some beautiful
blooms on it last summer. The butterflies and hummingbirds
just flocked to it when it was in bloom.
A few years ago I had a large one between the garage and
the house but it became a problem where it was located so
it was cut down.



They can get a little messy when the blooms and seed pods
start dropping so always plant them in an open area where
the seed pods can be raked up easily. That was the reason
for cutting the older one down, it left a mess on the garage
roof and eaves, and left a mess on the sidewalks and flower
beds below it.

I have two other small ones that I planted three years ago
and they do grow very fast and bloom after about seven
years so all is not lost and there will be Mimosa's
blooming again in a few years and far enough away from
creating any problems.

Many consider it an invasive tree because of the seed pods
cause spreading of the trees. In all my years I have seen maybe
ten new trees starting from seed in my beds or yard of
which I easily just pulled up. They are also spread if planted
near streams where the pods travel down stream.
So this are all considerations when deciding to plant a Mimosa
new Mimosa tree.

Planted in the right areas their beauty, fragrance and
blooms which draws butterflies and humming birds into the yard
far out weigh the minor inconvenience of raking a few seed pods
and pulling up a few new sprouts when I am weeding.


.

Since this is St. Patrick's Day, to all of those who are Irish and to
us who are of Irish descent:

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

May luck be our companion
May friends stand by our side
May history remind us all
Of Ireland's faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.

And:

As you slide down the banister of life,
May the splinters never point in the wrong direction!

Some Irish Gold in the Irish Gold Rose