Every year since we’ve lived here, we’ve planted sunflowers. Different varieties, from Mexican to Giant to Indian Blanket —hard to go wrong! They do well along the alley, and attract a lot of birds.
Winter Walking February 6, 2010
Big snow, so we bundled up the dogs for a walk. Our chihuahua doesn’t appreciate cold feet and we haven’t gotten him boots yet. The solution? The bag. 
Giant Daisy January 25, 2010
An interesting native perennial we picked up from the plant pathology group at the Chadwick Arboretum sale in 2007 is our Giant Daisy. To me, that seems like quite a misnomer—I’d have called it Giant Field Aster or something to that effect. Oh well.. . it is in the asteracaea family. The proper name for the Giant Daisy is Leucanthemella serotina and it’s pretty crazy. It gets tall (5-6 feet) and wants to spread…kind of a lot. We probably need to find a better place for it to allow it to spread out more, but I do still want it. Easy, tough, and the source of some nice white color in late summer/fall, we often see song birds hanging out among the blooms.
Echinacea Fandom January 25, 2010
Because they are tough, drought-tolerant, long-lasting, bird-attracting natives, I am a fan of echinacea in my garden. Although the Meadow Brite varieties I tried didn’t come back, the white and the common pink varieties have done very well. I tried the ‘Green Jewel’ variety in 2009, and quite liked it. Interesting blooms and mildly scented, too. Here’s hoping it comes back in 2010…especially since the picture I got is really washed out and doesn’t really show off how green the blooms on it were!
Hardy Hibiscus January 25, 2010
Non-tropical or hardy varieties of the hibiscus are a fun perennial in our yard. Other than the ‘fireball’ variety, we’ve got a few others. They were from my mom’s garden and I don’t know the varieties. They add such a tropical, showy touch and once they start blooming they last and last. I do think mine could use a smidge more water than I sometimes give them, though. Although not as thirsty as the native wild hardy hibiscus plants that these were originally hybridized from, they aren’t completely drought tolerant, either. I still think they’re worth the effort.
Crabapple Blossoms January 25, 2010
since it’s cold, gray, and blustery out today, seemed like the perfect time to daydream about spring. Although the crab in the back didn’t bloom much in ’09, the 2 on the side managed a nice show. So here are pics of the Prairie Fire and the Sugar Tyme in action:
Big Projects 2009, Part 2 January 25, 2010
Another big project from the summer of 2009 involved creating a new bed around the large maple. This involved ripping out the fence around the berry patch, taking out most of the berries in the berry patch, installing a brick pathway, adding topsoilt to raise parts of the bed, incorporating existing plantings into the bed, and adding new ones. It was a bit of work! My husband did a great job of installing the brick pathway. He also installed a nifty brick pad in front of the barn door, very handy when wheeling out the lawnmower.
Freezing Frost January 14, 2010
Yesterday morning, we had some freezing frost in Central Ohio. Since I didn’t have to attempt the morning commute in it (late start day), I was free to admire how beautiful it was. Frosty loveliness!
Weeping Crabapple Tree January 13, 2010
Can’t find the tag for this one, hopefully it will turn up and I can add proper name and variety info. This was another late, late addition in 2009 that we got cheap and are crossing our fingers about. Hopefully it’ll winter-over okay, because it’s an interesting looking specimen. It has an interesting weeping form and should stay fairly small –about 8 feet tall, I believe. Here is a picture of it in the snow now. If it makes it, the corner of the garden it occupies will be stunning in spring. It, the weeping redbud, and the Sugar Tyme crabapple are close to each other and should bloom simultaneously. Can’t wait to see it! 
