Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any hotter in the garden…….. it does. Naked ladies magically appear all over the place.

Sometimes in the hostas.

Sometimes in the ferns.

Sometimes just right out of the ground.

Cover the children’s eyes. Give Grandpa another nitro-glycerin tablet. Warn the religious right. No, wait. Tell them Resurrection lilies are all over the garden. They won’t know the difference. It’s August and time for the Naked Ladies to put on a show! Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Horticulture

Lawdy Mercy! Spring is coming on so fast and furious my head is spinning!

It’s almost too much yet it can never be too much. There’s stuff everywhere!I’ve been trying to photograph as much as possible and I can’t hardly keep up! Plus we have started planting over at 100 Acres while there’s still all the regular work to do. Let me just tell you it’s keeping me in a tizzy. And next week-end is the Perennial Premiere – Jumbo Size. Let’s face it. It’s the busy season.

But I refuse to ignore all the amazing and pretty plants putting on their big sex show this year. Yes, I said sex show. Those flowers you’re admiring ain’t for you. They are for the pollinators (more on National Pollinator Week later). But what the heck. Let’s be nasty voyeurs this week and take in the show.

If you have questions about any plants in particular, that’s why we have a comment section. I will try to find an answer for you.

I tried to find a video for the Forester Sisters’ “Too Much is Not Enough” but had no luck. So ……..

Filed under: Horticulture

Easter is this week-end so here’s a little diddy to get us in the mood.

There now. Wasn’t that nice? Now, let’s get right on to the story.

When I was a small child growing up in southern Indiana there was no such thing as a daffodil. There just wasn’t. Jonquils were not to be found. Narcissus (Narcissi?) were as non-existent as interstate highways. You only knew the gravel road and you only knew “Easter Flowers.” And they were yellow.

They were all yellow (including the one double one) with the exception of a mysterious double white. That double white had the very same shape as the double yellow and they didn’t always open completely. It was a special year when you got most of them to bloom out completely. To this day I have no idea what those special conditions are. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Horticulture, Musings

Warmer weather has finally arrived and with it the early spring-flowering bulbs. These so-called minor bulbs are such a welcome sight after our Midwest winters.

Crocus seiberi ‘Tricolor’ around Sutphin Fountain.

The three colors in ‘Tricolor’.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) still make me happy no matter how many years I’ve seen their spring show.

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) are very happy little bulbs.

Even on a gray day their bright yellow color absolutely glows.

The honey bees love them. Look at all the pollen on the bees leg.

The bees tended to take flight just as I was ready to snap the photograph.

Bee butt.

Now get your butt to the IMA and enjoy this glorious weather.

Filed under: Art, Horticulture

Well that’s what the weather report says for tomorrow. Things are starting to pop so get out to the IMA gardens and walk around. Most of the snow is melted!

Snowdrops behind Deer-Zink are blooming.

Some of the Anemone blanda ‘Blue Shades’ in the beds around the Sutphin Fountain are very close to blooming.

Witchhazels are blooming all over the place.

Perennials are pushing new growth.

And I saw winter aconite that will be in bloom tomorrow. Hellebores should be showing color too.

So much happening. More later.

Filed under: Current Events, Horticulture, Local