Around our (Maryland) Yard in August 2013

August has been cooler and wetter than usual for us. The plants are growing vigorously. The butterflies enjoy the cone flowers and mint. Both plants will be in bloom for the rest of the season. I did a sequence of cone flower development from petals just unfurling to the beginning of seed pod development.

The blazing stars that were attractive to butterflies earlier in the season are developing seeds now. I’ve already seen a few goldfinches enjoying the earliest harvest.

The hydrangea is fading although some of the blooms will simply dry on the bush.

The chives are getting ready to bloom. In September they will be a highlight of the garden. There are some that came up too near the edge of the garden that I am pulling up and enjoying in salads.

And last but not least the dahlias. They are attractive in just about every way…large, robust flowers….glossy green foliage…there for butterflies and bees and wasps to enjoy.

Around our (Maryland) Yard in July 2013

Our July has included enough rain to keep the yard very lush. I took a series of pictures looking up through the trees in our yard. The foliage in all the trees is in prime summer condition. I’ll do a similar collage in the fall.

Another series I am starting this month is watching the maturing of the tulip poplar seed pods. There is finally a branch low enough on our tree to watch the developments every month. The image on the right is what the two green pods will look like next summer.

The rest of the walk  around our yard is captured in the slideshow below. I appreciate the dahlias, blazing stars, zinnias and hydrangea bush this year because the day lilies have been so thoroughly enjoyed by the deer; the buds get eaten right before they open! I’ve included the green pyracantha berries; they’ll be a glorious orange in the fall.

Pink Botanticals

This is the first in a series of posts using color as a theme. The pink flowers include deciduous magnolia, alstroemeria, begonias, poinsettias, azaleas, hyacinths, snapdragons, hydrangeas, freesias, orchids, camellias and dogwoods….so many beautiful blooms. Enjoy the pink show! 

Around our (Maryland) Yard in February 2013

There was a dusting of snow of fell after dark - that made the yard look cold and brittle on the morning I walked around to take the pictures for this post. The tumbled cairn of rocks and shells was almost covered. The neighbors’ blue spruce and pines still held tufts of snow as did the dried flowers of the hydrangea and onion. The old logs of the abandoned wood pile at the edge of the forest were buried under leaves and snow. I left muddy footprints in the pristine snow that had filled the dip in the yard that drains away the melt and rain water.

tumbled cairn

blue spruce

pine

hydrangea

onion

abandoned wood pile

The Magic of a Little Snow

We got a little over an inch of snow one of the days last week….and it made our yard a magical place:

The tracks of an animal (probably a cat) close to our front door; it didn’t stop to look in window.

The cedar holding a handful of snow - perfectly balanced until breeze should come along. 

The dried hydrangea looking almost like a cotton boll. 

The snowball held by pine needles.

And the deformed branches of the tulip poplar outlined by snow on every near horizontal branch.