i plant happiness
  • home
  • blog
  • gallery
  • about

blogGAGE

whining time

6/27/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
Mother Nature is holding out on us. I can't believe it's almost July in Wisconsin and only two or three of my daylilies are blooming. This has to be the latest bloom season ever. The anticipation is killing me! Let the whining commence.
Picture
Picture
Picture
1 Comment

kitty seat re-do

6/20/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Before photo with a calico kitty balancing on the rotted stump edges
After photo with a black kitty happily sitting on the new seat


The barn across the road from our home currently houses about five or six cats. The cats routinely patrol our property for field mice, which we really appreciate and encourage. We noticed that they liked to sit in the sun and/or sleep on an old tree stump across the road. When Ange saw that the stump was rotting, he decided to build a new, sturdy seat for the cats. It only took about ten minutes of his time and the cats started using the new perch immediately!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

our catalpa tree

6/13/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ange planted our Northern Catalpa tree almost 30 years ago when it was a sapling, measuring only about 12" tall. Today it towers over 40 feet tall! Other than occasionally watering the tree when first planted, we have basically ignored it. As you can see, the tree has thrived.  A Midwest native first cultivated in 1754, the wood of the Northern Catalpa was originally used for fence posts and railroad ties due to the tree's fast growth rate and resistance to rot.

The tree is useful as a shade tree in dry, hard-to-plant sites. Fragrant flowers appear in spring and last into early summer. The sweet scent is heavenly and envelops our entire backyard. Pollinators, including hummingbirds and bees, visit the flowers of the Northern Catalpa. The fruit is a long bean-shaped pod, 8 to 20 inches long. In the city the huge banana-like seed pods can become a messy, slippery, litter problem on sidewalks or on parked cars. In the country it's a non-problem; we never even notice the pod litter. All we see is a pretty tree.
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

hey sue's crispey

6/6/2021

3 Comments

 
Picture
Here's an eye-catcher that I grow named 'Hey Sue's Crispey.' This daylily is not well-known, nor is it award-winning, but I'm crazy about this beauty. I grabbed it from the Wisconsin hybridizer table at the annual Daylily Society Sale in Madison. To me, the Wisconsin hybridizer table means *sure thing* when it comes to northern gardening. When I planted my two fans at home, they never missed a beat and took right off growing.

Hybridized by William (Bill) Powell, this 2009 dormant tetraploid daylily grows 32" tall with six-way branching. The 6.25" blooms are consistent with thick substance (bud count: 31-35). The reddish-orange-gold polychrome color paired with the delicate ruffled gold edge is exquisite. In 2020, bloom time in my garden was from July 21 through August 19. This daylily is very striking in a clump; what's not to love?
Picture
3 Comments

    if it's about

    my backyard and garden, I LOVE to talk about it!

    archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    categories

    All
    Critters
    Daylily Profiles
    Events
    Fall
    Flowers
    Garden Tools
    Garden Vogue
    Just 'Wow'
    Organization
    Places To Visit
    Products I Like
    Projects
    Shade Plants
    Spring
    Succulents
    Thoughts To Ponder
    Trees
    Unrelated To Anything
    Whimsy
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2022 iplanthappiness      
iplanthappiness@yahoo.com
  • home
  • blog
  • gallery
  • about