A Better Sense of Place
2014 May 16 (Fri)
Coreopsis everywhere
The rain garden is now fully covered with coreopsis. Some clasping coneflowers are coming in along with some horsemint. The tallest plants are roughly 5' tall. It's about time to finally cut the path to the back swing since it's pretty overgrown.
2014 April 26 (Sat)
Hmm... something's missing
The rain garden has filled out nicely, but I'm noticing a particular lack of something: grasses. I suppose one of my initial-phase goals was to just get some diverse species established, which is why I haven't trimmed any plants from growing between the stepping stones. (They're blocking the last few on the way to the back bench.) Now that they're established and apparently doing well — the tallest plants are 4' tall — I'm waiting for the flowers and resulting seeds. At that time, I think I'll start discouraging some growth.
2014 March 31 (Mon)
The flowers are coming
Amazing what a little warmer weather and rain will do for wildflowers in the spring. It's only been two weeks, and I can definitely see a huge difference.
2014 March 18 (Tue)
Babies' first spring
The days have been getting warmer and sunnier. The rate of growth in the rain garden has increased lately, though the plants have generally been growing all winter too. The Chicken Yard sprouts have been growing much more slowly, but I'm not too worried. I can spot some flower buds starting to form, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them open so I can figure out what they even are. Looks like a bunch of Rudbeckia to me.
2014 January 29 (Wed)
Snow can't stop the natives
It snowed yesterday and last Friday. Well, it was icy sleet balls. The exotic tropicals and citrus took a beating, but the natives did just fine. This picture shows the Chicken Yard and the layer of ice that's still out there. I read that planting as I did in the fall would let the plants grow roots throughout the winter, but I didn't expect them to grow much above ground. I'm seeing new growth even though it's been pretty cold. One yellow flower even grew a month or so ago.
