Phlox paniculata "Miss Ellie' and 'David' with Sedum 'Autumn Fire'

I have been neglectful of the blog lately. The last time we had anything that resembled inclement weather (so that I could calmly work at my desk) was over a month ago. We have had a spate of very hot days in which sometimes it felt that all we did was drag hoses around watering, only to follow the next day weeding because watering effectively loosened the concrete that we call soil to make it possible to pull the weeds that germinated because we had watered the week before..sigh.  We were also very busy getting the grounds in top shape for the barn sale. We were making paths, weeding everywhere, and trying to get everything planted before over ten thousand people descended on our lawns, gardens, and walkways. In the middle of all this we also did another big pond planting and added bullfrog tadpoles to the pond. Many of the new projects we embarked on this year have made much progress so this is a little catch-up blog.

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Piglet' and Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' in the Grass Border

Firstly, the grass border has grown in beautifully. If you remember, last fall we made the decision to dig up the flower bed bordering the Chicken Palace yard. It was 160 x 8 feet of mostly roadside plants- the orange daylily common to road ditches, New York Asters, Tansy, and some more conventional, cultivated perennials. It was also the home of many weeds that we would diligently dig out, only to have more return in a few weeks. I estimated that we would spend about a week’s worth of work each year to yield maybe, 2 weeks maximum pleasure- when it was tidy and blooming. I determined that of all the perennials we have that tall grasses are the least maintenance. Over the winter I read some design books by Ohm and Van Sweden, two early proponents of ornamental grasses and made my selections from our favorite plant propagator. We had a lot of plants in the greenhouse this spring so we took the lazy man’s approach to the grasses. Since most of them came rooted in 2 ½ inch pots, rather than potting them up into gallon nursery containers, we held them in their propagation trays and planted them out as early as we dared. I was a little nervous doing this because there was talk about a June date for the barn sale; I knew the border would not look like much then. For many reasons, I was relieved when the mid-July date was picked. As I chose the grasses, I decided to deviate from my initial plan of only grasses to add perovskia and sedum- both plants I really like with grasses. I almost added rudbeckia but its potential invasiveness and need for deadheading deterred me. We did plant Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ as a marker for our narcissi clumps. It is a fantastic mixer with grasses.

Waterlilies nymphaea sp. - the pink flowers have closed for the day

Thalia dealbata at water's edge

The pond planting is starting to fill out. This is all a new experience so I am not sure how soon it will look like the abundant designs of the pond books. In early July we ordered and planted more marginals and water lilies since our first planting appeared to be doing well. I found a wonderful nursery in Texas (of all places!) and ordered a passel of plants (one always orders passels of things from Texas).  They arrived neatly packed and in remarkably good condition considering the record heat they were traveling through. Corinne and I, again, donned out spiffy wets suits and ventured forth. I tried to act as water snake look out because Corinne would definitely be in the trees if she saw one;  we all tried to act like we knew what we were doing. At the same time that I was looking for plants, I came across bull frog tadpoles offered by a pond plant supplier. There had been requests from important people for more frogs, please. So we got 200 and released them- I tried to find some for pictures but the pond is big and they are elusive.

One of the goslings looks quizically at the camera

That segways nicely to- an animal update: The sheep are quite at home. In mid-June we weaned the lambs and sent the moms back  to rejoin their flock. Aiden, Annick, and Libby are now totally in charge of the sheep yard. They have really grown, so much so that a woman asked me last week where the baby lambs were- lambs, like puppies, do not stay small forever. The sheep seem to enjoy hanging out in the breezeway on hot days and now recognize the sound of our cars when we arrive in the morning- always greeting us with bleats for grain. The goslings are huge already. They still have their fluffy, yellow- green down but are nearly half the size of their parents. It will be interesting to see if any are white. We had five hatch but only three made it through the first weekend (sad days for Corinne). The chickens that arrived early June have been allowed to free range. They mostly hang out in their yard but periodically the hop the fence and wander the grounds close by. The rooster is magnificent! My project this fall will be getting him to be able to be picked up easily. He is slightly used to handling- I just need to work on it more- he is very fast and it is hard to catch him!

Our very handsome but as yet elusive rooster

There is much more going on- you must stop in to see us!