April GBBD: A Waiting Game

Today is April 15, and we all know what that means . . . no, no, I don't mean the day we fork over half our money to the IRS. Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted the 15th of each month by the effervescent Carol of May Dreams Gardens. (For those of you visiting from the ABC blog, my "M" post is below.)



Two weeks ago today I was surrounded by blooms in Arizona, including this beautiful tree, identified by Chandramouli as an orchid tree. I don't know anything about this tree other than the fact it was blooming this profusely back in December as well.

Even the cacti were welcoming spring with blooms. March and early April are the peak times for blooms of all kind in Arizona, where the temperatures begin to creep into the 90's, but nothing like the 100+ degrees that will toast everything in a few months.

But for the past week I have been back to reality and anxiously waiting for blooms to appear in my Illinois garden. The daffodils have been going strong for a few weeks now.

And the hyacinths have all opened up, perfuming the front walkway.

But mostly it's a waiting game here. Waiting for one of the newer daffodils planted last fall to open into full bloom. Waiting for the wind to stop so that I can get something other than a blurry picture. Waiting for the temperature to get above the 34 degrees it was when I awoke this morning.

I'm waiting to see if the lilacs, which leafed out early, will bloom or if they have suffered any damage from the frosts we have had recently.

A month ago I waited eagerly for signs of all the tulips I planted last fall. They have come up, but now it's a waiting game to see what colors emerge.

This tulip bud looks pink, but is it? I will have to wait to find out.

The surprise/mystery lilies, aka "Naked Ladies," are growing by leaps and bounds. Now that I know they are here, I am waiting and watching to see when they disappear and magically reappear later in the summer.

I am also waiting to see if the Hellebores will bloom this spring. An order of five arrived the day before I left for Arizona, and I hastily planted them. I was so happy when I got home to see that they had survived the frost and snow, that is . . .

. . . all except one. I wonder what could have eaten this plant?

A deer, a rabbit, or heaven forbid, Sophie?? I will have to wait to see if it survives.

While I will have to wait for these yellow primrose buds to open . . .

. . . I no longer have to wait for these pink primroses which were similar buds two weeks ago.

Nor this mass of primrose blossoms. I planted several primroses (or are they primulas?) last spring, not knowing if they were hardy here in zone 5. But not only did they survive, they have increased in size with two to three times the number of blooms on each one.

But most of all, I am waiting for the ground to dry out, so I can finally get in the garden!

Footnote: I wrote most of this post this morning and then ran out of time to finish it. Since then the sun has come out, and it's in the 50's with a forecast of sunny days in the 60's ahead! I guess all good things come to those who wait:)

ABC Wednesday: A Marathon M

I know it's only Tuesday, but since tomorrow is also Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I wanted to post my ABC Wednesday post a little early. This past weekend gave me the perfect M for this week . . .

a Marathon

On Saturday, Champaign, Illinois hosted the first ever Illinois Marathon. Over 9,000 runners competed in races, including the 26-mile marathon, a half-marathon, 5K, 1K, wheelchair, and relay events. Seasoned marathoners from across the country arrived in Champaign for the event, but many of the participants were locals including a group of firefighters who ran the marathon relay with 25-pound airpacks on their backs. Others included a Marine running in full battle gear--including combat boots!--and a Marine who carried the Marine Corps banner for the whole marathon.



I was involved, too--no, no, no, I didn't run any of the races. They would have had to carry me out on a stretcher before the end of mile 2, ha, ha. No, I was on "grandma duty," keeping two of the grandchildren overnight and during the day of the race so that Son #2 and Daughter-in-law could be rested for the big day. My son has run several marathons in the last four years, but this was the first full marathon for my daughter-in-law. They were thrilled when Champaign announced its plans; participating in marathons usually involves a lot of travel, which is difficult for working parents, not to mention expensive.



Because I was in charge of the children, we didn't make it to the beginning of the race, which would have given me much better photo opportunities. Instead, we waited a couple hours, then camped out on the street corner near Son #1's house, hoping to get a glimpse of the kids' Mom and Dad. If you've never attended a marathon, it's not easy knowing where your favorite runner will be. I had estimated what time they would pass by here, and all five grandchildren, Son #1, Daughter-in-law #1, and I cheered on every runner that went by, some of whom looked a little exhausted after running 17 miles already. After an hour, Granddaughter #2 decided she was too cold and wanted to "PLAY!", so we gave up and went inside. Unfortunately, as I later learned, we gave up too soon, as their parents passed this point about 10 minutes later.




Everyone involved with planning the event was very satisfied with the outcome. Everything went smoothly, thanks in part to over 2500 volunteers, including the gentleman on the left whose duties included directing the runners to the next leg of the race and stopping drivers--most cheerful, but a few not so nice--from crossing the street while runners were present.

The organizers took care, too, in plotting out the course, choosing scenic runs through the heart of campus and through several parks, including one of my favorites, Meadowbrook Park. And they couldn't have chosen a better day for the weather. The day before, it was cold, very windy, and rainy, but on Saturday the skies were clear with temperatures reaching the low 50's by mid-day.

For any runner, crossing the finish line has to be a very satisfying conclusion, but it had to be particularly thrilling for local runners as they ran into Memorial Stadium and crossed the finish line at the 50-yard line in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers. The winner was a Kenyan who finished in 2:26. He was disappointed in his time, but that's 26 miles at a little over 5 1/2 minutes a mile, which I think is amazing! Son and Daughter-in-law finished a little over twice that amount of time, which was much slower than my son usually runs. But he ran at a pace to stay with my daughter-in-law, giving her encouragement all along the way. And except for those who race to win, for most marathoners just completing the course is satisfaction enough.

Unfortunately, once again I misjudged the time, and, after a quick lunch and packing everybody up again, the two grandkids and I arrived at the stadium just after Son and Daughter-in-law crossed the finish line.

Two tired, but very happy runners (and two very tired kids)--I am so proud of them!

Because the race was such a success, organizers are hoping to make this an annual event. Next year, I hope to participate---WALKING the 5K! You heard it here first--hold me to this!

For more ABC posts, visit Mrs. Nesbitt or the ABC blog listing.

Butterfly Delights

Why is it that when you return from a vacation, you feel as though you need another vacation? I've managed to unpack and put away the suitcases and do the laundry, but that is about all I've accomplished since coming home Tuesday night. I did download all 400-plus photos from our trip to Arizona, but with a busy weekend ahead, it will be awhile before I have time to edit and organize them all. But I did want to share one small part of our trip with you now.



Once again, I made my usual solitary pilgrimage to the Desert Botanical Gardens while in Phoenix. Each time I've visited the Gardens, I have seen something new, and this time was no exception. The Chihuly Exhibit was still showing, but this time the stunning works of glass were often surrounded by blooms rather than a sea of green cacti, succulents, and other natives. If you would like to see more of the Chihuly exhibit, you can read this post from my December trip. And the blooming perennials and cacti will have to wait until another time . . .



This time I wanted to make sure to visit an exhibit that wasn't open last December--the Marshall Butterfly Pavilion.






It isn't easy to capture a butterfly in photos, but even more difficult to show in a single photograph the experience of being surrounded by hundreds of butterflies. I tried several videos, and this was the best of the lot. But be forewarned that you might get a little dizzy at one point--the camerawoman was too excited to move slowly.



This delicate orange beauty is a Julia, Dryas iulia. I know this only because we were given a small guide for identifying the butterflies. The guide showed 16 different species, but a note on the back said that not all would be on exhibit at all times. I was disappointed in being able to see only four different species, but some may have been hiding from me. And the sheer number of these winged creatures flying was so entrancing that it hardly mattered how many different ones there were.




I think this is a Spicebush Swallowtail, although it might be a Pipevine Swallowtail. The Pipevine in the guide showed blue tones in the lower wings but not the orange dots seen here. I may have seen both varieties flitting about, but all my photos seem to resemble the Spicebush more.

I had no difficulty, though, in identifying this Zebra Longwing. What a striking butterfly! I've never seen anything like this in my garden at home.

This Southern White may not be as striking, but my photos also didn't do it justice in capturing its translucent beauty.

In several places in the small pavilion, butterfly feeding stations were set up. I learned last year that you should place shallow containers of water filled with small stones for a resting place for the butterflies throughout the garden. But I didn't know that butterflies also enjoyed orange slices. The Julias were especially attracted to them; if you look closely, you can see at least five of them in this photo.

Although they enjoyed the citrus and the water, the flowers, of course, were the

main attraction for them.

If there were any labels posted near the different flowers, I didn't notice them. I was too busy trying to focus my camera.

This year I am planning a small new garden area with the intention of planting primarily plants that will attract butterflies as well as hummingbirds and bees. I already have zinnia seeds and will hopefully have many new coneflower seedlings as well to plant here, both of which were butterfly magnets last year. But I also plan to add butterfly weed, parsley, agastache, nasturtiums, and cosmos, just to name a few.

I could have spent all my time at the Gardens in this one spot, but I didn't want to be selfish. The number of people allowed into the exhibit at one time was limited, and you could pass into the area only after someone else left. We were cautioned not to touch the butterflies, even if they landed on one of us. And before leaving through the heavy plastic slats that led into an outer room toward the exit, we had to stop for inspection by a guide to ensure that there were no winged hitchikers leaving with us.

While I marvelled at all the beauties around me and jostled to get into position for just the right camera shots, others took a simple delight in just watching these creatures fly about. Watching a butterfly for me is like being a child again--finding joy in the every day beauty of nature.

The butterfly has delighted man for ages, and it has become a symbol of rebirth and resurrection, a perfect image for this Easter weekend. I wish all of you . . .

A Happy and Blessed Easter!

ABC Wednesday: Coconut's View of L

Good morning, everyone! It's Wednesday, which means another ABC post. My choice today should probably be LATE, since most of the ABC bloggers in the UK and across the world have long since posted. But we arrived home late last night after a wonderful week spent with Older Daughter in Arizona, and now I need to unpack, do laundry, run errands--all those post-vacation chores that make you wish you were still on vacation. So I'm going to turn today's post over to someone who's been wanting to have his say here. L is also for Lonely . . .

Hi, everybody; I'm Coconut. I'm so excited--Grandma Rose said she was too busy to write something today, so she asked me to. I've never even been allowed to get on the keyboard before; this is fun! I am so glad Grandma is home. Sophie and me have been very lonely the last week.

Grandma and Grandpa went to some place called Arizona to visit my Mommy's sister. I'm not sure where Arizona is, but Grandma says I probably wouldn't like it. It's very hot and has lots of plants called cactuses that have sharp sticker things all over them.

Grandma also went to visit Mommy's sister's family. She has two dogs--Odie, my friend who used to live here, and a big dog named Bear I've never seen. But in Grandma's pictures he looks ginormous! I think I'm glad he doesn't live here.

But sometimes I miss Odie. He used to play with me and almost always let me win our games. Now this little puppy who's not so little anymore lives with me. Her name is Sophie, and sometimes she's fun, but mostly she's kind of a pain. I let her play with my toys, but she isn't very good at sharing, and whatever I have, she wants, too. But I draw the line at letting her have my blankie!

I know she looks sweet and innocent, but trust me, she can be real ornery! While Grandpa and Grandma were gone, Mommy was here. I love my mom, especially when she takes me on rides to McDonald's and Dairy Queen or to go play with her boyfriend's dog, LuLu. But she is gone a lot during the day, so it gets kind of boring . And I have to put up with Sophie. I try to get her to behave but while Grandma was gone, Sophie ate an even bigger hole in the hallway carpet. Boy, is she in trouble!

Tomorrow Grandma says she is taking Sophie to get spaded. I don't know what that is, but I hope it means she's going to learn some manners--she needs some! All the cats are my friends, and I am trying to teach Sophie how to play nice with them, but sometimes she gets too rambuncshousious. Tarzan is teaching her that cats can't be bossed around.

Grandma says she had a good time in Arizona, but she's happy to be home to see her flowers. I am glad, too, because it means in the morning we get to walk around a lot and look at the garden and check everything out, like these pretty purple flowers that started to bloom while Grandma was gone. I help her a lot in the garden--and I know better than to dig in it, like Sophie does.

Grandma says today is supposed to be about the letter L, and she would have had the perfect L if she had had time to go through all her vacation pictures. I think she said the word leopardordapata . . . or something like that. She said it means butterflies. She will probably show some pictures of them some time soon. She also told me to tell you that she would try to visit everybody during the next couple of days and to remind you that ABC Wednesday is brought to you by a nice lady named Mrs. Nesbitt.

It was nice to meet all of you. I would tell you more about me, but I think I hear Sophie eating the carpet again. I'd better go . . . Bye!

Garden Muse Day and ABC Wednesday

Today is the first of April, which means it's Garden Muse Day; it's ABC Wednesday; and, it's the first Wednesday of the month which means it's Book Review Day. So what's a girl to do?? I've been so busy this past month and haven't had any time to read any worthwhile book, so I'm afraid I'll have to skip the book review this month. As for Muse Day and ABC Wednesday, I think I have them both covered by combining them:

K is for Kids!

Grandkids, to be exact. Photo taken about 3 years ago when there were only four . . .

I've never been a big fan of e.e. cummings, but the following poem brings back memories of all that spring meant to me as a child. I spent many hours in the swing hanging from a big tree in the yard, and when spring rains flooded the roads, the neighbor kids, my brother, and I would enjoy the "puddle wonderful" world.

in Just-
by e. e. cummings

in Just-

spring when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far and wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles

far

and

wee

. . . And now there are five!

.............................................................................

I took a walk around my garden before leaving Tuesday morning to check on the garden's progress. I had also hoped to find a plant that began with K for the ABC post today, but no such luck. There are no Kerria japonica, Kalmia, Kniphofia, Kolwitzia, or even a Kumquat tree in my garden. But I did notice one plant that I've never mentioned here before and thought some of you might be interested in this one.



Forkius Plasticus, planted here in the front porch planter as well as in various containers. These are very easy to grow and an excellent companion plant for showier flowers. While you won't find them in most nurseries or catalogues, they are available in supermarkets, discount stores, or dollar stores.


Some basic growing facts:

• Hardiness: All zones
• Height: 5-6"; width 1"
• Light: sun to full shade
• Soil: adapts to any soil conditions
• Planting depth: 1"; space 2-4" apart
• Colors: available in many colors (I prefer the black, but my frugal side prompted me to buy this silver/transparent variety)
• Bloom time: early June to frost, when they are covered with pink or fuschia geranium, purple or pink wave petunia, cherry pink profusion zinnia, or a host of other lovely blooms.
  

The forkius plasticus is an excellent plant for cat lovers or those with wandering neighbor cats. They can be planted anywhere but are especially effective in containers which cats might mistake for a napping spot or, worse yet, a litter box.**

Garden Muse Day is brought to you the first of each month by the creative Carolyn Gail, and ABC Wednesday is brought to you each week by the indomitable Mrs. Nesbitt.

**Oh, yes, and I hope you all also have a Happy April Fools' Day!

What Will I Be Missing?

Husband and I are taking off this week for a little trip to Arizona to visit Daughter, Son-not-quite-in-law, and of course, the two Granddogs. With the beautiful spring weather we had last week, I've been worried, though, what I will miss in the garden.


I won't miss the last roars of March, however. I woke up this morning to blowing snow flurries and sleet depositing ice on the growing tulips. I hope this doesn't leave any lasting effects on all that has emerged in the garden in the last week. (I thought I had uploaded a short video of the wind whipping the snow through our yard, but apparently it is floating around in the vast wasteland of cyberspace instead.)

Quite a contrast from Friday when dawn revealed that spring

was really on its way here in central Illinois.

The crabapple trees are already sprouting new buds.

And the white flowering crab already has lots of green leaves. It's much too early for either of them to bloom; I hope they haven't been lulled into a false sense of security by the warm weather we had earlier.

The hyacinths are growing at an amazing rate.

Will I miss seeing them fully emerge from their cocoons? Oh, I hope not!

The unnamed clematis surprised me with this early growth. No need to worry about it blooming before I return, but it should be pruned soon and there's no time now.

Another surprise in the shade garden--the "Endless Summer" hydrangea is sprouting some green leaves already. Every year I wait impatiently for signs of new growth, fearing I'll lose another one. This has to be the earliest it's ever shown new life.

The stalwart Nepeta "Walker's Low" has appeared seemingly overnight. At the rate it's growing already, it may be even bigger than last year and overtake this corner of the garden.

The sedum is also growing at a steady rate. No need to worry that I'll miss its blooms, but I wonder if this one should be divided before it gets much bigger?

Every week brings new surprises. I missed the opportunity to photograph these tulips as they emerged from the ground--they began as bright red stalks tinged in yellow; you can still see the red tinges on their leaves. These are new ones I planted last fall, and I don't remember which ones they are until they finally bloom.

While I wonder if I will miss some special moments of spring here, there will be other special experiences in the next week. Besides being able to spend time with Daughter and her "family," I will no doubt see new sights in Arizona, including another stop at the Desert Botanical Gardens where the Butterfly House will be open!

Luckily, I have been able to enjoy the first signs of spring here. The yellow daffodils have fully opened this week, greeting me each morning with their bright, cheery faces. And the newer ones planted last fall will wait to bloom until I return home.

And I was also lucky to see the first primroses come into bloom. Aren't these just too pretty to look real? I was worried when I planted them last spring that they wouldn't be hardy here, but apparently they can survive even the coldest of winters.

However, I may miss the opening of these primrose buds. Don't they look like little rosebuds?

But most of all, I will miss these two who will probably think I have deserted them. Youngest Daughter will be in charge here, but I can't help but worry what kind of damage to my house Miss Sophie may wreak in my absence.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and don't miss any opportunities to enjoy what each day brings. I hope to get a post up for this Wednesday, and if Daughter's internet access is being cooperative, I will try to visit everyone when I can. Otherwise, I will be back next week, catching up on everyone's posts and seeing what I've missed in the garden.

Well, here's the missing video! What in the world is it doing here?
Argh, I am a techno illiterate:)