Birds

We have been seeing some unfamiliar birds in our yard.  Usually, we have Robins, Hummingbirds, Northern Flickers, Stellar Jays, Crows, Sparrows, and Starlings flying and hopping around.  This spring, we have also seen a Yellow Hummingbird, an Eastern Towhee, and some other birds that we still need to identify.  In the interim, some of us are wondering what the Eastern Towhees are doing this far West.

Update (4/30/11): Our Eastern Towhee is actually a Spotted Towhee. Much to the children's delight, the Spotted Towhees have returned this year.

Sparrow: Our Daily Little Visitor

Marigolds for Mary

As we drove home from Ascension Thursday Mass, Theresa asked, "Can I buy some marigolds for Mary?" I liked the idea of honoring our Blessed Mother on the day that her Divine Son ascended into Heaven, so I readily complied. We stopped by the local garden center and Theresa chose Taishan Yellow Marigolds and 'Bonanza Bee' Marigolds (French).  When we arrived home, she planted the flowers with a little guidnce from me.  We were all pleased with the end result.

Now, we need to finish weeding the backyard.

Marigold Care
Light: Sun to part shade
Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Bleeding Hearts

I have always liked our bleeding hearts ("Mary's Heart"), but Patrick and Theresa's conversation made me like them even more.

Pink Blossoms

Now that I have shared our newly planted flowers, it is time for me to share some of our well-established plants and flowers.  I always enjoy seeing this plant blossom.  I have wondered what this plant with its soft pink flowers is for several years.  Thanks to Caroline on 4Real, I learned that it is a pink flowering almond.  It is one of my favorite springtime plants.

Container Flowers

On Saturday, we took advantage of Fred Meyer's garden sale and bought three planters to take the place of our old broken terra cottas.  The store had a buy 2 get 1 free deal and the employees were filling the containers with Black Gold gardening soil and purchased plants.  I am hoping to get a fourth planter on sale at some point.

We planted the same flowers in each container.  In the center, we placed a Dahlia Hybrid and then surrounded it with alyssum, impatiens, and million bells.  I can't wait to see how they bloom.

We also planted pansies and lobelia in a smaller container.

Our coco hanging baskets were filled with fuschia starts from DeGoede Bulb Farm and Garden (their granddaughter was homeschooled and is a very sweet young lady).

Petunias were purchased to add a little color to the flower beds in the front yard.

Notes about each flower can be found below.

Dahlia Hybrid Dalina Hawaii (Churchyard Flower)

Description: An elegant long-season display of showy blooms.  Annual

Light: Sun to part shade

Spacing: 12"

Height: 12-24"

Water: Medium

Clear Crystal White Alyssum (Mary's Cushion)

Uses: A reliable choice for borders, containers, and rock gardens.  Annual

Care:  Does best in light well-drained soil

Light:  Sun to part shade

Super Elfin Deep Pink Impatiens

Uses: Wonderful for borders, beds, and containers.  Annual

Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly.  Annual

Light: Sun to part shade

Million Bells Trailing Pink Calibrachoa

Habit: Trailing

Blooms: Planting to hard frost

Height: Short: 3-8"

Spacing: 7-8"

Zones:  Annual except in zones 9-11

             Hardy to 25 degrees

Fertilize: Regularly for best results

Water: Normal

Light: Full to part sun

Features: Heat tolerant; deer resistant; deadheading not necessary

Uses: Containers

Care: Easy

More Information: Proven Winners

Matrix Pansy (Trinity Flower or St. John and Mary)

Uses: Wonderful for borders, beds, window boxes and containers

Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Light: Sun to part shade

Riviera Rose Lobelia

Uses: Wonderful for borders, beds, window boxes and containers

Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Light: Sun to part shade

Petunia 'Dreams Red' (Our Lady's Praises)

Description: Provides an abundance of highly colored blooms all season long.

Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Light: Full Sun

Height: 10-15"

Space: 10-12"

*Photos by Catherine

**Additonal photos of individual flowers may be added at a later date.
***Religious Flower names found at Mary's Gardens.

Easter Gardening

After hearing Theresa tell Patrick about bleeding hearts, I decided that I better prepare our garden for Easter.  I usually start my plants from seed in February, but this year we had too much happening to do so.  My father-in-law visited on Friday of Passion Week and gave us a little money, giving me an opportunity to buy some flowers and seeds that were on sale.  I enjoyed visiting the gardening center at Fred Meyer (twice) with my children, looking at all of the flowers and choosing some perennials and a couple of annuals to bring beauty to our yard.  It felt good to be outside digging in the dirt with the children again.

What did we plant?

Angel Daisy Leucanthemum

I have always liked daisies, so I was delighted when my children chose these pretty flowers.

Description: One of the least demanding most satisfying perennials in the garden.  An elegant, long-season display of showy blooms.  Ideal choice for beds, borders, and cutting gardens.  Perfect for all kinds of containers.  Excellent cut flowers.

Care: Best in fertile, well-drained soil. Water freely in dry weather. Remove faded flowers for best display.

More information

English Daisy Habanera Bellis Perennis (Mary-Loves)
As I stated above, I like daisies.
Description: Profuse flowers carpet the spring garden. Great in borders or rock gardens. Prefers cool, moist soil.
How to Grow: Plant in sun or part sun 6 inches apart. Grows to 6 inches.

More information

Fragrant Sunshine Wallflower (Erysimum Walfrasun)

I bought these to plant by the angel daisies, but then I decided to plant them in a different flower border.
Light: Full sun
Water: Semi-moist
Flowers: Spring to fall
Height: 15-18"
Width: 18-24"

Lithodora diffusa

We purchased three of these plants for one of our flower beds.

Bloom Time: Late spring to summer

Light: Sun to part shade

Height: 3-8"

Space: 18-24"

Water: Allow soil to dry between thorough waterings

Description: Vivid blue flowers bloom in spring on spreading evergreen perennial.  Good in edgings, rock gardens, and as a small scale ground cover.

More information

Pink Princess Escallonia

I have been looking for something to replace an old rhododendron that died in our garden a couple of years ago.  This shrub definitely has promise.  The tag reads, "Profuse pink to rose colored flowers bloom almost year round. Compact evergreen shrub with glossy green foliage.  Excellent color source in coastal climates.  Quick hedge or screen."  I am looking forward to seeing how it grows and hoping that it does well.

Sun Exposure: Best growth and flower production in full sun.  Needs partial sun in hot areas.

Average Height: 5'-6' tall and wide

Type: Evergreen

Water: Keep soil moist until established.  Drought tolerant when established.

Fertilizing: Fertilize in spring just before new growth begins.

Pruning: Pinch growth tips to keep compact and increase floral display.

More information
Update (4/26/11): Pink Princess Escallonia was a disappointment. It was not an evergreen as stated, at least not in my yard. Both plants currently look very spindly. I will be replacing at least one of them with a true evergreen shrub.

Strawberry Pretty in Pink (PPAF Strawberry)

We planted three of these around the base of our daisies.  Patrick has claimed them as his and promises to take care of them.  Hopefully, he shares any fruit that they produce.

Light: Full sun

Water: Medium

Height: 4-8"

Width: 10-12"

Description: Everbearing variety produces pretty pink flowers and flavorful deep red berries.  Good in flower beds, planters, and window boxes.

More information

In addition to planting the above flowers, we also planted a few other things.  We found some bulbs, minus the packaging, in the garage. We are excited to see what flowers the bulbs produce; some of them are already starting to grow.  We discovered a small lupine (St. Mark's Plant) that had sprouted from an old seed in what is now our daisy bed and transplanted it in a new location.  Finnian scattered his snapdragon seeds (Infant Jesus' Shoes) in some of the beds. We also purchased lupine, sunflower, larkspur, and hollyhock seeds.  We will most likely sow them directly outside and hope that they grow.


*Some photo credits go to my eldest son.
**Religious Flower names found at Mary's Gardens.

Rambling Gardening Thoughts

My goal this week has been to try and fill our 96-gallon-yard-waste container with weeds.

I am 3/4 of the way there.

Once all of the weeds have been pulled or maybe as a little reprieve from pulling the weeds, I plan to clean our statue of Our Lady of Grace.

I scattered a few forget-me-not seeds in front of Mary today and I am hoping that they grow.

Last fall, we had a couple of trees cut down in our yard out of necessity. The stump of this particular tree could not be removed as it would have disturbed the roots of the two nearby fir trees too much. I think that it makes for a perfect place for our statue to stand.

What were my children doing as I weeded? They were painting, hammering wood, and playing outside. It is a beautiful, sunny day!

I pray that my children continue to turn to Mary as they play outside, asking her to intercede for them with her Divine Son, Jesus. May our Blessed Mother watch over and protect my children as they run and play outside.

Sparrow Egg?

As we were moving a toddler's play structure from the lawn, we found a sparrow's nest and egg underneath the slide. Unfortunately, the egg was most likely abandoned, as the one end of the egg is an odd brown color.

Northern Flicker

Each year, the Northern Flicker population in Our Lady's Garden seems to increase.

Snapdragons

The snapdragons are blooming. Our snapdragons planted themselves several years ago, or rather they mysteriously appeared one year. I really like them for their varied and bright colors. My children enjoy the flowers because they snap. My little ones can't help plucking the blooms and playing with them. Despite the fact that numerous flowers have been picked, an abundance of snapdragons remain.

Poetry Friday

We have a little garden,
A garden of our own,
And every day we water there
The seeds that we have sown.

We love our little garden,
And tend it with such care,
You will not find a faded leaf
Or blighted blossom there.


Beatrix Potter, Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes, pp. 28-30
Painting ~ The Flopsy Bunnies, copyright © Frederick Warne

We Still Remember

We have not forgotten about Our Lady's Garden. In fact, we have been spending more time in the garden than we usually do due to December's windstorm that felled some trees in the garden. We have been putting debris in our yardwaste container each week and the children have been playing on the two large tree trunks, the dirt, and the roots that surfaced when the trees fell. Our little ones have told us on more than one occasion how much they like our "wild" backyard. Thus, we are in no hurry to remove the largest mess in the garden.

Easter

"On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn."
~ G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"

Actually, this is a crow. It is one of many birds that we have visit our Lady's garden. The birds usually remain at a distance when we are outside. When I saw this bird hopping around, as the children played, I was a little surprised. My surprise changed to amusement when I saw how the children, or one of my children, had attracted this crow ~ with his unfinished lunch.

Our Lady's Garden is Blooming

We spent the weekend at the ocean and came back to some beautiful flowers in Our Lady's Garden. As we drove up, we noticed St. Mark's Plants (our lupines) were in full bloom.

St. Mark's Plant (Lupines)
Walking to our front door, we noticed one of Our Lady's Roses had produced a double blossom.

Our Lady's Rose (Red Rose)
In the back yard, we found that our Impatiens were flourishing.

Impatiens: Double Victorian Rose
Finally, Theresa noticed that our lilac-colored St. John's May Flower had decked itself out in all it's splendor for our return.

St. John's May Flower (Rhododendron)

Lesson Learned

On Saturday, I decided to spend a little time weeding in Our Lady's Garden. Since then, I have learned a valuable lesson. With Patrick standing near me, I pulled some Blackberry bushes, some Dandelions, some unnamed weeds and Herb Robert. The latter was spreading everywhere and had a noticeably unpleasant odor. I was happy to be able to accomplish this small amount of weeding.

Yesterday, Patrick decided to help me with my job of weeding. He had observed me so carefully and in doing so, he had learned that flower picking was for the novice. He pulled up most of our forget-me-nots. Next time, I decide to do some weeding, I will make sure it is during my little one's nap time.

Rhododendrons

Two of our seven rhododendrons (also known as St. John's Mayflower) are starting to bloom. My son was excited about their blooming because, as he observed, "Bees love these flowers and they make honey from them." He then went on to say, "The bees make honey in a little house. The people take the honey from the bees' little house and keep filling their jars with it. When their jars are full, they put it for sale."

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

This beautiful plant (whose religious name is Mary's heart) was flowering when we first looked at our house. A year later, I read about the bleeding heart in Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion.

My children delight in the little heart-shaped flowers. In the spring and early summer, Brendan plucks a little heart everytime he goes out the front door. He has been doing this for the past four years and I wonder whether he will ever tire of picking these flowers.

The bleeding heart requires virtually no care. I simply remove the dead leaves and branches in the fall or winter and the plant grows back beautifully the following spring.

The Garden of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart

Yesterday, after Mass, one of my friend's shared an idea with me. Marlene told me that when someone asks us to pray for them or when we say we will pray for someone, we should go right away and place the prayer request in the garden of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. Then whenever you think of it, you can request that the prayers you have placed in the garden of Mary's Immaculate Heart be answered.

Dear God, please answer all the prayers that I have placed in the garden of Mary's Immaculate Heart.

Our Weekend

Saturday, it rained all day. Sunday was beautiful! Did we garden? Oh no...WE PLAYED!