Daffodils? Really, on May 16th.

This Spring has been a good one for the daffodils in Central Ohio. There are many different types that bloom in our garden each year, and each year we add more to the mix. It is amazing how we make room for new varieties each fall. Last year, we decided to widen several beds that were near the porch so that we could enjoy some of the special new flowers from a window, if need be, or directly from the porch. Always thinking about not stepping in soggy grass from Spring rains.

We joined the American Daffodil Society and have met some wonderful people and learned a lot about this particular flower. Daffodils are divided into thirteen divisions which are based on what the daffodil looks like. Letters represent the color of the petals (perianth) and the cup (corona). The petal color is described by letters starting from the outside (edge), then the middle, and then right next to the cup. The cup color is described from inside out of the cup, all the way to the rim. The format used to describe a daffodil is "division number, letter(s) describing the petal color followed by a hyphen, and the letter(s) describing the cup.

These are the cultivars that are blooming on this Delaware Green Acre on May 16th.

This is Tripartite

11a  Y–Y

  This is Stratosphere

7 Y-O

Good  bye for now Daffodils. See you next Spring!

Perseverance of a Seed

between the cracks in a blacktop sidewalk

March Madness

Last night, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Purdue Boilermakers 88-71 putting Ohio State in the Semi-finals for the Big Ten Championship. What does this have to do with gardening? Well, when we visited the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show last week we stumbled upon a special piece of lawn furniture. For all of us Buckeyes, this was something to photograph.

The sign on the chair reads
"The Wolverine Latrine."

This afternoon, the Buckeyes will take on the Michigan Wolverines. GO BUCKS!!!

Winter Beauty

Somehow bright Midwestern sunshine radiating down in January makes even 15 degrees seem OK. Watching some winter-hardy birds dart and hop, around and under, our bird feeder to obtain badly needed nourishment in the mid-day sunshine is most wonderful. The expense of buying wild bird seed, and the effort of filling a feeder in the winter cold, are more than offset by the enjoyment offered by these fragile creatures of the air! The varieties and colors (even in the dead of winter) are amazing. Cardinal red, Jay blue, Sparrow brown, and Nuthatch grey pop in the bright light, and afford the observer a most pleasant feeling.

What a Difference!

What a difference a couple of months make in our Central Ohio area. Here's proof:

October, 2011
and
Today

January, 2012

I think I'll grab a cup of coffee and read my latest issue of the Ohio Gardener magazine and dream........

The Last Salad of the Year!

It is really going to be hard to have to buy that first bunch of lettuce from the grocery store. I had to take a picture of the last salad from our garden.

It consisted of two kinds of lettuces, Baby Mesclun Lettuces/Cut and Come Again from Renee’s Garden and Buttercrunch from Livingston Seed Co., and a packet of baby spinach seeds (not sure where these were from). In September, we planted three deck planters with lettuce in them and one with the baby spinach .

It was so hot in Central Ohio in August that we put off planting these until September. Well, our weather here has been so unusually warm this Fall and into the first part of January that these cool weather crops did great! We ate lots of salads from these four containers. This January picture will have to be a reminder of that great home grown taste until we plant again in early Spring. Till then…………..

A Thanksgiving Gift

Look what bloomed on Thanksgiving! It's the common Shamrock plant (oxalis). I am thankful for flowers on any plant, indoors or outdoors, during the month of November in Central Ohio.

I did some research on bloom times and learned a lot in the process. Here is a link to some great information from the Iowa State University Extension on this plant.