We had quite a bit of rain at the start of the week with more forecast for next week – in between, for the weekend, it’s sunny, hot and not as humid as in recent week. In other words – it’s kinda perfect out there! A bit of this and that today. I’ll be spending most of the day at the Wellington Dragon Boat regatta so took these shots on Thursday. To see more Sixes from around the world head on over to The Propagator’s site where there will be links galore in his comments section.
1 – Last year this was a small pot of the native perennial Canada Burnet – Sanguisorba canadensis. This year it’s as large as a small shrub! I’m surprised it’s still alive, to be honest, since in the wild it grows in moist areas such as wet meadows, stream or lake shores. I’m not complaining though – I love its weird foliage and the bees love its fuzzy flowers.2 – There’s STILL a few daylilies blooming! Including this gorgeous double orange one. These are generally the last to bloom in my garden so I guess I should expect them to hang around into August. I wrote a bit about them this past spring, here.3 – I’ve written about the dramatic decline in bees and butterflies so far this year. The bees have definitely shown up since then, but not so much the butterflies. A sign of hope are the Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars nibbling away on the parsley I let go to seed every year.4 – Goldenrod – Solidago – started to bloom this week. I encourage clumps of them in strategic places in garden beds but for the most part they’re at the edges of the tree lines surrounding the property. I’ll appreciate them more in a few weeks when all the Rudbeckia has finished – right now there’s a lot of yellow in the garden!5 – We’re actually going to have corn from the garden this summer! I’ve grown it before but not very successfully. Judging by how the silk is just turning brown I’d say a few of these ears are destined for the pot tonight!6 – Finally, the bottom end of the kitchen garden. I’m quite happy with it this year. We’ve had just the right amount of rain to help the pole beans grow high and enough, even, for this King Tut ‘ornamental grass -like plant’ (that’s how it’s described, honestly!) to grow almost as high as me. It generally likes moist soil and up here it’s an annual. Its botanical name is Cyperus papyrus – I think it’s quite exotic, although I’m seeing it everywhere this year. I’m actually doing something that’s in fashion it seems!
I’ve almost forgotten what raindrops look like on leaves! Goldenrod is a plant I’ve read about so many times in novels (Canadian ones, think Alice Monroe) but never really seen. Now I know what it looks like.
You’ve read Alice Munro!!! That makes me happy!!! Many (perhaps most) people around here consider goldenrod a weed 😩 and many mistakenly think it aggravated allergies….. because it’s obvious and blooms at the same time as ragweed… Me, I love it!!!
I saw cyperus papyrus (the true Egyptian papyrus) 2 days ago. They were planted in large pots immersed in large water reserves. I like them and unfortunately they don’t resist our winters (I read 5 ° c minimum): how do you overwinter them? I just grow P alternifolius
Oh I don’t over winter them! They die a noble death in the fall and topple over during the winter..I cut them back to stumps in spring and let the roots rot away .
I can’t over winter them either…They die a noble death and stand brown all winter…I just cut them back in spring, break up and scatter the dry stems to act as mulch, and let the deep root system decompose in the dirt.
Your #1 with the weird name that I will not even attempt to spell is really interesting! I am not at all familiar with it. It looks ‘Eastern’! tee hee. You papyrus is just the opposite. It looks quite ‘Western’. It lives in the landscape at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose! It is an old landscape that has been well maintained with much of its original material.
I love goldenrod too – it grows in the fields where I’m from a bit south of you. Never saw it as an ornamental til I moved to the UK & that made me chuckle, like seeing an old friend. I always have some now. Was your corn as sweet as it looks in the photo? Hard to believe it’s that time of year already, but we’re eating ours as well. You’ve sparked my interest in both the burnett & the ornamental grass. I’m beginning to realise the trick to any plant looking good is context, so something like grasses that I’d overlook, when seen in someone else’s garden like yours, well, I get tempted. That snap of the rain on the grass just pushes me over the edge.
The corn – oh my yes it was sweet – and what a great idea for tomorrow’s blog post! I agree – context is everything (both in the garden and in a photo eh?) How often have you had to move (or thought about moving) a perennial or even a shrub or, alas, a tree, because it just wasn’t working as well as you had originally thought? For me, even after all these years, it’s a regular occurrence!
County Gardening 
I’ve almost forgotten what raindrops look like on leaves! Goldenrod is a plant I’ve read about so many times in novels (Canadian ones, think Alice Monroe) but never really seen. Now I know what it looks like.
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You’ve read Alice Munro!!! That makes me happy!!! Many (perhaps most) people around here consider goldenrod a weed 😩 and many mistakenly think it aggravated allergies….. because it’s obvious and blooms at the same time as ragweed… Me, I love it!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I saw cyperus papyrus (the true Egyptian papyrus) 2 days ago. They were planted in large pots immersed in large water reserves. I like them and unfortunately they don’t resist our winters (I read 5 ° c minimum): how do you overwinter them? I just grow P alternifolius
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Oh I don’t over winter them! They die a noble death in the fall and topple over during the winter..I cut them back to stumps in spring and let the roots rot away .
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Good to know. Tks.
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I can’t over winter them either…They die a noble death and stand brown all winter…I just cut them back in spring, break up and scatter the dry stems to act as mulch, and let the deep root system decompose in the dirt.
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Oh, that corn has me jealous! How fortunate you are that you’ve had rain, too. A fun, varied post.
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Thanks! I’m about to harvest two corns for dinner!!!
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It is lovely to see some moisture in the garden, isn’t it? Ours woke up very much like this. That fat caterpillar looks very promising!
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Yes hecrain is a relief and so different from the past two, very dry, summers!
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Your #1 with the weird name that I will not even attempt to spell is really interesting! I am not at all familiar with it. It looks ‘Eastern’! tee hee. You papyrus is just the opposite. It looks quite ‘Western’. It lives in the landscape at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose! It is an old landscape that has been well maintained with much of its original material.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love goldenrod too – it grows in the fields where I’m from a bit south of you. Never saw it as an ornamental til I moved to the UK & that made me chuckle, like seeing an old friend. I always have some now. Was your corn as sweet as it looks in the photo? Hard to believe it’s that time of year already, but we’re eating ours as well. You’ve sparked my interest in both the burnett & the ornamental grass. I’m beginning to realise the trick to any plant looking good is context, so something like grasses that I’d overlook, when seen in someone else’s garden like yours, well, I get tempted. That snap of the rain on the grass just pushes me over the edge.
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The corn – oh my yes it was sweet – and what a great idea for tomorrow’s blog post! I agree – context is everything (both in the garden and in a photo eh?) How often have you had to move (or thought about moving) a perennial or even a shrub or, alas, a tree, because it just wasn’t working as well as you had originally thought? For me, even after all these years, it’s a regular occurrence!
LikeLiked by 1 person