I’ve been fiddling around, working on the following post over the corse of this Summer.

As with much of the upper midwest and northeast, we’ve had some bouts of very bad air quality due to wildfires burning in Minnesota and across Canada.

Some day’s the visibility was a little better than others.

But still, there was sufficient smoke in the air that prevented me from going to continue working on any of my current projects. I did manage to weed one bed early this morning, but decided against hanging outside for hours as I did the day before. That day, a fellow gardener stopped by to pick up an extra Bluebird nest box and mounting pole. After some discussion about Bluebirds, and a quick tour around the garden, we were joined by Andrea where we sat outside and chatted. When we finally came indoors ( several hours later ) I had a noticeable, scratchy throat from sitting outside in the smokey air!

One of my missions this summer was to get as many of my potted Japanese Maples planted out into the garden. Or rather, plant out as many of those JM’s that had their root systems “opened up”.

When ever I purchase a new potted JM ( dormant or not), I knock it out of its pot, very lightly tease the outer roots of the rootball without disturbing the rootball too much, and repot it into a poly, grow-bag, the next size up, using a prepared soil-less potting mix that follows that used by MrMaple.

As I garden in SE Michigan winters are too severe to leave potted Japanese Maples outside in the cold. I place all of my potted JM’s into the Pit-House to overwinter. Later, when I notice the buds on the trees in the “Pit” are starting to swell ( usually late February to Early March ) I bare root the new trees, trim excess roots as well as damaged, or crossing branches, and repot into another poly, grow-bag ( often the next size up ) making sure that the flare roots are well spread apart from one another as I backfill. I’ll grow these trees with “opened up” root systems on another year before planting them out into my garden. Not only am I planting out trees that I’m sure won’t be strangled by tight-fisted flare roots as they grow, but the additional year of container growing means that I’m planting a larger tree into the open garden. Another advantage of growing JM’s in containers, is that they can then be moved about the garden, trying them out in various sites, until I can find just the right site that suits each one best.

As the heavy clay-loam that makes up most of the soil in my garden is not the ideal medium that JM’s prefer, nearly every one of these acer’s require a planting site, where an improved soil mix is mounded up above the clay-loam soil.

One such site was on a slope and would have required a lot of backfilling. so in order to reduce the yardage of sand and pine bark, I moved a portion of a fairly large tree trunk to use as retaining wall.

Acer palmatum ‘Frosted Purple’ planted below.

Another ongoing, project this summer has been the installation of a retaining wall, made of fieldstone collected over the past 2 years.

For years I’ve wanted to cut a level pathway between the bed that’s located between the pond and the ditch that Ever-SO-Often creek runs thru. The excavated soil from this project is shoveled into a wheelbarrow and transported to yet another ongoing project.

View of completed work so far. This pathway is being extended further on to the left, so more soil excavation is needed.

It just so happens that the soil removed from the previous project, is needed here at this one, another retaining wall. This raised bed, on a slope is being constructed using tufa, Some of these larger pieces of tufa have been laying around for decades. Backfilling the uphill side of this retaining wall, is going to require more dirt than my fieldstone retaining-wall project is generating.

Fortunately, there’s yet another project to be completed ( hopefully this year ) a rather short path that will connect 2 others. Rock collecting is well underway, the soil excavated from this new path, will likewise be transported up to where the Tufa wall is being constructed.

Landscape fabric will be laid down ( in the as yet to be excavated bed) of limestone pathway. The Limestone boulders will be set into position along the sides of the path, and finally 4-6″ of crushed, Limestone gravel laid down for the path itself!

I’m quite sure that as with most gardeners, external forces give rise to unexpected projects.

One such incident transpired while we were away. A storm brought down the top of the oldest Norway Spruce in the garden.

Actually, I couldn’t be happier. The top of this tree was too high for me to access, as there were no lower branches to climb up. This prevented me from dropping this tree in sections, and there wasn’t room to fell it in one piece.

Now that the top was on the ground, removing the rest would be easy. Most fortunately, our fabulous neighbors had cleared away the debris before we returned home.

I could have done without replacing our gate, however that was a simple and straight forward task, and a lot less expensive than having to pay someone else to remove the tree!

With a little luck, the remaining work to be done will be limited to planned projects (:

I suppose as with most folks nowadays, I find time is racing by. Each season seems to zip past while I’m busy seeing to routine chores and new projects in the garden. I find I have to actually stop and make time to thoughtfully examine, absorb, appreciate all of the progression that our garden is going about, all while as these weeks are passing by.

Early spring bulbs are long gone, most without a trace of their even being here. just like the Juncoes of winter, which brought life to the garden for months on end. The sight of their telltale, white tail feathers as they flit and zag thru the shrubs and trees ( for me ) act like bookends to my gardening year. Always noting their arrival and ultimate absence.

Cleanup, pruning, planting, dividing, moving, weeding, and on and on. I was caught off guard at just how much calendar-time had transpired, and I hadn’t gotten out for a good tramp about in our native woods.!

It was Mid-May, still way too much needed attention, but I’d gotten a call, that “the Trillium were in peak bloom” in the north woods!! Verlie & I jumped into my little, dirt-colored truck and shot out of the gate!

Growing up in SE Michigan I spent most all of my childhood rummaging about in what I knew of as “the woods”. In reality they were derelict farm woodlots or once fields reverting back to forest succession. A few violets, some bloodroots and Jack-in-the-pulpits, an exotic Cardinal Flower, even stranger, Bottle Gentians. But that was pretty much it.

Its not that Trilliums were not to be found in such humble ,if not urban environs. Rather my experiences in the Metro-Parks System was limited to the Swimming Pools and Pic Nic areas only, or the sledding hills in winter. It wasn’t until decades later, when I’d met Dick Punnett that I was introduced to the magical-abundance of ground smothering trilliums in Michigan.

Sadly, there are precious few sites left “Downstate” where one can experience these first-rate garden plants, that once carpeted nearly the entire State.

However, there miles upon miles of trillium-infested acres to be wandered about in, a mere drive to the North!.

As delightful as this over-emersion in snow-white glory is ( and it really really is ) there are a few added bonuses to making the drive.

Morels and mutations! The former need no explanation, while the later is a matter of endless interest. Over the years of wanderings, there’s always new and unusual forms to encounter.

Some weird,

others interesting, while still others are …

somewhat odd.

In one particular woodlot there are some that skip flowers all together but produce a multitude of leaves.

The possibilities seem endless.

There is often a surprise or two with each trip. This handsome little warbler was flushed from the forest floor, only to very into a branch of one of the countless, fallen tree-tops (that came down in a previous ice-storm ) and momentarily stunned itself, allowing us the added pleasure of a brief, upclose, encounter.

On rare occasions, there are truly some simply exquisite forms…

…that need no description.

All in all, a great day in the woods.

A good bit of the Midwest was subjected to high winds this past Friday, March13th. Fortunately, there was very little damage to my garden other than a lot of twigs and small branches littering the ground.

In just a couple of hours ( using my leaf blower, wheelbarrow/ and leaf-rake ) I had all of the paved areas and gravel pathways pretty much in order.

Removing all of the same sort of debris, out of the rockeries, will be a different matter all to- gether. That’ll take days, as every trig, cone, and deciduous leaf will have to be picked out from the rocks, by hand!

Despite the cooler temperatures, new flowers are opening and more plants are coming up.

The first blooms of Adonis amurensis ( one of 3 plants purchased from White Flower Farm, seemingly a lifetime ago ) opened this morning.

The paucity of flowers on all 3 older clumps, cause’s me to think, its high time to lift each plant, divide these geriatric stems, work in some compost into their planting holes, and perhaps site a few elsewhere in the garden.

This younger addition to the garden, is far more presentable.

I had hopes for continued sunshine after lunch. That could urge still-closed blooms on a number of recently emerged plants to open. Alas, clouds have moved in, and non-sunny days are forecasted for the remainder of the weekend and on till mid week. Blustery, wintery mixed lows in the mid teens as well ! We’ll have to wait and see, what looks camera worthy when the sun returns.

Actually, there was little going Ion in the garden prior to Thursday’s rain.  But since then, the rush of spring is certainly on here.

A paler yellow-form shown above yesterday, and once more a day later.

Mike’s honey bees are hard at work,  should be another year of great seed set!

Galanthus nivalis are also appearing everywhere as well.

Including some with yellow ovaries ( below ).

Went to close the Pit-House (forecasted to be in the low 30’s tonite)
And spotted the first Crocus ‘De Jager’ in bloom.

There are a potfull of bulbs in this pot,  originally a gift from Bill Brown.

My Hamamelis ‘Pallida’ does not have a lot of blooms this year.

Not the case with H. ‘Jelena’

Spent about an hour outside yesterday removing old foliage from the hellebores before the rain chased me back indoors.

I believe this is Helleborus x Ballardeia ‘Pink Frost’ ( below). Pretty sure I purchased this from Plant Delights about a decade or more ago.

The clump got so big the center died out.  I need to dig up several of these separated clumps and move them elsewhere in the garden.

Here’s what ‘Potters Wheel looks like in the bed across the driveway.

But down in the lower garden, out in more sun, they are in bloom!

So with all the flowers quickly pushing,  it’s high time to get busy deadheading old foliage.  This small load, was about an hour’s worth of work on Thursday, the rain put an end to working outside.

This morning Andrea & I took Verlie for a walk down the road and back.

Upon arriving back home I went down to open up the Pit-House, and check the rain gage 1.7” since Thursday. A pretty good start.

That rainfall increased the water table of the ground water by about 3″, so now there’s a wee puddle in the bottom of the pond.

On the way back to the house, I happened to spot one of several Helleborus tibetanus in the garden. With the forecasted weather for today and tomorrow, I’ve little doubt it’ll be in bloom shortly!

The Eranthis season has commenced!