Big Fat Yellow Butterfly

Let’s see, how are the flower weeks doing? The roses are petering out, but there’s still plenty of them. The peonies look good, though thunderstorms tonight will probably put a stop to that. The irises are in full flower, so maybe I should stop badmouthing them. They do last more than a week each, but […]

Fruit!

Fruit? Not yet. It’s exciting to see so many. They barely flowered last year.

The week of irises

While the week of roses continues and the week of peonies continues, we also have the week of Siberian irises. Basically the same deal, like the rose, lots of flowers for a week, like the peony, total flop-over when it’s done. It’s a pretty week while it lasts.

The week of peonies

As the wild roses enter their second week of bloom, the peony bush is joining in. For about a week, it’s covered with huge, lush flowerbombs. And just as they peak, it rains and the waterlogged blossoms drag the whole thing down to the ground and that’s it. A week. After that, the bush reverts […]

Enter summer, stage right

There’s nothing unofficial about Memorial Day being the start of summer. It’s when my lilac finally blooms and overwhelms the yard with sweetness. It’s when the hot weather starts. It’s when the first mosquito whines in your ear when you’re looking for the cat. They all spell the end of spring and the beginning of […]

More bees on the collards

Bees on the left. Bees on the right. Bees on every side of the collard plants. Like many crucifers, from brussels sprouts and mustard greens to radishes and Chinese broccoli, collards pack a lot of flavor. Now, with the heat and flowers bolting so fierce bright and yellow, every part of the plant must be […]

The Week of Wild Roses

One longtime volunteer in the yard is a big shaggy heap of arching thorny stems that turns into a charming Pasture Rose covered with sweet, pink flowers. They only last about a week or two, and every year it startles me with how suddenly they appear. All spring it’s a hairy mess keeping me away […]

Are you looking for ladybugs?

I haven’t seen any more ladybugs lately, certainly not in flagrante. But I did get word that mine was one of the photos picked for a feature about the Lost Ladybug project on WBZ. Cool! Another feather in my amateur naturalist cap. Back to the hunt. Those ladybug larvae must be out there somewhere.

Behold the army

Oh, hell. All my earlier optimism about defeating the Black Swallow-wort this year evaporated when I saw this. This is the side of the hill where I haven’t done much digging and uprooting last year or the years before. Sure, the parts where I have been on the offensive are looking pretty good, but it’s […]

Fruits?

Ah, spring! Nothing but a parade of flowers, like these azaleas. And maybe even some fruit.