Monday, April 26, 2010

One of my absolute favourites in spring. The name I found in English is so much more beautiful than ours, it´s called "Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem". If I translate our name it is "Spring onion" :-) :-) 





It´s already warmer today (11:27 am) than it has been so far this year. It´s 16C (61F) but it still doesn´t feel as nice as I wish it would. Perhaps it´s because the sun doesn´t manage to shine through the clouds. But I´ll stay outdoors as much as possible for this is for one day and one day only that it´ll be this warm. Already tomorrow the temperatures will drop again.







I´ve gone through Gardens Norths seedlists so now I know what seeds I ordered from them, but I still doesn´t know what is what :-) :-) But I did only sow two perennials that germinated last year, so those I can tell what they are. So today I planted a yellow larkspur ( Sulphur delphinium, Delphinium semibarbatum ) . It grows down in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan as wild and it is not the hardiest of them all to be honest. But as long as it stands fairly dry during winter ( well most of the year to be honest, exept for spring) it will survive here too. After I´m finished with writing here I´ll go out and plant a couple of Monkshoods to. Monkshoods are very poisouness so if You handle the roots You should wash Your hands before doing anything else.







Now tick season starts here. I´ve already picked three from my dogs and one walking on my arm. Nasty little creatures those things. They have done a study on what use they are in nature and couldn´t really find any. Not even birds likes to eat them unless they are starving. I´ve tried them as food to my aquarium fishes and no one wanted it, they just sunk to the bottom! It seemes that the only thing they do is to spread diseases, perhaps that is a way for nature to keep down the animal population on this planet? So now it´s time to look throgh all dogs, cats and me before going to sleep every evening. I really don´t like those nasty little creatures!





Tomorrow it´s time to go to my doctor for a check up on my hip. I´m glad to tell You that almost all pain in my thigh after the sneezes is gone :-) But I will continue to use the crutch for some time more. Better to be safe than sorry. But now it´s time for a cup of tea and the to plant those monkshoods somewhere.

Have a great day now!


This is something You should avoid in Your gardens if You don´t like one plant to take over the whole garden. It is a "False spirea", Sorbaria sorbifolia. Beautiful in many ways, butterflies, bees and other insects loves it but it psreads fast and takes over everything if You don´t keep after it all the time. I managed to get rid of my plants, but still has it since my neighbour has it :-) Well, I can´t get a better neighbour so I´d rather fight with the spirea then forsing my neighbour to remove it :-)
 

14 comments:

Caryn said...

Hi, Christer.

I didn't know Star of Bethlehem came in yellow. Mine are all white. They are among the many "weeds" in my lawn but I don't mind those kinds of weeds. I used to mow around them which made for a very shaggy lawn that gave my neighbor no end of annoyance. The man who mows for me now just goes right over them so I always hope they bloom before he mows. Looks like they may make it this year.

Time for my breakfast and dog walk. Have a great day.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Caryn!
There are over 70 species in that family, so I guess that the wite ones just are another species of them. What I know they all look very similar.

Fortunally for me they all grow in flowerbeds or in the hedge around my cottage. But I would have done like You if they grew in the lqawn :-) I hope Yours will manage to flower this year!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Anonymous said...

I like the looks of the False Spirea. I wonder if it would grow here in Florida. I'll ask around at the Nursery in Rockledge next time I'm down there. Lovely images again today Christer. I hate ticks too but happy to say my cats stay indoors. Have a good one!

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Z&M!
It is beautiful, but it spreads to much and to fast. It would most certanly grow in Florida. But think twice before getting it!
Have a great day now!
Christer.

NinaH said...

Tons of exotic plants in and outside your house by now.... or?;-)
You know how much I over the years always have admired your choises of seeds and succeses with growing them! Have all survived?
Ok- it doesn´t seem to be any reason let the Ticks stay alive then?!;-)

Sharlene T. said...

Thank you for the beautiful floral pictures. What an eye!

Here's how ticks fulfill their job in the ecosystem. Dastardly critters but they are needed. http://www.ehow.com/about_5149803_purpose-do-ticks-serve-ecosystem.html

And, of course, their most useful purpose is for prizes at summer camp. Young folks get to play chimpanzee whilst grooming their fellow campers...The kid with the most ticks at the end of the day gets first dibs at the toilets! But, if you're really lucky and win the contest every day, Mom won't send you to camp, anymore! See. It all works out...

jaz@octoberfarm said...

hi christer...i think we should al try to live with our weeds as much as possible. that false spirea is beautiful. my lawn has hardly and grass anymore and is mazus, dandelions and forget me knots. we finally got some rain so no watering for a few days. good luck at the doctor tomorrow. i hope your hips is healing well! joyce

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Nina!
Well, not so much inside and just a few outdoors. I´ve started to take it a bit easy with th sowing. Better just to have a few and take care of them than many and fail with most of them :-)

Some of what I sowed two years ago seemes to have died, but they was really zone 2 plants and here it´s zone 4-5 :-)

No, away with the ticks :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Sharlene!
I´ll lok in to that site when I get home, thanks!

We used to do much like that but with mosquito bites :-) But mosquito bites never gave us the chance to stay home though :-) :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Joyce!
I live in some kind of peace with my weeds :-) But if they tend to take over to much I will take action :-)

I´m glad the rain finally came!We still have plenty of water in the ground so I´m hoping for a bit more sun instead :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Anjas Hill said...

....just därför odlar jag rönnspirean i kruka! Underbart. Inget som man behöver ora sig på vintern heller. Den är otroligt vacker i kruka och besökare brukar fråga vad det är för fin växt där....
Din bild på vårlöken är jättefin Christer! /Anja

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Tjänare Anja!
Ingen dum idé alls! Kanske skall jag dra upp ett rotskott och sätta i kruka. Tycker den är jättevacker, men inte överallt i trädgården :-) :-)
Ha det gott!
Christer.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I LOVED these photo's Christer!! It's all beginning to look like when I first saw it. Time really passes fast. I've seen the seasons pass in Sweden..something I would have never been able to experience except for you! Thanks SO much for that!
Mona

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
Glad You like my photo´s :-)

The internet is amazing in that way! We can see how the world looks without even leaving our homes :-) I would most probably never see how it looked in the US without my computor either :-)
Take care now!
Christer.