winter wonder

When I first saw this trail the only thing I could think of was snow snakes. What else could make such a trail, except maybe those extremely rare snow caterpillars. The trail led to the bird feeder where the answer awaited. It was the 20 or so mallards who consider our back yard as their lunch-o-rama. All the food was gone. I followed the trail and it went off to the pond. I thought those guys flew to Florida or someplace south for the winter. Not that Florida is any warmer right now.

If anyone can tell me how to take a picture of a sun globe without taking a self-portrait, please tell me.

The snow on the ligularia and hydranga remind me of ice cream cones.

I was in the basement when Pat yelled, "Jim, come quick. The sun's out. " I ran upstairs and took a picture since NE Ohio doesn't see the sun much in winter. Natives tell us it's because we're on the wrong side of the lake. I guess it's the winter version of the wrong side of the glacier routine. While the sun is out, it's still too cold for me to take a nap sitting at any of my favorite yard chairs.

Katie and Sean's garden palette

I haven't blogged in the last few days because Pat's and my commute time has risen to two and a half hours in the evening. I love car pooling with Pat because it's quality time we can spend together. If you can call two plus hours of white knuckle driving quality. It's been snowing a pretty type of snow that is fun to watch but tough to drive in. The snow trucks can't seem to get ahead of it. By the time we get home, it's too dark to take pictures. But enough about the snow.

This is Katie and Sean's home. Didn't know that New England colonists made it all the way to California to build colonial style townhouses, did you? What they want Pat, Annie and me to create is an outside room, using bushes, trees and perennials as a sight block and background. Everything has to be low maintenance because of their schedule. That and the garden gene in their DNA hasn't kicked in yet. The front faces northeast and gets only morning sun.

The balcony faces southwest and gets full afternoon sun from noon on. We found an excellent balcony pot at a blotanical member site. You can check out the pots at urbangardensweb at:
http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2010/01/03/slip-something-over-on-your-balcony/

We were thinking of potato and vinca vines on the outside of the balcony and herbs on the inside. Something in a pot in one corner.

Once again, I ask all my friends at Blotanical for help. This rust belt gardener needs all the help he can get.

what gardeners from NE Ohio do in January

Shovel.

Well, I asked for it.

plants and flowers in Katie and Sean's neighborhood

I had to put the blimp hanger into a post. There are two of these things across the street from Katie and Sean's development. They are BIG! When Pat and I took our walks around the neighborhood the blimp hangers seemed to loom over the neighborhood like some image from "Blade Runner." A pleasant surprise was how the development watered the common areas. All water run off is collected and recycled. Nice. These pictures are from the common areas and a few homes. Every morning when Pat and I walked, we could see crews working the common areas.

Pat and I are trying to get ideas of what to plant in Sean's and Katie's front patio (it's too small to be called a yard). The development has a list of acceptable bushes and trees. Everything we took pictures of is acceptable. I am asking my Blotanical friends for help identifing the plants in the pictures. I thank you all in advance. My next posting will have the "yard" and balcony planting areas.

#1

OK, I know what a rose is. I can't tell you what kind it is and Katie doesn't want one. The flower was just too pretty to skip. The development has fields of roses at intersections.

#2

#3

There is something about what I call hub and spoke flowers that I love. I want to plant everyone I see. Pat says these kind of flowers bring an aura of peace and tranquility to a yard. Who ever thought we would turn into garden philosophers in our middle age.

#4

#5

#6

#7

We could use the tall plant at the front corner of the fence as a privacy screen, if only I could ID it.

#8

#9

#10

OK, finally something I am familiar with and grow. All my other IDs were guesses.

#11

#12

#13

#14

visiting a garden center somewhere in southern california

Sometime during my transformation into a gardener, I started stopping by garden centers and nurseries whenever I traveled. I'm always looking for interesting plants and yard ornamentation. You never know what you will find. Katie and Sean have tasked Pat, Annie and me with figuring out what to plant in their yard. That will be the subject of a forthcoming blog. In our touring with Annie we stopped by her local garden center. It was a marvelous place with lots of plants and stuff. I approached a nursery worker for help. We wanted to buy Annie a bush for her yard. When I explained this to the young lady, she said: "Oh her, we know Annie, She's here all the time." She took the bush I had picked and got a better speciman. We bought Annie a blueberry bush. Pat and I are going to plant one in the front yard this spring so we can compare how each is doing. I'd like to plant everything I took pictures of in our yard. I wonder how the airlines feel about carry-on plants?

This type fern was Katie's one attempt at apartment gardening. Pat and I bought it for her on our first visit. It didn't make it.

There's flowers, sunshine and bees. What am I going to do?

How could I resist taking another picture of a bee?

Finally something I recognize. It's a hellebore. I never thought of the lenten rose as a southern California plant. Maybe it's because I've never seen a yard with shade in southern California.