plants in the oddest places

Sometimes plants pop up in unexpected places. I was weeding Sunday when I ran across these little beauties. I’m always surprised when hosta seeds itself. This little guy will end up in a pot till it grows up. I have to find a home for the little ligularia before Pat gets home. She has gone to the dark side regarding ligularia. She thinks ligularia is invasive and I am afraid that this may be proof. I hate to the use the term invasive. It is so subjective. I much prefer to think of them as a plant which is relatively easy to grow and has pretty flowers.

wordless wednesday

while I was gone . . .

The two babies in my arms are our first grand children. Abigail on the left and Fiona on the right. I know, I know, everyone shows pictures of their grand children and we are always polite and look at them, but these girls are the cutest.

When we left Cleveland, it was 40 and rainy. When we got back, spring had sprung and it was still rainy. We have a ton of garden work to do ,just as soon as I look at all the pictures I took of the girls.

drive south

Since Pat and I moved to Ohio, we have made a concerted effort to explore our state. Growing up in Illinois, between school trips and my Dad making sure we explored all of Illinois, I became pretty well versed in Illinois history. I took an Ohio history course, but that just wetted my appetite for more. We have explored eastern and western Ohio and think a trip to Columbus from Cleveland is something we can do on a moment's notice. We had never explored Southern Ohio. I don’t know where Southern Ohio starts but I am pretty sure that we drove through it on our way to Ashland, Kentucky this last weekend. It’s kind of funny how age changed my interests. In my youthful past, I was always looking for historical markers where some famous dead guy stopped. That is still fun but know I want to see parks and gardens because that’s where the plants and flowers are. Greenhouses, nursery centers, and flea markets have taken the place of brass plaques as places to stop.

North of Columbus the landscape was all brown and gray. Spring was holding its breath. The further south of Columbus we drove the more hint of spring we saw. The tips of trees and bushes were green. Farm fields had a three day beard of green. By the time we made Chillicothe (our first state capital), the landscape was verdant. Forthysias were in full bloom, daffodils covered the front yards of houses we passed. Magnolia trees and crab apples were in flower. Spring was marching north, just not fast enough.

Pat and I went to Ashland Kentucky for a John Prine concert. The first thing we did after checking into the hotel in Ashland was find the magnolia trees we passed looking for the hotel. The magnolia trees were in full bloom. Ashland must be a month ahead of us.

In the old days (whenever that was), Pat would be dry when the Ohio River flooded in the spring because she is standing on the dry side of the flood wall. If she was on the other side, she would either be treading water or floating down river heading to Cairo (that is Karo).

The concert was very cool. We had center stage pitt seats. I was giddy with excitement, or at least as giddy as I get. Now the people next to us were giddy. It was funny being in an auditorium filled with gray haired middle agers who knew the words to all of the songs. We made it back to the hotel just in time to see the University of Kentucky lose some basketball game. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth at the hotel, but not by the concert goers. A bunch of us gathered around the bar and talked about our children and where we lived. Then it dawned on me, well maybe better late than never, Pat and I had turned into our folks. Now that is funny.

Tag

When Gloria over at Dakota Garden awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I had to narrow my list of bloggers who exude style to 15. This was a monumental task for me. Don't all garden bloggers exude style? The Stylish Bloggers Award comes with a “to do” list. You must tell the gardening blogoshere, and anyone else who stumbles upon your blog, seven random things about yourself. In the spirit of “tag, you’re it,” you need to nominate 15 other garden bloggers who haven’t already received this award . You also get this nifty sign to put on your blog; pretty cool.

The bloggers on my list are always fun to read and see and each one of them exudes style.

http://pqandmb.blogspot.com/

http://alternativeeden.blogspot.com/

http://patiopatch.co.uk/

http://www.theyardartgame.com/

http://childrenofthecorm.blogspot.com/

http://www.yardisgreen.blogspot.com/

http://www.melissa-majora.blogspot.com/

http://chaosinature.blogspot.com/

http://sequoiagardens.wordpress.com/

http://www.seedscatterer.blogspot.com/

http://www.redneckrosarian.com/

http://lifeinthecotswolds.blogspot.com/

http://flowerladysmusings.blogspot.com/

http://lastfrontiergarden.blogspot.com/

http://lawofthelandblog.blogspot.com/

Isn'tway ingspray eatgray

aprilway oolsfay ayday

illway ethay owsnay everway endway?

i never thought of myself as stylish

I’ve been absent from the blogosphere this last month due to work. March not only brings a hint of spring but also the OGTs and the end of the quarter. Every spring students in Ohio come face to face with their mortality in the OGTs. Pass and you can graduate, fail and you get a “thanks for playing card”. You don’t even get the home game version. So, it is a trying time for our school’s population, which is made up of students who have been less than successful in their prior educational endeavors. Needless to say, there has been a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth these last few weeks. It is mind numbing to see fleeting successes disappear before your eyes. Man, I needed to get my focus elsewhere and that means in the yard. It might be spring by the calendar, but not by the temperatures. It still is in the 20s at night and snow is always in the forecasts. Last weekend was in the low 30s during the day with clear skies. What better time to get 5 yards of Sweet Peet. Nothing makes me forget the world outside our garden better than shoveling a pile of composted zoo poop and leaf humus. After an hour or so of shoveling, I recall the words of the famous Japanese actor and philosopher, Sessue Hayakawa, “Be happy in your work.” I can’t get the cars in the garage till I shovel all the sweet peet and I can’t get the next load till the first load is spread around the yard and we need 3 loads. I shovel and dump while Pat, the real brains of the operation, raked. We cleared the driveway in 5 hours. It is an amazing thing how well Pat and I work together without resorting to sarcasm. It is the strangest thing; in our neighborhood, yard work seems to be a one person job, with no gardening taking place. I would be lonely in the yard without Pat. I know the boys would help if they only could, but they don’t have thumbs and get distracted by squirrels. The Sweet Peet we use is the only fertilizer the planting areas get.

While I was sinking into the numbing black hole of standardized testing, Gloria over at Dakota Garden gave me the Stylish Blogger Award. Wow wee! What a pleasant surprise! I am always tickled that anyone reads my blog. Stylish is not a word our children would associate with their Dad. Gloria and Ted’s yard is proof positive of the use of composted exotic animal manure. Their garden is simply stunning. God bless all husbands who understand that truck loads of the stuff was part of our marriage vows.

Part of the award is a request to tell the world about yourself, so here goes:

1. I can’t pronounce the name of my blog. The blog started out as a class assignment for an edtech class I was taking. I asked the son-in-law to translate the title into Latin for fun and since he is just about the smartest person I know, he did. Maybe I should change the name to Pat and Jim’s Gardening Adventures and leave the title in English. 2. I can’t keep the names of plants straight. Common names are hard enough to remember, let alone Latin names.

3. I believe that copious amounts of Sweet Peet, that fine Ohio product, helps make up for not knowing what I am doing.

4. I have accepted clay as my friend, since that is what our yard has as soil. Adding 15 yards of Sweet Peet to the planting areas every spring makes the clay and plants happy.

5.I rant about our deer all year long, but continue to feed all the critters who visit or live in our yard. I even plant sacrificial hostas in the deer path in the hope the deer will leave the rest alone.

6. It took a long time, but I finally found my dream job, working with at-risk students.

7. I never used a PC till I went back to college at 49. Now I’m the tech guy at school.

I stand in awe of my fellow garden bloggers. Everyone is friendly and helpful and your pictures and posts are a wonder to see and read.

Tag, it’s your turn list will be forthcoming.

wordless wednesday