We planted several bulbs (tubers?) of Spigelia marilandica, or Indian pinks, last spring. They came up last year but were chomped on by the deer and then went dormant. They returned this year and most of them have been chomped on by the deer but somehow this one escaped long enough to bloom. Of course the following day when I went back to check on the bloom and top part of the plant was gone. The deer waited long enough for me to get a photo before greedily feeding on the plant. Maybe we’ll have more next year?? This photo is a little blurry as it was nearly dusk and…

The Louisiana irises above are planted in the ditch in our right-of-way. They are putting on a stunning show for the next few weeks. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the tags to identify them, they are either buried under the grass and debris below the irises or have floated away when water was in the ditch. I’m pretty sure I wrote about them last year either here or on Sprout Dispatch, so somewhere there’s names for them. Down at the pond are several species Iris virginica that we planted. I found a couple plants that were hiding in overgrown grass that we need to thin out to make room for the…

Watch out, we bite! These variegated milk thistles, Silybum marianum, have been an interesting addition to our garden. I know, I know, y’all are going, “You are growing thistle?? Isn’t that a weed?” Well, yes, lots of plants are weeds until you decide to make them part of your garden! And, it’s variegated. If you’ve known us, especially Chris, for any length of time in the garden you know that variegation is a plant trait that we are highly drawn to. If it is variegated and isn’t ugly (there’s some ugly variegation out there folks!), the plant usually ends up on our cart at a plant nursery. I think they…

Scarlet creeping thyme…but not very scarlet flowers. Could be mislabeled… Calendula Gaillardia Woodland painted petals While I love walking through our yard and garden at all times of the day, there’s always something different blooming, I think the evening walk throughs are my favorite. Particularly those when the sun is just down in a particular manner to the west, casting the right light through the trees. The birds are still active and the frogs are beginning to sing just a little bit. It’s soothing to go through and see new plants sprouting or growing and others blooming. I keep waiting for a few areas to fill in, to create the…

We’re lucky that the area where we live is packed with frogs and toads. As dusk settles in the frog song escalates to new heights and sometime deep in the summertime it’ll be a cacophony of noise that we can hear inside the house. Someday I need to record it to share with y’all. Some of the frogs we see most often are green tree frogs, Hyla cinerea, like this one here. They love to tuck themselves around in between various plants and it is always a treat to find one. Do you have any frogs or toads in your garden?