Great Balls of Seed

Seed balls drying

The seed ball is a little garden all its own with the seed, the compost to nurture the seed, a little chili powder to deter pests, and the clay as its soil all mixed together.  A post in the blog, Heavy Petal, was the inspiration for my seed-ball-making interest. http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2011/01/step-by-step-how-to-make-seed-balls/  Surely this was a super way of putting native seeds into unused spaces.

A bit of research resulted in learning that seed balls are used in third-world countries as a way of planting crops. Masanobu Fukuoka has developed the seed balls as almost fool-proof way of planting vegetables and wheat.  See a video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_5eoUojVpI

Seed balls in boxes ready to give away

I made my seed balls using seeds of native plants harvested here in Ontario and purchased from Tallgrass Ontario:  blue vervain, tall coreopsis, culver's root, grey-headed coneflower and showy tick trefoil.  All these seeds need some stratification so fall is the best time to "toss" them.  

When the seed balls were dry, I packaged them in little boxes and give them away as gifts to native plant buffs.  I've also placed some seed balls in my own garden and will watch for their development in the spring.  The squirrels move them around a bit but, perhaps because of the chili, don't damage them.

Seed ball planted and waiting for spring

You Can Stay

The plants in my garden must now be useful to native insects or very beloved by me.  All others will be taken out.
Because of my new-found interest in bees, I watch to see which plants the bees like.  The aster pictured here is/was Alma Potschke -- a vivid magenta hybrid of New England aster.  Last year it began to revert to its native stock -- a purple aster.  Today I noticed that the bees were constant around the purple flowers but none were attracted to the magenta ones.  Another bit of proof that bees prefer native rather than hybridized plants.
The aster can stay because of its reverted parts.  Next year, I will cut out any magenta stems and let the plant go completely back to its purple origin.

Some Years Are Good

Clematis can be moody.   I have 5 of them against a tall fence.  Each year all the clematis are "nice," but every year one really outdoes itself.  This year is  good old Perle d'Azure's turn.  The plant is really magnificent.  Perle got the same treatment as all the others -- a good load of manure at the first of the season --  but for some reason it really is strutting its stuff.  The whole section of fence is aglow with blue.  If you ever are thinking of replacing an underachieving clematis, wait a year.  It just may surprise you.

Spit

Roses are most interesting to the bugs in my garden.  The sawflies, of course, love to crunch on the leaves and the petals of new buds.  The Leafcutter Bee takes portions of leaves to make its nest.  And the spit bug leaves its little puddle of spit.
Spit bugs are the nymph stage of a  little hopper bug.  The nymph covers itself with a froth of sap from the plant.  You can sometimes see the little bug in the froth.
This picture is from a spit blob at Wildflower Farm but is identical to the little bug on my roses.

Plant That Wouldn't Leave

I had a lovely tree peony for a couple of years, but it seemed much too big for my small garden.  I dug it up and gave it away to a friend. 

Most tree peonies are grafted onto herbaceous peony root stalk and when I dug the peony, I must have left some of the original root stalk in the ground.  Now, three years and one gift later, I have a really exquisite peony.  It is a single peony coming from a piece of the original root stock.   I think I like it better than the multi-petalled tree peony. Sometimes nature just makes good decisions for you!

May = Marigolds & Bees

May is the time that old friends and new experiences occur in the garden.  This morning the Marsh Marigold is looking its best.  We've had this plant for over 10 years -- since the time when we had a tiny, wee little pond and every year is has given us a wonderful display.  The flowers last about a week and then it's downhill from there.  By July, I don't even point it out to visitors because it looks so scraggly.  But in May it is wonderful.  Sort of like us, eh?

This year while looking for signs of life around the Hakonachloa grass, we discovered that a set of solitary bees has found the area enticing.  Pictured is one of the holes they made.  There are about 8 in all.  I know they are bees not ants because I've watched them go in and out.  Tried to get that in a picture but they wouldn't cooperate.

I'm a bee person so this discovery is exciting for me!

Tired of Waiting

My bunches of daffodils from the Cancer Society got tired of waiting for Spring.  Actually, I like daffodils this way and let them dry on purpose. When they are crispy dry, I take the stems off and put them into a glass container to keep them  Then I have Shades of Spring all year long.

Dried daffodils retain much of the original colour and shape but also have a beauty all their own.  Perhaps it's the brittleness or perhaps it's the recognition of the true essence of the flower.

Dried flowers give a permanence to the flower that it never had when it was fresh.  Freshness is fleeting.  Sort of like life, eh?  We aren't seventeen for ever, but with the passing of youth comes substance and a lasting quality.

So, I dry daffodils to enjoy their beauty longer and to remind me that all stages of life are lovely.