Weeding on the Wild Side

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Covering Ground with Geraniums June 7, 2014

Weeding being a big issue here on 2 semi-wild acres, hence the name of my blog, my greatest allies have been ground covers and plants that reseed or spread well and choke out the weeds. One of my biggest successes has been hardy geraniums, which are starting to bloom now.

Today I am linking with-

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

I'd Rather B Birdin' hosted by Hootin' Anni

Wild Bird Wednesday hosted by Stewart M

We were off this weekend on a camping trip with our grown children and grandkids to Cape Lookout State park in Oregon.

A swallow was nesting on top of a light fixture at one of the bathrooms. "Can't a girl sit on her nest in peace?"

And Dad was chilling nearby, "I've got this."

I would have to say Geranium oxonianum 'Claridge Druce' has been my greatest star, spreading by seeding, always looking fresh and neat, and blooming from late spring to fall.

Another lovely plant that spreads from seed is Geranium sanguineum, which I have in three colors, magenta, deep purple, and light pink (Max Frei, John Elsley, and Striatum). It has very delicate incised foliage and makes lovely clumps that look like bouquets when blooming.

Here is a mix from my front banner bed, with some purples that may be G. magnificum-

A wonderful ground cover for dry shade under trees, that is evergreen but with a very short bloom season so not important as a flower, is Geranium macrorrhizum, with scented foliage reminescent of pine. It spreads incredibly by rhizomes, this is all from one plant over 16 years. The taller one, lighter pink, is another geranium.

A delicate spreader that is great for a small area is Geranium cantabrigiense 'Karmina', it grows in some difficult areas, and has been long-lasting in my garden, with tiny leaves as well-

One that spreads very slowly but has begun to form some nice clumps, and has shiny delicate foliage, is Geranium nodosum-

A geranium I grew from seed, Geranium pratense 'Splish Splash', has spread from seed and reverted to a blue-purple color, it grows to a greater height than most, nearly 3' / 1m, and is impressive when blooming for a short time in late spring to summer-

One that hasn't spread but starts out as a lovely clump then trails out to several feet and has delightful violet flowers with a sheen that cameras don't seem to be able to capture, is Geranium 'Ann Folkard', here in its spring yellow-green delightful foliage-

I have a long list of geraniums that are no longer with me as well, some were sensational, like G. incanum with silvery foliage, while they lasted, but for some reason they disasppeared. But the ones that do well make up for the ones that don't.

What plants or geraniums have made good ground covers for you?

Hannah

Like the swallow on the nest, we all need a defender.

Peter reminded me of this song mentioning swallows so I added it too-

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Wildflower Wednesday May 27, 2015

Today I am linking with-

Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

Macro Monday Mixer hosted by All the V's

Wordless Wednesday hosted by NC Sue

I have 2 acres of semi-forested Red Cedar and Big-leaf Maple, with lawn areas, gardens, and pockets and strips of wildflowers. The dainty Siberian Spring Beauty are blooming-

False Solomon's Seal is blooming, with it's very lovely fragrance-

A rhizomatous perennial that appears in the spring and spreads like a ground cover in shady areas is Hydrophyllum tenuipes, Pacific Waterleaf (some related varieties have been developed for the garden with purple flowers)-

The Pacific Waterleaf along with geraniums and spring beauty have carpeted this area behind our shop that used to be overgrown with blackberry vines. Another wildflower that spreads very well by seeding is Tellima grandiflora, Fringecup, related to Heucheras. You can see pale spikes of it-

It is springing up by itself in many areas of the garden where it is generally welcome-

You can see how it gets its name of Fringecups, so delicate-

What wildflowers are blooming for you?

The roses in my driveway circle are blooming, and Rosa Mundi, with variegated magenta and white swirled flowers, is a sport of the Apothecary rose and I make a salve with the petals every year, it is a onceblooming rose and so really puts on a show, it is just beginning-

Champney's Pink Cluster is behind it on the trellis-

Meanwhile in the front yard some irises, really much more purple than what the camera decided, are blooming in front of some more Fringecup-

Another clump of Lupine has started to bloom, Gallery Pink-

I discovered a different moth in the garden, I haven't been able to find an ID so far, can you see the hearts?-

Hannah

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved. I enjoy reading your comments and will visit your blog and comment as well.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Foliage Follow-Up May 20, 2015

Honoring our Veterans, firefighters, and their families for the tremendous sacrifices they have made for our freedom on Memorial Day weekend.

Today I'm linking with-

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Another later Rhododendron is blooming now, it spread laterally to 12' / 4m-

A combination on our shop of Sombreuil OGR rose-

And Clematis Niobe which is an early bloomer-

A favorite iris, Beverly Sills-

And a deep purple one

My once-blooming Alba OGR Madame Plantier is beginning her massive bloom-

My husband built me a branch trellis to contain her last year-

In that bed also the very large flowered Apricot Nectar, my favorite rose color-

And Austin rose Evelyn-

I've been uncovering several little baby garter snakes, here is a red striped one, the scales on its head really stand out, can you see the heart?-

This one is about full size, it has a very complex scale pattern-

This the snake making a ring, quite a pattern-

Here I'm showing some foliage in my garden, to see other people's foliage posts, join them at hostess Pam's blog Digging. Some of my favorite foliage plants are shade plants like this self-sown Pulmonaria-

and even more silvery Excalibur-

Saxifrage 'London's Pride'-

Spooky new leaves of Acer 'Sister Ghost'-

The delicate pink new foliage of Salix integra 'Hakuro-nishiki'-

It took me a while to realize it wasn't growing because the deer were nibbling it, so I hope in a cage it will someday look like the glorious round globes I see around.

I discovered yesterday a little patch of a variegated sport of Anemone nemorosa, I hope it will continue to grow larger-

I imagine a strange many-armed figure under the glorious tangled Japanese cutleaf weeping maple foliage-

I'm interested in Manzanitas for their ability to live without summer irrigation, in fact they hate it, for those far-flung areas of my yard where it is hard to drag a hose, so I'm hoping to enjoy big plants with twisty dark bark and grey leaves someday, my babies from Xera Plants-

Also linking with-

Wordless Wednesday hosted by NC Sue

New link with Outdoor Wednesday, hosted by A Southern Daydreamer.

This is an area where the previous owners dumped a lot of logs after cutting many cedars and firs down, and it used to be overgrown with Himalayan blackberry vines, which I cut down a couple of years ago, and have to keep removing. Native plants and self-sown geraniums have filled in. Previously in 2013 after clearing blackberries-