Bluets
A little something dug up from the past.
Winter is still going strong and a light snow is falling as I write this. Once again I have to pull old photos out of my $%& (absurdly schismatic site) in order to have something for Green Thumb Sunday.
I’m anticipating a good Bluet season this year. I have a section of ‘lawn’ more suited for tough little wildflowers than grass. These little wildflowers share the barren ground in my front yard with Pussytoes (antennaria) and Devil’s Paintbrush (Hieracium aurantiacum).
I suspect when the house was build the subsoil was spread over the area creating a tough place for anything to grow. Grass has a hard time getting a foothold since the soil is very poor and in the summer months gets so dry any lawn goes dormant quickly. I don’t want to improve the area because it’s home to a wonderful spring display of tiny flowers.
Our household goes through a bit of conflict every year. My wife wants the lawn improved and mowed. I want the Bluets and Pussytoes to go to seed and could care less about the grass. It became a real crisis situation one spring when she found an accomplice who mowed then spread ‘weed and feed’ while I was away. Needless to say when I returned and found the Bluets cut down in their prime I was upset. When I learned that my daughter’s boyfriend had used the ‘weed and feed’ I saw red. Like a bull I was ready to charge and everyone scattered attempting to stay out of my way.
The next year instead of a carpet of wildflowers only a few sparsely populated patches were left. We had to reach a compromise so now the patches of wildflowers are mowed around until after they go to seed. It’s been a couple years now and the Bluets and Pussytoes are slowly reclaiming lost ground. To seal the deal Crocus are now planted and because my wife likes them as much as I do there isn’t as much pressure to keep the lawn clean cut.
Not the best photo but here are the Pussytoes in bloom. They flower after the Bluets so it’s tough to delay the mowing but so far I’ve managed to keep the ‘Mad Mower’ at bay. (I’ll duck when she reads this)
A closer look at the Pussytoe’s foliage.
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March 16th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I think it would be wonderful to have a lawn filled with wildflowers. I don’t really believe in a manicured lawn because they’re not natural. I have white clover growing in mine and I love it. Mother Nature took some of my English violets and scattered the seeds into the lawn and I wouldn’t have it any other way, though hubby cuts them off with the mower. I say nothing because I know they will come up again. Wish I could just have a wildflower lawn.
About my age. LOL I’m not as old as your probably think. I’m a grandmother and a Baby Boomer. I was married young and that bowl was a wedding gift. When my husband and I moved, it remained in the box. When he died a couple years later, I just packed it away.
As Diane told me, I’d best get the snake plant out of there because it could break it if it becomes root bound.
Enjoyed visiting.
Blessings,
Mary
March 16th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Wiseacre (yet again the correct spelling ? .. I’m on a roll !) .. I have you beat on the anniversary .. by one year .. 31 April 9th .. only the best couples survive this long .. in .. April ? LOL
I don’t like lawns either .. such a waste of resources .. so I am gradually getting rid of ours and my husband doesn’t mind at all .. he and the lawn mower have had some spats, they don’t talk to each other any more.
I envision .. natural slate stones with different thyme, steppables, lavenders .. sigh !
I think those little flowers that you have are gorgeous .. I had pussy toes once as well (now they have become normal again ..haha ).. but light values changed in that area and ferns became my love ..
Sunny today .. can Spring actually be making its way to us ? Fingers crossed !
Joy
March 16th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I love pussy toes. I’d never seen them until we moved up North. We had them in a patch of wild strawberries. I also had to fight to keep them, because the “lawn” looked so barren. I kept the patch and was rewarded with other tiny little flowers — bluebells, violets and a tiny little yellow flower. All of which were new to me.
Your bluets are beautiful.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
The bluets are beautiful. I’ve not seen them before. Happy GTS,
Aiyana
March 16th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for stopping by my Garden Wise Guy blog today. I typed “Billbergia houseplant” into my Google search and found some promising articles. Looks like a candidate when you get your greenhouse.
Happy sunday!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
The Bluets are just darling. Their coloring reminds me of fine porcelain. My ‘hubs’ is the mower around here and he has more patience with the weeds than I do . We have not used weed and feed in years although I do admit to buying a bag years ago in a fit of desperation then the hubs convinced me not to use it; so it sits, unopened in the shed, gathering dust. by the by, I am enjoying comments from you and No Rain. This Green Thumb Sunday crowd is good company.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
DH & I also have philosophical differences over the lawn. I’d like to get rid of all of it, he’s more conservative & worried about what the neighbors will think. Every spring it’s a battle to get him to not mow down the Scilla in the lawn. I’m glad you & your wife were able to reach a compromise, thos Bluets are charming!
March 16th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Your Bluets look great growing in the lawn. I planted some last year after combing the nurseries around here. I saw them on Sandy’s blog (gardenpath). I’m curious to see if they return here.
I have pussytoes growing although they are always touch and go … they don’t like getting too much moisture. Last summer, we had a lot of rain and the middle looked deadish.
Thanks for posting some lovely pictures!
March 17th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Bluets, pussytoes and devil’s paintbrush…hmmm. Sounds like an interesting early spring.
Does your daughter still have the same boyfriend or is he burried somewhere behind the potting shed?
Good luck covering the lawn with those pretty and interesting flowers.
March 17th, 2008 at 3:15 am
What great shots of a cute little flower!
March 17th, 2008 at 5:42 am
I agree…having a lawn filled with wildflowers would be just gorgeous! Those photos are spectacular…the flowers are so pretty and delicate.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 am
We don’t have bluets or pussytoes here, so far as I know. I’d love to see a lawn studded with them.