My eyes are bigger than my truck. A kid in a candy store has nothing on me when I visit the Plantage (wholesale perennial grower) on the east end of Long Island. A pick up truck is no match for the acres of perennials they have.

I should have counted the hoop green houses but I was too busy riding the golf cart around all the goodies trying to decide what I wanted the most. Yep, the rows of perennials go to the horizon.

On the backside is a shady area reserved mainly for Hostas, Astilbes and Ligularia. I never leave without raiding this area.

I left you with a question the other day. How many potted plants can I fit in my truck?

I think I did a good job of packing the plants into the truck. They take up far more space unloaded

I managed to fit 186 pots in the truck. The count could have been higher if I left my tool box and some other stuff at home.

85 Astilbe
What can I say? Astilbes are one of my favorite perennials.

• 35 – Astilbe, Vision in White
• 25 – Astilbe, Vision in Pink
• 25 – Astilbe, Vision in Red

I could have filled the truck with Astilbes only. I wanted at least 50 of each but once the bottom layer was filled I had to stop putting them on the truck. I did want some variety in the load.

25 Coreopsis ‘Zagreb’
Definately one of my favorite sun loving plants. I love them in mass plantings, too bad I couldn’t fit more on but 25 will do for now.

16 Hosta ‘Remember Me’
Great little Hosta with varigated leaves. The yellow should stand out nicely.

5 Iberis “Purity’
Something new for me. I picked up 5 to try. Hard to resist anything in bloom.

10 Monarda ‘Fireball’
Dwarf cultivar with large heads of red flowers. 16” tall.
A new variety I had to try. I was going to get the normal sized red bee balm (Jacob Cline) but this variety was too tempting to resist.

25 Phlox paniculata ‘Purple Flame’
A short varitey that grows to 15 inch high. I’ve used them for a couple years now and really like them.

20 Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Ellcombinianum’
Produces clusters of lemon-yellow flowers in June over bright green succulent foliage. 8” tall.
New to me. I’ll try any Sedum I come across. Sedums are one of the plants that got me interested in flower gardening.

Only 7 types of plants made up the load and I didn’t get enough of them let alone other varieties. Guess I’ll be making another trip real soon.

Meet Stewy. I picked him up on the way home. My daughter had to give him up. She’s a teacher and house mom at a boarding school where Stewy liked to roam. Seems some people took exception so now he’s part of my cat collection.

So there you have it. 186 plants and a cat.

The first blooms of the year have finally lived up to their name. Around here Winter Aconite usually blooms in Spring. They would have bloomed even sooner but deep snow clung to the spot until just the other day when it seemed to have vanished overnight. These are 11 days ahead of last year’s flowers and the first time I’ve seen them officially bloom in Winter.

Winter Aconite – Eranthis hyemalis

Yep – just another desktop wallpaper

A small group decided to colonize a moist shady spot a couple years ago at a friend’s place. They’ve had no problem with dealing with the competition. The tall ferns, Gill-Over-the-Ground and even the quack-grass that dominates the area hasn’t stopped the Winter Aconite from spreading. Where they came from is anybody’s guess but the immigrants are vigorous and the colony is growing. I’m just a little jealous of my friend since these are such a welcome sight at this time of year. But there’s one good reason I’m not quite ready to offer Winter Aconite a refuge at my homestead.

The whole plant is poisonous. With one grand kid toddling around after another these pretty flowers really aren’t something I want to tempt them with.

Porcupine Portrait

My sugar maple buddy seems to be getting used to my presence. No scrambling to the hidy hole today. Napping in the warm sun must have mellowed him out.

WiseAcre Folklore

In the swampy woods of the north country don’t trust the old wood lore about moss growing on the north side of trees. In the woods surrounding me, moss grows completely around the trees. Either I can’t move any farther south or somebody is not always right.

Around here moss grows on the north side of dummies.

North side

South side

Dummy Deer that is.  NOT my backside.

Bug Bane arched over the pond is about the last blooming image I’m going to get of the garden this year.

Cimicifuga

Exactly what the full name is I couldn’t say. Purchased several years ago from who knows where the plant has outlived my memory.

Slowing opening a couple of flowers at first the plants seemed to be testing the waters before exploding in full bloom. Once they opened it didn’t any time for bees and wasps of all persuasions to turn the pond area into a bustling bug commerce center.

The most impressive visitors to the Bug Bane are the White Faced Hornets.

Dolichovespula maculata

click for desktop background version

Nearby the Spearmint was still attracting visitors. This time I caught a wasp in happier circumstances because no Ambush Bugs were hiding in wait.