WiseAcre Gardens

My eyes are bigger than my truck. Picking out plants at my favorite nursery is always a challenge. Like a kid in a candy store I want just about everything in sight. Wanting at least 25 of each doesn’t help. So there I am trying to get acres of choices to fit into my truck. Even using a two level system doesn’t help provide enough space. My wallet proved to be too big for my truck too and I had to come home with cash unspent

I end up as always having to make tough choices. I want variety so the count for each choice is limited. After careful consideration I end up with 13 different varieties and a total of 116 plants

- 4 types of Astilbes (21 pots) will make a good start at one job.
- 3 types of Sedum (31 pots) are not nearly enough to go around to 3 different jobs.
- 20 pots of Ajuga is not gong to cover the area I had in mind.
- 2 varieties of Phlox (34 pots) will make a good start in 2 yards.

With no room to spare I managed to squeeze in a couple more plants I coun’t leave behind.

- 4 pots of Coneflower ‘Fatal Attraction’ will make guest appearences at a couple of places including my garden.
- 4 pots of Sanguisorba nenziesii are going to go into my garden. These are new to me and I’ll see how well they do before I use them elsewhere.
- 2 pots of Chrysanthemum ‘Snow Lady’ – These are a nice dwarf variety but there was just no room left – Big Sigh

So how much area will a truck load of plants cover?

Not much

It won’t take long to use these up. It’s getting late in the season so it looks like a return trip is going to happen sooner than later.

I can’t believe I forgot to take photos of the ‘Plantage’ while I was there. Next time I will so you can see how difficult it is to decide what to haul away.

First let me say I always pay rapt attention to my wife when she delivers a train of thought monologue. She fanatically follows the economy, politics, pandemics, emergency pantry storage, alternative energy sources and a host of other subjects. At some point all that information has to escape before her head explodes and I’m supposed to listen to the leaks. And you know I’ll be quizzed at a later date.

Now, I don’t hear as well as I used to and I admit at times I only half listen. So at times I don’t realize I’ve mis-heard. When that happens the train derails.

A Bowl of Iris

Not quite – I heard it but it wasn’t said. During one of the ‘discussions’ on pandemics and plagues Ebola Virus was mentioned. I should know better than to ask questions when my attention drifts to the point of hearing things. Of course I don’t need to know how contagious a bowl of iris is.

Speaking of mis-hearing. There was a song I didn’t really like (by Alanis Morissette) but there was one line I loved to sing.

What if God ate on of us?

It took a while but someone finally informed me the real lyrics where What if God was one of us? I still prefer my lyrics. I believe you should be able to pick out God in a crowd.

Clintonia borealis

As the name implies this member of the Lily Family will produce true blue berries later in the season. So just give it a break and enjoy the flowers for now.

The flowers most often come in groups of 3 but clusters of up to 6 slim bell like flowers are not uncommon. That’s one reason there are so many 3 berry photos of this plant.

Clintonia prefers acidic soils and they are found more often in the higher elevations in the southern part of St. Lawrence County, NY. This native wildflower is fairly common in the cool woods in Stone Valley. It grows right along the marked trail so it’s easy to see.

And now something completely different:

It Came From Agway

I noticed something odd up ahead of me but I had to wait until the car in front of me got out of the way before I could get a really good look.

North Country Hot Rod

I’m not sure but I have a feeling I was lucky I wasn’t driving my old ’65 MG Midget when I came upon this vehicle. There’s just something about that sprayer that makes me want to pass it on the ‘under’ side besides giving the driver a big surprise.