Andy the Albino Squirrel

This is Andy - We named him after Andy Warhol because of his pink eyes and wild white fur.  I had never seen an albino squirrel before and soon he was an enjoyable part of each day.  We have a huge chestnut tree in our front yard and Andy is well known for having great aim when he tosses nuts down at someone standing there. 

Now as the snow begins to swirl and the wind off Lake Champlain is frigid, we keep a special watch for Andy.  I wonder where he will nest for the winter.

Crazy Daisy

  Fiesta Daises are like colorful sombreros.  They are vibrant in any garden but they multiply like mad.   To me, they are like a summer party. They are flamboyant guests who arrive and stay a long time. Fiesta Daisies do well in the sun and shade.  They grow in tight bunches that reach between 1 to 2 feet in height.  The blossoms are about 2 inches in diameter. The flower itself is fantastic.  The edges appear as if they have been trimmed with pinking shears and are a pleasant summer yellow. Spreading inward, the color turns a deep sultry maroon. 

However, as you can see in the photograph, I had some fairly odd Fiesta Daisies this year. I actually emailed this picture to the Cornell Ag Center and was told that they had never seen Fiestas grow like this.  Their advice was to let them grow the season and mark where they were to see if they repeat their odd growth next year.  I WILL be waiting and watching.

In the fall, honey bees love Fiesta Daisies.  They are more interested in the pollen they are collecting than the gardener. 

If you have a moment, watch the bees work the blossoms.  As they fly from flower to flower, the pollen they gather is stored on their hind legs.  It appears as if they are wearing tiny orange chaps.

And that is mother nature at work!

Fall for the Farmer and The Daisy

Each year I find myself trying to figure out if I should clip my perennials back or let them continue thru their life cycle,  because they belong to Mother Nature and not to mee, I have decided to clip back a select few, hostas, lillies, irises and let the cone flowers, fiesta daisies, brow eyed susans remain.  I have enjoyed watching the birds nipping at the seeds that remain on the cone flowers and the brave bees harvest what nector is left on the rest....  I guess the spring will tell me if this was a good move or not!

My Father!

I have learned to love gardening.  My father gardened, his father, his mother, and their parents gardened and so on.

My father was mostly a produce gardener.  While his flowers were beautifully basic; his produce was always spectacular.  I fondly remember my father picking bachelor buttons, small and vivid blue; long flowering stems of gladiolas with a varied pallet of color, and white Shasta daisies for my mother.  However, I think he loved the harvest of his onions, squash and tomatoes the best often piling the crops high or wide to take pictures of his seasonal accomplishments.

In the opening, I said that I have learned to love gardening.  Perhaps that was wrong.  I should have said that I have learned to appreciate the gifts that gardening has given me.  The rewards are beyond the obvious gifts of satisfaction, wonder, success beauty.  The gifts I speak of are the gifts of remembering, serenity and insight. Peace of mind.

Now, I find myself talking to my father while I pull weeds or create new pockets of color around the yard.  I point out new blooms and apologize to him when I transplant his lilies and Irises.  I know he is there right beside me, on his hands and knees -- always off to my right always encouraging, approving and still correcting. If I close my eyes, I can see him smiling.

When my father was alive I would bristle at his corrective suggestions, now I wish I had listened more. But perhaps, somehow he knew that I would discover the joy of gardening all by myself.  Perhaps he realized that he could give me all the help I really needed but what I needed was to learn to appreciate the hard work and gardening mishaps on my own just like his parents did, like he did, like I continue to do.

My Flower Diary

I must admit I was a bit distracted with my Flower Diary this year mostly because the temperatures outside were really high for our area and flower beds and gardens full of tomatoes, parsely, basil etc., required attention, attention, attention.  But I did make little notes in my flower scrapbook and now will edit and rewrite.   I am not know the "proper" names for all of my perennials and if anyone knows or is aware that I have misnamed them, let me know... we want this correct but not so correct that it will intimidate the new gardener.....