May 5, 2019- Good bye frost

I write this on Saturday morning. I am up before 5am. The day promises to be a sunny day with a high of 69. What could be better? Sun is particularly appreciated after a week of rain. With Monday's 3 inches (by our rain gauge) we got 5 inches for the week. It has also been cool, without any danger of frost. (That means above 40.)

One reason I am up is to find the time to write this, before I begin garden work. Sunrise just past the 6am mark, getting earlier of course all the time.
There is so much to do.
But at the moment it is just magical, perhaps even more so early in the morning.

With all that rain weeding is a dream. On Tuesday, after all that rain on Monday, I was even able to pull up several volunteer trees. They had gotten to be about 18 inches tall, with roots that must have been almost that long. I put in several weed sessions last evening where I went out and filled up a bucket with weeds. Seeing all those bluebells mixed with the yellow of dandelions is not quite what I had in mind for the garden. It takes about 10-15 minutes to fill up a bucket.

It is about this date that is the frost free date in Iowa. With the ten day forecast being available I can pronounce that the danger of frost is past.
What does that mean?
For one thing all the house plants could go outside, if there was enough shade.
Even plants like cactus will burn if exposed to hot sun right after being inside for the winter. I know from experience.
We have quite a few mature trees in the garden. Just as they all lose their leaves at different times in the fall, they all get leaves at different times. The Sycamore tree and the Walnut tree are just about the latest trees in the neighborhood to produce shade.

Annuals can go outside. Purchased annuals can go in the ground.
Now I could think of this as just one more thing to do.
But I will try to stay positive.


The bluebells have been the star this week...at least until you see the video later on in this post.








I love how there are bluebells tucked away places. Here is one sheltered by the old elm tree.

They really sparkle in the early morning sun.

They have been lasting a long time this spring, as it has been cool and wet.

The same is true for the redbud trees and the crabapples. 

Good old tulips

You do not need to have many tulips. Over the years some you plant will naturalize. That means they really will come back year after year.





It seems like we have small groups, as with this pair.















This lovely trio is in the front parkway. They have such long stems.















That same trio is in front of this clump of hosta Sagae, which is planted literally next to the curb. Is does well despite all the sand and other things put down in the winter,












I call these reliable two tulips the odd couple. For some reason these entirely different tulips have been coming back for years.

To give you an idea how these particular tulips do come back, look at these two pictures.
This first picture was from 2010.

This couple was in the raised bed in the backyard.

Well, here is the picture from this week.
There are the same. They did not become 3 or 1.
They stayed just the same.
They reliably bloom with the bluebells.













To the right is a little species tulip.
It is so wonderful how tulips close up at night, or when it is cloudy. They then open wide when the sun comes out.












You saw this a week ago. The flower is pretty much the same this week. (This picture was taken yesterday, at the end of the week.)












These lovely pink and white guys just opened yesterday.

Little bearded Iris

I love the short bearded iris.
For one thing they do not fall over in a wind. You do not have to stake them.

They are planted all along Fairview Street. I do find myself sometimes planting and gardening with the audience in mind.
That includes the walkers and even the drive-bys.

And there is so much more.

The white blue bells are holding up quite nicely.

















The hosta that come up yellow are particularly good with the bluebells.


















This is hosta Sun Power.













This is hosta Liberty.
If you have to have only one hosta it should be Liberty.

I have a number of clumps of this hosta in the yard. As I make room for the new crop coming maybe this coming week, I may pot up one clump.







These are leucojums. They are like lilies of the valley on stilts.











I liked this picture because it shows the two generations of trilliu,

What is coming soon

Here is one of the peony buds I have been expecting to bloom soon. I have featured it as something coming soon for several weeks.
It is not just the flowering trees and bluebells that are in some kind of time suspension.

And how for a special feature.

         I hoped to show you this video today. I took it yesterday. I had some difficulty uploading it. At about a minute in length it is about the longest I can post. It took several tries, and waiting for the traffic to slow down in the evening.
        It was noteworthy since on the video I had an exclamation moment. I have told you about those before. They happen when something wonderful surprises you in the garden.

On this video I was describing and showing the 4 tree peonies that are going to bloom soon. As I finished with the last one I mentioned that in the next area, around the corner,  I had planted some of the wonderful seed from last year's tree peony flowers. I explained that I would have to be careful with my weeding in that area.
Well,  as I was looking over that area,  I spied this. I had my exclamation moment on tape.

Of course it is a little seeding. It is coming up right next to the yellow straw marker where I marked the seed. It seems to be the only one up yet.
It really does have the peony foliage.














The lady slipper orchids are also just about ready to bloom. You can see several buds emerging.

Julia's recipe

baked chicken

I like chicken in many forms - soup, stir fry, paprikash, curry. I also like pieces of chicken more or less plain, which we usually serve with some tasty side of starch (curried rice or oven roasted potatoes, for two) and a green vegetable.  Flavorful and nutritious. I usually bake chicken thighs, and I always put some kind of rub on them. Then I bake the thighs for longer than you'd think until the skin is crisp and the meat thoroughly done.


Recently I made a double batch of chicken thighs (that is, 8), so that I could use two different rubs, 4 with each rub.

The ingredients: 8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) and the rub ingredients: 1 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon kosher salt for rub #1 and 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt for rub #2.

First I mixed up the rubs: I put the lemon pepper, poultry seasoning, sage and kosher salt in one little bowl, and I put the paprika, ground cumin, oregano, ground coriander, red pepper flakes and kosher salt in another little bowl. I mixed the spices up thoroughly in each little bowl.

I preheated the oven to 375 degrees.




Here are the chicken pieces in a 9 x 13 baking dish. I used 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon pepper mix on each side of all 4 thighs. (1/2 teaspoon x 4 pieces of chicken x 2 sides = 4 teaspoons of rub, which is what I had mixed up).

I repeated with 1/2 teaspoon of the paprika mix on the other 4 thighs.

I put the chicken in the oven, and I set the timer for 1 hour.

At the end of the hour, I took a look and realized that the chicken was too crowded in the pan to crisp up properly so I put all the lemon pepper thighs in another pan - also 9 x 13. Then I put both pans back in the oven for another 45 minutes.

At that point the chicken was way done, and it was dinner time.



Here are the lemon pepper thighs.















Here are the paprika thighs.

In some recipes (like chicken and peppers), you want the chicken to stay tender and juicy and so you use chicken breast and have a shorter cooking time. Not so here. And chicken thighs, because of how they are, can take a long cooking time and be just fine.

This meal takes some serious oven time, but it's hands off after it goes in the oven. And cold chicken is great.

Try one rub or the other. With a nice green vegetable and an interesting starch thing.

Odds and Ends

Not everything works in the garden all the time. Some plants die. Some plants need to move or find other homes to make way for something new. You have to recognize when it is time for an upgrade. I think there is even something in the Bible about giving some plant 2-3 years and then, without production they go into the fire.
         I have decided to stop trying to get by crown imperial frittilaria to rebloom. They come up. But do not bloom. I suspect they do not get enough sun. But the trees are mostly going to be there for the future. (The pink crabs are coming to the end of their cycle.) I think those frittilaria should go to the city to become compost.

I potted up 5 waterlilies yesterday.
It was fun. First we had to find some soil with lots of clay. We got it out by the curb in the front yard. We replaced the clay soil with better non clay soil. I will plant several things there.

I have also really started potting up lots of plants. Many are for sale, on the back driveway with price tags. Payment is in person if I am home, or by money left in the front mailbox.


Next weekend we are off to Missouri for a ling weekend. We will have the memorial service for my mother. She died in March at the age of 97. She was able to live in her own house and be with her garden until a few months before she died.
I inherited my gardening interest from her.
I will tell you more about this next week.

Philip