Bits and pieces

My blue-eyed grass... is yellow.

It wasn't marked as anything special, and it is otherwise the same plant -- but it has buttercup-yellow flowers instead of the usual cobalt blue. I guess I'll have to pick up some of the blue ones too.

I got a Cornus florida today -- it was a little bit of a scramble, as there seemed to be fewer white dogwoods for sale this year. I had a choice between 5 gallon for $60, and 7 gallon for $120. Hmm let me think about that one... I also had trouble getting a shorter variety (18-20' rather than 25'), and ended up going for "Cloud 9" rather than "Constellation". I've heard good things about "Cloud 9".

I also got a red and yellow Asclepias. Those things are hard to find -- I snatched up the 5 gallon for $30 because even seed is difficult to track down. So now I have a beautiful milkweed which will, hopefully, be a tasty snack for Monarch butterflies. *crossed fingers*

Some other randomness... I'm getting really sick of Raphiolepis. I see more of it than anything else except weeds. I realize it has an iron constitution, but it's everywhere. Those insipid pink flowers...

Bermuda grass vs. star jasmine. Fight!

I now know what those little bumps at the base of cherry leaves are. They secrete nectar in the spring. Who knew?

Paper birches seem to do best on the north side of houses here, in lawn. There are some damned healthy ones around here -- but they're all on the north side of something.

It's suddenly hot and dry. As I keep saying, spring some years can be measured in hours here. I had to water all of my potted plants today... sigh. It wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't had to turn off the well until we're done tearing up the front strip, because there's a faucet and sprinkler up there. As it was, I was hauling buckets of water out from the potting shed.

And my popbeans, which I started carefully indoors, are coming up while the long beans in the ground are not. Those things are tough, but I may have to transplant them too.