Yard Work – July 2024

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The only yard work I do on a weekly basis is mow the grassy area; it is a good way for me to achieve my ‘intensity minutes’ of exercise for the week! I do some weed eating every other week. Everything else is more ad hoc…and as needed.

I ordered 25 orange daylily roots and got them planted around the base of our two red maples in the front yard. The ruff of these plants around my oak in Maryland looked good and made it easier to mow around the base of the tree without being too close to the trunk. The daylilies are better than mulch to keep the grass from growing too close to the tree trunks!

The Virginia creeper has covered the stones in the raised bed in front. I pull down any that tries to climb the brick and try to keep weeds from growing in the area (like poke weed). I do need to trim the boxwood (and remove the Virginia creeper growing into it.  

I have rounded most of the corners created by the fence by planting lambs ear…and I let low growing poke weed grow there too.

I mowed part of the area I didn’t mow in May back in June and left the thick clippings to mulch in place; much of the grass has died there and violets from the flower bed are spilling into the yard. The larger leafed plant near the metal iris is a spikenard which is in the same area. About a foot of grass has been eliminated along this section of the flower bed. Over time I will use this strategy to reduce the grassy area of our yard.

A plant came up in a bare ‘hole’ in the turf in my back yard and I have been carefully mowing around it. It appears to be a small white aster and has been blooming for more than 4 weeks. I’ll eventually mow it, but it was a fun experiment to see what kind of plant it was.

I noticed a tall something in the flowerbed on the yard side of the stairs from our deck. It is a young redbud! I’ve decided to keep it…will trim the bush that is on one side of it and the ornamental grass that is on the other side.

My spider mum metal sculpture was visible from my office window when I first stuck it in the ground…but the branches of the pine are growing and getting lower around it. I have borrowed a pole saw from my daughter and will trim the lowest ones (it is impossible to get close enough to the trunk without using a pole saw!).

I am pleased with the progress I am making on the yard. My goals are to make it easier to maintain…more native plants…less grass…all while staying within the ‘rules’ of the neighborhood HOA.

Longwood Gardens – Macro Photography

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I took more macro pictures at Longwood Gardens than I ever have before. I was using my phone with a clip-on macro lens and a clicker that was hanging around my neck. I seemed so easy to move the phone into position with one hand and click the image with the other. It all started while we were standing in line to enter the gardens. There were plants around even there. The couple in front of me was interested in the images I was getting.

The conservatory was full of plants that often look like abstract art when viewed with a macro lens. My favorite is the leaf with the larger veins almost glowing…white dots making an aura alongside.

In the meadow – there were lots of asters and plants going to seed.

There were a few bugs on the plants too – milkweed bug and some bees.

Several ‘lessons learned’ from the day –

  • Wear a big hat and use the body and had to shade the areas I am photographing. It’s easier to see the screen (to make sure the right part is in focus) and reduces shadows.

  • Review everything in the pockets of the photovest and reduce as much weight as possible. In places with plenty of places to refill my water bottle – a smaller one would be better. I should have left my small point and shoot camera at home (every bit of weight counts!). I was glad I decided not to carry my monopod.

It worked well to

  • Pace ourselves by sitting down occasionally on available benches (sometimes taking pictures while sitting!)

  • Wear a bandana to keep the sun off my neck and the V in front. It worked better than sunscreen! It also offers a bit of padding where the photovest sometimes rubs the back of my neck.   

Mt Pleasant in October

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Last week, I got to Howard County Conservancy’s Mt Pleasant just as the sun was coming up over the place. There were a few fall colors even with the drought which is causing a lot of the leaves to change and fall very quickly.

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We were working with high school students --- assessing the water in the Davis Branch with abiotic and biotic sampling. The water was very low.

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We found some macroinvertebrates…but everyone was more enthusiastic than usual with other living things we found that weren’t part of the assessment. This large spider caused quite a lot of excitement!

I took a few pictures of fall plants between the early morning and late morning groups. Much of the meadow is turning brown early. Some of the gardens closer to the building may be getting a little watering and are more colorful.

Brookside Gardens at end of September – part I

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The growing season is waning, but there is still plenty to see at Brookside Gardens when we went last weekend. Some plants have already produced their seeds – the sumac and sunflowers and castor beans among them.

The magnolia pods are as colorful as the seeds. Some of the seeds have already been eaten by birds or squirrels.

But there are still flowers to see too. I spent time photographing asters with tiny water droplets still coating them from the morning dew.

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But there are other things still blooming as well.

There were some lights that were turned on covering the trunks and lower branches of trees around one of the court yards – evidence that the crew putting up lights for the holiday light show has already started.

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