Mouse Ears!

Found the most adorable little guy to put in my garden - a 'Blue Mouse Ears' Hosta. It is so small and cute, and just makes me smile. Typical hosta as far as care goes - mostly sunny to mostly shady. It's a dwarf and gets 8" tall (12" with flower), and blooms in mid summer. The buds on mine should be opening before long. One site I found says it's supposed to be slug resistant. Time will tell.
These were voted Hosta of the Year in 2008 by the American Hosta Growers Society. I purchased three of them at a local greenhouse, but they can also be found online at places like Bluestone Perennials: 'Blue Mouse Ears' Hosta

I knew exactly where in my garden I wanted to put them. Now I'm just waiting to see if it may be too much sun. So far they seem perfectly happy. :)

Incredible Luck

We had an incredibly lucky find at our house this year.... or rather, my fiance had an incredibly lucky find. Morels! LOTS of morels, all over our yard!



I'm just lucky in that he doesn't eat mushrooms. They're mine! All mine!! Hehehe....

Actually, there were so many (28 of them) that I was able to share with just about everyone who wanted some. Parents, coworkers, friends... all got a taste of the delicious delicate flavor. Mmmmm.
And they were so big that just a couple could be considered a whole meal! This was only my second time ever eating morels. They are so delicious, just a little butter and viola!! Even got my anti-mushroom fiance to try them and he said they were "okay". That's saying a lot for him to think a mushroom tastes okay!! Of course my parents and I just moaned with contentment as we sat around devouring the tasty morsels.








We did collect most of them, but we were sure to leave a few to spread spores. Hopefully we'll be this lucky again next year! :)

Getting Things Started.... Finally

A little bit of a late start this year. Work and school have been keeping me busy - just finished up the semester with Hardscape Construction and Landscape Planning. Now I can get into my garden!

Things are really waking up! Already so many beautiful blooms out there. This is the first season my garden has woken in it's own bed! I can't wait to see what the plants all do with a full season in the ground.

Some of my first additions for the year are...

Black Snakeroot
(Cimicifuga racemosa)
I love these unique plants and have wanted one for some time. Can't wait for it to do its thing!! It should do very well in my shady woodland garden.




Beardtongue (Penstomen)
I love my 'Red Riding Hood' Beardtongue that I got last year - so much so that I bought two more this year for a grouping of three. I saw this Beardtongue at the greenhouse near my house and, though the color is quite similar to my 'Red Riding Hood', I had to get it as well.


Perhaps the most exciting buy for me so far, is my Alstroemeria. I LOVE these - I have for quite some time. They are one of my absolute favorite cut flowers - looking like somewhat of a cross between a lily and an orchid (my other FAV). I had tried to read about growing them in my area, but hadn't found much info. I came across these at the local greenhouse with my mom and we each had to buy two - one of each color. They drooped a little in the beginning, but I have repotted them and they have since flourished. I hope I overwinter the tubers correctly and can keep them for a while! This will be my first attempt at overwintering any tubers.