Cand;y Lilys in the Asian Collections

They're back and they're having a good year!

USNA 2011 Intern Project: re-landscaping around the headhouse

I'm excited about this project. The landscaping around the headhouse has been haphazard and sporadic resulting in a disjunct, occasionally interesting collection of unrelated plants arrayed in a boring arrangement. They've considered the architecture of the building (one story 1960's) and come up with a nice plan. It includes a checkerboard arrangement of pavers that'll create spaces for Brad to trial plants. Two gravel beds will reflect the exposed aggregate on the walls of the building. Mulch beds define the ground space for the exiting two trees. All the spaces are rectilinear; they'll resonate much better with the building's architecture than serpentine borders.

And it does my heart good to see college students performing manual labor. Hey I made that choice; it's encouraging to know that educated young people might also find a bit of labor an acceptable part of life!

Butterfly and Blackberry Lily

Many of the flowers in the garden now are at the hot end of the color spectrum: reds, oranges, and yellows. And many of them are nectar sources, luring butterflies in to have their pictures taken.

Summer 2011: a good one for weeds

If you missed me while I was gone, I was weeding. We've had a hot summer with sufficient moisture to allow weeds to go crazy. It's a draining process: heat, humidity, and the Sisyphean futility of trying to stay ahead; for every two weeds I remove or kill, three take their place. I know there's hope though. Parts of my own garden are quite clean and whole section of the Asian Collection are adequately attended to with a weekly walk through. Still, considering parts of China Valley, Korean Hill, and much of my back garden, it's occasionally overwhelming.

This is the caterpillar of some form of Tussock Moth:

Someone found it in the Dogwood Collection and I got to see it. It's just nice that animals as beautiful and curious exist and it's one of the perks of our jobs that we occasionally get to see them. You have to love the genus here: Orgy (ia). I don't know, or I'd tell you.

Two interesting plants from the 1984 Korean daylily collection trip

We've absorbed a lot of these plants into the Asian Collections. Mostly we've spotted them about (tastefully!); they're colorful accents at this period when most of the floral display is over. These two are interesting in their own right. The top plant is semi-double with wonderful coloring. It has a "star" in the floral tube, yellow surrounded by a darker orange than the petals themselves. H. lilioasphodelus has interesting strappy petals that I find more appealing than those typical of the species.