wordy thursday

At the moment, rain or shine, my world is many shades of green.
These pictures were taken yesterday, when it wasn't raining.

I was checking a transplanted clump of Chelone lyonii

and there next to it was this razzle-dazzle:

A nice surprise - white spiderwort appearing in an unexpected place.

The first comfrey flowers of 2019:

Last year, my comfrey plant grew so tall and wide

it got flattened by it's own weight in a rainstorm.

And then continued to grow upward from it's prone position! It was huge.

I was told that comfrey doesn't need full sun, and "full sun" areas are at a premium here, so in the Autumn I divided the root mass and moved most of it to a new bed by the east boundary stone wall.

Now there are two plants, both doing nicely and beginning to bloom.

It remains to be seen if either or both will turn into another massive shrub-sized plant.

 Every year I look forward to jack-in-the-pulpit:

There are a couple of places where I expect to see it

and am careful not to cultivate until it is safely up.

But I always find it in other spots as well.

It often becomes hidden by other plants growing up around it -

as this one, now surrounded and overtopped by violets.

And concluding today's program:

one of the new rudbeckias.

Three are already blooming,and the fourth has several buds.

I don't know if any of the flowers will be as brown as my original plant,

but they are certainly bright and cheerful and very welcome.

~~~~~

markmaking monday

I am still having a difficult time uploading images.

It takes ages, and sometimes, after waiting and waiting, the upload still fails to work.

But I'm going to try!

Here are the most recent Daily Markmaking efforts, #523 - 526.

 Another goat-plucked stem of dame's rocket.

A plum, based on an illustration.

Another illustration-based sketch.

Some of my sketches are on heavy watercolor paper
in the form of postcards or folding cards.

This one is a folding card.

~~~

I hope all is well with you and yours, dear readers.
Things have been rather challenging here lately,
but the gardens are very slowly getting underway.
How about you?
~~~~~

three happy things

First thing:

This little postcard-size oil painting arrived from Scotland today.

The artist is a Canadian landscape painter, Roberta Murray.

My snap does not do it justice - it is a gem!

It was one of the donated postcards in the Twitter Art Exhibit 2019, which each year moves to a different location around the world, holds a gallery show followed by online sales, and each year donates the proceeds to a different charity. The postcards are all priced at 30 pounds, or 4 for 100 pounds, and this year I decided to treat myself to one by skimming the requisite $48.01 from the grocery budget.

Bonus: a week of innovative eating! I cleaned out the bottom shelf in the cupboard where many interesting things had been hiding, and also indulged a serious fondness for jello, which I had sort of forgotten about. So it was a big win, all the way around.

And I am giddy with delight at this painting!

Second thing:

If you've been following this blog for a while, you may remember one of the (supposedly) perennial plants I bought a few years ago - a rudbeckia with velvety almost-brown petals.

The plant did not survive the winter, unfortunately. I loved it so much I've tried to replace it each year since but have never seen it. Until today! One of the many nurseries that kindly emails hard-to-resist offers on what seems to be an hourly basis alerted me to a major sale on perennial plants today. For some reason, I decided to scroll through all the plants, pages and pages of them, even though many of them were already marked "Sold Out." And there, at the bottom of the last page, the very last plant in the perennial sale, was a plant that looks exactly like that marvelous brown velvet rudbeckia. It had originally been priced at $20, and the sale price was $6, so...I ordered four. I will plant them in different locations to see what conditions they will enjoy most, and I will try to keep at least one alive as a potted plant through the winter. I am so excited about this!

Funny note:

after placing the order I thought sternly, 

"I've got to get a hold of myself.

These self-indulgent weekends could become addictive!"

Then I realized it's Wednesday.

Third thing:

By some kind of miracle, I was able to buy another 30 bales of hay and put them in the roundtop today. It's first cut grass from 2018, and should see me through until first cut 2019 is available.

$245.

Makes the rudbeckia and the painting seem like quite a bargain, doesn't it?

~~~~~

a week of kerria

The Kerria japonica began to bloom a week ago.

This is my favorite phase - simultaneously displaying all stages of buds and blossoms.

This shrub was here when I bought the place, and has grown and grown.

This year it is vast: an intricate, wind-dancing marvel.

After one week, most of the buds have now opened.

The entire shrub appears more gold than green,

and glows even on a rainy day:

The flowers are rather delicate.
From now on, every rain and strong wind will leave petals on the ground.

I wanted to share it with you before that happens.

Daily Markmaking last night: Kerria japonica, 2019.

~~~~~

looking to the east

Simple snaps.

Sunrise this morning:

Moonrise, tonight.

~~~~~