The Trees of Destruction Party

The party that we convened to celebrate the untimely catastrophe that is our backyard was a huge success. Everyone seemed in jovial moods (maybe because anything erupting in their lives- like blisters or hemorrhoids- became trivial when they observed the damage first hand. The cake I prepared (store-bought sheet cake/ hand-rendered decorations) was like-wise success; only a small heap of it remains. Photographs were taken by party goers as I happily explained how I sat around yesterday afternoon whittling holes in pretzel rods and sharpening pretzel sticks and inserting them with some melted semi-sweet chocolate as mortar. Bob constructed a pile of logs:

It was remarkably life-like, complete with the trees that remain upright, but with busted branches and capriciously leaning companion trees. I wish the clean up of the yard was as easy as the clean up from the party!
Several friends tried to make grand entrances through the side gate where the most danger is. Don't ask me how they chose to clamor through the destruction; I can only imagine the tragedy of having friends die with trees falling on their heads! Fortunately, the only casualty was my favorite outdoor lawn chair:

And this has happened before! Seems it's like a party ritual that a chair must be sacrificed to the party gods!  At least no one was hurt and a rollicking good time was had by all. Even Lil' Robin the Good is exhausted and sound asleep on my foot as I write this. (Her doggo friend Izzie attended so she had someone to explore the ruins with).
Friends were so nice. I could see the sadness on their faces when they viewed what remains of our garden. But they were generous, too. They brought wine and food (multiple watermelons! multiple pasta salads!) and several even brought us plants (and even a garden center gift certificate) with which to begin to rebuild our gardens. We are touched by their thoughtfulness.
Today, it's nice that it's raining and we don't need to do anything. Maybe we'll just nap like Robin.

Nice Pictures

I don't know; maybe it's because it's too awful to contemplate the level of destruction and mayhem that has been visited upon our garden but it seems really hard to get "good" pictures. In this shot, you can see the magnolia was spared (thanks for something!) but that's my garden under all those reclining monster tree carcasses! And while I'm eternally grateful that bob and I and Robin and Maggie are okay, our yard and property are definitely not okay!
And as anyone who knows me knows, my garden is very important to me!!

Large sections of our yard look like this. Like Bob said, it's hard to know even where to begin cleaning up. Our friend Joe came over today and helped chain saw away a tree that crashed through the fence next to our neighbor's house and remove another large oak that fell near Bob's studio so that we can drive debris down and make a giant pile (or ten) in the woods behind Bob's studio.

So we have some damage to the house in the back. The storm didn't entirely crush our house- like some unfortunate neighbors!- but we can't get the tree down even with the skilled assistance of talented friends. The insurance people have been notified. We'll see what happens there. I know (and have been warned) that insurance "adjusters" will try and save the company money and try and get out of paying for damages as much as possible. But we're tenacious and I am making a list of all my plants and shrubs that were smashed. I have quite a lot of valuable plant material that is not salvageable!
How about one more?

This is a perfectly healthy spruce that was uprooted and toppled in Maggie's pasture. Poor Maggie was totally freaked out and has spent the last three days sort of hanging out in her barn. We removed a couple of smaller trees that fell in her auxiliary grazing area so that she could get out and graze as she's blocked by the above monster from the lower field. What a mess!

A Little Tornado, Anyone?

Yes, just your average glance out the studio window to see how Mother Nature has arranged your yard and trees in a charming- and unexpected- manner! This is just the first picture and posting of many to come, that document how messed up life at the BobnRita Ranch are.
Fortunately, Bob and I and the Dog and Pony Show are all fine. Robin thinks the backyard disaster is sorta fun (lots of trees to jump over/climb on/root around under) but Maggie seems exhausted and still freaked out (she was outside during the storm and was lucky to not get crushed by falling trees! Her barn was spared but she didn't want to be inside.)
More later, but that'll get you started. Hint: this is no where near the worst of the damage. I can't even look at the rest of the pictures now. Our garden is somewhere under a pile of giant trees.

Who Doesn't Like Spring Flowers?

Wow! I am so happy with my endeavor to create a Spring Garden! Last's years hard work and obsessive vision paid off. Last post, I presented some of the white daffodils that I had planted and today we flirt with my modest lilac collection. Look at "Sensation" above- who knew that there was a
variegated lilac; the detail of a perfect white line around each floret is remarkable. (I got this plant at the local plant sale last year for a song! I can't wait for this year's sale on Saturday... who knows what I'll find.)
And look at "Pocahontas":

(Yes, that Lil' Robin photobombing my lilac shoot!) This picture doesn't do justice to the multitude of large blooms in a simply super deep purple-y purple. And it smells incredible!(This variety is courtesy of Beatrice and John for my birthday last year. Yay! Good job!) Here's a close up:

I can smell it from here! I keep making trips outside just to walk around and visit my lilacs. And look! "Primrose" bloomed, despite being a very small plant, only about a foot and a half tall.

Yeah, it looks white to me, too, but it's marketed as yellow. But several Internet sites assure me it "matures" to a very pale creamy yellow (probably just as the petals turn brown and fall off). But who cares! I like white lilacs and it looks great.
I have yet to really clean up all of last fall's leaves or do a early weeding- the one down side of a spring garden is the denizens start performing before I'm ready!- but between the lilacs, daffodils and the underplanting of vinca, there's quite a show. And there are several nice wild volunteers for additional color. A few small patches of wild anemones and geraniums flowered, adding an unexpected, delicate splash of color below. Next year it should be even better, as some of my other lilacs will be more mature and (hopefully) bloom. And I'm looking to add "Monge" and "Charles Joly" and more white daffodils...

*I must make mention here that this blog is about flowers because if it wasn't, it would either be about The Orange Menace and the insanity and havoc he is wreaking (This week? Pulling out of Iran Nuclear deal, opening embassy in Jerusalem etc etc) or the perfidy of "the art world". Don't get me going... aren't flowers nicer!?!!?!??!

Our Own Little Botanical Garden

Hahahahaha! See? We've got dandelions! We didn't see too many of these at the New York Botanical Garden, but they probably were there as they seem to have loads of everything that grows. And it was humbling: coming back from touring over 400 acres (or some such hard to comprehend number), and seeing the modest patch of ground that you spent all summer digging wild roses, assorted brambles, rocks and small trees out of (not to mention battling seriously entrenched poison ivy) to plant a modest batch of daffodils and vinca...
But I don't have a staff of a hundred. There's just me and the dog (Hi Lil' Robin!) and occasionally Bob (when a rock or tree is just too much!). And I am thrilled with my efforts to produce a spring garden. The lilacs- although young- are in bud and the predominately white daffodils are in full bloom thanks to the rain and warm weather.

That's Mount Hood- spectacular when full out as they just get whiter and whiter and more imposing...

No wonder this variety has been in cultivation since the 1920's!
And here's "Barrett Browning", which has a nifty orange center but is a creamy white:

 

And then there's "Ice Follies", which is especially cheerful...

And "Geranium" is starting to come out and looks sort of cosmic and cluster-y (these are all new and exciting to me as I had never planted daffodils! I think you can tell...) and "Misty Glen" and "Thalia" are later still so I still have plenty of spring flowers to enjoy. Hey! I waited all winter for this extravaganza to erupt!
The only perplexing aspect to all this loveliness is that the daffodils- to a one- insist on facing toward the sun and you have to walk on the lower path to enjoy them; from the upper side, they've all turned their backs on you. I never considered this when planting. Oh well...

*And there is some foolishness going on with the blogger site! For four days, I couldn't even access my blog account and then I was entirely unable to upload any more pictures. Probably those pesky Russians or the evil rethuglicans!