Planning now for autumn planting

Several days ago we noted the appearance of what we hoped were spotted horsemint blossoms. Today we're happy to report that our hopes have been fulfilled. There are a number of Monarda punctata flowers showing on the far slope behind the house. It may turn out that our drought is suppressing their numbers. Some wetter years have brought an abundance much greater than we're seeing so far this year.

spotted horsemint (Monarda punctata)

Photo by J. Harrington

We've now planted a clump or cluster of bee balm (Monarda fistulosa), which has us hauling a sprinkler can  of water up the slope every day. That may help save the apple tree on the top of the slope, since it somehow caught hell last winter. Now it's getting watered every time the bee balm gets some.

Bee balm (Monarda fistulosa)

Photo by J. Harrington

Admittedly, our track record at getting seeds or plants to grow where we've planted them is abysmal, in large part due to pocket gophers eating roots and creating mounds that make mowing hazardous to the cutting blades. On the other hand, letting nature take its course has made our front "lawn" much more pollinator friendly as creeping Charlie and violets and wild strawberries have invaded the grass and begun to replace it. The Better Half tells me there's also some smooth Solomon's seal in the woods behind the lawn as well as mixed with  the day lilies behind the garage.

If I can ever manage to let go of or otherwise overcome my middle class compulsion toward neatness and order and control, without yielding to the chuck and chance it approach we've been using in improving our landscapes, we might make more and or better progress. Current projects being contemplated and planned include shade tolerant ground cover on the North side of the house and pollinator wildflowers or "bee friendly lawn" where the gophers have reduced grasses to sand patches. Hot and humid weather is better for planning than planting so late summer or early autumn is when we expect to break ground, literally.

Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now

Matthew Olzmann

Most likely, you think we hated the elephant,
the golden toad, the thylacine and all variations
of whale harpooned or hacked into extinction.

It must seem like we sought to leave you nothing
but benzene, mercury, the stomachs
of seagulls rippled with jet fuel and plastic. 

You probably doubt that we were capable of joy,
but I assure you we were.

We still had the night sky back then,
and like our ancestors, we admired
its illuminated doodles
of scorpion outlines and upside-down ladles.

Absolutely, there were some forests left!
Absolutely, we still had some lakes!

I’m saying, it wasn’t all lead paint and sulfur dioxide.
There were bees back then, and they pollinated
a euphoria of flowers so we might
contemplate the great mysteries and finally ask,
“Hey guys, what’s transcendence?”   

And then all the bees were dead.

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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.