Yard Update

[lady_branwyn]

Yard update: About twenty years ago, I planted some yellow foxgloves (Digitalis ambigua) which suddenly decided to spread a couple years ago. Now they are all around the house. The bumblees are very happy. (Photo from Cornell University.)
My daylilies and lemon lilies haven't bloomed yet this year. The buds aren't even very big. My yard seems to have a microclimate that is a few degrees cooler than its surroundings.
I ordered the ingredients to make my own "Liquid Fence"-type deer repellent--powdered egg yolks, fine garlic powder, and thyme oil. After the company that makes Liquid Fence changed hands a few years ago, the owners slapped it with a large price increase so I am going to give this a try.

Comments

[just_ann_now]

Oooh, your foxgloves are gorgeous. I just don't seem to have the knack for them.
My asiatic lilies seemed to hang in the bud stage for a ridiculously long time (several weeks!) and are just now swelling in to bloom. Microclimates are funny things! My daylilies are blooming but several weeks behind others I've seen.

[lady_branwyn]

I planted a fancy variety of foxglove which was supposed to be the color of "crushed strawberries," and it promptly died. And I have yet to get poppies to grow in my yard. Though now that the treezillas along the south side of the property are gone, I should plant some poppies around the patio.

[shirebound]

Hooray for happy bumblebees!

[lady_branwyn]

I love them so much! I went to a lecture about them back in January, and it was fascinating. I learned that you shouldn't clear away all the winter debris from your flowerbeds too early because wild bees overwinter among the dead leaves and branches.

[shirebound]

Thank you!

[just_ann_now]

That not-clearing-the-beds thing was SO HARD for me the first year I did it. (It was less hard the second year, though *snort*)