May: April showers brought May flowers

But not a pilgrim in sight. It's been a frustrating mix of too rainy and too busy at the old McGarden these days. I still have not finished doing my winter clean-up, which means my clematis is all wound into the dead brush and my coneflowers are choking on mulch and I have so many dandelions I can hear them roaring late at night. The yard desperately needs core aeration and overseeding but I don't see it getting done any time soon. My neighbor pays a service to do her winter clean-up and every year I privately poke fun at her, but the joke's on me because her borders are lovely and mine look... well, casual is a polite way to put it.

I hope to get out there and fix up the back 40* later next week, after stressful meeting with dissertation committee is firmly behind me. In the meantime, life marches on...


Tulips!


Daffies, and spiky tulips! Don't ask me what varieties any of my bulbs are. I care deeply and obsessively about the IDs of the "real" plants, but the spring bulbs and annuals are lucky if I bother remembering the genus. OK, I exaggerate a wee bit, but not much.


My Dicentra is underwhelming but bear in mind it's been moved, trampled, broken, or otherwise abused every year I've had it. I'm happy with whatever I get.


Pulmonaria something. What was that about obsessive taxonomy? It's written down somewhere, I'm sure.


Tradescantia zebrina 'Red Hill', just a baby a few months ago, surprised me by blooming all over the place. Always a pleasant surprise when houseplants bloom; I only grow them for the foliage.


Foley checks out the perimeter at the in-laws' place in Michigan.

*more like 40 yards than 40 acres

April: UIC Memorial Grove

I left my camera at my office all week, which means no pictures of my daffodils or tulips, and I know you're all upset but you'll just have to wait!
What I do have is pictures of the Memorial Grove on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. It's not clear what it's a memorial to; perhaps to the two ethnic neighborhoods that were bulldozed to build the campus in the early 1960s. On a campus designed to reflect the stark rectilinear shapes and traffic flow of the downtown and expressways nearby, the Memorial Grove is a pleasantly organic space.




Staircases at SEO


Magnolia


Fagus sylvatica, European beech, I think a copper beech. A tree with wonderful bones but I still favor the American beech, which sadly is rarely planted ornamentally.


Tie-in with my dissertation project: Tilia (basswood) that has been well-loved by sapsuckers.


This fine example of absurdist topiary (I believe it's an oak) is pointing at the Science and Engineering Lab building. If you put on your x-ray specs you will see my lab!

April: psyche, it's actually a flashback to September 2007

My entry in the GardeningGoneWild PictureThis native plant photo contest:

Sky blue aster, Aster oolentangiensis, an Illinois prairie native that has naturalized in my Chicago garden. When in full bloom it makes solid masses of lovely lavender flowers like drifts of oddly colored snow. It's a plant that makes me feel like a gardening rock star, but of course my secret to success is it's supposed to be here.

April: Sun Star

Today was supposed to be snowy and sleety and awful. While I did get pelted with a bit of sleet when I ran my errands, I didn't mind a bit and now the sun is shining. I had an Evil Scheme to buy an Easter lily at the grocery store but when I got there, they were underwhelming (except for the sickly-sweet scent, which was overwhelming) and it occurred to me that they are one of my least favorite lilies so why did I want one?

However, this followed me home from Home Despot:

Ornithogalum 'Sun Star', probably O. dubium, family Hyacinthaceae as if you couldn't tell.



It's a bulb so must be treated as such. I often lose patience with indoor bulbs after the first die-back but I couldn't pass this one up!

HD also had the most gorgeous anemones but it's TOO EARLY so stop tempting me!! Even HD knows it's too early, had them on carts indoors. Hopefully they'll still be around in a month.

April: no fools here!

March came in like a lion... and went out the same way. April also started cold and blustery but by this afternoon it was sunny and windy, good kite weather if I had a kite. Miss Foley got her cast removed this morning and can finally go outside without her clunky boot. I met the last of several deadlines at school this morning as well so we went outside to celebrate the removal of our respective burdens.

Not much to see in the yard right now... lots of greenery coming up, which is exciting for me but makes for underwhelming photos. The World's Most Pathetic Forsythia is already past its peak, but bigger and better things are on the horizon!


Juncus spirales that I nearly killed over the winter - fingers crossed!


Sedum morganianum, burro's tail


Philodendron 'Xanadu' - sans stately pleasure dome. $4 at Walmart!

I remember a time when I was able to actually eat at that table...


Foley blisses out in the sun