Wednesday -- Around the Yard

Stella d'Oro daylilies, filling in with color now that the irises have finished blooming

Spiderwort, a wild flower, very aggressive, makes a beautiful blue addition to a shady bed, closes up by noon. The roots resemble the legs of a spider and are almost impossible to pull or dig out. For several seasons I tried to get rid of it; now I just let it be since it is very pretty.

Oxalis is a good plant for small beds, pots or rock garden pockets, in full sun or half-shade. It has a tiny bulb and there are some being scattered in the yard away from the bed; I believe moles have pushed the bulbs out through their tunnels. I have been told deer really like to feed on it.

Hen and chickens is a fleshy plant, also good for rock gardens. It was formerly planted on roofs to ward off lightning; maybe I should move mine from this old wash pot to the roof during all these storms we're having! If you look closely you can see chicks under the upper left hen. These are growing in the wash pot Mama used to heat water in on wash day. Daddy knocked a hole in the side of the pot for drainage when she began using it for flowers; that ruined any value it might have as an antique.

Last night we had severe storms in our county with two deaths reported. My husband cleaned out our cellar yesterday afternoon, and when the weather radio woke us up during the night we were glad to have a place to go with one of our daughters and her family and their tiny dog in a carrier. Sometimes a cellar can be a creepy place with spiders and wet floors. A barn swallow was on her nest in the cellar and was upset whenever six people came in with a candle. We had no damage here on the farm; however, two tornadoes were reported to have gone through the county and schools were closed today because of power outages.

Be safe, and if there are warnings in your area, take action to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Charlotte