[No, it’s not what you think, but the expression “a riot of color” is apropos to these colorful blooms amidst the bleak days we are muddling through now, between the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.]
Not so very long ago, if someone asked me what my hobbies were, without missing a beat, I’d answer “gardening and reading” … that was before the walking and blogging bugs bit me.
The saga began in 2005 when I decided to try my hand at growing perennials, although I still planted annuals in pots and baskets around the front, side and back yards as well. I perused countless gardening sites on the internet, subscribed to Birds and Blooms magazine and my e-mail inbox groaned with many gardening mailings. Soon I became obsessed with the garden, getting up at the crack of dawn daily to hand water, weed and deadhead the blooms before catching the bus to work. Weekends were spent toiling in the front and back yards, but mostly in the back where the majority of flowers grew. I simply could not rest until there were no weeds, nor a single piece of mulch out of place, no matter how often the Robins flipped mulch pieces every which way while digging for worms. I catered to the birds with four birdbaths in various sizes and two feeders plus Birdola birdseed cakes. It was a lot of work and for much younger legs. 🙂
And then a new neighbor moved in behind with a dog that was left out 24/7/365 and soon we had rats. The pest control service we hired said I needed to remove the feeders and birdbaths since the rats would seek food, but more importantly, a water source as the poison slowly dried their insides.
It was horrible – the birds were lined up along the chain-link fence, questioning looks on their faces – no more food or water? Why? I moved about the yard with trepidation, as there was not a single inch of the perimeter of the yard that was bare. The bushes and plants, once a place for bunnies and squirrels to go, now gave the rats plenty of places to hide. In the heat of the Summer one year, I went out to water and found two dead and bloated rat bodies – I was just beside myself.
Two years later, in 2008, the pest control service gave me the okay to resume feeding and watering the birds, after the neighbor, his dog and his garage filled with chickens, moved away six months prior. I learned of the chickens from the neighbor that bought the house. Once again I began logging lots of hours in the yard, until my mother remarked “you spend too much time out there – relax already!”
After my mother passed away in January 2010, I decided to try my hand at climbing roses and make a small memorial garden. I got three “Stairway to Heaven” climbers and an umbrella trellis and spent countless hours, not to mention dollars, battling black spot and I finally ripped out the climbing roses before they spread the disease to my shrub roses which had never been problematic or disease prone.
I also had a slugfest with slugs in 2010 and used a product called “Sluggo” which turned into a congealed white and sticky goo once you watered the plants or it rained. The slugs persisted in chomping on my Hosta and Lily leaves. I placed copper wire, so they would electrocute themselves as their slimy bodies traveled over the copper, but that was a wasted effort. My next plan of attack was putting mushroom-shaped soapstone containers filled with beer around the yard. The beer was supposed to entice the slugs to gravitate to the yeasty liquid where they would enter the two holes on each side, then feast, get drunk and hopefully drown. Oh what fun, on a hot and humid August morning to rinse out containers of stale beer filled with floating slug bodies.
Despite these disease and buggy issues, I enhanced my backyard paradise by turning it into a haven for butterflies. I researched and bought books on what flowers to plant, and added three Butterfly Bushes and some more pink Coneflowers to attract butterflies. I set out puddling dishes where they could sip water from cool sand, sunning rocks to stretch out and bask in the sun and even wooden houses with thin slits where they could slide in to avoid predators, or seek refuge on a windy day. I devoured every article I could to make my backyard a safe haven for birds, bees and butterflies and even got the yard certified by the National Wildlife Association as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
I’d probably still be fine-tuning my green thumb out in the backyard paradise, if not for the one-two punch of the back-to-back Polar Vortex events in 2014 and 2015. Southeast Michigan was part of the “2014 North American Cold Wave” which lasted from early January through March. We endured wind chills that dipped to -45F (-43C) and while our furnaces huffed and puffed and we hunkered down in the house, little did I know that my garden likewise took it on the chin. Despite the fact I was mindful of the proper planting/temperature zones for every single plant, Michigan had never seen the likes of the brutally cold, record-setting temps we had that year.
When Spring began to unfold, I walked around the backyard, taking stock of the roses and perennials that lined the perimeter of the yard. I was horrified and heartbroken to see many of them dead as a doornail. The vibrant red “Home Run Shrub Roses” and delicate shell-pink “Bonica Shrub Roses”, once so hardy, ever-blooming and low maintenance, were now brown and lifeless. One small pink shrub rose bush had survived, a dollar special at the end of the growing year circa 1985, with a moniker of “Dream Cloud” which was protected by lilac bushes. Unlike past Springs where I welcomed budding and blossoming plants and would whip the yard into shape, instead I spent my weekends yanking out dead bushes and pruning the roses to the ground willing them to live. I decided if they lived, so be it and I refused to buy new plants and bushes to restore the yard to its former glory and have maintained that mindset.
The following Winter we had a second Polar Vortex event which wiped out all but one of my prized clematises. I decided I’d had it. Disheartened, I left the garden alone, grudgingly going there just to weed, then got out of Dodge. I decided I needed more “me time” for walking and blogging, so I vowed my gardening days were done – I had no time for all the nonsense and expense. The rats returned – I saw their star-shaped footprints and tail tunnel tracks in the snow. I did not hire the pest service but removed all traces of bird amenities for good.
The advent of Homer the Hummingbird and trying to entice hummers to the yard, plus admitting to being a wee bit envious of all the nice landscaping and flowers as I walked through the neighborhoods in May while Council Point Park was closed, was the kick in the pants I needed to take pride in the garden again. I spent all last weekend outside, and in the end, I felt like a Mack truck rolled over me, but it passed muster, though the backyard will never be restored to its former glory as I let it languish too long.
Though I have a love/hate relationship with flowers now, it does not mean I cannot enjoy the beauty of colorful flowers – here are a few I saw along the way while walking in the ‘hood. It gives new meaning to the song “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” doesn’t it?
Enjoy this eye candy! I’ll leave you with this quote:
Photography is the art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. ~Elliott Erwitt
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow what as journey your and your garden have been on… the different stages, aims, aspirations. The rat thing was rather disturbing ill be honest!
I remember those polar vortex…!! How time flies
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I have been filled with disgust as to the garden Michael for many years now – it was as if I tolerated it being there. Two stray cats and a raccoon as well – I probably should have mentioned that too. This is not a rural area. Sigh. I had some work done at the house in 2017 – whole house insulation in early June and then multiple plumbing emergencies, so I spent the better part of the Summer repairing messes – insulation everywhere, then they broke up the basement cement twice. Floor tiles were gone, I painted, then repainted, torn up again. In 2018 I was fed up – decided I would just do what I wanted. June 2019 I smashed my finger and it was in bad shape, so garden (both yards) languished in inattention. When the hummingbird visited a weed with pink flowers, it spurred me to get off my rear end and try to restore the yard … tomorrow I will go back into the backyard – a big challenge. I’m not willing to invest as much time as before due to walking and blogging, but at least I won’t have to shut my eyes again when going back there.
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I have simplified my gardening but I can’t give it up. I enjoy sitting out too much. I have a long list of plants that didn’t work here and I won’t plant again but some plants thrive especially around the pond. We have lots of mice and chipmunks but no rats. My nemesis is a groundhog who also enjoys my flowers but as lunch. I don’t have the heart to kill it or harm it but work to live in harmony. We have a huge deer problem until we fenced in a part of the back yard. Unfortunately that only keeps out deer, not any other critter.
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I have to say that as I walked through the neighborhoods and with the addition of the hummingbird feeders, I had to do something. It was way overdue and a friend of Carol’s saw my remark to Carol in a FB post about working out in the yard last weekend and asked if I’d like some Oxalis as it is easy to grow (but she lives in North Carolina not Michigan ). I Googled it – it is Shamrocks. She has mailed me two plants (one with light-colored leaves, the other dark-colored leaves). I’ll get them Tuesday … she said to take them in over the Winter. So let’s see if I can keep from killing them.
I didn’t mention in my saga that my next-door neighbor used to overwinter my three hibiscus and a mandevilla tree in her kitchen every year. She had a doorwall and lots of sun and she liked the color and loved plants, Then she got a dog and said “sorry, I have to let Cody out the doorwall to pee, so could you take your flowers?” They did not last a month in the basement – the heat, no sunlight, just fluorescent light. I am going to work in the backyard tomorrow – that is scary looking back there. Since my neighbor put up a white privacy fence, the roses, which came back, but nothing like before after I cut them to a few inches high and put Rosetone and Miracle Gro on them, do not thrive as it is shady back there and the fence blocks good sunlight. I counted about 8 roses on four rosebushes and they are about 3 1/2 feet high – tempted to cut down everything but it will be a big job as they’ve been there for many years now.
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That was quite a saga. I’m glad you are interested in the yard again, but don’t get sucked in too deep.
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Yes, you are right Anne. I spent another few hours today prettying up the front and side as I wanted to take before-and-after pictures. I am going to work in the backyard tomorrow … there are several protest marches around the neighboring cities and I’d rather not get into a traffic jam, so will stay close to home tomorrow. The backyard looks bad – a really big job. What didn’t die is overgrown. I’ve dwelled on what to do with the backyard for a few years now. If I do anything, it would be perennials, but after I’m retired – I’m not getting into that work now – it will eat up too much time like it did before. But it has to be plants that are not going to bite the dust … the weather is getting too erratic for my liking … the cold and hot swings and bitter cold, brutally cold temps. if those plants and bushes died and were already established, the new perennials/bushes don’t have much chance.
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Yard work always takes too much time. I try to do one little 20-minute job and nearly always work for an hour. Good luck limiting yourself.
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I agree Anne – I don’t want to get carried away … the backyard is a mess. The front/sides are done except for some weeds. I was almost maniacal about keeping the yards perfect … it is a small house, but still a big job to keep it looking perfect. Perfect is no longer something I strive for, inside or out … I now have to get myself in gear and get the inside up to snuff. It is a good thing I saw the hummingbird – it made me take some pride in the house again. I saw him yesterday a few times. I feel good about that as well. There are not enough hours in a day to get it all done – ten years ago maybe, not now.
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I’m so glad you have a hummingbird.
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Well I had to tell you Anne, even if Homer goes off to sip the real stuff occasionally. I would have been really disappointed if I jumped in with both feet here and he took a hike. 🙂 I worked out back for over six hours after walking. I am done now and don’t want to see yard work for a long time. My roses look putrid … purple nightshade was choking them and I have lots of brown canes. Got poked, prodded and sunburned even though it was shady back there. I was thinking about what you said about gardening. I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind that pulling up everything and putting in grass in a few years’ time, might be nice too. 🙂
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It’s nice to have alternatives, but meanwhile I hope you’ll enjoy the tremendous changes you’ve made. I’m proud of you!!
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Thank you Anne – I did work hard and took some pictures of that yard before and after too. I have a few years to decide what to do. The fire bushes in the corner in the back were planted in 1966 and they are massive … I didn’t try trimming them, even with the polecutter as they are much too high now. I miss having that shed there as it helped keep the yard cozy as it was all enclosed- that might be an option as a privacy fence is not an option behind the fire bushes. There’s the option of not doing everything in one day either … you have the best idea. Rome was not built in a day after all!
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Beautifully written Linda! You are without a doubt a enthusiast of life. This article was so peaceful and meaningful to my soul. Glad you are doing well my friend. Think of you often. Jennifer
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Thank you Jennifer – a garden like that was beautiful indeed, but I remember the hard work … I told myself maybe when I am retired, I’ll try again as there will be more time to devote to it. Now I would look at it, that it was taking away from the walking regimen. I’ve thought of you often during this pandemic … thinking of your son and how his first year of school was … time flies by so fast, is he in the first year of college, as he was interviewing during senior year, or junior year. Since he was an athlete, thinking senior year. Adjustments for everyone but maybe more difficult for you and your daughter as well. I hope you have some peace and better health days than when we first “met” – that Summer was brutal indeed, but you never lost your spirit and I admired that. Take care Jennifer.
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Your backyard flowers are gorgeous, Linda. Love those poppies! I used to be quite the gardener too, then, like you, I decided there were other things I would rather be doing and sort of lost interest in gardening. I know just how you feel – like you got run over by a truck – from working in the garden all day. Mulching is work!
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I will tell you Laurie that when I put the garden to bed, and tucked all the yard decor away until Memorial Day weekend, I would breathe a big sign of relief. I’d do that in late October and after the final grass mowing, I would hope no snow arrived for a while so I could just take a breather. I am going out to tackle the backyard tomorrow – it is cool out and I really hate being out in the sweltering heat and dealing with clipping and weeds. There are protests all over the immediate area, so best to not go to any big parks, will go to Council Point Park, then come home and get to work . I have some weeds in the backyard that look like you might have seen on a tropical plant in your travels to Costa Rica!
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I don’t think I will ever have the “perfect” weed free, every piece of mulch in place, garden. To me gardening is much like life and we will always have those pesky “weeds” to deal with in life.
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That was the younger me! Ruth – my mom would say “why do you want to spend so much time out there – neither you nor I sit out there so make it easy on yourself.” Years later, I took her advice. I used to pick up every one of those maple seeds that were everywhere …no more, “Too late smart” as the expression goes.
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I admire your weeding determination Linda! Mine is overgrown but it’s a big yard and mostly seen from a distance…so I don’t really care about the weeds. I also admire that you had your yard certified – I didn’t know there was such a thing. Is it an annual thing that has to be renewed every year? I think I might skip the flowers this year as I haven’t bought a single annual other than $8 worth of veggies. The two pop-up nurseries I visited beside the grocery stores, had such a poor selection I didn’t want to waste the money.
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Joni – At one time I was “all about” the yard … my mom would nag me not to spend so much time on it as we didn’t sit outside anymore. You had to worry about mosquitoes, even West Nile Virus, and my mom’s cellulitis could flare up with an insect bite, so in later years, she never sat outside anymore. It may look nice now, but it looked pretty bad before as I let it go – I did nothing last year due to my smashed finger. I’ll tackle the backyard tomorrow as it is cool tomorrow, before it shoots up to 90+ again Tuesday. When I certified my yard with National Wildlife I paid one time, and it was $25.00 and I got a plastic sign to hang on the fence, which I did and the insulation guys lost or broke several things in the garage in 2017 and I don’t know where the sign is now – but I have a photo of it which I should have put in this post. You have to be able to meet several criteria which cater to wildlife – you can read about the criteria here and right now it is 20% off the regular price:
https://www.nwf.org/CertifiedWildlifeHabitat
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Miss Linda……………………………………that is why you are a good photographer…………………………….because you are a wonderful observer on everything that nature has to offer us in South Eastern Michigan!…………………and your backyard actually was a certified Wildlife Habitat………………….Congratulations!……………….and your story on all of your hard work………………………..and your pictures of the bright colorful flowers are gorgeous !………thank you for sharing this with me
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Thank you Ann Marie – I am glad you liked the post and the pictures. I am going to look for that sign. I think when the whole-house insulation job was done, some of the stuff I had hanging on the pegboard was moved, thrown away and/or broken by the workers. I had some ornamental birdhouses and I have to make a new roof peak for one as it is missing. I found broken slate signs in the garage as well. I don’t have birdbaths out there so I can’t hang the sign out and don’t feed the birds anymore, just the hummer . Thanks for this beautiful quote – I told you I had a perfect place to use it. 🙂
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So many beautiful colors, I have not seen any daffodils this year yet. So pretty. It is always in the eye of the beholder when it comes to photography. But it is so fun to see what others see through the lens of their cameras. 🙂
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Yes, very pretty Sandra – I love the poppies best I think. I never made it to WordPress until now and am going to just go to bed and catch up tomorrow. Mercifully, I am done outside – I don’t want to see any yardwork for a while. My friend Ann Marie sent me that quote a few weeks ago. I told her I had the perfect post for it since I knew I had been collecting pictures of flowers. I thought you, the photographer might enjoy it or like to use it sometime.
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Stunning
I’m glad you’re back with your love…
💕🕯✨
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I was out there a good part of today too, this time in the backyard. It was beautiful weather last weekend and this – not oppressive and hot … it will be very hot starting Tuesday. The weather is erratic these day Ellie and worrisome as well. It is too hot for this third or fourth hot spell of the season – not even Summer yet. Next weekend I’m going to concentrate on me (or housework if it rains). 🙂
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Sending hugs. Focus on you if possible…
Love, light and glitter
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Oh I am going to do that Ellie after working so hard outside the last two weekends – hopefully the nice weather will continue and I can get some long walks in as well. We’ve had gorgeous weather for three days now and tomorrow the heat and humidity return – ugh.
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I hope that passes soon. And that soon you can travel….
Looking forward to hearing about it…
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I hope one day – the whole world, future plans all have seemed to just pause – it’s a little scary isn’t it Ellie?
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Yup, but I’m not really scared….
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A beautiful collection of flowers! The Tiger Swallowtail is one of my favorites. I love to watch them float from flower to flower.
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Thanks Rebecca – I love them too, so delicate and it was on someone’s porch pot flowers, so I seized that opportunity to take its photo. I worked in the garden all weekend, and my neighbor’s pink peonies are out so I saw so many Black Swallowtails fluttering around as the weather was so sunny and bright. I’m glad to see more butterflies and I think I cornered the market for bees too.
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Sounds lovely! The day lilies are in full bloom here. So sad, that like the iris, their season is gone before you know it.
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That peony bush is beautiful and has been there since the mid-80s at least. There is another peony bush in the backyard that is white, but not as stunning as this one. Our day lilies will not be out til July – you are way ahead of us. My neighbor who planted the peonies gave me August Lilies from his yard – it thrived and bloomed until the Polar Vortex got it. Always very easy to maintain. Yes, it is always a shame with the irises – and sometimes a torrential rain will bend the irises over if they are top heavy with blooms.
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I admire those who love gardening, it is not something that I have enjoyed. At 50 yards my place looks pretty good, which works for me.
Rats. Ugh. We have about everything else (raccoons, possums, mice, deer, foxes and even coyotes) but no rats – so far as I have seen.
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It was such a passion of mine at one time JP, but so many factors caused me to become disenchanted with it. I forgot to mention in my post that a 39 mph wind in the Fall of 2015 blew over a large garden shed that I had painted to match the house. It fell apart in the yard and now I have a big bare space there. I never used it for storage, as I keep things in the garage. I spent all last weekend out front/side and this past weekend I worked in the backyard – a horrible task since I smashed my finger in the garage door in June 2019 and did not tackle the backyard at all last year. I have decided it is a job for younger legs. 🙂
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Beautiful flowers! I remember the Polar Vortex… my girlfriend (who lived in Pennsylvania at the time but stayed in California during much of the winter) and I decided to drive across the country together. She was headed back home; I went with her for the adventure and to provide company. Anyway, we were headed right straight into the cold (I think we left San Diego on March 1) and I watched in amazement as the temperature gauge kept creeping down. It turned out to be a wonderful road trip, but I discovered that I had very little tolerance for temperatures below the mid-fifties 🙂
Btw, ever since I shipped our resident squirrel to you, we haven’t had any issues with anything eating our blueberries.
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It was an explosion of color Janis, likely since we had several warm spells and a lot of rain. A little unusual for Spring, but beautiful to see. Yes, that Polar Vortex was a one-two punch, two years in a row. We were lucky and had a very mild Winter this year … that fact will cause an explosion of bugs, especially mosquitoes and ticks. It seems we cannot win for losing sometimes. I was happy to receive that squirrel and duly scolded him for chomping on your blueberries. 🙂
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your garden is beautiful Linda! Now all you need to do is construct a 100 unit squirrel condo! They could buy with peanuts!
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I wish I could take credit for it Wayne, but it is around the neighborhood. My garden is finally done after 3 1/2 days of backbreaking work and I took pictures of it which I’m going to try making a slideshow (expand my horizons a little). The peanut pals could help me out – that’d be great. Parker was real helpful today. I was following a baby bunny who was on the perimeter path and trying to get a picture. It looked at me – ready to take its picture and Parker shows up on my shoe – I looked down, he looked up. I whispered “in a minute, okay?” No, that was not acceptable. Must. Have. Peanuts. Now. So he started to climb on my sock and so had to stop and give him peanuts as I didn’t want him to claw my bare leg accidentally. Got a few photos, but through the bushes.
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If you had a wooden leg he’d chew out a home so he could get peanuts 24/7!
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Yes, he’s all about Parker sometimes isn’t he? It was kind of funny, but I was talking nice and soft to him so he would just there quietly. I guess I forget he is not a dog that you can say “sit” and he would obey. (Not that any of our dogs ever obeyed anything. It had to be our family, not the dog’s fault – three dogs and none trainable. My aunt had two Heintz 57 puppies that she had trained within a few weeks or so of their arrival.
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well,he only knows himself,so that’s understandable!
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Wow Linda absolutely gorgeous flowers!!!! It is so hard fighting nature.
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Yes, they are gorgeous aren’t they Diane? The poppy was my favorite – so vibrant. It is quite early for such vibrant flowers – this is more typical around the first day of Summer. Mother Nature has got her seasons mixed up (but it’s for the better)! 🙂
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Gorgeous spring!
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Yes, it has been a very colorful time Pam due to all the heat and humidity. We had three different times of high heat and humidity and some torrential rains … all great ingredients for gorgeous flowers.
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Glad you can get out, Linda!🥰🙌
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I am grateful for it Pam – it keeps me sane in an insane world … we had bad storms go through Michigan yesterday. I held my breath all day because the entire SE Michigan area was under a severe storm advisory, with winds up to 70 mph, hail and tornadic activity. I was unscathed but there was storm damage and loss of power throughout the region. Add that misery to the rest of our current miseries – at least it is cooler for those folks, but it does not replace the food loss and/or damage from trees down (usually in all the wrong places) … someone’s house was ripped from the foundation and they suspect a minor tornado touchdown and will confirm that later today. I wait for warm weather, just as you do, but it comes with asterisks sometimes.
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Mini tornado, wow!! We had storms last weekend, but Philly got it worse than us and many were without power for a week!
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The weather is so erratic anymore Pam – well over 90 degrees yesterday and mid-60s Saturday. I prefer the cooler weather over what we had yesterday and over Memorial Day. A week is a long time with no power. We had that happen once when we had the Derecho pass through in July 1980, wreaking havoc and they no doubt will do an anniversary story on it this year since it is the 40th anniversary. I think we were at least a week with no power, then half-power a few days.
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You have a mind like a steel trap, Linda. 😘
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Well, thank you Pam. 🙂
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🥰😘
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I really admire people who have the time and patience to nurture a garden into full bloom. My limits lie to a few potted flowers around the place that my mother planted last year and some veg growing in the garden but to be honest, my friend helps to maintain it as I can’t see well enough and would pull plants instead of weeds 😁.
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I now have just silk flowers and I buy them once and they last at least 5-6 years, then they start to fade. I had to replenish some of them this year, but I use some of my old containers and use pipe cleaners and mesh bags like you get when you buy oranges or grapefruits and load them with river rock or large rocks to weight them down. That way your flowers don’t fly away. This year, the pots were not in good shape anymore as they were very old, so I got some hanging baskets. No muss, no fuss, no deadheading or weeding. Since I began the walking regimen, I try to keep my outside routine simple now. When I worked in the backyard last weekend, I had a few weeds that were up to my waist – some type of weed that is milky inside. (I was ashamed.) 🙂
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Sounds like you have worked hard to keeping your space looking beautiful fair play to you ❤
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Thanks Zena – when I got the idea for the silk flowers, I was happy I could go out on a walk and not spend time tending flowers in the garden, so free to walk. I did have a nice butterfly garden but we had two Polar Vortex events in back-to-back years and it wiped out most of the flowers and a lot of the bushes, so this is my solution to no worries about Winter weather ruining things. The weather has been too wacky in recent years. I do like a colorful garden though and maybe again when I retire.
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Just one beautiful colorful photo after another. Thank you for posting these wonderful photos.
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Thank you Geri. Now it is the peak of Summer, the flowers are so beautiful aren’t they? I am sorry that your comment went to SPAM? I wonder why?
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