Sneak Peaks into Hirschhorn Sculpture Garden

They've chained off the pathways into the Hirschhorn Sculpture garden during the pandemic, but that doesn't stop me creeping up close and poking my camera over the fence or over the spaces between the hedges to see some of the sculptures there. I guess the Burghers of Calais by Rodin is the most famous or most recognizable one, the others being more abstract and the labels not particularly accessible.  I'll have to come back for another wander around once the Washington DC Stay-At-Home order is lifted or they start to release the locked gates and chains so we can get in and see it all again. Supposedly, May 15 is when the order will be lifted, but you know, there are many street vendors coming back on the corners and even on the national mall we've seen ice cream trucks and hot dog sellers.

Amazing Artifacts in Old House

Jewel encrusted gold chalice

Icon with Apostles

French desk with hideaways

Sevres soup tureen

Despite living in Washington DC for decades, it was only recently that we visited the Hillwood Museum and Estates. It's an old house that I'd heard about that was owned by very rich woman, Marjorie Meriweather Post. Apparently, she inherited a lot of money from her dad who'd founded Post food products (including Postum, the coffee substitute that was the source of their original wealth).  She collected all kinds of stuff including some very interesting things she bought during the 1930s from the then Soviet Russian "Republic."  The Communists were selling and melting down chalices and icons from the churches and otherwise obliterating any vestiges of the aristocracy, such as china, furniture and jewelry from rich families, much of which incorporated the history and culture of Russia.  So she bought things up and brought them back and displayed them in her house. She also liked French aristocratic items, including jewels and ornate furniture which can be seen in this house all placed where she actually lived with it.  You get to walk through the dining room and her bedroom and see a lot of her collections.  Also, there's some interesting photographs and pictures and lovely garden.  This place is worth seeing, just for seeing a way of life and the icon and china collections. Quite interesting!

View from the Japanese Garden of the house with the collections

And The May Garden Is So Different

Candy Geraniums

Yellow Irises

It's almost a month later from my last blog about all the flowers in my garden and now everything has changed. Gone are the tulips and daffodils and it's all irises and budding roses and geraniums and peonies.
It's a lot of pink and yellow and even blue and very exciting to see everything coming out blooming again.

King Peonies

Pixie Queen Irises

Miniature Blue Iris

I've been growing these flowers for years now and it's always a lovely surprise when the leaves shoot up and the buds form and then -- usually after a few days of sun and heat -- the flowers start to unfurl.  Each year the flowers are different, either a bulb has doubled and there are more flowers or somehow the plant is making bigger flowers, or in the case of the Queen Elizabeth rose bush, smaller flowers seem to be appearing, but a lot more than usual.  I've spied about 20 buds there! And for some other reason the miniature blue irises doubled and are a huge mass this year.  Just so delightful!

Queen Elizabeth Roses Budding

Spring Inklings

Daffodils peeping out from snow

Tulip Tops Appearing

Sweet Yellow Crocuses!

Despite the recent snow falls I've espied hints of spring flowers in my garden.  The daffodils are forging ahead and put their yellow pointy heads out even through a crispy snow cap.  Then, in a pot by the kitchen door I spotted some tulip tips coming out. And lo and behold, I then saw some lovely yellow crocuses blazing away despite the low temperatures.  So all in all, I'm quite happy that signs of spring are showing up! So glorious to imagine when they are in full flower in just a few short weeks! And a short walk outside this morning confirmed there are a lot of tips and tops of bulbs and plants peeking out, reaching for the sun and inching their way through the last of March!.

Hidden Garden With Bright Colors and Unusual Plants

We recently visited the United States Botanical Garden in Washington, D.C., up near the U.S. Congress buildings.  We were thrilled and amazed at the plants and flowers and trees growing there. As it was a very cold wintry rainy sort of day, it was very pleasant to go into a warm and humid environment and see brightly colored flowers and tropical plants. It's set up with many different rooms all of which are glassed in, although there is an outside area -- the Children's Garden -- that is only open in warm weather. There was a room full of orchids that were spectacular hues, some with tiger skin design or flaming pink or orange or colors you didn't think existed naturally. Another very interesting room was filled with desert plants, such as various cactii and grasses that grow in very dry areas.  They had specimens from many areas of the world and with just enough text to explain what it was, although I think they could have provided just a little bit more information. One room was filled with medicinal plants and having more text it was cool to find out how many commonly-used
pharmaceuticals are derived from plants.  Another huge area, two-storeys high, was filled with jungle trees and vines and bromeliads, some flowering, some just hanging. Inside the Children's Garden you could see a large plant that looked like it was made of glass. In fact one visitor looking at it said "That's not a real plant!"  But it turned out there were several of these milky white glassy plants growing there and they are real. Another treat were the topiary trees shaped as animals such as bears, and some potted mosses and ferns arranged to look like frogs or other creatures. Since it was the holiday season there was also an extraordinary display of poinsettas, some pink, some cream and the more familiar red ones. Another (small!) glass room displayed some endangered species plants, including some interesting ferns and flowers.

View to US Congress from front of Botanical Garden

This is a  truly a wondrous place to visit (for free) in the city and learn more about the environment. 

Tomatoes From the Garden

ripening

window ledge ripening

hairy stalks!

It's nice to grow tomatoes in your own garden as they taste so different -- much more sharp and tangy -- and of course watching them flower and bud is very interesting. For instance, I had no idea how hairy the tomato stalks are and I assume that's to stop bugs crawling up to get at the flowers or fruit.  Also, the yellow flowers turn out to be very pretty and you can see how the centers become the fruit and how they get that little star shape at the top.  I generally pick mine once they start turning white to yellowish and then finish the ripening process on my kitchen window ledge so as to avoid feeding critters or birds that might spy them glowing in the garden. This year I've had over 30 tomatoes already so we've had super salads, crock pot stewed tomatoes and tomato snacks for a while. They make a great extra snack to pack into lunches to go to work with (with a little salt added!). And once when I had 5 tomatoes all ripe at the same time, I put them on home-made pizza. Such bounty from the Creator!

Flowers of June in my #Bloomingdaledc front yard

hydrangea

Asiatic lilies

day lilies

The June garden is jammed with flowers of the brightest colors and I'm quite dreading the heat of July that will kill these blooms. But for a month at least I have this wonderful bluish purple hydrangea bush that seems to have at least two dozen heads.  I suspect the coffee grounds I pour on this bush are helping to make the soil more acidic which makes the flowers bluer but I'm really not sure about that.  Then there's the lovely popping red of the Asiatic lilies which come up from bulbs and seem to double every year. They are being eclipsed by the bright orange day lilies who are invading the yard without mercy.  I was weeding around them all this morning and pulled what felt like a million columbine vines which were curling their way up these flowers and getting a good stranglehold on some of the buds. So I yanked those climbers out and found that very soon I'd filled a trash bag with weeds and leaves and other yard debris. I also found that the pollen from the day lilies had dyed my wrists orange!  Hubster says I should wear gloves in the garden when I do this, but invariably I'm weeding on a whim and don't have the garden gloves at hand. Also, I have a faint hope that the plant juices that get on my skin are actually good for me!

Some of the herbs in my #bloomingdaledc garden

Basil

Cilantro

Rosemary

Spearmint

Sometimes I don't realize how much stuff I have growing in the garden until I pull out my camera and say to myself, let's see what's there. And lo and behold I find I have quite a few herbs -- all of which I use for food flavoring all the time.  There's a basil plant just starting, a really pretty cilantro, a well-established rosemary and some spearmint invading any flower bed it can get into.  I usually dry the basil leaves in the oven (after it's turned off!) or use the leaves in a salad.  Cilantro is great in guacamole and in just about any soup or rice dish. Whenever I make roast potatoes I usually crush a bunch of rosemary in olive oil in the blender and pour that on the taters, with a bit of salt (very yummy!).  And the spearmint tea is good for tea in the summer (pour boiled water on a few sprigs and then cool it).  I lost my lavender plant in a recent rainstorm as it got soaked and the roots rotted as I forgot to check the pot and clear out the water in time. I grow these herbs as they are so EASY to grow and the soil around here seems to helpful to the plants.  The big danger is if they are in pots and I forgot about them and they either die from lack of water or too much water. It's just so wonderful to run out into the garden and get something to flavor your food and which is likely very beneficial to your health.

You Know Summer's Nearly Here When You Can Make Sun Tea Fast

Although it rained today, last week I was able to make sun tea on the back porch just by leaving a tea ball filled with tea leaves in the water in a glass jar for about an hour or so. I really don't know if this way of making tea is "better" than the usual boil-the-water and soak-the-tea for three minutes method but it certainly is a great way to watch the sun and the garden grow while you're sitting on the deck enjoying the spring.  If you look closely at my photo here you will see that the tea ball is stainless steel and in the shape of a little teapot!  The tea tasted good too!

Bragging About the Rhubarb

It's not often I brag about my plants but the rhubarb is one I am proud of growing. I had ordered a small rhubarb root a couple of years ago and just threw it in the ground in the middle of the yard not really sure of what I was doing but having some vague idea that it would grow okay without too much attention. My favorite plants are those that don't require too much attention all the time as who needs gardening to be a chore? The only exception is roses for which I am compelled to prune and fertilize and deadhead and feed and water and adjust the soil near them or whatever as they are just plain needy plants --  and I do love their flowers. But back to the rhubarb, each summer it grows bigger and bigger with lovely thick stems that I can pick and cook and put into desserts. I've made sure it got some water if there was a heat spell and if I'm adding plant food to anything else (like those greedy roses) I'd throw some near the rhubarb too.  This summer I've made Rhubarb Betty, Rhubarb Crumble and also put diced rhubarb in a meat dish and rhubarb puree in muffins.  My favorite way to cook them is to slice them up and let them cook slowly in a crock pot with some lemon juice, butter and water and hey presto, an hour or so later, there's dessert!   I recently discovered that the leaves are noxious with oxalic acid so you can't eat that part of the plant. There's nothing like growing your own food in the back yard!

Summer Garden, BloomingdaleDC

June was a terrific month for flowers in my city garden this year. It seemed like everything bloomed profusely all at once. Not just the day lilies and the Asiatic lilies, but the pink and the white roses, as well as the biggest hydrangea heads in several years, not to mention the petite little orange nasturtiums that I am very happy about as this is the first year I really got them to flower after growing them from seeds. And now we are in July, many of them are deadheads or getting very wilted as the heat is so much for them.  But the flowers have been wonderful so far even though we are now only enjoying crepe myrtles and tube vine and some honeysuckle which I will photograph soon and add to this page.  I just love having tons of flowers in the garden. 

Wild Yard at Shaw Public Library

At first I didn't like the "weeds" growing outside the Watha T. Daniel DC public library branch building in Shaw at the intersection of Rhode Island and R Streets NW, but, upon a moment's reflection, I decided I liked this seemingly unkempt yard space alongside the sleek modernity of the new glass building. Not only do these grasses and plants smell nice in the summery heat but they also make for pleasant mirror reflections. There's something very country-side about these three foot high grasses and that made me think of fields and river banks.  I had no idea if this planting was intentional or not but the idea of letting  plants grow a bit wild in a confined space, just to see what happens and how it looks, appeals to me. I just hope that rats and other nasty critters don't make this their home too! A garden is a garden, isn't it, even if it's not really planned and doesn't look like what you'd expect. And surely there's intention in that.  I've researched a bit further now (July) and discovered that these plantings are intentional. That is, the aim was to plant things that need minimal water, help purify the air (don't all plants do that?), help reduce soil erosion (don't all plants do that?) and limit the need for pesticides. This is according to a nice little plaque tucked away near the library front door which gives the reasons for the design.  The plaque also lists the plants growing there and which have lovely names:  Prairie Dropseed, Weeping Brown Sedge, Northern Sedge Oats, Kiwi Weeping Sedge, Giant Fescue, The Blues Little Bluestem, Liriope Big Blue, Lily Turf, Snowy Wood Rush, and Greater Wood Rush.  Who knew?

Free Art All Over Bloomingdale

sculpture garden on 1st NW

Mural on W St NW

You really can't wander around in our section of the city very long without seeing some of the free art just lying in wait for your enjoyment. I've captured some of it here -- there's the iron lady sculpture on First Street, and there's now often a seasonal outdoor installation at the intersection of T and RI Ave, and for those who like to take walks up the alleys there's a huge colorful mural on the side of a house on W street. There's others if you go look but these were just a few I saw on a recent walkabout.

Easter Art on RI Ave NW

Unexpected Snowfall in October in DC

snow on marigolds

snow the rose bush

soft snow flaking down

Recently we had an unexpected snowfall and I just had to run outside and snap some photos as it came flaking down on the back porch furniture and in the front garden. Snow on the roses! Snow on the marigolds! An amazing sight! Since then the weather has been a lot warmer but I think we are returning to the colder temperatures soon. So it is just as well that I brought indoors the plants that won't survive the cold.  I've crammed the geraniums, jade and ivies into the kitchens in my house, hoping they can survive on sunny window ledges.  I've also started a red amaryllis that is supposed to flower at Christmas time. It was a giant bulb and it's now -- two weeks later -- got some bright green shoots. 

Summer Garden with Flowers

Nasturtiums

Yucca

 I really do like to have something flowering all the time in both the front and back gardens and this June I've had bright orange and yellow nasturiums for the first time, the big white bells of the Yucca cactus, some glorious orange and some red tiger lilies and a lot of pale yellow to orange day lilies. I like all my flowers and each year the yards are slightly different as it seems the sun and how much I water them really affects whether I will have a lot of blooms. Also, I use some plant food and some kitchen things to feed them. But right now, there's lots of flowers and I'm very happy. My neighbor thinks I'm an expert gardener; I'm not. I actually quite lazy and only grow what grows easily. I just can't be bothered to fuss too much, after all weeding is backbreaking and I only want to be doing it once a month.  And I only get around to cutting the grass once a month too.

Golden Asiatic lilies

June back garden with day lilies