Tickseed (or tickweed?) or coreopsis. Scientific name may be Coreopsis lanceolata (Asteraceae). I don't yet "get" the classification system.

Behind the flower is eucalyptus.

Lettuce loves this weather. So do I. You can keep the rains coming as far as I'm concerned.

Dianthus, another reliable perennial. I guess I planted a pink plant in the same hole with a red plant. Wish I hadn't. Afraid to separate them.

"May Night" salvia. Or meadow sage salvia.

About.com says this:
Even experts in plant taxonomy have a difficult time with "May Night" salvia plants. You'll encounter all of the following scientific names:

* Salvia x superba 'May Night'
* Salvia x superba 'Mainacht' (its name in Germany, where the plant began)
* Salvia x sylvestris 'May Night'
* Salvia nemorosa 'May Night'

As if all that weren't confusing enough, nemorosa is frequently misspelled as nemerosa. Nemorosa is a Latin adjective deriving from nemus, meaning "forest."

Penstemon "Husker Red"--tall plant with white flowers center front.

Other gardeners often ask me what this is and I can never remember. Its a reliable perennial that stays pretty and interesting until very late in the fall. It's also mostly deer-proof. This year the deer did sample a few early stalks but obviously didn't like the taste. This explains why there are so few blooms. Speaking of Them. The deer. The diners at my suburban salad bowl. They continue to lay low. I've seen the twins sleeping behind the house once or twice in the last week but mama is not around. But I know what's going on....she's got an infant or two to take care of. Last year I saw the first fawn on June 14 or 15.

Farewell bok choy. It's been good to know you.

Pretty flowers, interesting seed pods, but obviously not right for my climate. I doubt that I'll grow bok choy again, at least not for food. I wonder how long the plants stay in bloom? I want to hank them from the garden and plant something else but it seems all wrong. They're pretty and seem happy. (Sedum in background.)

Peony. I only had two blooms this year but two is better than none.

Giant Lamb's Ear.

Here's something that's bothering me. I've been all up in arms for years about high-fructose corn syrup, very self-assured about my position that it is evil. Then I read this in the Wash Post recently. It's from Slate.com and it's shaken my faith in ever really having any true knowledge of anything. I know what I grow in my yard. I know what my worms do. That's all I know for sure.

Om.
6/7/09 PS: This is not a giant lamb's ear. It's mullein. Thanks to this blogger and her mother for the information.

Heading for Rolling Thunder Saturday night.

Just after I took this picture, on Rt. 29 near Mrs. K's Toll House, Mr. Harley-Davidson turned and gave a big thumbs up and a huge Memorial Day smile, which we returned. He's way too young for any war but maybe the Persian Gulf war--remember that?? ...seems so puny in retrospect--and the never-ending War in Iraq.

My father and father-in-law, all my uncles, and both my grandfathers were veterans. I'm proud of them but also kind of sad. That's a lot of war hours. Do you think we'll always have war veterans? Hope not.

Pink evening primrose. Also called Mexican evening primrose, I think.

Ferns.

Not my yard. Peonies I think. So beautiful.

Doesn't this look like a brain?

It's ground turkey that I divided into two halves (hemispheres) by twisting the plastic bag to create two 1/2 lbs. And then I saw the brain.

An overflow U of MD 2009 graduating class.

Greg is sitting at about 5:30.

Comcast Center before the graduating class arrives.

"Before you graduate please fill out just one more form."

Nicotiana.

Clematis. I'm surprised the deer haven't eaten it.

Speaking of deer, I haven't seen one in days. The ladies are off having those cute little fawns. Last year on June 15th or so one mom and her twins spent a lot of time just outside my backyard.

Complaints about this beautiful plant.

A rant over on Garden Rant made me post this picture of my rhododendrons. My beautiful rhododendrons.

"layers of fat on sugar on salt on fat" -- restaurants turned drug dealers

David Kesseler, former head of FDA, has published a book called "Frankenfood" (probably very much like "Fast Food Nation") which I'll be reading soon. Here's how one reviewer summarized Kesseler's main message:
About foods such as TGIFridays Parmesan-Crusted Sicilian Quesadilla, pictured above: such foods are " 'hyperpalatable' concoctions [that]...artfully layer fat on sugar on salt on fat to trigger a release of the brain chemical dopamine, leading to a kind of 'conditioned hypereating.' "

Heron standing guard over beaver lodge.

Weigela and creeping jenny.

Overheard in Home Depot while buying my new manure fork.

She: This shovel seems OK. What else do we need?
He: I don't know. What does Eddie use?
She [gesturing to me while I'm studying the manure fork]: Do we need one of those for mulch?
He: Nah, I've heard that you should never use mulch. Instead you should use compost.
She: Well Eddie uses mulch.
He: Aw, Eddie doesn't know everything.

I wanted to grab him with both hands by the shirt, pull him up sharply, and say "you need both you idiot! And compost isn't the same thing as mulch." But I didn't. I'm drifting effortlessly into crazy old lady status.

The pitchfork died. It was very old. I was very sad. I reluctantly admit that the manure fork is MUCH more handy for compost than the beloved old pitchfork.

I is for icebucket.

I've always loved this penguin icebucket. It was my mother-in-law's and it's probably 60 years old, if not older.* She gave it to me about 15 years ago because I complimented it so often. I guess she thought I was hinting. I don't know; maybe I was. [It's hard to take a picture of this without getting the photographer in the shot. Those handy handles helped however.]

update: some info on the Penguin ice bucket is here.

*Further update. It's not 60 yrs old. Could be 50 or could be 40 but not 60.

Our friend from Nyack has posted a most interesting entry for the Letter I.

My new, unplanned corner garden. Hellebores on the right.

Clematis.

Day 4 and Day 1 sprouts, rhododrendron, and allium.

Gus loves his bro. All four of his paws are visible.

Notes to myself. I'm on a campaign to get rid of notes like this.

Double cascadia petunias (purple), nicotiana (red), diascia (small coral flowers), hypoestes (pink plants).

Four of seven who paraded by this morning on the deer highway.

Maybe this is a group of boy deer who've been tossed out of the moms' nests. A teenage gang of young boys.

First 2009 snake sighting. If this is a mom I guess that means....

Garter snake, maybe 14-16 inches long.

3-ft. daffodil. It was hidden behind and between two big shrubs.

Just spotted him at the park. Great blue heron possibly.

Perennial daisies?

Nasturiums from seeds. They never fail.

Bachelor buttons or cornflower.

Allium. Pretty flowers, ugly foliage. I wonder if they'll come back next year if I don't dig up the bulbs?

I inherited another worm family.

A friend found that vermicomposting wasn't for her and asked if I'd like to adopt her brood. More than happy to oblige.

Fungus.

Does she look preggers?

She and her year-old twins have been napping behind the house a lot these days. If either of the twins is a boy the mom will now be kicking him out of the "nest" to make room for the new baby/babies coming soon. The girl fawns get to stay with mom and become part of her group. But the boys go off to be...boys alone. At least that's what I read somewhere.

Stray bok choy seedling grows on sidewalk. Who needs soil when it rains like this?

My bok choy bolted. Went to seed. Why? Heat from last weekend? Bummed.

I'll mix it in with salads. It's a touch bitter but not a bad bitter.

From gardeningknowhow.com

...while plants do not “run away” physically, their growth may run away rapidly, and this is basically what this phrase [bolting] means in the gardening world. Plants, mostly vegetable or herbs, are said to bolt when there [sic] growth goes rapidly from being mostly leaf based to being mostly flower and seed based.

Why do plants bolt?

Most plants bolt due to hot weather. When the ground temperature goes above a certain temperature, this flips a switch in the plant to produce flowers and seeds very rapidly and to abandon leaf growth almost completely.

Bolting is a survival mechanism in a plant. If the weather get to be above where the plant will survive, it will try to produce the next generation (seeds) as quickly as possible.

Some plants that are known for bolting are broccoli, cilantro, basil, cabbage and lettuce.

Can you eat a plant after it bolts?

Once a plant has fully bolted, the plant is normally inedible. The plant’s entire energy reserve is focused on producing the seeds, so the rest of the plant tends to become tough and woody as well as tasteless or even bitter.

Occasionally, if you catch a plant in the very early stages of bolting, you can temporarily reverse the process of bolting by snipping off the flowers and flower buds. In some plants, like basil, the plant will resume producing leaves and will stop bolting. In many plants though, such as broccoli and lettuce, this step only allows you some extra time to harvest the crop before it becomes inedible.

Preventing bolting

Bolting can be prevented by either planting the plant early in the spring so that it grows during the late spring or late in the summer so that it grows during early fall. You can also add mulch and ground cover to the ground, as well as watering regularly in order to keep the soil temperature down.