Winter Notes: These Cross-Quarter Days

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February 3: Cross-quarter days  We’ve gotten past about the longest January I think I can remember. The cold, the snow, the dreadful events impossible for any decent person to turn away from. The resultant grief. Offering support to those caught in this vortex of cruelty and violence visited on so many by the government is necessary—and somehow not enough. And yet. Just the other day I noticed that it was still light at 5 pm. Surprise! The dark post-solstice January pause is over; suddenly we’re at the cross-quarter days.  I say days advisedly: we are halfway between the solstice and the spring equinox, but measurement, like everything else I’ve ever heard of, depends on your perspective. Time, day and season depend on where you are, which calendar you use, even which astronomical calculations. St. Brigid's day is February 1,  and Groundhog Day is, of course, February 2, as is Candlemas. These are based on the Gregorian calendar, and are not quite the same as Imbolc,...
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May Has Almost Slipped Away

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And I haven't posted blooms. So here is a list, sans the beautiful pictures on display at other blogs.

Non-native: Peonies (Shirley Temple? very old); Salvia 'May Night'; Siberian Iris 'Caesar's Brother'; Geranium sanguinum 'Striatum'; Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'; Clove-scented pinks; Nepeta; Centaurea montana; Gas plant (Dictamnus); Bleeding Hearts. White clover in lawn.

Native: Prairie phlox; Monarda bradburiana; Viburnum dentatum; Columbine (A. canadense); Honeysuckle vine (L. brownii); Amsonia; Blue-eyed grass; Prairie phlox; Viginia waterleaf; Coral bells; Jack-in-the-pulpit.

Unknown: raspberries.

Today is a beautiful blue-sky day.

Comments

Unknown said…
Monarda bradburiana . . . never heard of this one.  It's beautiful. I'm trying Mondarda punctata from seed this year. Hasn't bloomed yet, but already seems pretty drought tolerant.
May 29, 2010 at 8:47 PM
Adrian Ayres Fisher said…
M. puctata should do well in your zone. M. bradburiana is fairly rare. Someone gave me one plant which did well, and this winter I cold stratified seeds and have a number of starts which I've given to various friends.
May 30, 2010 at 6:17 PM
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