The garden is popping after two days in a row of temperatures that hit 70 degrees. Here are my Six on Saturday.
- My hyacinths are not large as they are older bulbs, but I have purple, white and cherry red.
2. Despite the ground still being too soggy to do much, my garden knows spring has finally arrived. Peonies are poking up.
3. The grape holly (Mahonia) is getting ready to bloom. The shades of purple against the creamy green are gorgeous.
4. Bok Choy that wintered over in one of my raised beds is blooming. I’m going to pick some for a salad for dinner.
5. I bought a tray of sedum varieties at Lowes which I’ll put in the three new hypertufa containers I made last fall.
6. Rain is expected tonight, so I put on my boots and cut back the red twig dogwood this morning. The bed it is planted in is still very wet although the reblooming daylilies are coming up. Most of the cut twigs are in a bucket which I’ll fill with water (and some mosquito dunks so I won’t breed those pests) and set in a corner for several months. Dogwood roots easily.
Finally, a shout out to Fred in France for giving me information about getting a macro lens for my iPhone. Now I know how those food bloggers get such great close-ups of the brownies that force me to root in my cupboard for a cookie. I don’t bake much anymore. The husband is gluten intolerant and I have no will power. Working in the garden is better for my waistline.
And thanks to The Propogator for hosting this meme.
Those are beautiful photos with your new macro lens! I didn’t get on with mine because I had to take my phone case off in order to use it, and even then it was wobbly. Is yours easier?
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I have to take half of my OtterBox case off (the wiggly plastic one that goes on last) to use the macro lens which then seats flat on my iPhone. I do have to wiggle it to get just the right place where the macro is flat over the cameral lens. But it’s worth the effort to get the close-up photos.
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What beautiful colours! I am looking forward to some more vibrant colours than we have just now in my garden.
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Well, I went out to dig something this afternoon and hit wet clay about 8″ down. It will dry out eventually.
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I’ve never heard of mosquito dunks before; must research a bit. Though I use a teaspoon of vegetable oil to stop our little blighters breeding in any standing water. It seems to spread over the surface very quickly and forms a seal that they can’t penetrate.
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The vegetable oil works as well. We have a real problem with mosquitos on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Lymes disease is epidemic here so I try to be careful about standing water.
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Really nice pictures! I’m glad you succeed in the macro photos. # 1 and # 2 are my favorites! I don’t need to remove my iPhone case off because the width of the clip is sufficient. Keep on going !
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All because you had such great photos, Fred, and were willing to share information. Thanks again. I am going to have fun with this lens.
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You’re welcome! It’s very kind to have thought of me and named me in your post
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Great post and lovely photos, especially of the mahonia. Didn’t know it was possible to get a macro lens for an iphone – definitely going to investigate that. Thanks
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This was a macro-lens kit from Xenvo. I bought it on Amazon for $30. The kit also has a wide angle lens and a light. I’m sending the link but I don’t know how Amazon works in the UK.
https://www.amazon.com/Xenvo-iPhone-Camera-Lens-Clip/dp/B01A6D2JVI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
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I love the colour of the hyacinths, and that’s a great close-up photo too! I’ve not yet tried taking macro photos on my phone – maybe I need to see if they do a lens that’d work with my phone!
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I had to take the OtterBox case off my iPhone to get the macro lens to seat properly, but the photos are worth that extra bit of work.
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Your photos are gorgeous! I didn’t know that dogwood rooted so easily! You may have just given me my next project.
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I started out with a purchased red twig dogwood and every year when I cut them back I stick some in a bucket. Most of them root and I put them in the garden and give them away to friends. The price is right! I am a cheap gardener.
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Great close ups! Don’t tell me I have to think about getting on other piece of kit.
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Blame it on Fred the French gardener. I got fairly good close-ups with my iPhone but when I saw what others on SoS were doing, I had to go for it. It wasn’t so expensive. Under $25. The real problem is what the heck do I do with all my camera “kit” that I bought before the digital age.
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I love seeing peonies emerge – their fronds are like pink fingers.
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I had to brush aside some winter leaves to find them.
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Nice Blog…..got to love the Sedums!
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I know. I have others that winter over in the ground, but I’ll be interested to see what these do in the hypertufa containers I made. I’ll put some in the ground, too. The colors are quite nice.
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I still have to prune my dogwood. It seems such a shame as it is such a bright red. But i know its for the best. Off with its head!
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I left it till the last. If I had waited any longer it would have leafed out.
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Egad! I just spent the last three weeks pulling out redtwig dogwood! It had gone wild and layered everywhere! It is our native Cornus stolonifera which is not exactly the same as Cornus sanguineum, but it was a mess nonetheless! The funny thing is that the removed plants that I intended to dispose of were taken to new landscapes elsewhere!
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My soil is not very hospitable so the dogwood hasn’t colonized. I wish it would.
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Interesting garden shots. Happy spring and happy Easter to you both.
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Thanks, Ron.
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Thanks, Katie.
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Fantastic pictures. You have so much beauty in one place. That Macro lens, is doing a fine job. I still get a big smile, every time your notification shows in my inbox. Does this font make me look fat, has got to be the best catch title to a blog. It’s a smile maker, for sure.
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That grape holly is gorgeous. You’re doing well w/the macro lens. Wonderful photos.
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Thanks, Lora. I’m having fun with the new lens.
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