Every year I battle against voles.   Before I began gardening I did not even know what a vole was.   The best description is a cross between a mouse and a mole.   There are about five inches long and covered in brownish fur.   Voles are diggers.   They make shallow burrows and feast on plant crowns, roots, and bulbs.   Therein lies the source of our continual conflict

My garden is filled with all sorts of bulbous plants.   Lilies, tulips, crocuses, and scillas survive well in a naturalistic garden.   Bulbs, like: daffodil, camass, spring beauty, colchicum, allium, etc., add spice to a garden.   They provide vivid colors, cut-flowers, and a seasonal progression of interest.   Unfortunately many of them are also fodder for the voles.

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Microtus pennsylvanicus - Meadow Vole, (my arch nemesis)

I enjoyed my first garden salad of the season tonight, and it was delicious!  There is nothing like fresh greens from the garden.   The lettuce is moist and tasty.   The spinach is juicy and hearty.   Dill adds a crisp flavor, while the bitter endive gives nutrients.   (That's the only reason I can think of for including this sour herb in the mesclun mix.)

This fresh garden salad made the perfect first course for my evening meal. It was also a wonderful way to top off a day of speaking engagements which included an appearance at chicago's inagural Garden in a City show. I spoke about Garden Gadgets.  

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First picking of Bloomsdale spinach, Bibb lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, endive, and dill

Earlier this spring, I lamented the loss of Rosa 'Rio Samba' (see "where is the warmth" entry). I have wanted this rose for years and finally last year I built a bed just for roses so I could add it.   Everyone loved 'Rio Samba's brilliant oranges and reds.  

In early December we had single digit temps.   I figured whatever damage could be done had already happened, so I did not cover any of the roses.   This March 'Rio Samba' looked dead.   'Tropicana' and a white floribunda looked to be in better shape.   I dug out 'Rio Samba' and just pruned the other two.  

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Sprekelia formosissima : Aztec lily, Jacobean lily, St. James lily

Sprekelia - name of some guy in Hamburg who visited Linnaeus; formosissima - not sure why, maybe something to do with dispersal of seeds by ants, maybe not

My Sprekelia is in full flower!   It broke bud a couple of days ago, but it took a while to unfurl.

As it opens, it lays its long, lurid stamens out for all to see. The maroon filaments and unopened anthers look sensual and alluring. However, when the anthers flip and expose the yellow pollen it becomes frivolous and comical.