And the Japanese kerria. I can't imagine a tougher plant than this. It is situated between the deck and the fence in a four foot wide area I have never, ever watered. It gets sun in the morning but after that... nothing. But the reason this plant is so darn tough is because it survives turtle traffic all day long. 
The area between the kerria and the fence is the absolute best spot for a turtle to spend his or her day. I'm thinking it's because whoever gets that spot makes the other turtle so jealous that he or she has to try and claim that square foot spot for themselves, doesn't matter if it takes a day or week or the entire summer. If I see two turtles near that one foot square area, one is always smug because he/she has claimed the sweet spot, the other one is always scowling while she/he is climbing all over the other hoping that he/she will leave that prime area.
When Lucy turtle was alive he made the rules of what turtle could do what, when they could do it and where they could go. Lucy could have a temper and sometimes he just did not want Michael Ray in his line of sight so Michael would be chased to the kerria area. That 12 inch wide spot between the kerria and the fence was his one allowed safety zone. If Michael decided to leave the area several hours later and Lucy's temper hadn't cooled, there were days when I would find Michael Ray turned upside down and vertical against the fence. Even though Lucy has been gone for years, the twins still remember that 12 inch square as their refuge from Lucy. And somehow the kerria survives all of this because the soil in that area is extremely compacted.
The shrub looks pretty now but in a week or two it will be gloriously yellow, even more so than what I caught here. When I planted the kerria years ago I thought it would not get over 4 feet tall but it did. A lot. It's quite an exuberant shrub to be in so confined an area but like I said, the turtles and it have something going on which makes them both happy.
And speaking of tough, you can't get more tough than this. Those little crabapple buds look like little fists. If they could talk, I think they'd let out a good mumble like Edward G. Robinson. No hard freeze is going to stop them from blooming. Because they're tough, seeeee, really tough.
There's probably a reason those pastel flowers haven't bloomed yet. Too delicate for the tough times in the garden at this time of year. Even so, I'm looking forward to seeing the soft pinks in the garden in the next couple weeks. I like the tough girls but I like the dainty ones too. I even like dandelions....for a day. And since spring and easter are seasons of hope, maybe I'll witness a peony in flower this year. I forget what season doubt is...
There's probably a reason those pastel flowers haven't bloomed yet. Too delicate for the tough times in the garden at this time of year. Even so, I'm looking forward to seeing the soft pinks in the garden in the next couple weeks. I like the tough girls but I like the dainty ones too. I even like dandelions....for a day. And since spring and easter are seasons of hope, maybe I'll witness a peony in flower this year. I forget what season doubt is...
3 comments:
Love reading about those turtles, they'd hate it here in New York, although the parrots might like it.
Yeah, I'm tough, see . . . you dirty rat. I mean turtle. Fun post!
Turtles in New York? Ohmigawd. That would definitely be some story. Michael Ray got out of the yard ONE time and literally stopped traffic while he marched down the middle of the street. Not across the street. Down the middle of the street. No telling what would happen in New York. There would probably a lot of damaged cars while two smug turtles continued their way through traffic.
Kate-Ha ha. I forgot about James Cagney. Yeah, he'd make a good crabapple bud too. And why not add a DeNiro crabapple bud too? "You talking to me? Hey, you talking to ME?"
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