tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-276344722024-02-08T11:11:09.333-06:00St. Luke GardensReports and photos for friends far and near.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1152391842447838922006-07-08T15:46:00.000-05:002006-07-10T20:15:35.346-05:00Purple Coneflowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/gardens%20007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/gardens%20007.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We have a big crop of purple coneflowers near the church driveway. I tried to get a photo with the bees or butterflies, but they always moved. Click on any photo in this blog to see a larger image.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1152359072760345262006-07-08T06:31:00.000-05:002006-07-08T06:44:32.770-05:00Club Luke Stepping Stones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20006.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20006.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When you look around the St. Luke gardens, you will find there are some things other than plants. The kids in Club Luke made a series of stepping stones. This was the first.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20007.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Each year the kids of Club Luke used different decorative items in their stones.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20008.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I particularly like the little hearts that edge this stone. Look for it on a garden path.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1152203709995253842006-07-06T11:32:00.000-05:002006-07-06T11:35:10.006-05:00Easter Lillies Now<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20005.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I think of these as Easter lillies, but they are blooming in our church garden now. The trumpets are quite big. Look for them near the redbud tree.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1151887395410228212006-07-02T19:38:00.000-05:002006-07-02T19:43:15.410-05:00Yuccas in the Church Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Hi. I've been out of town. When I got back to the St. Luke gardens, I found that our yuccas had bloomed. Tall stacks are literally loaded with white blossoms. Our three clumps of yuccas make a spectacular display.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1151887116145768782006-07-02T19:28:00.000-05:002006-07-02T19:38:36.156-05:00Helianthus Perennial<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/church%20garden%20003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/church%20garden%20003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Yellow is one of my favorite colors for a flower. We have lots of it in our church gardens, including these perennial sunflowers. Eleven years ago we started with three or four of these. Now we have to thin them out because they grow like weeds. They are good for back rows of beds or circles in a big garden. They are also very drought tolerant.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1150766988349766042006-06-19T20:21:00.000-05:002006-06-19T20:29:48.350-05:00Oenothera Tetragona<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6040014.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6040014.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Barb and Katy call these flowers Ozark sundrops. They have brilliant yellow blossoms in early summer and require little care. They will spread, perhaps more than you like, but I have not minded. I think the leaves turn reddish in fall. They also seem to be very drought tolerant.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1150765901627626422006-06-19T19:54:00.000-05:002006-06-19T20:11:41.643-05:00The Garden That Grows and Grows and Grows<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6190001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6190001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There has been an explosion of growth in the garden. What you see above is one of the paths in the garden, which is currently impassable. People only think plants are stationary. A clump of iris has blocked the middle of the path. Will I move them or blaze a new path to the left? Come see in a couple of days.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6190014.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6190014.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Over the weekend I was able to clear the way to the stone bench in the shade garden.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6190017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6190017.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The jungle has nearly reclaimed this ancient seat. A crew with machetes is being deployed as soon as they get their malaria pills.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1149775193938558742006-06-08T08:55:00.000-05:002006-06-10T10:49:50.800-05:00Rabbit Attack<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6050004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6050004.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I planted these vincas near the lawn, but the bunnies have trimmed them down to mostly stems. They still seem to be living, so I will water and see if they recover - maybe to be eaten again.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1149439924688500792006-06-04T11:46:00.000-05:002006-06-04T11:52:04.720-05:00Shrub Rose in the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P6040008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P6040008.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The pink shrub rose near the drive in the main garden has started blooming. This huge bush started as a small plant back in 1995 and was the only rose from the original rose garden to survive. It has been one of our anchors in the garden. It was attacked by June bugs a couple of summers ago but survived and looks good again. Look but do not get too close. There are more thorns than blossoms.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1149170534038158812006-06-01T08:53:00.000-05:002006-06-01T09:02:14.050-05:00Buttered Popcorn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5090021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5090021.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />With the summer movie season upon us, here is a plant with an appropriate name, buttered popcorn. It is also known as creeping buttercup, and can be found in textbooks and garden centers as <span style="font-style: italic;">Ranunculus repens</span>. We have the plant with the bright little yellow flowers in several spots in the garden. Katie and Barb warned me in their notes about the garden that it is invasive. I have had to scale it back in a spot or two. It grows well and seems very drought tolerant. Look for it in our main garden and in the garden near the southeast door.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1148565147455929432006-05-25T08:48:00.000-05:002006-05-25T08:52:27.466-05:00Did You Smell the Lilacs?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5230001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5230001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The frangrance of this lilac was sweet and pleasant on Sunday. In mid-week it had grown even stronger. I wonder if yesterday's pouring rains will have dampened the scent. On Sunday we will find out.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1148562782326846932006-05-25T08:07:00.000-05:002006-05-25T08:13:02.336-05:00Shade Garden on the Move<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5230002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5230002.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In back of the church, outside the Genesis Room windows, we have a shade garden in its third year of growth. The problem is that there is no longer any shade, for the neighbors cut down their backyard trees. So the shade plants will soon be moving to a new location along the west wall of Heller Hall.<br /><br />What should we do outside the Genesis Room windows for a pretty view? Any ideas?ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1148297670797977812006-05-22T06:29:00.000-05:002006-05-22T06:34:30.813-05:00Daisies Are Starting to Open<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5170018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5170018.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After all the rainy days, everything around the church gardens is very green. Now that there is some sun again, we should see more things blooming. The daisies are starting to bloom. The advance guard is by our older sign on the north end of the property. There will be many more near the sanctuary soon.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147911216176241412006-05-17T19:04:00.000-05:002006-05-17T19:22:58.110-05:00Impressionism in the Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/Around%20the%20Library%20015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/Around%20the%20Library%20015.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We currently have at least four colors of columbine in the church gardens. In this photo the colors of the columbine blossoms seem splashed across a green and brown background. It reminds me of impressionist paintings. You can click on the photo to see an enlarged image.<br /><br />Thanks for looking at this garden report. So far this blog has had international visitors from Norway, Chile, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, and Spain.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147741800284671522006-05-15T19:49:00.000-05:002006-05-15T20:19:56.376-05:00A Look Back at the Church Gardens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/Church%20Garden%201994.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/Church%20Garden%201994.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Here are the photos that I promised. I found them in the packet that Barb Gilbert and Katie Guetterman left with me when they both moved away within a short time late in the 1990s. The photos are not dated, but I think they may have been taken in fall 1994 before I arrived at St. Luke.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/Church%20Garden%201994%20001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/Church%20Garden%201994%20001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I will bet many people have forgotten that there was a tree to the right of the walk (in this picture) where it meets the drive. We used to have shade plants below that tree before we had to remove it. We tried hard to save the tree, but it died.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/Church%20Garden%201994%20002.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/Church%20Garden%201994%20002.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Even when we had very little in the garden, we had some dramatic colors, thanks to the members of the St. Luke family who dreamed up the gardens.<br /><br />By the way, clicking on any of the photos on this website will get you bigger copies of the photos.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147617172841811792006-05-14T09:23:00.000-05:002006-05-14T09:38:19.536-05:00Cerastium Tomentosum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5090020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5090020.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There are a lot of tiny white flowers in the church gardens. These are scientifically known <span style="font-style: italic;">cerastium tomentosum</span>, but you can call them Snow-in-Summer. I had to look it up. Luckily, I still have the diagrams and lists that Barb Gilbert and Katie Guetterman left us, as well as a few early photos. I will scan and post a couple of these soon so you can see how the garden has grown.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147450911465081402006-05-12T10:56:00.000-05:002006-05-15T20:17:28.500-05:00Rainy DayBecause of the rain, I am not doing planned work in the garden today. I might have still tried if it were not so cold as well. In the grand scheme, rain is good, as expressed by Mma Ramotswe in <a href="http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/0375422722">Blue Shoes and Happiness</a>, the new book set in Botswana by Alexander McCall Smith.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She looked up at the sky, which was empty, as it usually was. In a few days, though, perhaps even earlier, there would be rain. Heavy clouds would build up and make the sky purple, and then there would be lightning and that brief, wonderful smell would fill the air, the smell of the longed-for rain, a smell that lifted the heart. She dropped her gaze to her garden, to the withered plants that she had worked so hard to see through the dry season and which had lived only because she had given them each a small tinful of water each morning and each evening, around the roots; so little water, and so quickly absorbed, that it seemed unlikely that it wouild make a difference under that relentless sun. But it had, and the plants had kept in their leaves some green against the brown. When the rains came, of course, then everything would be different, and the brown which had covered the land, the trees, the stunted grass, would be replaced by green, by growth, by tendrils stretching out, by leaves unfolding. It would happen so quickly that one might go to bed in a drought and wake up in a landscape of shimmering patches of water and cattle with skin washed sleek by the rain.<br /><br /></span>We had a drought of our own last year, though it did not compare to African dry seasons. Though we have no cattle in the church gardens, there will be plenty of other signs of good fortune that will follow this rain.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147295176299456182006-05-10T15:56:00.000-05:002006-05-12T09:24:28.993-05:00White Bleeding Hearts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5090027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5090027.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Many people do not realize that we have planting all around the building now. On the west side is this white bleeding heart which I brought to church from a seeding two years ago. The plant is getting larger each year. I hope it will have more of the curiously shaped blossoms next spring.<br /><br />While you are at church for the indoor yard sale, take a minute to visit the west side to see some miniature rose bushes, a hydranga, and (my favorite) a sand cherry.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147194183365346252006-05-09T11:52:00.000-05:002006-05-09T12:03:03.376-05:00Brunnera Macrophylla<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5090026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5090026.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />On Sunday I was asked about the little blue flowers along the path in the garden, just outside the north windows. The official name is Brunnera Macrophylla, but most of us call these Forget-me-nots. That may not be quite right, however, as <a href="http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=1.106.200">one website says</a> they are only cousins of Forget-me-nots and should be called Siberian Bugloss. I am not going to take a position on this, and you may call them what you wish. Whatever, they are quite pretty right now. Take a look in the garden.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1147193252659853652006-05-09T11:29:00.000-05:002006-05-09T11:47:32.683-05:00Strange Mushroom in Church Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/Mushroom.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/Mushroom.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />While I was pulling garlic weed this morning, I found this strangly wrinked mushroom. It looks a lot like photos of false morels that I see on the Internet. The U.S. Corps of Engineers in Rock Island says that this mushroom is very poisonous. Even the smell of it cooking is toxic. I will remove it very carefully.<br /><br />I am going to look this up at the library, too.<br /><br />Who said that gardening was not exciting!ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1146913866933323292006-05-06T20:40:00.000-05:002006-05-06T19:01:46.126-05:00Welcome to St. Luke Gardens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5060001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5060001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Welcome to a new blog focusing on the gardens at St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Downers Grove, Illinois.<br /><br />Why a blog? So much happens in the garden that few get to see on Sunday mornings. Flowers come and go, not always lingering long enough for weekend viewers. During the summer, many members are away, and we have friends who have moved far away.<br /><br />This morning the best thing to see was the big white lilac next to the walk into the main entrance. It is always spectacular for a few days and then the blossoms fall away. Luckily for us, there will be many other colorful flowers in the garden this summer.<br /><br />Watch this virtual place for more reports and photos through spring, summer, and fall.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1146962732863268122006-05-06T19:39:00.000-05:002006-05-06T19:45:32.873-05:00Where Plantings Meet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5060007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5060007.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I like how our St. Luke gardens have so many different plants. As they spread they run into each other and start to mingle. This can be okay for a short time, but we eventually have to start separating them. Here is an example that makes for a colorful photo.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27634472.post-1146961797994215802006-05-06T19:15:00.000-05:002006-05-06T19:29:58.003-05:00Winter Damage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/1600/P5060010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5649/862/320/P5060010.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Last year was a very dry year, and the winter was mostly dry as well. Perhaps it should not be too big a surprise that a couple of shrubs now show that they needed more watering. The two bushes in front of the office window, the ones that Jeannette has occasionally pruned so she could see the garden, suffered. This one seems to have some life on one side. I am not sure yet whether we can save it.<br /><br />The casualties were few. Some of the ground cover in the garden south of the classrooms died out. A couple of plants under the sign on Main Street seem to be gone. Everything else seems to be okay. Garden forecasters say, however, that some trees and shrubs may still fai, even with new rain and watering. We shall have to wait and see.ricklibrarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11621583568674705756noreply@blogger.com0