May Plant Update

May was another great month for plant observations in and around our neighborhood. Mostly I only want to look at flowers! We have seen so many iris variations this spring so far! We’ve also seen some fantastic evening vistas. We observed some critters (goslings!, baby starlings! bunnies!), some beaches, and some fields but we stayed home mostly and enjoyed our near surroundings in this month.

Someone’s amazing lavender plant.

All yellow.

All purple (from our yard).

Golden light!

Gorgeous pine bow.

The light and color of this plantain is amazing. Even the chip bag.

I love finding beautiful ground cover…

…but I don’t know what any of them are.

This is our orange thyme which has been growing for years and makes these little purple blossoms.

The color on this unknown bush is stunning!

Like a firework.

Crane on Sunset Lake.

This poor catbird dashed itself on our front window. My husband went to help it, but it was already breathing it’s last breath. We mourned for it and buried it in the back yard. No catbirds came to our house for a week. Now they are retuning.

Are you still isolating at home? Maybe your sequestered some where not your home? What have your plant observations been for May?

April Plant Update

Oh my goodness, being home and taking a walk everyday coupled with the fact that we had an early spring in March, made this April one heck of a month for plant observations. I literally had hundreds of photos to go through.

A carpet of magnolia petals.

A blurry yard bouquet.

Sun thru daffodils.

What kind of pine is this? I love the adorable cones!

Our Japanese maple just waking up for the year.

So many early azaleas!

Our monstera much prefers this spot to where it used to be.

This was some perfect morning golden hour light.

A very good holly tree.

I’ve been taking stump portraits.

Cannot resist cherry blossoms. Ever.

Lake views.

I have to crop these bushes, but at the moment they are bright and beautiful.

We’re trying to tame this grandma rose bush to go a different direction.

Love this neighbor’s cacti.

What is this ground cover? it is magical.

Perfectly rain soaked tulip.

The lilacs have been early, but i’m always happy to see them!

Apple blossoms?

We had some kale that bolted. When we put it in the compost bin, it flowered!!

I could have added so many more photos to this post! What were your plant observations in April?

March Plant Update

March was amazing for flowers, plants, greenery, buds, seedlings, critters, colors and getting out and about. Thank goodness that groundhog didn’t see his shadow this year, bc I think we all needed the early Spring. I know I did. It is always astonishing to me that just seeing the blooming magnolias makes me SO. MUCH. HAPPIER.

Here they are.

Whoever was the genious that planted this sidewalk bump out in AsBury Park with hundreds of daffodils?

Loved this color combo this month. In Sea Girt.

And in Asbury Park…

…twice.

These chicks and hens are from my former landlady in BK. This year I finally decided to divide them as she used to do.

We haven’t done the big houseplant replant, replenishing of soil yet, but these few needed new pots ASAP.

Happy by the window.

Houseplant tableau in greens.

New monstra leaf.

Less new, but still good.

A day with the birds.

One side of a sunset….

… and the other.

Evening walks with Magritte light.

We had plenty of cold and rainy days in March, plenty of grey days. But the warmer weather and brighter skies made up for all of them. What a pleasure that long walks are not only allowed but encouraged while self isolating (as long as they are on your own or with your partner/person/child/parent/etc… only!). What a pleasure that it is Spring here.

Are you observing Spring where you live?

February Plant Update

February’s weather was up and down. We had very cold days, as you would expect in Feb, but we also had days in the 50s. We tried to get out and about and make some plant observations. We went to a new park, Hartshorn Woods, which was a treat in it’s Winter glory. But we also saw some signs of Spring.

Reeds in Hartshorn Woods.

A Winter beach.

Intense green and red.

Our montauk daisies are always hoping for Spring.

I love cafes with tons of plants. It was nice to visit this one in Montclair, NJ.

We had a few beach days this month.

This beautiful visitor.

A night encounter.

These croci were very early this year…

…but that didn’t stop them.

A pretend jungle at the grocery store.

I worried this month, when I went to look back at my photos, that I would have nothing to show. In my mind, February was bleak, but in fact, Feb was full of plants, full of color and light. To me, reflecting back on the plants of the month reminds me to see the living joy all around us at any time of the year.

What were your plant observations this month?

January Plant Update

I thought January would be slow for plant observations but it was pretty packed. We traveled a little, saw indoor and outdoor sights, remnants of the holidays, and many critters.

Every month is a good time to observe our house plants.

Irving agrees.

He also lets the neighborhood know.

George is a friend.

The last of xmas.

I only saw this interesting display after the holiday.

A great plant display at Montclair Vegan.

Twilight moon.

Some new additions.

A day at the beach.

Feathers and sand.

A fellow visitor.

Big sky.

I was startled by this bright fellow on vacation.

It was a cold January and we are deep in the heart of Winter. It’s been making for many winter plant observations. Is it winter where you are? What have your observations been this month?

December Plant Update

I was surprised that December was a great month for plant observations. While it was happening, it didn’t feel like it. December ran the gambit on weather, saw the other side of the country, saw dying plants and blossoming.

A little bit of snow.

A lot of snow!

A very nice blue sky.

I love these orange and vermillion berries in the winter! Such a pop of color!

Squirrel friend.

Tom, not quite comfortable.

Our hibiscus bloomed. Twice!

Tis the season, and Asbury Park was decked out in December.

And decked at home. (not mine, tho.)

A visitor to Asbury Park we came across.

An interlude in Arazona.

Fuzzy little jojoba.

Cutest leaves ever.

Back in town and hanging with the locals

Everything lavender.

More winter berries.

Hello sir!

Sometimes you just need to hang out in the green.

December was a great mix of plants and animals. It was really nice to take a break from east coast winter and go somewhere warm and green. As a quick fix, visiting a green house does the trick. But I plan to take more winter trips to warmer climbs in the future.

What is December like where you live? What were the plants that stood out to you?

November Plant Update

November went by very quickly and it was a month spent mostly working and inside. This was the hardest month in recent memory for plant observations. There was still some to be had of course! Visiting and having visitors is always helpful for getting out of your comfort zone and into nature.

My mother-in-law’s beautiful plants!

I’ve never seen this plant before. It looks soft and fluttery, but it is stiff.

Baby pink pineapple!!!

We visited a really lovely plant shop in Nashville.

How is anything this colors?

There were many huge plants with huge leaves.

Blue sky, green trees, brown grass.

Lovely skies in November.

The days are getting so short, and afternoon walks feel like evening walks.

Staying in and still seeing golden hour.

How was your November for plant observations? What is the weather like where you are? Do you take the time each month to get out into nature?

October Plant Review

October went quickly from the last days of Summer to blustery Fall. We were able to explore and take note of the changes. We observed much but took photos of little.

October traditions.

We rescued a few of the last butterflies.

Bright and cheery.

I love these colorful berries that grow on our back fence.

We tried to explore our local parks this month.

and visit with some neighbors.

A fall feeling lichen.

The tents are closed up for winter.

Meeting dinos.

A Fall finale.

I wished I had gotten more pics of the trees this month. We got a chance to leaf peep, which is always a treat. What is Fall like where you are? What were your plant observations this month?

September Plant Update

September was full of flowers and the last of Summer. We tried to get out and observe as much as possible, taking in as much of Local’s Summer as we could. We saw critters and got to explore new landscapes. We ate from the garden. We saw plenty of our favorite flowers and some of our not so favorite “pests”.

We tried to rescue this $1 hibiscus. Not sure that it’ll make it.

A neighbors mushrooms.

echinacea are one of my all time favorites.

I will always remember when I saw my first american beauty berry.

We were still getting visitors to our milkweed.

And these flowers we planted in spring were still thriving in the raised beds.

So many bees.

Met this fellow in a corn maze.

This bee was preparing for fall.

A lake in Colorado.

The beach at home.

My husband does not like spiders, but I thought this fellow was so sweet!

We broke in our new car with hauling some stumps home.

What were plant observations like near you? Was the season winding down, or gearing up? September didn’t feel like the end of summer as it was so vibrant, warm and bright. But we know the seasons are turning.

August Plant Update

We had lost of opportunity to observe plants this Month. The weather was amazing and we mostly stuck close to home. We were excited about that garden (more on that soon) and kept an eye on pollinators. We took many long walks, so we were also able to check on the neighborhood.

Our first milkweed pods!

Our first monarch caterpillar!

Wesley Lake and the swan boats from afar.

Sunset lake and one of it’s residents.

Overlooking Deal Lake.

A distinct color.

Magnolia fuzzy pods.

A little truth about me.

We are so happy that we still get to see so many flowers!

Overcast but wonderful beach day.

Moon over the West side.

Moon over the East side.

Summer was in full swing in August. I was happy to be mindful about the plants and animals around me. What was August like where you live?

September is usually a time of change and transition. I’m excited to see what it brings.

July Plant Update

After a very rainy June, July’s bright hot days made all nature pop around Asbury Park, New Jersey! It was a great month for plant observations. We mostly stayed close to home, worked on the garden, and the beach.

From the beginning of July…

… to the middle.

Our clematis is going nuts.

The hostas bloomed.

My husband picked up some beautiful milkweed. Previously, I didn’t know there were so many varieties of monarch butterflies favorite plant.

Late season honeysuckle still going strong.

Mid month we had some crazy storms, Many old trees were downed.

Lots of mushrooms this year.

Anyone know what these magic puffballs are?

A neighbor’s garden in the beginning…

…and end of July.

We were able to spend some time observing the sky at the beach.

A rainbow gave July a good send off.

What did you observe this July? Are your favorite plants out now? Are flowers blooming?

June Plant Update

June was all about the flowers! The previous months were not as spectacular as they usually are, so June really shown this year. It was a wet month with only a few very hot day, so flowers and plants took a lot of days to grow and flourish in the wet and temperate weather. We were able to take some long walks, go to new places, visit nurseries to buy plants for our garden, and see some critters this month. This is the first month of 2019 that I feel like we got outside a proper amount.

The colors of various roses this year took my breath away.

Does anyone know what this plant is? It’s stunning and I’m seeing it in many places this year.

Cuties.

So many climbing roses this year. These are not ours, but the ones we have in the back year went bananas. Those blooms were gone by June, however.

We didn’t plan(t) well for pollinaters this year, but the bees loved our little lavender.

Such colors!

Brooklyn Blooms.

There have been so many lightening bugs this year, it makes me happy!

Between rain showers, this neighbor headed to a dry porch.

Another surprising color of rose.

So many kittens this year! Blooming like flowers. I hope they all find homes!

A shy chicken at a local farmers market.

Always in style.

A new generation of bunnies.

What animals and plants are you seeing where you live? Do you have a favorite Summer plant?

Mad Cat Garden | May

Each month I like to share my plant observations. This can be our yard, our garden, the neighborhood, parks, beach, and more. This year we are really trying to pick up our garden game and I think it’s progress is going to require it’s own feature each month.

Although we had high hopes to start our garden super early, May came and went with little activity. We did prep the garden, started verbally planning, moved a few items around and let Tom visit as garden foreman.

Our first garden bed, which is our front yard and last year housed tomatoes, started popping up with plants. We had to discern what each plant was and either leave them or transplant them. We had a lot of tomatoes come up from seeds that dropped off the plants last year.

This strange plant popped up and grew like crazy. We did some research and discovered that it was an invasive plant called Japanese hops. It’s so pretty and we interested in seeing if it was going to grow hop like cones. Unfortunately it was growing like nuts and we had to re-home it so it did not choke out our new tomatoes. We were sad to find that the hops couldn’t handle the move and died pretty quickly. We think the hop seeds were dropped by visiting birds!

The kale that we planted last year also over wintered. We had to clear it out of our back yard bed, but put it in a pot to see what it would do. In May, it flowered and started making seed pods. Kale flowers are lovely! We have collected the seed pods and plan to replant from last years growth!

On the last day of May was when we really started planting and reseting the garden. In only a few weeks we’ve transformed the garden quite a bit. We look forward to seeing where June takes us.

May Plant Update

Ahhhhhhh, May. What a month for plant and animal observations! Here in Asbury Park, it was a very green month, mild, rainy and fresh. We didn’t travel too much this month, we didn’t get to the beach, or local parks often. Most of our observations were around our neighborhood and our own back yard.

I didn’t see too many dandelions this month, but I did see some dandy fluffs.

One of the most common flowers we have in our yard are chive flowers.

All our rose bushes died over the Winter, but we’ve seen a lot out and about.

Nothing better than #watchercats + flowers.

This sweet grass eater had a wonky eye.

Mama and baby playing in the grass.

In the beginning of the month, the leaves were just budding out. By the end of the month, these trees were full!

The only thing better than a fresh rose is one with rain droplets.

What are the plants like where you live this month? Is it warm, hot, or cold where you are?

What is your favorite flower to observe?

April Plant Update

April was a great month for plant observations. We had plenty of lovely days and got to explore some parks, the neighborhood and our own back yard.

We had a lovely walk at the Manasquan Reservoir.

So many lovely tree blossoms.

And this fluffy thing!

A good sky in the morning.

I’ve never seen a magnolia with so many petals!

The magnolias bloomed early and hard!

I love these tiny ground covers.

And fields of daffodils.

More trees and sky.

We spent some time time repotting our plants.

And we got to move them all around.

We had three little visitors in our yard this month.

It was quite a surprise to see these fellows out and about so early in the morning!!

Is it Spring where you are? What have you been observing? Spot any critters this month?

March Plant Update

I had high hopes that I would be out and about for most of March, but the weather was still cold and I was still in hibernation mode. I did get out some and we were able to check out some local plants in March.

Still brown, but this day spring was in the air.

There was a theme this month.

totally happy to see these babes sprouting out.

And fully popped!

Another.

What are these? I wish my whole yard was covered in them!

These strawbs are ready for spring.

So is our grandma rose.

And these magnolias. They’ve been trying since January.

Current state of our front bed.

What do the plants look like where you live?
Was March a good month for your plant observations?
What were you most excited to take note of this month?

February Plant Update

February was a great month for plant observations!! We saw a lot of things, we traveled, we revisited our sacred spaces.

A snowy morning in Cape May, NJ.

A foggy morning in Asbury Park, NJ.

Two of my favorite pine trees.

A pink morning.

This plant scares my husband, but look at it’s beautiful blooms!!

Lovely colors, oxalis never disappoints.

One of the only snowy days so far…

…it looked like it might be a crazy snow day, but it melted quickly.

And then there was New Orleans.

I will never get over Spanish moss.

I also learned about resurrection moss which grows in NOLA all year, sometimes dying back and they spontaneously growing right back.

It was really great and very odd to visit somewhere were flowers were blooming in Feb.

Seeing bees already hard at work was a wonderful sight.

Going somewhere warm with flowers blooming was a great pick me up. Winter is the hardest time for me and seeing some green plants and bright flowers was an awesome inspiration for me. Spring really is right around the corner!

I’m excited to see March’s plants! What was February like where you live or travel?

January Plant Update

I feel like I spent most of January in doors. I did have some plant observations but this was a slow month for it.
What months are you less inclined to get out and observe?

Bathroom Pothos

First snow of the year.

A visitor and some indoor plants.

This local magnolia is always fuzzy.

Who knows what February will bring for plants?

What did January look like where you live?

December Plant Update

December tends to be a tough month for plant observations, and this one was the same. It’s cold, Winter has set in, it’s a busy month, and this year we were sick for a big chunk of the month. There were still some good plants this month. December was a month of critters! Perhaps this we should be calling these posts Plant and Animal Observations?

On a warm day, Tom checks out if there’s any catnip left.

Our garden, waiting for spring.

The pines are happy in the yard.

The vines are happy in the kitchen.

December was cold, but there were enough warm days to go to the beach.

Can you spot the cardinal and blue jay?

Some stray kitties getting special attention.

A night visitor.

A happy sidewalk.

Very festive front yard.

Also festive.

We don’t get an xmas tree anymore, which overall we are happy about. But there is something nice about having an ever green in the house during the darkest days and winter months. I’m always happy to visit family who continue this tradition.

It’s been a great year of plant observations. I love to go back thru and see what was happening in each month. In the coming year, I hope there are many garden posts, many houseplants observations, and lots of getting outside into nature!

What were your favorite plant moments of 2018?

November Plant Update

The minute the weather changes to Winter cold, I worry that I’ll never go outside again. But we were able to get out and about a little in November. We went to one of our favorite beach-combing beaches, we went to one of our favorite breakfast spots and all their plants, we walked around our yard and neighborhood, and we watched our garden transition into Winter.

The walk up to the beach.

Look at all that goos stuff!!

Natural contrast.

Some happy plants (some not so happy).

I moved all the plants around this month. It makes some fun new corners around the house.

Record collection is guarded well.

Perfect rose.

Hanging in there.

Te garden is slowly being taken over by Winter.

Visiting plant friends.

Perfect Autumn views.

Is it Fall where you live? What are your plant observations for the month of November?