Friday, June 29, 2012

Loosestrife 'Alexander' in front of a Bodker Dairy milk can

I like this perennial with variegated foliage and its bright yellow flowers.  Loosestrife is known for being invasive, but I do not find this variety to be invasive at all.  That may be because I have it planted in terrible rocky soil, so I am thrilled with anything that lives in these conditions.  :)

Do any of you living near Detroit,  know of the Bodker dairy advertised on my milk can?

I have had 'Alexander' for a few years and it has grown large enough for me to separate.  I have it in four different areas right now.  Here is another section near my bird bath:

I do love to get four or five nice plants from one purchase. 

I even have it growing in the area where I toss all the debris I remove from my garden.  Somehow I must have dug up a small section of 'Alexander' and tossed it along with something else. 
Unfortunately the foliage has reverted to its original green color.   I am still going to dig it up and find a place to put it in one of my gardens.

I took a vacation day from work today and spent 6am to 10am working outside.  One of my main projects was to trim the yew hedge leading to my deck.
I have about half of it done in this pic. 
It is getting pretty wide, so I also removed a bit of its girth.
It took about 1.5 hours to get it all done (it is only half done in this pic, too).

I just used my little Felco pruners, so I had to make a gazillion cuts.


This yew bush in the front of the house  also got a haircut.
You see the unpruned shrub. I did not take pics of the finished work, so you will just have to trust me when I say that it all has a much cleaner appearance now.  I still have one more shrub to prune, but my fingers are getting a bit stiff, so it will wait for another day.

It's about 11 am now and I just finished a ham/cheese sandwich for brunch.  Even those it is already 80 degrees outside, I am heading back out. I never waste a day off just sitting around.  I do intend to work on less strenuous projects like painting a table and some chairs.  Of course, you know that I will show you how it turns out in a later post.

10 comments:

  1. I really like that Loosestrife. You have a lot of gumption doing all those shrubs with a pruner. I think I'd find me one of those cheap hedge trimmer. My poor arthritic hands would be stiff for ages after what you did. Love the evergreens though during the winter especially.

    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  2. Glad to know I'm not the only one who hand prunes shrubs with a Felco. It gives them a much more natural look I think.

    I hear you on not wasting a vacation day. Nothing beats a bonus day off for getting stuff done. Stay cool!

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  3. Loosetrife is pretty with it's dainty yellow flowers.
    Brian uses an electric hedge clipper and I hand clip what he can't reach.I agree, clipping is hard on the fingers.

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  4. I'm pretty sure the Bodker Dairy was technically in Redford (right next to Detroit).

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  5. Your yews look wonderful so healthy, but I would be dead if I tried to trim all of my shrubs with a hand pruner.

    That Loosestrife is lovely, have never seen this one. My Morden's Pink is sterile and does not spread, but I sure would like a yellow one.

    Eileen

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  6. Zoey- It looks so wonderful. You do a great job with every single thing you do in the garden. It looks like magic land there- xo Diana

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  7. Oh Zoey, I am sure your hands are feeling the after effects of all that pruning. I am glad you decided to take it easier in the heat of the afternoon.
    And of course I am waiting to see what you painted.

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  8. My hands would be cramping from all that pruning! We hit 105.4 here today, 107 yesterday!

    Have a great weekend!

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  9. I love evergreens but hate all of that trimming. We use to have hedges along our driveway and I hated trimming those things. Maybe more so since I was always cutting the electric cords. LOL!
    You Alexander Loose strife is so pretty. Mine bloomed for the first time this year and I just loved it. It looks lovely in front of your turquoise milk can.Have a wonderful week ahead.

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  10. I stumbled upon your site looking for anything to do with Bodker Dairy. My name is Glenn. I started working at Bodker Dairy in November 1967 of my senior year. I graduated in 1968. I was employed there for almost two years when I was forced to quit because it was conflicting with my college class hours. I have a Bodker Dairy milk can. Stainless steel in pretty good condition for all of these years. Bodker was located on Five mile road a little over a mile from Telegraph which is the dividing line between Detroit and Redford. The building is still there which was converted to a painting and collision shop many years ago when Bodker folded. Maybe in the real olden days it was located in Detroit, but I don't think so. My parent's neighbor Mr. Nunnelly got me the job at Bodker. He too, had started there as a young man. I started out at 3.65 an hour...which was decent money at the time. It seems hard to believe but people were raising families and paying for homes on that much money. During my senior year in high school I was one of the best dressed guys in school. And in March of my senior year I bought a brand new 1968 Mustang! All on the money that I had earned at Bodker Dairy.
    I would have posted this on your site but I am not a member and was having a little trouble trying to join. Feel free to put this little posting on your site. If you have any questions concerning Bodker Dairy, I will try to help you out.
    Bye. Glenn, an old Bodker employee

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