Trees, Creeping Charlie, Mint and the Mojito

Lollipop Crab 
Apple Tree

Concolor Fir

Blue Spruce

 As sad as it was to see the Austrian Pines and the Crab Apple come down, we are looking forward to their replacements.   Kickapoo Nursery, only about 10 minutes from us, has a large selection of trees and shrubs.  We selected 2 Concolor Firs, a Blue Spruce, and a Lollipop Crab Apple.   Being among so many beautiful trees, we decided to plant 3 more Sunset Maples as well adding to the two we already have.    The Sunset Maple is a  popular cultivar here on the Illinois Prairie.  Also in the picture is our beloved Ginkgo at its height of glory showing off its bright yellow fall color and crooked trunk with the prairie garden, really a prairie, in the background.  

Fall Color on the Illinois Prairie
even though it's Spring

Creeping Charlie, that invasive ground cover some call Ground Ivy has gone rampant in the prairie garden.    How dare he creep where he is not wanted!   Happily, the roots are shallow,  and so when one clump is pulled up, others follow because they are attached to the runner.  You never get it all, though, which makes Creeping Charlie a good example of survival of the fittest.  The aroma of Creeping Charlie reminds me of my 'Walkers Low' Catmint. 

And that reminds me -- the mint it up!  Our mint is from my mom's garden which we've potted up and taken to every location we've lived.  Mint is one of the first perennials to show its green leaves and a necessary ingredient for making a Mojito, Ernest Hemingway's favorite drink.   When Hemingway lived in Cuba, he frequented a bar named the Mojito and the drink he created, made with light rum, muddled mint, powdered sugar, (or simple syrup) fresh lime juice, --  you shake, shake, shake the liquid with a lot of ice and top off the glass with Club Soda. The drink has become known as a Mojito, named after the bar and in the last several years, has become a favorite of many, myself included.  

--Judy