Showing posts with label milkweed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milkweed. Show all posts
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Winter came and went... Wait! Winter was here? We only had one good snow right before Halloween and perhaps two dustings after that. That was winter? I guess the strange weather had me preoccupied, and I didn't check in as much as I would have liked. To fill everyone in on what is going on around here on yet another warm, 70+ degree day......
The daffodils visit is coming to an end. They sure are a dose of sunshine when they arrive though.
We had a new roof put on our house a few weeks ago. My relatively new (3 year old) Prairiefire Crabapple tree took quite a jolt. One of the roofers tossed something off the roof. It flew a good 15 feet out and caught one of the three main branches of the tree. Bent the end of this branch down to the ground and cracked it along the ridge. Poor thing. I thought the shovel tossed off the roof onto my Golden Zest rose or the three large garbage cans tossed on my blooming daffodils was going to be the worst of it. :(
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As you can see in the background, my hummingbird feeders went up a few days ago. According to the hummingbird migration maps, they're already north of us into New York. If you're interested, check out the link to the maps at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
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It doesn't look like much in the backyard right now, but in a month or two, it should be green and lush.
My Meyers Lemon plant that I purchased about a year ago. It developed its first blooms and just opened for the first time this morning!
Last year I bought a small ivy plant at the grocery store. It did quite well in my eastern-facing window. I decided to take an old wire hanger and make this topiary. The hook is buried under the potting mix. Then I shaped the rest into a circle and twined the vines around it. Although I'm not a big fan of ivy, I do think this makes a nice presentation.
Above is one of my Snow Princess sweet alyssum. It looks like there might be some blossoms starting in the middle of this one. I've never grown sweet alyssum before, but I'm still trying to add fragrant delights to the garden.
Old-Fashioned Vining Petunias. A fragrant annual that is new to me this season.
My tomatoes were planted on the March 11th. They starting germinating the other day. Here is one of the Sun Golds that my daughter is anxiously waiting on. Their flavor hasn't been beaten yet by any other cherry tomato. I know it looks sad, but it's amazing how they can transform into something spectacular within a few months.
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I would be remiss if I didn't mention my tomato list for 2012. What was going to include only 4 plants turned into 12. So much for self-control.
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2 Sun Gold - Everyones favorite cherry tomato around this house.
2 Celebrity - Dependable, disease resistant choice.
2 Kellogg's Breakfast - My dad's favorite. Superb flavor. Get small toward end of season for me.
1 Cherokee Green- Amazing flavor. Winner for flavor in 2010. Best green yet!
1 Cherokee Purple- Did poorly in a bad tomato year last season. Giving it another try.
1 Sandul Moldovan- Excellent pink.
1 Pruden's Purple- New to me. Despite its name it is a pink. I hear good things about it's production and flavor.
1 Marion- I had old seed, but never tried it. I figured I would plant it to get fresh seed...and to taste it.
1 Marglobe- Same as Marion. I've never tried it, but would like fresh seed to replace the old. Interested to see how it tastes and produces.
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Left: Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) from last seasons saved seed.
Middle: Tango Celery. A hybrid.
Right: Fat N' Sassy Peppers. Another hybrid which are now sold under the name King Arthur.
Dwarf Red Haven Peach. This is the first time my Stark's supreme dwarf RH Peach has had blossoms on it. They have such a beautiful pink hue to the flowers. Gorgeous. Since the tree is still quite small...even for a dwarf, I won't let it fruit yet. The scaffolds need to thicken up a bit and branch out before I will put that kind of stress on it. It is nice to see that it is doing well though.
Music and German Extra Hardy garlic which was planted last October. Off to a healthy start.
Caroline Raspberries. This is all from ONE bareroot plant that I planted last Spring.
Earliglow Strawberries. I went out this morning to find a blossom already! Last year my first Earliglow started to blush on May 19th. With all of this ridiculously warm weather the last few weeks, they are way ahead of schedule. I hope they hang on when the temperatures drop back down starting tomorrow. It'll be going from mid- to high-70s back into the mid-50s (where it should have been all along).
The daffodils visit is coming to an end. They sure are a dose of sunshine when they arrive though.
We had a new roof put on our house a few weeks ago. My relatively new (3 year old) Prairiefire Crabapple tree took quite a jolt. One of the roofers tossed something off the roof. It flew a good 15 feet out and caught one of the three main branches of the tree. Bent the end of this branch down to the ground and cracked it along the ridge. Poor thing. I thought the shovel tossed off the roof onto my Golden Zest rose or the three large garbage cans tossed on my blooming daffodils was going to be the worst of it. :(.
As you can see in the background, my hummingbird feeders went up a few days ago. According to the hummingbird migration maps, they're already north of us into New York. If you're interested, check out the link to the maps at http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
.
It doesn't look like much in the backyard right now, but in a month or two, it should be green and lush.
My Meyers Lemon plant that I purchased about a year ago. It developed its first blooms and just opened for the first time this morning!
Last year I bought a small ivy plant at the grocery store. It did quite well in my eastern-facing window. I decided to take an old wire hanger and make this topiary. The hook is buried under the potting mix. Then I shaped the rest into a circle and twined the vines around it. Although I'm not a big fan of ivy, I do think this makes a nice presentation.
Above is one of my Snow Princess sweet alyssum. It looks like there might be some blossoms starting in the middle of this one. I've never grown sweet alyssum before, but I'm still trying to add fragrant delights to the garden.
Old-Fashioned Vining Petunias. A fragrant annual that is new to me this season.
My tomatoes were planted on the March 11th. They starting germinating the other day. Here is one of the Sun Golds that my daughter is anxiously waiting on. Their flavor hasn't been beaten yet by any other cherry tomato. I know it looks sad, but it's amazing how they can transform into something spectacular within a few months..
I would be remiss if I didn't mention my tomato list for 2012. What was going to include only 4 plants turned into 12. So much for self-control.
.
2 Sun Gold - Everyones favorite cherry tomato around this house.
2 Celebrity - Dependable, disease resistant choice.
2 Kellogg's Breakfast - My dad's favorite. Superb flavor. Get small toward end of season for me.
1 Cherokee Green- Amazing flavor. Winner for flavor in 2010. Best green yet!
1 Cherokee Purple- Did poorly in a bad tomato year last season. Giving it another try.
1 Sandul Moldovan- Excellent pink.
1 Pruden's Purple- New to me. Despite its name it is a pink. I hear good things about it's production and flavor.
1 Marion- I had old seed, but never tried it. I figured I would plant it to get fresh seed...and to taste it.
1 Marglobe- Same as Marion. I've never tried it, but would like fresh seed to replace the old. Interested to see how it tastes and produces.
.
Left: Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) from last seasons saved seed.Middle: Tango Celery. A hybrid.
Right: Fat N' Sassy Peppers. Another hybrid which are now sold under the name King Arthur.
Dwarf Red Haven Peach. This is the first time my Stark's supreme dwarf RH Peach has had blossoms on it. They have such a beautiful pink hue to the flowers. Gorgeous. Since the tree is still quite small...even for a dwarf, I won't let it fruit yet. The scaffolds need to thicken up a bit and branch out before I will put that kind of stress on it. It is nice to see that it is doing well though.
Music and German Extra Hardy garlic which was planted last October. Off to a healthy start.
Caroline Raspberries. This is all from ONE bareroot plant that I planted last Spring.
Earliglow Strawberries. I went out this morning to find a blossom already! Last year my first Earliglow started to blush on May 19th. With all of this ridiculously warm weather the last few weeks, they are way ahead of schedule. I hope they hang on when the temperatures drop back down starting tomorrow. It'll be going from mid- to high-70s back into the mid-50s (where it should have been all along).
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Over the season I complained about this horribly ugly aster. How I need to move it because it's so tall, turns completely brown, and never looks good. Well, once the drought and heat waves finally passed, and the rains kept coming, she put on a ton of new growth. Quite quickly. She's never looked so good. And the best part...
I never thought I'd see this. A bit of sunshine on a rainy day.
If it's not aphids, it's the milkweed bugs...
The tomatoes are starting to decline. Spots. Dying leaves. Cracking fruit from all the rain. Starting to look pretty sad. A sure sign that the season is coming to an end.
Just outside of the above picture, to the right, is my Stupice tomato. It has easily produced the most tomatoes this summer, and is by far the worst off. Time to get pulled.
The Pink Delight butterfly bush and Fireworks goldenrod are blooming like crazy in all this rain, but it has left them bent over.
The Oklahoma red zinnia are really laying low, but the Caroline raspberries are loving the huge amounts of rain we have been getting over the last few weeks.
I never thought I'd see this. A bit of sunshine on a rainy day.
If it's not aphids, it's the milkweed bugs...
The tomatoes are starting to decline. Spots. Dying leaves. Cracking fruit from all the rain. Starting to look pretty sad. A sure sign that the season is coming to an end.
Just outside of the above picture, to the right, is my Stupice tomato. It has easily produced the most tomatoes this summer, and is by far the worst off. Time to get pulled.
The Pink Delight butterfly bush and Fireworks goldenrod are blooming like crazy in all this rain, but it has left them bent over.
The Oklahoma red zinnia are really laying low, but the Caroline raspberries are loving the huge amounts of rain we have been getting over the last few weeks.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Today's harvest. Lucky Cross, Stupice (one), and a few Sun Gold tomatoes. Caroline raspberries. Oregon Sugar Pod peas that I forgot were out there. They have full-sized peas in the pods since they were picked passed their prime. I thought the peas would be hard a lack sweetness since they grew so large. The pods were alright, but the peas inside were quite delicious. I have to remember just to plant shelling peas in the future. We just seem to enjoy them more. Oh, and the brown clumps in the bowl are dried zinnia heads. I am saving some of the seed from my Oklahoma red for next season. These are blooming machines with NO mildew. 
Tropical Milkweed is again releasing seeds. I saved a few for next season.
Graham Thomas rose. It's been a bad year for roses so far. Only a few blooms in the beginning of the season. Then long periods of drought hit. Then flooding rains. Now that the weather has moderated, all the roses are putting out new buds and flowers are starting to finally starting to open.
Perhaps a week or so before Irene's rains hit, I cut back my blackberries to about 4 feet tall so the laterals would put on more growth. I tossed the prunings into a heap and went inside. An hour or so later I thought, "what a waste". I went out and cut the branches into 8 inch sections. Removed the lower sets of leaves, and tossed them into this container full of used potato soil....from my potato containers. It's been a few weeks and it looks like some of them are hanging on despite flooding rains and neglect. Others, on the left, haven't faired so well.
I had some left over green coated tension wire, so I finally gave my Major Wheeler honeysuckle a place to climb. It was rambling through my azaleas and on the ground. I really want it to travel up along my light post. The green color is barely noticeable from a short distance, so I think the honeysuckle will look quite nice blooming there next season.
Happy Gardening!
Tropical Milkweed is again releasing seeds. I saved a few for next season.
Graham Thomas rose. It's been a bad year for roses so far. Only a few blooms in the beginning of the season. Then long periods of drought hit. Then flooding rains. Now that the weather has moderated, all the roses are putting out new buds and flowers are starting to finally starting to open.
Perhaps a week or so before Irene's rains hit, I cut back my blackberries to about 4 feet tall so the laterals would put on more growth. I tossed the prunings into a heap and went inside. An hour or so later I thought, "what a waste". I went out and cut the branches into 8 inch sections. Removed the lower sets of leaves, and tossed them into this container full of used potato soil....from my potato containers. It's been a few weeks and it looks like some of them are hanging on despite flooding rains and neglect. Others, on the left, haven't faired so well.
I had some left over green coated tension wire, so I finally gave my Major Wheeler honeysuckle a place to climb. It was rambling through my azaleas and on the ground. I really want it to travel up along my light post. The green color is barely noticeable from a short distance, so I think the honeysuckle will look quite nice blooming there next season.
Happy Gardening!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Ewws and Ahhs
First the ewws. EWW!! Aphid infestation on my Asclepias incarnata. Gross. Funny though. The plant right next to it appears aphid-free. 
Now the ahhs. AHH! I love this time of the year. That monarchs are leaving their eggs on the milkweed. The Black Swallowtails are leaving theirs on the carrots, parsley, and fennel. My daughter and I found these just a while ago.
Below: Monarch Cat.
Black Swallowtail Cat.
Two monarch cats and an egg (near the tip of the leaf) that I brought in to raise. So much fun. These were on the Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that I started from seed this past winter.
Two black swallowtails that I also brought in. There is also an egg on carrot foliage in there somewhere.
Fun for the whole family!
Now the ahhs. AHH! I love this time of the year. That monarchs are leaving their eggs on the milkweed. The Black Swallowtails are leaving theirs on the carrots, parsley, and fennel. My daughter and I found these just a while ago.Below: Monarch Cat.
Black Swallowtail Cat.
Two monarch cats and an egg (near the tip of the leaf) that I brought in to raise. So much fun. These were on the Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that I started from seed this past winter.
Two black swallowtails that I also brought in. There is also an egg on carrot foliage in there somewhere.
Fun for the whole family!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Photos of Today's Garden
Cherokee Green, Stupice, and Lucky Cross tomatoes. It rained very hard the night before I picked these, so the big ones cracked. Still tasted good though!
My new birdbath! It looks solid, but it's very light-weight. Love it! It's a Pedestal Bird Bath for Wild Birds by Gardman. It says it's frost and weather resistant. At $30 bucks, it felt like a steal.
A portion of my backyard bed. In the front is one Walker's Low nepeta with Autumn Joy sedum behind it. To the left are two "leftover" tomato plants that needed a home. I believe the front one is Stupice. No clue about the other until it matures. The ugly plant on the right is some sort of aster that I purchased from Jung. It's always been ugly. It puts out flowers though, so I think I'll move it in the Spring back behind other plants to hide the hideous foliage.
A few weeks ago the kids started some cabbage, lettuce, and radishes in the empty spots next to the Caroline raspberries that I added in the Spring. A few of the raspberries didn't survive, so now I'm just making the best of the space until the replacements arrive next Spring.
Fiesta del Sol tithonia. I am absolutely in love with this plant. It hasn't even reached two feet high and is so lush and healthy....Love it!!!! It handled the drought and 100+ days without skipping a beat.
Fat 'n Sassy hybrid bell peppers. Now sold under the name King Arthur.
Two more Spirit pumpkins. Some of the Oregon Sugar Pod II peas I started several weeks ago are planted along the front edge of the bed.
Winona Strawberries that were planted this Spring. They are sending out runners and filling in nicely.
Common milkweed that I started from seed in late winter.
Carmine Jewel bush cherry that I just purchased this Spring. The tips appeared to have some sort of blight in the beginning of the season, so they were cut back a bit to remove the funny looking foliage and stems. Now it's putting on some new, healthy growth. I will be transplanting it in the fall to its permanent position in the garden.
Yukon Gold and Red Norland potatoes that are just starting to show signs of dying back.
My new birdbath! It looks solid, but it's very light-weight. Love it! It's a Pedestal Bird Bath for Wild Birds by Gardman. It says it's frost and weather resistant. At $30 bucks, it felt like a steal.
A portion of my backyard bed. In the front is one Walker's Low nepeta with Autumn Joy sedum behind it. To the left are two "leftover" tomato plants that needed a home. I believe the front one is Stupice. No clue about the other until it matures. The ugly plant on the right is some sort of aster that I purchased from Jung. It's always been ugly. It puts out flowers though, so I think I'll move it in the Spring back behind other plants to hide the hideous foliage.
A few weeks ago the kids started some cabbage, lettuce, and radishes in the empty spots next to the Caroline raspberries that I added in the Spring. A few of the raspberries didn't survive, so now I'm just making the best of the space until the replacements arrive next Spring.
Fiesta del Sol tithonia. I am absolutely in love with this plant. It hasn't even reached two feet high and is so lush and healthy....Love it!!!! It handled the drought and 100+ days without skipping a beat.
Fat 'n Sassy hybrid bell peppers. Now sold under the name King Arthur.
Two more Spirit pumpkins. Some of the Oregon Sugar Pod II peas I started several weeks ago are planted along the front edge of the bed.
Winona Strawberries that were planted this Spring. They are sending out runners and filling in nicely.
Common milkweed that I started from seed in late winter.
Carmine Jewel bush cherry that I just purchased this Spring. The tips appeared to have some sort of blight in the beginning of the season, so they were cut back a bit to remove the funny looking foliage and stems. Now it's putting on some new, healthy growth. I will be transplanting it in the fall to its permanent position in the garden.
Yukon Gold and Red Norland potatoes that are just starting to show signs of dying back.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
I Have Monarch Cats!
Yeah! Monarch cats on my tropical milkweed! This is great news since there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of butterfly sighting this season. It's scary. Only a handful of times have we seen a few monarchs relishing in the blossoms....and I guess leaving a few eggs behind! Once the cats are a bit bigger, I'll bring them in for the kids to watch and release.
I will definitely need to plant more than three plants next season. A friend gave me three as tiny starts last fall. I overwintered them indoors. In the same pot. TORE apart the roots and planted them outside. They are thriving despite drought and neglect. Love them and love my monarch cats!!!!
I will definitely need to plant more than three plants next season. A friend gave me three as tiny starts last fall. I overwintered them indoors. In the same pot. TORE apart the roots and planted them outside. They are thriving despite drought and neglect. Love them and love my monarch cats!!!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Butterflies, ID help, butterfly weed, fruit and harvests
Temperatures are reaching the 90s for a second straight day. I'm finding the heat and high humidity oppressive, but it's not stopping the butterflies from frolicking around!
ID me please! This is a free plant my son brought home a few weeks ago for Earth Day. I was wondering if anyone knew what type of tree it is and how tall it could get. My guess it's a pine...of some sort....
A close-up of the tips of the branches. Can someone ID me please?
I have had a lot of difficulty germinating the Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed) seed that I bought on eBay. Only one of the first batch I planted germinated. That would be the one I have in a large container by itself. I decided to take my chances and use the paper towel method on the few remaining seeds. I dampened a paper towel, tossed the seeds onto the paper, and placed it inside a Ziploc bag in a window with bright, primarily indirect light. Another one germinated after about a week and a half. I carefully removed this one from the paper towel (it came right off) and planted it with the taproot covered in a small peat pot with potting soil.
Carmine Jewel Bush Cherry from Gurneys that I received last week. Self-pollinating.
Daily mixed shelling pea and strawberry harvest.
ID me please! This is a free plant my son brought home a few weeks ago for Earth Day. I was wondering if anyone knew what type of tree it is and how tall it could get. My guess it's a pine...of some sort....
A close-up of the tips of the branches. Can someone ID me please?
I have had a lot of difficulty germinating the Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed) seed that I bought on eBay. Only one of the first batch I planted germinated. That would be the one I have in a large container by itself. I decided to take my chances and use the paper towel method on the few remaining seeds. I dampened a paper towel, tossed the seeds onto the paper, and placed it inside a Ziploc bag in a window with bright, primarily indirect light. Another one germinated after about a week and a half. I carefully removed this one from the paper towel (it came right off) and planted it with the taproot covered in a small peat pot with potting soil.
Carmine Jewel Bush Cherry from Gurneys that I received last week. Self-pollinating.
Daily mixed shelling pea and strawberry harvest.
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