Posted on

Mesh weavers! And other friends

Onion flowers.
05/21/2022 a mesh weaver on an onion flower husk.
Sliiiiime mold!!!! Also from May 21.
A lightning bug spied on our dinner. (05/21/2022)
Mesh weavers on the sugar peas.
More mesh weavers!
Thanks to the diligence of the tiny mesh weaver spiders, here are 146 g of Thomas Laxton sugar peas. (05/20/2022)
Posted on

2022/05/21 a cool afternoon, good for last plantings before summer heat

Weird fungus in front strawberry bed where sweetgum roots are rotting.
Potatoes!
Some eggs on the house.
Dayflower. Someday I’ll figure out if it’s the native or non native species.
A mystery that came along from Texas.
It turns out these tiny things are seedheads, so I completely missed it blooming.
I looked at it in the microscope to confirm they are seeds. Abby suggested a Nutallanthus sp which looks right. I can’t believe I somehow missed the flowers! Maybe while I was at home in Texas in April?
A non native rye. It’s pulled now. Thanks Jeanne!
Mystery grass, up close of seedheads. Abby has identified as Vulpia sp, but that genus contains both native and non native species.
The same Vulpia sp, outside.
Guest cat Shackleton wanted and got a leash walk today.
He loves a good dust patch.
At the end of the water hose is a small Datura wrightii that I figured I should plant while we have our probably last spell of cool weather for the spring. I left its sibling in a pot until I find out if this spot has enough sun.
A baby Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover) in the prickly pear planter! This was from a free seed packet from prairie moon. I didn’t use any inoculum.
Abby very kindly gave me one of her two seedlings from her Rudbeckia maxima! Really excited to watch this one grow!!
Posted on

05/17/2022 I meant to plant more beans but I got distracted looking around

A new kind of plant in the plant window.
Widow sedum in full bloom with a background of Englemann daisies.
A second baby two leaf senna is coming up in a container!! This one is in yard soil instead of potting soil. Very excited.
Briar lounges on the buffalo grass with the widow sedums to her left and Englemann daisies behind her.
Going through the house to go see front yard, I glimpse the new plant. Hi Shacks!
Rainbow garden orange is considering blooming (butterfly milkweed).
Fluttermill Missouri primrose is living up to its name with new seedpods produced!
A Venus looking glass volunteered in the strawberry bed! I love these. Apparently they’re annuals.
This tiny native cucurbit vine appears every year and I adore it.
Posted on

05/13/2022 world’s most adorable banana spider and other friends

The featured adorable tiny baby banana spider (Argiope aurantica). They are also known as garden spiders. That’s more common, but I prefer banana spider.
A tiny spider has caught a stilt bug. Mom, do you remember what these ones with the messy webs were called? The plant is a native Euphorbia.
Here’s an ant and a living stilt bug. I think it’s a Maximilian sunflower leaf they’re on, but I don’t know why I would have put one in this little pot. We’ll see.
A bombyliid bee fly on the coreopsis out front.
Posted on

“Traditional” gardening with native plants

I recently got a question about people who were interested in planting native plants but didn’t want a meadow. I searched around online for some nice examples of how you can still do design ideas and structure while using native plants.

  • This historic garden is in Delaware but has great examples of a very formal garden using all native plants for their region:.
  • Grow Native has some likely more feasible for most of us “formal” garden plans for sun and shade showing how you can use native plants in a non meadow yard setting.
  • Another far afield garden but good formal design pics from Chicago.

At our house I have beds with metal edging and rock borders in the front yard, and the meadow/woodland edge/prairie is in the back yard. I would love to see any links y’all have to structured gardens using native plants!