Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022Strong plants and strong ants Horsetail just shoves the hard soil out of the way!! More Stark Surecrop Pie Cherries. Soaker hose hard at work for the winecups and chamomile. The hose has a leak so I put the leak over a pot of Maximilian sunflowers. The Chef spotted ants carrying away this insect. Maybe a soldier fly?? He also spotted this milkweed bug. Hi milkweed bug! All three butterfly milkweeds in the front yard rainbow garden are up, plus the wild milkvines are pushing up everywhere too.
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 202205/01/2022 ashy sunflower from moldy humid container, attempt 2 The ashy sunflower humid tupperware had those two new seedlings. Last time I transferred out into soil, they shriveled within a few days. So, this time I’m making them a little greenhouse to get adjusted. This pot actually has two: one seedling and one I found sprouted with a root but the cotelydons (seed leaves) weren’t out yet from the seed husk. The upside down lunch meat container doesn’t quite seal over them, so I put damp paper towels as a sort of barrier. We’ll see if it works! Accidentally knocked off some flowers of showy evening primrose by the sidewalk when going back and forth to get pots and soil.
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 202205/01/2022 winecup sprouts The winecup sprouts are now in assorted soils. A few in a big pot, lots in sprouting pots. The rightmost pot is one of the purple and pink perennial pots. Lots of winecup seeds and sprouts to hopefully become ground cover where the soaker hose is! While I had the potting soil out, I also repotted the Missouri fluttermill primrose seedlings. There are three total – one kept wilting, so I figured they needed more soil to have a stable moisture level.
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022A prairie gardening book with nice species accounts and germination information The Prairie Garden: 70 Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country by J. Robert Smith with Beatrice S. Smith. The authors founded a prairie seed and plant nursery that’s still in business. I’ll have to check them for plants in the future! The table of contents is available online at Google books too. You can get your own copy new or used. It’s still in print!
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 202204/26 and 04/28 assorted The Tupperware experiment Ashy Sunflowers have a few more sprouts as of 04/26. I need to move them more carefully as the last two I tried to plant promptly shriveled up and died. Texas mallow coming up! The other individual of Texas mallow coming up! Now on 04/28, an Ashy Sunflower actually sprouting from seed! I believe this was one that got stratified. 04/28 rock garden is looking good. Penstemon grandiflorus from prairiemoon.com as bare root seems to be growing! The Astragalus (ground plum) not looking as good again. Finishing up the 04/28 pics, the culinary sage is blooming in the rainbow garden!
Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 202204/30/2022 assorted Yarrow from home about to bloom. Linum rigidum (yellow flax) from home is blooming! It’s an annual, but I’m hoping it will go to seed. The mailbox irises are varied this year! Closeup of purple. Closeup of pink. This englemann daisy has lost a few petals! The two leaf senna is growing a second pair of leaves!! Two baby flax are just starting their adult leaves. The false gaura is doing fine but there was also this very nice fly on its label. Gulf coast penstemon from the NPSOT plant sale is blooming!
Posted on April 30, 2022April 30, 2022A… Walnut??? I recently noticed a small tree in a raised bed. I finally pulled it today. I was quite shocked to discover it was a native black walnut! I have put it in a pot in hopes that it will live and I can find it a home. No room on our lot, sadly.
Posted on April 30, 2022April 30, 2022A purple and pink experiment A wild perennial violet was growing in the mulch in the front yard near where we’re going to fill soil in, so I dug and divided it. I put some in a pot along with mistflower, that tiny berried nightshade I can’t remember, and a showy evening primrose. Let’s see if they can do okay together in a pot! The purple and pink perennial pot!
Posted on April 30, 2022April 30, 2022Water, water everywhere The Chef helped me connect and lay out the second soaker hose where I will attempt to plant some winecup seeds soon. The winecup seeds in question, a few days ago, in stratification in the fridge. They’re ready to get started. Imagine my surprise to look up from my garden spreadsheet and find a Gray Catbird on the closer birdbath! I saw one last year in the yard in spring migration too. SPLASH The lone rain barrel out in the yard is an overflow for another one, and I have placed it next to a new plant (the beautyberry) so I can hopefully water it someday.