Category: Infrastructure

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05/01/2022 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.
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Water, 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.
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Irrigation for the container garden

The Black Vulture egg has hatched!! We were not sure what happened to the second egg.
One of the parents watched Mom take a picture through the well house door.
We checked on the chickadees and a parent is still sticking close. Very close.
Garden transplants and path rescues are actually doing pretty good in the shade and relative cool of the garage.
You can see several Mexican plums in here. That tree had a lot of seedlings!
Even more plums! And some other stuff.
Mom and Dad set up the irrigation for the tomatoes, greens, and herbs.
A tiny seedling. Also maybe oregano?? I am not sure. We’ll find out later.
The irrigation timer also drips some water for the birds!
The lyre leaf sage is really getting going!
This post sponsored by Dogs.
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This week’s events… Busy busy

Got winecup (Callirhoe involucrata) seeds in the mail from prairiemoon.com. This species gets boiling water then 30 days cold in fridge. They also kindly sent a free seed packet of Dalea purpurea which we immediately planted.
The straggler roots of Maximilian sunflower are everywhere. Paula and I lifted up this stepping stone to find more. We’re potting them up to give away. The big colony that we transferred over to edge of shade is sprouting too.
Glass gem popcorn now in the raised beds!
Judy gave me these delightful frog stepping stones for my birthday! Thanks Judy!!
The Phacelia leaf in the rock garden is very similar to the invasive geranium leaf I am holding, but isn’t as round.
In the very middle, you can see a single Datura pushing up. The other seedlings look like what I hoped was honeysuckle, but is now coming up everywhere.
This seedling is in the Two-Leaf Senna pot. We’ll see.
Human, you must rest.
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The finished projects from yesterday plus seeds today

Four t posts. Wires go east to west on both, holding in the blackberry canes so we can walk through and harvest. There was one new sprout in the middle that grew up and we moved it into a line with another.
Close up so you can see aluminum wire.
We finished the compost pile area yesterday but I forgot to take a picture. Wes did a lovely job leveling it all and put rebar through several holes to keep it in place.
I connected an old hose from one of the rain barrels to make sure the pile stays suitably damp for decomposition.
See that big seedling on the lower right edge? I don’t recognize it, so there is a possibility it’s the native bush honeysuckle Lonicera albiflora which is what I planted in this pot and left out all winter.
A pale but bright turquoise fungus growing on the showy milkweed seeds. The seeds felt plump though so maybe some will grow.
Strophostyles helvula bean seeds. One has fungus but also a little root!!
All the seeds we planted out of fridge stratification today. There’s still a few more left for late April that needed more time.
A little mystery seedling in the old Maximilian sunflower area.
Paula and I pulled and dug a lot of Maximilian sunflower shoots out of there. Hopefully we can find them new homes!
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Beautiful day but some people just keep having ideas

Wes said he wanted to go to Lowe’s today and somehow one of us (all three of us?) Decided we should finally get our compost pile in shape. It was hard to access for turning over, surrounded by chicken wire that kept collapsing in.
Wes helpfully volunteered his plastic recycling bricks to be a small scale model.
I’m not sure loading the car with 40.5 cinder blocks was a great idea.
Beetle larva found during clearing the edges of the pile for the concrete cinder blocks. Decomposition is happening!
The first two layers mostly laid out. I’ll take a picture of the completed structure tomorrow.
On one side, we encountered a mysterious wire on the ground surface. We thought it might be for cable TV as it wasn’t marked by the call before you dig flags. It was above ground maybe for four feet, then both ends went deep again. To be safe, we put it underground a bit, with Wes’ plastic bricks as markers to prevent cutting it later.
We moved these giant concrete corner stones (that came with the house) from compost pile corners to become the new stand for the heated bird bath.
The salvaged iron plant basket was previously being the pedestal for the heated bird bath, and now is marking and protecting the baby Mexican plum.
While resting after the compost pile was done, I checked the rock garden. The seedling next to the pebble might maybe perhaps be the desert bluebells (Phacelia) that I seeded directly in fall????
More of the mystery plants are up. I’m suspecting blue stars.
Dropped a chip in the garden accidentally and later found it covered with Tapinoma sessile (the odorous house ant, a native species). Thanks Diane for the identification.
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Home to excitement

The tiny bluets in front yard are blooming wildly!
I found this rock in the driveway.
A tiny seedling of Penstemon cobea!!!!
Two blue flax seedlings!!
This is a mystery sprout from yesterday in backyard prairie. Looks exciting. Edit 2022/04/03: this is bluestars.

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Heavens opening

Mesonet says 2.03″ rain today for Norman.
Paula and I took 15 min or so to try to drain some of the water off the low patio area. Hopefully this will also absorb slowly into yard. Briar moved in this picture but she spent several minutes staring at us like we were nuts. Why not either go play or go back inside? Why stand and get wet toes??
I discovered a tiny bluet in the transplanted prairie parsley!
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Field trip of spring

Happy dog heading home from Saxon Park
I think this is a Mexican plum.
Leaves of same tree.
A falcate orangetip butterfly visited this plant!
Mom suggested an identification of Cardamine parvifolia. Thanks Mom!
It is apparently a host plant for the orangetip.
Chickasaw plum blooming!
Paula gave me a combination garden tote/seat/knee pad. Pets investigate.
Briar displays the seat mode.
Gram examines the knee pad mode.
Gram refuses to go for a ride in the rolling tote part.