05/26/2022

Thursday the 26th.

A winecup from two summers ago came back.
This true bug was relatively long and thin, and is standing on greeneyes. It flew away before I got a better picture.
Bee fly at woodland edge!
I’m hoping this could be inland sea oats that I seeded two years ago. Edit: Abby agrees.
There’s a passionvine label here but this could also be butterfly pea?? We’ll find out!!
Across the fence from mystery seedling is a known passionvine.
Showy milkweed has survived its planting.
I think these are the Mexican sage from Judy.
A small bee on coreopsis.
Mystery grass. I will note here when I hear back from the grass expert! (Then I can check here next year when I forget haha.). Edit: Mom says is the native little barley again. This one is a volunteer so I’m glad it does well here! Doesn’t get taller than the buffalo grass too so it can stay in the “lawn”.
Close up.
A small native legume whose name I’ve forgotten.  There are quite a few growing in the rainbow beds and in the backyard at the edge of the patio.
A lightning bug on a rain barrel.
A leaf miner in the native coral honeysuckle!
I think this dark spot is the larva, visible on underside of leaf.  So tiny!
Overall the coral honeysuckle is beginning to get going.  This one was from Judy!  Thanks Judy!
A wild grape that we dug from the front to make room for strawberries. Joke’s on us because there was root left up front and it’s now taking over the rain barrel stand too.
Another black nightshade. I think their tiny flowers are so pretty.
Elderberry just starting.
I think a mealy bug?  On ironweed stem.
Liatris mucronata from home from last summer.
Dicanthelium grass that came along with Liatris.
A tiny insect on ironweed.
Purple coneflower working its way towards blooming.
A mystery leaf.
The mystery leaf above came along with the transplanted wedge leaf Euphorbia.

05/25/2022 last rain day

The Datura wrightii is still alive near the chimneys.
Rudbeckia amplexicaulis from home is starting to bloom! I put this by the bird bath.
Helianthus mollis coming up! The others I did from seeds in the Tupperware didn’t make it. This one came up on its own.
The second senna has gained another pair of leaves!

05/16/2022 south of the river

An update from the Texas home garden this past week!

Pink brandywine tomato flowering in Mom and Dad’s container planter garden last week.
White currant tomato flower buds.
The red rubin basil has appreciated an increased watering regime.
First marigold bloom! The ones up here in Norman in my garden are just getting their first and second sets of true leaves.
Last Wednesday, note the size of mustard greens.
They sure grew over just a few days!
In fact, they grew enough that Mom harvested some.
Mom sauteed them in butter, oil, and white vinegar with salt, pepper, and a lemon juice top off at the end. Sources say it was good.

Blast from the past… Ok from Friday 🤣

Normally we let both dogs settle their own spots, but Gracie needs space with her arthritis now.
Wedge
Room for old bones
HELLO
Plz hello Gracie
Briar eventually got comfy.
But she still kept wanting to see Gracie.
Gracie says haha I’m safe!!
Wow!  The popcorn came up while I was gone!!
Potatoes in the straw bales are up!!
Mom documented my plant site choosing.
Here goes some annual groundsel and a cute little Euphorbia!
Mom did most of the digging to save my arthritis, for which I am very grateful.  She let me do this one though.  Thanks to Mom and Dad and Gracie for a great staycation-vacation!!!!

Sunday garden check up

Blue flax seedlings are getting tiny new leaves.
Possibly a false gaura! It looks different from the common volunteers!
Two Datura wrightii seedlings!
A senna hopeful.
It is actually a bit rough, so maybe this is the rough leaf sunflower??
A redbud I potted up last year.
The Euphorbia from Mom and Dad’s house is perking back up.
Roman chamomile did well while I was gone!
Lettuce and bok choy doing good.
Two more fluttermill Missouri primrose seedlings up!
The horse crippler cactus transplanted from Mom’s garden.
I’ve put a drip on the ground plum (actually a legume) since yesterday, as it seems to be having a rough transplant. This is also into the rock garden.
In the rainbow garden, a mystery seedling. Maybe two leaf senna???
Butterfly milkweed is coming up in rainbow garden.
Maybe another butterfly milkweed? It’s in the right place.
A single cilantro seedling. The only one in the yard. In that crack.
A winecup from two years ago.
Purple prairie clover from two years ago.
Maybe Liatris leaves? It’s in the right spot.
Another mystery seedling.
Tall vervain is perking up a bit.
Ten petal anemone are perking up too!
Greeneyes getting bigger!
My blue stars are blooming!
Salvia azurea leaves.

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.

Path and fence plants

I got a bit of dirt from near the rosette of Spiranthes orchids to get any mycorrhizae to sprinkle in my soil at home.
Here it is.
“Mother hellloooooooo hi hi hi hi wigglessss”
Boredom between walks.
Also bored.
Several spring prairie plants I want to establish in my mini-prairie (to ensure flowers for early pollinators) are growing right by Mom and Dad’s house where they always weedeat, right along the foundation and in the driveway. This is a wild onion.
A weird and neato double stemmed and double seed head ten petal anemone!!
Hopefully these annual groundsel (which will get mowed in path) will seed in my yard.
Mom did a cross post on her blog. This is private property, so we are the only people digging any plants and are careful to take very few and from areas on the property where they will be damaged or killed, such as a path, the house foundation, or fence line. We also divided plants from the garden near the house and dug up babies from yard trees that would get mowed.
Gracie got a sticker in her paw, so Mom helped her out. Up along the fence, there was a small fragrant sumac that Mom was going to lop off (keeping the fence line clear) so we dug it up. It had a long taproot! Still not as long as a yucca though.

More vacation gardening and wild prairie

Lyre leaf sage blooming. Hopefully mine will be blooming soon in Oklahoma.
A Swiss Chard is coming up.
Mystery seedling… Too early for oregano??
Dogs!!
Clouds like mountains.
Native tiny bee on Callirhoe involucrata (winecup).
Chickadee wasn’t on her nest yesterday, but she was today.
More fun!!
A solider beetle yesterday. Mom has the ID.
Two of these moths in one day (yesterday).
If you look just above the moth, you can see a tiny planthopper.