fire plant

I think of my Croton, with its red-and-gold veined leaves, as the "fire plant." It's actually three plants growing in one pot, and recently I took the largest one out and put in its own SIP. It likes frequent watering, so I thought might grow well over the resevoir. I've also pinched the growing tip to see if I can make it branch out more on the lower part of the stem.

For once the plant doesn't appear to have suffered shock from a transplant. It is still sprouting new growth at a steady rate.

I took pictures of it in three different places to see how the background color affected the color of the foliage, just for fun.

bold beauties

I've been cutting flowers from the garden, a few small vases full of orange Tithonias. In one I added the best pink Cosmos - there's only a few- and in another some seed stalks from the pokeweed. Looks nice. Remembered a trick my mom used to do- put a penny in the vase and something about the copper keeps the stems straight longer. Either that or they just siphoned up the water because a few days later still standing up bright.

unfolding

The chrysalis that I failed to photograph the other day hatched out! I realized before it did that it wasn't a monarch after all; the monarch chrysalises have only a small ring of irridescent spots around the base and tip. This one had rows of shiny spots down the length of it, in tiny raised spikes. I took a picture of it empty.

It hatched at my friend's house so we didn't see the butterfly until its wings were half-open. It's a painted lady. Comparing pictures of the chrysalis confirmed that.

Unfortunately, not sure if this butterfly will every fly. By the next day it was still crawling on the deck, wings still partly cumpled. Placed carefully onto a plant but I don't know if it will survive, nor why the wings didn't fully extend. It emerged in open space, so nothing constricted the wings' expansion... maybe it fell and got injured before they were done?

peppers and peppers

The most abundant edible in my garden right now is hot Peppers!

And I don't even eat them, ha ha. I picked all these on one day last week and gave them away.

hopeful

I was so afraid that my little Lilac seedling had seen its last. Several weeks ago I noticed all the foliage was gone; some critter ate all its leaves. I thought it was done for. But recently it has sprouted anew, so I'm hoping it survives through the rest of the year and grows more in spring!

little charlie

My little Creeping Charlie cutting seems a bit happier in its small SIP container. It doesn't look much different yet but if you get close you can see some tiny new leaves sprouting where stems join:

I'm glad it is growing new foliage; that's a sign of health and I hope this one fills out soon.

caterpillars!

We have found two very cool-looking critters in the garden this past week including this huge fat green caterpillar, with yellow accented spots, white hairs and yellow horns on each end. I think it's the caterpillar of the imperial moth (they can be green or brown). I've never seen the moth but this caterpillar sure is a handsome fellow!

The other one was a beautiful little chrysalis, I think of the monarch butterfly. I didn't get a picture of because we took it to a friend's house to show his kid and then left it there. But it is such a delicate little thing with a lovely blue-green hue and jeweled with gold spots that have a metallic shine. It really looks like a little piece of jewelry. I wish I had a pic to show you; none of the ones I find online quite do justice to what I saw.

mock strawberry update

My mock strawberry-turned-houseplant seems to have adjusted well to being indoors in a plastic SIP. It's even growing some new leaves.

I like the way it looks in the bathroom trailing over the windowsill, making a nice visual balance with the cyclamen on the other side.

But it's starting to get some leaf burn. This could be a number of causes- either it isn't getting enough light and is too cold (in which case I just have to move it back to the front-room window) or it's getting too much water (a possibility as it's a drought-tolerant plant) or it doesn't like tapwater and needs to have rainwater only. I think I'll try changing the watering habits first...

On the other hand, it has produced a few tiny yellow flowers and red fruits! I just learned that these plants are not only ornamental, they have a variety medicinal uses and you can make a jam from the little fruits. Who knew! the wonders the internet will teach you...

root crops

The garden surprised me a little. It's been so neglected I wasn't expecting much of the Beets and Carrots but pulled all the red globes and half the orange roots and found quite a few decent ones!

greens

Chard is doing really well now that the weather has cooled off a bit. I'm trying out new dishes with it. This is a beans-and-greens dish my mom shared with me. First you cook the dry beans- I'm used to cooking beans with pork fat (trimmings off chops, slices of bacon, what have you) and a jalapeno or serrano pepper for flavor. So this was a bit different for me cooking with pepper and thyme for the flavoring. I did throw some bacon in there like usual, though.

The other half of the dish is prepared by sauteeing onions, garlic and chard and some chopped tomato.

Then you put it all together. I rather liked it, especially with some cheese shredded on top but the kids weren't a fan so I'm still trying out new recipes as I find them!

new flowers

My youngest crepe myrtle tree bloomed this summer- and its flowers are a different color (one not common in the neighborhood either- most of the plants I see have red, dark purple or white flowers): pale lavender. Very pretty!

My little one thinks them very pretty too, and she's been picking all she can reach!

new SIPs

I wasn't hoping much of it, but the Mock Strawberry plant I uprooted as a weed and stuck in a pot recovered marvelously. It initially got potted about two months ago and looked so bad at first I didn't even take a picture of it, expecting it would die. I cut it back hard and then forgot about it, but now it's starting to look attractive!

I brought it inside a few weeks ago and it continued to do well. So this morning took it out (lots of nice roots!)

and repotted it. It had lots of holes from slug or some other pest. I trimmed all those leaves off to make it look nicer, and so that if more holes show up I know I've brought a pest inside...

I put it into a sub-irrigated planter made out of a recycled soda bottle. It looks a lot thinnner now with the damaged leaves and dead material removed, but I think it will fill in again soon.

You can see in this photo how long the runners have grown!

My little Creeping Charlie cutting doesn't seem too happy, in contrast. I think it's because I potted it up before it had very many roots. It hasn't been growing any new leaves.

I put that one in an SIP too, made from a smaller bottle.

 

I think part of the problem was I kept forgetting to water it often enough; when I took it out of the little pot it was quite dry. I think being in the SIP will help it retain more moisture and with the stunted root system that might help it.

boats

My staple use for Zucchini has always been bread or cookies; the other day I finally made stuffed zucchini. It was pretty good! Even better the next day reheated with a bit of tomato sauce on top. My kid calls them "zucchini boats". I used this recipe.

okra wow

I'm continually amazed at how huge the patch of Okra plants is getting. And yet I'm still just filling a freezer bag, not yet picked recipes to try...

orange!

The Pumpkins are all turning orange, even the oblong one, so I guess it didn't really cross with a zucchini! There's a fourth small one now, too, but I don't know if that one will mature although they are all growing very quickly.

okra!

The Okra is really growing by leaps and bounds now. It's the healthiest-looking plant in my garden, happy in the heat and not much bothered by bugs it seems (or at least, the bugs that would like to bother it haven't found it yet!) Lots of new pods are forming although I'm still just tossing them into the freezer...

And everyone's right, the flowers are beautiful!

new visitors

I read quite a few garden blogs that are all about establishing native plants to encourage wildlife, particularly birds. I always thought this would take a lot of work but to my surprise this year I've seen two new birds. Several times now walking out of the house a bright yellow-and-black bird has darted away from my echinacea with quick, dipping flight. I'm certain this is an american goldfinch- and the info I read says they do love purple coneflower seeds! All it took was one plant, and this vivid bird is visiting my yard regularly.

The other new bird I've seen is a rosy colored one; there was a pair on the driveway for some time one day; I watched them through a window. I think they were house finches?

I haven't seen any hummingbirds this year, but the tithonias are planted against the fence on the other side of the yard, whereas before I could just glance out the window and see them. I wonder if they're around but I just haven't seen them yet?

of course I haven't got any photos- birds are so hard to catch an image of

squarshes

Cut a monster Zucchini today

I'm suspicious this largest Pumpkin adjacent to the zucchinis has crossed with them- it looks too dark green and oblong to me.

The other big pumpkin shows hints of turning orange already

There's a third small pumpkin growing now, too- quickly gaining size.

mock strawberry pot

I've continually had the idea in the back of my mind that mock strawberry could make a decent potted or even hanging plant. I tried once before and it didn't work. But a few months ago yanking weeds pulled a large clump with good root mass on it so I stuck it in a pot. For the longest time it was just dried up sad-looking. But I cut it back and watered it plenty and now it's actually growing again. So maybe it will make a nice plant to look at.

There are quite a few of these growing in the lawn on edges and my little one thinks the red berries which look remarkable like real strawberries, are edible. I caught her putting one in her mouth a few times. Freaked out at first, but then I learned they're harmless. Not much taste, but won't hurt you.