I always love seeing the Milkweed in bloom.  This one is on our loop walk at Meeks Park.  There are several species of Milkweed;  Seek says this one is Asclepias variegata, commonly called Redring or white Milkweed.

 

When the Milkweed blooms, I start looking for Monarch butterflies.  Monarchs use Milkweed as the host plant for their caterpillars.  They lay eggs on the underside of the milkweed leaves, and when the caterpillars emerge they have their favorite food right there for them.  When I see a milkweed, I look for chewage on the leaves, then look underneath the leaves for the caterpillars.  

 

When I was teaching Preschool, I would collect the caterpillars and put them in our 50 gallon aquarium (in the classroom.) Then we all watched as they ate milkweed leaves, and grew until they made their cocoons.  Then we waited and watched some more til they emerged.  Fascinating for kids and adults alike.  Then when they were ready, we took them outside and let them fly away.  It was fun to feel part of the process.  

 

I've seen milkweed like this in my yard here in Five Forks, so look around in your travels, you may find some.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Yep.  It is THAT time of year, again:  Poison Ivy season.  

 

I know I must sound like a broken record, but I really want you to be able to identify poison ivy from a distance, and up close.  Especially up close.  That's when it can be problematic.  Most people are allergic to the Ursheol that covers the plant:  the leaves, the stems, the roots!!!  

 

Here's how to ID poison ivy:  it has three leaflets, and grows on a vine.  The leaves can be small or really big.  When it gets old, it blooms.  We've seen some blooming down by the creek.  It's usually shiny (that's the oil on the leaves) but not always.  Just brushing against the leaves can subject you to the misery of dermatitis.  Trust me, I used to get it a lot.  But now I can spot it at 100 yards, and steer clear of it.

 

Our Girl Scout jingle really helps to identify poison ivy:  You can shake hands with 5 fingers but not with three.  The five fingers mentioned here refers to Virginia Creeper, which is also a green vine, but harmless.  Lots of plants have three leaflets;  LOOK first, then touch if you must.  

 

Now that everybody is spending more time outside, I want to remind you to look out for poison ivy.  It's everywhere!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

These are seed pods from this year's Arugula. They will be next year's Arugula.

 

Lots o seeds!!!  If you enlarge the picture, you can see little black seeds in the pod just below photo center.  What do you think?  This should be enough.  ;D

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

This lily is also blooming in our wild garden.  One of my students gave me a 4 inch pot of these more than twenty years ago.  

 

We planted them in the terraced beds, and they were really pretty.  They grew and multiplied until there were about 50 blossoms.  Then the deer discovered them, and that was the end of that.  I was able to rescue a few of the bulbs and move them to the wild garden.

 

We planted them near the top of the garden, and as the years have gone by, they have migrated to the middle and bottom of the bed.  I think moles dig tunnels, and the bulbs travel through them.  That, or the squirrels are replanting them.  Who knows!!!  I'm just glad to see a few orange blossoms every year.  

 

These will satisfy my need for lilies until Roxanne's bloom.  That will be soon;  they are loaded with buds.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look who's blooming in our wild garden:  Fire Pinks.  

 

Its name is Silene virginica, and is in the same family as the familiar cultivated carnation.  We love seeing these bright red stars in our garden, and all along the road in our travels.  Keep an eye out on Moccasin Creek Rd.;  you'll probably see some there.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is an Elderberry in bloom.  This tree is on Stonebriar, as you climb the hill from the creek.  It's almost to the big switchback.  But you can see them all around, in wet areas, and next to rocks and walls.  There are some on the hillside on 515 near the WalMart in Blairsville.  

 

Elderberry, or Sambucus spp. is a shrub or small tree that can grow to 30 feet tall.  There are several species:  European Elderberry, Red Elderberry, and American Elderberry which is a species native to North America.  Since the Elderberries that we see are growing in the wild, I'm guessing that these are the native ones.  Let's run with that.  Sambucus canadensis.  

 

You need to know that the leaves, bark, and roots contain poisonous alkaloids and should not be used internally.  But the berries of Sambucus taste delicious, and we dry them and use them in our winter tea.  Some people make wine and jams using the flowers and berries.  

 

Best of all, they are really pretty right now, in bloom.  Be on the lookout for Elderberry.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

OK.  Here's your gardening lesson for today:  You do NOT want these in your garden.  Because once they take hold, you lose the battle.

 

These are the caterpillars of Cabbage White butterflies.  The butterflies lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves in the Brassica family.  That includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, mustard, and arugula. Then the caterpillars EAT HOLES in the leaves.  

 

I see twenty-one on this one mustard leaf.  That leaf is no longer on that plant.  :}  I picked it off and squished the little munchers.  I check every day, and pick off as many as I can.  But it is a never-ending process.  

 

I don't want to try to control Nature, just my little corner of it.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Have you smelled the Ligustrum lately?  Ligustrum is THE official smell of summer, according to Jon and me.

 

Often called Privet, some shrubs are evergreen, and some are deciduous.  They are used by landscapers to create privacy hedges;  we had six evergreen ones across the front of our yard when we were little.  They were huge, and definitely created privacy.  They also invited thousands of bees to our yard.  Maybe that's how we had so many apples:  pollinators!!!  

 

There are several deciduous ones growing in our neighborhood:  one down by the creek, and one up on Five Forks Drive, across from the corner of Bella Vista Point.  Just go up there and breathe the air on a warm day, and you will locate the Ligustrum.  

 

It is right next to a wild Elderberry bush;  I'll write about that soon.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Look at my cabbages.  They are starting to form heads.  Yay!!!  

 

Did I tell you that I grew them from seeds?  Yep.  Karen gave me two packs of cabbage seeds in March, so I planted half a flat with cabbage seeds, and they ALL germinated.  I'm not too good at pitching extra plants, so we still have cabbages in 6 packs.  We also have 8 plants in the garden:  and they look great.

 

Now the challenge is to keep the cabbage white butterflies off of them until their heads are set and firm.  I go out every day and look for chewage on the leaves, and squish any caterpillars eating my plants.  So far, I'm winning.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

LOOK!!!  The garlic scapes have appeared.  Scapes are the flowering stalks of the garlic.  They emerge and curl around, little goose necks.  The whitish part is the flower bud, and the stems are called scapes.  We eat the scapes.  But not the flower bud.

 

I learned years ago (the hard way) that if you don't cut off the scapes, the garlic bulb will not develop.  The plant sends all its energy to the flowers to produce seeds.  We don't grow garlic for the seeds;  we grow it for the bulbs.  So yesterday I cut off all the scapes, and shared some with friends.  I added some to the quiche we were making. That was really  good.

 

The best way to cook scapes is like green beans:  cut off the flower bud, and cut the stems into 2 inch pieces.  Then we steam them about 5 minutes, and blanch them in cold water til they are cold.  Then we sauté them in butter for about 3-5 minutes, til they get hot again.  You don't need to add garlic to the pan because, they ARE garlic.  Mild, but definitely garlicky.  

 

Aren't they pretty?  Now we just have to wait another month or so, and we can harvest the garlic bulbs.  I'll get back to you on that.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!