These are leeks growing in our garden.  See the baby ones?  They grew from seeds dropped from the blossoms.  They will be next year's leeks.  Since leeks are so good in soups, we will harvest the big ones this winter.

 

My friend in San Antonio, told me that you can replant the root ends of leeks, and they will grow new ones.  So that's what we do.  You can even do this with store-bought leeks, if their roots are still attached. 

 

Leeks look like big spring onions, but they are a little  too tough to be eaten raw, unless you choose young ones and slice them really thin.   Once they are cooked they become soft, with a delicate texture and flavor, milder than onions.  It only takes about 15 minutes to get there.  I'll add my leek soup to the recipe section.  

 

Got a little space in the flower bed?  Plant a couple leek roots.  They are beautiful as they grow and bloom.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

Winged Sumac, Rhus copallina.  Or Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra,  depending on the twigs (one is smooth and the other has barky wings.)   They look very similar at 45 mph.

 

There are several Sumacs that grow here:  

 

Staghorn sumac with its velvety red flower spikes, easy to spot at 45 mph.  ;)

Smooth or Winged sumac (pictured) and 

Poison sumac which has white berries and causes a skin reaction much like Poison ivy.  

I've seen lots of Staghorn and Winged sumacs in our neighborhood, but no Poison sumac.  It may live here, I just haven't seen any.  

 

Sumac is a small tree or large shrub, some reaching 15 feet.  We have one that I can see from my living room, and we watch the birds all winter eating the seeds.  I don't think it would be a good idea to park your car under it, but it's great to see cardinals and bluebirds up close.  Deer also love grazing on the twigs.

 

Sumac is in its glory right now, leaves turning red, and bright red berries feeding lots of wildlife.  Be sure to notice them in your autumn travels.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

Jon's daughter, Sheri took this photo when we were hiking up Blood Mountain last weekend.

 

It is Goldenrod, Solidago spp.  There are more than 100 species growing in North America, and over 24 species found in our eastern mountains.  It's hard to pinpoint the species, because they tend to cross-pollinate and hybridize.

 

Some may be regarded as weeds, but I love seeing their sunny brightness on our hillsides.

 

Goldenrod is often blamed for causing hay fever.  Not true!!  Hay fever is actually caused by ragweeds and other wind-pollinated plants.  They are blooming right now too.  Ragweed is also in the picture, top right, spiky flower buds.

 

Goldenrod is blooming all over right now, adding beauty everywhere.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read in The Old Farmer's Almanac that today and tomorrow are good days for planting.  The moon is in the last quarter, in the sign of Cancer.  It's a very good time for planting seed beds, and flower gardens.  Also good for root crops.  I wonder if that includes my tulip bulbs....they do live underground until they bloom.

 

I think I'll go buy my pansies and get these pots planted:  red tulips for spring, and purple pansies on top for winter. Nope, pansies aren't ready yet.  Maybe I'll look for mums.

 

If you haven't ever stopped in at Buds and Butterflies, (on 19/129 toward Blairsville) NOW is the time to do it!!  Christina grows the most beautiful Chrysanthemums, and they are starting to show color.  This is the best time to buy mums:  you can tell what color they are going to be,  and you get to enjoy them longer.  

 

They come in all sizes: 

8" pots are 5.99 or 3/15.  10" pots and hanging baskets are 14.99.  Or you could go for the big ones:  12" pots are 19.99, and 14" pots are 26.99.  They are the prettiest!!!  Last year mine lasted until the frost in November!   That's 2 whole months away.  Plenty of time to enjoy!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

Dogwood, Cornus florida.  It is the state flower of Virginia (my home) as well as North Carolina. They grow throughout our woods, and are most noticeable in spring when they bloom white and pink.  

 

Dogwood is an understory tree, meaning it grows under the tall trees, and likes partial sun and shadows.  If they grow naturally in partial shade, it makes sense to provide shade if you want to plant one in your yard.  I've seen them in full sun, but not as often as in partial shade.  I'd go for the shade.

 

The Dogwoods in my woods are starting to show fall color.  They also have lots of bright red berries.  I've noticed others doing the same thing.  There is a beautiful one in the meadow down near the gate, also starting to turn red.  (It's in full sun, blowing my theory.)  Lee and Cindy also have several pink flowering Dogwoods in the sun, and they are beautiful.

 

An easy way to identify Dogwoods (besides the bark!) is by noticing how the branches grow in flat cloud-like formations.  That's probably easier to see when they are in bloom, but you can still see it now.

 

I hope you see them as they transition into fall.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

Do you know how to identify a dogwood?

 

 

By its bark.   Hahaha!!

 

No, really!!  LOOK!!  It's unique.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

Have you seen this in the woods?  It's called Strawberry bush.  Its botanical name is Euonymus americanus.

 

It is a low growing shrub, 2-8 ft tall with squarish green stems and twigs.  It's kinda weedy looking.

 

The local name ("local" meaning Southern Appalachian Mountains) "hearts a-bustin' with love" refers to the rough, crimson seed pods splitting open to expose the bright glossy orange seeds.

 

You may know the cousins of the strawberry bush:  Winged Euonymus or Burning bush, Euonymus alatus.  They are sold in garden centers, and are often planted on roadways, medians, and interstate hillsides.  Joe Willig planted one near his garage.  It has gotten really big, and it now belongs to Mark and Karen.  I'm keeping an eye on that one, then I'll know when to start looking for their brilliant fall color around town.  It won't be long now....

 

Meanwhile, we are enjoying our Hearts a-bustin with love.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

I checked on our Fritillary caterpillars and they have completely devoured the passiflora.  OH! NO!

 

But wait!!  There's good news!!  I learned that Fritillaries overwinter as caterpillars.  They finish eating and growing in the spring when their food source reemerges.  

 

That made me feel better, knowing that I was not expected to provide enough food for all of them to survive.  Jon keeps reminding me that they have been doing this for a very long time without human intervention.  Nature has it under control.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

I saw these caterpillars in my garden, and didn't recognize them.  However, I did recognize the plant they were eating: Passionflower.  I have been resisting pulling it out all summer, hoping it would bloom.  I got no blossoms, but this may be better;  I love raising butterflies.

 

I went to the Stokes Butterfly Book and discovered that Gulf Fritillaries use passion vine for a larval food plant.  Then, I looked up Gulf Fritillary to see what their caterpillars look like.  Guess what!!!  They look like that!!

 

Here is the adult on an onion blossom.  It was very close to where I discovered the caterpillars.

 

 

I'm so glad I found a picture of this butterfly.  I took the picture back in early June.  I wonder if this is the mom.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

Chestnut Oak, Quercus prinus.  

 

Like most of the Oaks, they are tall trees, typically 60 - 70 feet, sometimes reaching 100 feet tall.  They have dark, deeply ridged trunks, and leathery leaves.

 

The leaves look a lot like Chestnut leaflets, with rounded teeth.  Acorns are BIG, and a major food source for deer.  The years we have small acorn crops are the winters the deer eat EVERYTHING in your garden.

 

This year the Chestnut Oaks are loaded with acorns.  This stand of trees is on Five Forks Drive, near Solitude.  

 

Be sure to look for them on your walks or drives through the neighborhood.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!