Last week, I showed you the Sumacs getting ready to bloom.  Well, they are blooming now and you can HEAR them before you even see them.  The pollinators are all over them, and the buzz is quite loud.  We saw about 30 bumblers and honeybees on this single bloom spike.  And there are hundreds of bloom spikes on just this one hedge.

 

LOVE IT!!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Can you believe this?  These are the same sunflowers that I showed you last week.  They just keep on blooming!!!

 

I guess there are worse things that could happen in a garden, right?  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We are on our second crop of arugula for this year.  The first crop, that we planted in March went to seed.  So I took it out, along with a ton of chickweed, and replanted the bed.

 

I didn't have many seeds, so it came up kinda patchy.  I bought another package of seeds, and overseeded it just this week.  It only takes a few days to germinate, and we will have harvestable leaves in a month.  

 

We love arugula.  I hope you grow it in your garden.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Walking the park the other day we saw these sweet little flowers.  They are Rosepinks, Sabatia angularis.  We've seen this patch before, and learned that Rosepinks are native to eastern North America, and widespread across the southern U.S.  They bloom from June to September, and are fragrant.  Hmm, I didn't know that until just now.  I will have to check it out next tip to the park.  

 

I love learning new things about things we see all the time.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I know you've seen this grass growing along the roads and everywhere.  It is all over our neighborhood.  The reason I am addressing it today is because of some interesting things I read about it.

 

Its botanical name is Microstegium vimineum, and is commonly known as Japanese Stiltgrass, packing grass, or Nepalese brown top.  Interestingly, it was accidentally introduced into the state of Tennessee around 1919 as packing materials in shipments of porcelain from China.  It has since spread across the southeastern U.S. and has become invasive.  And because white-tailed deer do not browse it, (they eat competing plants) they actually help it to grow out of control and choke out native species.

 

I also MISread that it harbors deer ticks.  Actually, what it said is that Stiltgrass is an unfavorable habitat for ticks due to higher temperature and lower humidity.  Sorry, Tom for misleading you on that.  Sky can roll in it if she likes.  

 

There are some benefits, though.  Stiltgrass can serve as a host plant for some native satyr butterflies, and it provides cover for some native amphibians.  And that thing about being an unfavorable habitat for ticks leads to their increased mortality.  That sounds like a good thing, but we probably don't want to grow it in our yards.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we start out on our walk we go past the garden.  And when I looked in I saw these sunflowers.  They are up about 15 feet!!!  Jon had to put extenders on the support poles.  Hahaha!!!

 

This is only one end of the garden;  the sunflowers are throughout.  There are at least 25 towering above the whole garden.  And when we look out from the porch we can see the goldfinches flitting in and out.  They are happy and so are we!!! 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANNY!!!

 

Wow!!!  Have you seen the Sumacs lately?  They are all getting ready to bloom, and there are hundreds of them in the neighborhood, and all around.  As we got close enough to take a picture we could hear the bees buzzing all over them, looking for nectar.  They will be in hog heaven in about a week, with flowers galore!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

My friend gave me this plant, and I put it in the garden before we went on our trip.  It is Portulaca, and isn't it pretty?  

 

I put it near the entrance to the garden, so that when I step into the garden I am greeted by these sweet yellow flowers.  I love this little splash of sunshine.  Thanks, Priscilla.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

We also dug up all the garlic.  Not too impressive.  Lesson here?  Buy new seed garlic every year.  

 

When we plant fresh seed garlic we get good results.  When I replant garlic cloves that I grew, they are kinda small.  And these are so small that cleaning them is going to take a long time.  Oh, well.  It's garlic, right?

 

I will do better this October.  Buy the fresh bulbs to plant.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We harvested our crop of red onions!!!`  I planted them back in March;  I think there were a hundred tiny red onion sets.  They've been growing all spring, and here they are drying in the basement.  I counted 45.  Yay!!!

 

I love growing these in my garden.  They are exactly the size that I would buy if the store ever sold ones this small.  We always have to get the great big ones, then throw away some, unused.  How much can you really use at any one time?  Anyway, these will keep in the basement about 6 months.  We should be able to use them all.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!