A couple weeks ago I told you about male and female squash blossoms.  

 

Well, I was out in the garden this morning and saw this beautiful example of a female squash blossom.  Actually, there are a few in this picture.  I thought it was such a good example, I had to take the picture.  We're going to have a few more butternut squashes.  

 

Check out the recipe section for a couple good butternut recipes.

 

HAPPY  GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Well, it was time to take out the leeks.  They've been there for 2 years.  

 

I planted seeds a couple years ago, and the first year we ate lots of leeks, and the second year they bloomed.  I showed you pix of the flowers a few months ago.  Then they went to seed.  Each of those little flowers produced 2 or 3 seeds. So you can see that I harvested thousands of seeds.   Now I just have to wait for them to dry, and I can store them to plant next spring.  I'll be happy to share if you want to plant leeks.  

 

In the meantime, at the base of each of those flower stalks is a bulblet or two.  I pulled them off, and replanted them.  They are already sprouting.  I think this is the right time of year to plant bulblets, so they can establish themselves before winter sets in.  Then I will mulch them with a couple inches of straw, to keep them warm through the winter.  

 

And next spring we will start all over again:  leek soup, scalloped potatoes with leeks, leeks in everything.  Hey, they are FREE!!!

 

And the year after that we'll get to see the blossoms!!  We love leeks.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This red-spotted purple butterfly hung around all day.  

 

I saw it on the potting bench in the morning, then on the deck rail at noon;  it just seemed to be happy here in my space. 

 

It makes me happy to know that I am providing happy spaces for butterflies.  Life is Good!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Today is Jon's birthday.  He is 73.  This picture is from last year on his birthday.  He was up on a 28 foot ladder!!! 

 

Fortunately, the stain that he used is good for five years.  So, this is NOT how he will be spending this birthday.  We will do something less exciting.  Something a little safer than maneuvering a 28 foot ladder.  

 

I am hoping that the next time the house needs to be stained, we can get Tim to do it.  He's a lot younger than we are.  Maybe he will be available by then.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JON!!!

 

I know you've seen this weed growing everywhere.  Each one stands about 5-6 feet tall, and en masse they are very noticeable.  You can see them all along the roadways.  

 

It is Boneset,  Eupatorium serotinum, and is closely related to Joe-Pye weed.  You can kinda see the family resemblance in the way the flowers are situated in clusters on top of the stems.  

 

It especially loves newly cleared lots.  Then it just takes over!!!  Go over to Stonebriar just before you get to Crabapple Lane, and you can see that lot is full of it.  The birds and bees and butterflies love it.  They are having a field day.

 

My go-to reference book, Magic and Medicine of Plants says:  Boneset was used by North American Indians and early settlers to cause profuse perspiration, and reduce fevers.  It was also used as a diuretic.  For nearly a century the plant was included in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and it was listed in the National Formulary from 1926-1950--standard references for pharmacists.  

 

It also says:  Pharmacologists have no experimental evidence to corroborate that the plant is therapeutic either as an antipyretic (a fever-reducing agent) or as a diaphoretic (to cause perspiration and hence break a fever.)  

 

I would never use it to treat any illness, but i do think it's fascinating to learn how previous generations used plants in their daily lives.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunflowers for your birthday!!!  I couldn't send them to Mississippi, but if I could I would.  They are pure sunshine!!!

 

Hope you like them.  I'll send you seeds, so y'all can grow your own next year.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

 

 

I don't know how often you get to the top of Five Forks Dr., but you really should go up there.  

 

We walk the loop almost every day, and this is our reward for making it to the top.  This is looking south toward Georgia, and you can see Lake Nottely at about  3 o'clock in the picture.  

 

I love sharing the views of our beautiful neighborhood with you.

 

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

 

Look at all the Joe-Pye Weed in bloom.   Botanically, it is Eupatorium fistulosum.  And, its other common name is Queen of the Meadow.

 

You can see it growing next to highways and back roads.  It grows all along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and there is a ton of it on Mocassin Church Rd. heading toward Ivy Log, and all over 19/129 going to Blairsville.

 

You can see in the picture that the flower heads stand about 5-6 feet tall.  And it is one of the wildflowers on the butterfly nectar list.  It is such a beautiful perennial.  

 

I've never seen seeds for it at the Ace Hardware or other stores that sell flower seeds, but I have seen it in my specialty catalogs.  Sow True Seed in Asheville offers Joe-Pye Weed for $2.95 for a packet of 200 seeds.  And we know that it grows well here.  In years past, we've seen it down by the creek;  we even had one in the hedgerow next to our house. 

 

Look for Joe-Pye Weed in your travels, or plant some in your garden for the butterflies.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

 

 

This Nasturtium planted itself.  I had some in this spot last year, and I guess I didn't pick up all the seeds.  

 

When this one started growing here this year, I just left it.  It wasn't taking up anybody's space, and it was really pretty.  Since May it has spread to about 15 feet long, and I just keep putting it back on the growing hill.  Once it takes over the walk path, it has to go.  

 

So we are working together.  It is growing and being beautiful, attracting hummingbirds and other pollinators to the garden, and I am keeping it out of the walk path. Teamwork is a beautiful thing.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

As I was checking on my giant Cushaw squash the other day, I saw this Silver-spotted Skipper enjoying my Zinnias.  I watched as it sipped nectar from each of those tiny yellow flowers.  That's a good enough reason to plant zinnias in your garden, besides being pretty to look at.   

 

There are lots of good nectar plants to attract butterflies to your garden including:  Asters, Buddleia (butterfly bush), Phlox, Black-eyed Susies, Purple coneflowers, Bee balm, Marigolds, Coreopsis, Lantana, Cosmos.  And let the wildflowers grow too:  Joe-Pye weed, Queen Anne's Lace, Goldenrod, Thistle, and Oxeye daisies.  

 

Plant all kinds of flowers in your garden, and watch the butterflies come to visit.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!