Look!!  I did find flowers for you, but not as sweet as that picture of Emily.  Love you!!!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

Yep.  September is the best time to buy chrysanthemums.  You can see what color they are, and you get to enjoy the whole blooming process.  If you wait until they are all the way bloomed, you still pay the same and only get half the enjoyment time.

 

So do it NOW!!!  That's my plan.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I was searching for flowers for your birthday, but couldn't find any that were as sweet as this.

 

So here we are wishing you the happiest of birthdays.  

 

 

LOVE YOU MORE THAN EVER!!!

 

We started out for our walk the other day, and noticed that the Tulip Poplars' leaves are starting to turn yellow and brown.  I don't remember if this is normal for them, or if they are suffering from our recent dry conditions. 

 

It is early September, and we are seeing quite a bit of fall color.  The Sourwoods and the Dogwoods are showing some color, and of course the Black gum trees are turning red.  We're seeing lots red on the Sumacs, but I think that is normal for them for September.  

 

Anyway, it is beginning to look a little like fall here in the mountains.  It may be drought-driven, but beautiful, just the same.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Ok, this is kinda gross, but also very interesting.  This is a tobacco hornworm on one of my tomato plants.  Usually I get rid of them, but this one is doing a remarkable thing.  

 

There is a parasitic wasp, Cotesia congregata, that oviposits her eggs under the skin of tobacco hornworms.  When the larvae hatch out, they use the hornworm for food.  So, you see, this hornworm is serving a very important purpose:  feeding beneficial insects in my garden, thus reducing the population of hornworms.  

 

The first time I saw this, I had no idea how a caterpillar could lay eggs.  Of course, they don't, but you don't know until you know.  The wasp larvae feed on the caterpillar, then spin their cocoons which pop out through the caterpillar skin.  So, these white fuzzy things on the caterpillar are wasp cocoons.  Natural hornworm population control.  

 

Now you know.  Still kinda gross.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

As we were walking in the park, we saw these Jack o'Lantern mushrooms.  We knew what they were because we've seen them before, just not in this spot.  But I checked the Seek App anyway.  And it said that Jack o'Lantern mushrooms often sprout at the base of decaying or living trees.  Yep, that's where we found these, at the base of a tree that fell down a few years ago.  

 

They are bright orange, and easy to see.  But here is a warning:  they are poisonous, and can cause serious gastric distress when eaten, raw or cooked.  When I know that a mushroom is poisonous, I don't even touch them.  But I do love to look.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is what the crabapples look like the end of August.  They have dropped most of their leaves, revealing hundreds of bright red crabapples.  The crabapples are edible, but really sour.  So we leave them for the birds.  They will eat them all winter.

 

Crabapples are native to the southeastern US, and are often used as landscape trees, because of their beautiful blooms in early spring.  These trees in Meeks Park bloom a brilliant red, before they leaf out in the spring.  They are truly gorgeous trees. 

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

When we were in the Ocoee the other day, we noticed that the Kudzu is blooming.  My first indication was the sweet smell of grape Kool-aid in the air.  

 

So I took this picture that could probably qualify as a Kudzu National Forest.  Really, it is just an excuse to let you know that it is blooming and will continue for most of the month of September.  

 

When you see it, be sure to roll down the windows so you can get the full experience.  You need to do it at least once.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

As you can see, I take lots of pictures on the move.  We were only doing about 25 mph when I got this one.  

 

These cattails growing in a ditch on a city street crack me up.  Cattails are usually found in the shallow water of lakes, ponds, and rivers, and is considered to be a common aquatic plant.  But these are growing next to a four lane highway in Blairsvillle.  I wonder if they planted themselves, or if somebody planted them here.  

 

Either way, I love seeing them.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

The native Clematis is blooming!!!  We saw it on Monday when we were driving through the Ocoee.  It was draped all over the rocks and everything.  It was breathtaking.  If you get the chance in the next week, go there.  And be sure to roll down the windows.  It has a lovely fragrance.

 

I couldn't get a good picture then, but I did get this picture on the road to Blairsville.  This is probably how you will see it, at 45 mph.  It is a white vine that drapes itself over everything.  

 

We saw a little bit in the park up close, so I took its picture too.

 

 

You can see how it is related to the big clematis that I always show you blooming at Roxanne's.  The leaves are similar too, wrapping themselves around anything that doesn't move.  In this case, an azalea.  If you get to see it up close, be sure to smell it.  You can thank me later.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!