Today is Flag Day.  A special day to fly our flags proudly.  I read this on The Farmers Almanac and thought you might be interested:

 

 

Here’s the link if you want to read more:  https://www.farmersalmanac.com/flag-day

 

 

HAPPY FLAG DAY 2024!!!

 

We were on our loop walk the other day and noticed (for the first time) a Mulberry Tree.  A mulberry tree with mulberries!!!

 

My picture isn’t great, but I circled the berries so you could better see them.  Really, we were so busy picking and eating the berries, that I almost forgot to take a picture.  

 

For identification purposes, the leaves are large and heart shaped, and the berries are elongated like blackberries, hanging under the leaves.  As soon as they turn red they are sweet and ready to pick.  I think they taste like strawberries.   

 

After we saw this one we noticed another one along the road to town.  We noticed it because the road beneath it was dark red.  And when we looked up we saw Mulberries!!!!

 

Be on the lookout.  There may be a tree near you.  Oh, yeah, I didn’t need it, but the Seek app positively identified it as Red Mulberry.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It’s been a few years since we’ve seen Indian pipes.  But we saw these blooming in the park a few days ago.  

 

Indian Pipes are very interesting.  They grow in clumps like this near their source of fungus.  You can see how small they are, just 2-4 inches tall.  Their leaves are just scaly bits along the stems, and they have no chlorophyll.  Since they don’t have chlorophyll they need no sunlight, and can grow in the deepest, darkest part of the forest.  They appear in early summer to early autumn, usually a few days after rainfall.  

 

That’s all I know.  Except that I love seeing them on a walk.  I hope you see some in your travels.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I do love seeing butterflies enjoying my flowers!!!  That’s one of the best reasons for planting them.  

 

I love the marigolds, and they are so easy to grow from seeds.  But it makes me happy to know that I’m not the only one.  All day long we see butterflies flittering in and out of the garden to enjoy the flowers.  This is a Fritillary on the marigold.  We’ve seen lots of them since the marigolds started to bloom.  

 

I hope you plant flowers, so you get to see butterflies in your garden.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Borage planted itself this year, right in the rows where we planted our tomatoes:  perfect!!!

 

We usually plant Borage near the tomatoes to deter tomato hornworms.  But last year they dropped so many seeds that we didn’t have to plant ANY.  Actually had to weed out quite a few.  That’s easy enough.

 

These plants are about 3 feet tall, and blooming like crazy.  The bumblers are all over them.  I have to pay attention when I pick the flowers, that I don’t get in their way.  I picked about 50 flowers the other day.  They were so pretty on our salads: sky blue stars.  :)

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We are so excited!!!  This is the first year that our pear trees have set this much fruit.  

 

We planted the trees in the orchard about 2012.  And a couple years ago they started setting fruit.  Each tree set a couple pears, but they dropped off.  We figured they didn’t have enough sun to survive, but they certainly have survived, and now we are going to get pears.  

 

Aren’t they pretty?  Right now they are only about three inches long, but there are lots of them.  Yippee!!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Jon was admiring this marigold in the catnip, and noticed our first Praying Mantis of the season.  It was only about 2 inches long, but we know that it will grow a lot more as time goes by.  

 

We love seeing them in the garden.  They eat bugs!!!  And they are pretty.

 

 

HAPPY  GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Remember the tiger lilies in Nanny’s yard?  On the fenceline next to Mrs. Carr.  I think of those every time I see tiger lilies.

 

They are blooming all along the roadsides now.  These are on the road next to the dump.  But I’ve seen them lots of other places too.   Each flower lasts only one day, but there are more behind them waiting to bloom the next day, and the next.

 

I hope you see some in your travels, and I hope they make you smile.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is the amaryllis that Priscilla gave me a couple Christmases ago.  It overwinters in the basement, and when all the plants come outside, the amaryllis come out of their dormancy.  They sprout new leaves, and send up flower spikes.  It only takes a few weeks for them to come back to life and bloom.  

 

This one has two flower spikes with six blossoms.  Isn’t she beautiful?  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Elderberry bushes are blooming!!!

 

This one is in our neighborhood, on Five Forks Drive, just across from Bella Vista, but they are blooming all over the place.  My favorite ones are on the hillside beside the Blairsville WalMart.  There are about thirty bushes on the hill, all blooming bright white.  Be sure to look the next time you are on 515 in Blairsville.  

 

But be on the lookout other places too.  They are easy to spot at 45 mph.  And they are so pretty.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!