A New Place To Call Home

Lol!.. I thought this cartoon was funny and a good way to let everyone know that I'm moving to a new state in about 11 days. like many others before me.. I  have decided to return to the south, a place where I have family history  ( Hello!  South Carolina ) during this transition, I'll be blogging less until I'm settled but I'll be keeping in touch and posting my updates as I go along. 

Late blooms and garden whimsy

   The Sun looks over the backyard from the front gate.

Will these ever bloom? I do not recall sedums "Matrona" blooming so late. They are usually in full or at least partial bloom by August and here we are at the end of August, they still have time to bloom, I just don't recall them blooming this late.

The bees are waiting too, they love Sedums and go nuts over my Vera Jameson, Matrona and Stardust.

Below:  I love the color and form of Vera Jameson, she is a clump forming sedum and when planted in containers she looks lovely cascading over the sides.  Below:  Sedums " Vera Jameson"

Below: Sedums "Star-Dust" when in bloom has lovely pink flowers. Perhaps all of my sedums will be in bloom by the 15th and I can display then during Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.  

Below:  The Moon Plant or Moon Flower is one of my Mother's favorites. The scent of it smells similar to a gardenia.It's called a Moon flower because it blooms late in the evening or at night. In the future I'll be smart enough to plant more then just a few..But will do so in containers because Moon flowers will take over  your garden.

Below: I put out a feeder for the chickadee's and have now stopped feeding them by hand. Feeding them by hand was a lot of fun, but after a while they began to chase me all over the yard looking for seeds from my hands, so I put out the feeder.

Below:  The chickadees favorite place to take a drink. I must remember to place small containers out in the future for smaller birds to drink and bath from.

Below: I've fallin in love with Buddhas and will have more in the future, for me they represent peace, and harmony and like other garden art or statues I choose them solely for decoration.

This one has a solar light.

Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine. Buddha

                                                           

Summer is Winding Down

The summer is winding down and I have never thought that I would ever utter these words,“I’m happy to see it go… exhausted by Mother Nature's ills, I began to beg for autumn, but here we are in late summer... I am finally able to enjoy the outdoors, bird watching, and journaling...so here are my updates.

         

  Below:  This chicken’s expression mirrors how I felt about the weather this summer.   

                                              
                                              Confused and disappointed

                                  But then came the sun…. And

                                 then came the chickadees!

I had waited for them all summer, but had not seen them since they paid me a short visit in early June….  

However my cat Panini could tell you different story; she knew they were here all along.... But where?  I had not notice any nesting activities, nor heard any chirping babies.  

Below:  see the bushes behind Panini’s head? That is where the chickadees had made their nest. How did this get by me, perhaps the extremes in weather prevented me from noticing them…. I did spend most of the spring, and half of the summer indoors.

                                                   

                                      What, what, why you looking at me?

                       Below:   At first there was one chickadee

 

                                              then two

                              then three

  Then came the nieces, who learned last summer that if one is patient , one can feed a chickadee by hand.

Even though that gardening was a flop for me this year, I enjoyed my visits to all of yours. Thanks for sharing your wonderful gardens, crafts, and events with me this summer.

I hope that you are enjoying the rest of your summer days and have enjoyed your visit here today.

Why I love them

My Black Eyed Susan's are a burst of sunshine. I love them because they greet me with a cheerful smile in the middle of a  heat-wave, or pouring rain, no-mater what, they stay the same.!

I love them because they have been the backbone of my garden... when all others have given-up, died, or went back to sleep as the summer moved on..they have continued to flourish, batting  their pretty brown eyes as they strut their stuff.

They are  member's of the Sunflower family,  I call them my Happy face flowers. Bright sunny yellow.

They can grow over  three feet tall and spreads very quickly... Some call them invasive, but  I could never use such a term about my Susan's, I equate invasiveness  with  rudeness.,they are ladies and ladies are never rude.


To control spreading divide them during the dormant season and plant some cheer in other areas.

..

In some places they are biennial and will grow only leaves her first season, however they came up every year for me.  You may plant them in the spring or in the fall.

I love them because they are drought tolerant and can take some heat,

( Metro Detroit had the wettest spring and the hottest summer in 134 years! )  So even though they are drought tolerant...they will  flag or faint occasionally under extreme temperatures, water them and they'll bounce right back.... However be careful not to over water them or their feet will rot! .. They will grow in sun or partial shade. If you live in the south grow them in partial shade.

They are the state flower of Maryland and was named after Swedish physician and botanist Olai Rudbeck (1660- 1740)... thus their genus (Rudbeckia ).

They are loved by gardeners' across the nation who have learned of their value in the garden. If you don't have them I suggest you go out and get them, Susan will reward you with little effort and care, that alone should make you smile!

Keeping it Cool

I love this photo of a Detroit resident keeping herself and  her cute little doggie cool, courtesy of the Detroit News. Umbrella's do more than just protect one from the rain.

Metro and State | Metro Detroit temps to hit 90 for 8th consecutive day | The Detroit News

Hummingbirds.... beware!

                                                   
                                            Photo credit: newnaturalist.com

As a child I thought the Praying Mantis was one of the scariest, but  yet the most interesting insect that I had ever seen. It appeared very alien to me with it's triangle shaped head and large eyes that set at the corners of it's head. The fact that it is even an insect continues to disturb me until this day.  It's just sooo wieerrrd it gives me the creeps!

        As I began to move toward gardening with-out pesticides. I entertained the thought of using beneficial insects and the Praying Mantis happened to be one among many on the list.

It, I read.. has a ravenous appetite and will gobble up those insects that trouble the gardener like... aphids, flies, crickets and grasshoppers, but it's ferocious appetite causes it to cross the line... Adding to it's dinner plate beneficial insects like lacewings, and hover flies....

Mmmm, I thought to myself..... perhaps the benefits will out-weigh a few of it's short comings... Maybe if it ate more aphids than hover flies... perhaps I could ignore it's misgivings... ....  Not!!

                                      
                            Praying mantis eating aphids. Photo © Debbie Hadley, WILD Jersey


  While searching the net... I came across several photo's and video's of Praying Mantises chewing on one of my favorite little pollinators.. the (Hummingbird) and I was Mortified!!

I fell in love with hummer's every since I visited my family in South Carolina for our family reunion.  I sat spellbound as I watched them zoom, in...out.. and around, the flower gardens. I  thought about one day returning to the south and once there, I would plant everything the hummers enjoyed.


I was awe stricken and felt a little queasy after viewing these photos...But at the same time, I'm thankful that Mr. Walkup and others on the net are sharing their photos and Videos ( Youtube) with the public, for it has educated and alerted me about the power, and behavior of the Praying Mantis.


Warning: Photos Below are graphic!

                             
                                                  photo credit: Richard Walkup. West Chester, PA

                      
                                 
                                        The mantis impales the hummingbird chest with its foreclaws.

                               Photo by Sharon Fullingim, published on National Geographic Your Shot


I was not happy to learn that the Carolina Mantis happens to be one of South Carolina's official insects....But.. I don't plan on encouraging them to stay around... ladybirds will work just fine thank you.

Have you used beneficial insects? If so which ones? What do you think about using the Praying Mantis as an beneficial insect in your garden?

Garden Girl TV: Vertical Gardening One(How to Grow Vertically)

Finally there's blooms in June

Last year in Spring my garden plans, my garden, and the weather was a lot different... May started out warm and balmy. I planted a few veggies in containers and added a couple of annuals.

This May, my garden was a little messy... I could not weed or make many plans because the weather started out whacky.. It rained non-stop for 3 months straight with cool temperatures that stayed below 60, I could do nothing but wait it out. As May came to a close, I was finally awarded with my perennial  blooms...

My Spiderworts are back...

                     
 It's not unusual for them to bloom later in the spring and summer season. Last year they bloomed at the very end of May. This year the 2nd week of June.

Below a side view

Below:  My roses on the front gate are looking pretty good...

This year they are lower on the front gate because last year I  clipped them back after they suffered a succession of attacks... beginning with aphids, and then fungus. The leaves curled, and they a long with the canes turned a sickly yellow and were covered with brown splotches.

They have made a come back thanks to a homemade insecticide that follows below... read on...

It.. up close after rain yesterday.

 Below:  Pink roses near the driveway...

I believe they are pink "knockouts" and they too, have come back healthier this year....

2009 and 2010 were a bad year for these tough little roses.. aphids were so unmerciful and relentless I contemplated pulling them up...but not wanting to give up, I searched the net for a organic solution.

There were lots of ready made natural chemicals on the market to choose from, but cost more then I was willing to pay for at the moment.  Armed with helpful tips and a spray bottle, I made a combo of Ivory soap, vegetable oil, and neem.  This combo turned out  to be a success!  

Note:  always use care when testing homemade insecticides on your plants.. Do a pre-test on a  small area of the affected plant first..if no harm is done .... Blast it full force until it becomes saturated .

Below:  The rose of a different kind is back...

This shrub rose ( Kerria Japonica )  is native to Japan, China, and Korea. It's a spring blooming shrub that has no characteristics in my opinion to an actual shrub rose, but I love it just the same. I think it's unique and very pretty with its pom-pom blooms.  I'm still working to bring it back to it's original form and beauty. It is a pass-along- to me, from my mother.

Below: shrub Deutzia Scabra

The Deutzia Scabra ( doot-see-uh ) was covered in painted ladies last May, but not one could be found this  May... I wondered what happened?.... was it due to the constant rain this season?...

Link shows a painted lady...(butterfly)
  http://vetsysview.blogspot.com/2010/05/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-2010.html

I  finally put an end to the creeping... of the Creeping Buttercups by removing all of its runners and shoots with a spade and a hoe.

These invasive, but pretty little flowers are now out of commission, only a few remain by choice....
take a look at year's photo... 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7R2Bz7YkHZ4Ia0-j9WlhHxvpPHC1sEqL3eOfwRnMUgRddcpKRZoKjO7VA15pDyeBq-44CRadvJZnHBFO9JSABHKOHIvil4-yRbJGmlmQZV9P3Vf9B4pmmxko-JZfl8Av91cbo0SMVvA/s1600/308.JPG



Below: the other shrubs:

last spring after all 4 shrubs were done blooming, I tried to trim them into neat manageable shapes, but they had other plans.

Pink Weigela towards the front gate...

Weigela " Eva Rathke"... It's a lot smaller this year due to the removal of dead and dying bark.

Below:  Both photos are from the same shrub, It's a very pretty shrub that I have not yet identified.  Trimming and up-keep are a nightmare! I have decided that flowering shrubs will not have a place in my future gardens, the up- keep is just too much!

Daisies are in the same location but are now crowding the Black eyed Susan's

Below:  A work still in progress...

this area is still unfolding; diathus, phlox, and creeping phlox, have replaced my Cactus Zinnia's.


Below: The robins nested this time around... last summer there were baby cardinals.

There are dozens of hens and chicks, ( Sempervivum)  too many to post.... so I'll just share a few.

Thank you much..for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I also welcome you tips and advice.