With tomorrow being the first day of Spring in Australia (I'm not sure whether all countries in the Southern Hemisphere regard 1 September as the beginning of Spring or not), I had a quick trot around the garden this morning - with the camera, of course.
Beginning with the sunrise, naturally.
Perennial Wallflower
reBlogged
to spring
Posted by Alice Reblogged by Old Roses to spring on 2007-09-01, 06:51:32
Well, it certainly has been a while. Life happens. I've been incredibly busy with work, and didn't get to do much gardening, or garden photography.
This has been a very weird summer, with essentially no rain in June or July. It was good for the flowering plants, especially the River Beauties. No hot caps needed to get a lot of flowers. . . .
reBlogged
to trees
Posted by AnneBrygger Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2007-09-01, 06:50:16
I've got a lot of beauties in my yard and garden, and one big beast -- a poisonous something-or-other (oak or sumac?) at the back of the property. Here's a shot of it after a lethal dose of weedkiller:
It's in an untamed corner behind a rhododendron bush. In the spring, some of its stems stretched out towards the shrub. Not knowing what it was, I attempted to cut away the branches without touching them. I clearly didn't succeed, because I ended up with a rash similar to poison ivy but much more severe, involving a trip to the doctor, steroids and a lot of unpleasantness before it went away. At this point I'm waiting for the courage (and cooler weather so I can bundle up from head to toe) to pull or dig it out by the roots and banish it completely. . . .
reBlogged
to weeds
Posted by Beth Reblogged by Old Roses to weeds on 2007-09-01, 06:49:22
So if there's an area of your garden that isn't meeting expectations, that you're giving a bit more time to turn around, that mysteriously went south in a hurry, or that just won't do anything right.... You are not alone. The pros face those situations too. . .
reBlogged
to gardening
Posted by Beth Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2007-09-01, 06:49:00
Photo courtesy of Sierra Pine of a conference room using Medite II
This is the third installment of my top ten list of green building products contained on ThisNext. As I indicated in my prior...
Clueless returns from the High Sierras, where she was supposedly hiking in the back country of Yosemite National Park. Except, was I hiking? Instead of all-day slogs uphill on mountains for 7 or 8 or 9 miles before dinner, Hubb and I went on two to three 2-hour walks per day. We did a lot of walking, even a little real hiking, but never got very far from camp. The wonders of being way up high with the craggy mountaintops were, alas, for others who were stronger, had trained and prepared, who were acclimatized to the altitude, and, I can't help thinking, were more worthy than we were. The beauty was everywhere to behold, and we got an eyeful, but I do feel a twinge that me, Clueless, was clueless out on the High Sierra trails, too. Maybe we didn't flunk, but I'd say maybe we got a C+ (with an 'A' for staying overnight in a snug little tent cabin with two complete strangers!). . . .
Not quite 8 PM and it is very dark out. It tried to rain all afternoon and got hotter and hotter but only a brief offering of small drops fell....kind of like my dad used to say, "Not enough to wet the dust." He said this a lot when we lived on Church Hill Road in Woodstock because in those days nothing was used for dust control and the house sat about 20 feet from a dirt road, originally no wider than an International Harvester tractor or a single Ford truck. . . .
I ripped out the abused tomato plant; I had a horrifying moment when I realized the mum and the evolvulus were actually too large already to comfortably fit in the hanging pot; I fumbled around with dirt until I could get them both to fit in; I even mulched them. . . .
The Prairie Flameleaf sumacs are budding out, a sure sign of the coming fall season.
Right now most of the six inch long flower stalks are showing a bit of white at the tips but here and there I'm seeing the red color as the buds open. In a few weeks these natives will be easily identified by their "flaming" tips.
The fruit of these Texas natives have been used for flavoring water, as a dye and for tanning leather. Wild turkeys, grouse, bobwhites, pheasants and songbirds all feast on these berries. Of course our whitetails find them delectable too.
reBlogged
to autumn
on Aug 30, 2007, 3:38AM
Posted by jb Reblogged by Old Roses to autumn on 2007-09-01, 06:45:00
Yesterday the hummingbird feeder on the front deck got a real workout. Usually I see one or two hummers coming in for a sip and taking turns at the feeder. Yesterday there were five of the little guys doing their aerial acrobatics all around the feeder. What fun!
I'm guessing they were Ruby-throats migrating south. Unfortunately I was running late for work and the birds were in silhouette so I didn't get a chance to identify them. My usual guests are Black-chins and just a couple of Ruby-throats.
Anyone else seeing an increase of feeding frenzy?
reBlogged
to birds
on Aug 30, 2007, 3:18AM
Posted by jb Reblogged by Old Roses to birds on 2007-09-01, 06:44:51
Many perennials need to be divided every 2 or 3 years. If over time they are not divided and cleaned up, they start to decline in health and flowering ability. At first this isn’t too big a problem, but sometimes after a while you can wish you had planted something that requires a little less maintenance. . . .
reBlogged
to propagation
Posted by Hilary Reblogged by Old Roses to propagation on 2007-09-01, 06:44:42
I spied with my little eye………………………the bulbs at Costco! The whole shipment was there and nary a package was out of place. But wow, the price is really really up…..from $7.99 in 2005, $8.99 in 2006, to $12.89 this season. There ARE 60 tulips in a bag or 50 daffs or 120 crocus……..I still consider this to be a good value. The bulbs are very nice and fresh and the color combos are pleasing. Remember tho, please avoid the red and yellow McDonald’s look. I beg you. It also smacks of a Shell gas station. Icky poo. We don’t like that color combo. Please. No. . . .
reBlogged
to bulbs
on Aug 30, 2007, 4:44AM
Posted by Mary Ann Reblogged by Old Roses to bulbs on 2007-09-01, 06:44:21
Part of Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2007
I have come to think of this as the pool boy of my tomato garden. The only reason it is there is because it improves the visible landscape. Handsome and exotic looking, even it’s name, Custoluto Genovese, brings to mind tall, well formed, shirtless men with burning and only slightly. . .
reBlogged
to tomatoes
on Aug 30, 2007, 9:47PM
Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to tomatoes on 2007-09-01, 06:43:14
Now would be a good time to add some extra water into your cactus and succulent watering schedule. Plus, drink lots yourself when you're out there. I'm just saying.
It's nice when the questions come with beautiful photos.
Q: Do you know what kind of cactus this is?
Thanks so much,
Kathryn
A: Kathryn, Your plant is a species of Echinopsis, from South America. It was formerly in the Lobivia genus, but they have all been moved into Echinopsis.
Wooly asks the question on the UK version of Garden Banter, but appears to be in Austin, TX:
Is it possible to overwater succulents?... My cactus garden (planted in a very large forest
bonsai pot) is looking decidedly peaked this year and I suspect an excess of rain.
and gets an answer from Omelet.
Yes, they can be over-watered. You may want to raise the pot off of the ground for better drainage, or move it under some kind of cover for a bit so it can dry out.
Cool. Now there is evidence that orchids have been in existence since dinosaurs were running around the earth.
A 15-20 million year old bee has been discovered preserved in amber, with orchid pollen on its back. Apparently this helps end a certain amount of debate over how long orchids have been around:. . .
reBlogged
to beneficials plants
on Aug 30, 2007, 3:15PM
By mid morning my shirt was a different, darker brown, the only kind of color change that takes place when you are doing your laundry, caught in a rain shower, or drenched in sweat. The sad thing was that is was only 10AM. Either I’m not in shape like I used to be or it’s just plain hot and humid. My guess is that it is a combination of both. Up above the vultures circled, and I thought that if I just lay down they might take their opportunity.
Yesterday I was working on the old field, where I first planted bulbs over three years ago. I was harvesting some of our hoop petticoats (Narcissus bulbocodium) to fill the rest of our wholesale orders for the year. . . .
reBlogged
to harvest
Posted by Chris Reblogged by Old Roses to harvest on 2007-09-01, 06:41:14
Snakes Petunia and Herbert are back in the garden! What's not to celebrate with these critters. They don't eat the vegetables and do eat their share of bugs and slugs, I hope.
Ok, maybe it isn't the exact same ones. Petunia is always too fast to see but Herbert takes his time and I did see his nice red stripe. These two I just saw are larger than Petunia II who I relocated to the garden several weeks ago.
I was taking pictures of the zinnias today and noticed this on the underside of a zinnia. It is amazing what we learn when we take the time to observe things in nature. I didn't realize that spiders would eat like this, I always thought they ate what was trapped in their webs. Spiders are most certainly not my favorite things to observe, in fact I hate even looking at pictures of them in books, so I'm not even sure why I'm putting this on my blog other than it is something I've not seen before. . . .
This evening I went outside to do some weeding; it was a beautiful, cool night and the ground was still moist from the wonderful rain shower we had last night. As I bent down to pull a weed I noticed that my parsley had been chewed. Upon closer inspection I saw two good sized caterpillars on the parsley. I had already given up on having any swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley and I had planted three of them just to attract the black swallowtail. I was so excited to see them!
This parsley plant is the smallest of the three, since there wasn't much left and the other two plants are not real close to this one, I brought them inside to make sure they had enough to eat and also to closely observe this wonderful transformation. . . .
For September's Festival of Trees, I want to present my all time favorite tree.
I have always loved the willows (scientific name "Salix"). It's been my favorite tree since childhood, when moving to a new house, I first saw a small grove of weeping willows in our neighbor's front yard. I thought they were the most beautiful trees I had ever seen. . . .
reBlogged
to trees
Posted by Salix Tree Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2007-09-01, 06:37:30
The Dahlia looking more like a proper flower.The white petals were quite tubular, but slowly unfurl.I love the white petals with pink lines on the outer petals.
The pollen in the centre is a delicious yellow colour like honeycomb... ..
reBlogged
to dahlias
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to dahlias on 2007-09-01, 06:36:38
So I did some more sleuthing and I found Green Thumb™ Fashion Barbie. She is a 1998 Limited Edition doll from the Barbie Millicent Roberts® Collection and, of course, she is no longer available. Even if she was, I would not want her. As Barbies go, she is a bit homely. Here are all the reasons I do not like her (feel free to add your own as well):
1. That hair. Wouldn't that be better suited to "Conservative Politicians Wife" Barbie?. . .
It's Thursday again, so here is an online link to this week's The List: Top 5 Home & Garden Events on page 25 of today's print edition in the Washington Examiner. This being a holiday weekend, the local event pickings are slim as most public gardens expect you to be busy with visiting with friends and family. . . .
via Hillside garden on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
Many perennials need to be divided every 2 or 3 years. If over time they are not divided and cleaned up, they start to decline in health and flowering ability. At first this isn’t too big a problem, but sometimes after a while you can wish you had planted something that requires a little less maintenance. . . .
It's Thursday again, so here is an 
