Garden Pic Wednesday: Drainage Project

-
 For Garden Pics today I have a shot of my a drainage project in-progress:
This is my back patio that we expanded with pavers a good many years ago. Having studied the flow of water around the house with these many rains this year, I decided this area needed a better drainage conduit. This only required me pulling up the outer row of pavers, digging a narrow trench that is angled the proper direction and filling it with drainage gravel and pea pebbles.
This is as far as I got, since I ran out of rock.Since we'll be busy this weekend, I'll have to finish it up next week sometime.



I also have an interesting picture of a paper wasp nest:
This one is attached to an Amaryllis leave curved under a pot next to my Pampas grass. I had no idea it was there until I practically bungled into it. I'd decided to trim up that Pampas earlier this week  and the Hot Poker behind this pot, when I noticed quite a few bees flitting about. 

I stepped back and they settled down in the greenery again and I realized it was wasps.  No, I wasn't stung, despite the fact I was  stirring and jarring their nesting area pretty thoroughly.
Still, they just went back to minding their own business. And I'm quite glad of that.

Common Paper Wasps ( Polistes exclamans)
 Mutli-striped, small, about 3/4 inch size.
 You can see several working inside
 various cells along bottom row of nest.

I spotted the exact location of this nest a bit later and today grabbed this photo.

Wasps are actually a beneficial garden insect--as long as they aren't building their nest in your entry way or other area where human traffic will disturb them.

They drink nectar in flowers, pollinating them, and also catch various other insects and caterpillars to paralyze with a sting, then stick in the egg cells in their paper nest for future young to feed on.
Since they are beneficial for that reason and since they're not in my way and I know where they are now, I'm leaving them to pursue life, liberty and happiness and do their job.

I like educating myself on insects common to my garden and I didn't really know there was more then one kind of paper wasp---but, guess what, there's a couple! These striped type in the photo above, common here in Florida, aren't the kind I remember in Indiana. The ones in Indiana were slightly larger and all reddish-brown in color, such as the photo below. These have a
 single yellow stripe on their tail section.
 These are Red or Carolina Wasps.  Both types are common to eastern North America.

Red or Carolina Paper Wasp (Polistes carolina )
 Larger, about 1 inch in size. Nests are much bigger
 and broader also, up to 500 cells per nest.
Due to the long holiday weekend I won't be posting again until after Labor Day! 

Comments

Jerralea said…
I didn't know about paper wasps. I DO know about red wasps. I've been to the emergency room a couple of times because of them.

You must be a dedicated gardener! I'm in awe of gardening skills. I'm excited to grow vincas in a pot on my porch!
Sep 1, 2013, 10:34:00 PM

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Good Eating Monday: Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing!

-
Image
Now this some wicked good dressing!  I tried it for Thanksgiving this year and everyone loved it! I've been looking for just the right dressing and I may have finally found it!  It's also healthy with a tasty combo of fruit, veggies and a mix of white & whole wheat bakery breads. It will fill a  fill a 9 x 13 pan.  You can use fresh or dried herbs. I've included the measurements for both. Just remember dried seasoning is more concentrated in flavor because it is dried, so you need less of it then fresh herbs. I have fresh Parsley growing outside and this was a great use for it! I found leftover over stuffing wonderful heated up and topped with a over-easy egg for lunch!  Apple Cranberry Sausage Stuffing Ingredients:  5 1/2 cups fresh European style or sourdough bread, white, sliced and cubed 2 1/2 cups wheat bread, whole grain sliced and cubed 1 lb ground pork or turkey ( I used Jimmy Dean's Turkey Crumbles, which was 8 oz and that worked great! ) 1 1/2
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Peach Cobbler Dump Cake!

-
Image
Yes, I tried another new Pinterest recipe and this one is a winner! The primary dictionary definition of a "Dump Cake," is an easily made cobbler in which cake mix is dumped over canned fruit or pie filling.  This recipe was pinned from Del Monte, which means it's been a recipe that's been created & tested in a corporate test kitchen. That's one benefit of all those label, can & box recipes provided by manufacturers on their product packaging. You can even buy cookbooks featuring nothing, but package & label recipes of which many are vintage. The only changes I'd suggest is add one more 15 oz can of fruit. It can be more peaches, cherry fruit cocktail, regular fruit cocktail or whatever you want. (So, I've noted 4 cans of peaches in the recipe.)   It just needs a little more volume on the fruit quantity.  And stir a teaspoon or two of cinnamon into the fruit! Otherwise, this is an excellent, quick dessert you can serve hot with v
Read more

Good Eating Monday: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding!

-
Image
Welcome to the first week of February! It's supposed to be 31 degrees tonight, so after cleaning up the front walk beds, I went around covering various things that either are blooming, about to bloom or that have sensitive leaf buds, like my hydrangea's.  I picked all the yellow daffodils and brought them inside for a cheerful vase on my counter. For Garden Pic Wednesday this week I have an excellent photo of a pine tree flower! You didn't know pine trees flower?  Well, you'll have to stop back for a look! Today's Good Eating Recipe is a family favorite my Mother used to make often for us as kids: Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding! What Old Fashioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding Looks Like This is just your basic wholesome old fashioned bread pudding made with just eggs, bread, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar & raisins! No sauces to make. Just simple bread pudding. We'd eat it hot with a little evaporated milk poured over the top.
Read more

Garden Pic Wednesday: Ajuga & Lettuce Crop

-
Image
T oday's Garden Pic is a nice January shot of some Common Ajuga draping over the edge of a large container out front & my bumper crop of lettuce Ajuga: It's a ground cover with a burgundy tinge to it's leaves. It reaches it's best color in shade, but can tolerate light sun. This Ajuga just gets morning sun. It throws runners like a strawberry does, spreading along the ground. It's reaching for the ground and will establish once it touches around the shady side of the stump the container sits on. It's a member of the mint family.  My Winter Crop of Lettuce: This is a french head lettuce I got ordered from Seed Savers for spring 2021. It went to seed in May 2021, then dozens popped up around Sept. I separated them, this whole 4 x 8 raised bed with them. I dined on fresh crisp lettuce all winter! I've left 2 to go to seed on one end of the raised bed, so can have lettuce all winter again!  I've joined a group a ladies in a Book Club that meets once a mo
Read more