Choice Morsels

Three Garden Pics Today: First: Siberian Iris & Shasta Daisies These are in a bed along the front side walk. I can grow any kind of Iris except the German Iris, which has a rhizome root. Siberian Iris just has regular roots. So it grows.  I like it because it's on the dark blue side, though Siberian Iris does come in a rainbow of colors. I collect blue flowers in particular, though. Also it spreads. Over the years, it has turned into a whole row!   Next: my Louisiana Iris in my backyard rain garden. I have 2 colors: First this pretty purple with touches of yellow. And then this more solid purple one, called Black Peacock. Backlit by late afternoon sun like this, it looks more purple. But in the shade, it's a deeper purple one could almost call "black."

Garden Pics today: Shasta Daisies hanging out by my mailbox: Raised these from some free seed a neighbor gave me that came in charity junk-mail. They're perennial, but I've read they'll stop coming back after abut 5 years. I actually have about a dozen clumps scattered in various beds. I'll try to collect seed from a dry bloom or two to create a new generation. This is their 2nd year. Here's a closer view captured in end-of-day sun . The blossoms attract a variety of insects. I saw a Lady Bug nymph on one the other day. (a nymph is the stage prior to transforming into what you normally expect a Lady Bug to look like. They are spiny and bi-colored. Odd looking. But your friends as they are carnivorous at all stagesof life, dining on other insects that normally cause harm to plants and flowers. Who knew? Also, today a nice end of day sun-glow shot of my container of Red Salvia & Purple Petunia's on the walkway just outside my front door. It's what greets y...

  I joined a local ladies book club I saw mentioned in Next Door because it was an opportunity to hang out and have lunch with ladies in my age range. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday every month and today was my 3rd meeting. We together choose a new read and the goal is actually to find reasonably clean books to read. It's something fun to look forward to and the restaurant we meet at is a local place that let's us in at 10 am, then we order lunch. Today's Garden Pic is my Clematis. Blooms are just now popping open. Clematis are climbers, so it has an metal trellis. This particular one is on the bluer side and has a shorter growth habit; something I chose deliberately.  When you buy plants & shrubs you want to pay attention to their height and width dimensions! Clematis Has New Growth! I planted it and it put up 2 vines and for the past 3 years, it's been blooming just off those. This Clematis blooms off the "old wood" meaning, new greenery sprouts off the or...

Good news is the tree cutter I hired to remove those 2 pines, came today! They removed a few trees a house over, then started on mine about lunchtime. It's a company comprised of military Veterans. One tree down, run to go. Two things of note: I haven't really heard any swearing by the work crew of guys. That's impressive, since I recall the climber of a different tree service a several years ago clearing shouting obscenity at his phone. Neither did they take a lunch break, pulling out lawn chairs and popping beers like another tree company I had experience with. So this company, called Brothers-At-Arms, has been more impressive then most.  Today's Garden Pic is one of my Amaryllis:  The have two in containers; this red one and an orange and white one. The picture came out pretty good this time. I waited till later in day when sunlight was less intense. Surprisingly, red is a hard color to photograph. Seems easy for it to appear too orange or too black--but this time, l...

 Two Garden Photos today! First up: my Bridal Wreath Spirea shrub has finally bloomed!  Spirea, also known as "Bridal Veil" because of it's arched, draping stems, is a popular shrub here in the Deep South. I've had this one several years and this is it's first bloom season. It's in particular a memento from a local garden shop I used to like that went out of business several years ago. This shot is mid-morning light. And a nice shot of Azalea blossom at sunset: I like the large, single bloom type best and have several. I didn't really know of all the hedging involved in having Azaleas at the time; if I had known, I wouldn't have bought any. They are pretty in spring and that's it. But, there they are, so I hedge them. I know better now and I prefer to plant things that don't require hedging! That Bridal Veil, pictured above, does not require it. I also like Hydrangea's a lot, because they need very only a very little care.

 These two long needled pine trees have to go.  I've contracted with a tree service to take them down. They stand right in between my house and my neighbors house. I'll have them cut off even at the level of the block wall. It will cut down on pine needle litter on the roof and save us the hazard of large dead branches falling or being blown off by even casual thunder storms.  Second picture is looking up:

  Today's garden photos are about what's growing: Numerous Flower Seeds in Seed Sprouting Tray: Rows of mostly various flowers, either purchased or saved seed, such as rubeckia, coneflower, dwarf marigolds & hardy hibiscus; a couple kinds of basil; some catnip and a few seeds I saved from last falls Bell Peppers.  What's Planted in the Raised Bed So Far: One tomato and 2 mounds, each with a different bush squash. (marked with red arrows.) One is a type of spaghetti squash and the other is Zucchini. Bush squash don't sprawl vines everywhere. Instead grow fruit from the center making them ideal for a small space garden. Left to Go to Seed: I left behind 2 heads of lettuce in the bed to flower and go-to-seed. This worked so successfully last spring, I thought I'd just let them do their thing again.