Flowers And Gardens

[Tommy]

6 hours ago, William said:

Yeah. I feel for horrible for everyone that's having too deal with these massive shortages of water out West. It sucks. Did I read somewhere that the Hoover Dam could cease operations within 10 years due too lack of water, levels would be too low for it too function?

Then I read articles about the Army Corps of Engineers and the  rerouting of waters from the Mississippi river. What an undertaking that would be, loaded with both pros and cons!

The water shortage thing is real....Glen canyon dam aka lake powel.  Probably should have never been built..powers that be at the time ignored the environmental effects . Silt filled up a lot of the deep spots and it is a shallower lake than mead or lake mojave. That  makes it evaporate faster ..whats done is done as they say .and a water pipeline should be way easier than an oil pipeline....lol...spills create weeds 🤣...idk about the Mississippi mabye some overflow aqueducts ..🥴🤣we just need a couple years of heavy snow in the good ol Rocky mountains.. ..that will help the whole deal..🤞🤞

[Tommy]

On 8/5/2022 at 5:32 AM, William said:

According to "farmers fokelore", corn should be knee high by the 4th of July. During the month after planting, there was some worry that it would achieve that. Not only did area crops achieve it, most went nuts! Some cornfields I saw were chest high at that time, there were even tassels in July!

And too top things off, I just bought a bag of fresh picked sweet corn down in Iowa yesterday. Unbelievable. This family has it by the truckloads many weeks ahead of schedule.

I want too see the finished results when things are installed, Tommy!

Possibly before and after pics?

Nice crops William...wish i had a big ol yard like that....Here it is grass  and pavers . Some before and after ..I've had 3 big Pitys for years put in live grass 5 times lol..mabye more in the 20+ years 🤔🤣

Now the dogs can go swimming and I don't have to worry about muddy dogs 😂 

Still gotta make a dump run today..had some junk in the corner...lol 

[William]

1 hour ago, Tommy said:

Nice crops William...wish i had a big ol yard like that....Here it is grass  and pavers . Some before and after ..I've had 3 big Pitys for years put in live grass 5 times lol..mabye more in the 20+ years 🤔🤣

Now the dogs can go swimming and I don't have to worry about muddy dogs 😂 

Still gotta make a dump run today..had some junk in the corner...lol 

Nice transition for ya! Looking cozy too me....and the pups I think are all smiles!

[akroorka]

I was just lucky today.
 I got a few shots of a nice Yellow Swallowtail on my “Giant Joe-Pye Weed”. I plant for Butterflies and this is a bonus. I fear that the Swallowtails are in a bad way because they rely on Ash trees which have been decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer. I have had hundreds of Ash cut down in my area in the last year. Those yellow ones in the background are cup plants—same with them.
I am no giant—6’ and shrinking, but these plants are just huge, tall and they support very many pollinators.
Get some and enjoy they are the easiest I have grown in any perennial, just mulch them heavy, they like the wetness.
Garden—On!!

[Chad G.]

6 hours ago, akroorka said:

I was just lucky today.
 I got a few shots of a nice Yellow Swallowtail on my “Giant Joe-Pye Weed”. I plant for Butterflies and this is a bonus. I fear that the Swallowtails are in a bad way because they rely on Ash trees which have been decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer. I have had hundreds of Ash cut down in my area in the last year. Those yellow ones in the background are cup plants—same with them.
I am no giant—6’ and shrinking, but these plants are just huge, tall and they support very many pollinators.
Get some and enjoy they are the easiest I have grown in any perennial, just mulch them heavy, they like the wetness.
Garden—On!!

AH, there you are Art, nice to put a face to the name, butterflies are getting to be a very rare occurrence anymore. When I was a kid there were thousands of them & bugs galore, especially in the summer, bees thicker than flies, I got stung all the time. Now I walk my dog in the field out back & lucky to see a bee let alone a honey bee.

[William]

13 hours ago, akroorka said:

I was just lucky today.
 I got a few shots of a nice Yellow Swallowtail on my “Giant Joe-Pye Weed”. I plant for Butterflies and this is a bonus. I fear that the Swallowtails are in a bad way because they rely on Ash trees which have been decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer. I have had hundreds of Ash cut down in my area in the last year. Those yellow ones in the background are cup plants—same with them.
I am no giant—6’ and shrinking, but these plants are just huge, tall and they support very many pollinators.
Get some and enjoy they are the easiest I have grown in any perennial, just mulch them heavy, they like the wetness.
Garden—On!!

Indeed, great too see you! I occasionally have a Swallowtail fly through, one just the day before yesterday. It's about the same for monarchs regarding the frequency of sightings.

That picture is pretty much identical to me when I stood in front of my tomato plants (before they got too heavy and decided to take a siesta!)

I'll try to snap some critter pics from the gardens and flowers in the coming days 👍

[Tommy]

On 8/9/2022 at 2:14 PM, akroorka said:

I was just lucky today.
 I got a few shots of a nice Yellow Swallowtail on my “Giant Joe-Pye Weed”. I plant for Butterflies and this is a bonus. I fear that the Swallowtails are in a bad way because they rely on Ash trees which have been decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer. I have had hundreds of Ash cut down in my area in the last year. Those yellow ones in the background are cup plants—same with them.
I am no giant—6’ and shrinking, but these plants are just huge, tall and they support very many pollinators.
Get some and enjoy they are the easiest I have grown in any perennial, just mulch them heavy, they like the wetness.
Garden—On!!

Awesome pics...don't get many flutterbuys 😂 

[Chad G.]

On 8/9/2022 at 2:14 PM, akroorka said:

I was just lucky today.
 I got a few shots of a nice Yellow Swallowtail on my “Giant Joe-Pye Weed”. I plant for Butterflies and this is a bonus. I fear that the Swallowtails are in a bad way because they rely on Ash trees which have been decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer. I have had hundreds of Ash cut down in my area in the last year. Those yellow ones in the background are cup plants—same with them.
I am no giant—6’ and shrinking, but these plants are just huge, tall and they support very many pollinators.
Get some and enjoy they are the easiest I have grown in any perennial, just mulch them heavy, they like the wetness.
Garden—On!!

 

[Chad G.]

Speaking of butterflies, check out the swallowtail  gif avatar  from onemorepatty on todays Birthday post   

[William]

A little project I tackled today thanks too a good friend getting rid of alot of landscape materials....this is something that I have been wanting to do for some time, and you can't pass up free brick and block! The flat slabs were a bonus, about 50 pounds apiece!

The landscape block I used around the garden, still have 94 blocks left! What's cool about the brick? It's over 100 years old and it's the original brick from Mabel's railroad station built back in the late 1800's!

[William]

Salsa time! This time only a few cans at a time 😉...the Poblano peppers are huge this year!

[akroorka]

1 hour ago, William said:

the Poblano peppers are huge this year

That is an odd thing with the Poblanos---so are mine---big—very big and early too. 
The deer chewed my Habenero’s off at the top so I am screwed for jelly this year. I grow Horseradish in barrels and it is not doing so well this year either ( the deer love this too for some odd reason)
I tried purple Serranos this year because of the Japanese beetles----not so good either. I dry them and make a powder for cooking with—oh well!
Cucumbers are just out of mind —no bugs, and huge crops.
This is the fun of gardening, fighting off the bad and going with the good. I planted pole beans—French—four times—Jap beetle worms are going strong. I actually planted the last crop in pots to get them going, success. Nematodes have been seeded but they take awhile. No poison in my garden.
The Eggplant, Tomatoes and Peppers are average. 
My Chard ( I love my greens and these are the best) took three plantings but I will get a crop.
I tried some great Radishes this year, White Icicle. You can grow them all year long. Long narrow root and nice and hot in the summer time. I planted Black Spanish radishes on July 27 and they will be ready throughout the winter—I can’t’ wait—they are supposed to be the very hottest. I just love a good sinus clearer.
Garden—On!!
 

[William]

8 hours ago, akroorka said:

That is an odd thing with the Poblanos---so are mine---big—very big and early too. 
The deer chewed my Habenero’s off at the top so I am screwed for jelly this year. I grow Horseradish in barrels and it is not doing so well this year either ( the deer love this too for some odd reason)
I tried purple Serranos this year because of the Japanese beetles----not so good either. I dry them and make a powder for cooking with—oh well!
Cucumbers are just out of mind —no bugs, and huge crops.
This is the fun of gardening, fighting off the bad and going with the good. I planted pole beans—French—four times—Jap beetle worms are going strong. I actually planted the last crop in pots to get them going, success. Nematodes have been seeded but they take awhile. No poison in my garden.
The Eggplant, Tomatoes and Peppers are average. 
My Chard ( I love my greens and these are the best) took three plantings but I will get a crop.
I tried some great Radishes this year, White Icicle. You can grow them all year long. Long narrow root and nice and hot in the summer time. I planted Black Spanish radishes on July 27 and they will be ready throughout the winter—I can’t’ wait—they are supposed to be the very hottest. I just love a good sinus clearer.
Garden—On!!
 

Not sure what would work for you but since we're both relatively in the same "area", would this work? Patty sprays a little mix of water and Dawn on the gardens, a misting if you will, and we don't have any problems with anything. Watermelon, Musk melon, Pumpkin, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, about a dozen varieties of sweet and hot peppers. All good. It even worked on the earwigs, who love burrowing into my hottest peppers. The only bugs we seem too be getting visits from are the pollinators. I've seen a few varieties of beetle a couple days ago but they seem interested in only sitting inside the flowers, zero damage.

[ann]

Interesting to read about the scarcity of butterflies in different parts of the country. When I was a child, growing up in eastern NC, they were everywhere. When I retired I moved back to my home town, and although I`ve been here six years, and have a large yard, plants for pollinators, etc. I very rarely see one - just the odd stray sulphur or what we used to call "cabbage" butterflies, a smallish white one. It does not bode well. Fortunately, this year for the first time since I`ve been back, there have been bees - the big bumblebees. But lots of hummingbirds, Ruby-Throated, the only kind we have here. But the scarcity of butterflies really bothers me, especially now that I know it`s not just here . . .

[akroorka]

9 hours ago, William said:

would this work?

I use Neem oil and Diatomaceous Earth. 
The Japanese beetles go into a pail of soapy water, I pick them by hand. If you step on them the eggs will be planted. 
I have had success planting Rue; Jap Beetles hate it and avoid it. Rue is very hardy and it has saved a nice Muscle wood tree (American Hornbeam) that I planted in my front yard.
It is always something!
 

[akroorka]

1 hour ago, ann said:

"cabbage" butterflies,

They are still around, yellow and white ones from early spring to late fall. A hardy lot they are.
I plant for Butterflies and Hummingbirds these plantings also attract a variety of pollinators.
Remember how Goldenrod used to be blamed for allergies—not any more. It is just mesmerizing to watch all of the little bugs that love them. Plant some and be rewarded.
This image is just before a storm but there are still a few hanging out.
Marble—On!!
 

[chicagocyclist]

Lovely day in the garden!

 

[akroorka]

1 hour ago, chicagocyclist said:

Lovely day in the garden!

 

Good job my friend!

[William]

3 hours ago, chicagocyclist said:

Lovely day in the garden!

 

Milkweed! Nice! That's the first Monarch Caterpillar that I have seen in some time...Awesome!

[chicagocyclist]

1 hour ago, William said:

Milkweed! Nice! That's the first Monarch Caterpillar that I have seen in some time...Awesome!

Thanks.  We have over 50 plants of various sizes, in various places of the gardens, all volunteers from last year.  Some are over 7 feet!!

[chicagocyclist]

Today!!

[akroorka]

Good eye, these are not easy to spot!

Nice image too!

[William]

Insect aerobics? Or simply one of those "feel good" stretches? Either way, worthy of a post 😊

[William]

One more shot, a good one too!

[William]

On 8/29/2022 at 12:02 PM, chicagocyclist said:

Today!!

Totally awesome...haven't seen one myself in years...