From commentor Japa21:
A while back I had sent some pictures of our purple garden. Well, those flowers that were around then are no longer in bloom, but we had it planned that we have other blooms going through the year. This picture shows three of those. The purple coneflowers have just opened in the past couple days. I like the dwarf day lilies because they contribute to the purple look. Our garden is a crescent shape and this trio is at each end.
We do a lot of container planting with a variety of sizes of pots. A large selection is on our patio and I have also included a different view of the biggest one to get a better look at the mandevilla vine. We also have several pots scattered around the back of our lot in among the bushes and trees back there. These are just a couple of them.
Finally, we had a 40 year old crib which we can’t for legal reasons even give away. But it also had a lot of memories for us from when our two sons slept in it. We ended up taken the two sides and creating a trellis. We have two trumpet vines growing from the ground which will probably take another year to provide their full effect. We then hung a planter with 4 mandevilla vines from the apex and they are growing nicely.
As you can possibly tell, part of our selection process is to attract hummingbirds. Although the last picture is not of a plant, it is my favorite one of the hummingbird pictures I have taken. I am not the photographer that many here are, but I am pleased with the results.
***********
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
OzarkHillbilly
What’s going on in my garden? Rain. And more rain. And more rain. It won’t break the drought, but it’s another step in the right direction. We are looking forward to a high of 73 today, 78 tomorrow, not supposed to get above 85 all week. Sucks to be us.
The job of the day (in between the raindrops) is to begin building a level landing pad for the pop-up camper we bought yesterday (finally, been talking about it for over a year), starting with the removal of 3 very large, and dead, limbs overhanging where it is going. They are only 20-30 feet up. It’ll be a piece of cake! Assuming I am successful in that endeavor, or even if I am not, I have 6 RR ties with which to begin building the 8’x16′ 4 ties high parking spot. I expect it to take a total of 18 ties to finish ht, and I need to get it done by next wkend so that I can fill it with the skid loader I am renting the following week for the purposes of re-grading the drive, leveling some ground for future sheds, filling in the green house base, and now this. All ahead of the eclipse.
I’ve had fun before. This weren’t it.
J R in WV
@OzarkHillbilly:
Dude, fellow hillbilly…. BE Careful!! That all sounds like fun accomplishment over the next couple of weeks, but also quite a challenge. So BE Careful!!
I may be decrepit past that much accomplishment, but I admire anyone ambitious enough to tackle it. Best of luck.
And good morning, all! Especially rickyrah!
My insomnia worked out for this one morning. Now I”m gonna take a pill and go back to bed, wish me luck all!
ETA: fix speling…
Yoda Dog
Good morning!
I’m just getting started experimenting with some basic gardening and it is so inspiring to see what others are able to create. The crib trellis is beautiful.
@Ozark: Be careful and good luck!
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Do be careful.
I’m going to weed my herb garden, and then tackle the dust that has collected in the house. No heavy lifting for me.
satby
Good morning (good night JR)! Japa21, beautiful garden pictures. Love, love, love the hummingbird shot. I never got nearly as good a one as that in all my tries. I haven’t glimpsed a single hummingbird since I moved, finally just took the feeder down because only bees were using it. I really miss sitting on my old deck watching the hummers dart around the two or three feeders I would put up. But I am planting perennials with them in mind, so hopefully when there’s more to attract them than two lonely hanging pots in a sea of green I will lure them back.
What’s going on in my garden? Lots of green tomatoes, some basil, and gophers. My Amber Jubilee ninebark seems to have a blight, so I’m trying to save it, but that’s not going well. And I decided that I need to move some plants around to take better advantage of the sun, now that I know more about where it hits the yard.
p.a.
For about the 3rd consecutive yr (that I’ve noticed), yellow swallowtail has picked my Italian parsley as a nursery. Have to be careful when trimming. Was hoping to get some metamorphosis pics, but research said they travel, quite far when necessary, to hang in trees. Nearest ones are about 70′ away, just outside my yard, and the trail necessetates going by my bird feeder zone. Good luck creepy-crawley!
That’s not the only danger: had a pretty mature cater. last week (they don’t do too much damage), looked about ready to find a tree. Checked the next day. Caterpillar gone, but a snakeskin was woven through the parsley stems. Now there’s another babby, about the size of the exposed lead on a just-sharpened #2 pencil, black with a pale ‘waist’ stripe, not the mature yellow swallow caterpillar pattern, but it does have the orange ‘horns’ they display when you touch them.
Lapassionara
These are lovely! Thanks.
satby
Repeating from the overnight, probably dead thread so he sees it, I hope: Happy Birthday ??? to you Ajabu!
bemused
Lovely coleus! I have a coleus that I have kept going with cuttings over the winter for many years because I love it so much and I can’t count on finding it in my local garden centers in the spring. The outer leaves are green but center color ranges from various shades of pink to fuschia. I keep tags of my favorite perennial buys and this was labeled Perilla Frutescens. Research has it named Perilla Magilla or Perilla False Coleus Shiso Beef Steak. Check it out. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
OzarkHillbilly
I guess people are sleeping in.
ThresherK
While trying to get to sleep, I realized that a Schauzer and Poode would be called a Schnoodle, perhaps the best name ever.
The people who breed dogs are way ahead of me.
OzarkHillbilly
Also Japa21, I love the way you mix and match your plants in pots. It takes a good eye to do it well. I wish I had your talent.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: or just being too lazy to type.
I’m searching in vain for a sewing pattern for simple pull-on linen pants. Not having much luck.
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Well, I suppose this is a bit less than trying to lift a barn by yourself, but be careful.
Nice photos. I love coleus. You don’t see it around as much as you used to.
satby
@satby: patterns found! Happy dance.
MomSense
@ThresherK:
I want the dog in photo #5. Such a smart, cute face.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ?? ?
rikyrah
Beautiful pictures ??????
MomSense
Japa your containers are wonderful. Love the re-use of the crib. So clever and pretty.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby: Congrats.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
OzarkHillbilly
@MomSense: Heh. Went back above because I didn’t remember any dogs in Japa’s pics….
DOH!
Waratah
Today I am harvesting my pinstripe hybrid eggplants. They are round globes of delicious. I just slice them in half lightly brush with olive oil and grill or roast. The baby eggplants look so pretty in a large round planter with silver leaves pink flowers and the baby eggplants.
Japa 21 your garden is lovely.
japa21
@OzarkHillbilly: Have to admit. The pots are Mrs. Japa’s responsibility. I just do the maintenance after they get planted.
OzarkHillbilly
@japa21: Tell her what I said.
JPL
@japa21: Her color selection is beautiful. Since I don’t have that talent, I’m envious!
japa21
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh, I did. She said “thank you”.
debbie
I must be going blind. I don’t see a dog in any of the photos.
MikeS
@japa21: Nice garden pics. Watch out those cute little trumpet creepers will be huge in a few years with massive roots, lots of suckers everywhere as well as some seedlings. My advice (from someone who has a huge one in a pine tree next to their hose) is dig them up now and replace them with a smaller vine, like trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). The trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) isn’t even a hummingbird favorite here in our yard (Southeastern PA), they don’t seem to like how they have to stick their heads all the way inside so they can’t watch for enemies or other hummingbirds while they get a drink of nectar .
Immanentize
Japa — such lovely plants. I too like coleus. It is such a beautiful Victorian plant….
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly:
Ambitious!
Remember, OHB gets things done with care in due time. Mr. Hole gets frustrated and tries to push things into places they don’t fit! ??
Good luck and nice cool weather to boot!
Immanentize
My tomato plants are clearly all going to produce huge numbers of large ripe fruit all at the same time — probably late this week. Rutgers, Celebrity, Cherokee, Marzano. All at once. Everyone is welcome to come over and grab a few….
Tomato sauce
Tomato salads
Tomato pie (yum)
Tomato give-a-way
OzarkHillbilly
Heh:
They now prefer the term “white supremacists”, the truth is not a Jersey beach.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: Good. Now if only the media that most people consume would do the same.
satby
@rikyrah: good morning ☕ ?!
Finishing my last cup of coffee before getting ready to leave for work. I wish I didn’t have to work on Sundays, it should be a day to just chillax.
Steeplejack (tablet)
Up early, around 7:00, and over to Sighthound Hall to take care of First World problems. Bro’ Man et ménage decamped to the beach for a long weekend, but his car was due to get detailed. He has a guy who does house calls but really doesn’t like to do just one car. So I brought the doughty Kia over for a spa day. Stopped at District Taco on the way to pick up breakfast tacos—eggs, potatoes, guac and chrorizo.
It was nice driving through the Arlington (VA) neighborhoods so early. No traffic and everything so quiet. It’s 72° now, going up only to 82° later. Low humidity, so the weather is beautiful. Supposed to be pretty good all week, with some rain now and then, which doesn’t bother me.
I got here a little before 8:00, but car guy didn’t show until almost 9:30. No big deal. I had a cup of joe and watched the birds capering around in the backyard. LPGA on the box, primed to go to Joy Reid on the hour.
I’m typing on my new Asus Chromebook Flip C100. The keyboard is a little small but very usable, and it’s a very slight trade-off for such a convenient carry-around tablet (10.1" screen).
Hope all Juicers have a good day!
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: You left out salsa, which because my tomatoes are not producing like they normally do this year, I’m going to have to by some paste tomas so I can make some.
Laura
@rikyrah: Good morning!
The San marzano was barely producing, but almost every mater had blossom rot, so out it came, but the Cherokee, the sweet 100 and Mr. Stripey are going gangbusters as is the basil and peppers. All the zinnias are blooming along with the giant amaranth. And as soon as the milk weed seed pods split, I’ll make some seed balls with mud and share the wealth.
How come there’s no 3rd day in the weekend? I could sure use it.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: Salsa! And Pico de Gallo! Of course! I have a bunch of pepper plants just for this moment. But cilantro bolts too early to grow fresh for August.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Just found this: Tomato butter. Gonna have to give it a try.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@debbie:
Somebody linked to a page of schnoodles upthread.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: My cilantro didn’t even come up this year. Usually it comes up everywhere, even where I didn’t plant it. Very strange year for my garden.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby:
Yay! Always a cause for rejoicing when the elusive missing object of desire is unearthed.
debbie
@Steeplejack (tablet):
Thanks!
Gelfling 545
Lovely combinations!
I had planned to be restrained with the curb flower bed: mostly green with red accents and a touch of purple here and there but, as usual, things got out of hand as can be seen here. The rudbeckia are self sown as is most of the lamb’s ear. The coreopsis got stuck in there because, as usual, I over bought. I guess restraint will never be my style.
O. Felix Culpa
@Immanentize:
I haz a jealous. All my tomaters wilted sadly away this year…just a few yellow cherry globes remaining on a sickly stalk. My squash plants, however, are prolific. Will trade you.
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: Thanks! That looks excellent. Although I might use oil instead of the butter? maybe I’ll try it both ways.
oldgold
My tomatoes started very slow this year. With all the heat, they are starting to ketchup.
Immanentize
@O. Felix Culpa: Sorry about the tomatoes My zuchs and summer squash have fairly serious powdery mildew problems, but I am still harvesting some….
O. Felix Culpa
@oldgold: HarHar. :)
Lizzy L
Love the pics! Thank you.
This year for the first time ever I am thinking about gardens. My front yard is shaded by a large sweetgum, so I pulled up all the weeds and have put down mulch. The only things I left to grow are plants that blew in from elsewhere: vinca (it has pretty blue flowers) and some California poppies. The back yard is the real challenge. I have made a flower bed and mulched it: I will plant in the fall, bright colorful things, sunflowers and day lilies and I don’t know what yet except FLOWERS! I am making a small patio, and I plan to ring it with plants in pots. Again, don’t know what yet, but I will choose plants that will attract birds and butterflies and bees, with a -preference for CA natives. There’s another whole section of yard; I haven’t decided what I want to do with it. More flowers? Raised beds for veggies? Something else? I don’t yet know but I am having a blast looking at pictures and talking to friends.
satby
@Gelfling 545: back from work and late, but that looks gorgeous!