This hot spell is a catalyst for all of my blooming bulbs. Here are the first two gladioli who decided to flower together in shades of pink.
All pink, ALWAYS.
Glad-iolus to See YOU!
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Category Archives: Garden: Verb and Noun
Stargazer Lilies
A few months ago, I rescued a wilted and sad little Stargazer Lily from the back of a clearance shelf at the nursery. If I remember correctly, I paid a dollar or two for a one gallon plant.
I thought to to myself, “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” and brought it home with the hope of bringing it back to life with love and care.
My efforts were rewarded this week with a dozen or more heavenly perfumed pink blooms, perfectly timed for tonight’s full moon.
Stargazer’ lily (Lilium orientalis ‘Stargazer’) was developed in the late 1970s as a cross between Lilium auratum and L. speciosum to intentionally create a flower with upward-facing rather than drooping flowers. The tips of the flowers are “reflexed”—meaning that they curve back toward the stem—and they sport long, showy stamens.
They are among the most fragrant flowers. With a diameter of six inches or more, they have exceedingly showy blossoms—there is nothing subtle about ‘Stargazer’.
FYI…Like all lilies, ‘Stargazer’ is toxic to cats.
Scott’s Oriole
My bright and beautiful Scott’s Orioles are back! From bunnies to birds, I don’t have to go anywhere to be entertained.
I can’t say rats are bringers of joy, though, Or the mouse I saw this morning, but thank goodness it was outside so I didn’t have to completely freak out.
I think my little wounded bun is going to be OK. Fur is growing back and he’s still eating the greens I put out for him, which is a whole lot better than enduring the trauma of being captured.
A Modern Day Apologue
[Apologue, a moral fable, especially one with animals as characters.]*
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful garden. It was filled with lush fruit trees and vegetables and flowers of every color.
On this day, the sun shone warm and bright even though it was late afternoon.
Three rabbits and a baby bunny were in a sort of circle, sharing a meal of a small green apple that had fallen from the tree and rolled onto the lawn.
I was able to view this idyllic scene directly from my bedroom window where I had stopped for a moment to take off a couple of rings and a bracelet.
Without warning, a gigantic rat ran up to the bunnies, stole the apple and scurried away with it in his mouth.
None of the bunnies seemed to care or even defend their ownership of the apple.
I became paralyzed, rooted to the floor, unable to process what I was seeing and unable to even snap a photo.
The End
*I don’t know what the moral of this story is supposed to be, except that I seem to be surrounded by vermin and also it’s also a play on words (apple/apologue).
More than 15,000 rat bites are reported each year in the United States. All rat bites should be treated by a doctor. Some of the diseases that can be spread from rats to people are bubonic and pneumonic plague, murine typhus, salmonella, leptospirosis, Hantavirus, and tularemia.
From Blissful Butterflies to Bans Off Our Bodies
I did a lot of “B” things today all before noon, which leaves me the rest of the day to enjoy in the garden.
First of all, I went to a butterfly festival. I mean, how could I NOT, right?
It was the North County Monarch Butterfly Festival in San Marcos, which isn’t too terribly far from me, but it’s inland and since we’re having a heatwave, I thought I’d go early. It was 95 degrees at 10:00 a.m. That’s HOT!
The North County Monarch Butterfly Festival featured butterfly-inspired art, crafts, clothing, gardening, live music, and food. I really wish the kids were here because it was the perfect fun and educational event for children.
Here’s what the event website had to say: The fate of the iconic Western monarch butterfly is tied inextricably to the health of the planet, and that means our fate as human beings is informed by the same forces that impact the monarchs. Simply put, if monarch butterflies thrive, so do we, along with all of the other inhabitants of the monarch universe; conversely, if the monarchs can’t thrive in this universe, then human beings can’t either.
This event – hopefully the first of many – will feature any and all aspects of the monarch universe, from monarch-inspired arts and crafts to jewelry, clothing, biology, pollinator gardening, milkweed and nectar plant propagation and cultivating, to discussions and presentations on a wide range of subjects, from conservation and migration to habitat restoration and creation, from diseases and predators to native plants vs tropical, from children’s activities to seed exchange.
I held a snake too, from the San Diego Herpetological Society, the same organization that helped me identify that Great Basin lizard that visited for a while last year. I’m not 100% sure what snakes and lizards have to do with butterflies, but me and all the other children loved it. The snake’s name is Matt. Isn’t he handsome?
All kinds of milkweed; I purchased the native variety. I also got a variety of milkweed called Hairy Balls, again, how could I NOT? Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as hairy balls, is a species of milkweed native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. It is often used as an ornamental plant.
Yummy smelling soaps and lip balms. Lovely!
After that I drove back to the coast where it was noticeably cooler and stopped by the Bans Off Our Bodies rally gathering at our local train station. I was happy to see an awesome and exuberant crowd of like-minded folks while I took a few photos.
Bans Off Our Bodies
Blocks and blocks of people all the way to the beach! This is in front of Spin Records.
I like to take photos of the signs, all with their permission, by the way.
A little butterfly bliss and a show of support for reproductive rights sounds like a great day to me, don’t you agree? Time to plant that milkweed!
Bunny Breakfast
Around 6:30 this morning as I pulled back the curtains and looked out my bedroom window, I was greeted by a darling bun chewing on a few kale leaves I had picked but forgot to bring inside.
I thought I read somewhere that rabbits don’t like kale, but this little one enjoyed every bite.
What a happy way to wake up and face a new week!
Happy World Wide Naked Gardening Day!
That’s today, May 7, and that’s also a definite hard NO from me, whether it’s “world wide” or “worldwide”!
I’m out in the garden, fully dressed, thank you very much. However, if YOU choose to celebrate sans clothing, please wear sunscreen and please DO NOT send pics!
Lemongrass Tea
I have a healthy lemongrass plant in my garden and never thought of doing anything with it but cutting a stalk from time to time for Vietnamese or Thai dishes and thought I’d experiment a little since it I learned it also offers healing benefits. Too bad it can’t fix my broken bones!
Lemongrass tea has a wonderful, lemony, delicious taste. Add to boiling water for only fifteen minutes and it’s a perfect hot or cold refreshment!
If you don’t have fresh lemongrass or you can’t find it in the store, you can use dried lemongrass Be sure to strain or use a tea caddy.
- 1 stalk lemongrass including leaves (1 tbsp dried lemongrass)
- 3 cups boiling water
- Optional: Piece of ginger or sprinkle of cinnamon.
Boil for 15 minutes, steep, strain, and enjoy!
I added a cup of my freshly made lemongrass tea to Yogi ginger tea (which has lemongrass listed as an ingredient) and it tasted yummy!
Bees All Around
I guess the bees in my neighborhood decided to celebrate Earth Day by swarming in my loquat tree which is right next to the deck.
I can’t believe how fast it happened. As recently as yesterday I was tying the long branches of a grapevine to the loquat branches — not ideal, I know — but this year the grapes went crazy and there was no other place for them.
This morning I saw a few bees near the vines and the tree and thought it was odd, and as I started to walk closer and closer I saw a gigantic mass of bees.
Somewhere I read that a swarm of bees means happiness. Swarming bees mean richness, gain, and luck.
It’s very windy and in the eighties today but I’m keeping a VERY WIDE berth away from these bees. I hope they rest and move on quickly because that location is too close to the patio door and as much as I heart bees for their existence, I don’t want them in the house. Or even close to it.
UPDATE: I had to close the patio doors when those hundreds of bees that created a swarm decided to buzz away at the same time. It was a frenzy of bees! I wish I had gotten video but I was rooted to the spot watching the activity. Moments later they were all gone. Not one single bee remained. I feel so lucky that they chose my tree to rest in and catch their breath before moving on their journey. They knew it was a safe place, a sanctuary. How awesome is that?
Where The Pomegranate Grows
Here’s the next stage of my happy pomegranate tree. I’m so excited! This is only its second year in the ground, and I’m hopeful we’ll have lots of yummy poms in the future.
Feast your eyes on this unique and lovely flower, a future pomegranate, all ruffly like a petticoat. I am obsessed with the intricacy.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 