Zinnia Bug Power

Every year I plant zinnias for Blinky. We love the vibrant colors and the assortment of butterflies and moth they attract.

There are patches all over our yard. But the one I get to enjoy most is in my compost. (Where do you plant the bajillionth seedling pack when you've run out of space everywhere else?) Today, I spotted these beauties:

 

 

  

 

In the first three photos, I believe these are monarchs because they lack the black markings on the hindwings of the Viceroy and the white spots of the Queen. But you decide here. The final picture is of a daytime moth. I am working on identifying it. (If you look really closely, you'll see a pesky little caterpillar, hence all the holes in my leaves.)

 

Other species visit the zinnias at night. I've seen hummingbird moths and a few others I haven't yet been able to identify. I'm working on that too.

 

Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend!

May

It's been a good month for gardening. We've had healthy amounts of rain and its not prohibitively hot which means I've been able to weed everything.

My veggie garden is coming along nicely. To my pleasant surprise, I have a peach tree, two Idaho potato plants and several watermelon vines (the latter will be transplanted or given away) growing in my compost. Other than Blinky uprooting and subsequently killing one of my marigold plants; my main preventative measure in my tomato and pepper bed; I could not be more pleased with this section.

Occasionally I have to run the sprinkler for the veggie garden and found it amusing that the water created a line of demarcation in the grass. Can you see it?

While letting the dog out at lunch, I noticed my hydrangeas are starting to bloom. Aren't they beautiful? They are a pink hybrid, but one is starting to adopt a purple tinge. While also beautiful, I prefer pink. Will have to get a soil test and amend according.

 

Finally, a butterfly bush bloom to kick start your weekend:

 



How does your garden grow?

Amaryllis and Veggie Garden Pics

Sunday was pretty sunny, so I was able to snap a few shots for you.

Flanking my maple tree:

 

By the HVAC unit:

 

 



By the mailbox:

 

In the backyard near the vegetable garden:

 

 

Still waiting to bloom in the backyard:

 



 

And finally the vegetable garden:

 

Blueberry bushes are in the back left bed. Spinach is in one half of the front left bed. I am going to add some peas or beans in the other half, which will help shade the spinach when the weather gets really hot. If you look really closely, the white poles against the house are my bean trellises. The DH made them for me out of PVC and they work really well.

 

My new compost pile is in the back right bed, and tomatoes and peppers are in the front right bed.

 

The flat in the walkway is filled with sunflower and zinnia seedlings for the kids. Not sure where I am going to transplant them yet.

 

Over in the corner there is a blueberry bush, two young Crape Myrtles, two century plants and a garlic bulb all of which need transplanting or new homes.

 

So much to do and so little time (especially spending most nights at the ball fields), but I'm getting there.



Updates Finally!!!

My amaryllis are in bloom and I have been waiting a week to photograph them but the rain won't let me. In fact, I'm afraid the blooms will start to fade long before I have a sunny opportunity to capture them. Bummer.

In other news, I have decided to enlarge the crape myrtle flower bed in the front yard with the azalea bushes that I wrote about in this post. I even purchased two bridal wreath spireas to add to it. I just love their cascading look and think the texture and color will compliment my bed nicely. Mine are very young, but here's a picture of a mature one:

Also, the hummingbird feeders are out. I've purchased a new, wooden bird feeder, even bought a large bag of bird seed, but I still need to get it hung. Baby steps.

But perhaps the best news of all is that my veggie garden is in! In fact, it was installed a few weeks ago, I just haven't gotten around to writing about it. Yet. It has benefitted greatly from the rain and the kids and I are looking forward to watching it grow.

Sadly, no bird nests that we've noticed around the yard. Even the bluebirds that have nested in one of my backyard birdhouses for years have gone MIA. {Sigh} Maybe next year.

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Orange You Glad You're Not a Pumpkin?!?

 

Here's a funny story for ya...sometime in August, with visions of pumpkin-lined steps leading up to my front porch, the kids and I planted two flats of pumpkin seeds. None germinated. However, a stray seed ended up in my compost, and voila, a few months later I have a thriving pumpkin vine.

 

 I doubt the pumpkins will be large enough to decorate with before the season is over so I still won't have the pumpkin-lined steps. Still, this made for a great laugh. Ain't life grand?

Force-ripening Green Tomatoes

When I overheard a co-worker saying you can force green tomatoes off the vine to ripen in the sun, I thought this would be a cool experiment to try with the kids. We found our sunniest window, a south-facing one, lined the sill with paper towel and patiently waited. To our pleasant surprise, after just a few days, the tomatoes started turning red.

I did a little research on this and turns out heat is the main proponent required to ripen green tomatoes, not sunlight. This blogger mentioned sunlight inviting rot and toughening the skin. The rotting on my tomatoes was more of a sunburn at the very top, which I always slice off anyway. Further, the texture of the skin seems normal. However, next time, I am encouraged to try his brown paper bag and banana method.

How do you force-ripen tomatoes?

Upcycling McDonald's Mik Jugs

Not too long ago the kids and I picked up Happy Meals for dinner. As I was peeling off the labels from the milk jugs to toss them in the recycling bin, I noticed simple instructions to upcycle the jugs into bird feeders. Yes please! It took a few weeks to actually get around to it, but the finished product is too cool.

Start with a clean jug.

  

Drill a medium-sized hole for feeding and two smaller holes for the perch. Make sure they line up. We used a straw per the instructions, but a bamboo skewer would also work.

 

 

Drill a hole in the lid for the hanger. I used wire because this is what I had on hand, but you can use rope too. (In a pinch, I've also used dental floss and it held up quite well.)

 

Fill with food and hang.

Super cute right?





Horticultural Therapy

In recent months, I've read a lot of articles about the health benefits of gardening. In particular, using gardening as a form of therapy to help deal with catastrophic grief and working through mental health issues is gaining popularity. Dubbed Horticultural Therapy, this article from NPR links the benefits to stress reduction, calmer nerves and a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol. If I needed another reason to spend time in my garden, then certainly, this would be it.

As Mom to two toddlers, I'm experiencing another aspect of horticultural therapy; building confidence and encouraing independence in my kids. The three of us maintain numerous flower beds, raised veggie beds and potted plants, and enjoy spending this time together. They're as passionate as I am...ok almost...about seeing the process through from seed to table (or floral arrangement) and are learning to express why that is. And their little personalities are as different as their taste in plants.

Whatever your reason or need, gardening may provide an outlet. If you've never had an opportunity to flex your green thumb, start with an easy to care for potted plant like a peace lily. If you're feeling more adventurous, purchase a seed pack, a bag of potting mix and a planter. It's that easy. Give gardening a chance and see which benefits you reap from horticultural therapy.

Here are a few photos from last summer's garden to inspire you.