Those were all beautiful, Keplar,too.
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Spring-2016 Gardening anyone? What do you plant? or not?
- Thread starter foxxycat
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@MackieMac : Your flowers are beautiful. Are the pictures from this year? If so, I'm insanely jealous. All I've got blooming so far are some crocuses and a daffodil. That's one daffodil - all the others sent up leaves but no flowers.
I also have some tulips showing their green leaves, but nowhere close to blooming yet. Spring arrives slowly in this part of Canada.
Your cats are beautiful too.
Have you seen the current cat picture of the month thread? http://www.thecatsite.com/t/317831/springtime-kitties-april-2016-picture-of-the-month-contest
Your cats are beautiful too.
@MackieMac - stunning flowers!! You must really have the green thumb!
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Lovely! My yard still looks barren.Theres no rain for a week. I had to water my daffodils last night because the blooms are squat short-usually they get taller than the greens. so I used my hose for the first time and need a new hose reel.the water froze and cracked the plastic casing with water gushing out..so that's what I get for leaving the hose out for the winter-I thought I got all the water out of the hose...:/
It's still too early here in Colorado (we had a major winter storm over the weekend, with more predicted for this week, and I don't plant until it's safe to turn on the sprinkler system and run water through a hose), but I try to plant a new, winter hardy rose bush under my south facing front windows every year. I bought some sweet pea seeds to plant along my split rail fence in front this year, and I want to add some Johnny jump ups (like small pansies, that re-seed themselves and can take over a lawn -- better than crab grass) and some columbines. Also, I'm planning to plant catnip in a hanging pot in my bathroom, where Jasmine can't get at it but I can.
Oh, and whenever I plant a new rose bush I put some of those water retaining gel pellets in the bottom of the hole. You can buy them at JoAnn. They're the same things they use to make those cooling neck wraps. This is because I don't always manage to water as frequently as I ought.
I'd like to plant some miniature wax begonias in pots in my bathroom. (The best place for house plants in my house. Plenty of light, and it's easy to keep a watering can in there and water the plants every time I shower.)
Margret
Oh, and whenever I plant a new rose bush I put some of those water retaining gel pellets in the bottom of the hole. You can buy them at JoAnn. They're the same things they use to make those cooling neck wraps. This is because I don't always manage to water as frequently as I ought.
I'd like to plant some miniature wax begonias in pots in my bathroom. (The best place for house plants in my house. Plenty of light, and it's easy to keep a watering can in there and water the plants every time I shower.)
Margret
You may have gotten all the water out. The cold can damage the hose directly, no help from frozen water needed, sorry to say.
Margret
More garden goodies-- blackberries!
Last year's crop... some, anyway! This is quite rare, as blackberries seldom last long enough around me to get a photo, LOL!!
Last year... berries on the vine. Yum! Excellent cobbler, delicious on yogurt or ice cream... love my berries! Best of all, these are thornless.
Last year's crop... some, anyway! This is quite rare, as blackberries seldom last long enough around me to get a photo, LOL!!
Last year... berries on the vine. Yum! Excellent cobbler, delicious on yogurt or ice cream... love my berries! Best of all, these are thornless.
Some more irises-- this is 'Surf Lady'
A particularly vibrant 'Chasing Rainbows' iris
'Purple Classic' and 'Yellow Classic'... ones that I found in neglected beds on my bike ride. I don't know what kind they really are, but they're sure pretty. That yellow looks great with 'Chasing Rainbows' doesn't it?
And my 'Ol' Reliable' peach TB of uncertain variety. It might be 'Pink Taffeta', but I'm not sure. Gorgeous nonetheless...
A 'Yukon Gold' POTATO PLANT! It's twice this size now, and the purple fingerling plant is catching up rapidly. Yes, it will produce a few nice potatoes, enough for probably a batch of potato salad and some extras to toss in a pan of roast beef.
The passionflower vine is a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly caterpillar. This is from my summer butterfly garden. This lovely fella (and it is a male) is enjoying some 'May Night' salvia. In the background are blanket flowers (also called firewheel... Gaillardia, a Texas native wildflower here in garden form), lantana and orange marigolds.
They LOVE lantana!
Tiger Swallowtail on honeysuckle
Tiger Swallowtail on Texas silverado sage bush
Monarch!
Monarch chrysalis-- I raised this from a caterpillar...
... and he grew into this! It's a boy!
Newly emerged. That "plastic looking thing" to the left is the old chrysalis shell that housed him for 10 days. Remember how green it looked? Just before he emerged, I could see the colors of the folded wings through the chrysalis "wrapper". It was cool to see it change from green to orange and black, then to awaken the next morning bright and early to see this guy waiting. He flew off about noon, after his wings firmed up and he cleared out his system from all the leftover products of metamorphosis. Pretty cool, huh?
This butterfly emerged in October. Therefore, he's special-- he was one of the butterflies to make the autumn journey to the wintering grounds. He was a migratory flier, so he went to Mexico or South Texas after he emerged and flew off.
They LOVE lantana!
Tiger Swallowtail on honeysuckle
Tiger Swallowtail on Texas silverado sage bush
Monarch!
Monarch chrysalis-- I raised this from a caterpillar...
... and he grew into this! It's a boy!
Newly emerged. That "plastic looking thing" to the left is the old chrysalis shell that housed him for 10 days. Remember how green it looked? Just before he emerged, I could see the colors of the folded wings through the chrysalis "wrapper". It was cool to see it change from green to orange and black, then to awaken the next morning bright and early to see this guy waiting. He flew off about noon, after his wings firmed up and he cleared out his system from all the leftover products of metamorphosis. Pretty cool, huh?
This butterfly emerged in October. Therefore, he's special-- he was one of the butterflies to make the autumn journey to the wintering grounds. He was a migratory flier, so he went to Mexico or South Texas after he emerged and flew off.
@MackieMac Your garden is just stunning. I'm so in awe of your butterfly too. I wish it was warm enough to grow such lovely flowers here, between our winters and our monsoon the plants take a real hammering.
Do you grow your potatoes in pots or transfer them to the garden once they're big enough?
Do you grow your potatoes in pots or transfer them to the garden once they're big enough?
We have 4 seasons in Canada too - almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction
Love your butterfly pictures, especially the one you raised from a baby caterpillar. I did that once when I was a kid, but when it emerged in the spring, it was just a regular butterfly. It was still cool to watch it build the cocoon as a caterpillar and emerge a butterfly.
I'm currently a desert dweller and I'm from the Midwest so I haven't a clue what I could grow. Except oranges. Apparently they grow like mulberry bushes back in Nebraska. And aloe, which is apparently a 23rd here. Maybe if we ever come up with some money, I can set up a greenhouse inside the apt, but Rune is worried about bugs. So I want a garden, but can't necessarily have one.
Well, I happen to have some drought-tough things here so I never go completely flowerless.Droughts are a way of life here in N. Texas, and so are floods. Honestly, feast or famine so I have things that carry through most weather that comes our way.
But... do you have a patio or balcony that gets some sun for at least a little while? If so, you could try some pots of herbs. Might not sound exciting... but CATNIP's an herb that can grow in a pot or in the ground and give you and your kitty some fun time. Spearmint grows much like catnip, and you can pot up some oregano, thyme, or other smaller herbs for cooking. Chives (not cat safe, I'm afraid) do well in pots. Rue (Ruta graveolens) is an old-fashioned culinary herb that has fallen out of favor for most cultures, but it still serves nicely as a caterpillar host plant for a few Swallowtail species. In Texas I get the Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)-- the largest butterfly in the U.S., and the Black Swallowtail. In AZ, you may attract different Swallowtails.
Herb gardening is really quite fun, and the ability to jazz up your cooking with something you grew yourself is so nice.
ETA: Oh, I see you're in Tucson. My brother lives there, and how about that-- he does landscaping.
~Mackie
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I have no balcony. Everything I grow would have to be indoor. Which means keeping the cats out of it long enough to grow! Lol.
I'm heavy into the Spring yard cleanup here. The first truckload of mulch was delivered Saturday. I just hurt everywhere. Advil is my friend. :nod:
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We got a bit of rain yesterday morning but my beds are already dry as a bone. Tonight after work I know what I will be doing. I try to keep the strawberries watered because they grow best in this 60 degree air.
@MackieMac your Iris plants and butterflies are absolutely gorgeous! I have these deep dark purple iris that were planted here before I bought the property-they have a scent like heaven. The inside looks like a fuzzy catapillar type textrure and is an electric blue then the blossom is a deep dark purple. The phone camera doesn't accurately pick up the colors but they smell so good. I have other irises I have bought from various plant sales. This is the time of year to go to those church/library plant sales=at least here in the North East we have dozens of plant sales from now until june all over the place. I have found some pretty cool things.
Right now the creeping phlox is almost ready to open but we need water so I will be watering it tonight. when the flowers are past I dig up the edges and transplant the greenery at different areas of my lawn and get new patches growing=they take a long time to spread but once its established it looks like a blanket of color!
@MackieMac your Iris plants and butterflies are absolutely gorgeous! I have these deep dark purple iris that were planted here before I bought the property-they have a scent like heaven. The inside looks like a fuzzy catapillar type textrure and is an electric blue then the blossom is a deep dark purple. The phone camera doesn't accurately pick up the colors but they smell so good. I have other irises I have bought from various plant sales. This is the time of year to go to those church/library plant sales=at least here in the North East we have dozens of plant sales from now until june all over the place. I have found some pretty cool things.
Right now the creeping phlox is almost ready to open but we need water so I will be watering it tonight. when the flowers are past I dig up the edges and transplant the greenery at different areas of my lawn and get new patches growing=they take a long time to spread but once its established it looks like a blanket of color!
@mackiemac - stunning photos!! LOVE Butterflies!!! Keep the photos coming!
I've transplanted two hostas between the pots earlier. Need to get my super to dig out the roots so I can get some hostas from my dad's place.. hopefully soon before they get too big to move!
Anyone suggest some good ground covers? I think I'll be needing them in such a big area.. I was thinking Alysum (however you spell it).. the purple and white ones are pretty. They say annual on the seed packet, but I am confident my grandmother had them come back every year.
Any suggestions on colorful ground covers that like a lot of sun?
I've transplanted two hostas between the pots earlier. Need to get my super to dig out the roots so I can get some hostas from my dad's place.. hopefully soon before they get too big to move!
Anyone suggest some good ground covers? I think I'll be needing them in such a big area.. I was thinking Alysum (however you spell it).. the purple and white ones are pretty. They say annual on the seed packet, but I am confident my grandmother had them come back every year.
Any suggestions on colorful ground covers that like a lot of sun?
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Alyssum is an annual, but it freely reseeds and does come back every year as long as you don't accidently dig up the seedlings. I love it, too. Ajuga is another ground coner that likes sun. It has purple/bronze leaves and blue flower spikes in spring. It spreads each year and is a perennial. You will have to buy plants to start it.
Johnny jump ups ( miniature pansies, violas) like full to partial sun. The name is intended to convey the fact that they're "volunteer" plants, i.e. they reseed themselves and spread. And how about clover? I've seen seeds for red clover in the store and online. White clover grows wild.
Margret
Margret
