Reuse and Repurpose.

I've finally found a functional use for the cat scratching\seating post\tree...

I'm now able to bring the plants up that I've been storing in the basement all winter. With the cat gone I no longer have to worry about him eating the plants...and vomiting them back up, YUK!

Now that spring has arrived I removed the insulation plastic I installed over the bay window back in the fall.  Seems like a pretty good spot to move my Philodendron plant to.  However, since it's SO big and the lower leaves SO full and heavy, I moved the car post over to keep the limbs up. Remove the temptation for Trixie to take a bite or two, as these plants are not dog or cat friendly.

Of course this is only temporary, as the cat tree is a going bye-bye very soon!

Now I can enjoy this plant all the time!

Asclepias, AKA Mikweed

My Milkweed plants have finally moved into a sunnier location and I have so many of them this year!  Most are doing fantastic with oodles of flowers too, which smell terrific!

Although, I've had Milkweed for many years now, there have been no Monarch caterpillars that have called them, alas

Fingers crossed this could be the year since they're doing to well!

If the Red Milkweed Beetle, sometimes called "four eyes", is any indication, my hopes for Monarch's have grown since there are scads of them all over!  

Red milkweed beetles, herbivores that eat only milkweed, are not harmful to monarchs or harm monarch eggs or larvae, so you do not need to remove them from your milkweed plants. The two species can and do coexist peacefully.

Here are just a couple pics of cuddling and dining beetles -

Fingers crossed!

Leaf Peeping!

This rash causing plant, poison ivy, is one to steer clear of for sure, however, it without a doubt throws off some awesome colors come the early fall here in New England!

A Bloom

These are several pussy willow bud that have opened.

I thought they looked unique so here it is for you all to decide - 

Comfrey, aka Ass Ear

Our Comfrey is doing really well this year.  Actually it does well every year.

We have two of the three colors, would love to find some white.

Purple, which gets taller and has bigger leaves -

Blue, which is smaller but seems to spread faster -

Jack 2.0 enjoys eating, although not as much as some of the other bunnies we've had over the years.

Comfrey uses from WebMD

Humpty Dumpty Perhaps

Tuesday was a very windy day here at the ole homestead!

Here is what caused the loud bang I heard just before lunch.

Frustratingly, I had just moved these plants to this location.  The next step was going to be inside.  Of course it had to be a planter that we had a mate to, alas...

Frosted Banana Perhaps?!

 

I'm sure you've all heard the urban saying, "the frost is on the pumpkin" (which by the way I just learned means "time for love making" after the hard work of the harvest is done). 

 

Well, how about frost on your banana?  Ever hear this saying?

 

Pictured above are about a half dozen cold hardy banana trees that my farmer friend Tim has planted here in New England. He started with just two plants but they've been producing babies (off-shoots).  I took one of the babies home with me the last time I was down for a visit.  Since it was closing in on the cold weather and not enough time to plant in the ground have it establish itself, it's happily growing away in a pot in our downstairs bathroom.

 

I can't remember the name of these plants but will make a point to write it down when I visit again.  Apparently, there is a "process" that needs to be follow in order to winterize these trees.  I believe the leaves need to be removed and the stems and base wrapped and mulched heavily with leaves.

 

Hopefully, Tim has done all this and his trees are ready for the long, cold New England Winter.

Flowering Rhubarb

It's been a couple months now since I divided our rhubarb into three separate plants and relocated. All three are doing just fine and growing as if they've been in their new locations for years now. I'm convinced that you can't kill this plant.

Today, two of the three plants are flowering, which is a first for this original and these newly divided plants. Since I'm not a big rhubarb eating fan, I'm gonna leave the flowers alone as they're quite impressive. I've read that doing so reduces the vigor of the plant and shortens it's stalk producing season but, again, I'm really only growing it as an ornamental, so no worries.

2011 Veggie Gardens Are In!!

It was a productive weekend here at the ole homestead. Outside of a Saturday AM trip to Marshfield to visit a friend, I spent the weekend at home getting our plants and yard in order. Most of our veggies have been planted, same for out annual flowers, finally.

Here's the list of veggies plants and seeds: (24) tomato, (4) parsley, (2) basil, (3) mounds of Silver Queen corn, (7) cucumber, (6) vidalia onions, (16) potatoes: three different kinds, (4) kale, (2) broccoli, (2) lettuce, (10) pepper and (12) squash: six zucchini and six summer.

Peppers fronted with begonias -


Squash: Summer on the left and zucchini on the right -


Tomato, corn, garlic, red onion, parsley and basil -


Strawberries, kale, broccoli, cucumber, lettuce, vidalia onions and potatoes -


There are still some seeds that need to be planted, as well as some flowers, which I hope to get to at some point during the week: carrots, radish and sunflower. Phew, a lot of work but SO happy to have it almost all behind me. Just need to load up on the ibuprofen...

A Daisy Thing Happening

Gerber or Gerbera Daisy, also known as "African daisy" is a genus of ornamental plants from the sunflower family.

This is one of several Gerber Daisy's plants of ours that we've wintered over in the basement. This particular one has been with us for many, many years and typically flowers throughout the spring and summer. It's been in the same pot and the same soil since day one. We fertilize it but I'm reluctant to do much else with it, i.e. re-pot in a larger pot, because it does so well.

We brought it upstairs to the kitchen a couple weeks ago where it's much warmer and sunnier. You can see how she's responded - she's rewarded us with a couple of stunning end-of-winter flowers.

Schlumbergera truncatus

Here's an beautiful picture of our blooming Christmas cactus. She peaked a little to soon, so we're thinking of now referring to her as our Thanksgiving cactus, which may actually be what she is. In any event she was perdy!

Ed Hume Seed Care of Christmas Cactus
Ferlean Flowers Christmas Cactus Care Information

Zinnia's by Emilie

Zinnia

These are the Zinnia's that Emilie planted at the end of her day-care school year. I'm not sure how many seeds she planted but 4 emerged from the plastic cup that she planted them in. We kept them in the kitchen widow till they got big enough to be transplanted into pots of their own.

Well, here they are today planted in the ground; 4 mature plants with beautiful flowers all doing just fine. They've joined the other plants around the pool, added some nice colors to the area and nourishment for the bees and butterflies.

Here is an interesting one- notice the three different colors, how they're layered and how it gradually changes from top to bottom and visa-versa.

Lupine

Lupinus

Take a gander at our Lupine. Is this impressive or what?! Regrettably this is last years picture and the plant didn't survive the winter. However, it's put out a number of seedlings this year but they've yet to amount to anything. We'll try to salvage a few we some TLC in the hope that come back like gang busters next spring/summer and out do this plant.

Lupine cultivation is at least 2,000 years old and most likely began in Egypt or in the general Mediterranean region. The lupine is a perennial plant that grows from 10 to 16" tall with many large, full flower stalks, the distinctive palmate leaves consisting of several oval, pointed leaflets and have long stems. The stout flower stalks look woolly in bud due to the hairy calyx lobes.are considered a grain legumes, like beans, peas, lentils, etc.

NOTE: Some lupines contain a number of alkaloids such as lupine, lupanine, and sparteine, and they have been known to cause fatal poisoning in animals.

Roma Tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes (Italian or Plum)

Roma tomatoes are an Italian variety of the plum tomato with a great flavor, Romas are excellent for sauces, especially if they are overripe. Romas are also used in salads. Some say Roma tomatoes thicken as they cook, which is why they’re good for tomato sauces or is it just that Roma tomatoes are not so juicy as slicing tomatoes, and if one seeded the slicing tomatoes they would also thicken when cooked? Time to test...

Here is my batch of Roma tomatoes plants. I didn't have too many good options to plant them in the ground so I opted for potting them in 2 gallon flower pots. This option has worked out pretty well so far; they're easier to care for, I can rotate the pots so they get a more even tan and they're next to the spigot and get plenty of water and TLC. They're doing fantastic and are loaded with tomatoes. I hope we're able to get enough to can a good batch. We'll see...

Licorice Plant

Helichrysum petiolare



This tender South African shrub, sometimes called liquorice plant, is a popular filler for hanging baskets and window boxes in summer. The long, slightly stiff stems quickly branch in all directions and eventually trail to form a cascade of silvery grey foliage. It is also a valuable ground cover plant for growing between sturdy summer bedding flowers and at the edge of beds and borders, where it can spread freely and infiltrate its neighbours without being invasive. Cuttings root and overwinter easily, or the plants can be potted up in autumn. If allowed to flower late in the growing season, it produces cream-colored flower heads.

The name Helichrysum is derived from the Greek (h)elios for sun and chrysos for gold, although not all species have golden flowers; petiolare refers to long leaf stalks.

You can see in the above picture the cream-colored flower head on this licorice plant of ours. We keep ours out back by the pool and it loves the hot sun. It doesn't require much care and fends for itself just fine, as you can see from the picture.

Achillea millefolium

Red Yarrow

Here is a picture of our Red Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) plant. She's not quite reached her full deep red color just yet but eye catching just the same. We also have a White Yarrow and had a Yellow Yarrow also but this one didn't come back after the winter - we will replace it.

• Hardiness Zone: 3 to 10
• Height: 2 ft
• Spacing: 24 in
• Type: herbaceous perennial
• Flowers: Pink, white, red and yellow

Common Yarrow is a perennial herb that has fern-like foliage and can be used as cut flowers. They grow in ordinary garden soil and full sun. Cut off old flowers to prolong the flowering period. Achillea may become a weed if not controlled.

Here's an interesting bit of information I came across when researching this plant:

Uses Ethno botanic: Several tribes of the Plains region of the United States including the Pawnee and Chippewa tribes used common yarrow. The Pawnee used the stalk in a treatment for pain relief. The Chippewa used the leaves in a steam inhalant for headaches. They also chewed the roots and applied the saliva to their appendages as a stimulant. The Cherokee drank a tea of common yarrow to reduce fever and aid in restful sleep.

Lilium - Asiatic Lily

This is what I'm talking about!

Take a gander at these awesome Asiatic Lilies of ours!

U Can't Touch This...

My efforts last year of ridding our lilies of the Lily Leaf Beetles were successful. I've not found or seen a single beetle on any of our lily plants! These pests can do a number on these plants in short order.

Variegated Iris

Take a gander at our Variegated Iris! It's first thing in the morning so the flowers are not opened all the way; you can see they're still folded over. Notice the dew glistening on them...

Variegated varieties of flowers peak my interest. Not only is a beautiful flower produced on these plants, but the interest of the plant itself, is held throughout the entire growing season. The plant's white or yellow edges cause a different look than the all-green variety, as well as having the capability of brightening up an area without even being in bloom. These plants are just as hardy as their green cousins, so no other care is needed to grow them.

Other variegated flowers and shrubs you'll find in our yard - Sedum, variegated Dogwood shrub and of course a variety of variegated Hostas.

Dividing Hostas

Q: When's the best time to divide hostas?

A: You may start new plants by dividing clumps in early spring. Otherwise, clumps may remain undisturbed indefinitely.

The above information was obtained from The Old Farmer's Almanac

Solomon's Seal II (Polygonatum biflorum)

The Solomon Seal have begun flowering and are doing very well. You can see here that some of the buds have opened with more just waiting to burst open!

See an earlier post of mine on our Solomon Seal.