My Ceanothus americanus is flowering and absolutely crawling with insects. Below are pictures of the star-shaped flower buds before bloom and then some more of the blooms themselves
[Image description: a two panel meme. The first panel says “if you don’t love me at my” over an image of leaves yellowing. The second panel says “you don’t deserve me at my” over an image of bright yellow flowers, one of which is being visited by a bumblebee]
[Image description: a father and daughter have their backs to the camera while cutting elderberry stems for propagation. They are both on grass despite a seat being in the picture]
Nearly 23 percent of Collingwood, Ontario, is covered by lawn. In Montreal, 96.5 square kilometres of turf add up to be 43 times bigger than the city’s sprawling Mount Royal Park. Nearby Laval, Quebec, has an additional 35.5 square kilometres. And Toronto has 79.6 square kilometres of lawns, equalling an area 50 times bigger than High Park, one of the city’s largest green spaces.
[Image description: a picture of a stroller on the edge of a street with a child in the seat. In the tray of the stroller is a pair of secateurs, while several young beaked hazelnut bushes spill out from the bin on the bottom of the stroller]
I have a work in progress pond with some lovely goldfish in it. So far I've only had smaller visitors to the pond, but I had a big heron land on my neighbors roof and scope things out.
I harvested my first cabbage head this year! This is my second year growing cabbages - it went way better this year!
Last year between pests and the weather, it was definitely mycabbages.gif
Did my first apple harvest for a tree that was in the backyard of my house. Around a year after we moved in after removing some trees that were growing into our fence and garage and working on building soil health our neighbors pointed out that we had an apple tree. They said that for the entire 10 years they lived here they didn't see an apple but were seeing a few two years ago. After missing my window last year I finally got around to harvest.
Every year there's mourning doves that nest in our planter that hangs on the backyard deck's railing. This morning I was able to get a couple quick pictures of the babies during the morning shift change :)
What's growing in my garden? I didn't plant it. It's just doing it's thing. It's also become one with the mystery tomato plant growing beside/in/on it.
I planted a handful of lemon squash seeds in the garden spot just to see what would happen.
Well they were quickly taking over and my bamboo sticks wasn't working to keep them contained so I instead came up with this solution of chicken wire and fence posts to make my own arch trellis.
There are several old avocado trees on my corner, including the one that makes these small (tho not usually this small) green avocados that turn purple and shiny like an eggplant when fully ripe. The taste is pretty typical for a green avocado -- so much less fatty than a Haas -- but with a nice floral note that I haven't come across in other varieties.
Does anyone grow stinging nettle (Urtica dioica)? I'm thinking about planting some next year in containers, mostly for fertilizer but I would also like to drink some tea just to see if it helps my allergies at all. Any tips, observations, opinions?
[...] Crossman turned to a third technique—a test for a set of genes called ZFX and ZFY that show up on the X and Y chromosomes. In Eau10b, Crossman found both genes, confirming that the animal had a Y chromosome. But the whale’s DNA also contained a double dose of ZFX, the gene carried on the X chromosome. The result revealed that Eau10b had a Y chromosome and two X chromosomes, meaning the animal was neither male nor female. Eau10b was an intersex whale—the first of its species known to scientists.
I spent a huge chunk of yesterday helping a friend transplant bits of his garden from his old house to his new house. We must have dug up at least forty irises and tons of peonies, marigolds, and various other plants. He was kind enough to split some of the clumps with me, and he's planning to split me some white dutch irises that are already growing at his new place.
I'm still waiting on my *Pycnanthemum muticum*, clustered mountain mint, to germinate. But in more positive news I was allowed to take a cutting of *Monarda bradburiana*, spotted bee balm, home with me yesterday.
I pulled garlic scapes the other day, and our strawberries have been coming in gangbusters. The blackberries are just past full bloom, the raspberries are right behind them, and the elderberries look like they're going to go hard.
This particular flower is native to my geographic area, although there wasn't any in my suburban city. So I got a big bag of conservation seed and dumped it everywhere, and it went nuts. Best "weed" ever.
My friend at the library asked this morning if I wanted to take home a hosta that someone donated to the plant sale without a pot, as she didn't have the capacity to split it into pots or spend multiple watering sessions keeping it happy. Being the good husband I am, I asked my wife if it's okay with her if I accepted (unapologetic plant accepter here). She said sure, and even understood when I said I needed to bring the truck because it had no pot and I didn't want to dirty her car.
Apologies for being absent these past weeks, I have been hella busy getting ready for market season. By way of apology here are some smol herbs I potted up for our friends' shop
Not necessarily your favourite fruit to eat, but what is/are your favourite fruit tree(s) to grow based on survival rate, fruit yield, ease of maintenance, ease of harvest, grass-killing prowess, and any other combination of factors? What is/are your least favourite? If you have photos or diagrams to illustrate your point, even better!
While it's not an exhaustive list, I thought this might be handy for any folks looking to ID mystery fruit trees in their area. If you've got additional resources like this but for less common fruits, please share!
Our state inspection was this morning (we passed!) and we're in full plant splitting mode. Today is catnip, irises, and a few more purple flowering raspberries that have begun sprouting from around the bases of our mature plants. Yesterday I gave Juniper the task of separating the yarrow cuttings from the mother plant, and she seemed to really enjoy it.
My bird loves a good cucumber, one that has a really goopy center. The problem I'm having is the store bought cucumbers in my area are pathetic even when they are in season. They consist of mostly the white firm flesh with very little goop or seed in the center. Additionally, at 22yo, My friend is running out of summers and I always promised him we would try to grow a good cucumber one day.
With some warm weather in the Pacific Northwest, my garden finally picked up and started producing!
I was able to get some good greens for a soup and salad, along with the first bunches of herbs!
Pictured in the basket:
- Russian Kale
- Chard
- Oak fire mustard greens
- Red leaf lettuce
- Mesclun mix
- Little gem lettuce
- Wild Arugula
- Mizuna
- Parsley, Oregano, Sage, and Thyme
Our desire to preserve is strongly linked to a narrative of loss, both for biodiversity writ large and for rare heirloom seeds. But we recognize the need for biodiversity and destroy it in the same breath. What if we protected the Amazon instead of just the genetics within it? What if we supported small-scale diversified agriculture instead of industrialized monoculture?
A seemingly-undocumented Artocarpus with unique leaves and somewhat sour fruits. Superior to Artocarpus elasticus. Fruits ripen at the same time as Artocarpus lanceifolius, which overlaps the end of the season for Artocarpus odoratissimus.
I accidentally let some of the Anethum get way too leggy, whoops. They're still pretty freshly germinated, so a little breeze from a fan should fix things and they should straighten up some and get a little stronger. It wasn't a big dill.
Hey people! I'm located in western Slovakia (Central Europe) and would like to start a wildflower meadow sometime during the end of March or even the start of April. It is going to replace the lawn in the middle of our plot. It is in a sunny place and no chemicals have been used for ~3 years, although the ground is not super ideal for it (not nutrient-poor). My question is: will the seeds be able to germinate if I just go over the space with a verticutter? Should I try to remove the lawn fully (i. e. using a hoe)? Cover it with cardboard to let the lawn die? I have read the excellent Wild Your Garden book by The Butterfly Brothers, and they recommend rotovating. But that seems like a lot of work. What was your experience or what species would be suitable? I'm all ears!
[Image description: A picture of plants being hand watered with a caption that reads I make them planties wet.
Mark this NSFWSP - Not safe for water sensitive plants
Geostationary Orbiting Observer
LallyLuckFarm
Powderhorn
alyaza [they/she]
coyotino [he/him]
David From Space
Tempus Fugit
oce 🐆
artifex
BevelGear
Günther Unlustig 🍄
Wahots
einkorn
David From Space
