Salvias and Morning Glories, Gardening for Healthy Children, Titan Arums

-
A fellow Master Gardener gave me a root division of a Blue and Black Salvia. Hers grows in a 4-foot wide clump by the cattle guard and fence into the front yard. It had already bloomed at her place this season and it obligingly bloomed again for me in its new home along our front sidewalk.
Lady in Red Salvia and Cleome are thriving in a bed next to the blackberry bushes. Since we just had 5-inches of rain the last two days, they are sitting in 2-inches of water today but seem to be happy about it.
When we were strong-armed into putting up a chain link fence, Morning Glory vines seemed like the only way to soften the look of it during the first summer. A new perennial bed will go into the spot this fall.

THE FALL GARDEN
The lettuce seedlings had to be brought in out of the storm and put under lights but they may have to be re-planted anyway because they are so leggy. A night time low of 59 is predicted for later this week, so I'll try again then.
Spinach, lettuce, chard, kale, snow peas and other fall veggies can all still go in the ground. The cucumbers I planted last week from seed are already 2-inches tall.
GARDENING MAKES HEALTHY FAMILIES (Link to UPI for complete story)
Not too far north of us at Kansas State University in Manhattan Kansas, Candice Shoemaker received a $1.04 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Research Institute for Project PLANTS, or Promoting Lifelong Activity and Nutrition Through Schools.
The idea is to involve elementary school students in growing their own food and flowers in gardens and high tunnels to increase their exercise and involve them in an interest in healthy food.
Tip of the Trowel to Garden Rant for bringing the story to my attention.
TITAN ARUM
Another gigantic Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) bloomed August/September at Eastern Conn. State University and the photos are posted at their Plant Phys site. Click on the link to see the amazing time-lapsed photos. Links at the bottom of the page take you to related sites, i.e. the mother and father's plant sites.
UNWANTED GRASSES AND TREE SEEDLINGS MUST GO
The two days of rain made the ground nice and wet: It's been a good day for weed pulling!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicid...
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will c...
Read more