Goodbye Cantaloupe Thing

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Meredith

Due to some exciting goings on, my next few posts will be bird-related, so I thought I best put out a veggie garden update. But first I want to share some thrilling butterfly news — the Monarchs, Queens, Swallowtails, and Gulf Fritillaries, among others, have finally returned to the garden! You can believe I’ll be out there with my camera. I did manage to capture a picture of my first Gray Hairstreak butterfly. I was happy to see her on the Blackfoot Daisies — those flowers are often ignored by the bigger butterflies, who go straight for the Lantana or Mistflower. I read that Gray Hairstreak caterpillars will eat bean plants. Oh well, guess I’ll share.

But back to the “farm.”

The cantaloupe experiment has finally come to an end, and it’s report time. It’s kind of sad, really. My beautiful cantaloupe plants finally succumbed to the aphids, which had become so abundant (despite the ladybugs) that their sticky “honeydew” residue, combined with the rains from last week, had led to a nasty sooty mold problem.

After several days of wondering whether to let my cantaloupes keep trying to ripen, I decided to go ahead and pull the plug. My big one just kept growing but never sweetening, and the shapes of the other two medium-ones led me to believe that I was, in fact, growing a hybrid. I suspected as much, but I decided to enjoy the process anyway.

The big cantaloupe, cut open, actually did look like a cantaloupe. I opted not to take a bite, but I did lick a piece. Yuck… as I suspected. Though I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, I do consider the experiment a success. Growing the cantaloupes got me excited about my first veggie garden, led to my first raised beds with trellises, and really helped me get a headstart on the veggie learning curve. I did learn a lot, and I got hooked on growing edibles. Plus, one can’t beat the excitement of finding out that your plant is actually growing fruit (even if it’s weird hybrid fruit). I don’t consider the cantaloupes my first official harvest, mind you. They were an experiment, especially after I found out that seeds from store-bought cantaloupes should not be used, no matter how much fun it might be.

So I began the process of cutting up the fruit for the compost bin. By the way, ever wonder what the inside of a young cantaloupe looks like? Pretty cool.

Removing the icky plants from the trellis was NO fun. During the process I realized why many garden bloggers opt only to show their beautiful harvests instead of what might be a failure — it’s depressing. I was out there quite grateful that my camera was nowhere near the sooty mold, and while I felt partially obligated to show the whole miserable trellis, I just wanted to get that cantaloupe and all the thousands of aphids into the trash and as far away from my sugar pumpkin plants ASAP. I didn’t even want the plants to go into the compost, they were so gross.

A closer inspection of the sugar pumpkin plants showed that the aphids are starting to move over, and I plan to attack them better. I was happy to find several ladybug nymphs — hurray for my aphid-fighting allies!

But all is well, and I’m looking forward. The sugar pumpkins are the biggest things I’ve ever seen. They are growing up and over and out from the raised garden bed.

I FINALLY had a blooming female bud on a sugar pumpkin, and hopefully I helped it pollinate in time. Cross your fingers! There will be more, and I must be on the lookout. There were two blooming females on the jack-o-lantern pumpkins, but I doubt they’ll be big enough for carving by Halloween. At least they opened, and I did the pumpkin porn thing to help things along — I didn’t have time to watch to see whether the bees were doing their job!

The jack-o-lantern pumpkins have begun their spread into the perennial garden, so I have to monitor them. One is even taking advantage of the dead Mexican redbud. It’s nice to see green on the redbud again, poor thing. 😉 It’s scheduled for fall replacement.

The corn is growing, though I’ve found a couple of worms hiding out in the leaf niches. I’m trying to watch for more, but they seem to sneak in when the gardener’s not looking. I’ve also got young beans, zucchini, and snap peas growing, as well as tiny kohlrabi, carrots, lettuce and spinach seedlings.

This morning I found some strawberry plants at Natural Gardener. These are “Seascape” strawberries, and when more varieties arrive, I’ll try to get some for comparison. I’m eager for strawberry success!

And another exciting find at Natural Gardener — I finally got a gargoyle. They arrived this morning, and the staff seemed as excited as I was. Apparently they don’t usually have gargoyles. He’s a little guy, but his protective watch over our garden is sure to drive away all pests. Right?

Maybe he can tell me what to do about this Green June Beetle. I found it on one of my pumpkin plants. I see beetle grubs in the soil all the time. I believe they qualify as a minor pest, but I’m not sure. The beetle is pretty, as far as beetles go. Underneath is a pretty, shiny coppery surface. It’s still alive, but in a jar, until I decide whether it should stay or go. I don’t care about damage to turf, as I have none worth saving, but I don’t want damage to other plants and fruit.

I did learn an interesting way to identify the Green June Beetle white grubs from other white grubs — the ones of the Green June Beetle will “crawl” on their back via undulating movements. Somehow I think Shrek would appreciate that.

The Indiscriminate Hunter

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Meredith

Meet the Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans), a common spider in Texas and Mexico. It surprised me when I was out inspecting my sugar pumpkin vines. I’m amazed I saw it — its lime-green coloring makes it perfectly camouflaged against the vines, and though it was on a bloom and holding a bee, I’m pretty sure what drew my eyes to it were those hairy legs.

I’m sad that it chose for its meal one of my precious honeybees, but I’m glad this beneficial spider has found my garden. It might pounce on bees, but it also feasts on wasps (which had been getting out of control during the summer) and pest moths and caterpillars (they’re arriving). This beautiful spider is a female, and like most spiders, she’s much larger than the typical male. The female Green Lynx spiders are fierce protectors of their egg sacs — I’m pleased, because I’d like to see more of them around the garden.

The spines on the spider’s legs seem to match little hairs on the pumpkin blooms, stems, and foliage. With her perfect camouflage, it’s easy for this spider to hide and lurk, and then leap onto her prey, which is how lynx spiders got their name.

The Pests Cometh

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Meredith

My last post was atypically serious for me, so I feel the need to cleanse with a standard “ack, my garden” post. Bit by bit, the pests are starting to find my garden. What if they tell their friends?

I knew what those ants on my pumpkin vines were up to, so I was prepared mentally for yesterday’s discovery, if not emotionally. The aphids had found the pumpkins. I thought about reaching for the soapy water, but the affected leaves were few, so I removed just those leaves and stuck them in the soapy water instead. I know I can’t continue to do that, but I wasn’t worried about affecting the plant — people sometimes pinch off whole vines in growing their pumpkins. One or two leaves shouldn’t be a problem. But there will be more aphids, so I best prepare the soapy spray.

Today I got up to check the garden and found that something had chopped off a large section of one of the corn plants. This was no grasshopper, unless it was the big dude from the other day back to seek revenge. What might it be? Opossum? Dog? No evidence on the ground to help me solve the mystery.

The garden’s not too far from my bedroom window. I need a spotlight and a switch inside the house so that I can spy on the garden from time to time during my insomniac moments in the night (brought about by the cats attacking my toes and dogs who are either thirsty or need to go outside having drunk all their water). Perhaps a bright light will help me catch the culprit in the act. Of course, if it’s not mammal-caused, then perhaps it won’t do me a bit of good.

Most of the corn is fine and healthy. But a few seedlings stay small, victims of terrible regular feasting by a vicious corn-eating monster. You thinking what I’m thinking? Grasshopper.

NEWS FLASH: This just in. Either the evil grasshopper from two days ago came back to the garden, or I found his cousin, who jumped up to the trellis wires. He expected me to run and get my camera, I know, but instead I removed both my flip flops and sandwiched him in between. Gruesome, you say? Did you see what he did to my poor corn plants? Remember, he makes babies. Or she. Or it. The Thing. No pictures. I’m not that gruesome!

I noticed that two of my pumpkin plants are starting to show strange discoloring to their leaves. I don’t know whether this is normal or some sort of powdery mildew or other disease. Only some leaves are affected, and only two plants. What does this mean? Or am I showing my newbness and those are perfectly normal pumpkin leaves and all pumpkins do that?

While I was taking pictures, this black bug flew down. What is he?

The leafminer flies are frequent visitors to the plants. Though the damage of their larvae is slight, it’s unsightly. Not slightly unsightly, hoho.

I’m checking the plants daily for more evidence of squash vine borer eggs and for more of those little unknown red bugs. The closest thing I can come up with on identifying that bug is flea beetle, but there don’t seem to be any pictures to support this.

I know it’s only going to get worse. But I’m still going to do my best to keep all these and new pests at bay! <breaks out the boxer gloves>

Cantaloupe Sex Ed

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Meredith

And the mistakes I’ve made, SO FAR.

Here’s what I did wrong. I’m going to be happy that this list, as far as I’m aware, is short.

1. I grew cantaloupe from the seeds of store-bought cantaloupes. To be fair to myself, I didn’t know any better! So don’t do the same thing — sure it’s tempting, but hybrids, if you bought one from the store (most of them are hybrids, apparently), will give you heartache or at least some stress. Read on to find out why. To those I gave seedlings, I will report my findings as I find them out, and I greatly apologize for any grief you experience!

2. I took a picture of the giant grasshopper, and it got away. I’m still kicking myself about this one, and it only happened yesterday. The babies are hard enough to catch. If you see a big one, don’t try to capture the awe in regards to its size or even impressive markings. Just kill it. It will eat and make babies. Something eats bits of my corn, and I blame him. Or them.

Here’s what I’m doing right (again, as far as I’m aware). Top-Ten List! Top-Ten List That’s Really in No Particular Order!

10. I gave my cantaloupe seedlings a raised bed and trellis in which to grow to their heart’s content without getting trampled by dogs.

9. I learned about square-foot gardening and went ahead and spent the big bucks to give them a good soil in which to grow. Even the in-ground pumpkins got a healthy dose of compost mixed into their soil spots.

8. I lovingly give them water each day, and I know to hold back on water as fruit maturity begins to happen.

7. I learned the difference between male and female flowers and what “self-fertile but not self-fertilizing” plants are.

6. I learned about and am quite willing to help my cantaloupes’ pollination. I don’t have many bees here yet, so I have to do what I can to help (I did see one of those big black ones this morning, but he didn’t linger long at the cantaloupe flowers; I also see an occasional sweat bee).

5. I check them each day for bugs and kill anything that looks menacing. Unless it gets away while I’m taking a picture, that is…

4. I’m being a good mom by growing the cantaloupes at my son’s request, and along the way I get to teach my kids about plant life cycles and good gardening practices (and/or my mistakes!).

3. I gently guide the cantaloupe vines up the trellis to give them something to hang on to.

2. I learned about companion planting and put in marigolds and corn in their raised bed.

1. And most importantly, I love them and talk to them and love them some more!

And there you have it. I’m so excited to have thriving cantaloupe plants, but I’m worried that I’m growing a hybrid. So I’m seeking words of wisdom from the experienced cantaloupe gardeners out there! And Cat at AmloFarms has some blooming male flowers (from REAL seeds) she can share with me for pollination purposes. This cantaloupe thing is getting pretty complicated, haha. But for the sake of my cantaloupes, I will drive across town and back! Thank you, Cat!

The cantaloupes are happily growing up their trellis and trying to grow out wide, too.

We’ve had male flowers for awhile, and today (day 38) I found my first female. Here’s how you tell the difference. The easiest way is looking at the flower stem.

The male rises from the vine with a single plain stem of its own.

The female has a cute little bulge that will become the fruit if pollinated.

Here’s a baby female bud.

You can also tell the difference by looking at the inside of the bloom, but here’s where I’m unsure about the condition of the inside of my cantaloupe blooms. The male stamens will have pollen, but I can’t tell whether mine do, haha.

And the females will have their stigma ready to receive pollen. But mine look quite green, so I don’t know if mine look the way they should (I’ve seen pics with them yellow).

All the same, I did my best to get some pollen from the male to the female. At first I tried q-tips and a paintbrush, but I saw hardly any yellow on either. So I finally pulled off some male flowers and exposed their stamens and rubbed them on the female.

No idea whether any pollen grains stuck.

So experienced cantaloupe gardeners, should I be seeing lots of yellow pollen on the males? The male pumpkin flower (just saw my first two today!) has a lot of pollen, that’s for sure. And ants. First blooms, day 38.

Here’s one of the giant plants. They have a long way to go to reach full size. Egads.

From what I’ve read, if I read correctly, the female flowers should be ok and just the males might be sterile. But I don’t know whether the females are sometimes sterile, too. And even if pollination happens, will I get a regular cantaloupe out of it or some dud?

And while I’m asking, let me ask this: Can someone identify this red bug for me? The bigger versions of it are black, but I don’t see any of those on the garden yet, but last fall I had a ton of all sizes in a bunch of fallen leaves. Even the people at Natural Gardener couldn’t name them for me. I kill them when I see them now. But I’d like to know what they are. They are not tiny lady bugs, that’s all I know.

In other garden news, I decided to do something with my broken tools. Please tell me this looks like a flower, because it’s supposed to, HA! I will probably paint it at some point, but it’s growing on me (hehe) as is, too.

You can see the evil chinaberry in my very nice neighbor’s yard behind it — it’s been my nemesis for many a year. My neighbor finally had it cut down several months ago, but the workers left the stump and roots, so of course it’s been growing back with a vengeance. We cut it again just to prevent seeds and it’s back — so the neighbor is getting the tree people back out to properly kill it. Not sure they’ll succeed if they don’t get the roots out. I’m having to close my eyes and ears about the herbicides they’ll probably use… But I’m so thrilled to have a neighbor who is trying to help with the invasives problem!

Sugar pumpkins continue to grow and confuse me. They just aren’t eager to send out tendrils, but growing they be, with new bloom buds forming.

sugar pumpkins08-12-09.jpg Marigold seedlings! Only about 6 took, but I have more seeds to try with.

And much of my corn is happy. A few seedlings are getting chomped by something <evil eye at grasshoppers, even if they aren’t to blame>, but the rest are growing. I never really realized how beautiful a corn plant is until all this growing stuff.

And I’ve planted 8 pole bean seeds so far. I’m making use of the far corners of the trellis squares (ok, according to square-foot gardening, those squares belong to the cantaloupes but they were just sitting there empty! seemed so wasteful). I’ll be planting more along the fence once I amend the soil. My wonderful oldest son dug out the weeds from that area for me this morning. This whole “raising kids to work on the farm” was a brilliant plan of the pioneering farmers!

I planted Black-Seeded Blue Lake Pole Beans. The seeds look like engorged ticks. Don’t they sound wonderful? But I hear they are delicious. No, really. Really!

And we had another frog in the dog pond. Not surprisingly, he’s just as cute as Murray! Pictures soon!

Welcome and Unwelcome Visitors

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Meredith

Yesterday I had a very pleasant time visiting with Bob of Draco Gardens and his wonderful wife Lynn. They had me cracking up with so many hilarious stories, and they ~~forced on me~~ gave me some fantail goldfish for my pond. Well, to be honest, I was out there to get fish (they have a rather plentiful population at the moment), but somehow they managed to sneak more into the bucket… they claimed it was in case one of the fish died on the way home, haha. I told them that because I didn’t actually need more, that they’d all survive, grow, and make babies for me to bring back to Draco Gardens. Sure enough they all survived! More on that in a bit…

We spent a pleasant time chatting, and we got to talking about the Texas Star Hibiscus, a plant they love and one I just happen to have growing in my pond. I told them about the buds on my hibiscus that hadn’t bloomed yet, and Bob said I’d be posting a picture in my blog as soon as they did. Well, guess what I discovered today?

Look at that gorgeous red. The species is Hibiscus coccineus, and it’s also known as Scarlet Rose Mallow and Wild Red Mallow. It’s in the same family as the Texas Rock Rose (Rose Pavonia), and it’s native to Texas.

From a distance the leaves appear straggly to me, but close up they are quite striking. Elongated, toothed, and a beautiful combination of green and ruby… It’s interesting to note that when this plant was quite small, the lowest leaves were remarkably wide and looked almost as if they belonged to a different plant.

Googling for a bit about the plant, I laughed when I read that in 2004 a Houston narcotics task force raided a landscaper’s home and held him at gunpoint because they thought the Texas Star Hibiscus growing in the man’s front yard was marijuana. This earned them a Bum Steer Award from Texas Monthly magazine — for those of you not in Texas, Bum Steer Awards are given each year to the most idiotic or ridiculous people, actions, and events of the year in Texas and sometimes nationally. Not surprisingly, the list is long (and often includes politicians).

Back to the subject at hand — yes, this photo was taken at the wrong time of day, but I had to capture a picture of the tiny spider standing guard on the flower. Can you spot him?

Here he is:

The buds on my plant are all paired. I wonder if they always appear in pairs. Even the single bloom has a bud with it, as seen in the pictures above.

While photographing the stunning plant, I realized I was being watched by our newest amphibian resident. Being ever the romantic, it’s tempting to name him Prince, but I think instead I will call him Murray, after Bill Murray, who gets slimed by Slimer the ghost in “Ghostbusters.” Why not just call him Slimer, you ask? Because that would be too obvious, of course.

I tried hard to capture a picture of the new fish, but they scooted under foliage anytime they noticed me looming above. I enjoyed watching all the fish school around together. The new fish are quite at home. We’re now up to nine fish, egads! This isn’t a great picture, but you can see one of the wee ones swimming with the “big” fish.

I am so jealous of the gorgeous dragonfly and damselfly pictures that many other garden bloggers get. Without a good zoom lens, I can’t close enough to take a picture without the little guys flying away, if they even land near me. And yet I am happy to have as many as will come eat my mosquitoes and wasps and even some of the plentiful tadpoles. I definitely have noticed a decrease in mosquitoes since having the pond, though perhaps that has more to do with the drought, lol. Maybe bats are visiting my pond at night now. One could hope! Do bats eat wasps and hornets?

Just behind it was this caterpillar-eating menace. Can’t it just eat webworms instead of my future butterflies?

And in my garden, I found this horrifying creature, the terrifying, shriek-causing, hide-all-your-plants-from Gigantic Grasshopper — one of those that are so big they don’t bother to jump at all — they just fly their clumsy fly way out of reach. I knew I was making a mistake taking a picture of it when I should have just killed it — it got away, flying to the branches of an oak tree. Which really bugged me! (pun intended)

I guess that makes mine a garden of good and evil!

WANTED: Dead or Alive

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Meredith

This just in from the Great Stems Police Department — be on the lookout in your own garden!

Should you happen upon any of these Wanted creatures, please take appropriate action and as necessary, contact your local authorities.

Gardening Gods, Why Do you Forsake Me

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Meredith

Gardening is still such a mystery to me. What should work doesn’t, and what shouldn’t work does. I know there are all sorts of Murphy’s Laws when it comes to this crazy hobby. Here’s what I’ve discovered about the way gardening works. Gardening gods, why do you forsake me?!!

*Why is it that you promise yourself most determinedly that this time you will not buy any plants, and when you get to the nursery you realize that not just one, but two of your most coveted hard-to-find plants have just arrived off the truck? (here is more Dutchman’s Pipevine — the other, non-pictured is a native milkweed I rarely see)

*Why is it that you wait so long for the first monarch of the season, and when you finally see one you discover all your milkweed is covered in aphids?

*On the same note, why is it that ladybugs show up when there aren’t any aphids and leave before the ferocious onslaught of the little sap-suckers?

*Why is it that your darling dogs have an impelling need to lay on and compact any dirt you till, and another impelling need to dig up any freshly planted garden bed? (This photo, by the way, is of the naughty dog that keeps getting in the pond. She’s usually camera-shy. Don’t be fooled by her gorgeous fur. It hides an imp.)

*And why is it that your yard can have plenty of available (dog) fertilizer but you can’t use one bit of it to make compost?

*Why is it that the bag that spills in the car is not the bag of pine straw, and not even the pleasant smelling potting soil, but the compost made from cow manure?

*Why is that you set out birdfeeders for hummingbirds and cardinals and what you get instead are gluttonous, wasteful doves and predatory wasps? (Ok, really, I get them all.)

*Why is it that the pond you enjoy so much attracts, among other creatures, hornets and wasps that take a nice long, happy drink before going and killing your beloved caterpillars? (Sad note: the monarch caterpillar in the milkweed picture above, along with all its buddies, disappeared during the writing of this blog entry. Stupid, but necessary predators.)

*Why is that you attempt to sacrifice yourself to the gods for some rain by putting up a metal trellis while standing on a partially metal ladder with wire cutters and a hammer in your hand and thunder and lightning in the distance, and all you get is a few sprinkles, like a spit in the eye?

*Why is it that you don’t realize you have to stop at the grocery store on the way home until after you’ve covered yourself in stinky compost while bagging it at the nursery?

*Why is it that you buy a beautiful tree that you are determined to keep alive because it needs to shade the A/C unit and because it is replacing one that died, and it dies while the one that the dogs dug up multiple times over the winter is the one that is thriving? (Actually, three trees the dogs mostly destroyed came back and are doing well.)

*Why is it that the young trees you rarely water (including two you forgot about for weeks in your garage after the last frost) survive, but the ones you faithfully water on a recommended schedule die?

*Why is it that the plants you still haven’t managed to put mulch around are doing better than the ones you surrounded with three inches of mulch?

*Why is it that the most amazing, beautiful sights in your garden happen when your camera is nowhere near?

*Why is it that a random new seedling grows in your yard and you have to wait until it gets big to find out what it is, or whether it is friend (keeper) or foe (weed or invasive)? This one looks like a friend, I hope, but I don’t know what it is yet.

*Why is it that your son doesn’t want to work outside when it’s hot, but then when it’s cool and overcast, he still doesn’t want to work? Oh wait, I know that one.

*(from the son) Why is it that your mom always makes you work, but barely ever lets you goof around? Oh wait, I know that one. (from the Mom: clearly I just let him goof around)

*Why is it that your beautiful plants take so long to grow, but your weeds grow like… well, weeds?

*(from the other son) Why is it that every time you want to plant something, your mom doesn’t have a plant to plant? But when you don’t want to plant something, she has lots and lots.

*Why is it that you lovingly make several cost-effective environmentally-friendly thistle socks for the birdies, and the finches tear such big holes in them until the socks won’t hold any more seed, making you want to reconsider plastic? (technically these two are the brand-name socks — I’d already removed the destroyed homemade ones… I guess I better get busy making more)

*Why is it that you work so hard to create a great garden for your new veggies and then realize that you managed to let some of your herbs die in the process?

*Why is it that you can spend so much time making your outside yard beautiful and neglect your poor house plants?

*(from the husband) Why is it that dinner isn’t ready yet? Oh wait, I know that one.

Got any to add? Please share them! I have a feeling this is a non-ending list!

Author’s edit on 7/26/09: How could I forget this major one: Why is it that I finally start gardening, and Texas finds itself in the middle of perhaps its worst drought ever, with drastically reduced water availability and temperatures over 100 degrees all summer long?

The algae… it’s a-bloomin’

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Meredith

I know that part of the natural process of establishing a healthy pond is going through an initial algae bloom, but all the same it’s a bit of a shock to see it.

I hope that it’s not going to get worse before it gets better. I rushed right out today to get more aquatic plants to hog the nutrients in the water. The local pond nurseries are going through a shortage of the submerged plant called Hornwort, but Emerald Gardens had some healthy new anacharis, so I headed right down. It was my first time to the store, and I’m glad to report that they have a good selection of pond plants to choose from. I didn’t get too many pictures at the store (I have kids, and it was hot), but I enjoyed walking through.

They, of course, have a variety of both native and non-native plants. I saw quite a few beautiful plants that I have a suspicion would not be found in a xeriscaped garden. The main attractions, though, were the ponds, and they were plentiful and very lovely. Did I get pictures? Nope. Next visit!

There was a very cool and very tall plant — it wasn’t labeled, but check out this stem:

I picked up some anacharis, a small maidenhair fern, and this dwarf papyrus. It was big, healthy, and hard to resist.

On the way home (read: detour), I stopped by Natural Gardener to see if they had some horsetail reed (Equisetum hyemale) (they had some at Emerald Gardens, but I was looking for an excuse to go to NG). I should have gotten some at Emerald Gardens, because NG currently only had the giant horsetail in the 1-gallon size I was looking for. But I did buy a Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) for the pond. I love how the leaves change in appearance as they mature.

I also went a little crazy and bought several other 4-inch plants to fill up the gaps in my butterfly/hummingbird garden. I usually try so hard to go mostly native, but I ended up gleefully giving in to an assortment of drought-tolerant plants — some native, some not — that I’ve always wanted but hadn’t ever bought, or perhaps didn’t buy enough of: gayfeather, bat-face cuphea (ok, turns out that one perhaps needs more water than it’s likely to get), cigar plant, white gaura, pink gaura, rock rose, and some extra milkweed. I accidentally bought some bee balm — which seems to require moisture, so it might get put over by the air conditioner, pond, or in a container. And I bought a small dwarf bottlebrush (from Emerald Gardens) to go in the container left empty after the dogs ate the dwarf pomegranate.

I am determined to have a healthy garden for monarchs, queens, and other butterflies. My current plants were just not doing as well as I’d like, though — the aphids took their toll this year. I went too long without removing those nasty pests, and the ladybugs had poor timing. I hesitate to show these pictures of my suffering milkweeds after Fairegarden showed such gorgeous pictures yesterday of Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, complete with butterflies. But she inspired me to go inspect my related plants, Asclepias curassavica, and ugh, they seemed so stunted because of the aphids. Hose came out, I washed the aphids off, at least until I found a ladybug feasting–those aphids stayed. And so I bought a couple of healthy ones from Natural Gardener to add in, just cause.

I’ll finish with a lovely rock rose (Pavonia lasiopetala) that already looks perfect next to the limestone rocks of the pond, and it’s not even in the ground yet!

Bugs, blooms, and visitors

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Meredith

The butterfly garden is growing like crazy. New blooms appear daily, including lovely Purple Coneflowers and Zinnias, and there is soon to be an open bud on one of the Flame Acanthus. The Winecups that once attempted to take over Earth, however, have finally died back with the oncoming Texas heat.

After wanting soaker hoses for a long time, I finally purchased several for the butterfly garden and other areas. The butterfly garden alone took four, but already the plants are happily growing faster in response. I’m in the process of covering the hoses in mulch, at least until a pelting rainstorm exposes them again. No complaints here — I’ll take the rain anytime!

This Zexmenia (Wedelia texana) really stands out near the Blackfoot daisies (Melampodium leucanthum).

One of the fall-planted drought-tolerant Society Garlics (Tulbaghia violacea) has its first bloom, which means I must have done something right. What a beautiful lavender color.

The Spineless Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia ellisiana) seems to love our old heavy soil — it has already doubled in size since I planted it this spring. Maybe I exaggerate, but it certainly is bigger.

I don’t know the name of the insect below, or whether it is friend or foe, but it was quite fond of this young Purple Coneflower this morning. (Edit: It appears to be a Longhorn Beetle, genus Strangalia. Larvae bore rotting wood, while adults eat nectar and pollen.).

But nearby I did find definite foes. My Zinnia leaves have been getting eaten up a bit — upon closer look, there are several baby grasshoppers feasting away. Sure, they might look all cute and stuff UNTIL THEY EAT YOUR PLANTS! I’m worried about the grasshoppers — as an organic gardener I see them as difficult to get rid of. Time to do some research!

But still, the zinnias are stunning. Two blooms so far. The other ones need to catch up!

The pond progresses, and I’ve begun planning the plants for inside and outside. The inside is easy — I have a few plants from a friend in Houston (thank you, Kim!), and I’ve chosen a few others for inside the filter falls and in the pond. But the outside is the real challenge — what I plant will help turn this “volcano-like” pond into a beautiful limestone pond to admire and enjoy all the more.

The pond is attracting wildlife already — there has been a hawk hanging out near the backyard the past two days, more dragonflies are zipping by, and I saw a toad hopping along the ground near the pond. The problem with wild creatures is they don’t want to stick around while you go get your camera!

We got our composter a few weeks back, finally. After much research online, I selected the Tumbleweed composter for its easy turning. I chose the “prettier” green one, thinking that I didn’t need the black one for heat absorption, given that we live in Texas. It’s nice to have a place to put our green food bits other than in the garbage. My big complaint about the composter, though, is that it is not made of recycled materials, for the most part. I seriously considered switching to another composter just for the sake of using recycled materials, but I decided that I was more likely to appreciate and use Tumbleweed’s design. I do hope they will revise their product at some point, or offer an alternative. It’s possible that over time the recycled composter will break down sooner (not meaning long-term decomposition) — I’m not sure.

When I planted this Texas Esperanza (Tecoma stans), rainstorms threatened to drown it. Apparently it liked it, and it’s thriving in its little corner by the fireplace wall.

As I take close-ups of the pretty blooms in my garden, I’ve become quite aware of how much dog hair floats about my yard. Some people have to pull up weeds. I have to pull up weeds AND dog hair in my garden. Here’s Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii), complete with dog hair.

Ah well, at least the outside of our house is consistent with the inside!