Gardening

[Marsha Cassada]

My heirloom pod corn is coming up! I got the seeds from the Ukraine last fall. Hoping they do well here and I can harvest some for autumn decorating.
My yard longs are popping out also. I was discouraged earlier, but am feeling more garden-hopeful now.

 

[HersheyMint]

Beautiful flowers Silver City

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We finally got rain this week! Lots of rumbling thunder and a light show. A little wind, but not bad. We got 1.23". The most we've had at one time in 8 months. This should green up the pastures, but won't fill the ponds. I was afraid the storm would destroy the roses and peonies, but they held up well. We should get wild flowers now, too!
Here is a bloom from our Oklahoma rose. It is making quite a show this year. The fragrance fills a room.

 

[HersheyMint]

My Amaryllis flowers are blooming

 

[Cayuse]

I use those expandable hoses in the barn. I get 1 or 2 years out of the cheap ones. This year I bought a more expensive "Pocket Hose" and it was MUCH sturdier but also much heavier, so I went back to the cheap ones and put the more expensive one out in the garden, not sure how long it will hold up out there but it seems well made. Amazon has the cheap ones18.00 for 50 ft.

 

[Cayuse]

Every one has such pretty flowers and it's still cold here! My daffodils and azalea! have gone by and nothing else is close to blooming. Lilac blossoms are forming though!

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

The Lilacs!!! You'll be heading into REAL spring soon!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

There are some very old lilac borders around here by abandoned houses. But I have tried to grow one and the grasshoppers devoured it. So what did the old timers have or know that we don't have/know? A fond memory as a girl was taking a lilac cutting to school for the teacher. She kept a vase on her desk for all the flowers students brought.

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

Marsha, it's a real downer when the insects munch away on our precious plants. I always try to assess my garden. What things DON'T get eaten? Why? What things get eaten a bit, but make strong recoveries? Are there plants that don't seem to get eaten at all (even if they're considered weeds) and could they be used as companion plants to repel the munchers?

My place has it's own tiny micro-climate and has very different features from properties even 3-4 blocks away. I'm always observing those differences and noting how Nature adapts herself, as well as trying to learn how I can best mimic her.

I've attached a few links about propagating lilacs for you to review:

https://www.flowerpatchfarmhouse.co...xt=To plant your freshly dug,Water it in well.

https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/chiwonlee/plsc368/student/papers04/elizabethbruins/syringa.htm
https://sites.psu.edu/lilacpropagation/2014/03/02/lilac-propagation/
I'd also be asking myself these questions:

What do the abandoned homesites have to offer that my garden lacks? Are there companion plants growing there that I could incorporate with my own lilacs? Would it be possible to harvest suckers from any of these sites?

Science has made many strides recently, in how it recognizes the ways plants communicate. If harvesting suckers, try to take several from each location, and with plenty of soil from the surrounding area. This will help inoculate your growing media with familiar organisms and chemicals for your suckers to thrive.

Also, if your pricing rooting hormones, compare them to cinnamon (in all it's forms). Cinnamon is a very good option for encouraging root growth and, if I remember correctly, does have anti-fungal properties! Below, I've included a link to a research article from The National Center for Biotechnology I formation:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3405699/
After watching a nature program that mentioned how acacia trees communicate when grazed by giraffes, I found this interesting video on YouTube:



As you can see, I have a very inquisitive and quick mind about the world around us. I just wish my body was as quick!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have a tree book that discusses the idea about plants "communicating". It's an interesting idea. I know trees definitely form an ecology.
The old lilacs are totally neglected. They usually seem to grow away from the houses a little, in a row/hedge, and the grass around them is bermuda. Whether they were cared for as young plants, no one knows. Possibly planting two or more would give them a better chance to thrive.
I do think I have a tendency to overwater most things, especially new plantings.

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

Oh, forgot to mention that I've decided against the collapsible hose. The consensus seems to be that it's great for light backyard use. For my situation, I'm better off with a traditional heavy-duty hose.

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

This isn't exactly in my garden. They fall into the "bug predators" category. The old paint bucket is hanging on my back porch. If you listen closely in the video you can *just barely* hear teeny tiny cheeps (when the banging in the background stops).

I have a batchelor cardinal who has joined this Carolina wren family. He helps feed the babies, which research tells me isn't unusual. I was surprised to learn that, since cardinals can act a bit like bullies at the feed and water stations. I'm still trying to get a picture of him near the nest bucket.

View attachment 20220509_185234.mp4

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Our garden club met today. We are finally getting back into a regular meeting schedule. The hostess has a beautiful garden to tour. We had a silent auction and I won some gardening gloves and a weather stick. Some members dug up a few plants from the hostess' garden. Next meeting we will be painting the gourds I grew last year. I'll get the bird holes drilled. The sites I looked at said 1 1/2".

 

[Capriole]

We had one of those hoses...the thing I hated about them are if you have it on a spool you have to unspool the whole thing to use it....also if it lays in dirt while you use it when it contracts again it gets all gritty...I don't recall it being very durable .

I got a rose I've been looking for ever since I saw the picture online (Eyeconic Plum Lemonade)....it wasn't blooming when I bought it so I had to wait until it bloomed to make sure it was labeled correctly.
The blooms are a little worse for wear because the buds were a bit beat up.



This is what it looks like in better condition.

 

[HersheyMint]

Very pretty. I love the name. I'd buy just for that

 

[kimbalina]

I have a tree book that discusses the idea about plants "communicating". It's an interesting idea. I know trees definitely form an ecology.

This book sounds great. What is the name of it? I have heard they communicate via fungi?

 

[kimbalina]

Mostly just more weeding and pruning. I’m learning about more weeds, discovered a Japanese sunflower on our property as big as a tree! Chopped down a massive tobacco plant! I have been using my powers against the green cestrum that is everywhere, I feel so satisfied digging ip their gnarly roots, pulling at the strong long tendrils underground! It’s a long war against the onion weed, and so many competing priorities/weeds!! I’m very determined though! I want to get Apaché rigged up with some baskets to carry my weeds around with me. He loves weeding with me. He maybe thinks I’m grazing with him as I rip out all the weeds

 

[kimbalina]

I would love to know the name of this rose, it’s very fragrant and lovely. I’ve never grown roses myself so very chuffed to be taking over care of this one. I’m calling it peach sherbert!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Mostly just more weeding and pruning. I’m learning about more weeds, discovered a Japanese sunflower on our property as big as a tree! Chopped down a massive tobacco plant! I have been using my powers against the green cestrum that is everywhere, I feel so satisfied digging ip their gnarly roots, pulling at the strong long tendrils underground! It’s a long war against the onion weed, and so many competing priorities/weeds!! I’m very determined though! I want to get Apaché rigged up with some baskets to carry my weeds around with me. He loves weeding with me. He maybe thinks I’m grazing with him as I rip out all the weeds ❤

Moving to a new property is always a discovery! Sounds like you have the knowledge and energy to git 'er done!
Good idea to get Apache to help. I had a back pack for my horses at one time; when we went on walks I let them carry the litter I picked up.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

This book sounds great. What is the name of it? I have heard they communicate via fungi?

The Secret Life of Trees. My son, an arborist, gave it to me. It's a little far out--sort of treating trees as though they are people--but thought provoking.