All Gone...!

Alas....all the beautiful Stargazer Lillies are done blooming! They were so beautiful and fragrant, but they sure didn't last long enough! It'll give me something to look forward to next year along with those red Asiatic lillies! The back of the patch there is looking a bit empty now that I have cut off half their stalks to make sure they are not trying to put any energy into making seeds.

The home grown zuchinis are a bit tough skinned though as we found out the other night when we decided to cook two of them.

Other than that...not much going on. It's a bit dry. We could use a good downpour so that I don't have to pull out the hose. I haven't been able to pull the hose out due to the fact that bf is parking his car right in front of the spigot!

I just realized I could put labels on my posts....I wonder who reads my blog? Apparently quite a few of you since my visitor counter says so! :) I hope ya'll enjoy my posts as much as I do writing about them!

Another orchid in starting to bloom!

My baby Meyers Lemons growing! Woohoo! Can't wait to eat them!

My garlic patch in the backyard....they are ripening up. The zucchinis are finally starting to grow here amazingly enough! I thought it wasn't getting enough sunlight, which it isn't, but it is still growing some for me. Not many, but two is better than none!

Garlic

Harvested my first garlic today. The bulb wasn't too bad, but it wasn't super big either for such a big plant! I think I'll pull up the others later.

More Blooms

This is Phal. John Ewing. It was supposed to bloom last year and had TWO spikes, but I threw it outside with the other Phals in the fall and blasted the two spikes! :( So this year, to make up for it....it has given me one single spike. This has been a long awaited bloom since this is a SCENTED Phalaenopsis! Oh it is heavenly! Pretty to boot too!

Spider Lily I believe what this is called. Quite pretty, small flowers though. Apparently the bee in the flower the morning I took this picture agreed since it was drunk with sleep! I thought it was dead! It must really appreciate the food :D

Close up shot of the pretty small flowers. They are about 1" across.

Neofinetia X is in bloom!

Somehow this beautiful little thing has a tinge of purple to the petals even though Neofinetia is white and the other plant it was crossed with was named 'alba.' this is a first bloom for me. I got this plant off eBay. It is lightly scented at the moment, but I am sure it will get stronger as night falls! Grown under florescent lights!

Stargazer Lillies Are Open!

All four lillies are open! Actually, one is already fading. It didn't last very long....a week max? They all opened up during the heat of this past weekend. They smelled SO good! The rain storm late afternoon yesterday, Sunday, knocked a lot of the pollen off the stamens. I will definitely grow more of these since they are able to bloom in shade even!


8:29pm - It is pouring! WOOHOO!!!! The yard sure needed the water!

Stone Plant Bloom Progression

Is it safe to come out?

Hello?

Must be safe....?

Hello world! Hello tiny itty bitty bee!

Ahhh....the sun sure feels good!

Blooms!

I have six, count that S-I-X, orchids in spike under my light stand! YIPEE!!!! Some I have not seen some of them bloom since I bought it (years!) and some have never bloomed at all (few years or just bought) so it will be exciting to see what they look like possibly!

Outdoors, my stargazer lillies are about to bloom so I am excited to see what those actually look like! I hope I got the white ones because I really can't remember LOL

Just found out two nights ago bf put down weed and feed in the backyard....GRRRR....now I can't eat my garlic! :( :( :( He has been reminded that he is ***FORBIDDEN*** to use any pesticides/herbicides in our yard because not only is my garlic affected, but my worms and the dog since he didn't tell me he put it down. You are supposed to wait something like two days before letting pets or children onto lawns when you put down fertilizer, pesticides, or herbicides (read your labels!). Well...unbeknownst to me my dog was still being let out on that same grass and EATING on it! Ugh...

Visual Update

This is what my front yard looks like now that all the spring flowers have died back. Seems a bit empty now... I've gotten a lot of compliments though!

Baby zucchini! I have learned that these need A LOT of light! The ones planted in shade are blooming all male flowers like crazy, but absolutely, not even one single female flower! The three I planted in the pot and is sitting actually in my neighbor's yard (rental) is growing some baby zucchinis, but eventually they will outgrow the pot. :\ I learned my lesson....grow in pot only!

A little piece of my backyard....finally decided to plant my tuberous begonia back there with the ferns. The light requirements worked well and it looked nice to have some white popping up. the fern next to the begonia is a native maidenhair fern. It dies back every fall and comes up every spring! These are my most favorite ferns!

Mini Hosta "Gold Drops" in bloom. I thought the flowers would be darker than they are now, but quite pretty for such a tiny hosta! I planted it last summer.

Brad's Black tomato given to me by Doug Oster, the Post-Gazette's Backyard Gardener, who showed me how easy it was to go "organic" with his and Jessica Walliser's book, Growing Organic.

One of two Black Krim tomato plants I am growing....these are SO good! They are an heirloom variety and finally setting fruit! I can't wait to eat them!

Look how big my yellow peppers are getting!!!

This is one of those stone plants I keep killing indoors. Yes, you just heard it...a master gardener kills plants! I too cannot grow everything I love :) I bought this from Lowes and put it outside in a clay pot so it wouldn't blow over (just plopped it into the pot, plastic pot and all) and I haven't even watered it! All it gets in water is when it decides to rain. I can't believe it is blooming! Guess I have to grow these as annuals....

Update

It has been raining for two days now. Am I still in Seattle???

My red lillies were really short lived. There is only one left. One of my Stargazer lillies got blown over by the storm so I had to cut it down. I don't know if the bulb will survive since there are no leaves for it to gather food with. I guess I'll find out if it doesn't come back next year!

My garlic is starting to turn brown. Woohoo! :D The tips...we cooked one. It was kind of tough, but pretty darn tasty! Maybe I gotta cook them a bit more for them to soften up.

The habaneros still have not set fruit yet. I am worried they won't at all being on a windowsill. I think I will move them closer to the other plants for a day or two when they are in bloom next. My yellow peppers on the other hand, have two little baby peppers growing already! I hope it grows some more!

The weeds are growing well....like weeds! You won't believe how fast they really grow! Seems pretty tough to keep up after them, but they are so much easier to pull when they are about 4-6" tall. Of course, I am not that meticulous about the yard. If it looks good to me then it is fine LOL

My Neofinetia falcata cross is spiking!!! I am excited about that as I have never seen it in bloom. I also have a Phrag in bloom for the first time for me. Not too exciting, but quite pretty in its plain simple way. Seems like there aren't much of a color variation in Phrags...just red, pink, and some yellow. Pretty boring if you ask me! I think I will uh..."weed" those out soon.