Bhut Jolokia Seedling

Christmas Cactus

I was given a piece of Xmas cactus by my fianceé's grandmother, whom just recently passed away last Thursday. We are actually about to go to her viewing in a few minutes. This plant had belonged to either her grandmother or great grandmother and had gotten to be quite the big plant. As I went downstairs to my light stand I noticed it was blooming for me! How appropriate that it would be on today. Took some pictures of the one bloom (it only has 2) and will post them later.

My Paph. villosum's other bloom is starting to open up and it looks like it has deeper color too! No petal problems either! Woo!

Keeping the Bird Bath From Freezing

So I don't have the fanciest bird bath on earth, but really, do the birds even care? All I did was buy a sturdy clear plastic drainage dish for plants from Lowes for $3.99 and filled it with warm water so that it would last awhile outside before freezing into a 12" ice puck. It's nice and shallow so it works perfectly for the birds.

I didn't buy the $20 heater for the bird bath because I have no where to plug it in out there and did not want to run an extension cord. So in this weather, I go out several times a day to replace the frozen water, but yesterday, I thought, "Gee...what about those hand warmer packs?" I have a whole box of them and I doubt I would ever be able to use them all before they expire. Not exactly the cheapest way to do it, but one pack last eight hours! While it does not keep the whole bird bath from freezing up it does keep the center from freezing completely. What I do is I activate it and place it under the dish. What works well about this dish is that it has built in feet so it is elevated off the ground...just enough space for a heat pack and for air to get under it to keep it going!

I see why the top of my feeder empties out so quickly....the squirrels! I saw a crow here for the first time. He better leave all the shiny stuff in my yard alone! Some little bird was brave and stayed on the tree while I checked on things. He even let me watch him for a bit flitting around and eating!

Anyhoo....I am getting sleepy...woke up early to go to Handmade Arcade. What a zoo it was! I'm starting to think the early shopper pass wasn't such a bad idea afterall....!

Tomato Catalog

WOW! I got this catalog that is all about tomatoes! AND....they had my favorite! Black Krim! Check it out:

www.totallytomato.com

Tis' the season!

For blooms! A Paph. villosum has started to open for me (wish it would bloom in March instead!), a Dendrobium from Australia is in spike and a Helcia x Trico is opening up for me! It's even fragrant! Exciting times :D the Brassavola nodosa is still working on what I think is a spike. The butterworts are still blooming their heads off!

I did throw away two plants...they just never did well for me and it was time to put them out of theirs and my misery. A Cyd. has gone dormant (no watering! YAY!).

I still have all these Clivias I grew from seed that are getting bigger and bigger every year! I honestly don't have as many plants as I did before, but because they keep getting bigger I am running out of room! I wish they would bloom so I could see whether they are worthy of keeping or not!

BIRDS! And Squirrels....

Wow, I came home today to find that my grey squirrel was sitting IN my bird feeder helping himself! Somehow he had gotten the bird feeder to slide ALL the way down the branch so that the feeder was right up next to the trunk of the tree! You bet I moved that sucker back up to where it was a flimsy branch! I also see a TON of birds feeding and chilling out in the trees above! I found a large ceramic drain dish for plants that I cleaned out and put warm water into also. Maybe they will drink/bathe in it. It's quite noisy in my backyard, but I'm glad they have finally found my feeder! I just hope the city rats don't come....I think I saw what looked like mice/rat poo yesterday :(

Wildlife

I forgot to mention in my last post....my new bird feeder finally got a visitor! I think it's one of these:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/3075226789_b170c43e74.jpg

It's a Chipping Sparrow. I also saw a black squirrel at my suet feeder the other day! Never seen a black squirrel in my neighborhood before! I thought I only had a grey squirrel! This guy was quite fun and agile to watch. He would hang off that itty bitty branch the feeder was hanging on by his two hind feet! Then dangled down to the suet feeder to eat. Soon as he got something he'd high tail it back to a safer branch to eat! He didn't eat a whole lot....the suet cake is still out there! Guess he gave up and decided it was more effort than it was worth?!

Garlic is Planted!

Yesterday winter arrived. It dropped down to 23˚F! Moved my Cymbidiums back inside and I almost missed my peppers. Yes, PEPPERS! They were still growing! One was starting to ripen up too, but alas, I had to cut them off. The cold was affecting the leaves and I knew it would not survive the night temperatures in the low 20s. Today, just as I had expected, autumn was over, which only means one thing...time to plant garlic!

The soil had a frozen crust on top, which is exactly perfect for planting garlic! I planted 20-some cloves of Music and the mystery garlic John had sent me. I somehow got them mixed up so I can't tell which is which! I also planted one called German Red, but I'm not sure how well that one is going to grow since it looked a bit shrunken already. Apparently it doesn't keep well! I still have plenty of room to grow tomatoes next year in the same plot (I know I'm not supposed to! But I didn't get the blight this year so it must be working???) as well as maybe a few herbs too! I think I am going to try to grow more herbs so I can dry my own next year! (Thanks Jen!)

Anyhoo....time to study and after that....play with my indoor plants for a few months till spring arrives! Stay warm!

OOPS...

I was a bad gardener the last few weeks....I knew I was due to water my orchids, but I failed to check on them at the very least. I was lacking sleep so I didn't bother.... Today I found two dead plants and one that did not look so good! I watered them all. I'm sure most of them will be ok, but I hope the one that isn't doing so well will bounce back! Found another orchid in spike/bud and ready to bloom! This will be the 3rd time it has ever bloomed for me. Not exactly a show quality flower, but it is quite pretty nonetheless! Will post a picture when it does finally bloom!

Better Pics of Tangerine Orange

Thanksgiving Cactus in Bloom

Right on time! This is Tangerine Orange.

Cymbidium Honey Bunny 'Sweet Bell'

Went to the November orchid society meeting today and George Hatfield was our speaker of Hatfield Orchids from California. He specializes in Cymbidiums and brought pendulous ones for sale. I couldn't help it, but to get one too since I had no luck with the traditional upright Cymbidiums. So this is the one I picked out, Cymbidium Honey Bunny 'Sweet Bell'. You can see a picture of it in bloom at Hatfield Orchids. It is my largest orchid to date I believe! I didn't mean to get one as big as this, but it's hard to get both flowers and plant size sometimes! I didn't want another pink one as I already have a pink one so I picked this yellow one. It has two spikes ready to bloom this winter already! I'm excited :D Below is a pic of how big this plant's leaf span is compared to my fake fireplace and my dog, Samba!

Stargazer Lily Bulbs

I had planted my Stargazer lilies in a rush when I first got them and did not think about how they would look eventually. So I finally got the chance to move them since their foliage has turned yellow. They are easy to snap off! I hope it doesn't hurt them, but they sure have grown! No wonder they were taller than I this year with tons of blooms! I did, however, forget to put some bone meal down when I replanted them. Oh well....I will top dress them later! Here's a few pictures:

The largest bulb...actually it had grown another bulbs and both of them were stuck together! Check it out...the bulb has its own fat roots and then all the tiny roots at the top (closer to my hand) must be what feeds the plant itself.

One of the other larger bulbs....also a multiple with a smaller one. The smaller one was grown next to a honeysuckle. Not sure if it made a difference, but it was definitely a smaller plant this year unlike the other two.

A look at where the stems snapped off when I dug them up. This is the largest one. You can see how big it is compared to my gloved hand! I don't think they were any bigger than a bulb of garlic when I first bought them! They sure as heck weren't yellow either! Not sure what made them that color...

Brassavola nodosa

A few years ago I purchased a flask of Brassavola nodosa seedlings. I sold all of them and kept only one, the biggest strongest one. I should've kept them all and made a specimen plant out of it! Anyway, I was downstairs in the basement this morning and noticed that it is spiking! At least I think it is a spike...it doesn't look like a leaf! I'm pretty excited as this is such a beautiful white orchid and it's fragrant to boot!

Dendrichilium in Bloom

This is Dendrochillum ecalosum x bicalosum.

Masdevallia in Bloom

This is Masdevallia Sun Spot x triangularis.

Oncidium in Bloom

This is Oncidium Moon Shadow 'Tiger Tail'

Meyer Lemon in Bloom

Hand pollinated three blooms today!

Meyer's Lemon

I got a Meyer's lemon a few years ago on sale. It almost died once. I threw it on the side of the house and told it that if it survives it gets to come back inside in the fall. I guess my pep talk worked :) It has given me one lemon a year. I guess that is all it can handle being that it is just a tiny tree. If you haven't tasted this lemon you HAVE to! It's technically a lemon x tangerine. Looks like a lemon, but once you taste it...oh my! It is sweeter than normal lemons, perfect for lemonade! You can totally eat this without making that face! I highly recommend it! They are easy to grow, tolerate abuse well too! They are thorny, which I did not realize when I first bought it, but there are so few spines that you can just cut them off, which is what I did. They are pretty long and jab pretty darn well!

Anyway...it blooms twice a year for me, spring and fall. This fall it is LOADED with flower buds! The first two buds opened today and oh do they smell heavenly! I have one full grown lemon on there right now that I am waiting for to ripen up. The spring bloom gave me another baby growing. Hopefully the bees are still out right now and I will be blessed with more! I may have to play bee here! I'll have to get a picture of it tomorrow.

Pomegranates

Just read an article about growing pomegranates. I never thought about what they grew on. Sure sounded like a weed! Anyhow...it sounds easy to grow, but maybe not here in zone 6a. It would probably have to be potted up for me, but how do you keep a tree small while still bearing fruit of edible size?! Well if you live somewhere where you can grow them it's worth it, I think, since they cost about $2.50 each at the cheapest! Check it out:

http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/pomegranates.html

Also, google for "pomegrante+plant" and you'll see what it looks like!

Fall Activity

In a recent post in my organic gardening group someone mentioned an easy way to turn my clay soil into good soil. Only thing you have to do is plant Daikon radishes! They grow deep and break up the clay. Then when you leave them in the ground over the winter here in zone 6a they freeze and die. Thus, decomposing and enriching the soil. Sounded like a great idea! The only problem is that I have part sun or shade, but I'm going to try it anyway even though they require full sun! I ordered my seeds from Seeds of Change.

I dug up my Dahlia 'Seattle'. I hope I did things right. The clumps have definitely gotten bigger, but whether they will become bigger plants next year remains to be seen! I also dug up some of the "potatoes" from my ornamental sweet potato vines. Going to let the rest of them rot in the soil just like the Daikon radish plan. They don't grow as deep, but something is better than nothing!

Last night for Halloween I got a total of 10 kids only. Two girls, my neighbor's kids, took two full sized bars each! That irked me a bit...greedy kids! I figured there would be more kids this year since Halloween was on a Saturday, but we only got about 1/3 of the kids we normally get. Good thing I didn't buy much candy! All my Halloween decorations are down and the fall door decoration is back up. I did forget to take off that fake spider web stuff though. Will do that later.

It was time change again and we gained an extra hour today. Sure was nice! I'm feeling a bit lazy.... However, I did manage to get myself to vacuum the first floor and clean the bathroom at the very least! More orchids are about to bloom too...!

GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)

Everything You HAVE TO KNOW about Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods from Jeffrey Smith on Vimeo.

That video was found on this page: http://www.organicconsumers.org/

American Chesnut Trees

Today at the dog park in South Park I noticed a sign.... I've seen these trees before many times, but did not realize what they were or what they were doing in, of all places, a dog park! The sign mentioned something about American Chestnut foundation or something to that degree. So there was my answer finally! Someone had planted American Chestnuts here in this dog park! If you don't know, American Chestnuts are susceptible to a blight that was carried into this country on the Asian Chestnut tree, which is resistant to the blight! But not ours! Ours have been affected by this blight severely. So....check out this site and become a member or volunteer! Save these beautiful trees!

http://www.patacf.org/patacfhome.htm

Paph. villosum

My Paph. villosum grew two new growths after the original growth flowered and eventually withered away, but I am proud to announce that the two new growths look to be growing a bud each! I am hoping against all hopes that it will bloom about 2.5 months later than it did last time so that I can put it in our spring show to be judged! I may have to move it to a cooler room until I want that bud to be opening up! This is what the first bloom looked like:


Last year and the year before I had my Phal. equestris in the show, but both times it was suspected of being a hybrid. Well this last weekend at the Orchid Festival a different vendor (than I got mine from), also had a Phal. equestris....suspiciously like mine! I asked Tim about it....he seemed to be into Phals and whatnot (he specializes in them!) and he agreed that it was Phal. equestris. I told him my story and I knew I had a good plant! It ***IS*** Phal. equestris! He said they come in all different colors and I even showed him my plant, a pic of the flower, and a spent flower and he agreed that I was right! So next time that I show it, I will have to let Tim know and he said he'd bring in a bunch of publications to show the judges. Maybe I will finally get an orchid named after me! One can hope... :)

This is a flower of my Phal. equestris:

Orchid Festival

So Saturday morning I was supposed to do the Heart Walk. Meanwhile, my alarm decided it had other plans for me. Maybe it was a good thing since I was wiped out and needed sleep badly. I woke up a half hour before I was supposed to be there and I could've made it except I had guests over and our one and only bathroom was occupied. So instead, I decided to go back to bed and sleep in! I made it to the Orchid Festival around noon-ish. Ended up purchasing two little Phals, a Masdevallia, and a terrestrial orchid that I can plant outside!

After that was over I went home and skipped the Halloween party we were invited to also because I just did not have the energy to stay up late and socialize and Justin did not feel like it either after his fiasco with the car.

This morning I again got up late, figuring that the Orchid Festival isn't nearly as busy as our spring show and I was right. I found parking right away! I think (hope) that the vendors were pretty happy with their sales. I hope it was worth it for them to come! I couldn't help myself...bought a Cyp. pubescens today as well as 5 double pot hangers for my Epiphyllums.

After coming home, I planted my Betilla striata alba next to my regular pink Betillas. I sunk my wild blackberry into the ground to save it from the winter. I will dig it back out come spring since I planted it pot and all into the ground. I also planted the saffron crocuses that almost washed away during the spring storm. They had all sprouted and was ready to bloom! The only thing I did not sink into the ground was my miniature evergreen. I think I might take my chances and leave it on my enclosed front porch and see. Worst comes to worst I can throw it in the coal cellar where it stays around in the 40s during the winter.

I think I am ready now...waiting for the first hard frost so I can plant my garlic. I am also hoping my mystery peppers will ripen up before the frost hits! Still trying to decide if I should sink a pot of grass into the ground also....probably should as well as the pot of strawberries and succulents. Need to find more space where they won't be mistaken for weeds!

I forgot....I still need to dig up my sweet potato vines once the frost gets them as well as my caladiums. They are getting there! The sweet potato vines are a bit wilty today. I wish I had a greenhouse! It'll be interesting by the time we move out of this house. I am taking my plants with me! Yes, the ones outdoors! The three peonies and all the orchids are coming with me!

I am quickly running out of space indoors....! Help!

I'm Not Ready Yet!

Looks to me like we are going to have our first frost this weekend. :( I am so not ready! All my plants are inside the house so they don't get frozen. My Bulbophyllum bloom is wilting. My Phrag. is about to bloom its second bloom. I have two more orchids in spike! I think they are finally getting the hang of blooming all year round finally :) We finally turned on the heat today! THANK GOD! It was FREEZING in here! 59˚F this morning!

I did my first clinical today, future in-laws are coming in tomorrow afternoon, Heart Walk Saturday morning (I hope it doesn't rain/snow!), Orchid Festival this weekend at Phipps Garden Center on 5th & Shady, and if I can handle it....a Halloween party. I might have to bail on that one! I am lacking in enough sleep as it is already!

Oh yeah, I also cut down my Black Krim tomato plants. :( Unfortunately I do not have any seeds from it saved, but maybe that big large rotten tomato I threw into my vermicompost bin will sprout :) I also moved my lilies back against the garage wall. Just need to pick the last of my unripe peppers and plant my garlic!

Fried Green Tomatoes

So I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but it seems like my green tomatoes were starting to rot. Why I have no idea. So today I cut them all off and trimmed off all the bad parts and made fried green tomatoes for the first time tonight! They sure taste unique! I think I like them though! :) Have enough leftover that I have frozen them for next time!

This just bloomed: Bulb. Sanguineopunctatum x Bulb. annandale

Just got this from Sarracenia Northwest and it was in bud! Look how cute the little flower is! It is Pinguicula emarginata.

This is Phrag. sangentianum 'Candor' x Phrag. besseae 'Candor Fireball'. This time it spiked and bloomed outside and the color seems to be deeper and the flower bigger also! Nature did it well apparently! This flower just fell off. It is a successive bloomer so the second bud is getting ready!

This is some sort of bean vine I saw in bloom while trying to find where they were filming a movie in my neighborhood. It's real pretty!

I thought this was pretty cool....this was taken at the Waterfront Lowes where a bee was eating from one of the Echinacea flowers in bloom. Looke closely...there are pollen stuck to the bee's legs!

Tomato Plants

My tomato plants are well above my head and was blooming like crazy, but lately...the leaves look like they got burnt by a hot exhaust or something. There are a few green tomatoes on there still...one is ripening up. Maybe all the rain last week did the damage?

On a non-tomato note....my Plumeria is in bud, but since I had to move it back inside it is trying to go into dormancy. I don't know if I'll get to see the flowers or not! :( My Paph. & Phrag. are still in bloom! Things are going well....indoor watering is winding up! Been quite chilly here lately...I love fall, but I am certainly not looking forward to winter!

Native Lawns

Why didn't they think of this BEFORE?! This is why gardeners have black thumbs....growing things that aren't meant to grow where they are!

http://www.wildflower.org/nativelawns/

Non-gardenesque....G-20

I had to share this even though it has nothing to do with gardening....or does it? You be the judge...they are awesome photos though:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeykennedyphotography/sets/72157622325696177/show/

New Humming Bird Feeder

Close Up of Fall Door Decoration

Fall Door Decoration

Fall is Creeping Up...

The cooler weather has hit Pittsburgh. It rained all weekend till the late afternoon today. Finally managed to take the dog out for a walk and as we were on our walk more and more evidence that fall was on its way was showing. When I got home I checked the forecast and just as I thought...the nighttime temperatures were getting down into the 40s & 50s. Time to move the orchids back indoors! As many plants as I gave away/sold this summer it seems I have more plants than before...even Justin noticed as he was watching the football game while I hauled my plants back inside. I was good this year, I promise! But we are dealing with living things and they do grow....so I may have less plants this year, but they are bigger and bushier! Some I have propagated so I must find homes for those. Most of the plants are inside now with the except of a few...those that need a chill or that I have not found room for them or do not want them to go dormant just quite yet! It will take some juggling....

My New Babies

These are different types of Butterworts, a type of carnivorous plant.

What's in Bloom

Phrag. Sangentianum 'Candor' x besseae 'Candor Fireball'

Grass Spiders

Lately there has been A LOT of these grass spiders. They make these dense sheet-like webs with a funnel in the end. If you disturb the web they run back into the funnel! Sometimes they curl a leaf up and attach their web/funnel to that. Sometimes they take advantage of a situation like when I found this one....a piece of the Sycamore tree's bark landed in just the right position so the spider built its web right into it since it was already curled up! Anyway...hate all the webs they make, but they are neat....except there seems to be an over abundance of them lately. I'm glad they eat the bad bugs, but their webs aren't the prettiest or discreet. These guys aren't exactly tiny either!

Forgot How Relaxing Gardening is....

I haven't been able to just fiddle around in the yard for awhile till today. I went to class, took my test and was out of there early! Came home, took the dog to the dog park, and then proceeded to clean off my cobwebby orchids that had been summering outside. I also had to repot a few things, but not too many. Moved the rose out front. Hope I got enough of the roots for it to survive. Trimmed up the walking stick tree, watered all things needing water as well as fertilizer. Thinned out the trees in the back so that the back of my yard gets a bit more sunlight than before. My neighbor had piled MORE stuff back there. Wonder who I can report this to? I am really tired of the disrespectfulness of it all. Yeah, I know it's not my property, but it affects my property! Maybe I should send her the bill for having to fix up our garage because all her crap was rotting it out and pushing it over! Grr....

On a better note...and completely off the gardening subject...I got assigned to Shadyside Hospital for my clinical! YIPEE!!!

This is a stink bug apparently....according to what Scott of Phipps Conservatory says. He's an entomologist. That's means he is a bug guy! These bugs come from China and I have only started noticing them since last year. I saw them a lot when I lived in Seattle, but not here....now they are! They are not native and are all over the place! About dime sized...

Disrespectful Neighbors

Ok, I know the land behind my garage isn't ours, BUT...it was/is the cause to our garage being pushed over and rotting when we bought the house all because it is a bit of a wasteland where all my neighbors dump their yard wastes back there. When the stuff decomposes it becomes heavy dirt pushing on our freshly renovated garage. I've asked my one neighbor once already to please stop putting her garden waste back there. She got a compost bin and the city picks this stuff up! WHY put it back there?! I noticed she put a bunch of stuff right up against the garage too. Thanks! I am quite annoyed by this and I am not sure what else to do. I know it's her yard waste because it's the same exact plant matter as those in her yard! I have picked up some of the stuff and thrown it back into her yard. I don't know if she'll get the picture because I've done that before and she still didn't. Next time maybe I'll bag the stuff and leave it in her yard with a note on it "The city picks this stuff up. Much appreciated if you would make use of our tax dollars instead." Think she would get it?

Corn Gluten

I mustered up enough energy today, despite having a head cold, and put down my fall application of corn gluten. I know it's not actually fall yet, but it's going to be dry this week so it's perfect time to apply. At least, I hope it is! This will be my second time I have used it in the fall. Supposedly in two more years my yard will be weed free. I guess we'll see! It makes for a nice fertilizer anyway. All these posts online saying it's an expensive fertilizer....I guess it is if you compare it to synthetic/poisonous fertilizer, but it could be worse really. I think I paid $25 for a 50 lbs bag anyway. I still have enough for spring. I think the bag is going to last me four seasons, 2 spring and 2 fall. Seriously, not bad if you divide it out that way!

Sunflowers

Although I can't grow these....I'd like to blog about it for future reference when I do move to a different house with more sun! My latest Gardening How To magazine speaks of sunflowers that are bigger than the Mammoth variety! American Giant and Sunzilla top out at 16 FEET tall! :o Kong is a branching variety that grows 10-14' tall and Titan grows 10-12' tall. I can't wait till I am able to grow some of these in the future! The article also said that they will always bloom facing east, so plant accordingly! For cut sunflowers....cut when a few petals come off the center. To harvest seeds....let dry and tap out the seeds. Any that don't fall out are not ready yet!

Bhut Jolokia

What's that you say? It means ghost chile...three times hotter than a
habanero! I planted four seeds tonight. They are known to be hard to
grow so I wanted a head start for next year! Hopefully I will be
successful!

-
Cindi
Rabies Challenge Fund :: www.rabieschallengefund.org

Habaneros

I haven't tasted the fruit of my labors yet and probably won't until I make a pot of chili out of it, but I was told by my crazy raw whole habañero eating fiancé that apparently my home grown habañeros beat the heck out of the store bought ones! Must be my organic fertilizer and neglect!

Not a Fan of Grasshoppers...

So I was told those cute little baby grasshoppers this spring wouldn't do much damage...well they do! I have not been able to enjoy one dahlia flower! They apparently like them as much as I do except that they like to eat them whereas I like to look at them! I found one the other day....still quite immature, but much bigger than I saw them earlier this spring. It was about 2.5" long. I said that's it! Squashed the bugger. Guess what? The rest of my one open dahlia flower is opening up without damage! YIPEE!!!

TALL Plants!

So I have had some incredible plant growth this year! Check this out....my Stargazer lilies (out of bloom) and my Black Krim tomatoes are taller than I am! I'm only 5'3"!

German Red Garlic

So I love garlic. :) When I do cook I cook with A LOT of garlic! I guess it's why I love Italian food :) Garlic just makes things taste SO good! And without salt! So at the farmer's market today I found these GIANT garlic bulbs! No, they aren't elephant garlic.... The guy said they are strong tasting, very garlicky. SOLD! It wasn't cheap though...it was $3 per bulb. I was going to get two, but I decided to get one only. I'll just plant all the cloves and eat it next year! Man I need a bigger yard....I can see why people who grow garlic end up with huge garlic patches!

Honeysuckle Berries

My honeysuckle has grown these very pretty berries after flowering. I
never knew they had berries, but I guess I should've known they
reproduce somehow! LOL Anyway, they are quite interesting to look at
since they change colors!

I'd show you a pic of my dahalias, but I have some hungry grasshoppers
eating them all :(

Largest Black Krim Tomato

This is the largest tomato I have this year and it isn't even done
growing yet! Not sure what went haywire here because all the others
were half its size! Hopefully no rain is going to split it!

Moneywort

This is the prettiest greenery ever! I love how it cascades over the
wall. It does grow everywhere, but it is easily pulled up and a
perrenial to boot!

Japanese Maple

I got this little maple in 2006 and it was this skinny little twig for
$40. I had to stake it in case a storm blew it over! The trunk at the
time was probably as big as the stake. Today, it has a 1" diameter
trunk! Finally took the stake out because it looked sturdy enough to
stand on its own. I wish it was more umbrella shaped, but it has
decided to grow to the right. Oh well...

Honeybees News!

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1918282,00.html

Mosquitos & Hot Peppers

So you're probably wondering what the heck do hot peppers have to do with mosquitos? Well....nothing! Just the two things I wanted to talk about today!

I don't know if this was just last night, but I was outside for maybe 10 minutes and I got 6 mosquitos bites! Three on my lower back and three on the back of my left ankle! Ugh! They itch like C-R-A-Z-Y!!! This is one part of summer I don't like. I have been lucky all summer...haven't gotten much (one?) till now! Of course, I hide inside the house at sunset, but I was surprised to see that they were out already last night at 6pm-ish since the sun wasn't even setting yet!

As for the hot peppers....I almost threw my new pepper seeds away! They were stuck in the junk mail. Luckily I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked like a big white envelope! The pepper seeds I ordered for next year finally arrived. I got some chocolate habaneros 'congo black', Caribbean red pepper, and the king of all hot peppers....(and you though habaneros were bad!) Bhut Jolokia peppers! Otherwise known as the "ghost pepper", which is three times as hot as the habaneros! I can't wait to sucker someone into eating one.....muhahahaHAHAHAhahah!!!!

Slugs!

So, I went to harvest any ripe tomatoes today only to find that someone else has gotten to them already! There were holes all over them! :( Then I saw the tell tale slime trail....grrr!!! Ya know, I don't mind sharing, but at least share! They just hogged all my ripe tomatoes! :( All three went into my compost bin instead... There are a few green tomatoes left so hopefully they will ripen up. I also added organic slug bait so hopefully they will stay the heck away!

Butterworts For Sale - $2 each!

These act like fly paper! Great for fungus gnats!

New Wall

We moved our backyard wall further back to get more patio space. Looks good huh?

Habaneros!

Bulbophyllum in Bloom

Marigolds in Bloom

I started these from seed.

Bakyard Work

Our backyard patio is being enlarged and the best part is that I am not doing the work! Not that I did it the first time around...but I am hoping I get a corner of the remodel for an herb garden! Nothing that would be too far off from what I'm doing now, just more permanent.

On another note, my plumeria cutting looks like it is about to bloom and in its first year! :o The seedlings are growing quite well and have grown a lot! The one with the broken tip has branched. This could be a good thing....a squatty plant!

The habaneros are all ripening up! Tomatoes are YUMMY as well as the garlic! I can't believe it is August already though...Seems like it went by too fast as always!

Phal. John Ewing in Bloom

Phrag. kovachii

So my Paph. henryanum died a slow death. I bought it with 5 fans I
believe, but it had no roots when I got it home to repot. Wasn't
successful at re-rooting it. The seller promised a replacement.
Instead of getting the same plant I asked for a different one and I'd
make up the difference. I have been drooling over a kovachii and
thought it would hurt less getting one this way. It's like making
payments on it! LOL So I now have my most expensive orchid at a 5"
leaf span. Wish me luck!

Cash for Clunkers

I've been away the last few weeks...sorry my first post isn't quite about plants, but since this is a blog about sustainability I had to touch on this. The current administration thinks that throwing away money is a great idea without ever knowing where it actually ends up. When they run out, just print more! What is wrong with this thinking? Let me tell you starting with the Cash for Clunkers idea...

So you have an old car that's not environmentally friendly. The government wants to give you money so that you will trade it in and get something more eco-friendly. Sounds great on the surface...you'll SAVE THE WORLD! But that's where it is most flawed...keep in mind that we are in a recession. A lot of people are out of work and a car is not a small item to buy, expensive even. So a person trades in their "clunker" that they do not have to make payments on any longer and gets a new car, which comes with monthly payments AND full coverage insurance required since the bank isn't going to loan you any money if they are held liable for anything you do without it! Suddenly, you are in a money crunch! What if, like my taxi driver in Vegas, her husband gets injured and isn't able to work? Now you're down to one salary, car payments and full coverage insurance to pay on it!

PEOPLE!!! THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!! OBAMA IS NOT OUT TO SAVE YOU!

Also, did you ever stop to think what happened to the old clunkers they took? I'll bet you anything they got sent to Mexico or China. So they are STILL polluting the air! Don't think for one moment that a perfectly good SUV did not get sent elsewhere to make more money on rather than taking it to the scrap.

On top of it all...making a new car would cause more pollution than keeping an old one! Not all eco-friendly products are made w/o expending energy of some sort. It usually boils down to natural resources...the very ones we are trying not to use.

Think about it!


In gardening news...my habaneros are ripening up and I just harvested 3 tomatoes today.

NOT Bell Peppers!

My "yellow bell peppers" are really not looking that way. I don't know
what they are, but what are the chances that this was the only
seedling that survived that I started and the only one that doesn't
match what I had wanted on the package?!

My Garlic Harvest

I can't remember which ones are Music and which ones aren't. They are
smaller than I expected, but at least I got some!

New Blooms

I am so hot from cleaning the house that I decided to take a peek at my plants. I wanted to weed some plants out and downsize some, but as usual, that was pretty unsuccessful. I only found one plant! Of course, I didn't look outside, but as I was looking at what was left of my collection in the basement, while the others summered outside, I saw this little guy in bloom! I didn't even know it was in spike! When I say little...it is LITTLE! Maybe about 3" wide? The flowers are smaller, but they are also fragrant! It's a Neofinitia falcata. What name I don't know...forgot to look on the tag. It smells good enough to eat! I also found a Masdevallia in bloom. I saw the bud come up a few weeks ago and thought it was the only one, but turns out there are more to come! I will get a picture of it when it finally opens up all the way.

First Stargazer Flower in Bloom

New Planters

With new Caladiums...looks nice! Let's hope what I transplanted
survives!

Front Yard Today

Added Nasturtium seedlings after the storm washed away my compost.

Supposedly Yellow Bell Peppers...

These do not look like any sort of bell peppers to me!

Black Krim Tomatoes Getting Big!

Paph. moquettium in Bloom