The clematis on my porch is blooming and has a lot of buds on it. I also have some snapdragons still in bloom and roses with buds on them. They are nice to see but we do need cold weather too, and lots and lots of rain. Some snow this year would not be a bad thing either.
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Beautiful leaves did not last long. It seems like they just turned red and the wind came and took them all away in just two days time. It has been so dry here many of the trees had lost their leaves long before they had a chance to change color. I have been wanting to plant some grass seed too but it is way to dry to even try. I d
stapelia gigantia, I have had this plant for years. It can be kept smaller but it looks good big and trailing. it started blooming late this summer and continues to bloom in the green house.
Stapelia makes a good carefree house plant, with just one drawback... it smells like something died. It attracts flies like crazy. The buds look like balloons that open up into these starfish shaped flowers. There are several different varieties, some very large flowers like this one and some smaller, with various patterns on the petals. This is a really tuff plant that anyone can grow. It will take neglect, it does not require humidity, it will even take a bit of overwatering. if the smell of the flowers are too strong for the house, and I think they are, you can keep the buds pinched off. Then enjoy the flowers in the summer OUTSIDE! When i was bringing plants in I found this chrysalis on one of my orchids. i took it n the house thinking it would hatch in a couple of days but the cool weather had slowed it down and I forgot about it. Then the other day I saw this on that orchid! I was not sure just what to do about it, I was afraid it was too late to just release it so I contacted the people at monarch watch. they told me I could let it go and take its chances or just keep it. Their natural lifespan is 2 to 6 weeks. I thought about it a lot, the wind has been really strong out of the south and there are not many nectar plants left. Finally I decided to just keep it, it now lives in my downstairs bathroom. I have brought in a lot of blooming plants and also mixed up some butterfly nectar for it. keeping one like this is a real education. I just wish it had a mate.
I went out just before the rain this morning to check on the chrysalis in the plum tree and discovered that the monarch was ready to emerge. After taking a quick picture, it began to rain so I clipped the limb and took it into the green house. I took a lot of pictures as i watched this wonderful miracle of nature unfold before me. It does not mater how often you see this happen it never gets old. It fills the soul with joy! If you would like to see what happens go to my Monarch page and watch the slideshow.
I saw that the chrysalis on the pepper plant had turned black and you could see the monarch inside, I thought I'd go get my camera as soon as I finished watering. Well... I forgot all about it! When I went back out this is what I found. I will try to catch the next one at just the right time. I am getting more monarch visitors every day, so there will be more opportunities, and i still have the chrysalis on the plum tree to watch.
Monarchs may have a bad time coming through his year as so many of the flowers they depend on for nectar have already bloomed and the drought has not helped I still have some good ones blooming in pots and I am hoping I get lots of them coming into my yard. I am already planning next years garden. I will be adding more natives like compass weed and pitcher sage. This caterpillar was busy eating tropical milkweed the other day. Now it has moved away to the nearby plum tree to start the next step in becoming a butterfly. They always leave the milkweed and move to another location to form the chrysalis. I took this picture on the evening of the 28, by that same time the next day the chrysalis was fully formed. I will watch it closely and take more pictures to share. Nature is truly beautiful and amazing! The same monarch taken at about the same time on the 29th day of August.
I discovered that I have several monarch caterpillars on my tropical milkweed. I will have to watch for the chrysalis next, they are so pretty. I have a new camera and will be taking lots of pictures for a while. There is not much left of my garden but all the pots I put under the shade cloth are doing fine so there are still things to photograph. There are also some nectar plants for the monarchs in those pots. I put the tropical milkweed in pots this year too and I have found thats the best way. I put two plants in the ground and tried to keep them watered but they just never did as well as those in pots. The monarchs will soon be coming through on their fall migration and there are not many nectar plants left for them and a lot of the milkweed I have seen is not looking good either. I hope next year is better for them. I will be gathering milkweed seed for next year so if you would like to plant some just let me know i will share what I have. All gardens should contain a milkweed patch! I let my guineas out in the garden the other day, they are pretty among the flowers and they enjoyed catching grasshoppers and eating the crabgrass seed. I have added a few pictures of them at the bottom of the garden page.
This is a great plant for the butterfly garden. It is a tall plant so give it lots of room in a sunny location. It is drought tolerant but this summer the drought and excessive heat didn't do much for mine, they are dead now. I must also add that grasshoppers like it too. in a normal S. E. Kansas summer it requires little care. dead head those spent blossoms and you will be rewarded with more flowers for the butterflies. Humming birds will also visit the flowers. It grows 4' to 5' feet tall with bright orange flowers, the le
brugmansia - broog-MAN-sia, is one of my favorite flowers. It has huge trumpet shaped flowers and comes in pinks, yellows, white and anything in between. This is my newest one called ' Angel's Summer Dream'. It blooms when just 2 feet tall, I bought this one in the spring in a 4 inch pot and it is already blooming! Most brugmansia's need to reach 5 to 6 feet before they will bloom. they like full sun and want to dry out between waterings. As a zone 7 plant they will have to be brought inside in the winter with indoor temperatures above 40. Some people put them in their basements where they defoliate and go dormant. I have never tried this.They need a lot of light to bloom, high temps can also keep them from blooming. I had moved this one under my shade cloth so I would not have to water so often and that is when the buds began to form. I have a two year old plant that has still not bloomed and I would say it is close to 5 feet tall, I had left it in the sun and heat though so maybe it has just been too hot for it. they are heavy feeders and need a good monthly feeding, prefer 50% humidity or higher, and can take a heavy pruning after they bloom.
They are highly susceptible to white fly and mealy bugs aphids can also be a problem. I am currently fighting white fly all over my garden and must get them under control before everything goes back into the greenhouse. There are white flies on this plant now. White flies like the dry weather, they must be very happy. If you like fragrant plants this is a good one. if you have the room give them a try. I got mine at logees. be sure and check out the Garden page, there are some new pictures at the bottom of that page. |