Now the temperature is even warmer (over 70 degrees today). This makes me think of even more of gardening. So I thought I would come up with a list of my favorite 15 flowers that I like to grow. I just posted the list on Lunch.com here: Favorite Flowers To Grow. I'm sure your favorites are different than mine.
What are your favorite flowers to grow?
My top 5 in the list are below:
Well the Sun is shining and temperatures over 50 degrees, which makes me think of gardening. So I thought I would come up with a list of my favorite 12 vegetables (not all are actually veggies) that I like to grow. I just posted the list on Lunch.com here: Favorite Vegetables To Grow. I'm sure your favorites are different than mine. What are your favorite vegetables to grow?
My top 5 in the list are below:
The temperatures are getting cooler and the leaves, they are changin' colors. In my corner of the world in Kentucky, I get
red from burning bushes,
green from evergreen shrubbery,
yellow is from maple trees,
golden brown from oak trees and
white from pampas grass.
Notice the Moon showing itself off in the photo below: 
Well that it for my neck of the woods for this autumn. These colors are about as peak as my colors seem to get. Do you have photos of your Fall colors?
Last year I received a white trumpet flower plant from a friend and I liked it right from the beginning.
I mean you have large white blooms and nice foliage. It is what my little flower garden needed: some green
with a Pop of white. What's not to like, right? Then as I always do, I did some research on the internet,
and I found out some interesting information about the Datura Inoxia (Devil's Trumpet) plant that I now possess.
This plant has a dark side.
The most obvious item is the ominous Devil's Trumpet name. Many have heard of the Angel's Trumpet flower, in
which the blooms droop down. Well, my friends, the Devil's Trumpet blooms upward as in a trumpet from not heaven
but hell. Devil’s trumpet is
grown in all but the coldest climates as a flowering
ornamental. There are white, purple, and yellow
varieties with large, single and double blossoms
available. Devil’s trumpet grows naturally in
disturbed areas such as eroded sites, old fields,
vacant lots, overgrazed pastures and rangeland,
roadsides and abandoned roadbeds, and fencerows.
Apparently, disturbance and reduced competition
are required for the plant to become established
and grow. A wide variety of well-drained soils on
both igneous and sedimentary parent materials are
suitable.
The Datura Inoxia (Devil's Trumpet) Dark Past, Present and Future: Use With Caution
From ancient times continuing to the
present, the taking of Datura tissues,
particularly the seeds, was used in shamanistic
rituals as a path to enlightenment. Today, people frequently
experiment with it for the hallucinogenic effect,
but the results are so unpleasant (dark visions,
disorientation, amnesia, blurred vision, dry mouth,
and incontinence) that they seldom recommend the
experience. Overdoses can result in
death. The plant has been used to treat impotence,
asthma, diarrhea, as an analgesic, to control fever,
kill parasites, and as a drug for criminal purposes. Devil’s trumpet
contains a host of phytoactive chemicals including
atropine, hyoscyamine, hyoscine, scopolamine,
norscopolamine, meteloidine, hydroxy-6-
hyoscyamine, tiglic esters of dihydroxytropine,
and a number of withanolides. It causes erratic
behavior and even death of livestock that have
eaten it, but it is seldom a problem for pastured
animals because they carefully avoid consuming it.
Hummingbirds sometimes visit the flowers,
but are affected by the alkaloids in the nectar and
must limit their consumption. Honeybees are
apparently unaffected. The flowers have an intense
night fragrance, which
perhaps helps attract night-flying moths.
I like my Devil's Trumpet flower, but with all that is going on with this plant, I couldn't
recommend it to everyone. Come to think of it, I guess it has Devil in its name for more reasons than one. You've been warned.
Source: John K. Francis, Research Forester,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
International Institute of Tropical Forestry,
Jardín Botánico Sur, 1201 Calle Ceiba, San Juan PR
00926-1119,
in cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, PR 00936-4984
Over 20 years ago, my Dad planted a few Shasta daisies in our garden. I didn't think too much about them
at that time. However, when they bloomed I was surprised at the impact that they made. I was just as
surprised seeing how they propagate themselves into more and more every year and how they are easy to divide and
replant. I found that out when I took a few of the Shasta daisies he planted and replanted them at my house.
I've had very good success with my Shasta daisies in my garden. The photo above shows my Shasta daisies
blooming this year. They are a major bright spot in my flower garden. They give it that needed 'pop' my
flower garden was lacking. I'm very happy with them.
Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) are perennials (they come back every year) and are pretty hardy from zones 4 through 9. They were formerly classified
in the genus Chrysanthemum, these daisies were transferred to their own genus of Leucanthemum because
they lack some traits of true Chrysanthemums. The Shasta Daisy originated as a hybrid produced by the famed
American horticulturist Luther Burbank, who developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants
over his 55-year career.
My Dad always loved gardening and it was a passion I didn't quite share back when he planted the Shasta
daisies all of those years ago. I have to say that now I sure do. Unfortunately, gardening didn't appeal to
me until after he passed on. That would have been a great thing to share with him.
Shasta daisies are fun and easy to grow. They do like good garden soil; this means a well-drained soil,
not clay soil, but one where moisture is present and organic matter is excellent. They will also thrive
better is you practice deadheading, which means to cut off the flower and stem as it starts to fade and
die but before it has a chance to set seed. One potential problem I see is that after a few
years you need to have plenty of room for them or you'll need to thin them out. One great resolution for
this is to divide them and give a few to friends. They can then enjoy Shasta daisies at their home as I
have enjoyed the ones I received from the ones my Dad planted over 20 years ago. Thanks Dad.
A few years ago I wanted something for my front yard that would fill in a space a large bush once
called home. My yard was full of green, red and yellow, but no blue. I wanted that to change
so I looked high
and low for something that would bring blue to my yard. My quest ended with my purchase of a Nikko Blue hydrangea.
I soon found out that the color of the big blooms depends on the acidity level of the soil. In acidic
soil, the Nikko Blue hydrangea has deep blue flowers, while in alkaline soil, the blooms become more of
a pink color. Since I wanted blue blooms, I needed to make sure my soil was acidic. So I bought some
fertilizer for "acid loving plants". For organic fertilizer that will do the trick, you can buy
Bradfield Organics®
Acid Adoring 4-5-4 Natural Fertilizer.
The Nikko Blue hydrangea is low maintenance, but there are a few things to note. The Nikko Blue hydrangea
grows best in fertile, well-drained soils. They are not very drought tolerant, and should be watered
regularly during dry periods. The Nikko Blue hydrangea prefers full sun, but should be given half shade
in areas that have overly hot summers.
The Nikko Blue hydrangea shrubs grow from four to six feet tall,
and have a mature spread of five to seven feet. Hardy in zones 5 to 9, the Nikko Blue
hydrangea have large bright green leaves and dramatic flower colors. The Nikko Blue hydrangea blooms on
large buds formed on growth from the previous season. Because of this, any pruning should be done
immediately after flowering.
The photo above was taken this week as the blooms were just showing their color.
It will continue to
bloom throughout the summer. The Nikko Blue hydrangea was a good purchase for me. They
are sold at most nurseries and home
improvement stores. I would definitely recommend the Nikko Blue hydrangea to anyone who wants a big
pop of blue in their yard.
