A couple of views of the flower bed in front of my house. Most of the flowers are from a packet of wildflower seeds I planted this spring. I bought a packet of perennial wildflower seeds and the packet of annual wildflower seeds and started them indoors. Unfortunately, I'm not very organized, and through the process of transferring from their original small pots to the various flowerbeds in my yard, I mixed them up. I don't know one from the other, but the good news is several dozen plants are thriving and some of them will surprise me and come back next year. ?
That is a milkweed plant in the pot and the middle of the flower bed. Pollinating monarch females have a conveniently located host plan for laying eggs ?
Sweet! Thank you for doing your part in providing for the Monarch
You are also smart to contain your Milkweed in a pot! For a nonaggressive, very attractive and easy to keep Milkweed, try Asclepias tuberosa, the Butterfly Weed. It stays low, about 18", and does NOT travel underground.
It has beautiful orange flowers, and also comes in a happy yellow cultivar called "Hello Yellow".
Depending on where you are, Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is another good choice for those seeking Milkweed that is both attractive and well mannered in the garden.
I love the fact that you are the only one in view that is not just dog poop turf owned by unimaginative anal retentives.
One of my next-door neighbors is totally anal about his lawn and freely admits it. It stresses him greatly to see someone walking a dog allow it to relieve itself on the Parkway area in front of his yard.
Also, he absolutely cannot stand to see leaves on his lawn. During the fall, it is almost comical to watch him, because he looks like Don Quixote flailing away at the annual two-month-long fall leaf storm. Each fall, he lines the curb with dozens of bags of leaves, while I annually put out zero bags. I don't see any point in raking leaves while they are still actively falling and blowing up and down the street. I wait until the leaves are mostly off the trees to deal with it. Rather than bagging leaves, I just use my mulching mower.
Toward the end of fall, he was in his front yard picking up the half-dozen or so leaves that had fallen since the last time he had raked (probably about an hour ago). He looked over at me and asked if it would be okay if he mowed my lawn and bagged the leaves that day. Sure! Any time
@Leafhead Why not let nature rot away and enhance the soil? Good point on winter shelter. Roadsides no longer have dead trees removed but left as habitat for birds, possums and snakes.
@MikeEC LMAO ROFL Why not mulch his leaves so he can reuse his bags and you can enrich your soil?
@FrayedBear
My only headache is that they are mainly oak leaves, and those acid things don't degrade fast.
I end up raking more away in Spring than I actually get as soil
@FrayedBear Believe me. My soil gets plenty of enriching without even more of my neighbor's leaves. I use a mulching mower, but leave the bag off, so all of the clippings and leaves I mow stay on the lawn.
Here are a couple of pictures taken of my fenced in backyard from my deck. Tons of leaves fall, and they all get left in the plant beds or mulched into the lawn:
@MikeEC Nice surroundings of all the trees.
Love the front porch!
. The home was built about 1915. Because there are so many homes in the neighborhoods surrounding mine that have the exact same footprint, I think it is a "Sears Home."
@MikeEC My daughter lives in an older neighborhood, I think her house was built in 1907. She always wanted an old house like her grandparents had. I chose newer, but I do love, love, love front porches. There are tradeoffs, but older houses usually have much more charm.... and front porches!
The purple & pink large flowers are cosmos.
Posted by FrostyJim...I have enough room for a few good people.
Posted by glennlabMy heavenly Blue Morning Glories have finally gotten their color.
Posted by glennlabMy heavenly Blue Morning Glories have finally gotten their color.
Posted by FernappleIts that season again, blue sky and golden leaves, nature is the greatest designer, a Ginkgo in my garden. Also posted in photography.
Posted by Diaco Black Sapote - The chocolate pudding tropical fruit! (2 videos) [youtube.com] [youtube.com]
Posted by Diaco Black Sapote - The chocolate pudding tropical fruit! (2 videos) [youtube.com] [youtube.com]
Posted by Diaco Black Sapote - The chocolate pudding tropical fruit! (2 videos) [youtube.com] [youtube.com]
Posted by Diaco Black Sapote - The chocolate pudding tropical fruit! (2 videos) [youtube.com] [youtube.com]
Posted by FrostyJimMaking my last batch of 2024 oven roasted tomato sauce on Oct. 10 ready to start filling jars.
Posted by FrostyJimMaking my last batch of 2024 oven roasted tomato sauce on Oct. 10 ready to start filling jars.
Posted by FrostyJimMaking my last batch of 2024 oven roasted tomato sauce on Oct. 10 ready to start filling jars.
Posted by FrostyJimI needed to preserve my bell peppers so I made Indian chutney last night.
Posted by FrostyJimI needed to preserve my bell peppers so I made Indian chutney last night.
Posted by FrostyJimMoose family munchin' on my Raspberries right now at about 8:30 on Tuesday night!
Posted by FrostyJim3 giants total over 3 lbs! Bush Early Girl hybrid grown in my Wasilla Alaska zone 4b greenhouse...
Posted by FrostyJim.