What's Looking Good in May 2017

[Larisa]

 

[vette-kid]

Took a stroll around back this morning and was excited to see this! I grew these from seed and these are in a fairly shady area, so I was skeptical, but they seen to be doing well and it looks like I will have lots of blooms over the next week! Stay tuned for more pics when it's in full bloom!

Also found these blooms that I have never noticed on this tree before, beautiful! My 4yo wanted to pick one for mommy, ha...I love it! But what is it ?

 

[Beverly]

@vette-kid The first vine is a Morning Glory "Star of Yalta" (or Star of Yelta), a prolific bloomer. Very pretty. The seeds, leaves, roots are poisonous so you might want to let your 4yo know that. I don't know what the 2nd flower is.

 

[vette-kid]

@vette-kid The first vine is a Morning Glory "Star of Yalta" (or Star of Yelta), a prolific bloomer. Very pretty. The seeds, leaves, roots are poisonous so you might want to let your 4yo know that. I don't know what the 2nd flower is.

Thanks, I knew it was morning glory, although I think it was labeled "grandpa ott" or something like that. But i also had a bag of mixed seeds, so it was hard to keep them strait. There are 3 vines growing on that old uh...thing. I'm kind of hoping for different color on the other two. Did not know about its toxicity! At least it's not in an area they like to play. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My Wild Columbine is looking great! I grew three more from seed this spring. I plan on adding a bunch since it's a red spring-blooming plant that attracts hummingbirds. I threw some seed down in the garden last winter but I haven't seen any seedlings pop up yet.

 

[Beverly]

@vette-kid Yes, it certainly could be "grandpa ott", the two are very similar but the "Star of Yelta" is usually a deeper purple so that is why i went with that one. I am corrected "Grandpa Ott" a very popular Morning Glory but equally poisonous. I stopped growing the Star of Yelta because i had splotches of deep purple hummingbird poop all over all of my clothes and as far as i know, there is no way to get the stains out. Young parents here tell their children from an early age which plants are poisonous, so they grow up accustomed and don't touch. I have even had children visiting my garden who have told me "don't touch" with a high degree of accuracy, and some have asked to wash their hands after touching one that they should not have.

 

[MaryMary]

@MaryMary do you know how many cats you have now?

I have 7.5 cats. Little Man, Smudge, Sh*tty Kitty, Dunder, Ringtail, Squirrel, and Tar.
My half cat is Chaps.

@vette-kid, I'm not sure, but I believe your mystery plant is a variety of Rose of Sharon. I'm basing this on the flower, and the shape of the leaves. Part of the Mallow family, at any rate.

My poor peonies have been rained to pieces. But now, I've got poppies!

 

[Beverly]

Jatropha integerrima commonly called Peregrina or Spicy Jatropha is a Euphorb native to Cuba. I had this bush/tree in a container for about 5 years and it never took off and recently decided to give it free reign in the garden soil. This bush/tree is somewhat more delicate than the Jatrophas native to Mexico and i love the rich coral color of the flowers and the vegetation of green and purple. It reminds me of a beautiful Cuban song i know.

 

[Beverly]

@MaryMary love those poppies! called amapola in spanish. I wonder if i can grow them here. I think i'll look them up.

I was wondering if you could take a group photo of your 7.5 cats to show us? Might take a bit of doing?

 

[MaryMary]

Took a walk around the yard, and more of the Sweet Williams are blooming! Love them.

I found the first Spiderwort bloom of the season!

I was wondering if you could take a group photo of your 7.5 cats to show us? Might take a bit of doing?

Boy, you sure don't ask for much, Beverly!!

Trying to herd cats is as easy as nailing jello to a tree!

Hmm... I suppose I could get another "Pinwheel" picture, but that would only be 6 or 6.5 of them. Tar (#7,) is the newest one, and she's definitely not cat-friendly. She's only been here a week and a half, and she is trying to learn to play... I think. She still swats the other cats and runs away, but she's no longer hissing and growling when she does it. The wild heathens are a bit bewildered by her, and I'm not sure that small difference has registered yet.

Will the poppies work in your zone? To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in mine. They were labelled as the red ones. I'm still a little sad they're orange.

 

[Daren]

An almost black Iris thought is was I bit cool

 

[tbendl]

Oh my gosh that's STUNNING. Wow

 

[Beverly]

Wow, @Daren...that is an eyecatcher. It looks like opening night at the opera. For all the years i spent hiking in the mountains of Mexico, i always had an eye out for the native wild black dahlia but never found one...evidently they prefer the mountains in the Mexico City area, an area i am not drawn to.

 

[DeborahJane]

Really incredible Daren.

Happy Autumn Buddha

 

[JBtheExplorer]

My Wild Geranium by my pond is looking absolutely amazing.

Oh, and @MaryMary, we were just talking about Blue-eyed Grass the other day. Mine just flowered for the first time this season! I had four little bees fighting over it and the one in this photo was the winner.