What is happening in your garden right now?

[teachermom2834]

We went to a plant sale last weekend and came home with two blueberry bushes, a raspberry bush, a blackberry bush, and several strawberry plants. So I can move on from my obsessing about planting berries. Lol. I figure it was money well spent so that I can move on from obsessing about them. Actually taking care of them is mentally healthier for me. 🙂 Of course we came home with other odds and ends too (lettuce, peppers, etc)

Now I really have most of what I plan to invest in for this year. We have some spots in the flower beds that need something but I’ll probably wait and pick stuff cheap off the clearance carts at Lowe’s. I did that last year and they came back to life and are gorgeous this year. My dd always likes to pick pitiful plants and try to love them back to life. So that is probably what the rest of our purchases will be. 

I still have two kids at home but my oldest two have left the nest and it has been hard on me. Not doubt all my babies in the garden are filling the void in some small way.

 

[ksr5377]

We just built two raised beds that are 4x8.  I'm hoping they help me have a more successful gardening year.  I basically tilled up a part of the yard to make a garden the last time and it was a disaster with weeds - obviously. 🙂  I was a little overexcited.  So now I'm on the hunt for various compost sources to fill them up while planning it all out.  I'm loosely following the tenants of Square Foot Gardening.  I also keep thinking about landscaping the house, which only has a few overgrown shrubs that were planted over 30 years ago.  DH wants to pay someone for a plan, which I'm not opposed to, but I also kind of want to plan it myself.  We need to get that figured out so we have a master plan to work on.  I doubt we would be able to do it all in one year but it's we can't do anything without a plan.  

[Spy Car]

Wow. 90s the past couple of days. I'm brown after hours spent weeding the areas my flamethrower won't work.

The wonderful (rare) rainy season we experienced in SoCal is making the garden explode.

Bill 

[EMS83]

Weeds.  I'm just now starting the whole weeding/mulching process I was supposed to be doing all winter.  Although, it was a wet winter, but that doesn't prevent me from feeling like a lazy bum.  I had 10 yards delivered today; got tired of waiting for the tree company to be working in my area.  So that's the plan as it warms up.  Weed.  Mulch.  The ultimate goal [is] to try raised row gardening, but we'll see what actually happens.  🙂 

 

edited for grammar

Edited April 10, 2019 by CES2005

[Pam in CT]

11 hours ago, Lori D. said:

I liked Chocolate-chip Chooky's found poem idea so much, I did another. Below is a poem with a line or two from each post, in order. Where there is an indent, it is the next poster's words, because some lines just seemed to beg to go together, lol.

___________________

"What Is Happening In Your Garden?"
by The Hive

I planted a jujube tree this week—I ought to be planting peas.
     The weeds are starting to sprout, and my kids stomped my daffodils

I'm planting some indoor hibiscus outdoors
—they won't last the winter but I don't care;
they'll be gorgeous through the summer.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what we should plant.
I’m kind of obsessing about berries.

One of the crocuses is up! 
Old timers call snow this time of year "robin snow”.
     Snow flurries hitting us, too. No garden plans for another month.

My crocuses were eaten by bunnies.
It's weeds and mud as far as the eye can see

I am just getting started.
We have zukes, cukes… and bell peppers. 

Leaves… are still frozen to the ground.
     Patches of grass showing… in the sunniest spots.
          Perennials are starting to come up. Redbuds are gorgeous.

I'm going to try gladiolus, zucchini and maybe tomatoes this year, but who knows…
If I could grow gladiolus I would be in heaven.

Buried under a thick layer of frozen leaves.
     Spring is early and short here in the desert.
     Trumpet flowers… vibrating with the hum of busy bees.

Mostly rain, mud, newts, banana slugs, weeds
with occasional daffodils, grass, violets.

Our daffodils have come and gone.
     Tulips are thinking of coming out.
          Herbs are waking up.

No matter how gloriously above freezing it is right now,
it’s not safe until about the beginning of June

This is what we're growing right now!
     The yard is ready for some fresh plants.

Gladiolus plants... fall over on their own weight
Big bumble bees… are back, but… seem sad with not much in bloom

Clouds of pollen are billowing all around.
     Mud and wet leaves with a few lingering handfuls of snow.
          Only cactus have thrived year round. 
               Puppy is working on pulling out… shrubs and plants.

I've been growing, harvesting, and replanting all winter.
     I'm trying to ward off the rats from infesting.

Back lawn has turned into a prairie.

Chickens do such a beautiful job of turning
the soil that nothing grows except roses.
In the orchard…there are apples;
soon there will be fuyu fruit as well.

I have been nauseous since the beginning of February;
this baby is kicking my behind.

I didn't dare go out there in case I disturbed the brown snake.
     I put in gravel paths and the weeding was killing me.

Worms shiver.

I can never figure out what’s lettuce and what’s weeds.
We may have been eating weed sandwiches last year.

Three thriving clumps of cilantro.
     We love homemade salsa all summer and fall.
     Someday I will grow onions and garlic.

They've been turned over, enhanced and planted:
brussell sprouts, french breakfast radishes, baby spinach, and sugar snap peas.

Popcorn popping on my apricot tree.

Ripping the bushes out is going to be a pain.
     Tell the husband, don't tell the husband?
          We used a flamethrower for weeding.
               Notice that there is more bare ground!

Daffodils are blooming and another flower
—I can't remember the name.

IT IS THIRTY FIVE DEGREES AND HAILING IN CONNECTICUT at the moment.
The earth is still frozen 6 inches down.
So.Done.With.Winter.

In the late fall… workers decimated… my garden.
My hydrangea… is sprouting, as is the peony next to it.
If the clematis also comes back, I may just have to forgive the painters after all!

Lori I      this.

 

Yesterday was warm, so I spent it clearing; and today I hit Home Depot and grabbed armfuls of herbs and and foliage perennials and flowering shrubs... but it's still only 45 at midday, so I think I'll leave them sheltered for a few days before planting.

They had a great number of very cheap and very stylishly shaped terra-cotta pots... so I'm spending the afternoon conducting an experiment, painting them with high gloss Rustoleum paint.  Anyone ever tried this?  They were so cheap I don't really mind if they only last the season, but I'm curious if paint accelerates the demise of the pot, delays the demise of the pot, makes no difference to the lifespan of the pot, or just flakes off in the first good storm.  (I'm going latex because I'm too impatient to wait and too lazy to clean brushes.)

[Spy Car]

2 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

Lori I      this.

 

Yesterday was warm, so I spent it clearing; and today I hit Home Depot and grabbed armfuls of herbs and and foliage perennials and flowering shrubs... but it's still only 45 at midday, so I think I'll leave them sheltered for a few days before planting.

They had a great number of very cheap and very stylishly shaped terra-cotta pots... so I'm spending the afternoon conducting an experiment, painting them with high gloss Rustoleum paint.  Anyone ever tried this?  They were so cheap I don't really mind if they only last the season, but I'm curious if paint accelerates the demise of the pot, delays the demise of the pot, makes no difference to the lifespan of the pot, or just flakes off in the first good storm.  (I'm going latex because I'm too impatient to wait and too lazy to clean brushes.)

I have wondered (and don't know for sure) is painting terra cotta would negatively impact the permeability of the clay and reduce a plant's chances of survival. 

Mine may not be a valid concern. 

Bill

[Spy Car]

I love to cook and long wanted a grow a large culinary herb garden. I finally planted it out last fall (being a better season than spring planting if one hopes to survive the summer heat here in LA).

I especially wanted to grow all the herbs typically used in the mixture called Zata'ar, including Syrian Oregano (biblical hyssop), Cretan oregano, Tymbta Spicata, and Cone-head thyme. I've planted a great number of thyme and marjoram/oregano varieties, rosemaries and lavenders. I'm so happy it is thriving. This was the right year to have big rains for me.

At the moment one of the most beautiful pair of plants are two culinary (common) sage plants. These I actually rooted from a bundle of sage that I purchased at a market. They looked to good to be that I took a shot. I rooted them in water on a ledge above a bright kitchen window. Quite a few pieces rooted. But two survived planting and hardening outside. They started with two leaves. Planted this fall.

Today they are getting to be big plants with beautiful spires of purple flowers that are about 4.5 feet tall (on plants over 3 feet). Beautiful.

It is somehow extra special knowing I nurtured these from grocery store cuttings.

Bill

 

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Spy Car

[TravelingChris]

Azeleas and Dogwood are blooming.  Some tulips are past, some are right at full, the rains last night dropped a lot of them.  Lovely violets, trilliums, and grape hyacinths around.  Can't take any pictures right now because phone is charging.  I live on a hill part so the excess rains haven't affected us much but have lots of the area.  

[Pen]

 

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

 

Today they are getting to be big plants with beautiful spires of purple flowers that are about 4.5 feet tall (on plants over 3 feet). Beautiful.

 

 

Picture?

[Pen]

[Pam in CT]

re terracotta permeability

2 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I have wondered (and don't know for sure) is painting terra cotta would negatively impact the permeability of the clay and reduce a plant's chances of survival. 

Mine may not be a valid concern. 

Bill

 

I wondered too.  I only painted the outside and the rim, not the inside, on the theory that the pots will hold moisture from the inside but not breathe it out.  But who knows, really.  

They *look* smashing, so there's that.  I'll put up some pics once they're planted.

[Innisfree]

14 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I have wondered (and don't know for sure) is painting terra cotta would negatively impact the permeability of the clay and reduce a plant's chances of survival. 

Mine may not be a valid concern. 

Bill

I haven't used painted terra cotta much, but have used large plastic pots and glazed terra cotta fairly extensively. Ime, as long as there is adequate bottom drainage (just the usual hole covered with an old potshard), the plants are fine. In fact, in our hot summers, the reduced evaporation is very helpful to most plants. I prefer clay pots, but plastic is perfectly functional, so I expect painted clay would be also. 

[Spy Car]

5 hours ago, Innisfree said:

I haven't used painted terra cotta much, but have used large plastic pots and glazed terra cotta fairly extensively. Ime, as long as there is adequate bottom drainage (just the usual hole covered with an old potshard), the plants are fine. In fact, in our hot summers, the reduced evaporation is very helpful to most plants. I prefer clay pots, but plastic is perfectly functional, so I expect painted clay would be also. 

I have always wondered if the enhanced evaporation of clay pots doesn't greatly advantage them (assuming plenty of water) in out hot climates due to the cooling effect of evaporation. I'm more careful to keep plants in plastic pots in a greater degree of shade for fear of overheating the roots.

Bill

[Spy Car]

19 hours ago, Pen said:

 

 

Picture?

 

The purple flowed plant is the common (culinary) sage that I planted this fall after rooting some pieces I purchased from a market.

Sorry, the lighting doesn't do the plant justice.

Bill

 

[Innisfree]

Just now, Spy Car said:

I have always wondered if the enhanced evaporation of clay pots doesn't greatly advantage them (assuming plenty of water) in out hot climates due to the cooling effect of evaporation. I'm more careful to keep plants in plastic pots in a greater degree of shade for fear of overheating the roots.

Bill

Well, maybe. Certainly could be.

In my experience it's just been hard, practically speaking, to provide adequate water in some situations in clay pots. I can water once a day, maybe twice. But depending on temperature, exposure and pot size (and I don't mean itty bitty ones, more like 16-20" and sometimes larger) and on how heavily planted they are,  it can be an issue .

I still like clay better. I just assume they'll need more attention.

[J-rap]

I'm jealous of you all in warmer climates where plant life is already happening!  Our spring is late this year (although that's not unusual), so nothing in our gardens yet.  In fact, we're at the beginning of a 3-day blizzard, so all that's on people's minds today is grocery store runs.

[Pam in CT]

re advantages (cooling) vs disadvantages (faster drying out) of terra-cotta

12 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

Well, maybe. Certainly could be.

In my experience it's just been hard, practically speaking, to provide adequate water in some situations in clay pots. I can water once a day, maybe twice. But depending on temperature, exposure and pot size (and I don't mean itty bitty ones, more like 16-20" and sometimes larger) and on how heavily planted they are,  it can be an issue .

I still like clay better. I just assume they'll need more attention.

This is me.  We don't have that many super-hot days in CT (certainly relative to southern CA), so while I do expect that the breathability of terra-cotta is a hypothetical advantage it's less beneficial here than elsewhere.

What we ARE famous for is very abrupt CHANGES in temperature, particularly in the fall and spring, which causes anything clay to crack (and also for enormous rocks to heave up from the earthen core into plowed & prepped beds, le sigh).  I don't think I've ever had a clay planter, glazed or unglazed, last more than two or three seasons.  They just don't make it through the winters.  

But I love the way clay *looks* so, what can you do.  Smaller ones I bring in.

Anyway, my initial report on painting the pots on the outside and rim but not inside: they *do* still seem to be absorbing from the inside (I can see the splotches where the water is absorbed)... but since they aren't able to exhale, they OTOH presumably won't have the expiration/temp decrease advantages but perhaps OTO will manage to *retain* moisture better than glazed or plastic (?).  Or alternatively the paint will flake off by the end of the season.  Which, at $3.48 per pot plus paint, fine.

[Spy Car]

31 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

re advantages (cooling) vs disadvantages (faster drying out) of terra-cotta

This is me.  We don't have that many super-hot days in CT (certainly relative to southern CA), so while I do expect that the breathability of terra-cotta is a hypothetical advantage it's less beneficial here than elsewhere.

What we ARE famous for is very abrupt CHANGES in temperature, particularly in the fall and spring, which causes anything clay to crack (and also for enormous rocks to heave up from the earthen core into plowed & prepped beds, le sigh).  I don't think I've ever had a clay planter, glazed or unglazed, last more than two or three seasons.  They just don't make it through the winters.  

But I love the way clay *looks* so, what can you do.  Smaller ones I bring in.

Anyway, my initial report on painting the pots on the outside and rim but not inside: they *do* still seem to be absorbing from the inside (I can see the splotches where the water is absorbed)... but since they aren't able to exhale, they OTOH presumably won't have the expiration/temp decrease advantages but perhaps OTO will manage to *retain* moisture better than glazed or plastic (?).  Or alternatively the paint will flake off by the end of the season.  Which, at $3.48 per pot plus paint, fine.

I would lose my mind if a clay pot only lasted 2 or 3 seasons. I get upset if one breaks after a decade or two. But you would laugh at our "winters."

Have you ever tried a milk paint type paint on a pot. I have not, but I bet a flat rustic paint (even irregularly applied) could give a new pot a nice "aged" look.

Bill

 

 

[Pam in CT]

9 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

I would lose my mind if a clay pot only lasted 2 or 3 seasons. I get upset if one breaks after a decade or two. But you would laugh at our "winters."

Have you ever tried a milk paint type paint on a pot. I have not, but I bet a flat rustic paint (even irregularly applied) could give a new pot a nice "aged" look.

Bill

 

Never tried milk paint.  One year I had some leftover tinted stain and I kind of sponged it on to whatever pots I had lying around for a mossy mottled effect.  It was nice and held up as long as the pots, LOL.  But that is, theoretically at least, a sealant.  

(And getting my pots to look nicely "aged" is, anyway, not where my problems lie.  One good rainstorm and everything's streaked with dirt anyway.)

[Innisfree]

One day I'd like to try making tufa troughs. Not sure if they'd hold up better, though.

[Cecropia]

So all the dwarf black-eyed-susans were just showing their baby leaves when I sent the kids out to weed (a completely separate flower bed).  SMH because they're gone...!

All I can do is laugh and try to convince myself that it's a good opportunity to switch up the landscaping...

[aggie96]

Trellis up just in time!

This is first year I supplemented tomatoes with fish meal, bone meal, egg shells, and aspirin in the holes when planting. I normally have a great crop for burb-farming, but they have exploded this year. I’m going to have tomatoes coming out my ears!!! Salsa, baby, salsa!!!!!!  🍅

[Pen]

@aggie96 aspirin in the holes?  Please explain!

looks beautiful !

[history-fan]

Tuesday I noticed buds on Lilac bushes, but that was all before the snow started and now there is at least a foot plus of  snow with more coming down. 

[Arcadia]

17 hours ago, Pen said:

@aggie96 aspirin in the holes?  Please explain!

 

Aspirin works wonderfully for prolonging the life of cut flowers too. 

“The United States Department of Agriculture found that salicylic acid produced an enhanced immune response in plants of the nightshade family. The enhanced response helped prepare the plant for microbial or insect attack. The substance also seems to keep cut flowers living longertoo. Salicylic acid appears to block the plant’s release of a hormone that impels death after cutting. The cut flowers will die eventually but, usually, you can add some time by the use of aspirin on plants.

Gardeners at the University of Rhode Island sprayed a mixture of aspirin water on their vegetable gardens and found that plants grew more quickly and were more fruitful than a control group left untreated. Aspirin in vegetable gardens produced healthier plants than the control group. The team used a rate of three aspirins (250 to 500 milligrams) mixed with 4 gallons of water. They sprayed this every three weeks throughout the growing season. The vegetables were grown in raised beds with drip irrigation and compost-rich soil, which probably aided the effects found from using aspirin for plant growth.

...

Watch plants for their response to the treatment. Not all plants may be suitable for the aspirin regimen, but it has been shown that the nightshade family (eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes) do benefit greatly.” https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/aspirin-for-plant-growth.htm

[maize]

Puddles are happening in my garden today.

Tulip buds are oh-so-close to opening, bits of color are peeping through.

[Lori D.]

Spy Car's very cool posts about growing his own herbs from purchased cuttings reminds me to get going on my own "herb work". For the past number of years, I've been growing/cutting/drying my own bay leaf, basil, mint, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Living in a very dry climate makes drying herbs a snap, and I am at the point where, if I *remember* to keep up with the cutting/drying throughout the spring and again in the fall (the high growth times for herbs out here), I can just about keep up with my own cooking demands for those herbs.

One of these days I hope to add dill and a few others to my herb pots!

And while cilantro doesn't stand up to the hot sun *at all*, because of the cooler-than-usual spring (for us), I'm having fantastic luck this year -- two very full plants, with extra tall stems, and leaves of a size I've never seen before! And no sign of "bolting to seed" yet, so for dinners, we're having everything I can think of that has cilantro in the ingredients list, LOL. Check this out:

 

[aggie96]

@Pen Years ago I pinned a site growbetterveggies.com that talked about growing large crops of tomatoes. They had a formula that they sweared by. In the past I’ve had a tough time keeping the plants disease-free.  I’ve found lots of recommendations for adding aspirin but usually forget when it comes to planting. As mentioned above, it’s supposed to boost the plants natural immune system and ward off fungus and bacteria in the root system. I hope it works!! 

[Tree Frog]

On 4/10/2019 at 6:04 PM, Cecropia said:

So all the dwarf black-eyed-susans were just showing their baby leaves when I sent the kids out to weed (a completely separate flower bed).  SMH because they're gone...!

All I can do is laugh and try to convince myself that it's a good opportunity to switch up the landscaping...

I had milkweed coming up one day and the next all I had was stems coming out of the ground. I'm hoping it will come back. I also have some echinacea that comes up every spring, blooms maybe once with very short stemmed flowers, then just disappears, not to return for the rest of the season. Something must be eating it overnight, but I have no idea what it would be.

[Pen]

54 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

I had milkweed coming up one day and the next all I had was stems coming out of the ground. I'm hoping it will come back. I also have some echinacea that comes up every spring, blooms maybe once with very short stemmed flowers, then just disappears, not to return for the rest of the season. Something must be eating it overnight, but I have no idea what it would be.

 

Maybe Snails? 

I guess whoever is eating your echinacea will be healthy!

 

is your milkweed supposed to be for butterflies?  

Edited April 12, 2019 by Pen

[aggie96]

Monarch caterpillars eat my huge milkweed in 24 hours when they start showing up. Sure you don’t already have caterpillars?

[Tree Frog]

On 4/10/2019 at 6:04 PM, Cecropia said:

 

Very strange. I just tried to respond to @Pen and my entire previous post was still in editor. It gave me the option to exit editor, but when I exited, it didn't delete the post so I had to manually delete it. I've never had that happen before. I hope this will post.

Pen, yes, the milkweed is for the butterflies. It was only about a foot tall and hadn't bloomed yet, so I don't think it was eaten by caterpillars. I've been watching and haven't seen any yet.

I hadn't thought about snails eating my plants, but we have plenty of them, so it's a possibility. Do they live in mulch? When we lived up north, I used to put a small amount of beer in the lid of a container each night to kill the snails. Is there another method? I don't want to use any pesticide because of butterflies and caterpillars.

[Tree Frog]

I also have passion fruit vines growing. Last year, I planted one plant and wasn't sure it would make it through the winter. This year 4 vines came up. I dug one up and gave it to a friend. They also attract butterflies.

I would love to have fruit this year! I've never eaten a passion fruit.

Edited April 13, 2019 by wilrunner

[Tree Frog]

I was mistaken. I have a caterpillar!! I'm hoping it moves over to the passion vine to finish eating and doesn't become bird or lizard food.

 

[Spy Car]

2 hours ago, aggie96 said:

Monarch caterpillars eat my huge milkweed in 24 hours when they start showing up. Sure you don’t already have caterpillars?

Forgive the PSA, but be extremely careful not to get milkweed sap in your eyes.

Use extreme caution around milkweed plants!!!

Bill

[Pen]

7 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

I was mistaken. I have a caterpillar!! I'm hoping it moves over to the passion vine to finish eating and doesn't become bird or lizard food.

 

 

Do you have any milkweed at all left? I thought they cannot eat anything else

[Pen]

55 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

I also have passion fruit vines growing. Last year, I planted one plant and wasn't sure it would make it through the winter. This year 4 vines came up. I dug one up and gave it to a friend. They also attract butterflies.

I would love to have fruit this year! I've never eaten a passion fruit.

 

That’s gorgeous.  I’ve never even gotten to flower stage.  

[Tree Frog]

1 minute ago, Pen said:

 

Do you have any milkweed at all left? I thought they cannot eat anything else

There's another variety of milkweed nearby, as well as the passion fruit vine. (I found another vine. That makes one planted and 4 new ones. I might have a problem next year if all the vines are that prolific!) The caterpillar looks like a monarch caterpillar and they're supposed to like the other 2 plants, too. I did consider moving it to another plant of the same variety of milkweed on the other side of my yard, but decided against it. I'm hoping it makes it through the night!

[Tree Frog]

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

That’s gorgeous.  I’ve never even gotten to flower stage.  

I think it's much prettier in the pic than real life. But they're unusual and fragrant.

[maize]

6 minutes ago, wilrunner said:

There's another variety of milkweed nearby, as well as the passion fruit vine. (I found another vine. That makes one planted and 4 new ones. I might have a problem next year if all the vines are that prolific!) The caterpillar looks like a monarch caterpillar and they're supposed to like the other 2 plants, too. I did consider moving it to another plant of the same variety of milkweed on the other side of my yard, but decided against it. I'm hoping it makes it through the night!

When we found a monarch caterpillar we brought it inside and kept collecting fresh milkweed pot it until it formed its chrysalis (we have it a stick to climb); the butterfly emerged inside and then we released it outside.

[aggie96]

25 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Forgive the PSA, but be extremely careful not to get milkweed sap in your eyes.

Use extreme caution around milkweed plants!!!

Bill

That’s interesting! Must read up on that!

[Spy Car]

16 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

That’s interesting! Must read up on that!

I had an acquaintance who was the head of the local butterfly club here in SoCal. He and his wife had a wonderful butterfly garden and they raised Monarchs.

He was fully aware of how dangerous it is to get milkweed sap in one's eyes, Still, one day while gardening he trimmed some plants and then wiped his eyes.

He was rushed to the hospital (the leading eye institute in the city) and there was talk he might lose his vision. Thankfully he did not.

Growing milkweed is a great kindness for Monarchs. But it is irresponsible IMO for groups and seed providers not to give adequate warnings about the sap (the "milk") in milkweed. The dangers to one's eyes from the sap are almost never mentioned. 

Bill

 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Spy Car

[aggie96]

WOW!!! Yikes! I’m shocked!

[Spy Car]

5 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

WOW!!! Yikes! I’m shocked!

I hate to be an "alarmist" but it is important to exercise caution with milkweed. Wear latex gloves. Wash up. Keep kids away. Never rub your eyes.

Bill 

[Pen]

1 minute ago, Spy Car said:

I hate to be an "alarmist" but it is important to exercise caution with milkweed. Wear latex gloves. Wash up. Keep kids away. Never rub your eyes.

Bill 

 

That’s an excellent psa.  Are there other plants to similarly be cautious of in that regard?  

[fairfarmhand]

Warm warm days here. Everything is green green green. The redbuds are gorgeous. And I put out basil, dill and lettuces. My strawberry plants have flowers. Yes it’s too early. But it’s been downright hot this week and I can’t help it. So I’ll have to watch for late frosts.

[Rosie_0801]

My garden now has a new bee hive in it. My daughter saved her egg money for three years to buy it and had it delivered last night!

[Spy Car]

11 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

That’s an excellent psa.  Are there other plants to similarly be cautious of in that regard?  

None that spring to mind. I hate to discourage milkweed growing as it is critical to keeping Monarchs alive. People just need to take precautions.

Bill

[Tree Frog]

54 minutes ago, maize said:

When we found a monarch caterpillar we brought it inside and kept collecting fresh milkweed pot it until it formed its chrysalis (we have it a stick to climb); the butterfly emerged inside and then we released it outside.

This is what I want to do eventually, but the other plants are too small. I don't think I would have enough of that variety of milkweed for it yet. I had caterpillars last year in the passion fruit vine and a couple of them formed chrysalis'. None of them survived, though. 

[maize]

4 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

My garden now has a new bee hive in it. My daughter saved her egg money for three years to buy it and had it delivered last night!

Oh, exciting!

Does it have bees yet?