What is happening in your garden right now?

[Pen]

On 4/27/2019 at 6:34 AM, MaBelle said:

Asparagus finally came up.  Coneflowers emerging, hibiscus planted, zinnia seeds sown.  I put a few more herbs in the herb garden, it smells wonderful. Great crop of dandelions. Pictures are from past years, hopefully I'll get this again.

 

Beautiful!  And inspiring.  I mostly grow vegetables, but this makes me want to have more flowers.

[Tree Frog]

On 4/16/2019 at 3:45 PM, Thatboyofmine said:

Ok I went out real quick and took some pics.  They do smell beautiful! 

How many plants and years did it take to grow this? I'm thinking my 6" pot won't look this great this time next year. I can train the vines to go up the fence or trellis, but how do they look so full? Is it just more plants? Or does it just take time?

Apparently I'm into vines this year. I bought what I thought was a bleeding heart plant to plant under my tree. I've been looking for flowering shade plants without too much luck. It was half price and didn't look great, but I thought for a bigger plant, it was a decent price if it survived. I dug my big hole (it came in a 12" pot) and planted it. When I went to put the plastic label in the ground next to the plant, I finished reading the end of the label: Red Wine Bleeding Heart Vine. That's a completely different kind of plant with different water/light needs. I replanted it next to my fence, so I'm hoping the leaves darken up and I didn't damage too many roots when I untangled them. (It was very rootbound!) If it survives, it should be a beautiful plant!

[Rosie_0801]

On 4/27/2019 at 11:34 PM, MaBelle said:

Great crop of dandelions. 

 

I feel like a suburban terrorist, planting dandelions. 
But then, it is not my fault if other people are wrong about dandelions!

 

[kbutton]

On 4/27/2019 at 11:35 PM, ikslo said:

My garden is new to me.  We moved from PA to FL.  I went out front to weed the other day and discovered a pineapple growing from the center of an as-yet-unidentified-by-me plant.  I guess I know what that plant is now 😆

Yay!

That is a serious change in ecosystems!

My daises are apparently planted in the right light now--they are coming up in huge clumps, whereas at my old house, they were kind of scraggly (I brought plants with me). No flowers yet--too early. I think my irises are the tallest I've ever seen. It's been a "just right" two years of jungle-making weather in the eastern mid-west. My spirea(?) bush is re-emerging, and it's a rainbow of deep oranges right now. It will turn green and then get pink flowers later, IIRC. It was new to me last year. Our tulips are just finishing--they are also a new planting, and they were yellow flowers that developed a slow blush of pink. The bleeding heart is blossoming in full throttle. A grassy looking plant with purple blossoms is just starting to go--last year, it was a fountain for weeks and weeks. 

We are working on weedy spots in our yard, which is very weedy overall. (We bought a house that needed a bit of cosmetic work, and the yard needs LOVE.) There are spots made almost entirely of violets that I hate to dig up. If anyone has ideas on how to have some patches of violets in moderation, I would love to know. They are my favorite flower. 

Local garden clubs are hosting a joint plant sale this weekend--I will be able to find plants at a fraction of nursery prices, and I plan to fill my trunk. Even DH is excited. 

In spite of our flower beds still being a work in progress, we see people slowing down and pointing at our plants as they walk by. 🙂 

[Pen]

16 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

 

I feel like a suburban terrorist, planting dandelions. 
But then, it is not my fault if other people are wrong about dandelions!

 

 

Dandelions:

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by Pen

[maize]

Since we're talking about dandelions I present for your edification the Mega Mutant Dandelion of Doom we found in our yard the other day. That's something like 12 dandelions heads all growing out of one ginormous fused stem.

I didn't dare leave it in the ground, I was pretty sure it was the first step in a nefarious plan for dandelions to take over the world. 

Pen's dandelions look very sweet and innocent.

Edited April 30, 2019 by maize

[Lori D.]

20 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I feel like a suburban terrorist, planting dandelions. 
But then, it is not my fault if other people are wrong about dandelions!

It's only a weed if you DON'T like it or want it -- you're just more inclusive than others in you plant likes. ;)

[Tree Frog]

21 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

 

I feel like a suburban terrorist, planting dandelions. 
But then, it is not my fault if other people are wrong about dandelions!

 

Do you purchase dandelion seeds or plants? Are they not considered weeds down under? I've often thought lots of dandelions would be beautiful in a field, just not in my grass.

[Rosie_0801]

3 hours ago, wilrunner said:

Do you purchase dandelion seeds or plants? Are they not considered weeds down under? I've often thought lots of dandelions would be beautiful in a field, just not in my grass.

 

They're not considered noxious weeds, or I wouldn't plant them. They are often hated because they do spoil a lawn. According to people who feel good about lawns. I mostly don't.

[mom@shiloh]

My garden -- just weeds yet in the vegetable garden. My dh and I are getting a load of composted horse manure tomorrow and after that, we'll rototill. 

Berries -- the bunnies have been nibbling my strawberries, but I sprinkled moth balls around the perimeter and hope that will deter them. My blueberry bushes are full of blossoms!

Fruit trees -- all just beginning to blossom. Yay!

Flowers -- all beds weeded; bleeding hearts (some of my favorites!) are blooming; daffodils and grape hyacinths finishing up.

[Selkie]

4 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

 

They're not considered noxious weeds, or I wouldn't plant them. They are often hated because they do spoil a lawn. According to people who feel good about lawns. I mostly don't.

I'm a dandelion fan. They sell big bunches of dandelion greens in the produce section at Natural Grocers, and dd and I joke about the fortune we have growing on our lawn.

[maize]

The idea that lawns are supposed to be just grass unmixed with flowering plants is really only a few decades old as it was not a possibility prior to the introduction of herbicides specific to broad leaf plants.  It has been promoted mainly to benefit lawn care companies.

I think dandelions are pretty. I've tried eating them but the bitterness is too much for me (we have the super bitter tasting gene in this family, even stuff that doesn't taste bitter to many people tastes bitter to me). I'm not a huge fan of flowering plants in my lawn because we all like to walk barefoot but don't like stepping on bees.

My chickens however love dandelions, and I'm entirely opposed to poisoning my yard so the dandelions get to stay.

Edited April 30, 2019 by maize

[maize]

There are cultivated varieties of "improved dandelion" seeds available, I've thought about getting some to try; they are bred for leaf production and supposedly slower to bolt. 

[Serenade]

We've had the most gorgeous irises this year -- almost dinner plate sized. 

We also have some tomatoes, peppers and lettuce in bins.  DH had to rig them up with electric wire to (hopefully) keep the deer and squirrels out.  We used to have a nice garden, but in recent years the critters destroy everything but the cucumbers.  We've had an electric fence for a while, but that doesn't stop the squirrels so DH has put all the bins in a central area (rather than planting in the ground), and he's rigged wires at different levels so hopefully the squirrels can't scramble over the top and get the tomatoes.  If this doesn't work, I guess we'll have to resign ourselves to being cucumber growers only and buying the tomatoes at the farmers market.

[Innisfree]

Okay gardeners, here's a question.

I've just cleaned a bunch of poison ivy out from under my beanpoles: really two metal posts with heavy plastic fencing stretched between them, for the beans to climb. It had been a couple of years since I used that area of the garden, and the poison ivy had crept in. It had also climbed the plastic fence in a couple of spots.

Would you have any hesitation about letting the beans go on and climb up the same fencing? Would you try to clean it, or assume the elements will break down the poison ivy residue sufficiently to make harvesting and eating the beans safe? I hate to toss it out and start over. Possibly I could wash it. The beans are normally held an inch or two out from the fencing by their petioles, but the last thing I want to do is feed everyone poison-ivied beans.

[Innisfree]

On a happier note, two of my three pear grafts are putting out new growth. 

[Pen]

We have nice leaves on our wild dandelions—but they prefer growing on driveway rather than in vegetable plot where I’d like them. 

We have a variety of edible medicinals (dandelion, chamomile, cleavers, red clover) growing on our driveway—but it probably has lead residue from leaded gasoline in times past,  so I would not want to harvest from there.

Dandelion is relatively less bitter if harvested well before bolting and in early morning.  It does best imo  if amongst other lettuces and salad greens to balance it  and with a sweet (raspberry or bacon) or cheesy (eg ranch or blue) dressing.  Vinaigrette imo makes it more bitter seeming. 

[Pen]

23 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

Okay gardeners, here's a question.

I've just cleaned a bunch of poison ivy out from under my beanpoles: really two metal posts with heavy plastic fencing stretched between them, for the beans to climb. It had been a couple of years since I used that area of the garden, and the poison ivy had crept in. It had also climbed the plastic fence in a couple of spots.

Would you have any hesitation about letting the beans go on and climb up the same fencing? Would you try to clean it, or assume the elements will break down the poison ivy residue sufficiently to make harvesting and eating the beans safe? I hate to toss it out and start over. Possibly I could wash it. The beans are normally held an inch or two out from the fencing by their petioles, but the last thing I want to do is feed everyone poison-ivied beans.

 

I don’t know.  I think it would be safe since it’s a contact problem afaik...   I’d be surprised if it would transfer to the beans.  But maybe try to wash the pole to add safety.

[Pen]

7 hours ago, Serenade said:

We've had the most gorgeous irises this year -- almost dinner plate sized. 

 

Love iris!  Pictures?

[Innisfree]

1 minute ago, Pen said:

 

I don’t know.  I think it would be safe since it’s a contact problem afaik...   I’d be surprised if it would transfer to the beans.  But maybe try to wash the pole to add safety.

Yeah, I may wash it just so I don't worry.

[maize]

28 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

Okay gardeners, here's a question.

I've just cleaned a bunch of poison ivy out from under my beanpoles: really two metal posts with heavy plastic fencing stretched between them, for the beans to climb. It had been a couple of years since I used that area of the garden, and the poison ivy had crept in. It had also climbed the plastic fence in a couple of spots.

Would you have any hesitation about letting the beans go on and climb up the same fencing? Would you try to clean it, or assume the elements will break down the poison ivy residue sufficiently to make harvesting and eating the beans safe? I hate to toss it out and start over. Possibly I could wash it. The beans are normally held an inch or two out from the fencing by their petioles, but the last thing I want to do is feed everyone poison-ivied beans.

I don't know much about poison ivy but this article isn't encouraging as far as the longevity of the residue goes:

 

https://naturework.com/garden-info/handouts/poison-ivy/

[maize]

I am slowly putting my irrigation system in order. We bought this house with an irrigation system already in place but it is a few decades old and various components have not been functioning properly (or at all). I'm learning as I go. Spring is the best time to work on it as the ground is soft from rain and easier to dig--our clay soil hardens into something truly impenetrable in the summer.

[maize]

Who else here wishes they could trade all their indoor housework/cooking/etc. for yard and garden work? 

I am sooo much happier working outside, at least when the weather is decent.

[Innisfree]

10 minutes ago, maize said:

I don't know much about poison ivy but this article isn't encouraging as far as the longevity of the residue goes:

 

https://naturework.com/garden-info/handouts/poison-ivy/

Yikes. I used rubbing alcohol and soap & water on my arms immediately, and bagged the debris, and washed all my clothes twice in hot water already. But that article is scary! Tools and fence get washed tomorrow.

[scrapbookbuzz]

Evidently where I live in Wyoming, you really shouldn't plant anything until AFTER mid-May. So right now I have ONE
plant, in a container, inside. Rosemary. It seems to be doing pretty well. I plan on adding another potted herb soon. That may
be about all I can handle this round.

[scrapbookbuzz]

On 4/29/2019 at 12:37 AM, Rosie_0801 said:

 

I feel like a suburban terrorist, planting dandelions. 
But then, it is not my fault if other people are wrong about dandelions!

 

 

Dandelions have unfortunately and unjustly been given a bad rap over the past several decades. Probably a stint of the 
herbicide companies so they can sell their wares.

For those that don't know, the dandelion is entirely edible and medicinal. If you have issues with heartburn/indigestion, I highly recommend eating a salad with added dandelion greens and flowers BEFORE your main meal. It gets the digestive juices flowing and you should find you digest better. Plus it helps with bile flow which you definitely need to finish the digestive process. The roots are high in potassium too. GREAT plant to have around AND to purposely cultivate. 

i was going to go dig some out of my friend's yard this week but it snowed yesterday, and today. Guess I'll have to wait for the next round! 

[Innisfree]

2 hours ago, maize said:

Who else here wishes they could trade all their indoor housework/cooking/etc. for yard and garden work? 

I am sooo much happier working outside, at least when the weather is decent.

Completely this.

Dh does the vacuuming, bless him, and lets me work outside. I loathe vacuuming.

Once it gets really hot, though, I'll be doing well to keep things watered and harvested. No big gardening then, so all the more reason to work hard now.

[Innisfree]

Dandelions, buttercups, chickweed, and assorted other things are welcome in my lawn, such as it is. Grass is not a priority. 

[Serenade]

18 hours ago, Pen said:

 

Love iris!  Pictures?

 

I'll try to get one.

I don't even know what kind these are.  We bought them at the end of the season heavily discounted at 75% and they were supposed to be Beverly Sills, but they ended up being a different type of reblooming iris.  I didn't mind at all not getting Beverly Sills. 

[moonflower]

my kids are doing the gardening - we moved into a house last fall with 17 mostly wooded acres in mid-missouri, but maybe an acre or two of it is orchard/grass/otherwise cleared, and there's a (badly) fenced garden area with raised beds.  so I went to azurestandard and bought about 3 dozen packets of seeds, which might have been ambitious, I dunno

I can't grow a cactus.  I am not a grower of things.  I forget to water them, forget to weed, forget to plant on time, it's just no good.

But I have lots of kids!  And they love living out in the country and it turns out they like gardening, so they are gardening this year.  We'll see how it goes.  

I did plant a packet of sunflower seeds and one of zinnias myself, around the gravel drive in sunny areas.  I am hoping just digging a hole and putting the seeds in works for these, because I'm not going to remember to do anything else.  They seem like pretty hardy plants and we have great weather and soil for growing here, so that is a plus.

[kbutton]

On 4/30/2019 at 5:17 PM, Innisfree said:

Okay gardeners, here's a question.

I've just cleaned a bunch of poison ivy out from under my beanpoles: really two metal posts with heavy plastic fencing stretched between them, for the beans to climb. It had been a couple of years since I used that area of the garden, and the poison ivy had crept in. It had also climbed the plastic fence in a couple of spots.

Would you have any hesitation about letting the beans go on and climb up the same fencing? Would you try to clean it, or assume the elements will break down the poison ivy residue sufficiently to make harvesting and eating the beans safe? I hate to toss it out and start over. Possibly I could wash it. The beans are normally held an inch or two out from the fencing by their petioles, but the last thing I want to do is feed everyone poison-ivied beans.

I would wash multiple times at the very least. I probably wouldn't use it for food, honestly, unless you can get some heavy duty cleaner to work. 

On 4/30/2019 at 5:42 PM, Pen said:

I don’t know.  I think it would be safe since it’s a contact problem afaik...   I’d be surprised if it would transfer to the beans.  But maybe try to wash the pole to add safety.

The article dealt with the durability factor, but for an anecdote...I am not particularly susceptible to poison ivy. The first time I got it, I probably got it from someone else's clothes or shoes directly into a deep scratch I had on my arm at the time after visiting my MIL's. I got a ton of blisters around that scratch, and then I got a body rash/hives as a bonus. The next time I got it, I got it repeatedly, but only a few small blisters. I had been at my MIL's (see a theme emerging?), and I was not in or near poison ivy, so it had to have come off of something in her home. Given that no one in that family is careful about it (will continually and repeatedly handle it even after getting miserable reactions, duh), it could've been on anything. Frustratingly, it apparently got on one of my shirts REALLY well, because the next five times or so that I wore that shirt, I would get another small cluster of tiny blisters. Grr!

[Innisfree]

I may just replace that fencing. It's not that much trouble, and better than needing to worry if I've scrubbed it enough.

[aggie96]

Ten days later...

First proper squash. Yea! And that jalapeño is 3” long!! Last pic of pumpkin on vertical trellis.

So if you had one gorgeous squash to eat all by yourself, how would you prepare it?

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by aggie96

[mmasc]

17 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

Ten days later...

First proper squash. Yea! And that jalapeño is 3” long!! Last pic of pumpkin on vertical trellis.

So if you had one gorgeous squash to eat all by yourself, how would you prepare it?

 

 

Your beds are beautiful! So lush! If I had one gorgeous squash to eat by myself, I’d probably chunk it up raw in my lunch salad. 🙂 

[maize]

I got a start on thinning apricots today, one tree is particularly loaded. Last year earwigs got into almost all the apricots; I'm hoping the chickens scratching around those trees will help this year (they were only chicks last year so not an effective bug patrol yet). I'm researching other preventative measures.

[BlsdMama]

On 4/12/2019 at 9:09 PM, 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 

I never knew this! We grow it, it grows wild everywhere in the ditches here, and we pick it often to keep catepillars in the house - never knew until this moment that it could sting!

On 4/13/2019 at 8:55 PM, Terabith said:

I don't have a garden, but our yard is utterly covered in dandelions.  It's glorious!

A girl after my own heart - I adore dandelions.  Most people think they are akin to the plague.

 

On 4/27/2019 at 6:45 PM, MaBelle said:

I very rarely see snails in my yard, wonder if it's the chicken's doings?

 

It might be the area you live in.  Here?  Snails aren't really an issue and you might see one occasionally.  The first time we saw a banana slug in the PNW we thought it was the result of some horrible nuclear incident. Snails & slugs are rampant and a real gardening problem out there.  We don't stay damp enough, I think.  I am a solid gardener in the Midwest, but wretched at it in the PNW.

[BlsdMama]

 

Got the flower garden weeded, planted some annuals, replaced dead lavender & a few dianthus, mulched.  Fall: Plant more tulips!
The dead little spindly oak to the left is NOT dead!! So excited!

 

Last night and this weekend - tilled the area for sweetcorn and potatoes.  Planted tomatoes, peppers, peas, greens, broccoli, and brussel sprouts, and some herbs.  Strawberries and rhubarb are growing great!  Need to build two more beds and plant carrots & celery, black beauty zucchini, and acorn squash! Then done!

Planted an apricot tree, a plum tree, two cherries, and replaced a dead peach.

This winter was record breaking snow and cold (wind chill of -50 on one day!)  It was rough.  My blueberries were really shocked, but it looks like they are actually ALIVE!  My hydrangeas are still questionable as is the maple in the lower left.  Drat.

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by BlsdMama

[Spy Car]

 

 

1

2 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

I never knew this! We grow it, it grows wild everywhere in the ditches here, and we pick it often to keep catepillars in the house - never knew until this moment that it could sting!

Milkweed is essential to the preservation of Monarchs. I hate raising a caution because I understand how important it is to Monarch's survival.

People just need to take reasonable precautions not to get the sap (the "milk" in milkweed) in their eyes.

Bill

 

 

[Selkie]

On 4/12/2019 at 8:57 PM, Spy Car said:

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

 

 

I was unaware of this as well. Milkweed grows wild here. When I was a kid, I used to pick the pods and pull the fluff out all the time. Lucky for me I never got sap in my eyes!

[Lori D.]

First harvest!

I've been getting a small handful of blueberries every 4-5 days for the past 3 weeks from the 3 new blueberry plants I bought back in February and planted in a barrel. I scattered branches from the Christmas tree (I snipped and saved them when we took the tree down) around for mulch and to add acid to the soil. What a treat to be rewarded so soon!

Edited May 8, 2019 by Lori D.

[aggie96]

Man, I wish I could grow berries here. Last time I tried, it looked like a scene from Hitchcock in my yard. And the birds won.

If I can rig up some protection, I’ll try again. 

I’m jealous of everyone’s fruit trees, too. Why must they take so long to grow?! And carrots, broccoli, and the like. Why must they need more temperate climates?!

I was looking at a Pasta Primavera recipe online this evening to use zucchini and squash. Need bell peppers for it. Think I’ll plant some bell peppers in pots this weekend. 

[Lori D.]

Just now, aggie96 said:

Man, I wish I could grow berries here. Last time I tried, it looked like a scene from Hitchcock in my yard. And the birds won.
If I can rig up some protection, I’ll try again. 
I’m jealous of everyone’s fruit trees, too. Why must they take so long to grow?! And carrots, broccoli, and the like. Why must they need more temperate climates?!
I was looking at a Pasta Primavera recipe online this evening to use zucchini and squash. Need bell peppers for it. Think I’ll plant some bell peppers in pots this weekend. 

aggie96, I am in a hotter dryer climate than you, so we'll see how the blueberries survive as the year progresses...

Next week's gardening goal is to rig shade cloth over everything. That's going to be a feat to rival the loading the old 3-masted ships with sail and rigging... (:D

[Pam in CT]

re poison ivy

On April 30, 2019 at 5:17 PM, Innisfree said:

Okay gardeners, here's a question.

I've just cleaned a bunch of poison ivy out from under my beanpoles: really two metal posts with heavy plastic fencing stretched between them, for the beans to climb. It had been a couple of years since I used that area of the garden, and the poison ivy had crept in. It had also climbed the plastic fence in a couple of spots.

Would you have any hesitation about letting the beans go on and climb up the same fencing? Would you try to clean it, or assume the elements will break down the poison ivy residue sufficiently to make harvesting and eating the beans safe? I hate to toss it out and start over. Possibly I could wash it. The beans are normally held an inch or two out from the fencing by their petioles, but the last thing I want to do is feed everyone poison-ivied beans.

It definitely depends on how sensitive you are, but at a bare minimum I'd thoroughly wash with soap.  The spores hang on for a long time. I'm sensitive, and it's in the woods all around me and trails over from the neighbors and is not visible until the leaves grow in, and although I am crazy careful (like, I run inside the house, strip all my clothes directly into the laundry and proceed directly to the shower as soon as I lay eyes on it, having dispatched my less-sensitive husband to actually deal with it) I still get at least one cortisone-shot-requiring case every year from the shears or the hose or the rake tines or something else that's touched it.

[Pen]

Possibly some sort of mowing is needed?

 

 

[Pen]

Our are only flowering...  clearly you’re in a warmer place

Edited March 2, 2020 by Pen
Reached WTM photo limit

[Lori D.]

19 minutes ago, Pen said:

Our are only flowering...  clearly you’re in a warmer place

Zone 9b, where, in about 1 month from now, it will be so hot that you can actually, really and truly, fry an egg on a car hood or sidewalk. (:D

[history-fan]

Well it’s May 8 and it’s snowing- the ground is white again in areas. Glad it won’t hurt my rhubarb or asparagus.🤣

I just got an alert- we are under winter weather advisory with 4+ inches snow and blowing winds. I have to laugh.

i am enjoying all your garden photos though:

Edited May 9, 2019 by history-fan

[Pen]

On 5/7/2019 at 7:05 AM, BlsdMama said:

 

Got the flower garden weeded, planted some annuals, replaced dead lavender & a few dianthus, mulched.  Fall: Plant more tulips!
The dead little spindly oak to the left is NOT dead!! So excited!

 

Last night and this weekend - tilled the area for sweetcorn and potatoes.  Planted tomatoes, peppers, peas, greens, broccoli, and brussel sprouts, and some herbs.  Strawberries and rhubarb are growing great!  Need to build two more beds and plant carrots & celery, black beauty zucchini, and acorn squash! Then done!

Planted an apricot tree, a plum tree, two cherries, and replaced a dead peach.

This winter was record breaking snow and cold (wind chill of -50 on one day!)  It was rough.  My blueberries were really shocked, but it looks like they are actually ALIVE!  My hydrangeas are still questionable as is the maple in the lower left.  Drat.

 

 

Hmmm we have baby maples like weeds  all over. If you were near you could have one or a a bunch. 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Lori D. said:

Zone 9b, where, in about 1 month from now, it will be so hot that you can actually, really and truly, fry an egg on a car hood or sidewalk. (:D

 

Didn’t realize I am in Zone 9b too. I have tried growing blackberries successfully in my patio but have not tried blueberries. June is hot enough to bake cookies in a homemade pizza box solar oven. 

[maize]

42 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

Hmmm we have baby maples like weeds  all over. If you were near you could have one or a a bunch. 

This is poplars in my yard--the neighbors have a row of big poplar trees along the fence line and their progeny are all over my yard.