Gardens Home & Garden

Well I’ve been and planted all these plugs into pots to get ready to put them into the garden, also have some strawberry plants that I need to get into a tub as soon as I get it, with it being dry lately the ground is a little hard and I know as soon as I put them I. The slugs will be having a feast so been stocking up on slug pellets ready, as they devour my hostas if I don’t,
I can remember some of these plants but not all of them,
There is :
English lavender
Columbine
There’s a snapdragon I found randomly growing in a pot
I can’t remember the others until they flower now, but I’ll have to find somewhere to put them all as I have a few bedding plants to go in too. I think some are delphiniums, I’m not sure

That looks so neat and orderly!
I was given some sunflower seeds, so stuck four in a pot and passed the rest on. They are just starting to come through and the stem of one has been munched right through. They are under a cage because the birds have been digging in the larger pots, but no protection from slugs. I potted up four of the argyranthemum today, two more to go when I decide where I want them. I will be surprised if we don't have a shower tonight - I hope so, it saves a job.

Thank you, keep me busy when they are ready to go into the garden, yeah I had some sunflower seeds from last years flowers and kept them in the shed, I hung them in a bag in a bucket hanging from the back wall, I went in there a couple of weeks ago and thought I’ll put some in a pot and grow some, bugger me if the mouse had been in it and ate most of them, so the few I salvaged from it I put in a pot and didn’t cover them like a plonker, looked out the window one morning and there was a blackbird turfing out all the compost and took the damn seeds, so I didn’t do very well with them at all. Yeah the slugs are out now and will devour anything in their path, I even put copper tape around my pots that I put bedding plants in otherwise they’d eat the lot, we used to have a thrush years ago that came in the garden and ate majority of the slugs and snails, but they are so in declined now.

Looking good. I haven't done seeds or plugs. Mostly because here I can plant year round so I don't need to start early and worry about frost, etc. Buying a plant ready to go in the ground is easier. I do get sunflowers growing due to the bird feeders. I feed only sunflower seeds. I used to use a mixed seed, but was getting sorghum plants growing because the birds didn't eat that seed.

I was first in line at the sale this time. The first three of us were regulars so we chatted before the gate opened (I get there 2 hours before to be at the front of the line). I got everything on my list:

California fuchsia 'Uvas Valley' - it's a dark orange flower
Orange bush monkeyflower - it's gold flowers
White monkeyflower
Vibrant red monkeyflower*
Lucky Lantern Tangerine abutilon - this was the one I wanted but didn't get last time
Christmas Cheer poker plant - 2 for the back
Ruby velvet kangaroo paw
Hot Orange ice plants - 6

*unfortunately I got home and sent the dogs to the backyard while I set the plants down at the gate. Tornado-dog pawed at this plant and trampled it. Pretty sure it's deceased... So I'll replace it

The gate is almost done. Had to order a bunch of drill bits because we only had a couple in the right size. And the guy doing it was getting frustrated and making little mistakes wanting to finish it already. So I gave him a couple days to recupe and then we'll finish laying the track and then adding the rollers on top. But even partially up, it's much better than the old gate.

Someone ate one of my coneflowers. Then I noticed that someone stuck a peanut in the pot - sticking up out of the dirt.

Now, the peanut is growing a little plant.


I guess someone has made their opinion clear...

I don't know if it was Polite Squirrel, a scrub jay or even a rat. But since the pot is empty I'll let them have their own little garden.

Tornado-dog killed two rosemarys and one lions tail in the backyard by peeing on them. I've replaced the rosemarys with Christmas Cheer poker plants and put fencing around them until they get big and established. I'm going to replace the lions tail with a danielle's dream mexican sage and fence it. Hopefully I can get him to ignore these.

Meanwhile I have 23 ice plants to plant in the front. And I'm going to get another four next week at the clearance sale. I wasn't going to go, but I got a project at work that will pay for all the plants I want plus more soil and perlite. And they have more projects to give me once this is done, so I'll be able to get someone to clean out the pool for the summer.

As they say fair exchange is no robbery we don’t really get squirrels in the gardens here, well they wouldn’t be around for long as the the dogs would chase them off, when you go for a walk where they live, you will see many a dog bark up trees or chasing them across the grass. Do you think they were telling you to put more peanuts out? lol, I had to fence all my borders off as Beau likes to lay in them and squash them down, so that’s helped. So I’ve pottted up strawberries and peppers this week and hopefully the slugs can’t get to them or the birds pinch the strawberry when they fruit. but yours sounds lovely. Be nice to see when they are established.

I have a bowl of peanuts on the porch for the squirrel and scrub jays so they weren't asking for more.

Tornado-dog does not approve of the squirrels but they come down when he's inside.

I know Ive only been getting one crow on our walk atm as they are nesting, so they’ve only been coming one at a time for the dog treats, the birds have been coming in the morning for the peanuts here but every now and again they nip back for the suet treats on the bird feeders, but the pigeons are always here sitting on the fence waiting to see if I put anything out for them or to see if the birds drop anything on the floor as I’ve moved the feeders around so they can’t help themselves and leave nothing for the rest of the birds, but the robin keeps coming back for food, which I like to see .

I have had that peanut thing in the past. I bet it was a crow, they are supposed to do payments. Squirrels aren't too much of a problem round here, there is plenty of woodland and scraps left in the parks. Occasionally see them using garden walls and fences to move between areas.
We may have a little rain tomorrow, it is needed as this has been the hottest May on record.

I haven't had crows on my front porch. They haven't been around the yard much since the summer they marinated their roadkill in the birdbath.

I did see both the jays and the squirrel sitting on the planters at various times, so they are my main culprits for the planting. I suspect a rat or vole ate the coneflower - it wasn'tdoing great and only had two leaves.

Polite Squirrel comes daily for her meals. She usually goes to the back feeder for sunflower seeds, but will come to the front for the peanuts occasionally. I have her on video politely eating peanuts on the porch when an Amazon delivery man came up the driveway. He was very polite and stopped to let her cross the driveway to the fence before he continued up to leave my package.

I now have three peanut plants growing in my coneflower pots. I am getting some 5 gallon grow bags to move them to and see if I can harvest some peanuts for next winter. If it works, I could grow enough each summer so I won't have to buy any during the winter for Squirrel. The jays didn't eat them during the winter - now they are all over the peanut bowl.

My false yucca plants are finally blooming. This flower stalk is over 8 feet tall:


This one on the other plant decided to grow sideways and have a get together with the hummingbird sage:


And the individual flowers, the hummingbirds are liking them a lot:

Getting lots of blooms

Princess grape with butterfly bush behind it


Flame seedless grape with wild grape, golden glow butterfly bush and lion's tail behind it

Ignore all the mini trees growing. They are mulberry or ash trees, or maybe butterfly bushes or who knows what volunteering to take over the yard. I have to get my yard guy out to help pull them all - there are hundreds of them.

Thanks for your photo's - it's nice to see the flowers that we don't have. I had to look up the Golden Glow Buddleia - I really liked that one, not at all like our usual cone-shaped Davidii or the wild type purple ones.
My Cotoneaster hedge is in full flower at present. I'm pleased to say that it is covered with bees with fat yellow saddle bags! I'm plagued indoors with Tawny mining bees, (they look just like black wasps). They are placid and harmless, and are very easy to catch and put outdoors using a duster. They are making a real mess of my 90 inch front window though! It is hard for me to clean in hot weather so it will have to stay speckled until they decide to move on.

I really like the golden glow too. There is a bicolor one that the flower groups are part yellow and part pink. I think I have that one in a pot - but I may have grabbed another golden glow.

The first three photos are my abutilons. The yellow and tangerine ones are Lucky Lanterns and only grow to about 2 feet. The red is a Patio Lantern and grows slightly bigger.

The first and third in the second post and the first in the third post are monkeyflowers. I also have a red and a white one but they aren't blooming yet.

The others are salvias, agastache and succulents.