Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Contact
Ace:aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com Recent Entries
America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100
THE MORNING RANT: Government is Paying Manufacturers to Produce Electric School Buses, and Then Paying School Districts to Buy Them Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 12/30/24 Daily Tech News 30 December 2024 Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 29, 2024 [Doof] Gun Thread: Post Christmas and Pre-New Year 2024 Edition! Food Thread: Raccoons, Brisket, And Latkes...A Match Made In Heaven! First-World Problems... The Progressives Love Lawfare...Payback Is A B*tch! Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Thread before the Gardening Thread, June 1 [KT] |
Main
| Ace of Spades Pet Thread »
June 01, 2019
Saturday Gardening Thread, The Garden Retreat [KT]The lovely photo above was taken by Crisis du jour. June is known as a good month for roses. But today, we are featuring a garden retreat made possible partly by vining plants. Plus some interesting critters and other photos and information from The Horde. We do have some roses for next week. If you have more, send 'em on in. Critters From Illiniwek: 4 babies on my porch, they flew that day.?? Maybe some kind of flycatcher? How fun is that? Via Hank Curmudgeon, the strange Acorn Woodpecker and what it does to a tree. The acorn woodpecker's main food source is insects, but acorns and tree sap serve as key nutritional backup. Acorns are a critical resource, allowing the birds to make it through the winter. They live year-round in the same mild, Mediterranean climate, which gets wet but doesn't necessarily freeze in winter; if they simply stored their acorns in piles, the nuts would mold and rot. Instead, they need a place where the nuts will dry out. Lots of amazing tree photos at the link. But we have a photo of the bird from ByTor, taken on a photo excursion to some nature retreats with his brother in Southern California. You can get more information about this bird species here. They call it "clown-faced". "Granary trees" may be riddled with as many as 50,000 holes. Shows some similarities to Jake Holenhead's Downy Woodpecker here. But some definite differences, too. By the way, here's a close-up of his bumblebee photo posted that day: So fuzzy. Not like the hoverfly below. Does this make you want to pet one? The photo below is by Illiniwek. The insect is perched on a Coreopsis which I think is part of his Deer Resistant Meadow, which he reports came up almost weed-free. The I.D. is by Hank Curmudgeon. Hover fly. Specifically, I'm thinking, The key to this ID was the shape of the antenna between the eyes, just short nubs, typical of flies and the eye shape and position, again typical for flies. Look at both and compare. Honey Bee. A fly's eye position is one of the reasons they are so hard to sneak up on and swat. The bee has a stinger, is beneficial to almost every other creature in the ecosystem, is busy working and has a warning pattern to it's coloration thus allowing it's two large main compound eyes to be focused on work and not watching it's back. I think this is a honeybee. Photo is by By-Tor. Flower is a Lantana. Hank Curmudgeon sent in an interesting article on efforts to save the bees, focusing on the need for various types of pollen. Interesting. I think Illiniwek is doing his part. Carnivorous Plants From Tony Litwin, a couple of Pitcher Plants Sarracenia Oreophila ornata This one is special: I took a Sarracenia Oreophila pollen and pollinated the stamens to a Sarracenia Leucophylla Gulf Breeze and got the hybrid 'Marilyns Blush' named for my wife. And from Average Guy's greenhouse, a Drosera (Sundew) in front of a Bromeliad. I don't know if it is one that "the experts" would consider to be carnivorous. Looks nice, though. He called the Sundew "big". I think that is a relative term, compared, to the pitcher plants above. Mandevillas or Dipladenias Last year about this time, Bonecrusher sent in a nice photo of a pink Mandevilla vine from his home near Houston. Then we got this note: I managed to kill the Mandevilla during the hellish heat last summer. The red flowers appear to be climbers, so I'm going to try again. He sent along a photo of the tag, which indicates that this plant is Dipladenia 'Rio Red'. Here's a rundown on this series from the breeder. Sorry, it's a short one, Bonecrusher. Not a climber. Grows 30 to 60cm (12" to 24") in height. Doesn't mean you can't find a climbing one, though. Bonecrusher sent along some other photos that we don't have space to discuss today. Some nice ones. I thought that the plant in Bonecrusher's photo above was a Mandevilla. Actually, it is. Turns out that some people in the nursery trade have decided to adopt an old name for at least some species of Mandevilla for the less-rampant cultivars of Mandevilla. Thus, the tags say "Dipladenia". There are lots of species of Mandevilla in South America and even one or two in our own Southwest. They are in the Dogbane family and are related to Allemanda, which have similar flowers in different colors and generally require more water. They are less closely related to milkweed, oleanders, plumeria, vinca and hoya. Here's a little piece from Southern Living about Mandevillas: Way back in 1985, I wrote a one-page story for Southern Living about a spectacular but largely unknown tropical vine called mandevilla. Large, trumpet-shaped, deep pink blooms smothered the foliage. At the end of the story, I asked anyone who wanted a list of mail-order sources to send us a letter or post card (no email then). More than 5,000 did. So many people wanted the plant that it sold out all over the country. I said to myself, "I got the power." 'Alice du Pont' really does have spectacular flowers. I have lived in Southern California, where it can survive in the ground all year, growing to 15 or 20 feet. But some gardeners report negative experiences with it. After 'Alice DuPont' I saw the more compact Red Riding Hood appear on the market. I think it is derived from a different species. Sometimes you saw a species offered by a specialist. Breeders then sort of went wild. There are now cultivars out there in white, apricot, pink and red, some with yellow throats and one with some striping. There are a few doubles. 'Strawberry Lemonade' has pink blossoms with a yellow throat and foliage variegated in mint green, cream and white with pink flushes when young. A Japanese breeder released a Sun Parasol series, about which the Southern Living guy above is enthusiastic. Interestingly, some are vining and some are bushy. Check the label. Our author says the ones he grows on his mailbox every year are not attractive to insects. He grows them as annuals. In hot-summer areas, some cultivars may do best in morning sun, away from reflected heat. But most Mandevilla plants tend to languish in cool weather. A renewed garden oasis REINE sent in a couple of photos which may give Bonecrusher hope that even the short Dipladenias (Mandevillas) can hold their own in the landscape. And some design ideas that could inspire other members of The Horde: Lurker here, I occasionally post as REINE. I always enjoy your gardening post on the weekend. The color of that Dipladenia is really dramatic. Even compared to the Hibiscus. I like that little garden oasis. Next: Close up of the red Dipladenia and the purple is a Princess Flower - obviously, we call it our LSU plant! I'm not sure what the ground cover is, it just grows and grows and it's a heckuva job to keep it from taking over everything. Anybody want to identify that ground cover plant for her? I see some variegated leaves. Its aggressiveness may be a clue. Then we have what we think is Confederate Jasmine growing on a lattice to give us some privacy from the street - and to the left, a Shrimp Plant. I understand hummingbirds like these Shrimp Plants. Here's a photo of a female hummingbird from Jake Holenhead, with her tongue out. Ready to meet a shrimp plant. Hummingbird tongues are very unusual. BTW - the patio is a haven for some wildlife - a mockingbird had a nest and young 'uns in that vine on the lattice behind the bench. Sounds fun. As long as they're just garter snakes. And snakes eat lizards. Maybe the lizards would like a place of their own to sit so that they don't have to fly onto people. This is a photo by ByTor of a Western Fence Lizard (AKA Blue Belly Lizard). The Western Fence lizard is a very common lizard in California. They can often be seen on logs and rocks sunning themselves and doing pushup displays. The Western Fence Lizard and Lyme disease They are also found in some other Western states. Don't know if other lizards reduce the incidence of Lyme disease in that fashion. More on the vines shown on the trellises above Incidentally, Southern Living ran a little piece on Carolina Jessamine and Confederate Jasmine. Neither of these plants is a true Jasmine. Native to the South and the state flower of South Carolina, Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is commonly seen trained over doorways, bay windows, on walls and fences, and up lamp posts and mailboxes. In the wild, we spot its yellow blooms peeking down at us from tree branches. It climbs by twining its thin, pliable stems around something, so it needs a support. Unlike wisteria and some other vines, however, it won't crush the structure it's growing on. I like the double-flowered one. Used to have one. I think it bloomed less profusely than the single, but over a longer time period. I think I would like the pale yellow one, too. Le Vieux Garde prefers Wisteria. Even when it is climbing in (or bringing down) trees. Actually, I like Wisteria, too. In its place. In California, they call "Confederate Jasmine" something else: "Star Jasmine". You know, Hollywood and all. Confederate Jasmine or Star Jasmine is more versatile than Carolina Jessamine because of its plant habit. It is frequently used as a ground cover. The treatment below is attractive, too. Carolina Jessamine would be hard to trim like this because it produces too many long streamers: There is a somewhat smaller, hardier species of Star Jasmine that is also used in gardens. Trachleosperum asiaticum has smaller leaves and flowers. One cultivar has reddish new growth. The genus Trachleosperum is part of the Dogbane family, like Mandevillas. This brings us back to Mandevilla. The hardier, fragrant Mandevilla Quite a different animal than the big pink Mandevillas people spend big bucks on to grow as annuals! This vine is much hardier (to 10 degrees F). It goes deciduous in the colder part of its range, but will stay fairly evergreen here by the Bay. Best of all, the WONDERFULLY FRAGRANT big white flowers, blooming from late Spring thru most of Summer and sometimes longer! An easygoing vine that doesn't get overwhelmingly big - 10-15', preferring regular water. More on this under-used vine, sometimes called the vanilla bean vine. The fragrance is variously described as being strong or not so strong and like gardenias or like vanilla. Don't use the seed pods like vanilla beans. They are probably toxic. There is likely to be some variation between seedlings in flower form and fragrance, so a clone is probably recommended if you want one that is predictable. There's a named variety called 'White Star'. Recommended for hot summer areas. It makes this list of uncommon garden fragrances. There are some interesting plants described there. General Planting Advice Bird Dog at Maggie's Farm recommends making a big hole for little plants. With amended soil in the hole. And timing planting to enhance survival of plants. Which sometimes means keeping notes until fall or spring on things you want to grow in the future. Some people now advise little amendment other than amendment of soil over the entire planting area. I would amend the advice a little to note that sometimes larger specimens of perennials and such will survive transplanting in warmer weather where smaller plants would not survive. Also, you might want to actually unwind some roots on the root ball and hack into the sides of your hole so it isn't round. You don't want roots circling inside the hole you dig. Firm the soil down so you don't leave air pockets. Water well, immediately. Surprise! Your vinegar weed killer is GMO. From Southern Living's Grumpy Gardener. Heh. Last Week's Plant I.D. Challenges I didn't do very well in my guesses for last week's photos. I thought that the yellow flower petals with the lipstick-red edges probably belonged to a tuberous begonia. Kind of like this one. But they actually belonged to a tulip, as other members of The Horde correctly guessed. Here's another photo for confirmation. I also thought that the lilac-colored flower buds looked like they belonged to a member of the onion clan. But they were evidently, as The Horde correctly guessed, lilac buds. I did think that the white blossoms with the reddish centers were members of the genus Prunus. Crisis du jour confirms that they grew on a tree rather than a bush, and that they were large for blossoms of that type, about the size of a half dollar. I think they were single flowering cherry blossoms. So if you click back to last week's post, you will see three different examples of flowering cherries. I found a little piece from Japan explaining how to differentiate between the most common flowering cherries, plums and peaches when you visit there. Along with color, The easiest way to spot the difference between a cherry, plum or peach flower is by observing the petal's natural shape. Cherry blossoms have a unique cleft at the tip of their petals which add to their pretty features and increasing popularity. Our introductory photo of the day last week was a cluster of Farewell to Spring blossoms. Last year, we did a feature on this plant and its ornamental relatives in the genus Clarkia. It mentioned battleships, the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Brownian Motion. I thought the pot of fragrant little Clarkia breweri was charming. Never seen it in real life. That post from last year also included some information on doubled cherries. This was also a problem with the early California cherries this year. Must have gotten hot last summer. Heh. Sweet Cherries and related fruits Since we brought up cherries, Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest has been trying to grow sweet cherries in Japan. Not easy. They are very expensive there. Here are some of the new commercial cherry varieties being offered for the Pacific Northwest. And cherries suitable elsewhere. They are even doing new cherry breeding in Hungary. Lots of studies and work on cherries going on around the world, in fact. Have you ever grown cherries, either sweet or sour? How did it go? Maybe we should discuss fruit trees a little more. Some fruiting peaches have blossoms almost as showy as flowering peaches. Strictly flowering peaches are sometimes pruned like giant bouquets rather than like trees. Anybody interested in them? Hope you get a chance to retreat from the world for a while in the garden this weekend. Not necessarily like this, compliment of redc1c4 IRL. Weather O.K.? If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is: ktinthegarden Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker. | Recent Comments
Seems Legit:
"How odd, I thought everyone understood that electr ..."
rickb223 Gold & Silver Spot Prices [s][/b][/i][/u]: "You’d think they would’ve come up with ..." Commissar of Plenty and Lysenkoism in Solidarity with the Struggle : "MiG-29 has two sets of intakes Bonus hole. ..." It's me donna : "270 242 To be fair, Elon did advise that there isn ..." West Frisian Women's Auxiliary : "The red head gene mutation also enables them to dr ..." eleven: "If there wasn't a steel re-enforced concrete wall ..." SMOD: "DC_Draino @DC_Draino Think about this If Tr ..." Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "[i]thus, his push to ship congolese lithium mining ..." garrett: "What is the increased Mass of an Electric School B ..." Thomas Paine: "242 To be fair, Elon did advise that there isn't e ..." Skip : "Bet they won't get 10 years of use out of a EV Bus ..." Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "[i]They handle 25% more pain than others, and repo ..." Recent Entries
America's Worst Previous President, Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100
THE MORNING RANT: Government is Paying Manufacturers to Produce Electric School Buses, and Then Paying School Districts to Buy Them Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 12/30/24 Daily Tech News 30 December 2024 Sunday Overnight Open Thread - December 29, 2024 [Doof] Gun Thread: Post Christmas and Pre-New Year 2024 Edition! Food Thread: Raccoons, Brisket, And Latkes...A Match Made In Heaven! First-World Problems... The Progressives Love Lawfare...Payback Is A B*tch! Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |