Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, July 10

40 Miles North sent in the lovely lily above. I don't know that it would be very happy here in the Central Valley of California right now. Forecast is for 111 degrees today, 113 tomorrow. So, I appreciate the delicate beauty above.

Have you had weather challenges in the yard or garden, or in your outdoor travels?

I have been thinking about gardens in the dark again. It's so hot during the day.
Pre-dawn would be an ideal time to visit our yard. Birds would be twittering . . Have you ever planned an area in your garden to look good after dark? With lights, white flowers, structures?

More lilies:

Gardens in the Dark: Hardscaping and Lighting

Time for some putterers to get to work on some garden vistas for after dark. Below are some ideas from Brookgreen Gardens to get you started. But first, a couple of daytime photos from their blog, where there is an entry on Red, White and Blue in the Gardens, Too.

I like this native red hibiscus, Hibiscus coccineus.

From their Summer Lights exhibits. Maybe you could scale down an idea or two at home:

Edible Gardening

We are getting lots of descriptions in the comments, but not many photos. Mrs. Leggy's sunflowers are growing FAST, though.

Hello KT and happy Independence Day! Here are my formerly seedlings sunflowers. I am growing three types this year. Some will get about six feet tall and the rest anywhere from 8-10 feet tall. The picture of the one with the bloom is one of the shorter ones. Most of the plants are developing flowers and should be blooming pretty soon. It's amazing how such tiny plants can grow so magnificently with so little work, aside from water and sun. I will continue to send pictures as they bloom.

Thanks as always for the gardening thread. It is a happy place for me!
Mrs. Leggy

Gardens of The Horde

From Dr. Varno:

- Black Racer (I think) - Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus), aka Monk's Pepper

Chaste Trees grow around here, too. That's a real close-up of the blossoms.

- Giant Resin Bee

"University of Georgia entomologists want Georgians to help them document the presence of the sculptured resin bee -- also known as the giant resin bee -- an invasive bee that could threaten the native carpenter bee population. The sculptured resin bee is native to Japan and China and was first found in the U.S. in North Carolina in 1994. While they are not aggressive to people, these bees have the potential to create problems for native carpenter bees by taking over their nests, where they then lay their own eggs."

Another interesting bee! Watch out for this one! Don't know that we need another Carpenter Bee. Especially an invasive one.

Great Wildflowers

More spectacular wildflowers from Paul in Oklahoma, from Big Bend National Park:

Anybody know what this is?

If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place

Include the nic by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ,
unless you want to remain a lurker.

posted by K.T. at 01:17 PM

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