Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, May 6

Hooray, it's May!!!

We have some great reports coming in.

Hi there:

Always love the gardening thread. Spring has sprung here in the Texas hill country - I moved back here from Dallas about a year ago, and am enjoying all the spring flowers instead of urban sprawl. We have bluebonnets, indian blanket, black and brown-eyed susans, white poppies, purple thistle, mexican hat, and others I don't know the names of - and the prickly pear has just started to bloom, it's beautiful.

I even spied some red and white bluebonnets (I read somewhere a botanist wanted to make red and white bluebonnets to create a Texas flag out of bluebonnets, or represent the colors in the Texas flag). I've been bringing my camera with me on the early morning tiny dog walk to capture some of these gorgeous blooms, and wanted to share with the rest of the horde.

Thanks very much for putting together this thread for the rest of us!

jerake75 aka Tina in Texas

How great to be able to see these wildflowers on a tiny dog walk! I wonder if that white poppy is a prickly poppy?

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Our first tomatoes. These are cherry tomatoes called "Midnight Snack". They are supposed to eventually turn red.

They are growing in a container up close to the house. It's the only way to keep the critters off of them.

- fd

They're beautiful. I looked the variety up. It's one of the Indigo tomatoes with anthocyanin (like blueberries). An All-America Winner. It will be interesting to hear what stage of ripeness turns out to taste best.

Our only other report of ripe tomatoes this year is of Orange Hat Micro Dwarf grown indoors by Lirio100. They could make a nice contrast with each other.

Ah, Nature

Say No to "No Mow May"

If you're reading this, chances are you've heard about the #NoMowMay movement that's been gaining steam on social media and in eco-conscious circles these past few years.

Started in 2019 by citizen scientists in the United Kingdom, the call for homeowners to abstain from mowing their lawns during the month has spread to other countries, including the U.S.

The intention is admirable: Let your grass and weeds grow and bloom to provide food and shelter for essential pollinators like bees and butterflies early in the season, when such necessities may be scarce.

Frankly, I think it's a terrible idea.

Some of those pollinators you set out to protect will likely get shredded up with the first mow of the season. Grass will no doubt get shaded by tall weeds, which can lead to fungal diseases. And weeds and invasive plants that take hold during the month won't simply disappear once the mowing commences. That might lead people to apply chemical pesticides they wouldn't otherwise use.

And what about rodents, snakes and other undesirables that also will likely avail themselves of the shelter?

Perplexed by the seemingly runaway-train popularity of the now-annual event, I called Tamson Yeh, turf specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County in New York. "Is it me?" I asked. . .

Sorry, folks.

Just let the grass grow until the crocus foliage has a chance to ripen.

Gardens of The Horde

The first photo is the large Cordia, also known as a Texas Olive. Next the pink blossoms are on the Chitalpa, a desert willow cross with Catalpa. And lastly, what I thought were guava fruits are now blooming and they are flowers that look like eucalyptus flowers. Since we've never had a guava before, this is all new! Nan in AZ

Cordia is a beautiful flower. The Chitalpa looks different from the really pink ones we usually see in California - more like a Chilopsis. Does it attract hummingbirds?

The guava flowers are darling.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

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Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, April 29

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Below, a couple of shots from the Tulipfest in Utah. You will notice that the tall flowers in the first photo are Fritillaria lutea maxima, not tulips.

posted by K.T. at 01:20 PM

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