Gardening and Adventure Thread, May 4

Happy Saturday!

We have some great gardeners in The Horde:

I wasn't sure what would survive the slash and burn cleaning of my front garden in 2022, sent pictures of that last summer, I think. Last year I didn't see the Trillium and the iris showed a short three leaf fan. The Trillium is in a corner and had been pretty much covered over, while I think most of the Iris had been pulled out. I was surprised to see an actual clump of Trillium sessile in that corner! this year. It has a lot of common names but the one I know is toad trillium. The iris is a bearded iris called Cobra's Eye, and this year not only showed two fans but a multiflowered spike. I couldn't get the yellow tulip to stay bent out of the way, it's not part of the trillium!

Lirio 100

Cobra's Eye is beautiful! The Trillium is fun, and so is the tulip!

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

From a niece:

Good things to come.

Critters

Hey KT,

Not sure if this is a pet thread entry or a garden thread. This is the Chuckwalla that lives in my garden. It is a girl as she is less colorful. She is particularly fond of oregano and I can find her snacking on it most mornings. She is very friendly and doesn't run away when I am out near her.

WeeKreekFarmGirl

I'm guessing that she may surprise you some mornings.

I had no idea that they ate oregano.

Why you don't leave your ladders outside

K.T.,

I don't usually read the gardening thread much, nor comment. (I do like to look at the pictures, sometimes, to relax me.) But I had the following encounter today...

I went outside to do some measurements so I could buy slats for the section of fence I have to replace. I headed back inside, right past the ladder I have left outside all winter (with one or two forays inside to get into the attic). I know I shouldn't leave ladders outside for security reasons, but... excuses. I then realized I needed another measurement and went back out the back door with tape measure in hand.

And *flutter* with an angry tweet caused me to turn my head as the robin burst from the ladder area. And I saw it. The birds had built a nest right between the rungs. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a couple of pictures. I don't have a selfie stick, so I couldn't get a good angle without getting much too close to the nest for my comfort. But they built a cozy little nest right about chest height, and there are at least two eggs in there, as you can see from the pics.

So, all projects that require that ladder are off the to-do list until at least the end of May. I also ordered a game/trail camera, which I am going to install on a tree across the way, and hopefully be in time to get some egg-cracking and some baby birds.

This goes along with the cardinals who make their nest (some years, anyway) in the massive rose bushes (actual bushes) in front of my living room window. Looks like I'm going to be building some bird houses/nesting shelves in the near future.

GWB
(most commonly on the Gun Thread)

What a great story!

Small Wildlife. Never mind that they look like little snakes. These are fun, and they turn into beautiful butterflies:

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars

pic.twitter.com/v1TDOhWHDw

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) April 29, 2024

Adventure

Hi KT:

We live in Maricopa County AZ, and my mom wanted an orchid tree, anacacho, or Bauhinia lunarioides, native to Texas and northern Mexico. They grow here just fine, though. We looked everywhere in AZ and couldn't find one, except for a couple of 36 inch boxed ones that were $3,200 each and wouldn't fit in our small front yard anyway.

So I asked my brother who drives a truck cross country if he would be going through Texas anytime soon. He got back to me a couple of days later and said he would be coming across the I-10 and if I could find one along the way, he would stop in and pick it up. The hunt was on; I researched and contacted every potential small town nursery from Houston to San Antonio and out to Las Cruces, along his route. One contacted me to say that they were out, but gave me a suggestion for one east of Houston, so I called them. They had two, and I told them the story, paid over the phone, and my brother picked it up the next morning. Here it is in his little space where he keeps stuff in storage on its way to our house for mom's front yard garden.

Nan in AZ

Wow! What a project!

Here's part of a profile from the University of Arizona:

If you are looking for an unarmed, small tree that can be tucked into a corner of a patio or courtyard or nestled up close to a house without damaging the foundation, investigate using Bauhinia lunarioides the Chihuahuan Orchid Tree. As winter turns to spring, clusters of small, white or rarely pink, orchid-like flowers start to dot this tree with their presence, drawing in swarms of butterflies to sip the sweet nectar. Individual flowers are not long-lived, but there are 6 to 10 flowers produced, stretching out the flower season for most of spring.

Looks like a great choice for your Mom's yard!

This plant's sterile, tender cousin, the Hong Kong Orchid Tree, is a symbol of Hong Kong. It grows in parts of Southern California, Florida and a few other places in the Southeast.

Gardens of The Horde

This nice osteosperum from 40 Miles North kinda balances out the great iris at the top of the post, I think.

Anything going on in your garden?

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:

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, April 27

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.

posted by K.T. at 01:23 PM

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