Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, June 22

Hi, everybody! The heatwave predicted for yesterday is going to hit today, so if our electricity browns out, don't be surprised. Too hot here for the flower above, but some of our weeds are doing quite well. How are things going where you are?

Hi

I had to replace an azalea that no matter what I tried was sickly and doomed so decided to just replace it. I have four large planters on my terrace but they are still containers so limited root area. Because my daylily does so well, decided to go with this Oriental Lily. I noticed that the very end of the stamen has a dark spot at the end. When I checked the day lily, same thing. Do you think this is to mimic something?

Sharon(willow's apprentice)

What does The Horde think about possible mimicry and the dark spot at the end of the stamen?

Daylilies are especially resilient, and may survive longer in containers than oriental lilies, to which they are not closely related. Much depends on growing conditions.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

Well, we're nearing the end of June, and I haven't posted our annual strawberry shortcake yet. This is actual shortcake - Biscuit dough, but shorter (more butter) and a little sweeter.

It takes a lot of crushed and sweetened berries to make this, and you must assemble your diners before you bake the shortcakes. Use real whipping cream. You can use heavy cream even if you don't have powdered sugar (to help keep it from turning to butter), but don't try to whip it to stiff peaks. Whip it softly, German style.

Critters

Note on last week's owl photo from WeeKreekFarmGirl:

They are still here, so they must have a nest in the Lady Banks Roses. I have confirmed they are Western Screech Owls.

I tried to give them a pack rat that died in the Hav-a-Heart trap (they aren't supposed to die in those but they sometimes get so upset at being trapped they give themselves a heart attack I think) but they didn't want it. I think they only like live prey?

Plenty of things to eat around my garden, I would be happy for some help with all the mice and pack rats.

Hope you are well!

Fun news!

From By-Tor:

I like Black Phoebes because they catch flies and other bugs. This one hangs around my front yard.

My eagle-eyed daughter spotted this coyote from about 250 yds away as we were driving. It's a power line area right next to tractor supply, homes. They are pretty brazen around here. This one looks well fed.

One from the vault that popped up. This was taken at Majeska Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange County, east of Irvine Lake. Probably an Anna's hummingbird. Canon EOS d1 with Sigma 100-300 f4

A great photo!

Adventure

What a Garden Adventure trip today from 'screaming in digital'

Hi KT,

I recently visited Oxford and Cornwall on a Lewis & Tolkien literary tour. I thought the garden thread readers might enjoy some of my photos.

The dark purple flowers are everywhere in Cornwall. I had never seen anything like them before. They look almost fake. According to Google Image Search, this is "Aeonium Arboreum."

The Merton College (where Tolkien was a professor) gardens feature incredible irises in a variety of colors.

Foxgloves are also everywhere; I took many photos along the Cornish coastal paths with a foxglove photobomb. This one is from Tintagel.

"The Kilns" was CS Lewis' home. There is a simple, lovely garden at the Kilns. The day we visited, it was rainy - the one rainy morning we had out of the 10 days I was in England - but the rain didn't prevent us from enjoying the garden and the Nature Preserve on the grounds.

I also liked the roses growing up a wall of Magdalen College (where Lewis was a professor).

On my last day in England, we visited St Michael's Mount. My photos don't do justice to the incredible terraced gardens there.

Just amazing. I imagine that the gardens were thrilling in person. Is anyone inspired?

The rest of the trip must have included some great things, too.

I'm going to be thinking about your trip for a while. So glad you were able to go and share a few highlights with us.

Gardens of The Horde

Tell us about your garden or someplace you have visited.

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, June 15

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 01:20 PM

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