The Gardening & Puttering Thread [TRex]

Good afternoon and welcome to the big beautiful Gardening and Puttering thread. Your usual host is still recovering from medical maladies, so you're stuck with a dinosaur with a small brain and short arms for this week. We wish KT the best and eagerly anticipate her return to do this properly.

As per usual Gardening thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to gardening and puttering. Politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

Lots among the Horde bearing heavy loads these days. Please know that we collectively lift up our Horde family and those adjacent in prayer. We also stand ready to help whenever and however needed.

In the land of TRex, the flowering trees and azaleas are done blooming, the daffodils have welcomed spring and disappeared, and the rhododendrons are about done with their splash of color. Roses are in full bloom. Hydrangeas are next up in the cycle of blooming. What's popping with color in your garden or around your yard or neighborhood?

Geography and climate have a vote, but this website says eleven flowers are commonly in bloom in May:

1. Peony - In many cultures, the "Queen of Spring" symbolizes a happy life, good health, and a prosperous marriage.

2. Tulip - For better or worse, tulips will always be associated with the market bubble in the 17th century called Holland.

3. Lilac - The flower of love due to their color and fragrance (sorry, roses).

4. Poppy - A symbol of remembrance but also known for it seeds.

5. Petunia - Apparently the name "petunia" comes from the word "petun," which means tobacco. Petunia has a close relationship to the tobacco plant. Who knew?

6. Gardenia - The choice for corsages and boutonnieres (but don't mix them up with hydrangea).

7. Delphinium - Popular garden choices because of long-lasting blooms and wide color varieties.

8. Rose - Check in Texas for a rose in yellow.

9. Magnolias - Fragrant with big bloomage.

10. Snapdragons - They were believed to offer protection from deceit, making them a popular choice in medieval gardens. Who knew there were gardens in medieval times?

11. Zinnia - crucial pitstops for butterflies, especially monarchs.

There you have it.

According to the Farmer's Almanac for our zip code, we should be busy getting seeds in the ground for the Spring planting windows. This planting window is theoretical because we're not doing any planting this year. BUT you may be. Does anyone still start seeds in their basement during the colder months and then transplant seedlings into the garden for the rest of the journey?

There must be others but Burpee is the only name I know for seeds. Until I looked, I didn't know that Burpee company history dates back to 1876 in Philadelphia. The company is now located in Bucks County.

In the spring of 1876, W. Atlee Burpee, a young medical student, visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The 18-year-old Burpee gravitated to the halls dedicated to agriculture and horticulture, where he made a decision that would change American gardens forever.

Atlee was born in 1858 to a well-established family in Philadelphia, where his father and grandfather were prominent physicians. At just 14, Atlee demonstrated a passion for poultry-breeding, devising experimental breeding programs, writing scholarly articles, and corresponding with prominent European breeders.

On leaving medical school in 1876, Atlee established his own mail-order poultry and livestock company. He began by breeding and selling chickens, dogs, and sheep. When his livestock customers told him that they needed a reliable source for quality seed, he was quick to oblige. By 1877, his second year in business, Atlee set about reshaping his enterprise into the celebrated seed company we know today.

This risks getting perilously close to material for the hobby thread, but do any among the Horde press flowers?

April showers bring May flowers. What do May flowers bring? Pilgrims!

Weather rules everything in the mid-west. You start by looking to see what the weather will be later in the day, tomorrow or later in the week. Then you continually look out the window to see what weather is happening (because weather might change). You do this regardless of your plans. Kid's graduation? Check the weather. Staying in to hibernate? Check the weather. Does. Not. Matter.

The most important thing is to see how much it rained after weather arrives. After all, you have spent all that time anticipating and monitoring. You want to be able to measure what actually happened.

Does the Horde use rain gauges? We have a simple plastic tube in a metal holder here. Did some casual interwebbing and found a billion different models and designs. This is the only square one I saw:

This one is clever - the tube floats and rises to show accumulated water. Makes it easy to read.

Is it a weed? Is it a flower? Dunno. Happy gardening and puttering. Best wishes to KT.

posted by Open Blogger at 01:00 PM

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