She watches me come and go all day long.
I move slowly and speak low as I pass.
She stays in the lily box now, quietly sitting among her eggs.
More frogs. More friends.
FLOW
Frog Mama
Author: Flower Roberts
Passion Vine is not a potato
My passion vine is covered in gorgeous blooms.
My gorgeous blooms are covered in beetles.
They seem to be three-lined potato beetles.
Maybe the ant will tell them.
The seem right at home on the blooms.
FLOW
Monarchs and Milkweed
If I could name two things that thrill me on sight in my garden, they would be Monarch butterflies and a form of milkweed called Butterfly weed/Asclepias tuberosa.
Milkweed is named for its milky sap that gets ingested by the caterpillars. This causes predators to vomit so they soon learn to leave the yellow striped caterpillars alone.
Even if Butterfly weed was not on the Monarch menu, I would plant it. The blooms and buds make beautiful bouquets.
This plant is easy to grow and propagate. No problems with pests.
Plant some milkweed and wait for the Monarchs.
Flow
The Goose Choo Choo
I knew they were coming around the bend in the river before I saw them.
The cacophony of honks gives away their location.
I also knew they would be in a line.
One parent in front like an engine, the other bringing up the rear as the caboose goose.
I did not know how many cute little fuzzy ducklings would be swimming in between.
I wish I knew what they were saying. Are they barking out orders to their goslings?
I would also love to see their feet paddling underwater. The smaller ones must paddle faster.
I look forward to their visits each spring. They waddle up my neighbors ramp to eat their grass.
Flow
My Crazy Clematis
I always wanted a purple clematis because my Gran had one growing up the side of her porch. I loved how it highlighted the side entrance and provided some shade. She had superb taste in everything… furniture, food or flowers.
I purchased a bare-root Jackman Clematis decades ago. I still have its package. That’s how I remember what I have and when I got it. It is also why my office is messy.
The Jackman clematis is supposed to bloom in summer, mine is covered with blooms now.
Another anomaly is that its blooms have differing numbers of petals. There are many five-petal blooms, but about as many four-petal and six-petal flowers. This breaks some botany rules.
I have looked at many photos of Jackman clematis on the internet. The variation shows up in some photos. I do not know why this plant is a shape-shifter.
All I know is that it is lovely and reminds me of my Gran and her beautiful home.
FLOW
In Love with Foxglove
Their rosettes of fuzzy leaves appear first. They show up wherever the seeds are blown.
Some plants stay lovely little green cones while others grow spires toward the sky.
I wonder what color will appear on the blooms, but I am certain there will be spots.
Those spots are what get me. I wonder around peering into the little hats.
Admiring the patterns that guide the bees to the treasure.
They are magic. I imagine fairies and elves wearing them.
I am in love with Foxgloves.
FLOW
The Beauty of Sarah B.
Sarah is beautiful all the time, from bud to bloom, in any light.
I don’t know how she does it. I guess that’s why she is famous.
She seems delicate, but powerful.
Her bud is like a glass marble, her bloom like a floating taffeta tutu.
Whoever named this peony named her well, Sarah Bernhardt.
FLOW
This is MY Garden
This is MY garden. I choose what grows and what goes.
MY life would be so much easier if I did not have to constantly deal with weeds.
I did not invite these weeds into MY garden. Unwanted forces planted them.
I must be constantly vigilant to prevent the weeds from high-jacking MY garden.
I have limited time, space and resources. These uninvited weeds steal those from MY garden.
I must constantly use Preen as germination prevention. This is MY weed birth control.
I also place cardboard under the mulch so if the seeds of weeds germinate, they cannot grow. MY garden IUD.
If weeds still sneak in when my back is turned, I cut them out with my Hori-hori knife, kill them with chemicals or burn them with a propane torch.
I guess you could call me a baby weed murderer.
It seems strange for a ‘Plant Mama’ who loves plants to spend so much time and effort murdering baby weeds.
If this bothers you, I will save all the baby weeds that I remove from MY garden and you can adopt them.
I have only one garden. I choose what gets to grow and what gets watered, fed and tended. I choose, NOT YOU.
I did not ask for the stray seeds. I do not want all the weeds.
If the unwelcome seeds of the uninvited weeds were never sown, MY life as a gardener would have been much easier all these years.
PLANT MAMA FLOW
Double Trouble
I am a sucker for those heavy, double blooms. I love them despite their neediness.
They are the over-achiever flowers. They need extra care because they go for broke blooming.
Rain wreaks havoc on them. Their poor little heads bow down with the water weight.
They need staking and shaking.
Who can resist such extravagance?
I will shake and stake every spring because these doubles are irresistible.
FLOW
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