I spotted these ghostly wildflowers during my wanderings in the mountains. They are tiny white parasites. They look like fungi, but are really non-photosynthetic plants. Indian Pipes do not contain chlorophyll, so they must mooch off fungi that mooch off of tree roots. They are waxy white and do look ghostly.
Monotropa uniflora
There were many groups of Monotropa uniflora in the shade under some trees. They grow where the fungus and tree roots grow that supporr them. I am glad I spotted these unusual wildflowers.
Does this sound like a shrub you could love? I have grown two small trees/shrubs of Poncirius trifoliata from seeds. I purloined the fruit from a Chinese bitter orange tree during a trip to Charleston years ago.
It’s the thorns that got me.
I did not covet it for its fruit nor its blooms. It was its thorns that captivated me.
Poncirius trifoliata thorns
Here is a little tree that can take care of itself. No forager is going to steal its fruit!
I know it can be invasive. I know it is a touch-me-not plant. I do not care if it ever blooms or produces fuzzy, little bitter oranges. I would never make marmalade anyway!
Poncirius: A plant not to be petted.Not invasive since no fruit…yet.
I love it because it has unmistakable, impenetrable, unapologetic bounderies. This plant screams DO NOT MESS WITH ME!
This is not a case of altruism. It is an example of my mindlessness…again. Head one place; hand somewhere else.
We moved the Century Plants back to their favorite spots on the wall. They love the heat from underneath.
Two Centurys
I put on gloves to prune off dead leaves. These plants need sun and very little water. The only time I touch them is to trim old leaves and remove pups.
Mama agave and pup
When they stayed inside I clipped off the spikes. They are big enough to leave out, so they may go in the ground this fall. These bloom only once in a lifetime. I hope I live to see the giant flower stalks.
Century plants
I put sticks with balls on the ends to prevent passers-by from running into the mean spikes at the end of each leaf.
I needed one more stick. I took off my gloves to search, but did not put them back on. OUCH! The sap is poisonous.
Red but not swollen.
I think I heard a whisper from one of the agaves. It sounded like ” Touche!”
I may be a weakened and injured warrior, but I still have a fighting heart for my green babies. It is past time for Deer Protection Phase II. That means that fence rings were put around all deer delicacies to protect the emerging foliage, but no stakes were in place to hang the rings.
Three rings ready for bloom stalks to rise.
My family tried to intervene with deer deterants, but the herd is so big now, they were undeterred. When we moved here there were no deer or squirrels and very few people. Things have changed drastically in the past decade.
Any fence or stake is put in the defense.Rings hanging and fences blocking walkways
I have been hiking and hauling up and down the hills for hours. Stakes were placed for Mr. Flower to hammer in, since I should not stomp them in as usual. My body is now too expensive to be used as a gardening tool.
I must admit that I automatically stomped several in before I caught myself. I was pleased to get away with this move without an ambulance ride following. I hope my two PT people, Rick and Jeff, do not read this.
I also use tomato cages and a hanging fence ring. Things start looking a bit messy this time of year, due to my using any old thing on hand to inconvenience our hungry herd.
HEAVY Tomato cage and fence ring
They eat daylily and Asiatic lily buds before they open. They behead all sedums be it new foliage or blooms. This year I was shocked to find an entire Tiger lily topped off. They usually leave the tigers alone.
Beheaded Tiger lilies. Bummer
I am pleased that my hips, knees and shoulder allowed me to work all day. I am sure they will not allow me to sleep tonight as punishment.
I hope all this will save my blooms. I am too old to battle a big herd of hungry deer, but I am not out of the fight yet!
My bank is where the wild things grow. I do not fight the weeds over there. It let plants battle it out on the bank. Only the fittest thrive across the drive.
A weed and some passion
Two of my favorites are this wild purple passion vine we call Maypop. The orange is butterfly weed. I love this combination of color.
Maypop
I watch this bank for butterflies all summer long. It is a well-remembered spot for my flying friends.
Butterflies and deer love it.
I highly recommend a wild spot in your garden. It is a place I enjoy without all the maintenance. I do not fight weeds nor deer over here.
I found another treasure from my mama this Mother’s Day….My first Mother’s Day without a mother.
KiKi would find important things at the house at Enwood and bring them up to the mountains. She put my treasures in the chest of drawers in my room there. This was her way of making sure we kept the things that were important.
My find this past weekend was a single slide. It is of my sister and her deceased husband (Bill), me, my mama and three friends from Lebanon.
Semaan Saikali, his brother Salah and cousin Fouad came to our house for dinner. They brought a bottle of wine to my tea-totaling parents. In the photo they are showing my mama their photos from home.
Lebanese friends with my family
Later they played music and slithered around the livingroom writhing like cobras. They were charming entertainment. My sister and I enjoyed remembering our times with them this weekend. I would have never found this slide if Mama had not slipped it into my dresser drawer.
I have letters from the Lebanese in my writing box, but no photos. This is an important artifact to help me remember things. I am grateful to my thoughtful mother for saving this and stashing it in a safe place.
Our parents just keep on helping us. My dad left the box for the lost garage door opener and a spare battery inside it, so I would know what to order and which battery. This is how my parents were. Their legacy lives on every day. More gratitude from me!
These Lebanese are in a book I have been writing. I have gotten bogged down in the details. I like to think this was Mama’s way of reminding me to remember the important moments. That is what a story is for.
I think I finally figured out how to get this Epiphyllum to bloom. It spent all winter in front of a sunny window. It had buds before it was set outside.
EPIPHYLLUM Orchid Cactus
I gave it a good dose of Bloom Food and some succulent fertilizer. Last, I trimmed off about two dozen cuttings to share.
Red Orchid Cactus
Bingo. This plant has never bloomed this prolifically. It has stolen the show.
These three hybrids are the best bloomers. Strong stems are a must. I missed staking the stems before a storm, so some ended up soaked on the ground. I will put circles in place earlier next spring to prevent this.
Karl Rosenfield has dozens of blooms on each plant. There are also multiple blooms per stem.
Karl Rosenfield peony
Sarah Bernhardt is slow to open. But the buds are gorgeous.
Sarah Bernhardt peony
Duchess de Nemour has slightly asymmetrical blooms.
Duchess de Nemours
This last hot pink p double is from my great grandma Pearson’s farm in Ohio. It now belongs to four generations of my family.
Pearson peony
I put some beside my mama’s pink urn at her memorial service this weekend. It felt right to have those flowers with Mama for her service.
floweralley 