Ants are not bad.
If they are on your blooms,
they are just sipping some nectar.
If they are running up and down the stems and leaves,
you probably have aphids or scale,
which the ants milk like cows.
Ants on blooms are okay.
Ants all over your plant probably means there is a problem.
The ants are a result, not a cause.
Follow the Ants.
July is brutal in North Carolina.
I have been out today working on two different posts.
I just can’t stand the thought of another shower before my afternoon appointment.
So I plan to look over a new book I discovered via my Nook.
I check out samples of e-books. If I like them, I then order the paper version.
My latest gardening book is A Gardener’s Latin by Richard Bird.
I have learned a lot of Latin over the years as a scientist, but this one breaks it down for gardeners.
This is a lovely book that is hardback and a good size for carrying around.
It is sectioned by groupings such as prefixes and suffixes, places, textures, habitats, colors, shapes…
Did you know that roseus, ruber, rubens, rufus, russatus and sanguineus all refer to various shades of red?
The illustrations on each page are colorful and delightful.
I plan to take this little treasure with me to my appointment.
No use sitting around looking at old magazines.
Read with the FLOWER.
I know it is hot!
Our temperatures are in the 90’s in North Carolina.
I also know that the weeds are growing fast due to our afternoon rains.
My garden is like a sauna in the afternoons, so I must work in the mornings.
I get all my tools, bug repellent, hat , bandana scarf , gloves and bucket together.
I make a big bottle of 1/3 Gatorade, 1/3 water and 1/3 ice.
I march myself outside and refuse to come in until I have done
my proposed section of garden.
I ride my little cart or sit on a snow disc on the hills.
Right now is time to clean up bearded iris and daylilies.
My method is to cut plants down to 8 inch fans, remove stalks and totally clean out around each plant.
If you have any plant diseases, you need to dip your shears in a bleach solution between plants.
Here is yesterday’s pile of cuttings and weeds.
I will put fresh mulch around the cleaned up plants in several days.
I can divide and move things around later, but it is important to clean up so as not to move problems with the plants.
MY NEXT POST will be on dividing bearded iris. Stay tuned for that.
Follow the SWEATING FLOWER
Today the USA celebrates its Independence.
Is any country truly independent?
Is any group of people independent?
Is any person truly independent?
NO
We are all interdependent.
All people, all animals, all plants, fungi, bacteria and even viruses.
Every living thing needs something outside of itself to survive and thrive.
In this time of derision and divisiveness,
I choose to celebrate my INTERDEPENDENCE.
I appreciate my oxygen from plants, my food from other living creatures
and my tiny little piece of land that I live on.
May the sun keep shining and the rain keep falling.
Happy July 4th!
FLOWER
With all these flowers everywhere, I knew there must be a garden fairy somewhere.
FLOWER felt right at home on the Island of Flowers/Ocracoke, NC.
Lovely colors everywhere. Even the sky is bright.
A tree is so much more than leaves
and trunk
and roots.
It is shade
and fruit.
It is home and perch.
It is look-out
and hiding place.
I look at wood very differently than most
where they see fuel and walls and fences,
I see the stem of a sacrificed friend.
FLOWER loves the trees.
There is a magical place that I can only get to by boat.
Where the sea meets the sky,
I am cradled between wind and waves.
Neither sinking nor flying,
Skimming along between water and air.
Feeling the spray of the sea in my face.
Dancing with the motion of the ocean.
Looking back at land with no wish to return
to that sedentary, solid place that slows my soul.
This Tuxedo cat jumped out of a tree to come and get petted.
FLOWER loves the critters.
Stay tuned for flowers, trees, boats and more art.
I love Ocracoke!
floweralley 