Mama came back to Snack

| Flower Roberts

There were numerous be-headings overnight.  Oh, the horror!

Mama had a serious hankering for daylilies and hostas.

She especially loves the Whooperee daylilies.

Luckily, I do have one left intact inside the fence to show its juicy, big buds and blooms.

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Whooperee daylily

If I were a mama deer, I’d eat it too.

Such succulent flowers…just for show.  How wasteful!

There should be a whole row of red here.  Hi Ho.

This hosta row under the oak should be green. Hmmmm.

Here on the bank is a group of nine Giant Elegans, up past my knees.

The bottom row was a buffet last night.

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Elegans hosta

There will be some fence laid down at the feet of my favorite juicy morsels,

to prevent future consumption.

Yes, I love my flowers, but that fawn wobbled away with my heart.

Chomp on Mama. Chomp on.

FLOW

The Mushroom of Immortality

| Flower Roberts

I found them clinging to the side of an old maple tree.

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The color glowed in the morning sun.

Eating it could give spiritual potency and even immortality.

Such a lovely shine and color.

Shaped like a delicate pastry in a bakery.

Arranged nicely along the trunk like a serving tower.

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One little Ling Chih was caught between trees.

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Should I just eat some here under the tree?

Would there be enough for me to share with my family?

Should I carry some back to give to my elderly parents?

I really should share my good fortune with others…but how much and with who?

Did I remove the Ganoderma lucidum from the tree?

Did I eat the Ling Chih?

We shall see.

FLOWER

 

Where is Mama?

| Flower Roberts

A tiny fawn was discovered in one of my ditches at around 2:00 PM in the hot sun.

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I had been in the general area for hours weeding and re-potting plants.

The bunnies had been only feet away since morning.

Mr. Flower discovered it while mowing. (It finally stopped raining.)

What an uncomfortable position!  It seemed not to be able to walk.

As we and the neighbors quietly gathered around to discuss what to do,

it struggled to its feet/hooves.

I thought it would just stop under the Cardoon to hide.

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No.  It stumbled through my garden.

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Then got stuck in a fence which was quickly moved.

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Then it wobbled up the hill and into the woods.

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Where is mama?

FAWNER

What do you do with an Ugly Plant?

| Flower Roberts

Usually, I have no problem purging a low performer from the garden.

This one however, has “Sacred” in its name and is supposed to be lucky.

Is it therefore bad luck or sacrilege to kill it?

It is said to be rare. How is that possible? It keeps multiplying. I keep dividing…

It is said to be pollinated by slugs.   Just what I want in my gardens!

The blooms look like little pineapples until they turn brown.  Then they look like a tiny corncobs.

Mine have never produced the bright red berries. Maybe I don’t have the right slugs?

It is evergreen, but it smells like formaldehyde.

So now, I have divided two giant clumps again.

Now I have more of this ugly plant.

I bought the Rohdea japonica /Japanese Scared lily from a friend.

I am not sure why. It has never been attractive.

It is deer resistant, so there is no chance that my four-legged friends will help me get rid of it.

Such a conundrum!

Anybody want some?

FLOWER

The Boy’s Pond

| Flower Roberts

My son dug his own fish pond under his bedroom window years ago.

He is a man now, living elsewhere.  His pond, of course, is still here.

There is always something going on in it during the warm months.

“Too Many Toads” occurred in it.

https://floweralley.org/2018/04/02/too-many-toads/

There were new eggs.  I held them up for this photo.

Black top with white bottom is called countershading, a form of aquatic camouflage.

When I put them back. They rolled over to white side up, which is upside down. Now the fish can see them from below and other predators can spot them from above.  I hope this did not lead to their disappearance.

The Parrot Feather actually closes in the evenings.

Some tadpoles survived from the last batch of eggs.

The first waterlily bloom opened this morning.

I love the pond.  I miss the boy.  I am proud of the man.

FLOW

 

 

Amaryllis Outside

| Flower Roberts

Don’t throw away these holiday flowers.

Save the Amaryllis/Hippeastrum bulbs until spring.

Plant them outside in a sunny location with good drainage.

Add compost to the hole and plant with the shoulders showing.

They will bloom in May or June.

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Minerva Amaryllis

Multiple stems with many flowers will show off for several weeks.

Then cut the stems and leave the foliage.

They will come back every year with more blooms.

I do add a layer of mulch in late fall in case we have a cold winter here in Zone 7.

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White Christmas Amaryllis

These are scattered around my gardens to fill in

while waiting for the daylilies to take center stage in June.

You can rescue them for 1/2 price or less in January.

Every year, I add a new Amaryllis outside.

Charisma Amaryllis

FLOWER

A Few Sunny Minutes

| Flower Roberts

During the few sunny minutes yesterday,

I took pictures and planted some dahlias that I had started in pots.

Everything is wet here in North Carolina.

At least we do live high on a hill, so no flooding worries for our house.

The gardens….are like pudding.

So while we are inside again today. Here are some sunny pictures from yesterday.

My memorial day photo is first.  A red Asiatic lily with a blue dragon fly.

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I also include my favorite little Asiatic from my daughter’s  lily garden below.

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It’s the tiny two in the middle. Named ‘Tiny Bee.’

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Tiny Bee Asiatic lily

More slime mold showed up in the bunny yard.

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I see why the slime mold, Fuligo septic, is nicknamed “dog vomit.”  If I had a dog, I’d be taking him to the vet after finding this.  Mold and mushrooms are everywhere!

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Another new daylily is blooming, ‘Nutmeg Spice.’

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Nutmeg Spice daylily

I have been cleaning my workshop during these many days of rain.

Do not expect a photo. I am ashamed of its neglect and nastiness.

Try to stay dry people.

FLOWER

Mud and Mushrooms

| Flower Roberts

You may have noticed my latest posts are a little mushy.

It’s this R A I N.

Oh my. It has caught me at a bad part of my maintenance cycle.

I did get some weeding done, but ran out of mulch.

So that means W E E D S.

I am amazed how much growth has occurred this week.

I wish I had placed measuring sticks by each Hosta.

There are some upsides to the downpours.

I found some perfect animals tracks in the mud.

and then there are the mushrooms.

And let’s not forget the necessity for new garden clogs while my many pairs of shoes dry

after washing them.( Attention: Shrub Queen)

These are Backdoor Shoes.   I will let you know how they hold up.

Here is the second daylily to bloom. Dixie Boy.

FLOW

 

 

Fairies Hire PI

| Flower Roberts

When some serious snooping is needed, it may be necessary to hire PI.

No, not a Private Investigator, I mean a Super Hero.

Poison Ivy

She was here almost immediately to investigate the strange mushrooms.

She valiantly removed them from the nook in the fairy tree.

The she did a quick analysis to determine their toxicity.

They weren’t poisonous at all.  Actually, they were quite delicious.

PI then tracked down the Garden Ghoul.

Turns out she was checking the fairies out to see if THEY would make good neighbors.

Her name is Wingrid.  She hopes to move into Fernland under the fig tree.

Poison Ivy and Wingrid spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the stump discussing mushroom growing and sauteing methods.  They both use coconut oil.

Let this be a lesson to all of us.

Just because someone has extra arms, blue skin and no underpants, doesn’t mean they won’t make a good neighbor.

Welcome to the neighborhood Wingrid.

(But children, you still need to lock the door, wear clean underwear and not eat wild mushrooms.)

FLOWER

 

 

PARENTS ONLY BELOW

The Poison Ivy package says “vines included.”

It is a pesky tiny piece that I immediately lost in the yard and had to go back and search for.

This should be another tiny piece for the “magic box.”

All her joints seem to be ball-and-socket, so she is very pose-able. I am not sure how these tiny joints will hold up with much use. Also, her skirt makes it impossible for her to sit down. (Reality!)  I had to roll it up out of the way for the sitting pose. At least she had on undies.