Bees in a Blizzard

| Flower Roberts

I spent a lot of time hanging out around the hydrangea yesterday.

My huge Oakleaf Hydrangea is cover in gloriously aromatic blooms.

It is abuzz with bees and many other types of flyers.

I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent as I listened to the hum.

The Oakleaf Hydrangea has blooms about a foot long which blush pink as they age.

Oakleaf Hydrangea/H. quercifolia

The bract-like, sterile flowers serve as umbrellas to protect the pollen and shade the pollinators.

They are like tiny parasols for the blizzard like blooms underneath.

I watched as the bees flew into the blizzard and emerged loaded with pollen.

It looked like a foam party made of meringue. It smelled like one, too.

The Oakleaf hydrangea is a busy place these days.

That’s where you will find me and the bees.

FLOW

The Right Plant in the Right Place

| Flower Roberts

It seems like placing a plant would be easy.

Partial sun, full sun, no sun? Well-drained soil, moist soil, wet soil? Shallow pot, deep pot?

The plant will let you know if it is unhappy. Then, it is your job as its caregiver to figure out what is wrong and change its habitat.

I rarely get it right the first try, despite reading labels and doing research.

I have moved most plants in my yard at least once. This includes shrubs and small trees.

Moving pots is easier, but still requires experimentation.

I finally found the perfect place for my Red Epiphyllum. Its one of the ‘Hanging Weirdos.’

It was just fine hanging from a limb of the Crepe Myrtle until we cut it back. A new spot was scouted out. A new hook was placed under the deck on the south side of the house.

Viola! More growth, more blooms.

It is striking against the stucco wall.

Pay attention to your unhappy plants. They need a change. Maybe you need one as well?

FLOW

The Tongue has a Brain

| Flower Roberts

This is my first time caring for a Devil’s Tongue plant.

https://wordpress.com/post/floweralley.org/20282

I have tried to be very careful with it.

As I was moving the Amorphophallus konjac pot the other week, the phallus fell off.

I was horrified! There I was with pot in one hand and the phallus in the other.

Mr. Flower contacted the gift-givers who assured us that the phallus falling off was normal and that a leafstalk would emerge in due time.

I continued to water the pot as I waited for signs of life.

When nothing happened after weeks of waiting, I became concerned that the whole thing might have rotted.

I took matters into my own hands and decided to check on the bulb.

I was not prepared for what plopped out of the pot.

It looked like a giant brain with two hemispheres and a corpus callosum down the middle.

Then I decided the brain needed further inspection for rot and shoots, so I gave the brain a bath.

I am pleased to report there are signs of life atop the brain of the Devil’s Tongue. I guess we could call this the brainstem.

I would hate to have killed such an unusual treasure from my dear friends, the Popes.

It may stink, but it has provided a lot of entertainment.

FLOWER

The First Butterfly

| Flower Roberts

I am happy to report the first spotting of a butterfly in the garden.

It is a Great Spangled Fritillary/ Speyeria cybele.

It was happily sipping from the Butterfly Weed flowers.

Speyeria cybele

This type does not startle as easily as some, so I took numerous photos

until my camera battery died. Hi Ho.

I am glad I braved the heat to check on my garden this first day of June.

Great Spangled Fritillary on Butterfly weed

FLOW

Japanese Sacred Lilies and Slugs

| Flower Roberts

I usually do not want slugs in my garden, but I do want bright red berries.

I have dozens of Japanese Sacred Lilies/ Rohdea japonica.

It is one of my few evergreen blooming plants, so I keep propagating it.

It is not really attractive, but it is supposed to bring good fortune.

Its blooms look like little corn cobs.

You must closely examine a stalk to discern its floral parts.

I have had these for decades but not one red berry has been produced.

Apparently, the little corn cobs are pollinated by slugs. What else would be drawn to this?

So how does one attract slugs? Will it be worth it to get red berries?

I think I will let things be and hope for the good fortune without the slugs or the berries.

FLOW

It is Not June Yet

| Flower Roberts

Spring gets me rushing around in the garden. I am always behind… dig, weed, seed, weed, water, feed, weed.

I spotted my first daylily bloom yesterday. It was Emperor Butterfly down on the bunny bank. Excuse me, it is not June.

Emperor Butterfly daylily

It is bad enough to have all the weeds zooming ahead of schedule. Now my own flowers are showing me up.

Not one but three daylilies are blooming. “It is still May.” I say!

Whooperee was actually first because I spotted a spent bloom on it from the day before. Its juicy blooms are a deer favorite.

Whooperee Daylily

I guess the hot temperatures last week fooled them.

Nutmeg Spice burst into bloom this morning, although its not June.

Nutmeg Spice daylily

I guess its time to sprinkle Deer Scram. I’d best hurry… sprinkle, weed, dig, weed, feed, deadhead, weed.

I think I am getting too old to garden.

Slower Flower

Monarchs and Milkweed

| Flower Roberts

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.

Asclepias tuberosa/ Butterfly weed

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