They are Super Star & Red Candy we got as plants from Dixondale in Texas. Planted April 15th.
June, Headlong into SUMMER!
55°/74° A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Celia, I love those. I have the montana with the electric blue color. I think I have seed for a swhite one. I've not seen the pink, but it's sure pretty!
Bernie, you set a beautiful table!
Pepper, you have a bit of growing left. I'd pick when they are as big as your thumb. I always plant my eating onions deeper and closer together than the keepers. Onions for keepers like their shoulders in the sun.
The sun is out, but that isn't going to last. I hate to complain, but it's cold!!
Sally, these came in a wildflower mix I put out a few years ago. Only one pink one grew out of it. I transplanted it to the back and let it go to seed. Every Spring, I weed out the blue ones and now have a lot of pinks. I love them!
Cool-ish here now. 68º with high, thin clouds. Possible rain coming.
This Iris came in a package from HD marked 'Pink Attraction.' I like it much more than the pale pink it would have been but I wish I knew it's true name!
We have baby Quail!
Billy, Our forecast is for hot and dry into the next week (temps 103 or higher). Even though we are watering everything, some plants, like the blackberries, are dieing anyway -they just can't take this heat without some good rains. Your high in the 70's is what we have for lows. Wonder why there isn't some balance in the temps for both of us.....
Cindylove, Glad to hear you kicked the cancer!!
Do you grow blackberries (or any other berries)? How are they doing in the weather we've had lately? I'm wondering if watering with well water would help them cope with it (although we do not have a well). Do you have a well?
Kawanjin, Wow, that's wonderful! Quail babies! We let our kids raise bobwhite quail and chukars a few years while we were living in Alabama. When they got too big for the pens we let them loose in the yard. They were a lot of fun.
I would love to claim these as our own but they're wild CA quail. The babes were not afraid of us and neither were mom and dad. They were trying to get into the bushes across the street but the curb was way too high for them. Mom stayed in the bush and peeped while DH put a small block of wood there as a step for them.
Y'all been so busy while I was workin' in the yard. It's warm now and the soil is dry enough to work. It was 75° yesterday, with some high thin clouds, just about perfect, with a cool breeze to boot. The low was 48°, so now I will plant out some tomatoes. It will be warm and dry, then hot and dry, so I am rushing around to get so much done before it is sweltering.
We have many different kinds of ants, but luckily, no fire ants.
New "hot bed" for DH. They are not my favorite colors with which to work, but for him by special request. Many things planted not up yet. Probably too many things in there already. I started it on April 11th...in between storms....
Warming back up to the 90s again. Today we only reached low 80s with mostly cloudy skies.
57°/76° Sunny to partly cloudy. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.
Celia, cool! I don't think I've seen them for sale anywhere, but I haven't been looking at the catalogs much over the last few years. I'm trying to use the seeds I already have.
Wow! Love that iris!
Awwwaah! I want baby quail!! Even Mama is adorable!
Ladypearl, I know. I wish it could be good for all of us! We are on the cool side this week. We aren't used to a real cool June.
Celia, I can't believe how tame they are! Thanks to DH for helping them :o)
Evelyn_inthegarden, here I am in chilly Iowa and have had tomatoes out for a couple of weeks. It just goes to show that even Californisa isn't sunny and warm all the time :o)
Aww, nice bed! Be glad DH is interested in any flowers. Keep posting pictures as things bloom.
Pepper, we'll warm up by Thursday. I'm finding I HATE to be cold right now!
We're back to having the Grandkids again. We'll get them later today and take them to the six year old's ballgame. I haven't seen a game yet. Too many were rained out.
A prettier version of you're Petey, well thats questionable, but does Petey unroll and waste toilet paper?!
Sure, I'll post photos of my Lily Tree when it's gets bigger!
Okay, it's bigger now! Not much, but a little today!
Will
Stormy this morning, then hot and humid, now nice and cool. Cloudy all day.
I bought this as an annual salvia 2 years ago. It comes back every year happy as it can be. I'm not complaining though. It's gorgeous!!!
58°/71° Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then the chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Winds ESE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Yep, it's raining. It started around 2:00 am and there's a lot more to come.
Will, Petey's a GOOD boy :o) Well, most of the time. He will pull the stuffing from the sides of the air conditioner and they both peel off the weather stripping from thje doors.
Cool! I can't wait to see it bloom. I wonder how many it will have it's first year?
Pepper, you are sooo lucky!! I love that salvia, but I'm too cold for it to come back. I don't like to pay for annuals if I can't grow them myself.
I had to carry the 4 year old back to his bed around 10:30 last night. He needed another blanket :o) Then I slept on his cot around 2:30 am because the lightning was too bright. It was. We don't have room darkening shades out in the Red Room. He fell back asleep and I went back to bed.
It's thundering again! The 6 year old might not be playing ball tonight :o(
Hello Everyone! Oh, how I long for double digits again! It’s forecast between 105-110 all week. Low’s 75. Smoke from the Arizona fires.
Just to catch up:
Ric - Absolutely love your Hackberry Emperor and what a GREAT photograph
Bernie - I wish I could come to your market!! All of that scrumptious fresh and beautiful bounty!
Lady Pearl - I’m completely positive what variety of okra I saved. I planted three kinds last year and saved the best one. Long, thin pods, I mean at least 12” and tender all the way down! I’m saying it’s Zeebest from Baker Creek. I’ve got some seeds I can send you if you like! Didn’t know you were from Alabama…. I moved here from Georgia. The southeast gardening surely is different from out here!!!!!!!!! So sad about your blackberries, they grow wild there, must need a lot of humidity. I’ve got one raspberry that’s hanging on. I soak it.
Will - you were RIGHT., We’re getting that smoke from the Arizona fires. We’ve got had our share, too. Sometimes it seems if the landscape around here isn’t desolate, it’s black from fires. I’m trying to keep my chin up. 11-½ months now with no moisture and severely hot temps.
Early_Bloomer - LOVE your peonies!
Bp - LOVE your hostas!! It's so hard to believe what cold and rainy weather you're having. Wish we could share and each get half of each other's weather. Now that would be perfect!
Celia - LOVE your quail!
Pepper - What a beautiful salvia and it’s acting like a perennial! That’s one of the flowers that does really well out here. They’re not perennial but they reseed themselves plentifully.
Most of my heirloom roses are doing well.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Prissy Jo, you aren't having a very good June :o(
Smoke was the last thing you needed!
I'm not sure I could keep my chin up, LOL! I guess you garden in the extreme. How much shade do you have, and what kind of trees are they? Do you have any shrubs?
Oh, all is not lost with a beautiful bright red rose like that! I'd love to see more, or even the whole bush!
billyporter - Shade - wow. If my whole yard was shaded, it would be nice and things would be happier. Sounds crazy I know because when I lived in the SE, sun was hard to get! But I put in six trees in the back yard, where most of my veggies are, three years ago when we moved here. One purple plum, an ornamental, a burgundy plum, fruit, a chatalpa, a white blooming redbud, an ash and a vitex. We already had one tree, a giant pecan. They're all doing really well except the ash died. Several other trees died out front and at the other little house we've got but I've got 11 fruit trees down there that are good so far. They don't provide much shade yet because they're only about 15-20 ft tall so I built a shade house over my raised beds. Draped it with 80% shade cloth and I was one of very few who had any veggies last year around here. I took it down in the winter because I was trying to have a winter garden andhaven't gotten it back up yet. I can't really do it by myself and it has to be done before 8 am or I just can't go out, heart condition and light skin... that's never stopped me before but THIS place has slowed me down for sure! Here's a picture of when we bought the house and then I'll put one of now. I had put in a beautiful Rose of Sharon shrub two years ago but it just died all of a sudden last year; one day it was beautiful, next day it was dead. Weird.
this is when we bought it 3 years ago
now
side of greenhouse
shade house, unshaded right now and lettuce and mustard going to seed
The Weather Channel says 88° and 67° tonite, my rainbarrel is full!
I hope you just get the smoke PrissyJo, not the fire! Unfortunately, they say the fire is close to the NM border, and CO.
Here is Hereford the cat in the Catnip pot I brought in yesterday for them, with Grubworm looking with interest and Bucky looking in the front. All those cats were strays that were brought in! I thought I'd get a photo it looked so silly! My housemate saw me taking the photo this morning and she says "awww.. ain't that cute?!". I'm thinking, "kinda I guess, but look what she's laying in, a potted plant"! That can't be good for houseplants! The Catnip plants were off to one side so her laying in there didn't hurt them. It was when she chewed one of the big plant's stems in two that isn't so good! She likes to eat the leaves and rub on them, so thats kind of neat I guess! I didn't think the Catnip would be back from the seeds I planted in it last year, but back they are.
The first year for the Lily Trees on blooming won't be too spectacular, but according to Brecks they do a little blooming even the first year, I'll wait and see! I know it's growing fast.
What Will said. LOL. Also had a breeze and humidity is back up. Under a tornado watch til 11pm.
We have had rain all afternoon. Washed out our Farmers Market.
Now the rain has stopped, but strong east wind. Never saw as much wind as we are getting this year.
Prissy Jo Thanks for the comment on the Hackberry.
They are VERY friendly Butterflies and LOVE to ride on people.
Hope you get some relief soon!!!
They yard looks GREAT considering the lack of rain down there.
Bernie we have trees down everywhere at least once a week it seems.
Lightning whacked one just up the street from us Friday night.
Three huge ones are down on the next street from the wind.
ROUGH Year.
We already have almost as much rain this year as we should have ALL year.
Here's a Zebra Swallowtail shot Saturday while on the tour.
Ric
I'll catch up later folks.
We have babies! Sara delivered the twins this morning, June 15th, 2011
Carly Anne was born first at 2:58 am. She weighs 6# 2 ounces is 19'' long
Callun Richard was born 7 minutes later at 3:05 am. He weighs 6# 3 ounces and is 19'' long.
All went well and everyone is fine! We'll take the boys up this afternoon. We just happened to have them when she felt the start of labor yesterday.
Cael will be 7 on September 6th and Colton will be 5 on September 24th.
Grandma Sally
This message was edited Jun 16, 2011 4:04 AM
YAY!!!!!
Forgot weather. Perfect day!! Low 80s and low humidity!!
58°/84° A mix of clouds and sun. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
We took the boys to see the babies and then dropped them off with their aunt and uncle. I'm glad for the quiet, LOL!
Pepper, I hope I get that perfect day today. I've barely been outside.
Gorgeous lilies!
My newest Grandkids!
Boy left, girl right
All of us :o)
AAwwwwhhhh!! Grandma Sally!!!!
Awesome! They're so cute and Carly already has more hair than Callun so I guess they're not identical...? All four kids with C names! They're wonderful! Congratulations. Hope Sara is doing well.
I doubt you'll even see the outside for a while because you won't be able to take your eyes off those babies!
108/67 here with 40 mph winds and 17% humidity. No moisture.
These are my only babies.
Congratulations!
Perfect day here today, sun, warm, no wind!
Darling babies and NOT identical because one is a boy and one is a girl. Tee hee.
Rainy this morning, then cloudy rest of day. A cool front moved in with the rain and dropped the temps down quite a bit. Feels great out there now!!
One of my weedy looking beds. lol. Astilibe. butterfly bushes, lamium, and a groundcover. Gonna rip out the butterfly bushes and put in hydrangas. Vienna and Rio cultivars. They stay small and like shade so they should do better than the butterfly bushes.
63°/84° Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon hours. A few storms may be severe. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Prissy Jo, thanks! No, not identical and Carly was first, but Callun weighed more.
Laughing! Those babies will just have to go out with me!
Oh my gosh! How do you handle that heat?
Love your babies!
Thanks Bernie!
Thanks Elena!
Pepper, love the astilbe! Mine is just starting to bloom. Rheinland is always the first. The neighbor kids are going to take out the two walnut trees on the propery line and the astilbe will have to be moved. Eeek. I have close to 15 of them and no bed ready!
We didn't get rain overnight, but have a chance today. Someone else can have it. I need to be outside!
You can always replace the trees with tall bushes, tall grass or just tall plants. lol. They will provide shade for them.
Stormy this morning then, cloudy all day. Temps stayed nice til late afternoon then the humidity shot up.
I'm waiting on this black walnut tree to get taken out and moved. Waiting on another one too. If my dad doesn't hurry up, they will overtake my beds or I will just kill them. lol. I want the trees, just somewhere else.
68°/83° Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe.Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
PrissyJo, I''m catching up now :o)
A lot of shade IS nice, except all mine is with walnut trees, and I prefer sun loving plants.
I like the trees you put in. It's a shame about the Ash and the Rose of Sharon dying. The Ash is a good tree. I love fruit and the 11 fruit trees made me sigh. I have two apple trees and only one is old enough to bear.
What a transformation!! Having green grass is the first thing that makes a yard a yard.
Love the shade house! The veggies look good! I'd say you do a pretty good job despite the heat and lack of rain.
Will, if one catnip plant grows, many will pop up everywhere! You need to sow a grass box for them to lay in!
Those are nice throw away cats, and it is cute! They are so funny when catnip is around!
Pepper, tornado watch, sheesh! Lets get on with June!
Oooh, love the coleus!! It really whitens up the petunias!
Bernie, it's a shame the Market was washed out.
The reason for all the weird weather is this:
One culprit was La Niña, a cyclical system of trade winds that cools the waters of the equatorial Pacific. (El Niño is La Niña's warm-water counterpart.)
La Niña (Spanish for "the little girl") can muck with global weather patterns, recurring every few years and lingering for as long as two years. [Weirdo Weather: 7 Rare Weather Events].
La Niña is gone now, but her slow exit — along with a lingering reversal of atmospheric pressure patterns and wind direction in the North Atlantic, called the North Atlantic Oscillation — appears to have been the big driver behind all the wild weather.
"The effects of La Niña were sort of muddled together with the effects of the enhanced North Atlantic Oscillation," said Ed O'Lenic of the Climate Prediction Center.
Ric, I look forward to your butterfly pics and the Zebra is beautiful!!
Pepper, ROTFL!! The neighbor kids are to take out two walnuts on the property line and I can't wait either! I'm really going to miss the shade, but not the sticks and nuts in my flower bed directly under both!
ROTFL, just opened the picture expecting a large tree. You could dig that out easy!! LOL! Let your Dad see you take the shovel out and ask him whare he wants the tree. That may get him going :o)
These are the one's the kids are taking. That's their house and line of Arborvitaes.
((((SALLY!)))) Gorgeous/Handsome!
Well I had to take a work trip to SC Thursday.
I made a delivery and stayed overnight.
My Hotel exit was 'Bat Cave'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Cave,_North_Carolina
Which I thought was pretty cool!
Hooked up w/ two DG'ers while I was there.
AnnaK from WI and Vic.
This taken at Vic's house.
Great pic of you three Ric!!
Hot and muggy!! Expecting another round of storms tonight. There was some wind damage in the city from last night's storm. Trees uprooted and some other damage. Not widespread though which is good. Storm was noisy too. Kept waking me up and normally I sleep thru storms.
My herb pot. I need to stick my peppermint in there so my nephew can eat that. He didn't like the other herbs. LOL
Thanks Ric! Bat Cave is a cool name! After all, who didn't grow up watching Batman and the reruns? LOL! I love the history of the town. How could you not enjoy your stay there?
You were sooo lucky to get to go there and to be able to meet up with the ladies! That is a great photo!!
Pepper, I don't like yur weather, LOL! I don't like mine either!!
Get chocolate peppermint! It's smells good and tastes pretty good too. The pot, ROTFL! The Herb pot looks good!
Another chance of rain today. I hope we get sprinkles like we did for the last two rains.