Judy's Garden Party!!!
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/predators/harmonia.html
Lady Beetles - some eat plants. So I have to count the spots?????
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/fldcrops/ef105.htm
Saturday - 10/28/06 8:30 AM
Interesting observation in reference to the affect temperature has on the color of Angel's
Trumpets. The first picture is of Isabella today. The last 7 days our high temperatures have
been 60F or a little lower, with lows 31-50F. The second picture is the same plant
in August 2006 with high temperatures in the 90-99.4F, with lows around 70F.
Thursday - 10/26/06 7:30 AM
After careful consideration, a seedling Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia) was tagged to go on the trash pile. The plant was
abused by spider mites, neglected by me and not put in a larger pot. The pot has been
blown over by the wind more times that I can count, but it still bloomed. The blooms were
white with a hint of peach along the edges and were misshaped. There was absolutely no
reason to keep it when my wintering-over space is so limited this year. 
Then I saw the tiniest little seedpod starting to form. It's gotten bigger and is fuzzy.
Oh my, each of the blooms were pollinated by the moths, they all produced seeds butit
will take months before they are ripe. Then what, they are totally unknown brugs, the
label having faded months ago. All I know is the source of the seed which grew into the
mother plant. Plus the moths picked up pollen from all the blooms so there is no way to
tell whom the father of the seedpod is. These seeds shouldn't be allowed to grow, there is
no positive purpose. I haven't counted them, but on all the brugs I'm guessing
there are over 100 seedpods. Here are some of the seedpods on Frosty Pink. Each branch has
seedpods, probably 50 total on this one plant, again the pollen donor is unknown.Am I sentimental and foolish, or what ... Judy
Go to this website for great information on creating a "water rooting" system.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/propa/msg1020340019335.html?43
Thursday - 10/19/06 10:30 AM
Good Morning All!! Bob & I are just trying to take time to smell the flowers, which isn't much due to the constant demand our "our gang" but we take great pleasure from all their antics and show of affection. Another source of pleasure are the flowers. I believe Bob is about to become a true gardener, up until now he has been content to enjoy the fruits of my labor. A few days ago he decided to try rooting roses, what a challenge. (All I wanted him to do was to dig me some more holes.) I can just see me knocking on doors asking people if I can have cuttings of old roses.
The best smelling brug I had this year was Amber Rose... she's a booger to grow and the color isn't anything to get excited about, but I think all of her flowers are setting seeds and the fragrance was divine.
Jamica Yellow, Angel's Trumpet, started booming, she likes cooler weather
This is Bob's contribution to today's entry.....This has been a wonderful year...
The brugs have had their blooms trumpeting their beauty...
The elephant ears have shown their might.
The hibiscus have displayed their multiple colors and bloomed in spite of drought.
The roses have blossomed with tenacity and color and unsurpassed loveliness...
and nows the oaks standing tall, with age old wisdom say,
"It's time to go to bed."
It's time for a big pot of veggie soup with cornbread or chicken seafood gumbo with crispy french bread. Be well and find happiness in all things. - Judy
Wednesday - 10/18/06 5:00 PM
Happy Fall Y'all!
This crazy woman has been up and going since 4:30 AM, terribly excited about an Angel's Trumpet
(Brugmansia) bloom opening. Only a few Brugs are self-pollinating, all others must be pollinated
by hand or by Mother Nature's pollinators; flying insects such as bees and moths. Each of the seed
from the plants thus pollinated produces a unique plant therefore the results could be something
very exciting, new plant which could be registered or just a white, which many of them are. A friend sent me seeds which I planted in March, 2005. Yesterday, the first bud unfurled, going from a yellow/green bud through to the final picture I'm posting here today. We didn't get any sleep last night because I kept going outside to take pictues of her color changing.
She just takes my breath away and it has been a great expreience growing her from seed. - Judy
Tuesday - 10/03/06 6:30 PM
Amber Rose
Solid Gold (yellow/orange)& Snow Cone (white)
Charles Grimaldi
Frosty Pink
Pink Beauty
Pink Seedling
Versicolor Peach
Click on any of the above pictures to get an enlarged view.
Thursday - 08/24/06 6:30 AM
In an attempt to assist some new to growing Angel's Trumpets gardeners, I compiled the pictures of this plant in bloom at the first of the month. I think the phases of the flower are amazing
Click Individual Picture Within The Collage For An Enlarged View
Wednesday - 08/23/06
Hibiscus - Dark Pink
Sedum - Showy Stonecrop
Rose of Sharon - Althea Pink
Canna - Tropical
Ginger - Shampoo, Bloom Update
Tuesday - 08/22/06 8:30 AM
Blooming Today
The blooms we have this morning are Red Double Hisbiscus and Shampoo Ginger, now isn't that a strange bloom. Wait until you see the picture of mature bloom, stranger still.
Monday - 08/21/06 11:30 AM
We're still waiting for a good soaking rain! We're watering the plants and trees but all a water hose is good for is to keep them alive, until Mother Nature gives them a shower which makes them thrive.
We're also having a serious problem with insects coming out of the dry fields to feast on my plants. This is the first year that we've had to use a pesticide other than a hand full of Siven Dust. It's definitely time to rethink having potted plants which are requiring so much
of my time. Also I don't want to winter over any of them in the house this year, it's too full of
stuff as it is. Now after saying all that, look what I bought for $1 a pot, I got 5 pots. I thought they were mislabeled and it turned out I was right. They are Variegated Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) and I found a website selling the same size pot for $39.95 each, plus shipping. Just what I needed more potted plants.
Thursday - 08/17/06 1:50 PM
Tuesday - 08/15/06 Noon
Monday - 08/14/06 10:30 AM
Thursday - 08/10/06 6:00 AM
I made a collage of pictures I took yesterday of a 3 foot Angel's Trumpet which was blooming for me. Hopefully when I go out this morning all three buds will be open.
Click Individual Picture Within The Collage For An Enlarged View
Thursday - 08/03/06 1:40 PM
Click Individual Picture Within The Collage For An Enlarged View
Bob was the photographer this morning. I hope you enjoy them.
Datura
Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia)
Rose -
That I Bought For Bob This Spring
Tuesday - 08/01/06 3:15 PM
Rose of Sharon, Althea (Hibiscus syriacus)
On July 21, I bought three very dried out, stressed out, no label small tropical hibiscus for $1 each at K-Mart. This morning I was greeted with this bloom, which I believe is color distorted due to the pitiful condition of the plant. It looks much like "Hibiscus Cherie", maybe the next bloom will be true. It's still a very small plant as you can see but it has several buds. The others are about to bloom also.
Tuesday - 08/01/06 5:00 AM
Yesterday, I saw ants on one of my Hibiscus buds, so I took this picture
to post on a garden forum for advice. What I subsequently read was unreal, those ants have a
herd of aphids they farm just like a farmer with cows so they weren't eating my blooms
but the aphids were and the ants feed on their sticky secretions when they have consumed
too much. Enlarge the picture and you will see the green aphids and then at
the bottom larva, I believe. Bob had to suit up again and spray all the plants for insects. The aphids and broad mites are very difficult to eradicate completely.
I have three of these Milk & Wine Lilies which have bloomed at different times this summer. If you drive through the Southern part of the US and see clumps of large strap leaf lilies, there is a good chance that this is the variety. It's a old 'pass along plant' and I love it.
Friday - 06/23/06 1:30 PM
Several weeks ago there was a horrible odor like something was dead under the porch. Oh My, the back porch is almost even with the ground and my mind was bouncing around trying to figure out how in the world we were going to remove whatever had crawled up in there and died.
Pulling up boards was going to be a major feat because all the boxes we had moved up from the Memphis house would have to be shifted and there was no more room to move anything, anywhere. I finally decided the best I could do "RIGHT NOW" was to sprinkle lime into the cracks between the boards. Having an acute sense of smell, I actually got down on my hands and knees in an attempt to locate the direct source of the odor, since the wind was blowing around 10 miles per hour I had to get close to the source but I became hopeless confused. No more time to deal with it other priorities arose but two nights later we had one fierce storm and afterward the odor was gone.
I have a flower bed 4 feet from the back porch and while pulling up a few weeds I noticed
what I thought was a dead Iris leaf.... it turned out to be something really weird, round
and connected to a purple spotted bulb kind of thing which was going mushy. I could not
imagine, was it some kind of fungus or something weird I had planted. Then I remembered
the odor and the voodoo lily came to mind. I Googled it and sure enough that's what it
was. Now I wondered who had sent me the bulb as a pratical joke, a really good joke
which was appreciated.Imagine my surprise when I happened upon a note from Betty, a friend who lives in Nashville. It was dated August 2005 and was included with Lily Bulbs and the VooDoo Lily she sent. In the note she described the odor and all. lol lol Betty, Thank You, Thank You. I like for my life to be interesting and the VooDoo Lily is beautiful.
For those of you who would not recognize it, it's the odd looking one on the right, open circle branch. - Judy
Blooming 4/29/06
Iris
These pictures were taken just as it started to rain.
Clematis, Henryi
Most of the blooms are 7 1/2 inches across but many are 8 1/4
Blooming Today 04/18/06....
Iris
Blooming Today 04/17/06....
Iris
Blooming Today 04/16/06....
Iris
This Iris is breathtaking in person. It is very large and a clear, standout white. Today we're
determined to sit back, put our feet up and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.
"We only live once, but some people don't enjoy it so I'm staying away from them!!"
The key to living a good life is to be able to recognize our needs, not wants, but NEEDS as in.... "I needs more plants". lol
