Birds and bees. Our tame blackbird friend Burt has been up in the apple tree this afternoon, gently warbling away and looking sleepy in the sun. He has the craziest high volume blackbird singing I've ever heard, probably having a rest ahead of this evening's performance 😍🎶.
And of course I've tried to add an obligatory bee, on Persicaria 'Hohe Tatra'. 🐝 #gardeningmastodon#GardeningForWildlife
Some lovely bees on the alliums today 😍🐝 Noticing a good number of 🐝 all around the garden, they always make me stop and smile. I've been gradually adding more and more plants for pollinators each year. Still a way to go, but finally it's getting there! 👍🌺🌸🌼
Today in the garden: irises and chickens. Who doesn't love irises and chickens? The chickens are four years old this week (they are all sisters, or half sisters). The irises are at least 20 years old. They came with the house and I've moved them several times before settling on this spot. They're finally doing well here--maybe they like being near the chickens. #gardening #gardeningMastodon #bloomScrolling #PNW #chickens
I found the strangest thing in my yard today. A tangle of white ribbon with a monkey-faced key attached. Clearly it didn't belong to anyone in my family and was too far from the fences to be tossed over by a neighbor. I can only imagine that some crow was passing overhead, hauling it back to their nest, and dropped it here.
1/2 #gardening #gardeningMastodon #crows
Buying plants online,:a short thread. There's no substitute for a good plant nursery/garden center near where you live. I'm lucky to have several. But not everyone does, and sometimes if you're after something specific, something rare, you can find what you want online. But will you get what you paid for? Will they survive?
Buying plants online, part 2. First, sellers need a license to ship plants across state lines in the US. There are some restrictions state-by-state. This is to prevent invasive species and diseases from spreading. Make sure any online vendor you work with follows these rules. Shipping internationally is even more restrictive, for very good reasons. Sellers on eBay often flout these rules, please don't use them. Ditto with Amazon.
2/x #gardening#gardeningMastodon#Plants#horticulture
I'm back in Illinois this week to see the eclipse and visit the family homestead so I'll share a pics from my family's native plant garden. When I was a kid all these plants were everywhere in the woods but invasive species have really done them dirty. Fortunately my mom collected starts and now we have them growing where we can look after them. Short thread: first up, Virginia bluebells (mertensia virginica).
1/5 #gardening #gardeningMastodon #bloomScrolling #nativePlants #Illinois
Native spring wildflowers if the Midwest part 2/5. The wake-robin, road shade, or bloody butcher or nowadays just Trillium (Trillium recurvatum). Plants in the genus are found across the northern hemisphere but this the most common in Eastern NA. Only visible for a couple months each year as they go summer dormant. I've been told they can be tricky to establish in a garden (I've killed some myself) and are slow to expand. #gardening#gardeningMastodon#bloomScrolling#nativePlants#Illinois
Native spring wildflowers of the Midwest part 3/5. May apples (Podophyllum peltatum). Peltatum means "umbrella shaped" and you can see why as they open up. The only North American species in this genus--but there are some truly spectacular related species native to East Asia. Unlike its Chinese cousins, this one is a spring ephemeral and will be gone by midsummer.
3/5 #gardening#gardeningMastodon#bloomScrolling#nativePlants#Illinois
Native spring wildflowers of the Midwest part 4/5. Dutchman's breeches is our local name for Dicentra cucullaria, which as you probably tell is close relative of the popular garden plant called bleeding heart. Named because it looks like several pair of baggy knee pants on a string.
4/5 #gardening#gardeningMastodon#bloomScrolling#nativePlants#Illinois
Lots of seedling pricking out today, it's been time well spent 😍 They're looking a bit jumbled in their little pots, and this cold frame is crammed. Need to have a re-arrange with the other cold frame 😬. I'd love a greenhouse, though, ideally! Maybe one day... 😊🌱🌿 #gardening#gardeningmastodon#propagation
We have #fungi in the #compost which I think is a good thing?
Also more things sprouting, I think it's kale. And my onion is straitening up now it's planted - I did position it so it would grow towards the sun and this straighten up.