What's in your Garden (& Indoor Plants)

[Chryssie]

My native plants garden is going crazy! LOL I will have to do major trimming soon but they are blooming and I see bees and butterflies around them so it can wait. Something is eating my hibiscus! I have never seen this before but the leaves are gone and stems broken. Do squirrels eat leaves?

 

[Tom L.]

@Chryssie I've never seen squirrels eat leaves, but the only squirrels I've really observed a lot is the common Eastern Gray Squirrel. I think their range extends to Florida (but the only animals I really remember seeing when I visited there were small lizards outside the motel room where I was staying and huge pink crabs running around a park in Miami. I was hoping to see a manatee, but didn't get to).

I'm quite fond of squirrels and chipmunks, even though they can be a nuisance sometimes. (edited to correct "ever seen" to "never seen")

 

[Chryssie]

I actually saw one squirrel eating a leaf. They are small grey squirrels. I guess they got tired of the sunflower seeds I provide them!

 

[KLS52]

I have these cute little wildflowers all over my yard. I love them .

The plant app says white wood aster. They're in front of my neighbors shed (that happens to be a foot on our property lol). You can't see them well in that photo but the other photo shows how cute they are. They are popping up all over the lawn too.

 

[KLS52]

Funny thing about the shed...in the house I grew up in the neighbor's garage was also partly on our property. I guess back then people didn't really worry about property lines.

 

[Emma JC]

speaking of plants - this year I am buying Christmas cards with imbedded seeds in the paper of the card - I am so looking forward to this and there are different choices eg wildflowers or herbs - the recipient can then plant the card inside or outside anytime they choose

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Emma JC]

here are a couple of examples

Punny Christmas Cards - Greet 'n Grow

Punny, Plantable, and Purrfect! Greet n' Grow plantable punny Christmas cards are a unique and loving way to keep spreading Christmas cheer!

greetngrow.ca

Plantable Christmas Cards - Eco-Friendly Holiday Seed Paper - The Green Jar

Send eco-friendly Christmas wishes with plantable cards made from seed paper. Native, non-GMO wildflower seeds. Canadian brand. Sustainable holiday greetings.

thegreenjarshop.com

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[KLS52]

That is so cool… I think I may do that for the people I know who like to garden.

 

[KLS52]

Look how much this little pine tree grew in six years.

 

[4silva]

@KLS52 That's beautiful! Is it like an arborvite? I wish I'd planted hedgerows between out back yard and neighbors, but I really thought I'd have a fence by now!

 

[KLS52]

@KLS52 That's beautiful! Is it like an arborvite? I wish I'd planted hedgerows between out back yard and neighbors, but I really thought I'd have a fence by now!

I've no idea. It was here when we moved in May of 2020.

I want a fence so bad but husband is fighting me on it. I thought maybe son would be on my side because it would be so great for Chay...not to ever let her out alone, because I can't trust the coyote...but just to be out there with her, where she could run free and play while we supervise. He's kind of indifferent, probably because she goes to work with him on the hikes everyday so he feels like having a fenced in yard isn't a big enough deal.

I could probably win but I feel like it's not a battle I want to put too much effort in.

 

[KLS52]

I just put two different photos of the tree into the plant app and it says eastern red cedar.

 

[KLS52]

@4silva I like when I'm prompted to look things up/learn new things.

 

[KLS52]

I found American wintergreen in the yard this morning. I feel like I'm cheating, lol, cause it's not like I'm planting anything. The stuff is just growing Willy nilly so I really can't take credit for it.

 

[Tom L.]

@KLS52 Going by the photos of your lawn that you posted in July of this year- I think it looks good, even though it's mostly clover instead of grass.

My yew cuttings from earlier this year didn't make it- I think I waited too long to take them. I took a few more within the past week or two; I'm keeping some in gravel and some in sand. I also took a cutting of my cherry tomato and a cutting of my neighbor's full-size tomato. Even this late in the season, it has blossoms on it- so I'm assuming it isn't one of the "determinate" varieties that get only so big and then stop growing? Time will tell.

If folks let me, I might try taking a cutting or two of bedding plants (such as semperflorens begonia) from local outdoor planters right before the first frost (when they would die anyway). If they strike root and I can pot them, great!

I sometimes miss some of the more unusual houseplants I had: common passionflower; Reinwardtia(sp?) indica (a small shrub that has yellow flowers shaped like morning-glory in mid-winter that lasted a few years for me, but I couldn't propagate it and it eventually died); Monstera deliciosa (that's the popular plant which looks like a HUGE philodendron with swiss-cheese holes in its leaves- it's fairly common and I don't think it's supposed to be that hard to grow, but it only lasted 2 or 3 years)... Sometimes I even miss the common, easily-grown plants I had: spider plant; Sanseveria, aka snake plant or Mother-in-law's Tongue; Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum- I think it used to be called Scindapsus aureus?)... I still have Clivia miniata and Jade Plant. But other times, it's nice to not have so many as I once did. I think I might like this arrangement of having some plants outside during the warm weather and taking them in when autumn comes.

But I don't want to bring in bugs that will wipe everything out. I think I'll stick with a few kinds of houseplants, and just bring some of the vegetables (or cuttings from them) such as tomato or jalapeno pepper inside. I think jalapeno pepper plants are ornamental.