Baby Snapping Turtle

Dora (dog) found this baby in the same spot that she had found a copperhead about a month before. The copperhead, I understand, but what was a baby snapping turtle doing up beside my house?!

I kept it a few days, tossing it dirt daubers I had killed, and then it was released to its destiny in a local waterway.

Blueberries Are In!

I've been picking blueberries for the last several days.  I go out early ,before the sun gets to the bushes, and most mornings they are hanging with drops of dew or rain. I get wet picking, but a little water never hurt anyone and it's cooler then than it will be the rest of the day. I usually spend a good bit of my picking time thinking about my mother-in-law and the wonderful cheesecake-like dessert she used to make and call Blueberry Doodle.
Last year I pruned my blueberry bushes, cutting out about a third of the stems. Looks like I have more berries this year than ever.
I thought for a time that I was not going to have to share the bounty with the other critters, but I just had not waited long enough. I have started to see berries with bird pecks taken out of them. And worse-- the squirrels have discovered them. They not only eat them, but knock a lot of them off onto the ground (and they don't bother to pick them up either... they leave that to me). Luckily, there are enough for all of us. And I still have blueberries frozen from last year. So I am trying to give away and eat up the fresh crop.

Orange Daylilies

Many people speak disparagingly of orange daylilies calling them ditch lilies. But as for me, I admire their cheerful color and their hardiness. An outstanding arrangment can be made with orange day lilies and Queen Anne's lace. And the arrangment changes every day as each flower only lasts one day, but the next day others open.
I know a place along AL state rd 147 where the lilies form a thick blooming orange mass in season. The road maintanence crew have tried mightily in the last few years to kill them with the best Monsanto has to offer, to no avail. They may get cut back by mowers or chemicals, but they always return. Their persistence is truly unbelievable. They are usually still growing at old home sites long after even the foundation stones are gone.
 The original plant Hermocallis fulva seldom to never makes seeds but spreads by underground rhizomes (fleshy roots). It is a clone, so all the orange daylilies you see have the same genetic make-up. It appeared in European writings in the 1500's, and came to North America in the 1600's. It is of Asian origin and the clone has been in existence for thousands of years.
 In Asia it was (and still is) eaten,. All parts are said to be edible, albeit at various stages. The stems and leaves become too fibrous and bitter to eat once they are more than 5 or 6 inches long. Only the young white roots are edible. Flower buds and flowers are said to be edible at all stages. They can be fried tempura, stir fried, or  eaten raw. However, a word of caution: the plant is said to be a great laxative, so it might be a good idea not to overindulge, particularily at first. They are also said to be a mild pain killer, has lots of antioxidants, Vitamin A, and iron, as well as 9% protein and 60% carbohydrate. Also, as far as eating, the information I found on being edible applies only to the old original day lilies. There has been a lot of selection and breeding done with these lilies (there are about 60,000 different ones) and  not all of these may be safe to eat.
 I have several clumps growing in my yard, which is an old homesite. After they finish their bloom, I just keep them mowed the rest of the summer, knowing they will return next year in all their orange abandon.

Yellow Foxglove

One year I went to the Longest Yard Sale in the World which is scheduled every year in early August. Driving over some mountain toward Chattannoga there were numerous yard sales off the narrow winding road and we stopped at one place with a few parking places.  The shade was deep and the sale was not mobbed and I found this yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandifloria)  for sale among a small trove of plants offered up for new homes.

It is a perennial, unlike the Digitalis purpurea (a biennial) we are most familiar with. They usually live 4 or 5 years instead of blooming the second year and dying. This one is no more than 18 inches tall, if that, and is happy in a partially shaded spot. They are said to rebloom if deadheaded after bloom. They are also said to reseed freely, so I plan to let mine set seed and try to increase my holding of this garden gem.

Penstemon

I never heard of Penstemon until 3 or 4 years ago. I had heard of beardtongue but had never seen it and thought it must be a plant that grew far away from here. Now they are everywhere, including my own flower bed. I even saw some at Lowe's last week.They have become the latest plant fad. Wikipedia says they are a large group of North American and East Asian natives that come in a variety of bright colors. The reds are said to be hummingbird magnets. The pictures of them I see in red and blue are stunning. Unfortunately the two plants I have are a washed out pink. The stems have more color than the blooms. One of these plants I grew from seed and the other was a gift.

This is the second year for both of these plants and their first year to bloom. They are really quite nice looking, and if the literature is to be believed, quite hardy.

I understand there is a nice red called 'Husker's Red' and I would like to get a red one. And a blue. But understand, I like these also! They come in both annual and perennial forms, but who hadn't rather have a perennial?

Clivia Lilies

Clivia lilies bloom in the very early spring, but the flowers are very long lasting and  are frequently followed by seed pods that turn a bright red and cling for months. Clivias provide a point of interest more than 6 months of the year from either flowers or seeds, and the rest of the year, they exude a calming effect with their staid stiff dark green leaves additionally, they are so easy to care for. Their care actually involves not giving them too much attention. Don'y give them too much water-keep them on the dry side or they are likely too rot. By this I mean do not water on a schedule and  hardly at all during the colder months. When you see the flower scape forming, give a little more water. Don't let them freeze, and give bright light, but not direct sun. They might enjoy a summer under the trees but I never do that for fear they may get too wet when we have a rainy spell. I leave them in the greenhouse through the heat of summer and they seem to thrive. I have planted the seed that developed and find that they germinate well. keeping them underpotted and crowded in the pots helps with not getting them too wet, as well as the display of flowers when they bloom. I usually put 3 mature bulbs in aa 8 inch pot. 

 This year I was surprised with a different sort of bloom that I have not had before (that I remember). The markings on the bloom  below are  striking and I am left wondering whether this dual coloration was a result of some environmental condition or if  this plant never bloomed before, or if I was just not observant. Next year I will take more careful note.

March and April Orchids

There were lots of orchid blooms in the greenhouse in March and April. These are a sampling. Below is a Cymbidium. They used to have Cymbidium corsages in walmart and like stores at Mother's Day, but I did not see any this year.

I post a picture of this Epidendrum nearly every year. I have been hgrowing it in the same pot for over 30 years. It is a misnomer to say it is in a pot, but there is one somewhere down under there. Many Epidendrons have been killed with too much water, so my solution to that is no potting media at all. The roots just hand in the air. When I water in the greenhouse, I spray it, except from October til I see buds on it around February. I start watering it again then. This just says "Spring' to me!

My slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum) bloomed sporadically this year. I only had 2 or 3 blooms. I try not to let the greenhouse temperature fall below 52F but this year one night it did. This may have effected the bloom or any one of a number of other factors. But this beauty is not to be sneezed at. It is the cultivar called 'Rosy Dawn'.

 I often think the orchids bloom in spite of me, not because of me.