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"the(re) are a lot of British kindred spirit, diehard, native purist in the UK too."
Perhaps in the wild. But if you were to stick to natives only in your own garden you would have a pretty restricted collection and a very dull space for most of the year. Our native flora is small and many species require very specific conditions.
All of the above. Ice Ages and intensive land use for centuries. Habitat destruction is still going on. The last ice age, only 10000 years ago, covered 2/3 of the land and plants needed to recolonise afterwards.
What is the name of the group you've joined?
Perhaps I exagerated about some of them being purists. I'm not sure what they are? They are always telling other members
that their plants aren't true wildflowers. I will have to ask them the group rules and their definition of what passes as a wildflower in Britain? There aren't many native plant purists over here. They are the ones who think people should only plant species that are native to their county, but they all break the rules and grow exotics. For the large number of natives I grow, I should have the right fo grow some exotics.
I'm more lakeside than seaside. It is pretty though. I got sea kale growing, lol.
Hosta, heucheras, solomon seal, or ferns. They are shade loving plans and come in so many different color variation, sizes, and textures so you can get quite a bit of variety going.
Here are some shady side path gardens.
Before planting I think I'd want to relay the path and make it the same width as the gate. (If budget allows.) At the moment it is uneven and a bit narrow for wheeling things (trash cans?) in and out. Then go with the shade plants suggested. Welsh poppies would work there too and bring some jolly yellow to the gloom. Welsh poppy and hosta in shade:
For most of the country, unless they have been forced into early bloom for Mother's Day sales. big leaf hydrangeas will not be in bloom until at least June and often not until July.
The flower buds on mine are tiny and still hidden by leaves. Certainly not flowering yet.
I'm very familiar with Dogs Mercury and Annual Mercury. They're both very common all over the UK. While the leaves are similar I'm not convinced by the seeds.
Yes, it is. But, sadly few people know the names of many wild plants . Those common names were often regional and they evolved when most of the population lived rural lives and were intimately familiar with what grew around them. You might enjoy 'The Englishmans Flora' by Geoffrey Grigson. Obviously the name is outdated but it is good on common names and plant uses.
I’ve never heard of any plant called Mercury, so had to research. Dog’s Mercury then. Woundwort doesn’t sound as bad to me as lungwort. Jack By The Hedge sounds too good for Garlic Mustard. :)
Thanks everyone!
The stems do look a bit thicker and almost woodier than the Medicagos I'm familiar with. But we only see a couple here. I've never seen Kummerowia. Is that impossible in Oregon? Let's hope we see flowers soon.
Kummerowia isn't in Oregon according to BONAP. I may have passed by it without noticing it, because there are a few similar looking legumes in my area. I tried searching Kummerowia on i naturalist and it wouldn't accept the name?
Synonyms of Kummerowia
Oregon has 52 Trifolium species.
Mine is huge like yours and has 9 bloom stalks, does anyone know if that's normal or do I have 9 plants?
It's not possible to say whether you have more than one plant without seeing it in person. 9 stems is possible on a single plant but it could also be a clump of individuals.
I've seen it beginning to self sow in London. And it's spreading in Italy. I don't think it's that the UK is smaller than the USA but that, until now, our summers have not been hot enough to set or germinate seed for some species. For example in all the years I've had a Hibiscus syriacus I have only seen one single seedling. Tree of Heaven is another one which rarely used to self sow but I have it noticed it beginning to.
Thank you for identifying the plant, even though you think migration is solely based on one degree of temperature. Your indoctrinated political rant about "climate change" (climate changes every microsecond, naturally... because that's how nature, weather, and climate work) is quite silly though. You sound like you're saying ALL migration takes place due to people, animals, and plants that can't survive a single degree difference in temperature... which would mean they no longer exist to talk about. Or one of those crazy people who thinks we should "get rid of all c02," which would kill all plant life on the planet. Look up how much c02 your country puts out vs what can be stored in trees alone- disregarding ALL other plant life.
As far "invasive" and tricky maintenance... I don't remember that being the case at all. I live in Vermont, and the patch that grew on my grandmother's property stayed quite well in it's area. There were a self-sown spots within 2 or 3 feet of the main bunch... but I always just ended up mowing them down, and it was never an issue to keep them from spreading. As far as growth goes, maybe my grandmother did most of the work necessary to put the plant on cruise control. In the 8 or so years I lived there, I never had to do anything at all to encourage or continue growth. I don't have a lot of full sun areas here at my new place, so I may have some troubling figuring out a spot and getting started, but I do so love the look of the Empress Tree, the shade it provides, and the incredibly light wood left behind each year. I tried to reply earlier, but apparently this site on my phone will only let me type one word... then replaces that word with the next one I type.
Did you ever plant Montauk Daisies?
That's it! I scattered some seeds last year. In fact, I think I previously posted a picture asking what they were when I saw them in a park nearby. That's probably where I got the seeds. Wow! They really took hold. Thank you all for identifying them for me. Y'all are so smart!!
I'm so glad that all my previous posts are still available. In November 2022 I posted a picture of the blooming plant and mentioned that I'd gathered some seeds. I was warned that it could be a problem, but promptly forgot all about it. It took awhile to get going, but I'm so glad to have multiple plants growing on the strip between the sidewalk and the street. (BTW, a neighbor calls that area the "tree lawn" which is much nicer that "hell strip," the only name I've ever heard.
Snails and slugs definitely gobble down lettuce here. But the damage doesn't look like this. There'd be nothing left of that tiny seedling, not bite marks.
"Beans don't do well as transplants ..." Almost all my beans are transplants and they do fine. The soil isn't warm enough to direct sow until well into summer. I do a lot of transplants due to snail troubles. Lettuce, beans, brassicas, squash. I have to start them all in modules.
I guess if it is not broken, why fix it? Maybe one day you will kill all the bugs and slugs for good.
Slugs are way way down so that problem is solved for the most part. I was also wrong about some damage. 2am this morning I could not sleep and put on my headlamp and found new bugs. I have never seen them before. I will make a new post too. They were very tiny, long thin bugs with long antenna. They were on 2 plants where I get the tiny bite marks. When I reached down to crush them they scurried into the soil. I THINK they had wings but it was hard to tell. There entire body was about as thick as a pencil lead. They were fast and greyish brown. Any ideas? They are way to small to get a pic that shows anything.
This is in northern california. The tree was not planted. it just showed up. The fruits are olive sized. looks like seeds
When you say 'looks like seeds', have you cut one in half? It should be clear if there's a pit or seeds.
Can't help with the browning leaves but the balls are the dying flowers. You can see some fruit forming.
Definitely the remains of boxwood flowers. But I'm not sure all are spent flowers. To my eye there appears to be a fair number of 'balls' that are still in bud and their development somehow aborted.......like they were subject to some sort of weather extreme.
That could possibly account for the random brown leaves as well.
If you post close ups of the shrub we can probably tell you what it is.
Regarding your seating area question, you’ll still have to improve landscaping. Also consider what would draw you there, especially if you have a patio/deck next to house.
They don't look too bad to me. Stop them getting too wet again and just carry on with them as you intended. They'll need potting on.
Take them out of the tray so they can drain properly. The pots do have drain holes, don't they?
@floraluk2 - oh yes!! I would never plant without a drain, if fact I may overdue the drainage on many of my containers. I have them in the tray to move easily and have taken them out of the foil pan to dry in the sun and breeze. They seem to be struggling along. We got another downpour last night and they are tucked in under our garage overhang. No sun again today. I will keep my fingers crossed but some look so sad. They will not get a drop of rain water again until they are dry. I love geraniums and they are quite expensive here for them so I have been trying to grow them from seed. I did get some others to bloom in the house in April.
Thanks all! I will update if they survive the Chicago weather.
Non native btw.
Claytonia siberica is also native to the PNW. Everything grows in Michigan it seems.
We have 20 native species of Claytonia and 17 of them are western. The genus was moved from Portulacaceae to Montiaceae.
This is yellow Claytonia virginica forma lutea, next to regular C. virginica.
This is Claytonia virginica var. hammondiae. Pure yellow with no stripes.
It isn't a mystery plant. It's been named above. Only a bot would call it a cactus. Flagged.
No mystery here, John. The plant is Ficus elastica 'Tineke'. It wants a pH 15-20x lower (pH 5.5 - 6.0) than 7.0 when grown in container media, and nutritional supplementation rates/timing depend largely on the amount of light it receives; however, it can't be said that any plants in the mulberry family (Moraceae), of which Ficus is a member, like low fertility levels unless they are grown under exceptionally low light conditions which no plant in the mulberry family prefers. They will do best (grow fastest) in a southerly window (in the northern hemisphere), followed by west then east windows. North exposure seldom provides enough light to ensure the plant's level of vitality is sufficient to ensure adequate defense against insect herbivory and disease pathogens.
They prefer a 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer (like Superthrive Foliage Pro 9-3-6). 2:1:2 fertilizers are appropriate for plants in very low light, but trying to find one with all the attributes inherent in Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 will prove to be an exercise in futility.
Al
Are you intending to put in a new driveway and path to the front foot? If so get that done before landscaping. The work will mess up anything done before. If you aren't going to redo the drive a first step in landscaping would be to weed the gravel and define the edges. Then define the edge of the lawn. You don't need to put in edging. A clean sharp cut edge will do it. Rocks are not necessary. Nor is mulch unless you really want it.
Here are a few ideas:
Paint AC enclosure the same as house. Remove all grass. Foundtion area plant: Indian Hawthorne shrubs all along foundation or Pachysandra. Front area gravel for additional parking to help with parking crunch.https://www.houzz.com/photos/country-farm-house-farmhouse-landscape-boston-phvw-vp~3023736
About 6 years ago, when I was having my large trees pruned, one of understory Japanese maples sustained damage to its central trunk. I was bothered, but let it be. Years later it has developed a beautiful multistem - you can’t quite see from the pictures, but there are three branches out. Ironically, this year I’ve started learning a lot more about pruning; whereas before I was of the school of leave the tree to grow as it wants. So that “damage” actually ended up being a kind of pruning I would have never been able to do at that time, if that makes sense…
Yes. Mold.
How would you clean it?
Put on your hands and wash with Dawn and very warm water like you are washing your hands. When no soap is left dry in the sun.
Brunnera.
It's a cherry. Not a crab. Not a pear. Whether wild or cultivated isn't possible to tell at this stage. The size of the fruit will tell.
Btw if you cut a fruit open it will have a pit. Pomes (apples and pears) have seeds.
Wow, I’m going to blame my current pregnancy brain on that lapse of common sense! I didn’t even think about cutting the fruit open!! 🤦♀️
Thanks!!
Well I’m getting 8 cubic yards of compost delivered this Friday. My back is sore just thinking about it! 😆
I'd enjoy the woodpeckers rather than fighting them. You're lucky to have them.
Woodrose, there is a difference between their territorial "drumming", which is purposely very loud, and their excavating. I've watched before -- their excavating work is actually relatively quiet.
Yes, sometimes the woodpeckers will find something made of sheet metal and they'll really make a racket then.
The last one is PERENNIAL: Liatris spicata ([Dense] Blazing Star, Gayfeather)
You're welcome, but I did mean wood mulch or other organic material that naturally breaks down and makes the soil richer.
But a wood mulch several inches deep wouldn't suit the OP's succulents which don't need rich soil but do need good air circulation and drainage.
Note my comment last year "they're all likely to end up blue/purple if they keep self sowing. "
It is much less likely that, even if cross pollinated, you'll get the pinks persisting.
Simply GORGEOUS! Success!
How beautiful! I am so envious. Thanks for sharing.
"I don't know what rain does except taking the place of watering."
That's back to front. Watering takes the place of rain. I rarely need to water but when I do I notice it is far less effective than natural rainfall.
Radishes need to grow fast and moist. If they stall and don't get lots of water they become hot and tough. So lots of water would reduce their heat. Are these radishes from your own garden or bought? If your own maybe you need to adjust the irrigation. It doesn't need to be on if it's been raining. No way of knowing what's happening with your horseradish since it sounds like a commercial product. The difference could be in the source roots or in the recipe and preparation.
We had lightning in the Summer in July 1990-ish... (definitely July, iffy on the exact year). :D
Agreed with Carol on the mini-peppers, They're very tasty, often moreso than full sized bells, which have so much more water in them. Another indication of how different produce is in different places.
I have NEVER had sweet frisee, so maybe it is my genes. The bits I had yesterday were normal lettuce bitter, rather than nasty don't eat that bitter. Spinach is sweet. Lettuce, no. Even iceberg has that slightly bitter lettuce flavor and iceberg is generally describable as crunchy water. Endive is bitter, and challenging, but edible with something nice to offset it, unlike frisee, even the smaller ones, though I don't know if those are truely the hearts. I would never choose frisee as edible on my own, and usually, when so served, try a bite to be polite, choke it down, and leave the rest on my plate.
They just said on the news that Huy Fong are ceasing production until September because the weather in Mexico, where their new growers are, has prevented the peppers from reddening. I'm guessing there's a flavor thing in there as well. :)
"I don't NEED my fingerprints anymore, at my age and lifestyle" ...
If you do any travelling you may well need them. We get fingerprinted entering the US and now, thanks to the disaster that is Brexit, we can't even go to mainland Europe without it.
I never thought about it but looking at my old hands they do look faint.
I live in a densely populated area with ample rain and alkaline soil. I cannot grow blueberries in the ground here. The majority of arable land in the England is on slightly alkaline soil. It's not rare.
It can take eons for rain or groundwater to dissolve limestone, especially when it forms the underlying bedrock of an area. Just to clarify, alkaline soil conditions are not at all uncommon.
btw, the weathering of limestone is not at all the same as dissolving limestone. Weathering of any underlying rock/mineral material is the essence of what forms a soil's pH.
Big long list of testers here. There's more than just pH that should be tested for. Test, don't guess. https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-1132
What is natural about bleach (or epsom salts, for that matter)?
I agree with petalique. I've had Nespresso and other pods in various hotels and tried many of the blends. None were as good as the freshly ground simple cafetiere coffee we drink at home.
Ded, you deserve adelicious cuppa,every day! Most most department store coffee makers do not get the water hot enough and at the right time in the process, to creat flavorful coffee — even with the best beans. Some coffee makers are expensive and still fail.
We generally only make coffee in the morning, but always have a delicious 15 oz. cup with an inexpensive glass pour-over coffee maker — a Melitta $25 small coffee. Says 6 cups, but it makes two (2) 15 oz cups. See pics)
We order our Coffee by mail, whole beans and grind it fresh each morning with a burr grinder. But you can go to a good market and buy drip grind beans that have already been ground a pound or a half pound.
We use great well water/tap water that is about 205 deg F or just off the boiling point, never boiling.
DH isn’t much for house cleaning, but he brings me delicious coffee every morning. (But I also know how to make it.)
We also have other glass pour-over makers, like the small Bodum, but tend to prefer the Melitta with its support for the conical filter.
I would love to share a cup of coffee with you ;-)
PS Oh, yes, those coffee press devices are also very good and affordable.
I don't know which one I have. It's a few years old. It uses the original size pods. It has a built in frother. I didn't want yet another thing on the counter.
I love it. Like really really love it. I love it so much that when we go to Cape Cod for a week every summer, I bring it with me! I only drink my coffee black, no sugar, so I don't use the frother. I love the coffee. I love the ease of making a cup whenever I want. And I love that I can easily make 1 cup at a time. Also, I do not like espresso or any hot coffee drink with any milk product (no cappuccinos, lattes for me). It makes a full size cup of coffee. You can train the thing to make the size you want.
I actually bought it as a gift for my DH. He used it for a few years but honestly he was never really happy with the coffee. He would sometimes use the frother and sometimes just put cream in the coffee. Just recently, he decided he wanted to go back to a drip machine. Sad for me because I don't like all the things on the counter. But he's happy, so I'm not complaining. I am looking for a very small coffee maker instead of the large one he pulled out from the basement!
So, it might be good for you or it might not! Aren't I a big help!? Sorry!
Note, you can also drop the Nespresso coffee pods at a UPS store and they will send them back for recycling. That is the most convenient method for me.
If only I had a sense of smell. 🫤 Billions of sinus infections killed it decades ago. Thanks for the ID. At least I can still see its beauty.
Very easy to grow from cuttings if you scrounge some pieces. Just stick them in the ground and revisit next spring.
5-6-2024:
Noticed one of the Aesculus Glabra that was planted outside last Fall poking up this AM. ;-)
Do you intend to leave the pot in that position? If so I think it is too small to make an impact. I'd plant up the flowerbed and use the pot elsewhere.
Containers need daily watering in the summer, and since you may miss some days, I suggest something drought tolerant. Kent Beauty oregano is an ornamental oregano with interesting blue-green foliage and pink bracks. It would be very pretty in the blue pot and will cascade down the sides. Make sure you use the proper planting mix, not soil from your yard.
https://www.hortmag.com/container-gardening/ornamental-oregano
Highly unlikely the oregano will overwinter in a container in zone 6.
I would leave the current box hedge but cut it down to about 10 inches. Thereafter I'd keep it clipped at about a foot high. Behind the box I'd put a single, white, evergreen azalea or rhododendron with a mature height the same as the window sill.
I'd also have a proper path that you can wheel a barrow along rather than the stepping stones and hard to maintain grass.
I agree with Norwood Architects, a Dwarf Gold Mop Cypress for year-round interest. It should only get about 3-4 feet tall and wide and won't block your window. You could fill in the outer edge with annuals or a ground cover.
I doubt it gets much sun in that corner.
Compare with Geum canadense.
Just found a beautiful nest of blue eggs from a Robin in my hanging Christmas cactus. What is the PROBLEM?!
Broken bones and few teeth. Doesn't eat dairy. Am I being simple minded?
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/peanut-butter-cookies this one has no flour and no dairy. I liked them.
Unfortunately, sablé needs butter to get the texture right. Shortbread is fine with marj. Crisp, even flaky, but not sablé crumbly or melt in your mouth. Partly it's the melting point. Butter melts at body temp and marj. significantly higher. Partly, if I understand correctly, it's the size of the fat globules. And partly the amount of water steaming out, but I think baking stick are pretty close with the water. Anyway, you can achieve a nice cookie, same recipe, with vegan butter, just not melt in your mouth.
Star Jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides might work. Evergreen, fragrant, thornless and easy to manage. I don't know if Combretum indicum, Pandorea jasminoides or Pyrostegia venusta would grow in your climate. I have no knowledge of your conditions but googling 'vines for arizona' turns up a lot of suggestions. Only local knowledge will tell you if they could work for you.
Is this in a morning sun only position or do you get afternoon sun? That will dictate what kind of vine will do well for you.
Mojavemaria - the arbor is facing east, and our neighbor’s house is close. We get a lot of sun in the afternoon.
The concept of an "unfitted" kitchen isn't at all weird over here. There are many companies specialising in them. Perhaps they suit the fact that many homes here are old. Googling unfitted or freestanding kitchen will get a lot of hits.
That isn’t even a face frame, it is the actual exposed solid maple structure of the furniture!
I was waxing rhapsodic to SWMBO about the construction of our new kitchen cabinets when she said “I don’t see any difference between these and Ikea cabinets” and I am now laying down with a towel on my face quietly weeping.
Building the cabinets did occur to me but I was deep into stripping the house siding last year and just couldn’t imagine stacking on another project.
There may yet be an opportunity to ruin some good wood. The bid to replace the seven failing vinyl windows on our second floor with wood windows, replace three original casement windows on the landing, and repair three original double hung wood windows on the first floor, came in much higher than I hoped.
When prepping the siding I took out and rebuilt the three original casement windows on the landing. They work and look fine now, and I didn’t spend the $7,500 for replacements.
So I am thinking about trying to build a double hung window. If one succeeds, I can build six more and save, well, a bunch of money. I think if I keep it simple without a lot of lights and muntins, it might be feasible.
If building doesn't work, try architectural salvage. Fixing might be easier.
If the front yard is bare dirt what are you trying to protect?
Pyrethrins, which is the modern Sevin, works well on Army Worms. But so does BT. Army worms aren't worms. They are caterpillars. Of some interest is that modern Sevin (and BT) won't kill earthworms, but old Sevin (carbaryl) sure would.
It did work 100% no ants going to peanut butter for 2 days. It rained, and then they went to peanut butter. I cannot say if they all died trying to cross the sevin or if somehow they knew it was there and avoided it.
I have a big slug problem. That is a separate issue I thought sevin would work but Dan is right it is not, which explains why they are so bad. I have worked hard at hand picking, checking plants often even at night, putting down Cory's snail bait (I had a box - almost gone then switching to sluggo). I am also putting down DE at base of newly emerged seedlings in hopes to get them through a couple nights so if a slug does hit them it does not kill it in one meal. I am finally finding a lot fewer slugs and the ones I find are generally smaller. I think it is my aggressive Cory's slug bait application but I cannot be sure.
I have a lot of earthworms, everywhere always so I have not went to crazy. I am selective and careful with sevin when I use it.
If you have snow in the winter, plant a vine that has large leaves and flowers. When it snows the vine will look beautiful with the snow on its leaves and dead flowers.
I can't think of any large leaved, evergreen, dead blossom retaining, flowering vine which would survive a z7 winter. Climbing hydrangea retains its flowers but is deciduous. Clematis armandii retains its leaves but not its flowers. And I'm not convinced it's hardy enough anyway.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
The path doesn't actually lead to the front door. It goes to a blank bit of garage wall and then you have to step round to the door. I would move the whole thing over so it goes straight to the entrance, not around a curve, but directly to the door.
I read your other thread too.
If you replaced that driveway with an attractive one, you wouldn't have to do much of anything else except replace the foundation plants along the bump-out. That bed also needs to be at least double the depth it is now.
I would make a landing even with the door threshold and bring it out to the front of the garage and add the steps up there. it will make the door area less crowded and more welcoming.
This is Cumbria, one of the wettest places in England. Shade is rarely going to be a requirement and anything painted white will be covered in lichen in a short time. A stone or matural timber pergola would be more in keeping.
Thanks for all the advice! ❤️
It's leaning because it is reaching away from the big trees and towards the light. Even if it is pruned the evening up will only be temporary. I think it has lots of character and, other than ensuring it doesn't cause an obstruction I would not chop at it at all.
I don't believe there's anything else to see. It's the blank street facade of a rectangular house. No yard. And the other side facing the water isn't relevant to the question. It reminds me a lot of the blank walls of Mediterranean farm houses, designed to keep the sun out. Hence the cypress idea.
please dont do fake windows….