Phlox

This phlox I bought because of the variegated foliage. I am sure it will look better next year. But I am not disappointed with it at all.

Here is the tag if you can read it.





Not sure why I bought Robert Poore. It looks ok. Not really one I would write home about but it performed well even after being eaten off a couple of times by the deer. I think the picture on the card looked darker than it turned out to be and I do love the rich dark colors.





First one I ever bought. Not sure of the name but right now it is planted under a Japanese maple with Hostas. The poor thing. Does real well considering the lack of light. I think next year I will give it a better home.



This one is David. I can't fine the tag but I know it said part sun to sun. I planted it umder my Jones rose bush where it doesn't get much sun. I think this one needs a better home also.


This is a little side note. I wrote the previous comment about the David Phlox a week or two ago and didn't post it right away but I just drove by someones yard that had two big groups of white phlox in their shaded from yard and they looked wonderful. I think I will leave him where he is at and see how he does next year.


Phlox maculata
Meadow Phlox

This is the native phlox for the midwest or so I am told. It is a nice color does well considering the deers dining habits.

Ladybugs

Several fellow bloggers responded with suggestions to my aphid problem. My first choice was Bob’s suggestion to use neem oil. The only problem was the nurseries I went to didn’t have it. I don’t really think they knew what it was by the look on their faces. When I went to the last one I explained what I wanted and I go the typical response that they didn’t have neem oil but they did have ladybugs and that would be the only thing they had that I could use that wouldn’t hurt the butterflies and bees. Then I remembered that Dirty Fingernails said that is what she used so I figured it would be worth a shot.


I can't say the ladybugs got rid of all the aphids but they sure helped. Next year I will need to buy them earlier so they are ready and waiting for the aphids. Thanks for everyones advise.

Morning Glory

This is interesting and a mistake at the same time. The interesting part is that this morning glory has two types of flower on one vine as you can see by my pictures.

The mistake is that I planted it in a pot to vine on the post that holds up the cover on the deck. During the last few days with the tempatures in the 90s it uses up all the water that I give it the night before before I get home from work to water again.

The last pic was taken 08/05 and you can see how big it has gotten already. But it doesn't have a lot of blooms yet. It could be more blooms will be setting on soon or the fact that it is in a pot and doesn't get all the water it needs daily might keep it from blooming more. Will wait and see.

Charlotte’s Web

I thought this was so amazing that I had to get a picture of it. It’s not amazing to see a spider web but what was amazing is that the spider spun it at night and it went from the tree in the middle if the front yard to the pots that sit next to the house. That is a distance of 15 feet. Wow, what an amazing creature.

Hydranges tree

This is what the Hydrangea tree looked like this last January. Now picture it a few days later with the branches gone where the ice is. I was sick to my stomach. Mad at my self for not thinking that the ice could break off those branches. Now I know it was all for the best. As you can see by the pictures you can't tell that the branches were ever missing.

Some of the blooms are so large. Bigger than a football. I can't tell if they have a sent or not. There is a Casablanca Lily right there so I don't know if that is what I am smelling or if they have a slight sent.

I have lost a couple blooms from the wind but they have been smaller ones on weak stems. The blooms will start turning a brownish pink shortly and will add interest to the front of the house this winter.

Name these plants

We found these while clearing brush off Scott's lake lot near Mound City, KS (middle of BFE). I guess it's not that bad. It is an hour and half SW of where we live.
The first two pictures are the same plant. The leaves are about 10 inches from the ground and the flower stalk is 20 inches from the ground. I have never seen anything like this before. I first noticed the flowers and thought how pretty and then I looked at the leaves and thought is that poison ivy? There is alot of poison ivy on the lot but after comparing what I know was poison ivy I ruled that it wasn't.

The third and fourth pictues are the second pland and I was thinking looked like Joe Pie Weed. I have only seen Joe Pie Weed a couple of times and am not sure that is what it is. It's stands about 3 feet tall and the flowers are a lavendar/grey color and it doesn't show up very well but the ones at the top in the middle are kind of fuzzy.
I am really excited about these two finds. They seem to grow well in shade or part shade. Plus the ground is rocky and the soil not real good. These would fit real well here in the woods

behind the house. The fourth picture shows the bug eaten leaves.

Praying Mantids

Praying mantids get their name from the appearance of their front legs, which they hold in a prayerlike manner. Mantid derives from a Greek word meaning prophet or seer.

Praying mantids can be from one to three inches long and a very unusal looking. Most websites say they are either green, brown or tan but nothing about this color, which looks purple to me. They have relatively large heads, eyes and large leg.

Mantids in the East were imported to help control garden pests. In parts of the country there are up to 10 different species. Some have been introduced and some are native. They grab their prey with the strong front legs which quickly shoot out and grasp their prey. Mantids feed upon various types of insects and I have seen a picture of one eating a hummingbird. One thing I can say is I am glad not to be one, since female may grab the male and eat him. The female mantid lay eggs in masses of foam. The egg case can hold up to 300 eggs and the young will hatch the following year.
Mantids have fascinated me since I was a child, I am glad to have them in my garden today. I found my information for this post at http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/dec/papr/mantis.html

Happy Gardening!!

Step Project

Here is my most recent project. I was thinking last year that there needed to be some steps here to make accessing behind the rose trellises easier. I was motivated a couple Sundays ago and put these in.


It was rather quick and easy to do. I guess since I have done this a few times before. All I did was figure out where I wanted the first step at the bottom of the hill and dug out some dirt so I could put the first rock half above and half below the dirt. Next I stood on it to make sure it didn't rock, if it did I just put some dirt under it until it stopped rocking, Then I eyeballed it to make sure it looked level and went on to the next step and did the same thing.


The plantings I did last week to finish off the look. The tree/bush on the left is a Crepe Myrtle, the picture on the card attached to it shows a purple flower but the one that is opening is pink. The small variegated plant in front of the bush (can only see a small amount of it) is the Tasmanian Tiger Spurge and the bush I am not sure. We like it because the new foliage comes out red.