Bulbous Munchers & Aliens

You spend good money on flowering bulbs and have beautiful effects the following season. Sometimes. This is what I should be seeing in my flower beds in the back yard; but, you don't always get what you payed for. It is not always a poor bulb, maybe it is something else.

This is not a type I planted, this is tulip at a nearby garden. Well this is what I should be seeing, get the picture.

 This is what I have been seeing for the past few weeks. Pretty, yes?

Close-up you can see the damage caused from teeth marks. No, I am not on a tulip diet. It just happens that the White-Tailed Deer have returned. I love knowing that they have returned, after being attacked by my neighbors dog for the past four years or so. Now the said dog has ran away and it only took a few weeks for the deer to return and find a new selection of flowers to eat.

The tulips are not the only bulbs to suffer. My Elephants Ear bulb has been consumed by some underground varmint, maybe the ne below did it.

The tulips are not the only bulbs to suffer. My elephants ear bulb has een consumed by some underground varmint, maybe the owner of this little hutch did it. These holes have been sinking around.

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Aliens are attacking my house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look what I found while clearing some brush by the house. The clay there is really soft and drains well because off the rich organic matter that has broken down over the years. I have these vicious spiny and thorny vines growing under my house and they have made their way from under the house, by way of these bulbs. I pulled on one in the soft soil and it came free, this was attached to the base.

It has arms, a face with a snout, and body. Can you identify the species?

 It has spikes on its tails like the vine. If only the before mentioned Elephant Ear had spike to deter the underground varmints.

What "aliens & munchers" do you have in your garden?

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Happy Monday y'all!

What's Poppin' Up & Out Outside

Every time I walk outside I see a new blossom or a new growth, then I say "there is going to be no more snow. There are to many plants and nature knows what's comin' up." When we had a couple hard snows, hard snow for us is anything over 6" of snow, everyone would mention how the almanac predicted a big blizzard in March. There are only a couple more days  of March left and no snow; but, there is lots of good rain. The rain has speed up blooming on a few plants, so nature does know what the weather will be. If she didn't then she wouldn't be exposing herself everywhere, thank goodness her cheeks are colorful and brightens these gloomy days. I would like to show you a few photos of the Dogwoods and Strawberries in bloom now.

Around here I grew up learning how the Dogwood represents Christ's nailing to a cross made of Dogwood, that was once a mighty tree and now is smaller because of the shame of bearing Christ's beaten body.

The four leaves represent the cross.

The blush color of Dogwoods is said to be the blood Christ shed for us at Calvary.

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I can't wait to stain my fingers with red juice will making jam this season. The bloom on the left has already been fertilized and will soon form a berry, on the right the bloom is in need of a little honeybee companionship.

 Strawberries around our house don't make it to ripeness and being picked. The rabbits and other creatures love gobbling up the fruit.

 

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Have a great weekend!

Everything, but the Kitchen Sink. So I'll Throw In the Bathroom Sink: Garden Edition

I love putting things together that do not naturally belong together. Decorations in my home consist of vintage coke bottles and Kerr jars as vases, plates as cake stands, and barn stars a-million. Outside there are headboards, a chair, a toilet, pots & pans, and even a bathroom sink. These objects may seem like my yard looks like a junkyard; but, the artistic twist I use makes these objects into beautiful plant holders and decorations. There is not much reason to pay $20 for a plant holder when you could recycle items from a thrift store, yard sale, or from your own home remodel. A can of spray paint in a striking color can also help improve the look of a recycled plant holder. Now I challenge you to try this and feel free to take inspiration from a few of my items.

This chair was found pre-painted at a thrift store. Someone had a some kinda idea when they painted it and didn't know what to do with it. A plant stand in the center hold up the heavy clay pot holding a two year old white Phlox. Phlox grows great in large pot and come back early, also smells very sweet. Spring has only been around for one week and it has already grown so big.

This is a light yellow sink that came out of the bathroom. The house is old so what came out during the remodel was also old. Sinks are perfect since the come with their own drainage hole and can be moved out of intense heat. I planted a small Hosta in it last year and it has come up again. The Hosta began growing about ten days ago.

I love the variegated stripes on this Hosta. Right now it is in a good bit of sun, so later in the Summer I will be able to move it into the shade so it doesn't burn. It will be so pretty.

Here is the toilet I mentioned earlier, this time you can see the whole deal. A Mustang Daylily is growing in the bowl and when frost passes I will put impatiens in the water reservoir. The toilet has light mulching at the bottom with red cedar chips. I poured a bag of pebbles into the bowl last year to provide good drainage and to use less soil. 

The Daylily is compact enough to not smother in the bowl and can grow into the pebbles. The toilet does not get water-logged, no plunger required, because on the pebbles. I have never seen the Daylily bloom; but, that is because I left it in its tiny pot until it died down, then I moved the bulb to the bowl.

This headboard came off of my old twin size bed I grew out of a few years back, it was 5 feet long and I am over 5 feet tall so I got a lot of head bumps. We took the headboard and base board off, both identical, and placed one in front of the Gladiolus and Four O'clock bush(hasn't came up yet.) I used the metal mesh part that hold the mattress and the board together as a trellis. I will show more about the trellis that will support my peas, which have started to emerge today.

The board is simple; but, it will provide a sturdy brace for heavy blooms and still be a pretty background for the blooms that are pink/white and peach/rose.

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