Category Archives: Flowers

Milkweed: Clip with Caution

Posted by Lesley on April 11, 2011 2 comments

As a gardener, my natural tendency is to snip, trim and weed when I’m in the garden.  I want everything to look pretty, and right now my milkweed looks anything but.  There are barely any flowers on it; the leaves aren’t as green as normal; and the seed pods are splitting into messy mop tops. 

That last part I’ve happily allowed up until this point because I’m a sucker for self-sowing plants.  There’s nothing better than getting more flowers than you originally planted, and the milkweed plants are spitting and hurling seeds through the garden at this point.  They are determined to take over, and I’m fine with it.  Every plant around, real or fake, has a milkweed seed stuck to it.

I always hesitate when clipping back milkweed because you never know what’s hiding under the leaves.  Good thing I kept the clippers holstered.  There are two plants and six caterpillars.  If they outlast the elements and the birds, the caterpillars will morph into Monarch butterflies.   

Milkweed is the only plant Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on.  It’s like magic.  Plant it, and they will come – butterflies and bugs alike.  Although I’ve only ever seen four types of insects on my milkweed, an Iowa study reported seeing 457 different types of insects on their milkweed.  My four are butterflies, ants, milkweed bugs, and yellow milkweed aphids (pictured below).

I’d rather see milkweed bugs over milkweed aphids because the latter are detrimental to the plant.  They suck nutrients out of the plant and are surely the reason for my recently lackluster leaves.  Once the caterpillars move on to the chrysalis stage, I’m going to spray them off the milkweed with the garden hose set on jetstream - advice from My Monarch Guide.  There may be a few drowned ants as well because where there are aphids, there usually are ants.  It’s quite the interesting relationship; the ants milk the aphids. 

 

Interesting or not, I’m one chrysalis closer to grabbing the garden hose and reclaiming my milkweed.

Five to go.  To find the chrysalis, keep an eye on the caterpillar when it strays from the plant.  This one scouted out a few trellises before anchoring underneath the windowsill. 

Hope Grows Day: Amaryllis

Posted by Lesley on April 5, 2011 2 comments

In my first ever Hope Grows Day blog post, I was looking forward to the big, red, flashy blooms of my amaryllis bulbs…and was not disappointed.  

Reaching full bloom is quite a process.  I posted Part One of this post on March 10 when the shoots first appeared.  Full bloom didn’t happen until March 23.  It’s a bit like watching the wings of a butterfly unfurl from a chrysalis; one by one, up to five individual buds blossom from each small shoot.

It’s been a two-week amaryllis fest around here.  The flowers are outside, inside, by themselves, and mixed in bouquets.  I’ve brought them to friends; a recycled wine bottle makes the perfect vase.  And I even stirred the dye from the petals into a bar of soap.   

The soap worked out better than anticipated, although there were a few small snafus along the way.  It was originally planned to be an Amaryllis-Aloe bar, but the aloe wouldn’t mix into the glycerin.  I added a few drops of essential oil and went with Lavender-Amaryllis instead.  The amaryllis dye was collected over a few days.  As the petals wilt, the dye is released.  I got a few drops straight from the petals and a few from scraping the table where they had already dripped.  I kept the bottle of dye in the refrigerator until needed. 

In the past, my experiments with natural colors have returned lackluster results.  Red pomegranate juice turned the glycerin gray, and pink rose petals turned it brown.  My expectations were extremely low.  But as I poured the mix into the mold, it looked like there was a deep red tint.  The possibility made me impatient in the dark kitchen and leads me to this very important soap making tip: don’t move the molds until the soap is set.  My need for better light is what created all the little bubbles.  Still, I’m pleased with the outcome.  It’s certainly not red, but the purple is nice.     

To get in on Hope Grows Day, visit Sweet Bean Gardening.  

#thismorning

Posted by Lesley on March 30, 2011 None comments

#this morning is trending on Twitter, so I thought I’d go with it.  The weather is a bit sporadic with bursts of sun, shade, and extreme winds.  The temperature is much more mild at 78 degrees, and just about everything is blooming.  The sunflowers, in particular, are special because I didn’t plant them.  It’s great when the plants take it upon themselves to grow.   

This one and another popped up in two separate squares, while the sqash is trying to break out of its square.

And there are three late blooming Amaryllises starting to open.

#thismorning is good. 

Spruce up with Swiss Chard Stalks

Posted by Lesley on March 28, 2011 2 comments

I picked up a bunch of rainbow Swiss chard at the farmers market on Wednesday.  Although we grew Swiss chard a couple years ago, it’s not something I normally cook.  But it looked good, and thanks to the internet; there’s always a recipe to be found.  Working with the ingredients I had on hand, most of the recipes called only for the leaves.  But it seemed a shame to wasted those colorful stalks, so I cleaned them up and placed them in a vase filled with amaryllises.   

Love it!  So much so that when this one got droopy, I downsized it and arranged another.

In most flower shop bouquets, you don’t see stems.  Swiss chard stalks are something cheap and simple to quickly hide your stems and elevate your garden bouquet to pro status.  I used rocks to keep the stalks and flowers in place. 

So simple…happy arranging!   

Savoring Spring in {this moment}

Posted by Lesley on March 11, 2011 2 comments

The beautiful weather and my beautiful sister have me inspired to jump on the SouleMama train with {this moment}:

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Hope Grows Day: Part One

Posted by Lesley on March 10, 2011 3 comments

I found a new blog meme last night called, Hope Grows Day.  It’s set up by Sweet Bean Gardening and the idea is to post something throughout the month that you’re looking forward to in the next month.  When the next month comes, you post your results on the fifth day.  

During and after reading about this meme, there was only one flower on my mind: Amaryllis.  I love them because they’re one of only two bulbs that thrive in my southern garden; the others are Rain lilies.  So every day another bud pops up, I grow a little more anxious.  The current count is fourteen, and there are at least two starting to split at their seams.  

See you back on April 5 with gigantic Amaryllis triple and quadruple blooms.  There are at least two varieties that I can think of now – Appleblossom and Minerva.  Appleblossom Amaryllis have pink petals with white stripes, and Minerva Amaryllis have red petals with white stripes…can’t wait!

Natural Room Fresheners

Posted by Lesley on March 3, 2011 3 comments

I may have finally found the bright side of the grapefruit massacre…the citrus blossoms.  In the three years we’ve lived in this house, the blossoms have never been so thick on our grapefruit tree.  Every time I yank a grapefruit, a shower of petals rains down on me.  This morning, I got a whole branch.  Since the incident, I can’t reach anything–fruit, blossoms or branches–without the long arm of my citrus picker.  Since it didn’t hit me, the branch falling was a real treat.  I got to bring the good stuff inside.  Although the sweetness drifts in the windows here and there with the breeze, bringing in even a few blossoms makes a huge difference.  This small bouquet is scenting our kitchen and dining room.  Next up…soap! 

And Mom, your grapefruit are on their way!

Celebrating Springtime with Some Me-time

Posted by Lesley on February 21, 2011 None comments

Last week was extremely busy.  Between work, a sick dog and a visiting sister-in-law, there was no time for blogging or gardening.  But today was my day.  Lukey is starting to feel better and the absolutely gorgeous weather lasted into a new week.  It looks like winter is past us here in Florida.  I felt giddy wielding my clippers!  The mums, butterfly garden, roses and succulents all got clipped, snipped and plucked.

While cleaning up the Mother-of-Millions garden, formally known as the rock garden, I uncovered one tiny orange Kalanchoe blossfeldiana survivor peeking through the millions.      

After putting the clippers down, I planted sweet basil and climbing nasturtiums, prepped most of our meals for the week, and spruced up a couple of containers.  Oh, the things we could accomplish each week with just one extra day…     

In an effort to combine beauty with duty, I planted these two 95-cent Verbena plants from Walmart with a couple of Jalapeno seeds.  My other pretty and edible combo is Gazania and carrot seeds.  

Here’s my super-easy menu for the week if you’re looking for ideas.  The dishes are easy because every one can be prepared in advance when you actually have the time and energy.  And they taste good because most of the oven cooking is done day-of.  The meals, even if prepared three days in advance, are served steamy and fresh. 

Have a good week, and get ready to garden next weekend!  I’ll be posting an entry on butterfly gardening tomorrow…another thing I had time to work on today.  One thing I couldn’t do today was to say Happy Birthday to my mom.  I tried to call, but she’s busy swooshing down the slopes this week.  So when you read this, Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I LOVE YOU!  And you can expect a big box of grapefruit Florida love when you get back.

A Sweet Potato Valentine

Posted by Lesley on February 14, 2011 2 comments

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I went searching for hearts in my garden.  The only one I could think of without looking was the Bleeding Heart vine, but that’s too obvious and despite having heart in its name not that appropriate for Valentine’s Day.  The connotation is more antagonistic than loving.  So I moved past the Bleeding Heart, checking every leaf, petal and stem in the garden and nothing.  On my way back inside, completely resigned to go with the off-message but vaguely related Bleeding Heart, the tip of my toe brushed the planter nearest to the door – my sweet potato seedling!  There are only two leaves and two teeny sprouts on the whole thing, but the leaves…

…are perfect hearts!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Bleeding Heart Vine

My Obsession with Joseph’s Coat

Posted by Lesley on February 12, 2011 3 comments

I’ve been obsessed with my Joseph’s Coat roses all week.  Both plants are blooming – the original and its clone.  The clone is the only rooted rose to survive my mad gardener efforts.  This is its third bloom.

Unlike most roses that are grafted onto a stocky base, this one is a cutting grown straight in soil, so it’s a little scrawny.  I used a rooting hormone to get it started, and now it blooms once a year – one blossom.  The original has blooms to spare.  I paired two with red salvia yesterday for a quick hostess bouquet.   

After smelling, cutting, touching, and staring at the Joseph’s coat all week, my last obsession came to mind – soap-making!  The petals are soft and colorful with a beautiful scent – perfect.  I promptly plucked a handful and tossed them in my food processor. 

But they weren’t chopping.  As you can see in the photo, the petals were being scratched more than cut.  I popped four Vitamin E pills with a pin, squeezed the contents over the petals, and with a few quick pulses, had rose pesto.

I wanted to eat it, it looked so good in the processor.  Unfortunately, the color faded fast in the hot glycerin.

The lime rind in the coconut-lime soap tinted the glycerin a yellowish-green, so I assumed the rose petals would tint the soap pink or even a grayish-purple.  The latter was the disappointing result of mixing in the juice from a couple pomegranate seeds.  I’m hoping the dye from my Amaryllis will produce better results when they bloom in April.  Until then, the green will do.  The soap turned out nice.  I supplemented the fragrance with rose water; it’s a very light scent.  

These are my mold supplies – very economical but check for imprints.  One of my soap bars reads 997D4T with a recycle symbol.