Treasures in the Out of Doors

I got the notion to fill a wire tiered basket in the greenhouse with greenery from the garden and a few trinkets from a half century of collecting Christmas.

I clipped greenery from junipers and boxwoods. I decided a few cuts from loropetalum might make good contrast to the greenery. I was surprised to find fringes of blooms on some of the loropetalums.

One dogwood still had red berries but I abandoned cutting berries when I realized the same twigs had next year's buds. Just before I came in out of the wind, I found a last orange rose.

All the treasures went into bottles on my tray where I put bits and pieces to enjoy.

Charisma, the last floribunda bloom.

Dogwood berries and late leaves.

Loropetalum fringes.

... and the Christmas decors for the greenhouse, including

a rose campion plant, pecans and a red nutcracker.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

Tuesday with Tootsie and Rock Rose

Read 'Em All Tuesdays is the proper name. I think of it as Tuesdays with Tootsie and Friends.

The friend I'm bringing today is Rock Rose, so named because she gardens in a rocky part of Texas. She brought in her tender plants in anticipation of a hard freeze. One of the most interesting is a tree with lemons on it. Her kewl greenhouse is so stuffed she says there's no room for anything else. You'll have to go visit her blog to see all the plants.

Rock Rose

Here's what Rock Rose says about herself:
"I garden on a rocky hillside in Central Texas. There are many challenges but ... I have learnt that every garden has its challenges. Born in England my love of gardening came from my paternal grandfather. He had, and tended a beautiful garden.  I love travel too. There is nothing like the open road and a wonderful campsite at the end of the day. Traveling with our airstream Safari allows us to visit and stay within some of the most spectacular scenery in the United States. A home cooked meal and our very own bed is just an added bonus."

Rock Rose also blogs about her travels and that cooking she mentioned.

Visit Tootsie to see the rest of the friends who are being introduced on Read 'Em All Tuesdays #4.



Text from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in cool Southwest Georgia but not freezing. Yet.

Green and New and a Joy to Grow

My Bird of Paradise has a brand-new leaf, unfurled today.

I underplanted it with ferns so it doesn't look so leggy.

The first Amaryllis bud is about to bloom.

 

One of the pest control crew, a nice fat anole.

White begonias on the potting bench.

I remembered what else I wanted to have to bloom through the winter when I visited Darla's blog and saw her beautiful Geraniums Pelargoniums. Like Begonias and Pentas,

they'll bloom all winter inside in a sunny location.

High up, a pale pink Pentas bloomed. It has some Begonia cuttings around

its ankles. and is up among the stems of a pink Brugmansia.

I had company Wednesday, the nine-year-old granddaughter of a neighbor.

She said she'd always wanted a greenhouse. I asked what she would grow.

She thought she'd like really weird plants.

We decided pitcher plants would be a good start.

She'd seen some on a field trip and said they looked as if they breathed.

Then we pinched and sniffed various herbs like rosemary, oregano and lemon grass.

We broke off dried blossoms of Salvia leucantha that she thought felt just like velvet.

 

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia where it is about to turn cooler.

I Haven't Given up on Blotanical. Yet.

Have you noticed the new Blotanical Logo?

It links to some information about when we might expect Version 2 and promises weekly updates. There's a link to follow Stuart on Twitter, if you have a Twitter Account. I don't.

Meanwhile, I'm hopeful that new members are not discouraged when their posts don't show up or cannot be picked. Some old members, too.

Picks are sporadical on my part. So are comments on blogs I read. I'm seeing more of your blogs on Facebook.

Then there's that Google thing. I keep getting notices that I've been added to a circle by someone I never heard of and don't know how to check them out. It gives me a creepy feeling.

Thanksgiving rolled right up here in no time at all. February will be here before we know it.

What do you think?


Meanwhile, I'll be spending my time here:

among these:

and this:

mesclun.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia. We had a freeze and then it was hot again.

November's Wide View

Town Mouse has a lovely First Views meme that I missed on the first of the month but I'll catch up here.

November 5, 2011

Photo above and below taken on November 7, 2011.

Here we are looking down the steps at far left on the first pic.

November 13, 2011

The Purple Heart is limp; Alternanthera is seared.

They'll be covered with pine straw.

I had already pulled Melampodium and Madagascar periwinkle

in anticipation so I didn't have to see annuals all frozen.

I'm focusing my attention on plants that tolerate cold: here Violas and Rosemary

... and an old Camellia sasanqua that laughs at a little frost.

This is a great meme; I always have better views on the First than on the Fifteenth, or was it just my imagination because I forgot there was a Blog Party for the first?

Go see Town Mouse and join the fun.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

Tuesdays with Tootsie and Friends

It's a Blog Party with Tootsie introducing other Bloggers whose sites you love to visit.

I try to spend much time visiting blogs in my own zone. Noelle and I share similar zones but our climates are very unlike. We have in common that our winters are mostly mild. What we don't have in common is my humidity.



I borrowed a photo from AZ Plant Lady to pique your interest about all the events going on there. There's a new baby named Lily. There is a recent trip to buy plants for MIL's garden. So much is going on and there are children, lots of children and flowers and oh, you must see for yourself at Ramblings from a Desert Garden formerly AZ Plant Lady.

"Ramblings From a Desert Garden
The plant tips and guidelines in this blog are primarily geared towards the gardener in the desert southwest. These tips come from a combination of my degree in Horticulture and my years of working as a horticulturist where I managed & designed landscapes in a 9a zone.

One thing I have learned is that there are often exceptions to the rule in regards to plant behavior. Plants are living things and do not always act the way we expect them too. Some plants thrive where they should not, grow larger or smaller, fail to thrive and in general ignoring the published information that says otherwise. So, the advice I give is based on both my experience as well as published material."

COPYRIGHT © 2011 RAMBLINGS FROM A DESERT GARDEN

It's excellent advice. Go see.

Visit Tootsie to see other Blog recommendations from Blog readers on Read 'Em All Tuesday




Text from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

Buffy Scores a Touchdown and Tackles the Cheerleader

It's okay if you laugh.

It Isn't Christmas without a Bowl of Paperwhites

I blogged about my Paperwhites on Seedscatterer II. I had so many pics I thought I would put them here, no duplicates. If you need to know details on how to force narcissus in time for Christmas, the discussion is on Seedscatterer II here.

All that is needed is a waterproof container, some charcoal,

paperwhite narcissus bulbs and water.

No prechilling is needed.

The monkey container is painted tin. I use a large plastic

butter tub as a liner to prevent rusting. The cobalt blue

canister lost its lid. Ceramic, it doesn't need a liner.

The white pots on the potting bench shelf would be great for forcing bulbs. I use them as cache pots

as they have no drain hole. Maybe I'll put some hyacinths in them. Hyacinth bulbs are chilling until December in a refrigerator that holds no fruit, along with potted tulips.

I use river stones for support. Flat marbles

will work and add some glitter.

All are potted and water added up to the

bottom of the bulb.

the Casserole with the butterflies would make a good container

for forced bulbs if it wasn't full of alternanther cuttings.

The glass cylinders came in a kit with amaryllis bulbs

last year. I do not recommend forcing amaryllis in water.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

The Greenhouse Pest Control Team

I can't find Anole pictures from previous years and have not been fortunate in capturing one lately, but they are there. Eastern Fence Lizards, too. They come in when it gets cold and spend the winter catching insects.

No problem in getting tiny peeper frogs to pose.

Ike lies in wait for anything that moves.

No mouse will set up shop in this greenhouse.

'What did you put in this container?'

I help out where needed with spritzes of soapy water, swabs of alcohol and fly swatter.

We shun chemicals for obvious reasons, like the one below.

Do you see the Skipper on the Pentas blossom?

They fly in and out the open door.

Look carefully over on the far right.

Bumblebee.

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.

The Elephant in the Room

I potted a little Brugmansia like the one above for the greenhouse. I thought I would leave the rest in the garden in hopes for a mild winter that would allow them to come back from the roots. I had only one round of bloom this summer. Hummingbird Moth caterpillars kept eating the foliage.

One of the two big brugs kept calling out every time I passed. I finally grabbed a big nursery container, filled the bottom with potting soil and went for it with my trenching spade. I removed the worst of the chewed leaves.  The stems are loaded with developing leaves. I hope the shock of transplant and the change in provenance doesn't set it back too much.

I ended up with a five foot tall plant with four stems. Some things had to be moved so there is room atop the shelf over the heat sink water barrels. After nightfall the wilting improved.

The light colored pot above was replaced by the

container holding the Brug and the airplanes repositioned.

The Foxtail Fern went over to join another like it.

Foxtail Fern underplanted with alyssum.

Pink Pentas rooted cutting.

I'll be rearranging plants and pots for some time. I bumped up this Pentas that has rooted well and is blooming well. Its roots had just filled the little purple pot it was in.

I keep finding bits and pieces that beg to be brought inside before frost. Pots of violas and gerbera daisies can remain outside and just be tucked inside on the walkways when a hard freeze is expected overnight so they can remain in bloom.

View from the east end showing the water barrels.

View from the south side shows the water pipe at left,

electrical panel running horizontally over a plant shelf

and water barrels at right end with their pump in the corner.

I read about a tropical greenhouse that has a brug, bigger than mine, that has Vanda orchids attached to it. That's a bit ambitious for me, but I did see some little Vandas at a nursery the other day....


Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in Southwest Georgia zone 8b.