Abelia The Butterfly Attractor

Abelia

Planat Review

The Butterfly Magnet

 

Photo Taken by Alex Duvall age 10

Everyone loves butterflies and the best way to attract them is to plant what they love. Here in my garden it is Abelia. A semi deciduous (deciduous means it keeps its leaves in the fall) shrub that grows to around 7 feet tall. They are in the honeysuckle family so this means that the flowers are scented. This shrb loves the heat of the south.  So give this shrub a spot in your butterfly garden.

I wish you could see all the butterflies...the kids and I counted them and there were over TWENTY!

Casablanca Lillie's - Flower Review

Lilim Casa Blanca

Casa Blanca Lillie's

Look at my Lovely Casablanca Lillie's

They glow at night! I had to tie them to the trellis they just got too big...and they smell like heaven.

They even glow in the dark!

 

These flowers are very easy to grow, they are planted on the south side where they get full sun all day long.  They stand at the perfect hight for getting a good whif.  They do need steaking as the get very tall and the flower heads get heavy.



Drought Servival

Has the drought got your garden wilting? I found a trick that kept my tomatoes juicy and plump during the Souths drought. In fact all my plants thrived.

The trick is Dew...yep, Dew. Mother Nature wasn't providing it so I had to make it myself. I bought a pump sprayer and went out every morning and misted everything. Once a month I would add compost tea < click for instructions. (a liquid that you make from compost) there are also liquid organic fertilizer's available you can purchase.

Plant Review - Christmas Cactus

Schlumbergera

Christmas Cactus

A House Plant Worth Talking About

These are on the top of my list of favorite plants. I admit they had me muddle with the first few I got as gifts. I couldn’t get them to keep the blooms on they always fell off. The trick I found out is that you have to keep them cool. Keep them outdoors as long as you can before bringing them in. Find a nice window with bright light, but far away from any heat source or those flowers will drop like flies.
Also To make sure it blooms this December, give it two tablespoons of castor oil around the roots at Halloween  and put them in a dark room.  
These beauties can be expensive...very expensive. So I wait until after the holidays, after all the blooms are gone. Yes, I know you want all the pretty blooms, but do you really want that pretty price. I have purchased Christmas Cactus in January for less than a dollar each. Then I baby them all year long, re-pot them, nurture them and give them as amazingly beautiful Christmas gifts.
One more note on these. They are very easy to propagate. I figured this out by accident, literally an accident. The cat knocked over one of my biggest ones and a lot of the limbs got broken off. I replanted my cactus and shoved some of the limbs down in the pot. And then planted others in other pots. The cats accident turned into allot of plants and gifts.

Christmas For The Birds

Today I though of some very dear friends of mine that have never spoken to me. At least not like my Friends, my kids or my husband has. If they have anything at all to say they sing it...in the spring and summer they Wake me every morning with a song. I watch them play and eat outside my window. The leave me gifts of nest, eggs and feathers.

Today I gave them their Christmas gift and I wanted to share it with you all. It didn't take much...I think I spent $6.00 on bird food at Kroger. I pulled out Peanut butter and lard, I already had.  And collected a basket of pine cones and red yarn from my stash. It took me maybe 30 minutes to cover five cones in the gooey mixture, roll them in the seed and tie a red thread. Then I hung them on the tree, as I was putting the second one one the first already had chickadees nibbling at it.

While I was outside I noticed how red the berries were on the Hollie and thought what a shame it was on the back of my property where I couldn't enjoy it. So I started cutting at the holly bush, pulled up some Ivy and cut off some boxwood, got some craft wire and pliers and started wrapping up my pole. It looked really nice, I remembered I had an old red bow inside so I grabbed it after I washed out and refilled the humming bird feeder. I usually don't use the red food color but I just couldn't help myself, being the red season and all, it just looked so nice.

 

I make sure my bird feeder is where I can see it from inside, so my friends and I can visit often. Once a wren moved in on the back porch, where we have our class room. It took over a basket of ropes and had three babies. We were lucky enough to witness their first flight.

How fortunate I am to have such nice friends.

(I wish the pictures were larger but it wouldn't let me change them...sorry)

Golden Guardian Marigold

GOLDEN GUARDIAN
is the Marigold in the photo.

I swear to you that I only planted two rows.

I even cut it back a foot in July.

But as you can see it took over the garden and is putting on a lovely fall show. It took over the Lima beans...little Trinity and I were able to rescue a few. The carrots are in here somewhere along with some leeks. We have been able to swim in the sea of gold and find a few for meals.

I don't think she means to be so pushy and overwhelming but she is a bit of a show off don't you think?