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Saskatchewan — Sean of the South

Hope you like this wonderful story about Andre and the Saskatchewan Storm.

Our story begins about two hours north of the Montana state line in the hamlet of Pense, Saskatchewan, Canada. Population: 532—unless someone just had a baby. There’s not much happening in Pense. You’re basically looking at grain elevators, prairie, and farmers. Lots and lots of farmers. Saskatchewan prairieland is the world’s third largest exporter of…
Saskatchewan — Sean of the South

Mississippi Wildflowers in England — Felder Rushing’s Blog

Can’t get away from Mississippi ditchbank weeds – even in England (where they seem to be better appreciated)! All Mississippi natives in English garden – plus a rustic fence to make it work! But truth is, just as we yearn for stuff from afar, Southeastern U.S. native flowers are wildly popular in most upscale English […]

via Mississippi Wildflowers in England — Felder Rushing’s Blog

A Winter Harvest

This is Titan parsley that I started from seed last summer. It is in a carport window box. It gets set back on cold nights but always snaps back in a few days. I have to remember that parsley is a biannual so it needs a new start every 2 years. It is so convenient to collect fresh parsley whenever you need it for cooking.

The winter still provides enough fresh items for cooking. Here are some other things that I keep growing around the yard in winter.

Here is some lemon thyme. As you can see, it does so well in the carport in winter. It is a great addition to home made soups. We save leftover chicken or roast to make soups in winter. We like the taste of the fresh thyme in those dishes.

This is Tuscan blue rosemary. It thrives in the garden. If I bump into it, it emits such a wonderful smell. I cut it back one third in the spring to keep it from getting too woody. We like to add it to soups, chicken dishes and pork dishes.

This is ginger. This is one called Big Kahuna Blue Ring. I grow it in a container so it can be brought indoors when the weather cools. Just cut a piece and you have fresh ginger for stir fry. It is a pretty plant in summer but I have not had it bloom. That is a pinecone you see. I cover the top of the soil in my containers with pinecones. That helps to keep the squirrels from digging in them.

This green is red sorrell. It does well in the carport windowbox all year. That microclimate is warm enough in winter and just enough shade for the summer. It adds nice color to a salad and has a pleasant taste.

This is some of my indoor nursery. The leopard lilies are not up yet but I have some dill started and a nice crop of snapdragon. I wanted to start the snapdragons last fall and put them out late fall but best laid plans did that idea in. These snaps are Madame Butterfly.

Remember I was inspired by #Six for Saturday thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

You will also enjoy this latest blog from Felder Rushing. Summer Mississippi flowers seen in England.

Another cold day in January

27 January 2022

These are Johnny Jump Up violas in my carport window boxed. They have easily persevered during the cold nights we have had in January. I am hoping they will do the same for the next couple of cold nights. I am using my new iPhone 13 for these photos. The portrait mode gives these wonderful close ups with bokeh effect.

My “Jon Bos” hyacinth are beginning to emerge from the containers in my carport. I also have several containers planted with daffodils. Sill waiting for them to emerge.

These are dried luffas. If you don’t know these, listen up. The mother plant is a rapidly growing vine like squash. Young luffas can be eaten like yellow squash. If you leave them on the vine, they eventually will dry out. Then, you can peel off the outer skin and you have these. They will replace a sponge and are great in the shower for scraping off areas of dried elbows, knees and heels.

Lone daffodil bloom seen at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens this past week. It is a south facing slope planted amongst some clumping grasses. Very beautiful trumpet as seen on a bright sunny day.

These are some benches we have been working on at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. They are dedicated benches that have become weathered and covered with mold and lichen. First, we will wash them with a solution of dishwashing soap, vinegar and water. This is about a one hour job. This is followed by sanding with a power hand sander and also some manual sanding. This also takes an hour. I will show you a finished product soon.

A bonus for you today. This is a spotted salamander. Found this photo today on an email that came from Ruffner Mountain. I have been to where these creatures live in the Homewood Forest Preserve. I haven’t seen one but this was fascinating. I have included some text from the email.

The annual Spotted Salamander migration is an incredible sight, as well as the first sign of spring in Alabama – and you don’t have to travel far to see it. A large population of Spotted Salamanders undergoes this migration each year in Homewood, AL, and there is even a festival hosted by the Friends of Shades Creek celebrating their emergence each year! This year’s festival will be hybrid, with a virtual component starting on January 29, 2022, and running through February, and in-person hikes on January 29 and 30. If you love salamanders, I highly recommend attending and asking Friends of Shades Creek how you can get involved in preserving this amazing Alabama amphibian!

It’s New Years Eve

The mild weather is encouraging blooming. The leaves are all down so the color is a welcome relief.

This dianthus has been a treat for several years now. It is winter hardy and blooms prolifically in the winter and early spring. Just needs a haircut in the spring after blooming is done. I have this one in a container and I feed it in the fall and again in the spring.

This is Japanese Kerria. It has a cane growth like forsythia. It is deciduous and blooms early like forsythia and quince. The canes are bright green. The blooms are multiple and all along the canes.

This is a paper bush or Edgeworhia. It is a deciduous shrub but the branches are shapely and so there is a wonderful winter interest.

This is tea olive. It is blooming and very fragrant now as it always is after a rain. This shrub is evergreen and now is about 10 feet tall.

This elegant camellia is Sea Foam. It is young and now about 6 feet tall.

We are expecting some frost nest week so time to offer some protection to the tender plants.

Dec 26 Stroll through Birmingham Botanical Gardens

It is that beautiful weather that teases us in winter. The temp is in the 70’s and the sun is shining. It is temporary but so wonderful. Today we strolled through the BBG and found bloomers and buds to enjoy. All these could be found in yards in Central Alabama.

This is a Hellebore commonly called Lenten rose. This one is called Joseph Lemper. It loves shade and goes well near ferns. This is about the time of year to see the Hellebores blooming.

This pink camellia is just perfect. I couldn’t find a tag with its name. This is a cultivar of Camellia japonicus which graces us in January and February. They seem to do best in light shade or with morning sun.

This is an eye catching snapdragon. Many people are unaware that if you plant them in fall you will get some winter blooming. Then by spring it will be multistemmed and bloom abundantly until July.

This small fern like plant was doing very well in a large container. I think it may be a button fern. It also prefers some shade and will do well in a container as a “filler”.

Another beautiful hellebore in a variety called Ice and Roses Red.

This plain faced yellow pansy lit up the little garden where I found it.

Merry Christmas

Just two days before Christmas and we just had our first frost this morning. I checked on the Mens Garden this afternoon and there seems to have been little frost damage.

Here are my Five for Friday one day early.

These beautiful camellia blooms are outstanding. These are the Camellia japonica type which just started blooming last week.

This lantana was not harmed by the frost. Sorry this shot is a little out of focus. This bush like plant will die to the ground in winter but grow to 5 feet tall by fall. It is a prolific bloomer.

This holly is full of berries. I don’t know the cultivar name but the leaves are smooth edged as you see.

This is Gaura. The blooms are pink. It has bloomed all summer and into fall. It is a very reliable perennial. Loved by the bumble bees.

This black eyed Susan continues to bloom. Rudbeckia is the genus and I think the species name of this one is fulgida. This is another hardy perennial.

Adding this shot of our sign. Many thanks to the woodworking group from Vestavia Hills UMC for this one and to Fred Dyess for finding the marble for this sign.

Merry Christmas to all and God bless us everyone.

A Journey Begins. Guide for Photos.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

I thought it might be helpful to jot down some guidance for anyone considering adding some images of their own. There are no rules as such, but I follow this pattern:

1) Six things or less. Six! Arbitrary number, but there it is.

2) Not just plants, could be anything. A success, a failure, a plan, a completed project, a feature, a favorite tool, anything at all. So long as it is…

3) Happening in your garden now, or now-ish. Or at least in a garden right now. Describe your own gardens or six things from a visited garden, why not?

4) There is no obligation to post weekly. Every now and again is OK, you get the picture. Talking of pictures….

5) More than one photo of the same thing is also fine (you might have more than six photos in total). Don’t fret about photo quality, I use the camera on my phone. My iPhone is very capable of taking and editing great photos.

6) Add some text. For example, if it’s a plant, where did it come from, do you like it, does it behave itself, any important care notes etc, but…

7) Not too much text.

8) Blog platforms like WordPress provide the easiest way to participate, but Facebook works too, if you don’t have a blog. Just write your blog post then get the link to your article. Talking of links…

9) Links. Add a comment to my weekly post that contains a link to yours, that way everyone can easily find your post. There are several ways to do this. Via WordPress, there is an option to copy the link to clipboard, I expect other blog platforms behave in a similar fashion. Or you can just view your blog post on the web like a visitor would, and simply copy the link from the address bar.

10) if you have an X or facebook account, feel free to promote posts from fellow participants, share the love.

That’s it, I think. Like I say, not rules to comply with as such, more a guide.

Happy Gardening!