How Does My Garden Grow?

[Deerie me]

Very creative Tracy .

I like the wall behind the ummmm, planter. You have a painting with that wall and those roses don't you?

It isn't actually the same wall and roses but similar. That was well remembered. Deb what was your guess?

Kian "Eau de toilette Rose" LOL

English Cucumbers??????????????????????????????? I thought cucumbers were cucumbers. Shows how much I know

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

I don't want to post my guess yet, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt. It's the truth whether I post it now or later.

My first guess, before reviewing your beautiful catalogue, was of The Elephants. I love that painting, and I thought it would appeal to Linda as well.

After reviewing your portfolio, there are several others that had me second guessing my guess. So many of them, (all of them really) are just so beautiful. I also love your tall flowers that I first saw hanging in your home and then thought perhaps Linda would be more into a floral piece.

The Elephants were my first guess. I love that painting! (I love them all, as you know.)

[Sadie G]

Well Deb, part of your answer is close. I do like the elephant painting, but I love the horses! I already told Tracy, down the line, sometime, that will be another purchase. I'll need to save a bit more for that one, but it will be worth it!!

It is in the floral line

And since this is the garden thread , my plants need rain badly! I hope it rains all weekend like they have promised .

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Well Deb, part of your answer is close. I do like the elephant painting, but I love the horses! I already told Tracy, down the line, sometime, that will be another purchase. I'll need to save a bit more for that one, but it will be worth it!!

I was on the edge of my seat at this point in your post Linda. You built the suspense beautifully.

I also love the horses, but wasn't sure if you would. I remember you mentioning the Elephants ages ago, and that seemed to stick. I'd thought I would explain my thought process.

Oh, I still can't wait to see which one. I love Tracy's floral paintings.

When is the reveal

Back to gardening, the little bit of rain we had last week seems to have helped everyone's lawns (and my weeds), so I hope you have your much desired rain.

[lucky&babesmom]

Thought I'd post pictures of my moonflower,it blooms at night, the big white blooms almost look fake to me.The other is of my cardinal climber It reminds me of cousin It from the old monster show

[RubyJeansMom]

Brenda, Your Cardinal Climber is huge!
It does look like a green Cousin It...

I wanted to ask you, how do you collect the seeds? Or will it reseed itself if I just leave it?

[lucky&babesmom]

It is way more than one ,I never planted any there this year they just come up. If you want to save seeds where the bloom was will get a brown ball like ,pick it lay it to dry and store cool dry place in a old pill bottle or something. Every year I keep thinking thayv aren't going to come up & put a few more seeds in . Then I have way to many and have to pull some LOL ! You will find them other places to ,the birds and wind carry the seeds. I hope my moonflower seeds alto then I can send everyone seeds for it. It blooms at night. I love the big white fabric looking blooms.

[RubyJeansMom]

Brenda, I thought you might like to see how great my rose bush is doing...it's been blooming like crazy!


And here is a picture of my attempt at a patio water garden (aka mosquito farm ).
I waited all summer long for the lily to bloom, and was actually getting ready to toss it in the nearest pond, when it finally bloomed a couple days ago...Woo-Hoo!


A close-up of the flower

[lucky&babesmom]

Roxanne , I like the water lilly add a golfish to eat the bugs and stuff .Then you could put it in a warm plaace this winter and put it out again next year.I'm glad the r0se is doing well . My daughter sent me 3 ,1 yellow ( doing great ) 1 red ( dead) 1 white (dead) .Now I have to replace them before she finds out .

[Sadie G]

RJM my miniature rose bushes are doing really good too. I thought with the high heat they would suffer, but I think they actually like it. I have one pink one that has gotten huge, but still has the tiny buds and blooms all over it.

I love that idea (except for the mosquitos!) that you had for the water lily! And it bloomed . It's beautiful!

Brenda, I was going to ask you how to collect seeds from the Touch Me Nots, but I saw a seed this evening where the flower petals have started falling off. I love those flowers! I can't believe how many blooms popped out all over each plant. So far I have a light purple and two shades of pink.

I had a couple of surprises in the yard that I just had to get pictures of.

This popped up next to the back deck. I think a bird missed a seed I think it's some kind of daisy??? Not sure.



And this crept into the back garden area in the last couple of days. I peeked through the fence and it's from the people who live behind our neighbor. These little gourds are cute!!!

[lucky&babesmom]

Linda they are called touch me nots for a reason when they seed it gets a pod like seed storeage pod if you leave it till it dries you touch it and it pops open, so have your hand under it to catch seeds. You need the dark red , dark purple and real light pink ? I will try to collect some of them for you.

[RubyJeansMom]

Roxanne , I like the water lilly add a golfish to eat the bugs and stuff

Brenda, I did have a Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) in there, he was eating the mosquito larvae like crazy, but he was only in there about a week then he jumped out...Gizzie found him all stiff and dried up, lying next to the tub.

[Phyrie]

Bettas are labyrinth fish, like gouramis, which means they can actually take oxygen out of the air. That's one reason why they can live (although they don't THRIVE) in small bowls with small surface area. They can "breathe" the air! But it also means they are often very close to the top of the bowl/tank, and can jump. Sad, but true.

I bought three tiny feeder fish from my local fish store to put in my little water feature. Feeder fish are little goldfish that people buy to feed to other, carnivorous fish/animals! The goldfish did really well in the container, keeping all the bugs well eaten. When it became cold out I put them into a ten gallon tank that I borrowed from a friend for the winter. Well, no one tells you that when you feed goldfish on a very regular basis (like in your home) they GROW! By the time spring rolled around, those "tiny" goldfish were over six inches long! They now had names, personalities, and I could feed them by hand. They would come to the top and take brine shrimp right out of my fingers! LOL! Needless to say, the three were now MUCH too big for my little pond, so I gave them to a friend with a real pond. Where they were promptly eaten by a dastardly kingfisher who moved into my friend's backyard!

I found out later that the pet shop would have taken the big ones back and given me small ones again next spring. So you might want to consider that for your little water features. Everyone wins!

[RubyJeansMom]

Phyrie, That was the plan...But they were all out of feeder fish and I know how crazy Bettas are about mosquito larvae, so I bought one of them instead. I should have put mosquito netting across the top of the tub, that would have kept him in, but that would have kept the skeeters out and I wouldn't have needed him at all...hmmmm!
The wheels are turning for next year...hehehe!

Linda, That looks like the little sunflowers that sprout under our bird feeders from the black oil sunflower seeds.
That little gourd is way too cute!

[Sadie G]

You know RJM, I thought it looked like a sunflower, but I thought it was too small. I do believe you are right! And its under our bird feeder. I figured one of the birds dropped it!

Brenda, these are growing along one area of the walking trail in the park we go to. I got a photo yesterday to ask you if this is like your other vining plant that is like the cardinal climber? Does it get white flowers that look like these? The leaves look just like the heart shaped leaves in your photo.

This area is starting to vine onto the walkway.