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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Flowers, succulents and bugs

As I write this the weather man is telling us that we broke another record today. The temperature reached 101. Even in all this heat the garden comes up with a surprise every day. This morning the yellow primrose, Oenothera missouriensis, which was growing in the gravel in the vegetable garden, produced its first bloom. Who knows how he got there but he can stay.


As many of the flowers fade in the unrelenting heat I am grateful for the succulent family. A couple of years ago we took the plunge and drove down to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. We were able to bring home many of their wonderful pots. This ceramic hanging pot is the perfect home for one of those succulents.
 
Remember the overgrown vegetable garden from two weeks ago? Well, now that the blanket flowers have been removed I can see the pathways again.

However, some things that happened whilst I was gone could not be righted. Unfortunately the leaf footed bugs had a field day with my tomatoes. Although the crop was large, many were completely destroyed by the juice suckers. I am still out there every day, killing them in an attempt to reduce their numbers before the next planting.


I wonder if other gardeners have discovered that both the leaf footed bugs and the harlequins have an aversion to water. So, turning on the hose under the plants makes them all move up the stem to a spot where you can see them and do away with them. I'll be out there again tonight when the sun goes down.



7 comments:

  1. what a lovely garden.

    Arlene,
    Puyallup flowers

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  2. We are fortunate not to have these leaf-footed bugs in Indiana, at least not that I've seen. Good luck in your war against them.

    We do have to watch for tomato hornworms, however. Do you get those, too?

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  3. Thanks Arlene,
    Oh, Yes Carol, we get the horn worms too, and I think they are about to arrive. I chased off several large moths yesterday. I'll bet they were laying eggs.
    Jenny

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  4. I love the wall pot combination of succulent against the dark green creeper(is that Ficus repens?) Subtle textural and foliage contrast always do it for me.

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  5. That primrose is beautiful! It's such a light, bright yellow but not that too-hot orangey-yellow. Looking at your nice cool stone paths is so soothing, too.

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  6. Yes it is although people here seem to call it Ficus pumila. I think the trailing type show up well against the ivy. I don't actually know the name of it, do you? or does anyone for that matter?
    A funny thing about the M primrose. Last year I was busy pulling the flowers when they fadedto keep it blooming and kept wondering why I had so many seed pods--until I realized that the seeds are right at the base of the stem. It must be that way with all Oenotheras.

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  7. Some of this is like rediscovering the wheel, I guess - watching the stink bugs climb when I watered the base was something I found out recently, Jenny.
    Good hunting, and thanks for the heads-up on the hornworms.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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