Lantana Replaced with Wildflowers

That’s what I hope will be the result! Sadly, my lantana plants looked like they were stricken by some type of disease. To prevent potential risk for spread to surrounding plants, I removed the lantana. It’s a necessary part of routine garden maintenance.
In their place, I sprinkled wildflower seeds. I purchased a plastic bucket of seeds [...]

My Backyard Spring Garden

Oh, this is the reason I enjoy gardening so much! This section of my backyard consists primarily of roses, but also features alstromeria (Peruvian lily), lantana, and French lavender. A bit of maintenance and patience pays off during these days!
CONSUMER ALERT UPDATE: There have been reports that alstromeria or Peruvian lily plant is poisonous if it is [...]

Red Leaf Lettuce, Bolting

This red leaf lettuce has bolted, meaning that the seed stalk has elongated  and will soon produce flowers. The leaves on bolted lettuce are rendered bitter, so the plant should be discarded. Lantana are pictured on the right of the lettuce.
For detailed information on lettuce bolting and its prevention, please refer to: http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1994/4-6-1994/let.html
CONSUMER ALERT UPDATE: Lantana is highly [...]

Succulent: Mother of Pearl or Ghost Plant, in Flower!

This certainly adds warm sunshine to any winter day! Rain is expected in my area tonight, but not before I snapped this photo of flower stalks blooming in one of my mother of pearl or ghost plants (also known as Graptopetalum paraguayense). This is a very striking and dramatic display – click on the photo [...]

Autumn Garden Clean-Up and Preparation

I’m almost finished with my seasonal ritual of cleaning up my garden, to make way for autumn plants. This includes trimming back my lantana with garden shears, removing withered tomato plants and dwarf snapdragons, and deadheading my still-productive roses. Clean-up requires time, and large green-waste containers, but it’s such a peaceful, de-stressing activity for me that [...]

Colony Collapse Disorder

This is such a devastating problem of potentially disastrous proportions. The entire food chain (human survival) is dependent on bees for pollination of food plants. As mentioned in my previous post, information about colony collapse disorder - where bees are either dying off or are in low numbers – can be found on the U. S. Department of Agriculture [...]

Butterfly: Fiery Skipper

The lovely fiery skipper butterfly, also known as Hylephila phyleus, is common to my area. Its intense orange coloring is a nice complement to the hot colors of my lantana!
CONSUMER ALERT UPDATE: Lantana is highly poisonous if it is ingested. I’ve gotten a rash after pruning it. Please take care with this plant. More information on toxic [...]

Bees Are Great Garden Partners

They’re great pollinators, which is vital to our gardens, especially our fruit and vegetable crops. The photos (left to right) are a bit blurry, but they’re indulging in my French lavender and lantana plants. Plant more bee-friendly plants and your garden will be buzzing and your fruit and vegetable (and flower!) garden will be thriving! Information about colony collapse [...]

Color Explosion!

The colors of lantana and lavender are very complementary! Lantana can withstand irregular watering and still flower profusely. I took this photo (left) earlier this evening. It gets tall and quite lush with leaves so they have to be pruned occasionally. TIP: wear gloves and long sleeves when coming into contact with this plant since it irritates the skin.
Salvia [...]

Follow Up on Tree Bark “Lawn”

It’s been a few days since installing the tree bark “lawn,” for lack of a better word. It looks great, but it seems also to have drawn interest from birds, primarily house sparrows. I’m not sure if they’re thinking that the bark may be hiding places for insects, insect larvae, seeds, or any or none [...]