Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

When we show up, we win.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: A Place for Everything…

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: A Place for Everything…

by | 110 Comments

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From commentor La Passionara:

[At top] is a nice little bug hotel that I saw several years ago in the Missouri Botanical Garden. I have been meaning to start collecting the seed pods, etc, to make one.

And then I saw the Bee Hotel in the Jardin Des Plantes, in Paris.

This is quite an edifice, which I knew to be outside my skill set, but I was thinking maybe one of the handier jackals might be interested in making one, or a smaller version of one.

This was supposed to be a collection of sunflowers, and I suppose they are, but just not the kind I had envisioned. I do like the color, so I am not complaining.

Next, I noticed this had popped up in a bed behind my house. I have never seen this happen before, in the five years I have lived here.

So I waited a few days, and it now looks like I have a spider lily. That’s a surprise, but I am thinking I should have more of these, as I really like them.

Hope everyone and their gardens are surviving the summer!

***********

What’s going on in your garden(s) this week?

Reader Interactions

110Comments

  3. 3.

    Dan B

    The Mexican Sunflowers should be blooming like crazy soon.

    Spider Lilies or Naked Ladies (Lycoris). They can be spring foliage only for years.

  4. 4.

    Dan B

    The Orchard Mason Bee tubes should be replaced every year because they can harbor mites.

  6. 6.

    Punchy

    Another ~10 or so dead in OH tonite due to a mass shooing. Nope, I didnt spell “El Paso” wrong. This is another massacre.

    God bless the 2nd Amendment for keeping us safe…

  7. 7.

    TS (the original)

    @Paul in Saint Augustine: In my part of the world – that’s 2 in the one day. I’m not much into thoughts and prayers but I do feel so much for those impacted and fervently hope that the majority who are against the massive ownership of guns use these senseless murders to bring on some needed changes.

  8. 8.

    Lapassionara

    @John Revolta: Goody. I am also growing a nice crop of milkweed in my backyard. Maybe I’ll have some stop by.

    I was actually hoping Ozark would get inspired by the bug hotel, and go into a side business of making them.

  11. 11.

    satby

    @Lapassionara: I had surprise naked lillies at my old house. They’ll spread like daffodils and after a couple of years you can speed that along by digging up the clumps and separating the bulbs to replant. Love the insect hotel pictures.

    No words on the back to back slaughters. It’s all been said, and nothing changes.

  12. 12.

    MomSense

    Lovely garden, lapassionara. Those sunflowers are gorgeous.

    Wait another mass shooting?

  14. 14.

    Lapassionara

    @OzarkHillbilly: I prefer the smaller one too. It appears to be a basic wooden box, divided into sections, and the sections filled with random things like seed pods, stones, etc. It sits on a large upside-down clay pot. Should be relatively simple for someone with basic building skills to make. Hint, hint.

  17. 17.

    zhena gogolia

    Happy Shirley Temple on TCM day!

    What is there to say about the shootings. On Sandy Hook day, I called the NRA and said, “Congratulations, we have twenty dead babies down the road here,” and the guy said, “You should be ashamed of yourself!”

    I’ve contributed to probably ten of the six million gun control outfits out there. Why can’t we put ours all together the way they do? I’m tired. Is it Brady or Giffords or Josh Horwitz I should be giving to? Or CAGV? Or a mlllion others?

  18. 18.

    Immanentize

    Hello All.

    Immp news — he’s home! No tubes but his J-tube (feeding tube). It sounds gross, and I guess it is sorta alien, but we are entirely used to it and it’s rituals already. The best thing about being home is sleep. He is still sleeping now — finally gets to lie on his side. He was supplied with a little back pack to carry his feed bag and pump. He already was walking the neighborhood yesterday. He has strength to build, but he is doing great. He gets one ounce of clear liquid to sip every hour. He was craving pickle juice yesterday. What did they do to him in that operating room?! ?

  23. 23.

    Lapassionara

    @OzarkHillbilly: It was in the homeowners garden area. I am not sure if that is the official name, but it has a building, staffed by volunteers to offer advice, and lots of different types of planting areas as examples.

  28. 28.

    zhena gogolia

    @Immanentize:

    I’m so happy.

    A Russian friend of mine used to drink the juice from pickled lingonberries every morning as a cure for hangover.

  31. 31.

    Immanentize

    As for garden news, the two tomato plants I was able to plant this year may have? Yellow leaf curl virus. I am cutting off offending parts, but it is worrisome.

  32. 32.

    Morfydd

    If you’re putting together a bee hotel and using straws or hollow stems or whatever, please consider putting a mesh in front (a few cm or so). I bought a prefab one and birds took great joy in pulling out the stems to feast.

  33. 33.

    Sab

    Goats come this week, then we try to reestablish lawn where the weed patch is. Any suggestions on what kind of cardboard (in lieu of black plastic) that I should put down to smother the weed stubs?

  35. 35.

    Amir Khalid

    @Punchy:
    The horrors just keep on coming, don’t they? On a somewhat less tragic note, today is Barack Obama’s 58th birthday.

  39. 39.

    oldgold

    Yesterday, while I was scanning West of Eden with my metal detector in search of my lost wheelbarrow, my neighbor, Noah Tall, yelled over the fence (he paid for):
    “OG, the problem with your damn garden is a lack of water.”

    Me: “No way, it has rained everyday for a month.”

    Noah Tall: “Perspiration!”

    Noah’s older sister, Neeandra Tall, who likes very old jokes and lowbrow humor, laughed. So-

    Me: “Noah, do you know why muskmelons always exchange their nuptial vows in the garden they were planted in?

  42. 42.

    Mike in NC

    They’re upping the ante. Next we’ll be having 3-4 mass shootings with numerous fatalities per day. Trump will take credit: “nothing like this has ever happened before in our great country!”

  48. 48.

    Soprano2

    I’ve always heard those lilies called surprise lilies, because all the foliage dies down and then, in late July, “surprise” they come up and bloom in about 2 days.

    I heard about Dayton right before I went to bed. So awful………

  52. 52.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I assume it is just a huge coincidence that Twitler holds one of his hate rallies in Ohio on Thursday night and by Saturday there is a mass shooting in Ohio. Nope nothing to see here, just a coinkidinct.

  60. 60.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @satby: Thank you! I won’t be in the lead for long, but the exposure is good. And I do like the cover. The artist is Marco Pennacchiette. I’ve never met him. He’s a nice Irish boy, I’m sure.

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @satby:

    Pretty good, thanks. Fed the little beast at 5:30 and went back to sleep for a while. (Just got up to serve her second breakfast.) Lying down seems to help—no body weight exerted on the wounds. They’re sore and tight but feeling better.

    I ordered a plastic sleeve garter thing from Amazon that will get here today, and that should solve the washing/​shaving/​showering problem. Thanks to tokyokie for that suggestion. And I appreciate everybody who suggested I go get a shampoo at a salon. I may treat myself, but right now I still have that “I don’t want to do anything” feeling.

  75. 75.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: The vote is rigged. I have been purged and am not eligible to vote. Or so I surmise because repeated refreshings don’t give me anyway to vote.

  77. 77.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @debbie: Thank you. My judgement really is bad on it. But I can’t read the titles very well on some of those. They don’t stand out from the background.

    The contest just posted at 8am EDT today, so I’m doing well because I’m up early. When normal people get up and text their friends, things will change. I’ll nudge BJ later in the week maybe.

  79. 79.

    Gelfling 545

    Your Mexican sunflowers are great. They don’t seem to like my location but I think they’re lovely. A fine garden.
    I just added a few more purple coneflower to my garden for the pollinators.

  82. 82.

    satby

    I have to go take a shower but the three small kittens thumping around in the bathroom make me kind of dread the hassle. I have to get kitten safe flea treatments and wormers today too.

    I’m feeling more bummed about the burglary yesterday too. I’ll probably have to nail that back garage door shut. I suspect it was someone I know or the previous owner knew. The door was fairly inaccessible and hidden by shrubbery and a 6 foot stockade fence covered with vines. There’s a second door next to the overhead door, so the casual observer wouldn’t have guessed another door was in back. There’s a lot of junk in there since they stole the only two sort of portable valuables. But I don’t want it broken into again.

  85. 85.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I showed up. They handed me a sheet of paper with a bunch of Chinese written on it and asked me, “What does it say?” I replied, “It says Hillbillies ain’t allowed to vote.”

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @debbie:

    Point taken, but I loved a lot of those New Directions paperback covers back in the ’60s and ’70s.

  94. 94.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Huh. I just voted a third time. Maybe it’s because I’m on a Mac. No one pays attention to them!

    It looks like others have alerted their fans now. :(

  95. 95.

    satby

    @Steeplejack (phone): here. Not really a biggie, and after all the horror over the last day really not something to feel bad about. Just added into all the other shit it brings me down a bit. Mostly because of all the work I have to do to secure that door. Edit: and because the bike had only been ridden once I have to surrender my fantasy of getting in shape riding it along the river. In reality, it was a bit too tall and I always had more important things to spend money on than getting the seat post cut down an inch.

  96. 96.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @satby: I think I said yesterday that our house in Detroit was broken into twice while we were away. It was a kid from down the street who everyone knew was trouble. He took small, portable stuff, so it wasn’t a big loss, but it was a violation. It depressed me.

  97. 97.

    satby

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: yeah, my suspect is a kid who’s room overlooks that part of the yard from the house across the alley. A rental with a history of trashy tenants. I assume they grabbed stuff they could just sell for a quick buck at a yard sale. Annoying… Mostly because I wasted money buying and not using [the bike] and now I won’t have the chance. Door was locked but didn’t seat correctly in the frame, so easily kicked in. But still…feral kitten safely inside. So on the balance, a good day. Except my bathroom is nearly a no go zone ?

  99. 99.

    JanieM

    @satby: @Dorothy A. Winsor: Quite a long time ago now, but I had that happen once, and the sense of violation took a long time to go away. In fact, I’m not sure it ever has — in that I lost my innocence about what could happen.

    Kid down the street kicked in the back door (most likely; he was never caught/arrested) when no one was home at my house or at the neighbors’ places on either side. He took a backpack and whatever he could fit into it, including stuff like cameras. From me he took my grandfather’s gold pocket watch, which my grandmother had given me not long before that (my grandfather died in 1926…my mother never knew him). I had just spent $300 (a lot of money for me then, I was just out of college) getting the watch repaired by a guy who did that specialty work in downtown Boston. My initials were engraved on it. It was hidden in my dresser — ha ha ha ha.

    I’m not sure what/whom to believe any more, but at the time the police said that the watch had probably been melted down for the gold within an hour after it was taken. However — they said that if I wanted to I could go down to Washington Street (Boston) to the jewelry shops and asked around. By law, jewelers were supposed to keep a record of anyone who came in to sell them second-hand watches (maybe second-hand everything?) and hang onto them for 30 days in case they were stolen goods. The police also said that the jewelers all cheated, and that I shouldn’t say I was looking for a stolen watch, just a watch.

    I went on down to Washington Street and talked to people in eight or ten shops, pretending I was in the market for an old-fashioned pocket watch. I am too literal-minded to be very good at that sort of thing, but all the jewelers at least pretended to go along with me, showed me a watch or two, etc. It was the strangest feeling to try to come back into my real persona at the end of the day….I was still looking around me trying to figure out whether anyone suspected I was faking it.

    Never found the watch. Decades went by before I admitted to my mother that I no longer had it, and why. Still makes me sad to think about it.

    *******

    Dorothy A. Winsor — I voted. It didn’t work on my browser that has ads and scripts blocked, but it worked fine on the other one. Good luck!

  101. 101.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @debbie: Good for you. We have to keep on trying and speaking the truth, even to those who don’t want to hear.

  102. 102.

    Yarrow

    @Sab: Use regular brown corrugated cardboard. Like Amazon boxes, as OzarkHillbilly suggested. Do your best to remove labels and tape. If there are spaces, slots or holes where you can see the ground then double up on the cardboard.

    Don’t use the shiny coated cardboard boxes like you get if you purchase a new small kitchen appliance. The shiny cardboard has other chemicals and dyes and things. Just the regular brown cardboard boxes. It’s okay if they have writing on them.

    Remember that a large percentage of weeds will be scattered by wind, birds and other critters and come from the top of the soil so despite your best effort you’ll probably still see weeds.

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    @satby:

    Electric lawn mower?! That seems like it would be noticeable, more so than, say, riding a bike down the street. Oh, well, condolences on that.

  105. 105.

    debbie

    @JanieM:

    I’ve had an apartment broken into three times and home-invaded once. Nothing ever taken, but you’re right, the violation is the main crime. Twice all my stuff was tossed, and it took weeks to wash all of my clothes because I didn’t know what had actually been touched. The NYPD scolded me once because I’d started cleaning, making it impossible to fingerprint.

  106. 106.

    satby

    @Steeplejack: it was a bright orange beach cruiser. Pretty noticeable. And the mower was cordless, so not obviously electric. Got it for lots off on a Prime day, so I’ll wait for another of those to get a replacement. I can pay someone to mow the rest of the summer on the difference.

  108. 108.

    dnfree

    @Soprano2: Around me those are called resurrection lilies for the way they just pop up, sometimes after years of not popping up.

  109. 109.

    J R in WV

    OK, with my standard fully armored browser, I did not get an opportunity to vote. So I tried with un-protected Chromium, and was able to vote. You’re still well ahead with 37 to second place with 11.

    So Hurray!

  110. 110.

    Lapassionara

    I know this thread is probably dead, but I actually saw a monarch butterfly this morning when I first went outside! Or, at least, it looked like a monarch. So the Mexican sunflowers are working!

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