End of the Month View June 2013

There is a lot happening in my garden today.
Lets start with the trees.

The Chinese Parasol, Firmiana simplex, tree is blooming magnificently this year.

These trees reproduce so fast that they are considered to be an invasive species.

We mow around it to keep it from spreading.

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Our fig trees are loaded, but it will be a race with the raccoons to get any for us to eat.

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Rose of Sharon, Althea, Hibiscus syriacus, always puts on a good show.

I bought a small double red one in the Spring, but it will be several years before it blooms.

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The Vegetables

There are still a few onions from the March 28th planting,

and on Friday we picked these Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans.

We like these as 'string and snap' beans, but they can be left until larger for shell beans.

The bean in the middle (with red on pod) is an Improved Taylor.

I picked it to see if they were ready to shell yet - just a few more days to wait.

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The Ford Hook Lima Beans are just now blooming.

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The Sweet 100 Tomatoes are just beginning to ripen.

These wonderful cherry-type tomatoes will continue to produce for several months.

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I have plenty of green tomatoes on my other tomato plants, too.

I haven't grown this one (Jet Star) before, but soon I'll find out what it tastes like.
In addition to Jet Star and Sweet 100, I have Super Fantastic, Sun Sugar, and Beefsteak.

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The flowers.

Bleeding Heart Dicentra spectabilis

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Milk and Wine Lily
I believe this to be Crinum zeylanicum,
but they have been cross-bred so much it is difficult to be sure.

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  Gladioli

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It is amazing what beauties you can get from a "Mixed Colors" package.

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I hope you have enjoyed this tour of my garden.

Have a beautiful day!

For more End of the Month views, visit The Patient Gardener:  Click Here!

Carrots and Onions, Tomatoes and Peppers June 28, 2013

It is time for Salad Days again!

I know this is not much to show for the June Salad Day,

but salad harvesting has slowed down since the lettuce bolted.

The Spring garden (onions and carrots) is nearing the end of production.

The Summer garden (tomatoes and peppers) is just getting started.

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'Little Fingers' Baby Carrot seeds were sown February 18.

Onion bulbs were set out March 28.

The Sun Sugar Tomato plant, a very sweet cherry-type tomato, was set out May 8.

Sweet Cayenne pepper plants were set out May 9.

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And now for Sky Watch Friday:

The Tomato plants' view of Thursday morning's sky.
Alas, these clouds moved on eastward taking their rain with them.
But, truthfully, another day without rain was good news
for farmers harvesting the Winter Wheat or baling their Hay.

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Have a wonderful week-end!

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Visit Veg Plotting to see what salad ingredients Garden Bloggers are growing:  Click Here!
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To see weather photos from around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday:  Click Here!

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Common Evening Primrose June 26, 2013

Wildflower Wednesday:

Oenothera biennis, Common Evening Primrose

Native to eastern North America, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico,

it has been introduced and naturalized all across the continent and into Europe.

It is sometimes called Evening Star or Sun Drop.

A biennial, it spends a year establishing itself, and then blooms in the second year.

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Outdoor Wednesday:

It puts up a tall bloom stalk and opens a few buds each evening.

It is very interesting to watch the buds as they suddenly pop open at sunset.

On a cloudy day the blooms may remain open until noon.

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ABC Wednesday:

X is for..."X marks the spot"

Notice the greenish cross in the center of the bloom.

X marks the spot for pollinators!

Moths, butterflies, and bees are the primary pollinators, but

Hummingbirds may occasionally visit, too.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Visit Gail at Clay and Limestone for more Wildflower Wednesday:  Click Here!

For wonderful outdoor photos, visit Outdoor Wednesday:  Click Here!

For "X" words and photos, visit ABC Wednesday:  Click Here!

Double Day Lily June 23, 2013

A Double Day Lily to celebrate the First Day of Summer, June 21 2013
Other than adding my name, this is Straight out of the Camera.
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Hope you are having a beautiful day!

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For more SOOC photos, visit Straight-Out-of-the-Camera Sunday: Click Here!

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For more macro photos, visit Macro Monday 2:  Click Here!

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For more photos with a little or a lot of yellow, visit Monday Mellow Yellows:  Click Here!

Kentucky Wonder Beans June 20, 2013

We've had rain.
We've had sunny days.
Soon we will have beans to eat!

We had a good soaking-in kind of rain on Monday, and sunny days the rest of the week. 

My Kentucky Wonder Beans are at the top of the trellis and still reaching for the sky!

I planted the beans on April 15.
Their bamboo trellis is almost 8 feet tall (2 1/2 meters).

Have a beautiful day!

For a look at the weather around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday:  Click Here!

Water Lily June 18, 2013

ABC Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Water World Wednesday
W is for ...

Water Lilies

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and

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Water Fowl
These are domesticated ducks, not wild ducks.

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Photos were made at McAlpine Lake, Amory, Mississippi.

This small lake is for children 15 years old and younger to fish.
Adults are not allowed to fish here.

Happy Wednesday!

For more ABC fun, visit ABC Wednesday:  Click Here!

For great outdoor photos, visit Outdoor Wednesday:  Click Here!

For photos featuring water, visit Water World Wednesday:  Click Here!

Gladioli June 16, 2013

I gave my Gladioli bulbs a good dose of fertilizer.

They grew so tall and bloom-heavy that some of them are falling over.
I think that planting them deeper would have increased their stability, too.

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I'll hold it up to give you a better view.
Since it came from a package of mixed-color bulbs,

I'm not sure of the name, but it may be 'Far West'

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Have beautiful day!

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For more macro photos, visit Macro Monday 2:  Click Here!

For more photos with a little or a lot of yellow, visit Monday Mellow Yellows:  Click Here!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day June 2013

Mississippi, USA, zone 7

Butterfly Bush reaching out, waiting for butterflies to flutter by.

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In March I bought 50 Gladioli bulbs (mixed colors).

This lovely pink is the first one to bloom.

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Gardenia blooms are adding their heady aroma to the garden.

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The Hydrangaes are lovely in the early morning light.

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I love the brilliant colors of Butterflyweed.
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Common Evening Primrose begins to open at sunset and fades the next morning.
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Nasturtium 'Scarlet Gleam'
Leaves and flowers are edible.
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Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

To see what is blooming all around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens:  Click Here!

Sky Watching - Sunset June 13, 2013

Sunset, Prentiss county, Mississippi, June 8, 2013

Same time, same place, using a zoom lens.

Happy Sky Watching!

To see skies from around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday:  Click Here!

Bugs and Butterflies June 11, 2013

ABC Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday
V is for Volkswagon

I spotted this cute Volkswagon Bug in Amory, Mississippi, USA.

Currie's Pharmacy uses it to deliver prescription medicines to their customers.

I hope all the reflections (especially on the windshield) are not too distracting.

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And now for Outdoor Wednesday

When is a 'V' not a 'V'?

When it is a mis-identified butterfly.

I thought at first that this was a Variegated Fritillary, but it is not.

It is the Great Spangled Fritillary

The flower is Sweet William Dianthus.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

For more ABC Wednesday:  Click Here!

For more Outdoor Wednesday:  Click Here!

Macro Mellow Yellows June 9-10, 2013

I am fascinated by the Butterfly Weed.

The blooms make me think of tiny ballerinas twirling around with their arms up over their heads.

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Someone gave my Mother-in-law this 'Easter Lily' several years ago.

It is probably a Lillium longiflorum that was forced to bloom in the Spring.

Outside in the flower bed now, it blooms at the beginning of Summer.

Happy Monday!

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For more Monday Mellow Yellow photos:  Click Here!

Day Lily June 8, 2013

Six Word Saturday and Today's Flowers:

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Day Lilies to brighten our days!

For more Six Word Saturdays:  Click Here!

To see more pretty flowers, visit Today's Flowers:  Click Here!

U is for..... Rain Gauge? June 4, 2013

ABC Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

The only 'U' word I could think of was Unicorn, but since they are so hard to find, I knew I needed to think of a different word. I looked in the dictionary, and right there on the first page of the U's,
I found it - Udometer.

A Udometer: (yoo-dom-i-ter) is a Rain Gauge.

From the Latin udus - wet and the French metre - meter.

I won this small Udometer at the Memphis Area Master Gardeners' plant sale.

The measurement tube has inches on one side and centimeters on the other.
It slides out for easy viewing and emptying.

According to Wikipedia, the earliest rain gauges (500-400 BC) were used to set land tax rates.

The more rainfall an area received,

The greater potential for growing crops,

The higher the land taxes.
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Magnolia for Outdoor Wednesday!
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Hope you are having a beautiful day!

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For more ABC Wednesday photos:  Click Here!

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Leafhopper June 2, 2013

I think this tiny insect is a Leafhopper, but I am far from being an insect ID expert.

UPDATE: Thanks to Hannah's comment below,
the damp spot has been identified as being caused by the insect biting into the leaf.

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Happy Monday!

Straight-Out-Of-the-Camera except for cropping and adding my name.

Canon PowerShot G9, macro mode, 7.4 mm, 1/500 sec, f 4.0

May 31, 2013, mid-morning.

Sometimes the Macro mode works well, and sometimes it just refuses to focus.

I was amazed to get a clear photo of such a tiny insect.

For more Straight out of the camera photos, visit SOOC Sunday:  Click Here!

For Weekly Top Shots, visit The View From Right Here: Click Here!

For more Macro Photos, visit Macro Monday 2: Click Here!