Gardening, anyone?

Gumdoctor

Jazzygirl,

I am not fluent in cactus because I live in the midwest. But I took a walk in my neighborhood (Yay Me!!!). I saw a yellow flower bloom looking nearly identical to your brilliant pink cholla bloom. Do they come in yellow also? (I know...dumb question from non-cactus person

Gumdoctor

Jazzygirl

Gumdoc- I think they do. I have prickley pears that bloom in pink and yellow.

My pink prickley is blooming now

jo6359

jazzygirl- what a beautiful flower. I love the color

Jazzygirl

One of my new favorite additions, a yellow primrose. They do really well here in the south west and my mexican primroses have gone invasive in the back yard. They like the heat!

Gumdoctor

Jazzygirl - Love that primrose. I had a deep magenta one indoors for a few months. It did not last long inside but I loved it while it lasted.

This photo below is not the highest quality...but as I was coming inside from the front porch tonight, this view of the roses took my breath away...so blessed and grateful to live here...

Gumdoctor

jo6359

gumdoctor- beautiful roses. No wonder they took your breath away. After my run this evening I worked in my garden. With all the rain my hibiscus and allamanda bushes were out of control. It was time to significantly cut them back. I've been rather unhappy with the thunderstorms over the past week but I have to admit my palm trees and flowers are thriving.They bloom 10 months out of the year but I never tire of looking at them

Gumdoctor

Jo6359 - It must be so amazing to enjoy your plants and flowers so much of the year! I am in the midwest and have approximately 5 mos to enjoy everything.

I believe I am having beginner's luck with these roses. This is my first big flowerbed ever and the first roses I ever planted. Stage 4 makes this even more meaningful to me because the planting was so difficult/painful last fall. Now they are fairly effortless and I can actually sit back and really enjoy them. I fuss with them alot just to make them look more perfect but it makes no real difference. They pretty mcuh take care of themselves.

It does give me a positive, beautiful focus to think about besides MBC.

Gumdoctor

Scottiemom11

Hoping the birds don't get my berries and figs before we can.

Scottie

Gumdoctor

Scottie - Those are both so beautiful!!! Have you ever tried netting? My husband just bought some for his blackberries and is ver optimistic...

Gumdoctor

jo6359

scottie-beautiful. Good luck keeping the birds away.

Gumdoctor-In south florida, roses require a lot of work. I have never had success with roses or gardenias. I I'm so glad your roses are giving you so much pleasure.

Gumdoctor

Jo6359 - Thank you. I too am very pleased they are doing so well. I truly need some success in something...some kind of progress...I miss my work so very much...

I think I am cheating with these Knock Out roses though. They require hardly anything compared to classic hybrid tea versions. Do the knock outs not do well there in Florida? I was reading an article about them being the most popular flowers in the south these days. This does not mean it is a true statement...

Gumdoctor

jo6359

gumdoctor- I don't know. I haven't attempted to grow roses and over 10 years because of my lack of success. I will check into the knockout roses

Wren44

Hybrid tea roses are a lot of work and frequently aren't fragrant. I go for perfume first, then color, then longevity in a vase. Of course, there are always surprises.

TwoHobbies

It definitely pays to have newer varieties of plants. My yard had tons of roses when we moved here but I eventually took them all out. The tea roses were finicky, always had black spot and the shrub roses were hardier but hard to control, hard to weed under. I noticed that after this harsh winter cold that we had, all my neighbors boxwoods are dead or half dead. We bought a new variety that was supposed to be more cold hardy, and thank god , they are. However the hedge that the former owners planted is pretty much dead. It is just barely coming out so we may have to take that out next year.

The good news is I declared to my husband that I am solidly happy with the front and side yards after11 years of working on it. LOL. Now onto the back yard!

Scottie, I have been shooing the birds out of my cherry tree, which I know is pointless. If they eat the top, I will eat the bottom. They are just getting barely ripe. Usually I get enough even having to share.

Wren44

Two Hobbies, My niece, an artist, had been shooting crows with a slingshot and cherry pits away from her cherry tree. Being an artist, she had painted her car with roses so it was very distinctive. One day her DH was driving her car. A crow swooped right down over the windshield and dumped cherry colored poop. We're all sure the crow thought she was driving. So beware.

TwoHobbies

Oh that is so funny, Wren. I tried a fake snake one year. I tried a motion sensor dinosaur that my son had. Nothing really works except one year we had the 17 year (?) cicadas and turns out the birds like cicadas better than cherries.

A slingshot you say, hmmm...

Teka

Daughter's orchid cactus flower unfurling its petals.

Rainy start to summer!

Meow13

very pretty

M0mmyof3

Just got an African Violet!

Gumdoctor

Teka - That flower is so gorgeous. WOW!!! And being able to see it open up over time is really great. Thank you for sharing this beauty with us.

Gumdoctor

Jazzygirl

Teka- beautiful!

Mommy- congrats on new flowers!

TwoHobbies

That is gorgeous, Teka. Mommy I used to love african violets. They are great to have for some winter blooms.

Cherries are getting red.

M0mmyof3

Just praying it doesn't die like my spider plants did!

jo6359

teka- what incredible photographs. Absolutely gorgeous. I have never heard of an orchid cactus

Mommyof2- I love African Violets. Many years ago I atempted to grow them without any success. They were far too temperamental or I lacked the patience in dealing with African violets. Now I admire them when I go to gardening shops

Scottiemom11

Teka, beautiful photos. What a lovely flower.

Gumdoctor, I will have to look into netting for the blueberries at least. The fig trees are probably too big. I never thought of that.

As for roses in the south, almost all of mine are knockouts. They are practically work free (except when the beavers go after them). I have a few hybrid tea roses and they require constant trimming and spraying dor bugs.

Scottie

Meow13

Just worked over my rose bushes in the front yard. Cleaned up a bunch of leaves, moss and weeds put down systemic and fertilizer. Backyard maybe tomorrow.

M0mmyof3

Now I have to get plant food for the African violet.

MCBaker

@MOmmyof2

https://www.hotbeautyhealth.com/lifestyle/air-purifying-plants/

I need that, too. My apartment is awfully dark, Winters can be especially dreary, with the short days. Yesterday, I made six quarts of mint tea concentrate, mostly chocolate mint, so it is a reddish color.

M0mmyof3

I have regular plant food spikes but I'm not sure it would be good to use with my African Violet. Named my African Violet (Shirl)after my cousin Shirleywho had passed away this Spring. I also have a Snake Plant (Mother-In-Law's Tongue) nicknamed Spike and a Pothos plant who I call Maneater.

Meow13

African violets I use an oxygen plus food I think it also comes in a spike.