I'm somewhat new to gardening although I have planted flowers off and on for most of my adult life. It's only now that I am getting serious about it with design layouts, seasonal coordination, etc.
As I poke around the net, I am finding that I have a long, long way to go. I don't think I'll be satisfied with simply planting flowers again without a grand plan for flora architecture. We will have to wait and see where this goes. It should be interesting to track.
More later.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Wild Outback
I could blame the 2011 drought, but it was almost this bad in 2010...and each of the last 15 years.
The challenge: How many invasive plants can you capture in one photo from your own backyard?
The response: Five (and perhaps six, if you count the little dewberry vine at the lower right).
The list:
The large one at upper and center is a sumac of some sort. I'm guessing, but aside from the greenish stems (poison sumac has reddish stems), it sure resembles sumac in leaf structure and size. There are seevral sumac varieties, so I will have to research this.
The weed just below the sumac-like weed is the dock weed (I think). Not poinsonous, but not good in my yard.
The evil one at the upper left is the infamous poison ivy. There is a dousing of broad leaf weed killer its near future.
The weed at the lower left is the waxy leaf privet. I know. For a "common" name, it ain't so common. However, it is still listed on the state website as a dangerous invasive.
The fifth one is barely visible, but just to the left of the dock weed is a little sprout of (and be very afraid) bur chervil. I'll post the runner up photo in the next post to show a more mature chervil - a fascinating plant for so many reasons.
All of these are listed as dangerous invaders to Texas for one reason or another. I find them invasive only because they are in my own backyard.
The challenge: How many invasive plants can you capture in one photo from your own backyard?
The response: Five (and perhaps six, if you count the little dewberry vine at the lower right).
The list:
The large one at upper and center is a sumac of some sort. I'm guessing, but aside from the greenish stems (poison sumac has reddish stems), it sure resembles sumac in leaf structure and size. There are seevral sumac varieties, so I will have to research this.
The weed just below the sumac-like weed is the dock weed (I think). Not poinsonous, but not good in my yard.
The evil one at the upper left is the infamous poison ivy. There is a dousing of broad leaf weed killer its near future.
The weed at the lower left is the waxy leaf privet. I know. For a "common" name, it ain't so common. However, it is still listed on the state website as a dangerous invasive.
The fifth one is barely visible, but just to the left of the dock weed is a little sprout of (and be very afraid) bur chervil. I'll post the runner up photo in the next post to show a more mature chervil - a fascinating plant for so many reasons.
All of these are listed as dangerous invaders to Texas for one reason or another. I find them invasive only because they are in my own backyard.
Blog Layout...
I pretty much hate it at the moment. I'll fix it later, because I am lazy right now.
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| Me and Trixie. She was so awesome as a kitten. What hppened? |
Bah! Am I Really Going To Blog Again?
It's been a year or more, I guess...meh, more.
There was a time when I enjoyed blogging to a place beyond idle blog worship. I' glad those days are past. I don't know if I've grown much since then, but I do at least have a high value for life and all that it gives us. I should qualify that all life was given by the Creator, so in that context, I should watch what I write (think, for that matter), You know Who is always watching. For that, I am thankful...always.
Since my last blog, which was modestly successful albeit secular and without consideration for our Creator. I find it interesting in reading back through it as the reformation had already begun. As the time past over the last few months, it became more and more evident that something was going on within me. Even still, the last few blog posts included some rather offensie language (the post was about my battle with spider mites - I won the battle, but I flamed my pepper plants...and half the block...dare I say..."malathion"...straight up, no dilution). I was angry...quite.
As I was saying, at some point about two years ago, I began to die (that is Bible speak for quitting the game of darrts, enjoying beer to the extreem, and basically living a selfish life). The concept is dying in our own sin and living in the light. My cofession is that I still have a modest desire to be that old man that I once was.
I am still fighting laziness, though. That is the selfish part of me that I suspect will always be in me. I suppose that there are worse selfish weaknesses. Ok, I am still stuck on watching baseball and college football.
[I should insert a photograph here in case someone happens by the blog. Without photos, no one will read it. Actually, I may be ok with that.]
So, there was a point to all this rabble? Yeah I am so much more capable to blog now than ever. I even have worth while stuff about which to write...stuff like; weeds, birds, bugs and church stuff...
...and I have a laptop and a smart phone.
Oh, yeah. the photo.
There was a time when I enjoyed blogging to a place beyond idle blog worship. I' glad those days are past. I don't know if I've grown much since then, but I do at least have a high value for life and all that it gives us. I should qualify that all life was given by the Creator, so in that context, I should watch what I write (think, for that matter), You know Who is always watching. For that, I am thankful...always.
Since my last blog, which was modestly successful albeit secular and without consideration for our Creator. I find it interesting in reading back through it as the reformation had already begun. As the time past over the last few months, it became more and more evident that something was going on within me. Even still, the last few blog posts included some rather offensie language (the post was about my battle with spider mites - I won the battle, but I flamed my pepper plants...and half the block...dare I say..."malathion"...straight up, no dilution). I was angry...quite.
As I was saying, at some point about two years ago, I began to die (that is Bible speak for quitting the game of darrts, enjoying beer to the extreem, and basically living a selfish life). The concept is dying in our own sin and living in the light. My cofession is that I still have a modest desire to be that old man that I once was.
I am still fighting laziness, though. That is the selfish part of me that I suspect will always be in me. I suppose that there are worse selfish weaknesses. Ok, I am still stuck on watching baseball and college football.
[I should insert a photograph here in case someone happens by the blog. Without photos, no one will read it. Actually, I may be ok with that.]
So, there was a point to all this rabble? Yeah I am so much more capable to blog now than ever. I even have worth while stuff about which to write...stuff like; weeds, birds, bugs and church stuff...
...and I have a laptop and a smart phone.
Oh, yeah. the photo.
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