Fixed!

So after I went into my Picasa album and deleted a bunch of unnecessary folders and photo multiples, I'm down to using a mere 19.05% of my allotted memory! Woohoo! Expect a new post full of (smaller resolution) photos soon!

So much for that idea

Well, I was going to share some photos with you now that I have finally broken free of my blogospheric black hole, but apparently I am "currently using 100% of [my] 1 GB quota for photos" according to the Google-Picasa-Blogger Triumvirate. And I'm too cheap to buy more memory.

This is especially frustrating since I had a good idea for the next few posts all thought out and I am actually motivated to put them together, unlike the last three or four months of blogging drought.

So, I am going to figure out what to do now. I know a good number of my photos are high resolution/pixel count which I'm sure is what's taking up the space. Is there a way to go back and reduce the resolution? But, man, that would take a long time: figuring out which of the multiple photos I used in every post, making a lower resolution copy of every one of those photos on my hard drive, going through every post and switching out every photo...ugh.

I am also entertaining the possibility of changing to a different blog host, with some kind of link to the posts here on Blogger. Since this thought is something that just came to me while typing, it will require some more research.

Do any of you have any suggestions about what to do? Is it possible/realistic to reduce existing photo resolution? What other blogging sites would you suggest I check out?

I never thought I would use 1 GB of memory so quickly. :(

Cheep Bird Seed

Pun totally intended!

About a week ago a small flock of goldfinches descended on our yard. They're such cute little birds and their chatter is so cheerful.

Now, the most common seed that people put in feeders to attract goldfinches is thistle seed. We don't have any thistle in a feeder for them, so how did we end up with so many goldfinches?

Simple: goldfinches also love Echinacea and Rudbeckia.

They have been feasting on the Echinacea seed heads on the hill, and the Rudbeckia seed heads in the little garden outside the kitchen.

I was able to get some photos of the goldfinches on the Rudbeckia while standing at the kitchen window. They just seemed to pose for me!

Eat your fill, little finches!

Surprise Visitor

This afternoon the Peregrine Falcon flew in for a quick visit.

He came by earlier this year (at least, I guess it was the same one) but none of us has our cameras handy. And even on this occasion it appeared that falcons are camera shy. After I got this photo he jumped to a branch that was obscured by larger branches.

He hung around for only a minute or two, but I expect the songbirds will avoid our yard for a few days.

No Messing Around

Sometime in the middle of July a small web was discovered in our crabapple tree.

But this kind of web is not made by a spider. Let's take a closer look.

Webworms! Ew! I don't know how they found our tree. This is the first time I've seen them on our property, and let me tell you, they are most unwelcome guests.

There are three options for ridding your tree of webworms:

#1. If it is a small web on a branch that can be easily reached, soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. Put the cotton ball in a plastic bag, slide the bag over the branch with the webworms and tie the end around the branch. The fumes will kill the webworms in a few minutes.

#2. If there are a large number of webs throughout the tree, call your local certified arborist to properly treat the tree with an insecticide.

Thankfully, the web on our crabapple was just a small web on a very easily-accessible branch. I was preparing to do Option #1, but my husband decided to bring out the heavy artillery, aka Option #3:

Cut off the branch and KILL THEM WITH FIRE!

Which is more dramatic, complete and - quite frankly - much more fun.

GBBD - August 2012

It's a Late Summer Garden Blogger Bloom Day, and just when I think there isn't much going on in my garden I am surprised at what I find.

The White Diamonds Hydrangea are turning dusty rose.

The White Diamonds plant that was accidentally cut back too far last fall actually bloomed nicely, albeit a little later than its friends. Most of its flowers are also turning pink, with a few late-bloomers.

Speaking of late-bloomers, the White Dome Hydrangea has a handful of new flowers.

The Balloon Flower (Platycodon) is still chugging away.

The Nepeta (catmint) is blooming for the second time... or is this the third? It's so hard to keep track.

Of course the Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) has never stopped blooming all summer. It's kind of floppy in this picture because it rained last night.

The Paprika Yarrow has some surprise late flowers. I just wish the color lasted longer.

The Echinacea still have flowers, but they're at their fading point and are starting to look ratty. But I leave the flowers so that they self-seed on the hill.

The plant that has the biggest and best flower show right now are the Tall Garden Phlox.

Phlox paniculata 'David'

Phlox paniculata unknown

Our small patch of Black-eye Susan (Rudbeckia) is also in full bloom. There is just something so cheery about them. The patch is slowly extending, but we should really transplant a few to other parts of the garden and spread the cheer.

The Autumn Joy Sedum is just starting to show peeks of color. They should be in full bloom in a few weeks!

The Hardy Chrysanthemum is blooming, but nothing too spectacular yet. Maybe next month...

The annuals are still go go going. Here is Bat Face Mexican Heather (Cuphea). Isn't that a great name?!

The July Heat Wave finally broke and we've been enjoying lovely humidity-free temperatures in the high 70s F (21*C). The Pansies also appreciate the cooler temps and are blooming again. (That's Amethyst Mist Heuchera in the background).

Yay! I posted my flower pics closer to Garden Blogger Bloom Day this time! Here's hoping for a repeat next month! :)

Say it with Flowers

Last weekend I went to the Carver County Fair for the first time ever. Which, considering I've lived somewhere in this county for most of my life, is pretty sad. Anyway, I entered the Flower Arranging Contest that was sponsored by the Carver County Horticulture Society. There were ten contestants and each of us had the same type and number of flowers. We had fifteen minutes to arrange them into a bouquet, and we would be judged by our fellow fair-goers. Here is what I came up with:

At the time I was pleased with it. But when I looked at the pictures when I got home, it suddenly seemed kind of sloppy. (I mean, what is that goldenrod on the right doing?!) So I re-arranged it to this:

Much better. Especially with the orange gladiolus blooming - it makes the orange carnation make sense.

This recent focus on floral arrangements reminded me of a blog topic that has been sitting around on the back burner: Victorian Flower Meanings.

The Victorians were big on symbolism and attributed elaborate meanings to a host of cut flowers. It's fascinating to see how the Victorians viewed flowers that today we simply think are pretty. Take the hydrangea, for instance. You and I might see a lovely puff ball; but in the Victorian era the hydrangea declared the recipient heartless or frigid. Ouch.

So, what does my hastily-assembled bouquet say?

Chrysanthemum in general - Cheerfulness under adversity

Yellow Chrysanthemum - Slighted love

Carnation mixed colors - Pride & beauty, Health & energy

Yellow Carnation - Disdainful rejection

Pink Carnation - "I'll never forget you"

Gladiolus - Sincerity

(Leather) Fern - Fascination

Solidago - Success

Statice - Loyalty

Wow. A few mixed signals there. But one of the sources I found lists Yellow Chrysanthemums as indicating a Secret Admirer, and Yellow Carnations as Cheerfulness. So, if we change these in the list above, this is quite a lovely and meaningful bouquet! (A heck of a lot better than disdainful rejection).

If you want to assemble your own bouquet and declare your undying love and devotion (lilacs, rose of sharon, yellow tulips) or drive home your disdain and rejection of an unsavory suitor (hemlock, narcissus, lots of basil) visit these sites to find the flowers to say it perfectly. 

Language of Flowers

Wikipedia

About Flowers

GBBD - July 2012

Wow, I missed July's Garden Blogger Bloom Day!

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been paying much attention to my garden lately; I really wasn't aware what was blooming. (wow, that's just terrible.) Maybe I've been thinking about work too much and am oblivious to anything else. Maybe it's because it's been so ridiculously hot these last few weeks (90*F / 32*C and higher with humidity that makes it feel like 100*F / 38*C or more) that you are so focused on getting from the air conditioned car to the air conditioned house as quick as possible that anything in between those two points is just a blur.

Well, whatever the reason, there are things blooming in my garden so let's get on with the pictures!

~~~~~~~~~

Platycodon grandiflorus, or Balloon Flower. I'm not sure which variety this is (it was a gift) but I do know it is the tall species (3 feet / 1 meter tall).

Hosta 'Patriot'. The flowers look a little messy this year.

Phlox paniculata 'David', or David Tall Garden Phlox. They seem significantly short than in previous years. I wonder why?

Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldstrum', Goldstrum Black-eyed Susan. Going strong as ever.

Phlox paniculata unknown species. This pinkish-purple Tall Garden Phlox was supposed to be another one of David, but was apparently mislabeled at the garden center. So, we have an extra-tall misfit in the garden.

Chrysanthemum, Hardy Garden Mum. Our patch of cheery yellow mums are just beginning to open.

Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' & 'White Swan'. The Magnus and White Swan Coneflowers are in full force on the hill.

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage. Always impressive and a favorite of bees.

Alcea sp. Common Hollyhock. Our hollyhock flower show was so-so this year. There are still some late bloomers working their way up the flower stalk.

Heuchera species unknown, Coralbells. With all the Heuchera cultivars in production, it's nearly impossible to identify which one you have!

Hemerocallis fulva, Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Ditch Lily (take your pick!) Our Tawny Daylilies bloomed great guns again, as usual. Too bad the flowers don't last too long. But we still have some late bloomers to enjoy!

Sedum kamtschaticum, Stonecrop sedum. I can never spell that name correctly the first time. The stonecrop on the boulder wall are still plugging away. I can't wait for them to change color in the fall.

~~~~~~~~~

So, those were the perennials blooming right now. It turned out to be quite a list! Now, on to the shrubs.

Hydrangea arborescans 'White Dome'. The White Dome Hydrangea haven't given up the flower ghost yet, despite being the battle ground of an epic cat fight between a stray and my Puddy Cat (she may be 15 years old with dull teeth and no front claws, but she victoriously defended her castle!)

Hydrangea paniculata 'White Diamonds'. This is one of the infamous hydrangea that have been trampled by siding and gutter installers, encased in three feet or more of heavy snow, and one being pruned back within an inch of its life by a not-so-helpful gardening helper. The two by the steps have recovered quite well, the over-pruned one has lots of new growth and a few flowers, and the fourth one is just stunted for some reason - I think it needs to be relocated. In any case, I sure hope these ill-fated shrubs have seen the last of their misfortunes.

~~~~~~~~~

But let's not forget the annuals!

Dorotheanthus 'Mezoo Trailing Red', Mezoo Trailing Red Livingstone Daisy. I love love LOVE this plant; it is the Wonder Plant. Once you use it, you will never go back to variegated vinca vine ever again. Mezoo is a succulent-type that can be either a ground cover or a trailer in your annual containers. It loves to be dry and hot. (While in Spain I saw a non-variegated variety of this growing in the driest, hottest, harshest, most neglected conditions imaginable, and it was thick and lush and as happy as can be.) And, unlike variegated vinca that is just a few super long tendrils with a pair of leaves every foot or so, Mezoo is a thick, wide mass of tightly-packed variegated waxy leaves that just grows and grows. And if the foliage wasn't enough to give merit to this plant, in late summer it is covered in dainty fuchsia-pink daisy-like flowers. Find it. I promise you'll love it.

Petunia 'Dreams Red'. I bought these Petunias on mid-season discount. They are more bushy than I would have liked for the windowbox, but they keep on blooming and have great color.

Cuphea 'Bat Face', Bat Face Mexican Heather. The name says it all. It's one of my new favorite plants. Bat Face is a great filler for containers and never stops blooming.

Dianthus sp, & Lobelia 'Techno Heat Dark Blue'. The Annual Carnation is a great repeat bloomer with large flowers that make themselves known. The Techno Heat Dark Blue Lobelia has hardly been fazed by our stretch of excessive heat. I really love that the Techno Heat series has introduced more colors.

Portulaca 'Sundial Mix', Sundial Mix Moss Rose. Another plant that loves to be hot and dry. These have never stopped blooming since we planted them in May.

~~~~~~~~~

In addition to all these intentionally-planted plants, we do have some surprises hiding about in the garden.

Helianthus annuus, Annual Sunflower. Having a few of these pop up is inevitable when you have bird feeders.

Viola tricolor, Pansy. This little guy is the result of last year's pansies self-seeding. I think there is more than one plant here, because the spent flower just to the right was orange. Fun!

Carthemus tinctorius, Safflower. Again, thanks to the bird feeders.

Asclepias syriaca, Common Milkweed. It's hard for Common Milkweed to be a surprise find in your garden once it's become established. The surprise was that there were still some blooming. (I have already snapped off the seed pods; I'm not going to have a repeat performance of last year!)