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