Gardeners! Share your garden photos and garden chatter here.

[terri]

I love Lantana, it just thrives in this heat. Got a lucky shot today, with a Fiery Skipper on one of the plants. I had to do a lot of work to manage the saturation of the colors in the image, but I think I got it.

aug12022301 by Jeff Ashman, on Flickr

Very nice shot of flower and Skipper!

I used to plant Lantana a lot in Georgia for the same reason - this is a plant that likes it hot!

As I recall I bought more of the yellow ones, but they're all fantastic growers.

 

[Jeff15]

Busy Bee

 

[Ysarex]

9.3 pounds of peppers from pepper patch #1. Picked these this afternoon and have been processing them the rest of the day. We chop them into small pieces then load up the dehydrator. I use them the rest of the year cooking. These are sweet banana peppers. Fuji X-T2 w/TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4.

 

[Jeff15]

 

[Ysarex]

9.3 pounds of peppers from pepper patch #1. Picked these this afternoon and have been processing them the rest of the day. We chop them into small pieces then load up the dehydrator. I use them the rest of the year cooking. These are sweet banana peppers. Fuji X-T2 w/TTArtisan 23mm f/1.4.

View attachment 268100

Here they are processed and ready to store away: 9.3 pounds of peppers = 6.1 ounces of dry peppers.

 

[terri]

Here they are processed and ready to store away: 9.3 pounds of peppers = 6.1 ounces of dry peppers.

View attachment 268109

Those are beautiful! I'm sure they taste fantastic in food. Great job.

 

[SquarePeg]

Garden updates…

The dahlias are really popping now. I cut a bunch at peak for bouquets the other day and already have more almost at full bloom. They get soggy with all this rain we e been having so I’ve been watching the forecast and cutting everything that’s close to peak before the storms. They won’t open any further once you cut them so timing is everything. Their vase life is pretty decent if you get to them before any of the back petals start to curl.

 

[Joel Bolden]

Native Sneezeweed growing in my garden. The flower's latin name, Helenium, refers to Helen of Troy. Legend has it that these flowers bloomed where ever her tears fell. It was used(still is) medically to create an irritating powder that caused sneezing and was used to clear congestion from head colds.

 

[terri]

Native Sneezeweed growing in my garden. The flower's latin name, Helenium, refers to Helen of Troy. Legend has it that these flowers bloomed where ever her tears fell. It was used(still is) medically to create an irritating powder that caused sneezing and was used to clear congestion from head colds.View attachment 268134

I've never heard of this - fun backstory and really neat looking flower!

 

[SquarePeg]

Cheerful bouquet of zinnias and dahlias cut from my garden this morning.

 

[terri]

Well, look what crawled out of his chrysalis:

I wish I'd been around earlier to see the action - that way, I'd have a better idea of how long he's been out. I went out to water the parsley in there and about jumped a foot high when I saw him! He was still in last night.

Apparently they need about 2 hours just to dry out and feel stable.

We're also due for a ton of rain tomorrow, the heaviest storms overnight. I’ve read that they shouldn't be "released" into a rainy day. Of course I think that statement assumes they're indoors in a controlled environment. This guy is under the mesh and protected from birds, but the bag is loose on the bottom.

@SquarePeg , have you had some openings? My instinct is to let this guy stay here until the rain event is passed. But I don't want to starve him, either!

Isn't he gorgeous?

 

[SquarePeg]

Well, look what crawled out of his chrysalis:

View attachment 268223

I wish I'd been around earlier to see the action - that way, I'd have a better idea of how long he's been out. I went out to water the parsley in there and about jumped a foot high when I saw him! He was still in last night.

Apparently they need about 2 hours just to dry out and feel stable.

We're also due for a ton of rain tomorrow, the heaviest storms overnight. I’ve read that they shouldn't be "released" into a rainy day. Of course I think that statement assumes they're indoors in a controlled environment. This guy is under the mesh and protected from birds, but the bag is loose on the bottom.

@SquarePeg , have you had some openings? My instinct is to let this guy stay here until the rain event is passed. But I don't want to starve him, either!

Isn't he gorgeous?

You should let it out. It will hurt its wings trying to fly in the net and it needs space to flap them to dry them out. It will dry it’s wings in the sun on a branch somewhere. It will find food then shelter in a tree under a branch during the storm.

So funny I was just going to post about my new baby lol. Our timing is identical. He was in the chrysalis this morning and than at about 12 he was flying around in the enclosure. I let him out by getting him to land on a stick then bringing him to the zinnias. He flew to the dahlias for a bit and warmed up in the sun then flew off. It’s only 70° here today. There was another black swallowtail flying around out there during all this. I think it could be one of the ones that wandered off before I got the enclosure. I’m never found the other four.

 

[D7K]

Hey all you greenfingers, I’ve a balcony that roasts in sun on a morning and shade in the afternoon, any ideas what would work well? Also anything that repels wasps and mosquitoes would be awesome!

 

[terri]

You should let it out. It will hurt its wings trying to fly in the net and it needs space to flap them to dry them out. It will dry it’s wings in the sun on a branch somewhere. It will find food then shelter in a tree under a branch during the storm.

So funny I was just going to post about my new baby lol. Our timing is identical. He was in the chrysalis this morning and than at about 12 he was flying around in the enclosure. I let him out by getting him to land on a stick then bringing him to the zinnias. He flew to the dahlias for a bit and warmed up in the sun then flew off. It’s only 70° here today. There was another black swallowtail flying around out there during all this. I think it could be one of the ones that wandered off before I got the enclosure. I’m never found the other four.


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That's great! You were absolutely right, my boy was raring to go. He hadn't moved away from the chrysalis since I found him, but when I stepped out a few minutes ago, he was on the opposite side of the net and fluttering around. Clearly wanted out! He looked exactly like yours.

We lifted the netting and before I could even get a hand in, he took off. No pictures!

Last seen going aloft over the honeysuckle towards the neighbor's backyard. They still have tons blooming over there.

I have 3 more chrysalises under the net. Yesterday there was still a fat cat in there, but no sign of it today. I removed two small parsley plants: the bigger ones are holding up the stakes for the chrysalises.

 

[terri]

Hey all you greenfingers, I’ve a balcony that roasts in sun on a morning and shade in the afternoon, any ideas what would work well? Also anything that repels wasps and mosquitoes would be awesome!

There are tons of plants you can try! Mosquitoes don't like anything citrus, so just starting with potted herbs like lemon thyme or lemon balm would get you going. Marigolds are beautiful flowers and supposed to repel them, too. I've heard geraniums do the same thing.

All like the sun, so just keep them watered every morning and they should do well.

I'm sure there are lots more!