Gardeners! Share your garden photos and garden chatter here.

[terri]

It may have been blue when planted. The soil may be very alkaline which turns them pink. You can turn the hydrangea whatever color you want by adjusting the ph of your soil. I turned my other blue hydrangea purple by adding lime around the base of the plant. If they’re pink and you want them blue you have to amend the soil to make it more acidic.

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Cool!! I never thought about trying to amend the soil.

If I don’t dig them up next year, I'm going to buy a bag of this or the Miracid that @snowbear mentioned. I might even have some of that in the garage.

 

[limr]

I think I would really enjoy gardening if I could enclose my yard under a giant air conditioned tent

But, I do actually have a few outdoor things going on this year. Y'ALL!! I have my first ever little potted herb garden!! Basil, parsley, rosemary, and oregano. And on the right is a little tomato plant that has no fruit yet, but which ISN'T DEAD and is actually twice as big as when I got it!

 

[terri]

I think I would really enjoy gardening if I could enclose my yard under a giant air conditioned tent

But, I do actually have a few outdoor things going on this year. Y'ALL!! I have my first ever little potted herb garden!! Basil, parsley, rosemary, and oregano. And on the right is a little tomato plant that has no fruit yet, but which ISN'T DEAD and is actually twice as big as when I got it!

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Congrats!! Look at you go! I hate working out in the humidity too. Best way to beat it is just to head outside early, when it's usually pleasant before the sun gets too high.

Some tomatoes have longer maturity times than others, your tag will have that info. As long as it looks this healthy you'll be seeing those cute little flowers soon enough.

I love being able to snip fresh herbs. You save money and they taste great.

 

[jeffashman]

I really like the color of blue hydrangeas. The ones planted in my front garden are pink, and I wish the homeowner would have realized that blue looks great in the garden and especially in front of red brick! Anyway, congrats on such a perfect color!

Does your Warsaw Nike clematis prefer shade or will it tolerate some sun? I'd love to try another one in my front yard, but it's a tough area.

Here is something to try. If you change the acidity of the soil, you can change the color of the blooms on the hydrangeas. More acidic is blue and more alkaline is pink.
To turn hydrangeas blue:

• Add aluminum sulfate or a soil acidifier to lower the pH (make it more acidic).
• Aim for a pH below 6.0, ideally around 5.5.

 

[SquarePeg]

Exactly! I do most of my summer gardening before 8am or after 8pm. I’ve planted using a headlamp. The neighbors think I’m a nutcase.

 

[jeffashman]

I'm struggling to keep my garden alive right now. It's been humid with the heat index over 100 and that has really been stressing the plants. My Major Wheeler has blooms, but it's still only a couple of intertwined vines on the north side of the arbor and not growing much at all on the south side of the arbor. It seems that the vines like to grow up supports that are to the south of them, which would explain what is going on.

 

[terri]

I'm struggling to keep my garden alive right now. It's been humid with the heat index over 100 and that has really been stressing the plants. My Major Wheeler has blooms, but it's still only a couple of intertwined vines on the north side of the arbor and not growing much at all on the south side of the arbor. It seems that the vines like to grow up supports that are to the south of them, which would explain what is going on.

That is a tough scenario. Humidity is hard on everything and can bring some mold or fungus, like powdery mildew, if it goes on too long. Keep the Neem oil ready!

To turn hydrangeas blue:

• Add aluminum sulfate or a soil acidifier to lower the pH (make it more acidic).
• Aim for a pH below 6.0, ideally around 5.5.

Thanks for this!

 

[snowbear]

The neighbors think I’m a nutcase.

We know you are but we love you anyway.

 

[SquarePeg]

I'm struggling to keep my garden alive right now. It's been humid with the heat index over 100 and that has really been stressing the plants. My Major Wheeler has blooms, but it's still only a couple of intertwined vines on the north side of the arbor and not growing much at all on the south side of the arbor. It seems that the vines like to grow up supports that are to the south of them, which would explain what is going on.

Is it native to your region? I have found that my native plants need much less attention than the others. Although it does seem like the climate change is affecting some of the more delicate native plants.

 

[terri]

We know you are but we love you anyway.

That's right - you may be a nutcase but you're our nutcase!

 

[cgw]

That's right - you may be a nutcase but you're our nutcase!

Look, it takes one to know one, as Mom always said. Besides, conformity is wildly overrated anyway...

 

[terri]

Growing Monarch cat:

I'm going to say he's now in his 4th instar stage - he's beyond an inch in length, but nowhere near the size of the first one I came across. Maybe by this weekend he'll be climbing up the sides of the butterfly cage to pupate.

 

[jeffashman]

That is a tough scenario. Humidity is hard on everything and can bring some mold or fungus, like powdery mildew, if it goes on too long. Keep the Neem oil ready!


Thanks for this!

I'll have to try the neem oil thing. My zinnias and sunflowers are all saying, "we're done here..." I water early in the morning, and by noon everything is drooping.

Is it native to your region? I have found that my native plants need much less attention than the others. Although it does seem like the climate change is affecting some of the more delicate native plants.

Yes, the major wheeler is native to the area so that part is good. I just find it interesting that the one on the north side or the arbor is growing, but the one on the south side isn't happy with trying to climb the arbor on the south side, it just flops over to the south. There are many more blooms on it now, but it's still just two thin intertwined vines on the north side, so not very impressive to look at. I have been hoping that humming birds would visit, but they seem to be put off that I didn't put a feeder out this year...

 

[SquarePeg]

I'll have to try the neem oil thing. My zinnias and sunflowers are all saying, "we're done here..." I water early in the morning, and by noon everything is drooping.

Yes, the major wheeler is native to the area so that part is good. I just find it interesting that the one on the north side or the arbor is growing, but the one on the south side isn't happy with trying to climb the arbor on the south side, it just flops over to the south. There are many more blooms on it now, but it's still just two thin intertwined vines on the north side, so not very impressive to look at. I have been hoping that humming birds would visit, but they seem to be put off that I didn't put a feeder out this year...

I do have a feeder near my honeysuckle but the hummers mostly ignore it once the flowers are in bloom. But here, our season starts so much later than yours so the feeder is all they have to chose from the first few weeks.

 

[Jeff15]

Rose