...Bring May Flowers!

The garden is fully awake now, giving us both beautiful growth and some frustrating news.  

Firstly, I would like to introduce you all to Betty Nylon.  She has shown up this spring in a big way!  It’s hard to believe that she was only a little bush when we moved in two years ago.

Weather permitting, we are going to go in soon and prune her back.  I am very interested in her continued health and growth as she is going to be pivotal to a future project I have in mind for that back corner of the garden!

But she is not alone this spring.

On our property there is an old stump that has sadly been hollowed out yet remains incredibly tough on the outside.  We had hopes of breaking it down, but this outer core is proving formidable.  In my recent quest to locate natural solutions, I have stumbled on a potential fix that intrigued me enough to try it!

Last November we planted some wildflower seeds in and around the stump.  The idea here is that the organic material from the rotting stump will provide nourishment for the flowers whose roots will, in turn, break down the tough outer bark of the stump, allowing us to chip away at it with greater ease.  And lo and behold!  This spring we have seen results!

Some of the flowers are even sprouting out of cracks in the trunk a foot off the ground!  When they die back for the fall, we will go in and see how much good their root systems did.  The plan is to do this for a few more years.  For a double bonus, these flowers are pollinator friendly and we have set up a hummingbird feeder to draw even more wildlife to our yard!*

The vegetable garden is chugging along and we should be looking to make our first harvest in June, though sadly we lost the onions.  I am not very surprised by this (although I am disappointed) as the weather this year has been strange and our soil quality has not yet gotten up to the level I would expect to see good results.  We have started a few onions growing in boxes indoors and will see how they fare as it is a bit late in the year for them.  

We planted cucumbers in indoor boxes as well and they should be ready for transplant in two weeks.  Expect updates on them in June’s blog!

To round out this month’s update, we had a very strange and wonderful thing happen to us.  My neighbor (who happens to work at a nearby plant nursery) gifted us with a pair of hibiscus bushes and a clump of what we believe to be liriope.  Since some versions of hibiscus are dangerous for dogs, we have put them where they cannot access them.  They have transplanted well and should have blooms later in the summer! (which will also help us determine which, if any, type of liriope the mystery plant is!) 

If anyone can offer any insight on this fellow, I am greatly interested to hear!

Sadly I must also report that Ollie is not feeling their best today.  It has been very rainy and dreary this week and I was unable to get a good picture.  I will try to update the blog with an image of them for May if the weather permits.  Otherwise we will see our dashing young olive in June!

*A note on hummingbird feeders, be careful when buying commercial hummingbird food as the synthetic dyes and additives can cause toxicity in the little ones.  For further information on how to safely feed these beautiful little guests, check out the FAQs on the Audubon website: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/hummingbird-feeding-faqs and remember to check on the safety of all wildlife attractants and foods.  Pesticides can harm bees and useful insects as well as pesky garden visitors and what is good for one animal friend may be dangerous for another.  Plants in your yard should be further screened for toxicity to cats and dogs (even if you don’t have one, neighborhood cats often visit other yards!) to stop preventable tragedy.