so was walking the front flower bed and low and behold there's a plant that wasn't there before. Now I get curious as to what it is and on close inspection and breaking a piece off.. it turns out to be dogbane. yes, the dangerous deadly plant for puppies. although my dogs are never in the front flower bed I decide to go look it up. Now I already knew it copy cats milkweed except it has red on the stem. so once I saw the milky sap inside.. I know it was dogbane. but did it bloom like milkweed?
Of course it does! pretty pink flowers! On the site there's a video at the bottom. So after watching that I was amazed to find that dogbane can be harvested and stripped for fiber and used to make cord. who knew!?
So after watching that and learning something new, I've decided to keep it, let it bloom and make seed pods and then I'll cut the canes out and dry them for cord making. If I could get it on my spinning wheel that would be prime but apparently it's a bit coarse so it's hand twisting. But I'm okay with that. will make perfect cording for the bean trellis we have planned for next year. nothing like natural.
Not a bad catch for the day
Lost our giant malamute July 25. Our Biggin, as we called him, lost the use of his back legs. has been a fast 6 days. Thursday last week he had trouble doing his daily walk. we had to help him home. each day got worse and finally, had to call family in to help sling him to our truck and sadly, to the vet for his final visit. Love that ole boy! He has some character, let me tell ya.
He's properly buried in our little cemetery in the back along with our other pets over the years. Still breaks my heart that he's gone. Still have 2 more pups but not like Meeko. He was a charmer for sure. Everyone loved him.
Rest now, baby boy. The pain is over and the days of being free begin.
B:7/7/07
D:7/25/18
He so loved to eat my sunflowers so we will be planting them every year from now on!
lady in our seed group found this in her flower beds. it's a cute little flower but the seed pod is what's interesting. Been hunting but have yet to find it. Maybe someone here has an idea of what it is.
Hubby and I were at his parents house helping them with mowing. With his Alzheimer's getting worse, he continues to tinker with the mower and it simply won't work. so the grass was up to my knees and I'm only 5'4! kinda gives ya an idea of how tall it was. Lots of ox eye daisy ( which is prohibited in Ohio) and that was an issue cause it was seeding and as an invasive plant here, well gotta get that down fast! So after all the bugs, spiders in the pine trees ( had one on my nose of all places) got about half of it cut down but that was after the half hour of messing with the mower again! Seems my father in law thinks by putting any liquid he can find on the air filter makes it run. Hello?
But got it running ( thank goodness) and had to cut on level 5 and take two runs of the same area.
Then I come up on a white hibiscus plant and I notice in the far back field is a red one. Now I love these plants. I love the size of the blooms and although it's an annual here, I still love them. SO I make a note when i'm done to go back and look to see what stage they are in. I make the trek back there and there are white blooms beginning to open but sadly, they were covered in weevils. Dangit! So maybe the red one is still clear. Nope. covered.
Wish there was some way to keep those dang bugs off without using chemicals. Would love to have some of her plants cause they come back every single year! So being a hardy hibiscus would be prime! Alas, the weevils have won again.
But on a good note, we made a stop at Walmart the other day and the dept mgr was there. I've been wanting those rose trees. My momma is losing her sight and she loves roses so having those on the deck means she can see them right next to her. So he marked them down to $7 each! Woooo!! by the time we got outta there I had 3 shopping carts of plants, all perennials and 2 trees as well. Peach and Plum. Wanted Fuji apple but they didn't have any left.
But the Clematis will work perfect for my arbor. The cranberry and blackberry will serve in the coming years. Bee balm to keep my bees happy and azalea and burning bush for some color. Hostas, about 10 of them already fill up the base of the walnut tree out front. It's looking good around here gang!
I'm loving it. Now to figure out this website so I can do all the kewl stuff to earn acorns! sheeshh
I should be posting more of them. I know, that's the point of being here. So My pup and I did our walk this morning and I took along the ipad and got a few. I have more but that will have to wait until later tonight after chores are done. Sadly, laundry doesn't wash and dry or fold itself!
but here's a few:
Rudbeckia
moss rose
zebrina holly hocks
snowball bush
zinnia
and finally petunias. these are my experiment tho. Last year my mother inlaw gave us white petunias for Mothers Day. So I kept them all season and collected seeds from them. This year I planted them and this is the result of pollination. I love them! the surprise of color just thrills me. I'll get seed from these this year and who knows what color they will be next season. Bees and hummingbirds have been all over them this year so I'm excited to see the changes.
