Hummingbirds Like Blue, Too

While red is the traditional color that attracts hummingbirds, they like blue, too. This one is feeding on black and blue salvia.

Gooey Eyeballs in the Soil?

Another specimen brought into the Ada County Master Gardener lab - it looks like a rotting bulb. It was found underground, along with a black-topped mushroom-looking thing. The skin on the ball of blob is pinkish, which is a great big clue that this, and the nearby mushroom, are the same thing: a stinkhorn. The stinkhorn mushroom will grow out of this pouch when it's ready, and may grow up to 10 inches tall. It doesn't live very long, thrives in woody material (such as bark chips/wood mulch), isn't harmful, but isn't edible. "Stink" is in the name for a reason. This mushroom thrives on decaying organic matter. Pull and discard the mushrooms if they are bothersome, or if pets or children might be crawling around in them.

Mossy Rose Gall

A wasp did this to a rose bush. The sample showed up this week in the Ada County Master Gardener lab, so be on the lookout for this in your home roses. The gall is caused by Diplolepis spinosa, a cynipid gall wasp. The story is a bit disgusting. The wasps lay their eggs in the stem and the newly-hatched larvae grow inside until they are adults. The plant is tricked into growing the gall to house the babies, stealing nutrients from the plant. A lot of galls can kill the rose. Insecticides aren't an option because they don't work. The galls have to be picked off and disposed of. Check for galls that may have fallen from the plant in autumn. 

Purple Coneflower

Also known as echinacea, purple coneflowers are easy-going perennials that attract pollinators.

Small Sunflower

A sweet, little volunteer sunflower. Thanks for growing in my garden.

Grubs. Yuck.

It looks like a piece of snot, and that's how I feel about it. Yuck. Blargh. Lawn grubs. I have a couple of dead spots in my backyard lawn, so I did a little digging and found plenty of these squiggly bad guys, munching the lawn to death. Treatment will be a pesticide so they don't ruin the entire lawn.

Balloon Flowers

About a month ago, I was given an unlabeled "perennial." I planted it in my new pollinator garden and what a nice surprise! It's a balloon flower (platycodon).