Green Stuff

Daylillies, tulips and weeds waking up for spring.

Persistent Tulips

Tulips straining to get through the compost pile. I have "removed" these tulips three years in a row from this gardening bed. Guess they win!

Spring Friends

Busy morning under the bird feeder.

Maple Tree Bonsai

A 50-year-old maple tree bonsai on display at the Boise Flower and Garden Show.

The Garden is Waking Up - to Weeds

Discovered in the strawberry patch: lemon balm. It's used for infusions and to flavor water, but in the strawberry patch, it's a weed. It can be aggressive and it re-seeds itself generously.

Tree-toppers Hit the City of Trees

I've seen this same tree-topping job done at another house, and on trees in a store parking lot on Milwaukee. Tree-topping is often referred to as the "most expensive form of pruning," because the trees will die. The City of Boise has a list of certified tree service providers, if you need tree service that won't kill your investments.

House Finch Color Variation

I think this is a house finch variant, although when I snapped the pic, I thought it was a grosbeak.

Seed-starting Prep

Seed-starting season gets underway this month. I'll be using toilet paper tubes this year. The important thing to remember here is that the cardboard will try to wick away the moisture, so I'll soak them in water first. Some folks would just plant the whole tube later, but I will peel it off before re-potting in "teen" pots - the size when the seedlings receive normal potting soil and fertilizer, getting them ready for the real world.

Plant Propagation

An African violet leaf, two sprays of Christmas cactus, two spider plantlets and one stem from a rosemary plant - all nestled in sealed plastic bags in hopes they grow into new plants. Each one was propagated with a different method. The rosemary had a "heel' on it, meaning a bit of the mother branch was torn away with the stem. The African violet leaf stem was lightly shaved in hopes of producing several new plants. The spider plantlets were secured on top of the soil with hairpins. The Christmas cactus planting end was trimmed flat and allowed to "heal" overnight before planting. This is all experimental and it could take up to 12 weeks before I know for sure of "success" or "failure."

Landscape Planning

My presentation board for my landscape planning assignment in the Master Gardener class. I planned a re-do of most of my front yard. One of the drafts on the left is my crazy "accept the rectangles" brainstorming, although the final has some added curves and less grass. Will I carry it out? Maybe. Pricing out the two small trees I want shows I'll need an extra $300-$400. Plants will be in the $600 range. And there are still more plants I would need to buy, along with outdoor lighting and a year-round bird bath. Plus, the time and labor. But dreaming is fun.