Potato Harvest - Explicit

I usually find some unusually-shaped potatoes when harvesting. Sometimes I dress them up in doll clothes and have a potato parade. But this year's oddity really can't be disguised.

Don't scroll down unless you REALLY want to see.

I'm pretty sure you get the gist in the first photo.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Oh my.

Holiday Cactus Opts for March Partying

I have several holiday cactus plants. This one has opted for celebrating March holidays this year. Ides of March? St. Patrick's Day? Awkward Moments Day? <-- 18.="" a="" holiday="" march="" on="" p="" real="" s="" that="">

Naturally Dried Jalapeno

Another relic from last year's garden.

More Dead Poppy Interest

Another poppy skeleton. Compare to yesterday's lacy version. 

Cool Garden Skeleton

Did a little bit of garden cleanup last weekend, but some leftovers are too interesting to remove just yet. This is a poppy seed head.

So Many Plants are Waking Up

 Welcome February, and no matter what that groundhog in Pennsylvania said, spring is definitely making its ways to Boise. My first flower of the season: a dandelion. Incredible! And great food for any insects always waking up.

 This is stonecrop, a sedum, sending up new growth. Many other types of sedum are evergreen.

 Strawberries! Yum.

I found daffodils poking up under leaf litter, along with tulips. Love the pink on these leaves.

Leaves = Food for the Lawn

And it's free food. Just mince up the leaves with your lawn mower. All the little pieces will be gone by spring. I promise!

Lavender Ready for Sachets

Lavender harvested during the summer is ready to be stuffed into dryer sachets. There is a little more to harvest this week.

Nov 2nd and Picking Tomatoes

Latest harvest since I've been gardening in West Boise. Our average last frost date is the first week in October.

Mortgage Lifter Heart-Shaped Tomato

So thankful we haven't had a hard frost yet. My tomatoes are finally ripening. This beauty weighed it at more than 2 lbs.

Ladybug Sisters

Big sister larva and little sister larva on the underside of a geum (avens) leaf.

Tenants Have Moved In

One of my experimental insect hotels has residents. Likely, babies, but I don't know what kind of babies....yet.

Re-purposing Fence Pickets

Lettering with a Sharpie. I printed out each letter on my home printer, then pinned it in place and traced the outline with a ball-point pen. That left a slight indentation in the wood as a guideline to fill in the letters. 

Garden Collage

Flowers, fruit and weeds.

This Bee is Loaded

Look at the pollen sacs on this guy. He's buffed up.

Problem Plant

I purchased a tiny pot of this plant at a nursery that specialized in herbs - about 8 years ago. Nurseries should not be allowed to sell this plant. It can be invasive. It hasn't been too bad for me, but has started edging out the black-eyed Susans, so it has to go. It won't be easy to eradicate. It spreads by seed and rhizome. What is it? Chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata). Another complaint to add to the list: it has an odd smell. I did find the perfect transplant location for it, though :)

Flower Tour: Sea Holly

It kinda looks like fireworks. Sea holly is a perennial that likes to be neglected. You can easily grow it from seed. They are available in a range of blue-purple tones. Even the stems are colored.

Flower Tour: Hollyhock

Another one of those "once you plant them, you have them for life" kinda flowers.

Flower Tour: Orange Lilies

These are so orange-y, I could eat them up. They're cutting-garden flowers. I got the plants from a neighbor who was tearing out some landscaping.

Flower Tour: Deep Purple Clematis

The clematis is blooming. In front of it is mallow, which will bloom just after the clematis is finished.