The Little Things.

It's finding stuff like this that make it worth growing sunflowers.

If I knew what I was doing, I'd be dangerous.

No deep thoughts or rants this time.  Just stuff in my yard.

My neighbor says she has a fig tree, and apparently this is runner from it that has crossed under the fence.  I'm trying to both ground-layer it and air layer it at the same time.  If it works, I'll have two trees instead of just a runner under the fence.

These are green sunflower from seed that I saved from last  year.  They are substantially thinner and more delicate than the other sunflowers growing elsewhere.  I have to spray a rotten egg mixture on them once a week to keep the neighborhood deer from munching them (I learned the hard way for two years in a row).

These are a mixture of red and yellow sunflowers that are from saved seed.  In fact, this is the third generation.  To be fair, I always add some yellow seed, because the red seems more prominent when they cross pollenate.

These are various cuttings.  A couple of different colors of geranium (peach and red), two different colors of lantana (red/orange and purple), a rose bush (red), a trumpet vine (looks like it might not make it) and a table grape.

And this is a successful Jasmine cutting propagation. I got it from a fence behind a local chocolate shop.  I'm really happy this one took because all my attempts last year failed miserably.  

Back home.

The precautionary evacuation was lifted yesterday, Sunday.  Good thing, because we came back on Saturday night, we just didn't unpack.   

When I woke up on Sunday morning I walked outside and the lighting on my nasturtiums was just perfect.

I also took a picture of my sunflowers, first seen as seedlings a few posts back. Some of them are over 6 feet tall now and the main flower bud has just started to develop in a few.

Last year I scattered various wildflower seeds that I bought at various places.  This is the only one of this variety that has come up so far.  I have no idea what species it is.

And finally, here's a single blue lupine growing in my yard.  This picture is a few weeks old.  It has since lost it's blooms and gone to seed.  I hope to see it again next year.

It's good to be home again. :)

It's Spring and my sunflower seeds are sprouting.

Last year I planted a couple of packages of sunflower seeds. I made it a point to let the flowers go to seed, rather than cut them for in the house. I saved the seeds and planted them a couple of weeks ago. They're starting to sprout and I expect to have twice as big a bed of flowers as last year.

One of the most profound experiences of my life was the two year period during which I worked at an university arboretum. I actually got the job off the work-study board in the financial aid department and only tried it because other options didn't work out. I didn't get to any of the office jobs in time, and the job in the library was given to the fellow that walked in the door only a few minutes before me.

I did mundane tasks, like weeding, or cleaning the green houses. With my previous experience working in a hardware store, I got the added bonus of getting to fix problems with the irrigation system. I was taught how to change the shape of entire hillsides to prevent erosion, or to make a garden. I propagated plants from cuttings and harvested seeds for the next generation.

Two full years gave me an opportunity to actually experience the rhythm of the seasons. To watch flowers flourish, die, and go to seed. I got to train rose bushes I planted in trellises into walls of flowers by walking by every few days and taking a few minutes to push new growths back through the boards.

Some of the things I took away from that experience:

1. Sometimes a dream has to die, or at least appear to, in order to actually produce fruit.

2. If you have the patience, you don't have to get the stuff you want fully grown from somewhere else. You just snatch seeds, or cuttings, and grow your own. It may take longer, but it takes a whole lot less money. Not to mention that it's more satisfying.

3. If you pay a little attention to something on a regular basis, that adds up, and you may end up making something beautiful.

I imagine there would be more if I thought more about it.

I've got my new Morning Glory seeds soaking tonight and I will be planting them tomorrow. :)