A blog about gardening on the Gulf Coast of MS,,,containers, window boxes, baskets,,,intensive, square foot and with a few recipes, crafts, songs and rambling posts thrown in here and there...
"THE ROOF OF ARABIA: Socotra is considered the "jewel" of biodiversity in the Arabian sea. The long geological isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought have combined to create a unique and spectacular endemic flora (which may, therefore, be vulnerable to introduced species such as goats and to climate change). Surveys have revealed that more than a third of the 800 or so plant species of Socotra are found nowhere else". This information is taken from one of thier tourist sites. Here is a sample of the trees. I have seen these before by thier comman names of Umbrella tree, bottle tree..etc. Aren't these incredible?
These photos were taken by Felder Rushing, our Mississippi, gardening guru. He loves green roofs. This first picture is his home. I love his yard. It is just full of all kinds of garden whimsy and unusual plants. I don't know if I would put a green roof on my house but maybe on a birdhouse. : )
Look what I found when I made my usual rounds this morning. Over on...Brenda's blog I have won a $100 gift certificate to French Garden House. I am just thrilled and since we are a little stressed on finances, it gives me a chance to do something for someone else at Christimas that I may not have been able to do. We have an Angel tree for those who live in homes for the elderly and no one to buy them a present at Christmas. Thank you Brenda, I am so happy. The certificate is to this beautiful shop...french Garden House. Go take a look. She has some very beautiful things. The picture above is from her shop. Let's pay it forward, Brenda and Lidy! Lidy's blog
"We have a winner of my 200th post giveaway, folks. And the winner is...
Eve! Of Gardening On The Gulf Coast!
Eve, you have just won a $100 gift certificate to French Garden House. As soon as I finish this post, I will contact Lidy, owner of this beautiful boutique, and order your gift certificate. Please email me your full name and address so I can have this gift ordered for you.
I know you will find something for home, garden, or self. And you will also be donating to charity. So have fun with your gift! Start shopping! Congratulations, Eve."
Do squirrels get your bulbs every year? I have heard that you can take chicken wire and anchor it over your bulbs after you plant them and that will work to keep them out. but you must remember to remove it when they they start to grow.
You could always just plant a double layer too, and hope they won't find the second layer. The bulbs will come up a couple of weeks later but at least some will come up. I don't have a problem with squirrels where I am now, but when we lived in the country, they were a bit of problem. Rodent repellents are useless according to all the information I can find, so don’t waste your money on them. You don't want the squirrels laughing at you behind your back. : )
If you are planting a large area, you could try using an electric fence, but that may only slow them down. The same goes for using ground up oyster shells in the soil where you plant the bulbs. If the squirrels are hungry enough and your neighbors aren't feeding them their bulbs, it won't do much good. You could also try to keep the squirrels away by getting a dog. But again, if the squirrels are hungry and the dog is one of those "could care less" dogs, like my Solo, who makes friends with all wild creatures including the family of rabbits in the woods.....it won’t work. : )
As usual, one is to dark, one is too light, and one is perfect! Guess who took the perfect one? Billy takes much better pics than I do. He says you have to do more than point and shoot. In this, I have to agree.
I got this old chair to sit a plant on but it always has a cat on it, so I just let them have it. It is their porch! How spoiled is that? I love how the center of this morning glory looks like it contains a reflection of the entire surface of the sun. The beautiful blue looks like some expensive silk fabric. Billy took this early one morning and when I uploaded it, I couldn't believe how breathtaking it was. I just love it. Click on it to get the full effect!
No, this is not a Mockingbird. This is the Wyoming State Bird: Western Meadow Lark (Sturnella neglecta)
Do you know your state bird? The state bird of Mississippi is a Mockingbird and I just saw one land on my herb garden on the back porch. Of course, I didn't have time to get my camera but he sure was pretty. I think he likes basil or thyme. He is always at that end of the bed.
I love the pretty Wyoming state bird. It think he is really pretty. Here is a link to find out if you don't know yours, which I am sure all you enlightened readers already know yours. But it is fun to see the other states. You can even hear most of the birds sing. Unfortunately all I got was a rocked out version of "Mama's Gonna Buy me a Mockingbird" when I clicked on my bird video. LOL
I want to do more vertical growing next year. Pole beans, both contender and Kentucky Wonder, cherry tomatoes, cukes were just great for me this year. We had worlds of cukes as I expected but the abundance of peppers surprised me, especially the ones that grew so tall I had to trellis them. So apparently you can grow them up a trellis if you pick the right ones. It sure is a lot easier on the back than bending over to pick them.
A lot of cantaloupes served as dinner for the rabbits. I'm ready for them next year. I am growing the small ones and putting them up in the air. I'll use netting as a sling to hold them up. I think vertical growing is so much fun. You have less disease and pests and it is just so much easier on the back to harvest. Can rabbits climb? I believe I can train yellow squash to go up a trellis too. It is worth a try. I am going to check into the baby type veggies too. I love the baby ones for salads. Baby corn is something I love. Baby carrots, baby corn, pearl onions, cherry tomatoes, baby pumpkins ( they call one "baby boo"), midget cucumbers, tiny cabbage heads, tom thumb lettuce, baby eggplant, Easter egg radishes, little dumpling squash...and the list goes on. These could be raised in containers all around the property. A healthy vegetable plant is as pretty as any other green plant.
On Friday, November 16, 2001 Alan Jackson had the lyrics of his song "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" read into the Congressional Record by His Honor, Congressman Mac Collins. HONORABLE MAC COLLINS of Georgia House of Representatives Friday, November 16, 2001
"On September 11th, 2001 our nation suffered a cataclysmic attack of unprecedented proportion. More than 6,000 Americans lost their lives in less than 1 hour's time.
In the two months following that tragic day, our citizens have struggled for ways to accept and deal with such a horrific loss. We have held candlelight vigils, all night prayer groups, talked of memorials and rebuilding. We have launched a major military campaign to seek justice for those victims. But one young man, whose name is known to many of this body and many of the American people, has found a way to genuinely memorialize those victims and that day in song.
Alan Jackson was born in Newnan, Georgia in 1958. Since that time he has grown into one of the nation's most loved Country Music stars. Some have called him the conscience of Nashville for his actions and the type of music he makes.
On November 7th. at the Country Music Awards, Alan sang a song he wrote, which more than any other that I have heard, expressed the wide range of emotions experienced on September 11th, 2001. I would like to read those lyrics to you now. "
Where Were You [When The World Stopped Turning] By Alan Jackson
Where were you when the world stop turning on that September day
Were you in the yard with your wife and children Or working on some stage in L.A.
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke Rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor Or did you just sit down and cry
Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue And the heroes who died just doin' what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer And look at yourself and what really matters
I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I could Tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stop turning on that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children Or driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened And you close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages Or speak to some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin' And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family Thank God you had somebody to love
"I would like to take this opportunity to commend and congratulate my former constituent, a great American who has used his gifts as a songwriter and performer to lift the American spirit in this great pursuit for justice. Alan Jackson has crafted a thoughtful memorial to the victims of September 11th and serves as an example of how all Americans can help heal our nation from the wounds we suffered on that tragic day. Thank you Alan, for helping us to remember those we lost and for helping to keep their memory alive."
I looked out the window along the woods this morning, and saw all these wild morning glories. I wish I had a decent camera because it was awesome. Some are pink and some are purple. I wonder if the type of soil has anything to do with it. They look like the same morning glory but just different colors. I also spotted this lantiana that looks different from the ones I grow. Pretty little yellow flowers and some type of pea blooms. It was early and I was in my PJs, but determined. : ) My camera is a real cheapo so I don't do close ups but I just had to try. It was beautiful in person, just climbing up in the trees like that.
I want to introduce you to my favorite potter. He was born next door in Biloxi MS. I loved his work so much when I first saw it because it is so different. He is the reason I took up pottery. They say he use to ride down main street in Biloxi in his Pajamas with that handlebar moustache just a flying. LOL...I bet he was a sight to see.
The following information is from wiki:
While Ohr had a healthy self-image, during his lifetime many others in the art world did not accept him or his pots, and considered him a boasting eccentric. In the early 1900s, the Arts and Crafts Movement and its leaders (such as William Morris) advocated that an artist should display control and perfection in all art forms. Ohr displayed little obvious perfectionism in his art or control in his person, antagonizing art leaders nationally and political leaders at home. Ohr's work is now seen as ground-breaking and a harbinger of the abstract sculpture and pottery that developed in the mid-20th century. Ohr's pieces are now relatively rare and highly coveted.
A notable feature of Ohr pottery is that many items have thin walls, metallic glazes, and twisted, pinched shapes. To this day potters marvel at Ohr porcelain-thin walls and unusual glazes. No one has been able to replicate them using a pottery wheel, which is how Or made his works. Or dug much of his clay locally in southern Mississippi from the Tchoutacabouffa River. Tchoutacabouffa is the Biloxi tribe's word for "broken pot.
I found this picture on one of the retail gardening sites. I just love it. This container features white sweet alyssum, purple-leaf fibrous begonia, and pink tuberous begonia. Don't you just love the old bread box?
Here are a few suggestions they gave for good container planting combinations.
SPRING: Hellebores, with tulips and ferns. When bulbs die down replace with pink impatiens.
BEGONIAS: Mix rex begonias with their colorful foliage with tuberous camellia-flowered begonias in colors to blend with the rex leaves.
SILVER: Helichrysum petiolare (licorice plant) trailing under annual dusty miller. Add pale pink or red geraniums depending on the effect you want. Or try it with purple heliotrope.
SHADE GARDEN: Trailing ivy and ferns with nicotiana, impatiens or pansies.
FOLIAGE: Palace Purple heuchera with Bowles Golden sedge and Margarita' sweet potato vine
SUCCULENTS: Sedum `Vera Jamieson' and `Bertram Anderson' with Sedum sieboldiana.
BLUE AND YELLOW: Yellow daylilies (Penny's Worth, Stella d'Oro) with Campanula carpatica `Blue Clips'.
PINK AND PRETTY: New Guinea impatiens (bright pink flowers) and pale pink verbena and pink zonal geraniums.
DRAMATIC: Black Dragon coleus with Ipomoea batatas `Blackie' and Helichrysum petiolare `Aurea'.
I love containers but sometimes I can end up with things that just didn't grow the way I thought they would. I have had things that should trail, grow straight up. LOL. But I keep trying. These all sound so pretty. I am going to try the foliage because I started a sweet potato vine that is yearning to be potted up in some sort of arrangemnt. All I need is some purple heuchera and Golden sedge. That sounds so pretty to me. I like purples and golds together.
Well, we made it through another one. We had a rough ride with the feeder bands, lots of rain and wind gusts of 75 mph, but nothing at all like Katrina. We lost our power but just a few minutes ago, we got it back on. It was a hot time in the old town tonight, let me tell you.
There is still a curfew and they are not letting anyone come back home that evacuated, until tomorrow, Wednesday. Trees and limbs on the road, flooding and power lines, down everywhere is the reason for that. We stayed when we realized the winds at the worst would be 75.
Our problem now, is Hanna out there and not knowing where she might go if she turns.and right behind her, Ike and Josephine. Never a dull moment this time of year. I hope all of you in the path of this storm, are doing well. Thank you all for caring so much. You are amazing people.
I have three cats,,two boys and a girl and a little, eleven year old mixed dog named Solo. That's my little
girl, Meshe in the pic..She is much prettier than I am, so I chose her for my pic. I also have a very nice DH named Billy. He's a keeper.
