Our orange azalea is blooming up a storm right now. Dave and I were looking around the garden a couple of days ago and he gestured to the azalea and said, "I think that might be my favorite plant." While I like the color, I'm not crazy about the rumpled texture of the flowers. They all look like they just came out of a washing machine. But it is a profuse bloomer and gives us a nice splash of color.
I was out in the garden yesterday morning, weeding and neatening some things up, when I discovered that our passionflower vine at the corner of the patio is, in fact, dead. We suspected as much. It didn't exactly prosper last year. Fortunately, we have a second one that came up from seed in the pot that houses our olive tree, so hopefully it will contribute some passion to the garden this summer.
There are a couple of other plants that haven't made it, so I think I'm going to clean out some pots sometime soon. It's incredibly liberating to throw out a potted plant that has died on its own despite my best care. It makes me feel like I get the last laugh.
And yet, I also cannot resist a challenge. I found this poor hydrangea, dry as a golf ball in Palm Springs, sitting next to a trash can on Fortune Green Road. Dave loves hydrangeas so I brought it home and soaked it in water overnight. It looks terrible but I think it will survive. The stems are healthy and green and once it puts out new leaves I'll trim it and it will be good as new.
If you're squeamish about bugs, skip the next picture!
One of our peony buds has quite a collection of aphids on it, as well as ants that seem to be "farming" them. I am always impressed at how a single flower can contain its own ecosystem. It's Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom! I suppose the aphids may stunt the flower, but if they do, c'est la vie. We have more on the way.
Around midday it began to rain -- not hard, but steady and enough to give everything a good soaking. It relieved me of any guilt I felt for not at least trying to walk the dog. I sat and listened to music and worked on my stamps, and Olga seemed happy to snooze at my feet. I'm almost finished putting the stamps in my albums, and then we'll regain the dining room tabletop, which has been covered with them for the past few weeks. (Not that we ever eat in there.)
I've been putting out four new fat balls every day for the parakeets, who devour them completely in no time. This is apparently going to be the summer of the parakeets. They're around so much I don't even bother to photograph them anymore. Occasionally something else can squeeze in for some food -- I saw a woodpecker on the feeder a couple of days ago and a robin was on it just now.
Oh, and starlings. We have no shortage of those.
Last night, we watched "Four Hours at the Capitol," a documentary about January 6. It was excellent and appalling and infuriating, and it showed exactly who did what despite all the obfuscation and conspiracy theories that right-wingers have spouted since alleging ANTIFA and FBI involvement. The producers did a great job getting a variety of people to talk, including members of Congress, policemen and protesters. Definitely worth watching, if you can stomach it.
Ohhh I don't think that I can watch that documentary because of all the stuff here happening in Austin Texas. Trump was here holding a rally and I heard that the city was filled with traffic jams and heated arguments. This is the Capital of Texas and it is BAD on a Good Day.
ReplyDeleteProtesters were here on both sides and it was near 100F and people passing out from heat exhaustion. Just knowing how bad this is, it just upsets me about January 6th. I was reading the news on my phone when the first news report came in and I admit that I was glued to my phone for days... even now.
So you didn't have to kill the ants and the aphids? I am confused lol. I always had to pick those critters off my trees and roses and drop them in bleach water to kill them. UGHHHH.
Have a great week. I am glad that you saved the Hydrangea and I hope that you get some more rain to help with the watering. xx
At the moment, I don’t think I could stomach that documentary.
ReplyDeleteEven your “nothing special” posts are very special. Am I understanding correctly that your brought that hydrangea from Palm Springs and then finally to London?
That Azalea is a cracker!
ReplyDeleteWe are having the problem of jackdaws and magpies on the bird feeders..and we think predating all the local birds.
What happened at the Capitol was unbelievable...and how some can put a positive spin on it instead of facing the facts I don't know.
Black Aphids? Ours are green. The ants are definitely farming them and if you let that continue the plant will be overrun with aphids. Spray them with some Eco Pest Oil spray.
ReplyDeleteI love the azalea.
You have a dining table but you do not eat at it? Where on earth do you eat then? Surely, not on your laps. And there was me thinking that you and Dave were civilised young gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteBeth: I didn't read too much about the Austin rally, but I did see that Trump appeared there. No, we didn't kill the aphids. Not yet, anyway.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: That hydrangea was spiritually in Palm Springs!
GZ: I have the same suspicion about the parakeets. The articles I've read says their impact on local species is uncertain, but they definitely dominate at the feeder.
River: We don't usually treat for aphids. If they get too severe I just remove them by hand, and I usually don't have to do that except on the lupines, which seem especially vulnerable. I may have to clean off that flower bud, but I'd like to leave their little ecosystem if possible!
YP: Like all Americans, we eat on the couch in front of the television. LOL
Definitely a gorgeous azalea.
ReplyDeleteI watched the aphids & co. for a while and finally moved in with a pitcher of soapy water to drown the feckers and wash the leaves. Mean, I realise but every plant looks relieved, I swear.
My mom had a row of peony bushes in the yard and my childhood brain still associates them with ants.
ReplyDeleteThe hydrangeas will flourish. They don't mind being dry as stems.
ReplyDeleteOur huge jigsaw project that took over the dining table had to aborted because of the need to use the table when visitors were coming.
I love the last photo and not a parakeet to be seen.
It might be hard to watch that doc, but people need to because we haven't seen all the horrors and hatred and ignorance spewed that day and we need to remember it.
ReplyDeleteNow, prettier topic: we have all colors of azaleas from white to pink to lavender to purple and I have never seen orange. Lovely.
Good morning Steve, sweet olga and Dave....I know I hadn't commented in a while now. I will read but too lazy to pick up the keyboard and type. If anyone can bring a plant back from the dead you can. (lol) I most know I used too much miracle grow on my elephant ears because they grew very fast but some of the leaves are dying. I didn't know it would get as hot as it is now. Plants grow better in cool weather but we have heat waves going on here.
ReplyDeleteYou know I am not sure on what to think about our law makers in D. C. Everything is documented on tape that happen on Jan. 6. What the hell are you investigating. Put the pricks in jail. Donald Trump is back stirring bullshit again. We took his ass out of the white house now congress need to put his ass in jail and stop the rallies. This man and his followers are sick. I can't believe those people are investigating. You have it all and you know who organized the entire crap. Get your ass up and do something about it. You just get fed up. You try not to keep talking about it but it is always thrown back in our faces and we see the traitors are carrying on like nothing to it. Come on people in D. C knick this crap in the butt and end Donald Trump fiesta he is still having.
Peonies exude stuff that ants love. I've never taken any action against them. Except to be careful when I sniffed the peonies, not wishing an ant migration into my nose.
ReplyDeleteI've always been very slow to interfere with plants. Usually if you keep them in good health, they'll fight off attackers for themselves. You're a great gardener, Steve, a rescuer, too.
I forgot to say that having lived through the Capitol attack on radio, in real time, less than two hours after knowing we'd retaken the Senate, short celebration, I don't want to relive it in documentary form!
ReplyDeleteYou may have to do a little bit of trimming on that hydrangea but it should come back to reward you.
ReplyDeleteI think that azalea is just magnificent!
Down here azaleas are everywhere but no orange ones. It is lovely. I had to laugh at the irony of your statement that it's liberating to throw out a dead plant and in the next paragraph your tendency to pick up dying plants and try to save them.
ReplyDeleteI think the orange azalea is really lovely! That bright color sure stands out in the garden. I like how you and Dave get so much joy out of your plot of land there. Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the birds that come to your feeder. We only feed the hummingbird here, but your photos remind me of the days when we were living on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. We hung our first bird feeder there and wow did we see some beauties.
ReplyDeleteLot's of color in your garden. That documentary sounds interesting. I'll look it up. I watched the Jeffery Epstein documentary over the weekend. That's another one that will make you mad. How did a creep like him make so much money?
ReplyDeleteYour orange azalea is gorgeous. I would love to have a plant like it for my yard. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteWow that IS quite the ecosystem on the peony! We just have the usual ants on ours (which is fascinating to me). That azalea is lovely, but it does look like I do about 5 minutes after I put on a linen dress. Ha!
ReplyDeleteLiving in the south, I see my share of azaleas (and have several in my own yard), but I don't remember ever seeing an orange one before. It's gorgeous!! I like the wrinkly blooms.
ReplyDeleteThe azalea is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteSteve
ReplyDeleteCould I have a cutting from your azalea ?
Pampering plants is a never ending job. But it's pleasant to watch plants as they develop.
ReplyDeleteI love orange flowers and hydrangeas. That special about January 6th would blow my blood pressure out of the water. I still doubt that there will be any real consequences. Not just disappointing but tragic for our system of government.
ReplyDeleteThe azalea really is stunning - and I'm not usually one for orange anything! It's just so rich in colour and texture.
ReplyDeleteI have resigned myself to thinking that the world in general is going downhill and there will be no consequences for Trump, Putin, or anybody else who wishes to be moronic and/or dangerous power-hungry empty excuses for human beings. It seems that those who fight dirty keep winning and become even more emboldened. The outlook seems bleak. Well, at least if any of them gets their comeuppance, it will be a pleasant surprise for us pessimists :)
I don't think I could stomach the Documentary... tho' it is my Hope that the onslaught of Domestic Terrorism is soon dealt with more appropriately and we not keep pretending that one Party hasn't just become a Domestic Terrorist Organization with certain Media backing them. I Love your Nature pixs, gets my Mind off all the fuckery going on in the World and particularly our slice of it right now.
ReplyDeleteYou got me stumped by mentioning you got that azelea in Palm Springs but I guess there's a store in London with that name?
ReplyDeleteSince I saw an episode about invasive wildlife and plants on TV where they served bacon wrapped Starling breasts to show that, although a nuisance, they're at least edible, I feel sorry for the guys whenever I see them ..
I never thought about the ecosystem of the peony -- just the frustration of not being able to bring them in because try as I may, I can never get the ants off! And I can see why Dave loves that azalea -- the color is spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen one like that before.
ReplyDelete