Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It's My Birthday!!

.....and you get the presents!! I'm having a

50% off sale at Aunt May's Cottage
today only!!


Come on over and find a treasure or two at some really great prices!


Sunday, June 7, 2009

Help...Master Gardener Needed!!

This weekend I've been busy in the gardens trying to get the last minute pretties planted. Here in Michigan our growing season is not very long so we have to hurry and get things out when we can between the storms.

We have several old horticultural wonders that I did not plant, but were residents when we moved here. I don't know what they are. Perhaps you can help me?

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Plant #1....This plant grows outside our back door. This is only one plant mixed in with the trumpet vine. This is about 40 inches high, blooms three times a year with the foliage dying back to the ground after each bloom. It grows very fast.


The little flowers. The hummingbirds love them.



Here are the leaves. They are very hairy and filled with water if you pinch them.
UPDATE: Identified as a Beardtongue by Katie. Thanks, Kates!!

Plant #2......I know this is a clematis..


But, what kind gets blossoms this BIG?


Plant #3......This vine was "planted" by the birds about three years ago. I put the trellis here for the trumpet vine, but this took over. This is the side that I trimmed about three weeks ago.


This is the side I didn't get trimmed yet. It is a prolific grower to say the least. Last year I hacked off all of the runners, believe it or not. It winds around itself and has no tendrils or sticky feet. Where it has nowhere to go up, it just grows across the ground until it reaches something to climb on. The stems are very woody, almost like a tree.


Right now it has these tiny little flowers. They are followed by some really hard little berries that the birds love...especially Cedar Waxwings.


The leaves look very like a pear tree. Thick and waxy. Could it be a relative?


Plant #4......Someone told me this was a Porcelain Vine. It has tiny yellow flowers in late June followed by a white berry that turns purple in the fall. The birds also like this. It winds itself around everything and grows about a foot a week over the summer. It has a sticky, hairy stem. I have to hack this a lot, too.



Now, keep in mind that I don't do ANYTHING to these plants to make them grow. I don't even water them. They all are growing in the sunlight except the clematis and it is under the pine tree and NEVER gets any sun.

I have searched several gardening books and have tried to find these on the internet, but to no avail. So, all of you wonderful gardeners out there, can you help me?

Thursday, June 4, 2009