Happy Tuesday! Gray, chilly and overcast again today, but no rain. Sigh
Holy crap though, the Garlic plant is noticeably bigger just from yesterday! I noticed from my back gate from outside the net. Tried to snap a pic from my angle, but the net blocks the inside view in pics. Darn. Everytime a new top node forms and the leaves open it gains inches. This is happening at least once per day now.
So not making any sort of political statement here, just my own reading and experience…
I’m not a vaccine or even flu shot kind of person as I’m just not trusting enough of our government, but I did get the covid vaccine in May. Quite honestly I felt punked into it, thinking they were gonna restrict travel over it. My only reason for it. Oddly enough they aren’t pushing it to fly as I still have to get some really expensive test right before I fly to Turks and Caicos regardless of my vaccination. I’m happy that I was wrong and they aren’t actually punking people into a shot before they fly. Gives me a bit more faith in the protection of our personal medical freedoms.
Anyway, for someone really against experimental vaccines, I am pleasantly surprised to read that so far only 20% of the delta variant covid cases are vaccinated and none of those people are getting really sick from it. Maybe I am just a jackass and this crap works. I could still sprout an extra limb or eyeball in the future from it, but for now maybe I am safer from it.
Good for you @Meesh , I am glad you have gotten it. I have seen many opinions on this subject and so many against the vaccines. As a person working in a hospital and in areas where covid patients are being treated I got both my shots. Felt like the right thing to do. Didn’t want it but seemed like the best way to protect my family and those around me. Now I cannot say there will be no issues down the road but can say that it seems to at least stop serious illness and death from Covid so feels worth the risk. I would like to see everyone get it but that will never happen. Here is hoping both sides of this debate live long lives so they can continue it.
science is just like magic but it works
It’s a personal choice and I have seen peeps get crazy over the subject Do it or don’t. It’s not my place to tell people what to do with their body. I’m still of the opinion that every experiment needs a subject and a control group. First law of science, but it’s still a shame that people have to die to see if it works. All I know is at this moment in time, I’m glad I was wrong in my theories. lol.
Also, it made Dad happy and feel safer when I got mine and that can be more important than my theories at times.
I don’t really have much of an opinion on the vaccine honestly but getting it made my mom and dad happy also 
Ignore the effects of the disease for a moment.
My cousin refuses to get vaccinated and is supposed to go back to university residence in the fall. Are they going to let him in? Nope.
My BIL was complaining that he wants to leave Canada because he feels forced to get the vaccine. I’d like to see him find a place that would take him since he’s unvaccinated.
You’re 100% right about travel. I was starting to feel like I’d never see a beach again.
There’s a lot of animosity and I know vaccinated people who refuse to associate with the unvaccinated.
It’s a very divisive issue.
My mental health was suffering, like anxiety getting on the elevator, so I got the vaccine.
Quickly changing the subject now, I didn’t realize how many bad ass plants I see here in Southern California came from Africa or even that so many kick ass strains of cannabis came from there or even that the climate was suited for growing it until I came to Overgrow.
I get oodles of emails, mags etc… featuring bad ass flowers that are African natives. You all know, I just pour over flower plants and everything to do with them. The more uncommon from Cali natives the more I want to grow them. lol
Too bad they would never survive our basic postal system or I’d be begging @Sunvalley to hunt them down and mail flower roots to me weekly and I’d be broke as a joke from all the postage. lol
Just thinking aloud as I was reading one of my gardening emails featuring a bunch of different rad succulents native to Africa
Damn dog broke off an entire tiger lily stem… grrr
I’m going to put it in water and see if it finishes
This is one of the flowers though that turned brown and died before it opened on that same stalk. This has happened a lot this year because of the drought, I think. Happened to most of my beautiful gladiolas this year. It bums me out.
Here’s a good one today though…
Here is the Russian Sage… found out it doesn’t require all of the water I’ve been giving it, so I’m gonna let it dry out
See how the flowers are like part of the plant and not really separate parts? It looks like they just dry up and new ones grow up the stem I guess. I finally googled it last night. It seems I can cut the tops a bit if they stop flowering here in my climate and it’s supposed to make them start more flowers though
I’ve had mine three years now. It’s not huge but comes back each spring.
It’s got 2-4inches of cedar mulch around it.
I don’t know if I’m doing the best practice but I leave my dead stalk all fall/winter to remember where it is.
I’ll cut it all back to ground level when I start watering or if it’s raining a lot in the spring and start it over each year
It started as one 4” pot and has spread decent, the tallest part is above 2 feet right now, no flowers yet.
They grow wild here it’s actual the official flower of our province .
The overall percentage of the population infected appears to be approx 20% (regardless of variant or vax status) Not advocating either way just tossing out an observation…
@WubbaLubbaDubDub that planter looks great! Along with the Russian Sage! Apparently it spreads quickly and can take over, so just beware. I havent decided if Im gonna put mine in the ground yet, I’m considering it as after this shit year, I need to really decide if I am gonna go more drought tolerant. This plant especially thrills me cuz its gorgeous and fragrant. So far Ive got 3 lavender plants going towards my drought tolerance and was thinking I may be down to just those in the fragrant dept. I may pick up a butterfly bush as well. Those are a great smelling one too. (my apostrophe key sticks on my keyboard, so my contractions are all grammatically incorrect, my apologies)
@ShiskaberrySavior you are in Canada right? I see a lot of pics of wild tiger lilies from over there. All I have to say about that is “Lucky!!!”. I love them! They are really pretty!
Can definitely send you some succulents and some. Shouldn’t be an issue
True about succulents, they are easy to propagate from cutting and actually need to dry up a bit before rooting in. Good to know, My friend! I will be revisiting my article on african succulents and if I see a rare that I absolutely need, I may hit you up. lol
Just read that 40% of the succulents that occur on the earth grow in South Africa. Damn! Didnt know the succulent game was so strong over there. Also, that 95% of plants out of 10,000 native species only occur in Madagascar. Pretty darn cool! Fun plant nerd facts!!
I have Russian Sage in a few spots here. Almost treat it like a weed. Cut it back hard, it comes back. Its a creat candidate for intermittent mist propagation, any cuttings root in a week or so.
It grows across my front walkway, so when I cut, its like cut in half. Do that a few times a summer…
Me too! “The Covid Passport” as they were calling it. Most places (Honduras, Mexico, Caribbean) I go to still require a negative test 72 hrs before, but at least there’s travel! Got mine as well…
Slightly differet Tiger Lily I believe. Hers are Asiatic in origin (single stem, lots of short leaves) vs. the Tiger Day Lilies / Ditch Lilies (longer leaves from a crown, multiple stems). I love the ditch tiger lilies, have em all over my yard. Sucks we only get flowers from em for like 10 days in late June / early July. But they spread easily. I even have a few “Doubles” here that mutated, and I multiplied…
Be glad you on the Left Coast @Meesh , asiatic lilies are under attack on the east coast from a red beetle thats invasive. Came in thru Boston like 5-7 years ago, working its way south. Still on the east coast though, I think PA / NJ is as far as they have gotten from MA so far. Last 3 years they decimated my asiatics, none sprouted this year. Only thing I found to kill them is Sevin, and thats some nasty stuff I dont wanna use.
I appreciate your well thought out response here, My tiger lilies are indeed asiatic and they are bulbs. I don’t believe day lilies are bulbs if I recall correctly. We have some nasty Japanese Beetles here, but so far none of the other nasty red ones you mentioned. Knock on wood. Hoping they never make it this far…
Yeah, I had to schedule some fancy $150 covid test right before I fly to Turks and Caicos in September. Oh well, at least I get out of here for one blissful week. I’m so tired of being leashed to the house for the last year and a half.
Gonna cut down the top of the sage a bit this weekend and get some more flowers started. They are fading quite a bit already, hopefully I can eek out a bunch of more blooms since we have a lot of summer left and still the fall to go.
You are correct, these day lilies / ditch lilies have rhizomes, not bulbs. Still multiply them the same way, digging em up and seperating the clumps. Can propagate and even breed by seed, but flowers take 2-3 years then…
Give it a hard pruning, it will send out new shoots, new flowers. Take your cuts, put em in water, they might root (always do in intermittent mist), they are almost like weeds.
They should provide you with color all summer, and they are perennial too!
Yeah we have amazing succulent varieties for sure… I’ll get some pics of what’s around here and see you can let me know if you want some …
