Sustainability in troubling times

[TLHKAJ]

Marigolds... the more flowers the more pollinators.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Butterfly bush ....just like its name, butterflies love it.

 

[TLHKAJ]

This is a tiny crabapple tree that I have protected by a cinder block because it got mowed down 2 or 3 times. It survived the deep freeze over winter as a 3" sapling. Then it got washed away in the spring floods ...or so I thought, till one day, I spotted a tiny 1/2" stem popping out of the ground. It grew to about 3" and got mowed down to about 1" (ugh!) ....I nursed it back to about 3" and then it got mowed again to 1/2" (double-ugh!). SO ....I dug it up, moved it to a better spot ....mounded it up and mulched it ....then topped it with this cinder block. (lol)

Surely, no one will mistake my baby tree for some grass now?!! It has grown quickly in the past month since it got chopped down to 1/2" ....it is now about 3" and that's not bad for a little guy that has been through so much. I'm gonna have to name this fighter! lol

 

[Nancy]

Blanket flowers ....the butterflies and bees love them!

You're hired!

 

[TLHKAJ]

You're hired!

Oh, boy! I'd absolutely love it if I could come plant trees and we could design some raised beds and trellises ....plant flowers, roses, bushes! lol

I'm just learning as I go. lol

 

[Debp]

.....a few of the cucumbers I picked a little bit ago. I picked 4 earlier in the day. These are at least 10 inches long! lol

You are getting me hungry with all of these pics of good food!

Btw, what is happening with the chickens?

Also, have you planted any Hollyhocks? They are so beautiful. Some lovely hot pink ones were growing by our apartment building steps. The gardeners cut them down to the ground.

Maybe with the rain from the rare tropical storm, they will rebound....hope so.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Btw, what is happening with the chickens?

Also, have you planted any Hollyhocks? They are so beautiful. Some lovely hot pink ones were growing by our apartment building steps. The gardeners cut them down to the ground.

The chickens got put on hold bc the coop needs a few patch-ups. (Bummer!)

I've never planted hollyhocks, but I want to! Thanks for the reminder.
Sorry to hear yours got cut down. Idk how a gardener can make such carelessness mistakes.

Here is a photo of my blanket flowers, mini roses, ground cover roses, azalea, marigolds, and crepe myrtle.

 

[TLHKAJ]

That is wonderful T!
All I planted this year is 5 sunflowers, they are about a foot tall now, they are not the ones that have the edible seeds as, next door neighbor has a yard full of rats! Sure don't them getting any bigger!
The sunflower seeds are from a 9 year old cancer victim. She passed last month, very sad. She was the sweetest. Sunflowers were her favorite flower!

How does that happen.....rat infestation in a yard?

 

[amigo de christo]

Awesome idea sister. I am looking to move back to the country! I will inbox you with the one I will be seeing tomorrow, I SO hope to get this one, it is perfect! I will send you the link and you can look at it inside and out. The pics appear MUCH bigger than in person, the realtors do that purposely to draw buyers..

Sister nancy i know about gardening , put a tent out in the yard for a brother and a sister .

 

[APAK]

@TLHKAJ ...sustainability is a great thing....I have 7 banana plants/weeds growing in the backyard today. Been at it for about 8 year when I started with 1 plant. I get quite a few bunches off them...

The Butterfly plant/hedges grow great in the sub-tropics here. I tries tomatoes, growing them in the the Spring...big mistake...too hot...as with most Temperate veges, you have to start in the Autumn/Fall to get a decent yield,,,and so they won't get burned up in the heat.

Peppers grow really well here, have 3 plants. The marigolds also grow well over here...lasts for a few months and after saving the seeds regrow then in the same soils. Should really never be short of these seeds...self-perpetuating...

I have to perform a little rabbit and squirrel population control at times....

 

[Nancy]

Sister nancy i know about gardening , put a tent out in the yard for a brother and a sister .

Can get below zero here many times in a winter...snow?? Especially where I hope to move is open country area and they get tons of snow! You would need a Tiny house, or a mobile home for shelter, you could use my bathroom for showering and we could all eat at the same time in the house!

 

[quietthinker]

The chickens got put on hold bc the coop needs a few patch-ups. (Bummer!)

I've never planted hollyhocks, but I want to! Thanks for the reminder.
Sorry to hear yours got cut down. Idk how a gardener can make such carelessness mistakes.

Here is a photo of my blanket flowers, mini roses, ground cover roses, azalea, marigolds, and crepe myrtle.

That would attract some bees and butterflys? Living in the tropics I try to grow the host plants of butterflys, particularly the Ulysses and the Cairns birdwing

 

[TLHKAJ]

That would attract some bees and butterflys? Living in the tropics I try to grow the host plants of butterflys, particularly the Ulysses and the Cairns birdwing
View attachment 35864

Those are beautiful!

Yes, they attract plenty of butterflies. Every morning when I walk out past them, and under the pathway where the crepe myrtle hangs over, I see dozens and dozens of butterflies and I can hear the humming of the bees in the crepe myrtle above my head. I love it!

I've learned, though, that even wasps like to come to the flowers. I didn't know they cared about flowers. lol They don't bother me if I don't bother them (and there aren't a ton of them).

 

[Nancy]

That would attract some bees and butterflys? Living in the tropics I try to grow the host plants of butterflys, particularly the Ulysses and the Cairns birdwing
View attachment 35864

Beautiful!

 

[amigo de christo]

Beautiful!

The Glorious LORD created them and all that is .
And yet i have found no greater beauty in all of creation , THAN that which is in HIS WORD .
The beauty of the LORD surpasses all outward beauty that can be seen by the eye of men .
And his words are beauty . from every warning to every reminder they are pure and holy and good for the soul of the hearer and doer .
The BELIEVER of THE LORD has great peace for his or her mind IS STAYED UPON the LORD .
There can be seen great beauty in creation , but there is no beauty like GOD HIMSELF and every WORD of the LORD
is pure and beauty and great riches to the soul of a lamb . NOW RAISE THOSE HANDS and PRAISE THE GLORIOUS LORD .

 

[amigo de christo]

Beautiful!

Just wait till we see the HEAVENLY HOME CHRIST JESUS has prepared for us
OR even better , just wait till we see HIM FACE to face . RAISE THOSE HANDS
its LORD praising time in the building and round the world .

 

[amigo de christo]

Those are beautiful!

Yes, they attract plenty of butterflies. Every morning when I walk out past them, and under the pathway where the crepe myrtle hangs over, I see dozens and dozens of butterflies and I can hear the humming of the bees in the crepe myrtle above my head. I love it!

I've learned, though, that even wasps like to come to the flowers. I didn't know they cared about flowers. lol They don't bother me if I don't bother them (and there aren't a ton of them).

The bees and wasps like the flowers . But let us be advised try not to pet the bumble bee when it cometh to the flower .
Cause , they can be a wee bit aggressive and the pointy end HURTS big time when it striketh the flesh . LOL .

 

[amigo de christo]

@TLHKAJ ...sustainability is a great thing....I have 7 banana plants/weeds growing in the backyard today. Been at it for about 8 year when I started with 1 plant. I get quite a few bunches off them...

The Butterfly plant/hedges grow great in the sub-tropics here. I tries tomatoes, growing them in the the Spring...big mistake...too hot...as with most Temperate veges, you have to start in the Autumn/Fall to get a decent yield,,,and so they won't get burned up in the heat.

Peppers grow really well here, have 3 plants. The marigolds also grow well over here...lasts for a few months and after saving the seeds regrow then in the same soils. Should really never be short of these seeds...self-perpetuating...

I have to perform a little rabbit and squirrel population control at times....

Rabbit meat and squirrel meat can be eaten as well .

 

[APAK]

Rabbit meat and squirrel meat can be eaten as well .

Not in that position just yet. And of course they are real good sources of protein.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Not in that position just yet. And of course they are real good sources of protein.

I've heard, though, that you can't thrive on rabbit meat alone bc it isn't as nutrient dense as some other meats. Have you heard the same?