Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

Oxalis

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Been busy with the new house here. I think most of our plants survived the recent heat wave (I almost didn't). Here are some daylilies next to our back deck that the previous homeowners planted. I might replace them with some native wildflowers someday.

Daylilies.jpg

It looks like some gourd seed mixed in with my New Jersey tea plant (Ceanothus americanus) when I transplanted it from our old yard. I have a few gourds that the animals haven't eaten ... yet.

Gourd.jpg

I found one of our many tree frogs hiding under our deck railing. We often find them hiding in our patio umbrella when we open it.

Tree_Frog.jpg

Our yard has been a deer nursery this year and we've loved watching them. This last night we saw a couple moms with a total of 3 babies. They've been well behaved and haven't bothered the baby plants we've surrounded with fencing. ? Hubby and I found a particular apple tree in our orchard where the deer had bedded down in the long grass. Amazingly, there are plenty of apples left! Maybe I'll get some photos of our fruit trees in the morning.
 

Maggie3fan

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Nobody likes a show off
Been busy with the new house here. I think most of our plants survived the recent heat wave (I almost didn't). Here are some daylilies next to our back deck that the previous homeowners planted. I might replace them with some native wildflowers someday.

View attachment 302452

You do know that day lilies make a nice snack for tortoises don't you? ;)
 

Maro2Bear

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The perennial garden humming along now that we are in mid-Summer. Heat, rain, thundershowers & a hurricane that dumped many inches of rain. Cactus pads are growing away as well.

Some Flowers

D6FA6F24-642F-420B-A54C-A6DE65C9A6A6.jpeg

E318E401-D9E8-4C5D-A7C9-748DB3F3045D.jpeg

Banana Tree Survived the Hurricane

147BB7C7-1CD1-4A5F-B93F-FFB1A9645691.jpeg
 

Oxalis

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A few pics from the front yard today.The original banana plant patchView attachment 298839 Two cactus growing in cement plantersView attachment 298840View attachment 298841 A cholla that always looks like it's on the verge of death but keeps on going.View attachment 298842 Palm trees getting ready to go to seedView attachment 298845 more banana and a couple different types of cactus plantsView attachment 298846 A volunteer ROS just off the front porchView attachment 298847 Some more ROSView attachment 298848A lot going on hereView attachment 298849I like this one not sure of the real name. I call it a moon glory, It blooms at night with very large white blooms.View attachment 298851
The perennial garden humming along now that we are in mid-Summer. Heat, rain, thundershowers & a hurricane that dumped many inches of rain. Cactus pads are growing away as well.

Some Flowers

View attachment 302460

View attachment 302461

Banana Tree Survived the Hurricane

View attachment 302462
As usual, everyone's banana plants are awesome! ?
 

Jacqui

Wanna be raiser of Lemon Drop tortoises
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Been busy with the new house here. I think most of our plants survived the recent heat wave (I almost didn't). Here are some daylilies next to our back deck that the previous homeowners planted. I might replace them with some native wildflowers someday.

View attachment 302452

It looks like some gourd seed mixed in with my New Jersey tea plant (Ceanothus americanus) when I transplanted it from our old yard. I have a few gourds that the animals haven't eaten ... yet.

View attachment 302453

I found one of our many tree frogs hiding under our deck railing. We often find them hiding in our patio umbrella when we open it.

View attachment 302454

Our yard has been a deer nursery this year and we've loved watching them. This last night we saw a couple moms with a total of 3 babies. They've been well behaved and haven't bothered the baby plants we've surrounded with fencing. ? Hubby and I found a particular apple tree in our orchard where the deer had bedded down in the long grass. Amazingly, there are plenty of apples left! Maybe I'll get some photos of our fruit trees in the morning.

What are you feeding gourds to?
 

Oxalis

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What are you feeding gourds to?
I didn't have deer in my old backyard, so I didn't know if they (or rabbit, rodents, etc.) might occasionally nimble on gourds. I just like gourds for fall decoration. I assume the raccoons or something will eat them afterward, or I'll just compost them.

Here's some of our gourd flowers, open in the early morning. They close up in the heat of the midday. I wonder if our bats eat the pollinators? ?

gourd_blossoms.jpg

My husband's Hibiscus moscheutos 'Kopper King' finally bloomed this past Friday. It's had a slow season since we replanted it at our new house. I saved the butterfly as it was in the lawn right where I was headed with my wheelbarrow. It stayed on the plant for a while, probably warming up, before heading out for the day. It looks like the red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis). I'm guessing the caterpillars like our willow and poplar trees. The butterfly may have been attracted to the grapefruit rinds I left out for the birds.

kopper_king.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Looks like your new place has lots of wildlife. Neat!
 

Maggie3fan

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Not only that, but they are beautiful and care free.
I didn't have deer in my old backyard, so I didn't know if they (or rabbit, rodents, etc.) might occasionally nimble on gourds. I just like gourds for fall decoration. I assume the raccoons or something will eat them afterward, or I'll just compost them.

Here's some of our gourd flowers, open in the early morning. They close up in the heat of the midday. I wonder if our bats eat the pollinators? ?

View attachment 303725

My husband's Hibiscus moscheutos 'Kopper King' finally bloomed this past Friday. It's had a slow season since we replanted it at our new house. I saved the butterfly as it was in the lawn right where I was headed with my wheelbarrow. It stayed on the plant for a while, probably warming up, before heading out for the day. It looks like the red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis). I'm guessing the caterpillars like our willow and poplar trees. The butterfly may have been attracted to the grapefruit rinds I left out for the birds.

View attachment 303726
I didn't know you moved Jacqui...same town? That Hibiscus is awesome...
 

Maro2Bear

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The rain & sunshine are encouraging late Summer garden growth. Volume up for some garden zen. If your ears & hearing are good you might here hummingbirds chirping too.

 

Ubercat

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Sheffield
Hi guys,
I'm relatively new to gardening and absolutely love it. I love providing food for my family, and growing food for my tortoise to enjoy is one of the highlights of keeping these amazing animals.

@Blake m and I were chatting about gardens and wanted to share pictures. I found a few garden threads, but wasn't sure if they were still being actively used. I also didn't want to take over:), so I thought I'd go ahead and post some of my gardening exploits and INVITE ANYONE AND EVERYONE TO DO THE SAME!

I love gardens and am interested in anything from balcony pots, great looking shrubs, and beautiful fields. Feel free to take over this thread and remember to share some of your goodies on @littleginsu 's trading goodies thread: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/trading-goodies.87084/

Happy Growing!


I cannot believe that instead of growing roses this year, I am now growing weeds for my tortoise ?
 

Ubercat

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But you could grow them roses, too.

I know, I was being silly. It’s just that my roses are absolutely ruined this year - we had a stupendously hot June, so everything is burnt, and storms since then, so everything’s drowned, too! Tortoise weeds are doing splendidly, though ?
 

Oxalis

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I didn't know you moved Jacqui...same town? That Hibiscus is awesome...
It's not me who moved. I will die here.
I moved. Still in Michigan.
I know, I was being silly. It’s just that my roses are absolutely ruined this year - we had a stupendously hot June, so everything is burnt, and storms since then, so everything’s drowned, too! Tortoise weeds are doing splendidly, though ?
Dandelions are doing well. Otherwise, we're in the dust bowl this time of year. I plan to incorporate some mulch into our soil for the next growing season. Maybe start some leaf mold. :)
 

Maggie3fan

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I moved. Still in Michigan.

Dandelions are doing well. Otherwise, we're in the dust bowl this time of year. I plan to incorporate some mulch into our soil for the next growing season. Maybe start some leaf mold. :)
I can't remember what species of tortoise you have, but everybody knows I have Sulcata, since I had Bob I've put the poop in a corner of the yard and dug it in, and turned it and added grass leavings. That spot is full of nightcrawlers I use for feed, and Sulcata poop makes the best fertilizer, my neighbors beg me for it...makes big flowers
 

Ubercat

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I can't remember what species of tortoise you have, but everybody knows I have Sulcata, since I had Bob I've put the poop in a corner of the yard and dug it in, and turned it and added grass leavings. That spot is full of nightcrawlers I use for feed, and Sulcata poop makes the best fertilizer, my neighbors beg me for it...makes big flowers

My tortoise only does little poos, but I was thinking it would make good fertiliser... just not much of it!
 

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