Brace yourselves! This post has a lot of pictures. Just a quick peek at nearly everything that’s going on right now! Let’s all just hope that this warmer weather will keep on coming our way! Not pictured is the progress on the dahlia tubers that I’ve started for cuttings. The reason? Well, it looks like a GIANT FAILURE. More on that soon! Much love!
Just a few of the jugs in the yard. These warmer days have really been drying out the smaller containers. Next year, I’ll only use deep containers.None of the sweet peas have broken the surface yet. But, since I’m so impatient, I dug a few seeds up to look and they had all germinated and started to send out roots! Awesome!Tulips!!!!Hyacinth! Hyacinth! Hyacinth!Hello, Ranunculus! Can you go ahead and do me a solid by hurrying up and BLOOMING?! I want to see you!‘Bordeaux’ is such a beautiful anemone. The pictures don’t even do them justice. UGH! SO PRETTY!!!!!!!!Pretty, pretty.I promised to show you guys the bad things, too. Some of the flowers have these gross bugs all over them. I’ve never had problems with bugs in the hoop house. If you know what these are, please leave it in the comments (and also how do I get rid of them?!?!). I’m hoping that those big bugs are just chilling in there while they eat those little green bugs. GROSS.First daffodils!!! YAAAAASSSSS!!!!Old daffodils with a row of newly planted (last fall) daffodils in front of them.Parsley!Scilla was an impulse buy last year. They were a dollar, I couldn’t say “no”. So cute.Coral Fountain AmaranthSunset Mix StaticeAutumn Palette AmaranthCleome is starting to pop up!The free poppy seeds that came with one of my orders!Dusty MillerRudbeckia TrilobaGeneric Snapdragons are getting bigger. It’s going to be a total pain when I try to separate all of these! Oh well! 🙂Big ole’ CerintheTricolor SalviaCherry Phlox has definitely gotten bigger.Potomac Mix SnapdragonMonstrosum StrawflowerOrnamental Kale! I’d have to look up what the actual variety is, because I honestly don’t remember.Bachelor’s Buttons that were planted way back in September. Looking good!More Quinoa coming up!Godetia. I’m so excited!The annual lupines are getting their first true leaves!The first batch of leggy quinoa!Little baby German Chamomile.Shirley poppy that was sown back in September.Love in a mist that was sown back in September.Agrostemma that was sown back in September.Larkspur that was sown back in September.Sugar Stars PhloxHello Sweet Peas.More Phlox.Aurelia’s Verde Amaranth. If you don’t look carefully, you might miss it!Dondo Blue AgeratumRed AgeratumDillMore Salvia.More Phlox.More generic snapdragons.I think this is more Ageratum.Grenadin Carnations.Bupleurum. I think I spelled that wrong….More carnations!More Quinoa!The stocks are getting huge!Sweet Annie getting bigger and bigger!So excited for the season. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
The insects on your flower are aphids. All of them. The larger ones are the adults. They suck sap from your plants. Nasty little things.
You can spray them off with a garden hose if you get enough pressure that can do this without knocking down your flowers.
There are also insecticide soaps you can buy to spray your flowers and to kill the aphids.
You can physically remove them: put all your fingers at the base of the flower bud so that the flower bud is in the palm of your hand, and gently scraping over the flower bud from base to tip and thus scrapping off all the aphids (your hands will get stained with aphid guts however). This works best for stiff buds like roses.
These methods work slower:
Plant garlic, chives or onions near the flower beds.
You can buy ladybugs (larva this time of the year) and release them into your garden. The larva are voracious aphid predators. The larva of ladybugs do not look like lady bugs…. they look like tiny black and red stripped crocodiles. Really….
I was suspicious that the little green ones were aphids, but I wasn’t sure about the big ones! I appreciate the help! I don’t spray anything I grow, so looks like I’ll give blasting them with water a try. Don’t you just love those little “alligator” looking ladybugs! Hahhahaha!
Sorry, after re-reading my post my instructions were not completely clear on removing aphids with your fingers: You scrape the flower bud with your fingers as your fingers over the bud from base to tip. And your fingers are the only ones to get aphid guts on them. 🙂
Thanks! That’s one of the main reasons I like the “no spray” route. Good bugs do pretty well at keeping things in check. With the exception of Japanese Beetles!
If you don’t want to spray, (but you can mix up your own white oil, guaranteed toxin free if you wish to after all), the best way for sap sucking bugs is to give them unpleasant sap. It is really easy. Soak cigarette butts, ask at cafes and pubs if you can empty whatever ashbuckets they have going, and strain after a couple of hours. Water the plants, will NOT hurt the plants but the aphids will just fall off. I have managed to control the most virulent infestations of various bugs.
forgot to mention, you don’t spray with this nicotine mix, you water the plants with it. The plants suck it up, then the leaves get full of it, the sap suckers drink it, they fall off with the surprise, the plant goes on as normal. Good luck.
Nothing will flower properly with aphids, a rose will bud, then die whilst still a bud if it has aphids.
You can go for years with nothing, then everything hits. In my garden I am battling something on the azaleas, something else on the Hardenbergias which is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to totally loose (but nicotine is the best so far, it just returns after a few months of bugless bliss), common aphids, cherry slug (disgusting, and you have to spray or the tree dies with increasing slugs), things on my tomatoes which has made me never want to grow tomatoes again… Nature! It is wild!
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Try reduce nitrogen input. Too much nitrogen encourages rapid growth and attracts aphids.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of that! I’ve actually not started any fertilizing yet, up until now we’ve been having quite a bit of freezing weather. I usually hold off until things have warmed for awhile. Thanks for the info! 🙂
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The insects on your flower are aphids. All of them. The larger ones are the adults. They suck sap from your plants. Nasty little things.
You can spray them off with a garden hose if you get enough pressure that can do this without knocking down your flowers.
There are also insecticide soaps you can buy to spray your flowers and to kill the aphids.
You can physically remove them: put all your fingers at the base of the flower bud so that the flower bud is in the palm of your hand, and gently scraping over the flower bud from base to tip and thus scrapping off all the aphids (your hands will get stained with aphid guts however). This works best for stiff buds like roses.
These methods work slower:
Plant garlic, chives or onions near the flower beds.
You can buy ladybugs (larva this time of the year) and release them into your garden. The larva are voracious aphid predators. The larva of ladybugs do not look like lady bugs…. they look like tiny black and red stripped crocodiles. Really….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ladybug_larva_%28Coccinellidae%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Ladybug_larva_%28Coccinellidae%29.jpg
I was suspicious that the little green ones were aphids, but I wasn’t sure about the big ones! I appreciate the help! I don’t spray anything I grow, so looks like I’ll give blasting them with water a try. Don’t you just love those little “alligator” looking ladybugs! Hahhahaha!
Sorry, after re-reading my post my instructions were not completely clear on removing aphids with your fingers: You scrape the flower bud with your fingers as your fingers over the bud from base to tip. And your fingers are the only ones to get aphid guts on them. 🙂
Ladybugs are a great way to go with aphids. Everything looks great! Congrats.
Thanks! That’s one of the main reasons I like the “no spray” route. Good bugs do pretty well at keeping things in check. With the exception of Japanese Beetles!
If you don’t want to spray, (but you can mix up your own white oil, guaranteed toxin free if you wish to after all), the best way for sap sucking bugs is to give them unpleasant sap. It is really easy. Soak cigarette butts, ask at cafes and pubs if you can empty whatever ashbuckets they have going, and strain after a couple of hours. Water the plants, will NOT hurt the plants but the aphids will just fall off. I have managed to control the most virulent infestations of various bugs.
forgot to mention, you don’t spray with this nicotine mix, you water the plants with it. The plants suck it up, then the leaves get full of it, the sap suckers drink it, they fall off with the surprise, the plant goes on as normal. Good luck.
Nothing will flower properly with aphids, a rose will bud, then die whilst still a bud if it has aphids.
Thanks for the great info! Very interesting too! It’s funny how new pests just show up out of no where! 🙂 🙂
You can go for years with nothing, then everything hits. In my garden I am battling something on the azaleas, something else on the Hardenbergias which is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to totally loose (but nicotine is the best so far, it just returns after a few months of bugless bliss), common aphids, cherry slug (disgusting, and you have to spray or the tree dies with increasing slugs), things on my tomatoes which has made me never want to grow tomatoes again… Nature! It is wild!
Try reduce nitrogen input. Too much nitrogen encourages rapid growth and attracts aphids.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of that! I’ve actually not started any fertilizing yet, up until now we’ve been having quite a bit of freezing weather. I usually hold off until things have warmed for awhile. Thanks for the info! 🙂
Did you list the winners for the botanical intrest giveaway? Thanks
They have been randomly selected. I’ve been waiting to announce them, as I’m still waiting to confirm with one person. So sorry for the delay!