Gardening: 2015-2016

[JoNorvelleWalker]

9 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

And to keep this on topic, peonies flowers are edible, as well as the roots. Peony water was a popular drink in the Middle Ages, and Pliny the Elder even wrote about them. I'm not quoting that because he also said crazy stuff about woodpeckers descending to peck out your eyes if you tried to pick the flowers during the daytime.   You can easily look it up if you're interested.

 

I don't have McGee at hand, but peonies and licorice share a flavor component, paeonol.  Your post has me thinking about peony ice cream.  I'd be afraid to use store bought flowers, though, because of pesticides.

 

[Paul Bacino]

Finally  after 7" of rain and a bit of heat.  My Sweet Basil Lives!!

 

 

 

[ElainaA]

On May 4, 2016 at 3:59 PM, Shelby said:

First peonies of the year.  My all-time favorite flower, hands down.

 

 

 

 

Shelby you are WAY ahead of me. Here are my peonies:

 

 

For all the flower gardeners here, I am starting a flower thread on the off topic forum.

[kayb]

Has anyone ever seen an unopened peony bud that did NOT have an ant crawling about it? I was always fascinated as a little kid by their ability to attract ants, and used to call them "ant flowers." We had pinks and whites, as well as a very deep pink that was almost a red. Doubles, all of them -- great huge almost snowball-shaped blooms. Beautiful things.

[liuzhou]

My neighbour is growing this. I did ask her what it is but her answer translates as "plant". Thanks!

 

Anyone know? And can I eat it?

Edited May 7, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

 Hmmm, without anymore info, I would be hesitant to try that "plant" and its pretty berries. I know one native plant holy that has pretty berries like that. We decorate for Christmas with the pretty evergreen boughs and red berries, but you sure don't want to eat them. There is one species called Ilex vomitoria or Yaupon holly. Your photo also looks a little like this coffee plant, and this coffe plant . I have also seen a rare annual (or at least it dies back to the ground in winter)  native weed that shows similar berries that turn red in clusters on stems extending from a central trunk or stem, but damned if I can find an image of it. At least in my country, those berries would call for a lot of caution and research before even testing edibility. Something similar was used in "The Blue Lagoon" for the suicide berries they brought with them on the raft in case they ran out of provisions.

 

Do I see bamboo support poles tied with a couple red ribbons holding up a green stalk? I mistook them for a woody trunk, at first. Pretty plant, and even if it isn't edible, I'd love to know what it is.

[rotuts]

I don't think this is a coffee plant.   the ones Ive seen  have their berries clustered near the stem, not dangling as aboe

 

of course, Ive not seen that many coffee plants so this might be robusta vs arabica ?

[liuzhou]

10 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Do I see bamboo support poles tied with a couple red ribbons holding up a green stalk?

 

Maybe. But they ain't red ribbons. That is standard string in China. They love red. I'll try to get another shot tomorrow from a different angle.

 

10 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

Pretty plant, and even if it isn't edible

 

I'm kind of assuming it isn't edible, but very pretty indeed. I love the way the berries live under the leaves.

(If it were edible, my neighbour would have eaten it long ago!)

Why can't I find a botanist when I need one?

Edited May 7, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Yeah, I didn't really think is was coffee either, nor holly, but the berries are very similar, and it was interesting to find out that some species of holly do have edible leaves that contain caffeine. Just brain stormin'. 

[KennethT]

To me, the berries look like pink peppercorns (which are not true peppercorns at all)... here's a crappy shot of that plant - it seems to look similar?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schinus_molle

[heidih]

No not a peppertree - my area is littered with them and foliage very different

[liuzhou]

I'll try to get hold of my neighbour's husband tomorrow. He is the more intelligent half of the partnership. He may know; he may not.

[Okanagancook]

May 7th and the garden looks like June 7th.  My garlic in the shade on the left,  I swear will be putting out scapes soon and I reckon we may even be digging it up in another four weeks.  

 

The farmers are watching the grape vines grow three to four inches a day.

 

Here is my garden this morning.  The green cloth is my shade cloth beds where I grow spinach, lettuce and radish.  It really works to prevent bolting with our hot weather.  (You can see the farmer spraying the apple trees in the back ground....I ran back inside before he got any closer.)

 The basil plants need pinching off....I'm growing them for a friend who is in Edmonton until end of May.  They will be 3 feet tall by then.  

 

The potatoes have been covered with the first layer of soil and the tomato plants are just getting established after transplant so should start to grow next week with the forecasted hot and sunny weather.  

 

The last picture is my revamped herb garden.  It had been taken over by the mint (managed to contain it for 9 years but it escaped out of it's plastic container) and oregano.  I planted some lettuce and basil as an experiment this year.  There's tarragon, sage, lovage, chive, sorel and thyme growing in there.

[Kerry Beal]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

My neighbour is growing this. I did ask her what it is but her answer translates as "plant". Thanks!

 

Anyone know? And can I eat it?

Looks a little like mountain ash (aka Rowan) but I don't know that I've seen the berry clusters growing off the trunk like that.

[dcarch]

20 hours ago, liuzhou said:

My neighbour is growing this. I did ask her what it is but her answer translates as "plant". Thanks!

 

Anyone know? And can I eat it?

 

Nandina

 

dcarch

 

 

[liuzhou]

19 minutes ago, dcarch said:

 

Nandina

 

dcarch

 

 

 

No.

[liuzhou]

18 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Maybe. But they ain't red ribbons. That is standard string in China. They love red. I'll try to get another shot tomorrow from a different angle.

 

OK. Here is an image from a slightly different angle. There are indeed two bamboo sticks supporting the actual stem.

 

 

There was no one at home when I passed so no new info yet.

[djyee100]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

OK. Here is an image from a slightly different angle. There are indeed two bamboo sticks supporting the actual stem...

 

Goji berry or wolfberry? I couldn't find a good photo of the entire plant after a quick online search. This photo seems to show the same structure of branches for bearing fruit.

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/goji-seeds.html?gclid=CJ6dvYfsycwCFRSUfgodJ7IONg 

[liuzhou]

Just now, djyee100 said:

 

Goji berry or wolfberry? I couldn't find a good photo of the entire plant after a quick online search. This photo seems to show the same structure of branches for bearing fruit.

http://www.edenbrothers.com/store/goji-seeds.html?gclid=CJ6dvYfsycwCFRSUfgodJ7IONg 

 

Definitely not Goji berry.
 

Nothing like them. Different foliage. Different berry shape.

We are surrounded by the biggest goji berry growing area on the planet. No one is going to have one as a house plant.

But thanks for the suggestion.

[JohnT]

The clusters of berries look a bit like a Guelder Rose but, from what I can see, the leaves do not correspond.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

liuzhou's mystery "plant" looks a little like pyracantha, firethorn too, but I know that isn't right either. *stamps foot in frustration* 

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

liuzhou's mystery "plant" looks a little like pyracantha, firethorn too, but I know that isn't right either. *stamps foot in frustration* 

 

My foot is out-stamped!

 

So many similar looking plants, but I have yet to see one where the leafage and the berries are in distinct, separate sections.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I know I have seen this configuration on a wild plant in sunny NC woodsy clearings years ago. The plants die back to the ground in winter in our climate, but may grow larger in warmer ones, and your neighbor's specimen looks young to me. Still no luck digging up an image other than in my memory.

 

I am always fascinated by the different, but sometimes very similar species of plants we share with China, and the many species we have imported here from your home country that seem to thrive here as well. The Magnolia grandiflora, for instance is native to the southeastern US. BTW, the wiki link's range distribution map is wrong! It grows all over NC, TN, and AR. But in the arboretum gardens in Raleigh, which used to be named North Carolina State University Arboretum, and somehow now bear the name Ralston Purina (maybe a generous donation?), there are at least twenty different species of magnolia which are otherwise rare here, because they're imported from China, grow well in our climate, but are expensive enough to remain out of reach of most gardeners.

 

To keep this on topic, I will mention, that magnolia is used in teas for drinking and topical application and thought to have health benefits. The perfume of the native grandiflora variety can be delighted in fifty feet or more away from the tree.

 

I had to come back and correct this post where I attributed the name of the NC State University Arboretum to the pet food manufacturer, Ralston Purina. The correction is to the late Dr. James Chester Raulston, who was the director of the Arboretum. The error is apparently mine, because I went back to the original article, and it is correct. 

Edited May 10, 2016 by Thanks for the Crepes
correcting post information (log)

[HungryChris]

The weather has been cold and rainy for a week or more. Nothing is growing much, just waiting for warm, sunny days to arrive. The peas are up and waiting.

 

The lettuce (on the left), radishes (in the middle) and the nonexistent beans in the trench on the right are all waiting. I have begun to come to the sad conclusion (it's been 2 weeks since they were planted), that the beans will need to be replanted for the third time.

 

Oh, and the peonies are far from in bloom.

HC

 

 

[djyee100]

7 hours ago, liuzhou said:

So many similar looking plants, but I have yet to see one where the leafage and the berries are in distinct, separate sections.

 

I think the plant is potbound and is showing root stress by losing leaves in the bottom branches. I see leaf nodes on the bottom branches. The plant could probably use some fertilizer also. I know, I know, I sound like a spoiled American gardener. Just sayin'.

Edited May 8, 2016 by djyee100 (log)