July 24, 2012 by Born To Organize

Natural Gifts: Collecting Cosmo Seeds

The idea came to me a few weeks ago: I’ll collect Cosmo seeds to give as gifts for the holidays.

The prolific flowers are easy to grow and spectacular to behold. Cosmos grow in planters or directly in the ground, and thrive with little fuss. It’s a cheerful gift for the middle of winter: the promise of spring blooms. They’ve given me pleasure all summer long. I want to share that with others.

Collecting seeds is easier than I thought. I’ve enlisted the services of my enormous pumpkin leaves. The vines have gently wrapped themselves around the base of the Cosmos, so they’re perfectly positioned for catching seeds. What synergy. I gently shake the seeds from the leaves into a bowl and bring them inside for safe keeping.

Cosmo seeds resting in the crook of a pumpkin leaf

Designing the seed packet will be fun. I have several ideas rattling around in my head. I might employ the use of my Creative Memories digital scrap-booking software to make postcard-sized packets. I have several photos to use in the design as well.

I’ve enjoyed making envelopes from prior year’s wall calendars so that also has possibilities. I use a template to trace the envelope, then fold and seal. I’ll download planting instructions from the internet and then print them on creamy card stock.

I turned my garden calendar pages into 4 x 6 envelopes.

My little seed packets will be small gifts with big potential, given with hope and affection.

Do you enjoy giving gifts from your garden? Perhaps you make jam preserves, dried flower bouquets or lavender sachets? I love hearing from you and hope you’ll share in the comments, below.

Grows on you is a garden forum with advice and visuals for seed collecting.
Creative uses for your old calendars from my other blog Organized at Heart.
I created this sample page using Creative Memories digital software.

July 23, 2012 by Born To Organize

Garden Log: July 23, 2012

Here’s what’s happening in the garden:

As the pale pink cosmos wind down, this bright pink beauty emerged nearby. Could it be the start of a whole new crop?

Our tall clay pot is a Hodge-podge of color. A few seeds, a few cell packs and a volunteer or two add up to Snapdragons, Vinca, California Poppies, Begonia, and a couple of Birdhouse Gourds.

This pumpkin is literally hanging by a thread (see insert). It measures 35 inches in circumference, about 11 inches across.

One of the few surviving pumpkin transplants. Its funny shape reminds me of a large acorn. What do you think?

The darling of the pumpkin patch. It measures 52 inches in circumference, about 17 inches across.

This ill-fated pumpkin sprout has lost its way. It’s growing in the middle of the lawn, no doubt planted there by a squirrel.

I’m hiding indoors from the hot afternoon sun, but will check on the emerging Lacewings at dusk.

How does your garden grow?

July 22, 2012 by Born To Organize

Birdhouse Gourd: First Snow

Okay, not really snow per se, but the birdhouse gourd flower is snow-white. I’m sure the seed packet said something about white flowers, but I’ve been so focused on the gourds to come, that it took me by surprise. I just assumed it would flower yellow, like the pumpkins, zucchini and other members of the squash family.

Not all the garden surprises have been good this past week, but this one’s a gem. I love the delicate petals and the beautiful contrast to the plants green arrow-head leaves. I’ll be keeping a close watch over the next two weeks for signs of emerging gourds.

Have you found any surprises in your garden this week? Please share in the comments below.

Flowering Gourd

July 21, 2012 by Born To Organize

Thrips: It’s What’s For Breakfast!

The garden thrips are on notice! Lacewings are on the scene.

A small packet of lacewing eggs arrived yesterday by mail. The packet contained an unimpressive looking plastic bag that, to the naked eye, looked like a bag of sawdust. My eyes aren’t what they used to be so I examined the bag closely with my nifty light-up magnifying glass, a gift from Bruce and Shirley. Still no sign of those eggs. The instructions reassured me that the eggs were in there and would be “hatching any minute” if they hadn’t done so already. Well then, no time to waste!

After dinner, my husband watered the affected plants and the Magnolia tree and we set out the eggs. Seriously, it felt like a practical joke because I couldn’t see anything but the sawdust.

The instructions suggest stapling a paper cup to a tree leaf and filling it with some of the eggs. That was the hardest part. I’m clumsy, so trying to staple the bottom of a paper cup to a thin leaf at the top of a tree was…challenging. We scattered the rest of the eggs at the base of the plants.

Guess what? As of this morning, a few already hatched. The packet contained “1,000 eggs” though how you could have counted is anyone’s guess. I hope the emerging larva are hungry.

We ordered our beneficial insects via the Internet from Orcon (Organic Control, Inc.) based in Los Angeles. If you live outside the states, search under “beneficial garden insects” for a source near you. Introducing the appropriate beneficial insect to your garden is safe for plants, people and pets, reducing the need for dangerous and toxic pesticides.

July 20, 2012 by Born To Organize

Floral Friday

Photographer Tamara Pruessner curates a feature on Google+ called Floral Friday. Fellow photographers and nature lovers post individual photos with the tag #FloralFriday, and as each one posts, they appear in a running thread. I’m amazed at the flow of creativity.

I’m not a professional photographer, but I do enjoy snapping pics in my garden, so I’ve joined in a time or two.

Cosmos

Bee Pollinating Catnip

If you have a Google + account, be sure to check it out. I think you’ll enjoy the sense of community, the beautiful flowers, and the effort to bring something positive in to this sometimes-dark and confusing world.

Follow Tamara on Google + or simply post a photo entry at #FloralFriday
You can view more of Tamara’s photography on her site Through Tam’s Eyes.
If you would like to join my circle, please stop by +Alys Milner

July 19, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Blushing Pinks

Growing up a redhead my mom never let me wear pink. A ginger herself, she advised that pink was not our color. She was right of course, but when you’re told not to wear something, you can think of nothing else. Am I right?

Pink is definitely one of those colors that can easily be overdone, but not in the garden. This has been my summer of pink. The volunteer cosmos continue to splash color across the pumpkin patch. The pink potted Hydrangea doubled in size and bloom production. I added a few pink Vinca to one of the patio planters and rounded things out with a polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya), grown for its beautiful pink and green leaves.

Power to the Pink!

Pink Hydrangea with a Drop of Morning Dew

Kitty shows off his cute little pink ears

After my “week of bugs” this flower is starting to look just like one.

Strong winds this week have the Cosmos leaning sideways

What’s blooming in your world this Thursday?

July 18, 2012 by Born To Organize

And Then There Were Thrips

It’s been a month of pests for Gardening Nirvana as we’ve worked our way through aphids, scale and now thrips. Three different plants, three different pests, all living within a few feet of each other.

Foreground (emerging sunflowers); under window (Viburnum tinus), right of photo (scale-infected Magnolia)

Thrips now reside on the lower leaves of the Viburnum tinus immediately outside of our home office window. It took us two summers to figure out what that…uh…pungent smell was. We knew it was organic in nature, but it was so odoriferous, we assumed a small animal had died under the house or deck. The smell eventually went away, the plants looked fine and we didn’t give it another thought.

Spring rolled around again, then summer and…that smell! Aren’t you glad you are only reading about it? The damage seemed to be happening at the base of the shrubs and along the back, making me wonder if it was lack of air circulation. My husband’s sleuthing and a magnifying glass revealed that yes, we had a third infestation on our hands: thrips.

Plant Damage

Thrips

Through the wonder of the Internet and our postal service, a shipment of lacewing eggs, nested in bran, is headed for our front door. When the tiny larvae emerge they feast on the thrips. Adults need nectar and pollen to survive, so it’s important to have insectary plants in your garden to support the adult population. The exciting news is that my sunflowers will flower within the next week or so, providing pollen to the emerging adults. They like Cosmos and Sweet Alyssum, too, also growing our the garden.

Resources:

Beautiful and beneficial green lacewings
Beneficial insects 101
Do you have thrips? Identify them here.
A list of insectary plants is on page two of this pamphlet from Our Water- Our World.

July 17, 2012 by Born To Organize

A Wing and a Prayer

Praying Mantis

Mulling over my options in front of our infested Magnolia tree, I noticed an interesting green shape on one of the leaves. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust before realizing I was staring at a Praying Mantis.

I squealed at my husband to please run and get the boys and the camera, while I kept my eye on our new best friend. It was incredible the way it matched the color of the leaves. My older son thought it was “creepy,” but my 12-year-old likes bugs so he was excited to see one in our garden.

Mantids are beneficial for the garden, but none of my reading yesterday suggested them for scale. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this shiny green creature planned to feast in the tree?

Mantid Looks Away

Mantid Stretched Out

Check out PrayingMantis.org to learn more about these fascinating insects.

July 16, 2012 by Born To Organize

Garden Fail: Scale

Our purple tulip Magnolia has scale, an infestation as repulsive as it sounds. It’s equally harmful and can ultimately kill the tree if left unchecked. We’ve been researching organic solutions, preferring beneficial insects if possible.

From the reading I’ve done, the scale may have been present months ago. Beautiful blossoms covered the Magnolia last spring, with no signs of the scale. In late June, however, I noticed some damage to of the leaves of the inner tree and only then did I discover the scale. We have all the tell-tale signs, now that I know what to look for:

Crusty bumps along the branches
Sticky leaves caused by scale excretions
Ants on the leaves. They eat the sweet excretions and are known to defend the scale since they provide a food source.

Here are a few more details from the College of Agriculture Sciences at Penn State:

Magnolia scales are usually massed on the undersides of 1 and 2-year-old twigs, with heavy infestations completely encrusting branches. Other indicators of a scale infestation include reduced foliage and flower production, undersized leaves and twigs, and a black sooty mold on the foliage. After digesting the plant fluid, the scale excretes a clear sticky liquid called honeydew, which provides an ideal substrate for the black sooty mold fungus to develop. Magnolia scale infestations often go unnoticed until the leaves and twigs of the host plant turn black with sooty mold. The honeydew also provides a food source, attracting ants, bees, wasps and flies.

Healthy Magnolia Branch

Scale Infestation on Magnolia Branch

Ants Eating the Excreted Honeydew

The more I read, the more discouraged I become. Even the less organic solutions are often ineffective. I read an extensive article saying that Predatory Beetles worked well, only to learn they are no longer commercially available. Aphytis melinus is another possibility, and probably our next, best option. Pruning away the worst of the branches seems like a good idea, too. I would hate to have this spread to our larger magnolia just a few feet away.

Suggestions welcome!

July 15, 2012 by Born To Organize

Walking and Talking With My Pumpkin Vine

Video camera in hand, I walked the garden last night, taking traveling shots of the pumpkin vine. That’s my cat, Slinky, at the start of the video who is always glad to find me in the garden. I look forward to seeing her sweet little face peering around the corner.

It’s been an exciting year in our pumpkin patch, thanks to a self-seeding vine in mid-April. The vine traveled the length of the house, before shooting up the side of an arching trellis. I tied the vine with string to support the weight of some developing fruit. From there it trailed back toward the ground. Last night I redirected the newest growth, a u-turn if you will, before it crossed the side yard and headed toward our neighbor’s fence.