Long-Lasting Cut Flowers

There's nothing sadder than a beautiful bouquet of cut flowers that fade almost immediately after placing them in water. Some wildflowers don't last long, either. Luckily, you can find long-lasting flowers at local florists and grocery stores almost all year around if you know what to pick. One of the longest-lasting cut flowers is Alstroemeria, also known as Peruvian lilies. Originally from South America, they bloom in a range of colors from white, pink, purples and yellows to variegated reds and burgundies.

When picking Peruvian lily bouquets, make sure the leaves are crisp and firm, and that no blooms are wilted or falling off. If there is any wilting, you may be looking at flowers that are already a week or so old.

Also check leaf tips to make sure they aren't yellow or turning brown, you want leaves that are completely green.

An office colleague was given a bouquet of purple Peruvian lilies. They lasted a good two months with weekly fresh cuttings off their stems, and a change of water. These yellow Peruvian lilies bloomed for a good six weeks before they started to wilt. Keep them away from heat and direct light. Make sure to remove green leaves that may end up in water to keep water fresh.

Charlotte

Can You Name This Caterpillar?

It's easy to think of caterpillars as garden nuisances.

Until you remember what they become after only a few weeks.

You can spare a few green leaves for this one, can't you?

It will soon be a Viceroy butterfly, often mistaken for a Monarch Butterfly.

Butterflies are among pollinators that keep gardens healthy.

Charlotte

You Looking at Me?

These fascinating garden insects are sometimes called "praying mantis," other times "preying mantis." Both are accurate descriptions of these alien-looking bugs that sometimes hold their barbed front legs in a praying pose. Praying mantis are an effective part of a garden's natural insect management. They eat leaf-eating bugs including grasshoppers, moth larvae and roaches.

Now that's an answer to my prayers.

Dayflower

Like daylilies, day flowers only live one day.

They are a native of Asia but have established themselves nationwide.

Their fleshy stems and long green leaves are often treated as weeds.

They grow at awkward angles and where you least expect them.

I encourage them to stay.

They are one of the true blue self-starting flowers in my garden.

Why Its Called Butterfly Bush

They were both so small.

A tattered Fritillaria Butterfly visiting a less than an inch-long Blue Knight Butterfly bush flower nub.

Both have survived Missouri's record hot, drought-insistent summer.

They look like they belong together, don't they?

Visiting Jerusalem Artichoke

When I first moved to my Missouri limestone hill, there were a number of wildflowers blooming including jerusalem artichoke. According to Edgar Denison's Missouri Wildflowers, Native Americans ate the tubers.

I haven't tried yet but it's on my to do list if I ever pull any out of their current flower beds.

I like them just the way they are...

You, Turtle?

I found this three-toed Missouri turtle sitting quietly on a piece of wood destined to be a garden bench.

When I looked closer, I saw why he was in his shell.

There was his new friend, a teeny tiny spring peeper frog.

Should we name the frog David?

Versatile and Edible Marigolds

Did you know the leaves of marigolds have been used to remove warts?

I plant marigolds to help keep bugs out of my garden.

Marigolds are grown and harvested in Mexico to be added to chicken feed. Chickens eating marigold-enriched feed produce eggs with a deep yellow color.

Marigold blossoms themselves are quite edible for humans, too, and are often used in egg and cheese dishes.

The blossoms can make a yellow dye for fabric.

Double Peach Tropical Hibiscus

One of my first gift plants after graduating from college eons ago was a double red tropical hibiscus I named Theo. When Theo died as the result of thunderstorm injuries, I adopted Anita, a peach-colored double red tropical hibiscus. Anita spends summers on the deck, then winters over in my living room when, in the middle of cold January, she blooms. December and January are summer months in South America, where tropical hibiscus originate.

Anita has many visitors during summer including this chartreuse sulphur butterfly.

Gorgeous Geranium

There are a lot of reasons to love geraniums.

Geraniums are easy to grow, hardy in hot weather and easy to winter over soil-less in brown bags in a cool spot like a basement.

In 2010, several new varieties of geraniums were introduced, offering a wider range of colors.

They also make delightful cut flowers.

Ring My Chime!

I found this little red northern spring peeper frog at dusk one night next to my back door.

He was maybe one inch long so we're talking teeny tiny.

Loved to see the suction cup tips on this hands and feet.

Don't you love the tell-tale X-design on his back?

Lovely Luna

I am always amazed the first time I see a Luna Moth, one of the largest moths of North America. With a wing span as long as 5 inches across, these members of the silk worm family are stunning. You can distinguish males from females by the thicker, feathery antenna males have. I usually only see them at night early spring and summer. Adult luna moths live about a week, long enough to mate.

In some areas, luna moths are endangered.

Here's Looking at You!

Butterfly or moth?
It's Polyphemus, a 3.5-5.5 inch Missouri native moth found from mid-April through August. It's the second largest Missouri moth. According to "Butterflies and Moths of Missouri" by J. Richard and Joan E. Heitzman, larvae have been reported in more than 20 species of trees and shrubs including soft maple, birch, hazelnut and oak. This youngster was sitting in one of my potted tropical lime trees on my deck. Maybe it was on vacation.

Nearly Wild Rose Still Holds Beauty

It's easy to get caught up in garden catalogs waxing poetic about the latest rose hybrid.

This old-fashioned, single "nearly wild" pink rose reminded me there's beauty even in the simplest pink rose.

A Hummer of a Moth!

I've always been enchanted by the thought of a 1-inch Hummingbird Moth, something even tinier than the lovely little hummingbirds I remember from my childhood in Brazil.

According to Missouri's Department of Conservation, these Sphinx family moths are often confused with hummingbirds, their flight and eating habits very similar.

See the long, straw-like proboscis? When not in use, hummingbird moths keep it curled up under their chins.

This Grass is Actually an Iris

Years ago, I first saw Blue-eyed Grass by the side of my gravel country road.

Thinking I needed new glasses, I went back a few days later trying to find the lovely blue flowers, only to come across clumps of what looked like grass. Once I identified the flower in my Missouri Wildflowers book and understood it was actually a tiny iris, it was much easier to spot them. The pointed ends of Blue-eyed Grass is one giveaway to this Missouri wildflower; another are the small green seed balls that form after the flowers are finished blooming. These perennial Missouri wildflowers are tiny; here the plants are up against wild strawberry plants, themselves smaller than regular strawberry plants. Blue-eyed Grass starts blooming mid April and will continue through summer. I planted the latest patch next to my Hydrangea tree, and impatiens in a fallen pot, outside my front door. This way I can enjoy them every time I go outside.

Charlotte

How to Treat Poison Ivy

Can you tell which plant in photo is a Rose of Sharon and which one is poison ivy?

Poison ivy is a plant that generates an oil that produces a red, itchy rash. Once you've made contact, don't touch any other areas until you can wash area with soap and water. Do so as soon as possible! Wash clothes separate from other clothing with hot water and detergent.

Itching?

Apply crushed plantain leaves, calamine lotion, baking soda, or cortisone cream. Mix baking soda with witch hazel to form a paste.

Apply to rash. You can also take antihistamines such as Benadryl to relieve itching.

Swollen eyes or hard to breath? Contact a medical professional immediately.

And stop scratching! (The plant on left is poison ivy.)

Poison Ivy

If there's one plant everyone has heard about, it's poison ivy.

Recognizing the plant in a garden, however, is another story.

Especially if you garden in Missouri, these plants can grow to 5-feet and masquerade as a bush. Poison ivy has three leaves. In summer, the plant has white berries. In fall, leaves turn pink and red. The plant has an oil that produces a red rash with blisters. Some people are highly-allergic, others don't react to exposure to the oil at all. My best advice is stay away from it!

First Hint of Blackberries!

Last year I bought several thornless blackberry starts from a friend.

The season was so hot, I wasn't sure any of them would survive.

I scattered the plants around the garden, including two plants next to a trellis outside one of my bay windows.

Looks like I'll have blackberries this year!