Gifts from the Cactus Guru...I have a dear friend whom I've dubbed "Cactus Guru" for the wealth of wisdom imparted upon me to put an end to my cruel, cactus-rotting ways. Well I must be a good student, because look what I got in the mail!Check out the adorable packaging..........with ample warnings as to the danger level of the contents.........and padding for protection! (As much for me as them!)And excellent cultural info! Good thing, because I still need all the help I can get!Wow! Look at the size of this prickly pear pad! If this thing takes off and grows well for me, I'll need a "desert room" added on to my house!Now, to pot these babies up, I'll need some tools to keep me safe. These metal tongs worked great, I didn't even need to wear gloves.Some screen to prevent a washout/mess........and the "secret" soil formula. I kind of made up these proportions myself, based on information from my guru. I double-checked for final approval and was told it sounded just fine, with this caveat:"This is a general, well draining mix with some vital nutrients mixed in, but certainly could be tweaked, according to genus and country of origin." What a smart, guru-like thing to say! :) And although my measuring scoop has no official measurements on it, I'm guessing it holds about 1 1/2 cups...see why I need a guru? ;-)The sand I used came from sandbags acquired from the local dump, but any coarse sand will do. Then the pea gravel, and now for the extra nutrients: compost from my composter (pre-screened to get out big chunks), kelp meal...
....bone meal (looks every bit as yucky as it sounds)...
....and greensand.......and yes, it's green!
Rolled it all around in my Odjob mixer, and commenced potting. Looks like a good consistency, and the pea gravel sure helps support this big pad... ...... Mammilaria elongata 'Copper King' looking cozy together....
.....Cereus peruvianus 'Monstrose'....

.....Cholla looking fierce...

.....Euphorbia ferox.... ....opuntia of some sort, looking cute as a button (well, a spiny button, anyway)...

.....Notocactus haselbergii 'Scarlet Crown'.... ....Notocactus leninghausii....

There! What a nice looking group! I'll leave them in indirect light with no water for a couple weeks per the advice of my guru, then water with a weak (1/2 strength or less) solution of fish emulsion and a capful of blackstrap molasses (My guru says of the molasses:"It's full of minerals too, plus they like a hit of sugar once or twice a year. Actually the microbes in the soil like it.") All I need to do now is buy a moisture meter, because my Cactus Guru swears by it. (And 30 years of Guru sucess is all the proof I need!) Oh please don't let me kill you guys! Cross your spines and hope not to die!

Deer wars...if you're a gardener of any kind, you know what I'm referring to. The enemy is lurking, whether you're in the yard or in the woods, you can feel it....something is out there.......they're sneaky, too. Using any resource available, they disguise themselves to avoid detection. For example, here in the fog is the perpetrator, lurking in the distance.......even on a clear day, out in the open, they have cloaking abilities that defy reason.......ACK! What's going on?!Hey! See what I mean? They posess some mystical cloaking system to sneak up on us! Even the headlights on our cars are no match.......nor is the deep snowfall! They will come from far and wide to devour and destroy the fruits of a gardener's labor. Nothing can stop them it seems.......they even train their young in cloaking techniques and disguises!How can we win against these stealthy beasts? Physical barriers such as these cages around young trees can help.......they don't stop all potential damage, but can at least prevent all-out decimation!Smaller plants require even more protection, since rabbits and groundhogs are known to be agents of destruction as well.......another technique: repellent sprays. This product has been the best performer for me thus far, but it smells positively disgusting! Fortunately, the smell dissipates almost entirely overnight and it lasts up to 30 days. (I spray about every 2 weeks in spring when pressure is high.) And although it brings me pleasure to beat these interlopers at their own game, I like to try new products from time to time.......so right now I'm trialing this stuff, which is supposed to smell good and last longer, about 60 days. It does smell good, like really strong cinnamon. So I tried it on the row of hostas along my driveway, as these are "extras" and can afford to be sacrificed if necessary. So far, so good......."So how's that grab ya', you hungry alien creep?!" Hahahahahaha!Then suddenly, without warning, a new enemy emerges........Dusty! This is my neighbor's pony, Dusty, and he manages to "escape" several times each summer. He's particularly fond of the plants in my yard, although he roams most everywhere, sampling as he goes. Fortunately, he does not posess the powers of stealth like the deer......so he's much easier to keep out. This flimsy little plastic "gate" is only attached by twist-ties at one end, and bungee cords at the other. It's enough of a visual and physical barrier to convince him to move along. (I had to make it high enough though, I've seen him clear a rope gate 3 1/2 feet off the ground!)
As you can see, I'm no engineer, and my "design" is a real pain to open and close. (Heh, what was that about "measure twice, cut once"? :) Oh well, I can revise it... ...thus concludes this ongoing saga....for now. Beware the shape-shifting, cloaked and stealthy foliage thieves...they're coming for your plants too! Submitted to Friday Ark.

"Gizmo! Are you trying to get my food?!" "Of course not, that would be rude. See...my eyes aren't even open!"
"Well they're open now...what are you doing?" "Don't be silly, I'm looking over this way...." "Well you know the rules, don't be begging or trying to make a play for the plate! This isn't a baseball game, you know!" "Uh-huh....""Gizmo! Are you listening to me?!" "Uh sure, the Cubs have a decent shot at the pennant this year...um, what?"Submitted to Friday Ark.

July Bloom Day...and I'm only a day late! :) First we have common milkweed, it's been very prolific this year, which is fine with me! Smells great, and the bugs love it! (Especially the monarch butterfly.) Okay, not flowers, but I'd never noticed how the berries on my honeysuckle bushes look like tiny lightbulbs...strange.
'Neon Flash' spirea...

....dianthus (I'll check the tag for the name and edit it in later) Update-okay, maybe I don't know the cultivar, because I never did. It was purchaed as an annual with no name, but it comes back every year.)... ....'Lorraine Sunshine' heliopsis...
...red nasturtiums...

.....again not blooms, but these mulberries are ripening...
....though not very purple yet. I tasted one like this that was barely purple-tinged, and I think this may actually be a white mulberry tree because the berry was very sweet...
....which explains the enthusiasm from these guys! This is a cedar waxwing, and right now this tree is covered with them, all the time!
I really enjoy their whispery call, and the fact that they'll let me get fairly close for pictures. (They don't hold very still, though.)

Hen and chicks blooming...
...nicely!

The New Guinea impatiens looks happy...

....as does this 'Red Mini Hollyhock'. Red? Not even close.... ....same as this 'Red Fox' veronica. I suppose "Pink Fox" doesn't sound quite right, but it would be more accurate!
Mushroom, not bloom. (Although the mushroom is considered the "fruiting body" of the underground mycelum, so I guess it counts as fruit. :)
Thyme blooming (I believe this one is 'Minus', but I have several cultivars and I forget which one I took a picture of-sorry!) These flowers sure are tiny!

Here's another for the "not red" category, 'Cherry' Queen of the prairie. I like it anyway... ...and the "blooms" on this silky wild rye. I hope the seeds will germinate, because I want more of this!
Look at the bugs on this black-eyed susan...kinda cool how they match. The butterfly is a Pearl Crescent, and the slender bug is a Thread-waisted wasp. The wasps are listed as "solitary", but are also "parasitic"...so exactly how solitary can they be? Or is that why they don't have any friends? Just wondering...
Heh, and yet another flower that was supposed to be "red", 'Wizard's Cap' clover. I tried to find the catalog picture, but it's not on the Michigan Bulb web site anymore. Now, pink is a nice enough color, and I suppose some wizard might have a pink cap, but red was the color in the picture so that's what I expected. And it's not like red is some un-attainable flower color...*sigh*...alright, I'm done whining! :)

'Alexander' lysimachia blooming nicely...
...so is 'Golden Queen' trollius...

....even her "after flower" is pretty! And finally this cute annual grass is "blooming", and I'm enjoying the seed heads as much as the foliage!
Happy Bloom Day everybody! For more Bloom Day action, check out the Bloom Day founder, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.