The Garden Thread that two people wanted

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Carolina jasmine is starting to bloom, filling the air with its fragrance, and the magnolias are budding. The smaller variety is starting to bloom. Also fragrant so I picked one on my walk with my dog.

Jasmine is my favourite. It blooms in August/September here. I put the blooms in every room in the house. The perfume lasts for days. I also have some star jasmine. Also a lovely perfume, but I prefer the other one (not sure what type it is  )

[Maggie Ann]

Carolina jasmine is starting to bloom, filling the air with its fragrance, and the magnolias are budding. The smaller variety is starting to bloom. Also fragrant so I picked one on my walk with my dog.

Jasmine is my favourite. It blooms in August/September here. I put the blooms in every room in the house. The perfume lasts for days. I also have some star jasmine. Also a lovely perfume, but I prefer the other one (not sure what type it is  )

I had night blooming jasmine but one of my neighbors was allergic to it so I ripped it out.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

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I had night blooming jasmine but one of my neighbors was allergic to it so I ripped it out.
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That's a shame  . I have planted hedges on both sides of my property and worried that new neighbours might complain of allergies, but thankfully they have both enjoyed the blooms, which only last for about six weeks.

[Vijaya]

You're a good neighbor, Maggie Ann.

Jasmine is my favourite. It blooms in August/September here. I put the blooms in every room in the house. The perfume lasts for days. I also have some star jasmine. Also a lovely perfume, but I prefer the other one (not sure what type it is  )

We used to have a mock orange and that too was heavenly.

[LilyBLily]

My mother had a mock orange. Great scent.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

The stork has decided the cactus is a good place to perch despite a stick being placed in the middle to discourage it. Perhaps it's considering making a decorative floral nest 

[Maggie Ann]

The stork has decided the cactus is a good place to perch despite a stick being placed in the middle to discourage it. Perhaps it's considering making a decorative floral nest 

He looks like he thinks he can give that stick a run for its money with that beak.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

The stork has decided the cactus is a good place to perch despite a stick being placed in the middle to discourage it. Perhaps it's considering making a decorative floral nest 

He looks like he thinks he can give that stick a run for its money with that beak.

  He actually walks up the path to my partner's cottage and taps on the door demanding his morning snack of polony, chicken or meat. They also wreck some of the plants by pulling out the leaves of the staghorn fern, cacti etc. 

Stork is becoming quite destructive and ripping out the leaves of the cacti  We've had to put some netting up to discourage it.

[Maggie Ann]

The stork has decided the cactus is a good place to perch despite a stick being placed in the middle to discourage it. Perhaps it's considering making a decorative floral nest 

He looks like he thinks he can give that stick a run for its money with that beak.

  He actually walks up the path to my partner's cottage and taps on the door demanding his morning snack of polony, chicken or meat. They also wreck some of the plants by pulling out the leaves of the staghorn fern, cacti etc. 

I haven't seen a staghorn fern in ages. I used to see them wrapped around trees, but they were a target for thieves. I don't know about your part of the world, but in mine, they were very valuable.

[Jeff Tanyard]

It's late May: time for Hydrangeas and Gardenias.   

[Vijaya]

Oooh, I can practically smell that gardenia! Beautiful, Jeff.
And Jan, that stork is something. Perhaps a PB in the making with his attitude.

[Maggie Ann]

I do miss hydrangeas but they don't do well here.

Two of my Vanda orchids are spiking for the second time this year. That's a first for me. The Dendrobiums are continuing to bloom as always.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

The stork has decided the cactus is a good place to perch despite a stick being placed in the middle to discourage it. Perhaps it's considering making a decorative floral nest 

He looks like he thinks he can give that stick a run for its money with that beak.

  He actually walks up the path to my partner's cottage and taps on the door demanding his morning snack of polony, chicken or meat. They also wreck some of the plants by pulling out the leaves of the staghorn fern, cacti etc. 

I haven't seen a staghorn fern in ages. I used to see them wrapped around trees, but they were a target for thieves. I don't know about your part of the world, but in mine, they were very valuable.

We have lots of staghorn ferns here. They get so big and heavy that neighbours have asked us to split them and divide them up. It's actually quite an effort to do it. I think we eventually used a saw to cut through them the last time. We've put some in the mango tree and some on the silver birch (I think it's a silver birch, but could be wrong). We just tie them on and they soon start wrapping round the trunk. Some people attach them to pieces of bark and hang them up. I had a thatched umbrella in my previous house and a staghorn started growing in the thatch. I've no idea where it came from. 

[LilyBLily]

Great photos. Right now we're in the anemone-poppy-iris-peony-loosestrife stage. Our hydrangea is budding but not ready to bloom yet.

[Gerri Attrick]

I took on a new gardener last September and he's worked wonders. (He's a qualified horticulturalist, not a maniac with power tools as so many who call themselves gardeners have proved to be.   

He planted dark purple and white tulips, though the white ones all turned out to be the most beautiful shade of pink when they flowered earlier in the month.

Right now, my solitary poppy is in bloom (papaver orientalis). The flowers look like huge white dinner plates with a dollop of chocolate in the centre, and there are more of them this year since he gave it a dressing and a good mulch last autumn.
I still have white hydrangea panniculata, plus bergamot, sedum, agastache, and echinacea to come.

I really must learn how to upload photos from my phone to the computer, and here.

[Jeff Tanyard]

I really must learn how to upload photos from my phone to the computer, and here.

I can't help you with the phone-to-computer part.

For posting here, though, I use this site:

https://postimages.org/

I upload a pic from my hard drive to that site, and then the site gives me a forum link to copy and paste here.  No registration or login necessary.

[notthatamanda]

Gerri, what I do is email my photos from my phone to my email account, open it on the computer and then I can save the photo wherever I want on the computer. There is probably a way to hook the phone to the computer and just copy them, but I can't be bothered to try to make that work.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

The staghorn fern on the wall of the veranda had a twin but it got so heavy it fell and we had to cut it up and find other places to attach it. 

[Maggie Ann]

The staghorn fern on the wall of the veranda had a twin but it got so heavy it fell and we had to cut it up and find other places to attach it. 

Wow!!

[Vijaya]

What a beauty!

[Jeff Tanyard]

That fern looks like an alien.

I like it.   

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

That fern looks like an alien.

I like it.   

[Jeff Tanyard]

I saw a weed growing, and I suspected it was wild blackberry, and it was in a convenient place for me to let it grow, so I didn't pull it up.  As it grew, though, and the leaves took shape better and flowers and berries appeared, it became apparent that it wasn't blackberry.

After a little internet sleuthing, I concluded the mystery plant was Black Nightshade.

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

Here's my potentially deadly plant:





In spite of the current heat wave--it's 99 degrees here at the moment, and the heat index is 110--the plant doesn't seem too stressed.

The berries are apparently safe when ripe, though the internet isn't unanimous about that, and even though I'm not really the thrill-seeking sort at all, I'm tempted to try one.  Has anyone here ever eaten one?

[LilyBLily]

My kid ate a couple as a baby. After an exciting phone call with the poison center, nothing happened. Kid was too young to tell me how it tasted. Probably better that the pebbles the little darling tried next.

People in my family are/were highly allergic to nightshade's many relatives. As in the EMTs having to be called and the person having to be hauled off to the ER. Make sure you aren't similarly allergic before you experiment.

[Jeff Tanyard]

People in my family are/were highly allergic to nightshade's many relatives. As in the EMTs having to be called and the person having to be hauled off to the ER. Make sure you aren't similarly allergic before you experiment.

I can eat potatoes and tomatoes without any problems, so I'm guessing I'm not allergic to Nightshade plants.

I might chew one of the berries without swallowing it just to see what it tastes like.  Still undecided.

[Lorri Moulton]

FYI:

"Deadly nightshade ranks among the most poisonous plants in Europe. All parts of the plant are poisonous, and contain tropane alkaloids. It belongs to the Solenaceae family, as do the potato and tomato. Nightshade's principal danger lies in that its berries are very pretty and look edible, have a pleasantly sweet taste, and are at eye level for children, to whom they look like overripe cherries. Two to four berries are a fatal dose for a child, an adult needs ten to twenty. The most poisonous part of the plant is the root, but the consumption of even a single leaf can be fatal for an adult. Symptoms are initially a red face, dry mouth, dilated pupils and quickened pulse; in later stages, heart arrhythmia, tremors, hallucinations, paranoia and cramping."

http://poisonousnature.biodiversityexhibition.com/en/card/deadly-nightshade

[LilyBLily]

I hate plant drawings. That one doesn't look a thing like the nightshade I know.

There's a dead ringer for Queen Anne's lace that's extremely poisonous, too--hemlock. I don't think it smells like carrots as Queen Anne's lace does.

Poke sallet is very dangerous, but tastes like asparagus and is harmless if harvested early in the season and properly cooked. Grows all over in my part of the country, as does nightshade. Our parents warned us away from it when we were kids, because kids really will eat anything and those berries look enticing.

[Jeff Tanyard]

FYI:

"Deadly nightshade ranks among the most poisonous plants in Europe. All parts of the plant are poisonous, and contain tropane alkaloids. It belongs to the Solenaceae family, as do the potato and tomato. Nightshade's principal danger lies in that its berries are very pretty and look edible, have a pleasantly sweet taste, and are at eye level for children, to whom they look like overripe cherries. Two to four berries are a fatal dose for a child, an adult needs ten to twenty. The most poisonous part of the plant is the root, but the consumption of even a single leaf can be fatal for an adult. Symptoms are initially a red face, dry mouth, dilated pupils and quickened pulse; in later stages, heart arrhythmia, tremors, hallucinations, paranoia and cramping."

http://poisonousnature.biodiversityexhibition.com/en/card/deadly-nightshade

Deadly Nightshade is a different plant.  Mine is Black Nightshade.

Don't worry.  I'm not interested in ingesting any part of the Belladonna plant.   

Poke sallet is very dangerous, but tastes like asparagus and is harmless if harvested early in the season and properly cooked. Grows all over in my part of the country, as does nightshade. Our parents warned us away from it when we were kids, because kids really will eat anything and those berries look enticing.

Dad used to eat that stuff growing up.  His mother (or grandmother; can't remember) would boil the leaves and then they'd eat them like collard greens or something.

I've never touched the stuff, and Dad told me from an early age not to eat it except in the case of boiling the leaves.

Elvis knew all about it.   

[LilyBLily]

The stems are fine. This should be the early season plant, though. You boil it and throw out the water and rinse it, and rinse the pot, too. Some people who eat it all the time aren't that careful, but their guts probably are used to it.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I saw a weed growing, and I suspected it was wild blackberry, and it was in a convenient place for me to let it grow, so I didn't pull it up.  As it grew, though, and the leaves took shape better and flowers and berries appeared, it became apparent that it wasn't blackberry.

After a little internet sleuthing, I concluded the mystery plant was Black Nightshade.

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

Here's my potentially deadly plant:





In spite of the current heat wave--it's 99 degrees here at the moment, and the heat index is 110--the plant doesn't seem too stressed.

The berries are apparently safe when ripe, though the internet isn't unanimous about that, and even though I'm not really the thrill-seeking sort at all, I'm tempted to try one.  Has anyone here ever eaten one?

Unless it's the only food between you and death by starvation, I wouldn't risk it. 

[Post-Crisis D]

Here's my potentially deadly plant:

I am not a botanist but I am 99.9% certain that is a black nightshade.  I don't know how, or if, you can tell whether it's considered an "edible" strain or not.

In spite of the current heat wave--it's 99 degrees here at the moment, and the heat index is 110--the plant doesn't seem too stressed.

They seem pretty tolerant outdoors.  On the same note, however, I've never had them spread to the extent where they've become troublesome.  I'd much rather have them around than thistles which are definitely problematic.

Indoors, I've never successfully kept one alive.

The berries are apparently safe when ripe, though the internet isn't unanimous about that, and even though I'm not really the thrill-seeking sort at all, I'm tempted to try one.  Has anyone here ever eaten one?

Answer recommended by the legal department: Don't be crazy, man.  Stay away from potentially deadly berries.

Truthful answer: When ripe (black), yes.  But only like 1-3 because I was curious as to taste, not how many I could eat before suffering abdominal distress or death.  I was also younger and, as I recall, the book I had said that adverse effects were most likely in young children and older adults and I was neither at the time.

[Jeff Tanyard]

I went ahead and tasted one of the Black Nightshade berries about an hour ago.  I didn't ingest it; I chewed it up and spat it out.  I rinsed my mouth out with water afterwards, too.

It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad, either.  Very weak flavor.  Almost flavorless, really.  Just a slight tartness like one might find in a raspberry, but much less strong.  No sweetness at all.  More similar to a tomato, I guess, than to other berries, which makes sense since tomatoes are also a nightshade plant.

The berry's skin is very thin.  It crushed easily when I chewed it, much easier than a cherry or grape.

Anyway, my curiosity is satisfied, so that's the end of that.  I went ahead and pulled up the plant.  There's a little sprig of what I think is wild blackberry about a foot away from where the nightshade was, so I'm going to see if I can train that plant to take the nightshade's place.  And hopefully this time what I think is wild blackberry will actually turn out to be just that.

[Vijaya]

Jeff, thanks for the report. I had some wild blackberries about a week ago walking about in Francis Marion National Forest. Delish. Also picked some chanterelles--really lovely in stirfry. Some ticks got us though. Had to pull off two from my husband's body.

Our garden is giving us a bounty of okra, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers and greens. Waiting on the squash and melons.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I went ahead and tasted one of the Black Nightshade berries about an hour ago.  I didn't ingest it; I chewed it up and spat it out.  I rinsed my mouth out with water afterwards, too.

It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad, either.  Very weak flavor.  Almost flavorless, really.  Just a slight tartness like one might find in a raspberry, but much less strong.  No sweetness at all.  More similar to a tomato, I guess, than to other berries, which makes sense since tomatoes are also a nightshade plant.

The berry's skin is very thin.  It crushed easily when I chewed it, much easier than a cherry or grape.

Anyway, my curiosity is satisfied, so that's the end of that.  I went ahead and pulled up the plant.  There's a little sprig of what I think is wild blackberry about a foot away from where the nightshade was, so I'm going to see if I can train that plant to take the nightshade's place.  And hopefully this time what I think is wild blackberry will actually turn out to be just that.

As a child in the UK my Dad and I used to go blackberry picking in the hedgerows. We had our own tiny apple trees in the garden and my Mum and Gran used to make blackberry and apple dumpling. I can still remember how delicious it was with custard. We had loganberries in our garden, and blackcurrants. Loganberries are a cross between raspberries and blackberries. My favourite are raspberries, but they are quite expensive here in SA (probably also expensive in the UK).
I've had a lovely crop of papaya this year. Three of the trees have been loaded with fruit, the heaviest one was 2.5 kgs.

[LilyBLily]

Very brave to try that nightshade. I'm not that adventurous. I've heard one can eat false strawberries without any problems, but they simply don't have any flavor.

I have a large patch of wild black raspberries and I am picking every day. One seldom sees black raspberries in the market--maybe in a farm store--and the jam is my favorite. I spray myself for ticks, wear long sleeves, don heavy gloves and a hat with a net, and still don't venture into the thickest part because I know ticks do hang out there. So far, only one this year, a small one at that. But the black raspberries are worth it. It's a delicate flavor, and more present than the wild raspberries (actually, an invasive, non-native plant) called wineberries.

Unless we have a rainy June and July, the wild blackberries here dry up. They seem to be doing that right now. For a tough native plant, they're surprisingly iffy.

[Jeff Tanyard]

I used to enjoy the occasional handful of raspberries.  Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction a few years ago, so I don't eat them anymore.

The good news is that it's the only plant I know I'm allergic to.  Raspberries and seafood are the only things on my "can no longer eat" list so far, and hopefully that list won't grow any longer.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I used to enjoy the occasional handful of raspberries.  Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction a few years ago, so I don't eat them anymore.

The good news is that it's the only plant I know I'm allergic to.  Raspberries and seafood are the only things on my "can no longer eat" list so far, and hopefully that list won't grow any longer.

It's odd that you would suddenly develop an allergy. What a pity as raspberries are delicious with cream 

[LilyBLily]

As we get older we can develop unpleasant reactions to foods. I wasn't allergic to cherries as a child or young adult. Now, I am, although it's an inconvenience rather than anything serious. After eating cherries, my eyes get itchy the way they do around cats. I just have to remember not to rub. (Also, to keep away from cats.) I've been allergic to raw apples for years now--including the un-sprayed apples from my own trees. The solution there is to cook the apples.

My sibling developed a violent allergy to the nightshade family as a young adult, and it only seemed to get worse as the years progressed. Favorite foods of the past were now forbidden. Visits to the ER happened a lot. 

Black raspberries are delicious with cream, too.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I laughed when my partner said he was going to plant a grape seed to see if it would grow. Grapes do not grow in KZN. The Cape is the grape growing area. Undaunted, he put a few seeds in a plastic container with some damp padding and soil.
We now have the beginning of a vineyard 

[Maggie Ann]

I laughed when my partner said he was going to plant a grape seed to see if it would grow. Grapes do not grow in KZN. The Cape is the grape growing area. Undaunted, he put a few seeds in a plastic container with some damp padding and soil.
We now have the beginning of a vineyard 

Can a glass of wine be far behind?

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I laughed when my partner said he was going to plant a grape seed to see if it would grow. Grapes do not grow in KZN. The Cape is the grape growing area. Undaunted, he put a few seeds in a plastic container with some damp padding and soil.
We now have the beginning of a vineyard 

Can a glass of wine be far behind?

 

[Vijaya]

Ah, new beginnings! A friend of mine has a parrot that loves nibbling on champagne grapes.

[Jeff Tanyard]

The Joro spiders have arrived.  A bunch of them appeared all at once a few days ago.  Now they've got me surrounded.   





These critters are native to East Asia.  They arrived in Georgia, presumably in a container ship, in 2013.  If you live somewhere on the eastern seaboard, it's only a matter of time before you see one.  The good news is that they probably don't pose a threat to the native species, or at least no more of a threat than any other spider species.

I kind of like them, frankly.  They're similar to the native garden spider, but with the bonus feature that they eat stink bugs.

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

[Vijaya]

I like them too, Jeff. I didn't know they were a non-native spp. Apparently Charleston is ground zero for hive beetles. Our bees manage their invasion but I wish they didn't have to.

With all the sunshine and rain, we've been eating fresh chanterelles and honey mushrooms along with our garden veggies. Very tasty.

[Maggie Ann]

speaking of non-native invasive species, the Peter's Rock Agama has made it's way up the Florida coast and we are now seeing them here. Pretty cool looking, but they are feasting on our native lizard population. And they get into our roof soffits, but not inside our attics. They're very fast and bigger than our native lizards, of which we have many.

[Jeff Tanyard]

speaking of non-native invasive species, the Peter's Rock Agama has made it's way up the Florida coast and we are now seeing them here. Pretty cool looking, but they are feasting on our native lizard population. And they get into our roof soffits, but not inside our attics. They're very fast and bigger than our native lizards, of which we have many.

With those bright colors, you'd think they'd be easy for predators to catch.   

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

speaking of non-native invasive species, the Peter's Rock Agama has made it's way up the Florida coast and we are now seeing them here. Pretty cool looking, but they are feasting on our native lizard population. And they get into our roof soffits, but not inside our attics. They're very fast and bigger than our native lizards, of which we have many.

Very colourful. Not unlike our blue-headed lizards. Unfortunately they are not quick enough for the cats - and some dogs - so lose quite a few to gifts from our pets 

[Maggie Ann]

speaking of non-native invasive species, the Peter's Rock Agama has made it's way up the Florida coast and we are now seeing them here. Pretty cool looking, but they are feasting on our native lizard population. And they get into our roof soffits, but not inside our attics. They're very fast and bigger than our native lizards, of which we have many.

With those bright colors, you'd think they'd be easy for predators to catch.   

Adult snakes, hawks, and feral cats are most likely to catch the Agamas. But they have been known to catch and eat baby snakes, small birds, and other small rodents.

Very colourful. Not unlike our blue-headed lizards. Unfortunately they are not quick enough for the cats - and some dogs - so lose quite a few to gifts from our pets 

Probably related.

[LilyBLily]

I went to Chicago's Garfield Park botanical garden this weekend and enjoyed looking at the flowers and especially their vegetables in raised beds of various ilks. I wonder how effective those are in keeping bunnies away? Rabbits usually are rife in cities even with minimal green spaces, and this garden is part of a large park.

I saw no turtles in the lovely lily pond and no frogs, either, which surprised me. A few tiny fish only. As a child I found tadpoles in the most minor of streams, so why this well-appointed pond had none baffles me. Frogs love to peek out from under lily pads. 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I saw no turtles in the lovely lily pond and no frogs, either, which surprised me. A few tiny fish only. As a child I found tadpoles in the most minor of streams, so why this well-appointed pond had none baffles me. Frogs love to peek out from under lily pads.

  This immediately reminded me of this scene:

"Now it's time to rescue Mole," thought Leon. But how were they going to do it? Perhaps the frogs could help? But they were much smaller than Mole, and if he were to fall in the water and thrash about, they probably would not be able to save him. No, Mole was much safer staying on the lily pad, decided Leon.

"Leee-on. What are you doing now?" came Leonora's shrill voice.

"I'm thinking how to rescue Mole," snapped Leon, annoyed at having his thoughts interrupted.

"Why doesn't Mole use the lily pads as stepping-stones, like Frog is doing?" suggested Leonora, who had been watching Water Lily Frog hopping across the lily pads.

It's a scene from my yet-to-be published Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the bottled bat.