One of my brothers used to go mushroom hunting every year at his local park.  He stopped when he found out it was a hang out for two vastly different types of undesirables … he didn’t want himself nor his children - um… - exposed we’ll say to these weirdos.

BUT sometimes you don’t have to leave home to find mushrooms, evidenced by The Germinatrix.

I was appalled. I’d just HAD a stinkhorn throwing its weight around, and now ANOTHER one? With an extremely offensive attachment? Surely the mycelium was having an enormous laugh at my expense … I can imagine the Mother Fungus oozing around under my garden, sending up her “blooms” and cackling with glee, knowing that they strain credulity and decorum. But do I keep them to myself, as a more demure garden blogger with good sense would? Of course not.

Ha… I don’t want Mother Fungus living in my yard.  It reminds me of the X-Files episode called Field Trip where hikers disappeared and skeletons were found.  The giant underground fungus had some sort of hallucinogen that caused people to dream they were safe all the while their bodies were being consumed by the giant life form.

My friend B. bought her house a little more than a year ago and has enthusiastically and wholeheartedly jumped into gardening and lawn work.  Where I do it because I have to, she does it because she loves getting her hands in the dirt and grooming seeds into lush, producing plants.  While she knows a lot, she sometimes needs help and is wishing for a garden signal.  Even without the signal there are answers,

Could I get salvia apiana to grow in my perennial herb garden? It’s only hardy to zone 7 and we’re zone 6. But I was thinking of putting it right up against the house.

And her gardening friends came through,

I was able to grow Salvia Divinorium and Salvia Lamiaceae in a south-facing bed against the wall of my house for the first two years I lived here. The bed was south-facing but shielded from some of the direct sun by the shadow of the house.

Sweet.  And.

Salvias are touchy here at best and you never know if they will keep going or not. I have several that are zoned for 7 that come back year after year, I have some that are zones 6 and 5 that died right off. The biggest key is drainage and you might be best off planting it in a pot with a cactus/succulent mix of soil and then moving the pot around and protecting it in the winter. Apiana will definitely want full sun.

Photo by Bludgeoner86 via Flickr Creative Commons.

At Paradis Express, I found gorgeous photos of willow seedpods sculpted as garden art.  The results are nothing short of stunning!

Thanks to Carribean Garden for the link.

One of my favorite writers and comedians again tickled my funny bone with his diatribe about building a birdhouse - a birdhouse that’s been in a box for three years.

The birdhouse has been sitting in its birdhouse box for over three years. Waiting. Waiting patiently to be hung from the branches like a horse thief. What has taken me so long? Any task that involves me going outside takes longer for me to accomplish than inside tasks. That’s because nature wants me dead, so I am reluctant to go outside where I could be killed. Yes, nature wants me dead. I know this because of lightning, hurricanes and meteors; if nature didn’t want me dead, objects entering our atmosphere from outer space would include teddy bears and rainbow sprinkles.

Go on over and read the rest of Michael Ian Black’s post.  And I think I eat wheat thins the same way.

Photo by Pati Deuxmont via Flickr Creative Commons.

I have deer that sometimes run through my yard, but this would be pretty good too.  Watch the shuttle launch while sitting on your back deck from Dressage Daily,

I’m impressed!

Why are some men so picky about their yards?  I’ve heard several talk about how they’d get upset if a neighbor mowed for them.  Wha?  O.o   If someone mowed my lawn for me, I’d be doing cartwheels! I once had a neighbor who lived at the end of the street TERRIBLE about mowing their lawn.  It made the whole street look shaggy - except for Mr. Meticulous who lived across from me.

So.  One day I took my lawn mower down and did their front yard.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so angry over a free lawn mowing job.  Maybe they were just embarrassed.

All this brings us to The Hunters Wife who talks about how her husband made her promise not to touch the lawn when he went on a four-day trip.  Hey no problem, right?  Then he came home and decided to put her to work.  I guess some people feel they need to supervise anyone who works in their yard!  She did manage to evade most of the job.  Clever!

“You want hot chocolate? I’ll go make us some. Be right back.”  (Yes my way of taking a break.)

Back to raking leaves.  I was instructed by Sgt. Narantic not to leave one leaf behind.

Umm what excuse can I use now? Think think think.

Mark:  Where you going now?

Jody:  Umm … I think that hot chocolate gave me a tummy ache.

That will give me a good 15 minute break without being questioned.

I love this!  Go read her whole post - complete with pictures - to delight in her yard work!

I received a great little newsletter in the mail yesterday from my plumber/heat/air maintenance company.  Who knew they were also experts in lawn care?   Their tip today is to eliminate weeds before winter.

Weeds not only germinate in the fall, but they also can leave behind seeds that will germinate in the spring. Applying a weed control in the fall will kill weeds in the lawn and reduce the number that pop up in the spring. Before you get started, make sure to identify the weeds so you can choose the proper herbicide.

I have a problem with some vine that is trying to take over the front of my house.  I’ve pulled that thing down at least a dozen times this summer and it remains tenacious.  I’ll be taking some photos of it to my local garden center to see if the experts there can give advice on how to rid my lawn of it.

It’s that time of year in the South where temperatures are beginning to fall.  At night, we are just kissing freezing - with frost warnings aplenty.  Along with these cooler temperatures is the bug phenomenon.  These little creatures do not like the cold any more than we do, so they’re moving from your yard to where it’s warm - YOUR HOUSE.

I’ve seen an abundance of black beetles this year and I don’t like them one bit.  We’ve also been invaded by lady bugs.  So far - at least at my house - we haven’t seen any brown recluse spiders.  But my friend has and her doctor confirmed it this morning.  She’s been bitten.

Photo after the jump (look out, it’s not pretty and not for the faint).

Read the rest of this entry »

This is not me, but I love the high energy.  And the editing!

I had never seen a black widow until we moved to our “country’ish” house that sits on 1.5 acres.  There’s a tree right in the middle of the yard and when my husband was cleaning up all the baby trees under it, he found one of those little Momma’s with the red hour-glass on her belly.  He put her in a jar and about 452 baby spiders hatched two weeks later.  Just the thought of those little monsters still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Bill Bird over at Sacramento Vegetable Gardening doesn’t much like them either,

The Black Widow spider is something to be feared — despised and eliminated. I’m not sure why I feel that way. I’m fortunate in that I’ve never been bitten by one. I know people who have — everyone does. But it’s a gardening experience that I do not want to share at this time thank you. If you didn’t notice — the Year of 2009 was a pretty big one for Black Widow Spiders.

I suppose even black widow spiders offer some sort of benefit in nature.  But if I see a black widow, I’m going to stomp it just like Bill.

Photo by ewen & donabel’s photo stream via Flickr Creative Commons.