I saw some nice cone-flowers at Walmart today. I passed on them, though. I think you have extra long stalks on your flowers - probably reaching for the light.

Coffee Cups are nice. I bought a green scalloped leaf alocasia at Walmart for around 8 or 9 dollars today. No ID but labeled as an alocasia.

I used to carry a pocketknife with me all the time. I quit doing that probably 20+ years ago. I don't know how many knives I have, but it is a guy thing.

With expensive cars comes higher priced maintenance items. I recall reading about Rolls Royce probably 30-40 years ago and the six month maintenance was around $300 back then. It took a special tool to even open the hood to work on the engine. Yikes!

My niece and her husband had a Corvette briefly until they had a baby, so they traded the Vette in on a Porsche SUV. Nice exchange. Another guy had a Range Rover and when his first check-up was $1500 is when he traded it in on a Jeep. Oh well?

People love Alaskan cruises? My neighbor and his wife did an Antarctic cruise earlier this year and while he enjoyed it somewhat, he wouldn't do another one.

I will have to tell my dentist about your opinion on growing hostas in a pot. HAHA! I bet the building maintenance has a contract with some landscape services.

I am like you on the "happy as a clam". I never understood it, just used it sometimes. I finally wondered why a clam is happy. The rest is history.

Put your caladiums up for winter (in a place that won't freeze or even a bit on the warm side). DO NOT WATER until March or April. Easy-peasy.

I have no idea if PW did the staple thing or Hydrangeas.com did that. Anyway, I googled for "ring staple" and found that the common name is "hog ring staple". There are staples and tools for this job. One of the common things it is used for is mattress springs where the springs are attached to the frames. Home Depot and Walmart sell tools and staples for this, but I don't remember ever seeing this before. I learn something new all the time.

It is crazy that the Halloween decorations are already showing up in stores. It seems like the next big thing would be school supplies. Schools will start in early August here.

HAHA! I am glad you are enjoying your Painter's Palette free plants. I wish I could get Cleome to come up year after year (it is an annual here).

It poured yesterday and Rufus was trembling like a leaf on a windy day. I almost fell over him in the kitchen when I turned around and hit my foot in his backside. He is so quiet. I took a couple of pictures but they don't show the amount of rain or wind like a short video clip does (shame I can't post a video on this site).

My grandson and his wife are exhausted after such a long labor. While he didn't go through the trauma of delivering the baby, his nerves are probably shot like mine were 48 years ago.

The lone PP plant will soon make so many babies that it will be a colony in a few years.

Is the leaf of the Regal Shield broke along the main vein? I should move my Regal Shield to a sunnier location to get it to a bigger size.

I thought you were talking about the wax begonia being broken and is why I suggested water rooting it. Tuberous begonias are a tad harder to start in water (at least in my experience). Did you allow it to callus some before putting in water? Anyway, experiment and find out.

How long have you had the sweet potato vine? I've never tried one but I see it is used a lot in pots as a spiller (yellow or black and some variegated ones).

That's cool that your bent leaf on your Regal Shield is fixed by the Saturday rains. I bet that surprised you.

I ordered two new hardy hibiscus a little earlier from PW web site. Both are reds. Now my wife can dig 3 holes instead of just one (for the watermelon red I got last week).

I may add photos later on. I disconnected my laptop from my USB hub where the pictures reside.

the same neighbors that owned the Corvette had a Mercedes..as expected maintenance was expensive..they went from the Mercedes to several Cadillacs..then to a Buick..

yes, people I know enjoyed Alaskan cruises..

the landscapers probably dug those hostas from a customer that didn't want them..and plopped them in the pots at the dentist..Ha!..

thanks for the "happy as a clam" info 👍..

I'm planning to store the pots with the caladiums..I've stored them planted in pots and stored them loose in a ziploc with potting soil..I can't say that I had great success either way..

isn't the internet great for research?..I also learn something new just about every day..

between hellebores, Painter's Palette, and wild ginger I could cover my lot!..

poor Rufus..it's sad that he gets so scared..

a long labor is traumatic..worrying about the mother and the baby..I hope the 3 of them recover soon..when will you meet the baby?..do they live in Georgia?..

it was a rainy day when I noticed the droopy Regal Shields leaf..I never checked it out well..I didn't look at it today..

the broken dark leaf tuberous begonia seemed wilted when I glanced at it as I walked by..

I bought the sweet potato vine the same day I bought the caladiums..3?4? weeks ago..

D moved a log for me today..every little bit of work helps..I hope to take pics soon..

It sounds like your neighbors got smart on the car buying.

I doubt everyone enjoys an Alaskan cruise, but I would imagine there are plenty who do.

It is possible that the landscaper rescued two hostas and put them in the extra large planters. Whatever floats their boat. Not a huge deal, certainly not to me.

Caladiums are amazingly easy to store and grow. I might look at some more at Lowe's this week. I try to buy one or two new ones that catch my eye each year.

Most pets are scared of fireworks and thunderstorms. Rufus is scared of hard rain, too. Weird dog.

I don't know when we will see the newborn since they are in coastal NC - about 500 miles or so. Maybe if they put out an invite to come meet the newest member, we would plan a trip.

We got a hard rain last night and that got Rufus disturbed and I wasn't all that restful anyway. This was around midnight and went an hour or more. I don't even want to visit the back lot due to mud, but I might have to just to check on overturned pots and any standing water. GRRR! I potted up a lot of my water cuttings a while ago. I still have several other things down in the basement to pot up - begonia cuttings, Primulina, and Yellow Gem ficus.

Succulent begonias such as tuberous are harder (for me) to get them to root. I don't know about water rooting tuberous, but a pot of perlite seems to be easier than regular potting soil.

How big was the log and what did he move it with? I like to cut logs to size for lifting into a wheelbarrow.

I had my second chemo session yesterday and am wearing the second part of it for two days. It is draining but it is what it is.

crepe myrtles bent over from the heavy rain on the 11th.

the hand fern is doing great (I potted it up to a much bigger pot)

two different fittonia and a rex begonia

primulina 'Pretty Turtles' sporting many blooms

Episcia 'Picasso'

Aglaonema tricolor with many blooms

rex begonia vine and tiger stripe fern going crazy

fern is longer than the begonia vine (really a Cissus)

Phantom this morning

this was running across the basement floor. I thought it was a moth, but Google says it is an albino roach. UGH!

The alocasia I got at Walmart last week.

the hibiscus I got from Pike's a week or so ago

lots of bloom buds

Penny Mac did not bloom at all this year.

Flying Dragon orange trees loaded with fruit.

I did not want to step over the bridge (slippery when wet) and muddy in this area.

alocasias in the same aluminum pan from last year doing great

ground level with phantom - I have to shoot upwards

hog ring staple pliers

hog rimg staples

the hydrangeas (fairytrail bride)

fairytrail green

fairytrail fresco

Incrediball (I wished I had seen the Incrediball Storm Proof before ordering this)

Gatsby Gal

I ordered Holy Grail and Garnet globes hardy hibiscus a day or two ago. Can you believe I saw Holy Grail last year at a Walmart store and passed it by. It was cheaper than ordering online.

Here is what I ordered.

I wonder if the landscapers will pull the hostas out so they can charge the dentist next year to replant the pots? Ha!..

I've seen local newscasters mention taking care of pets during fireworks 👍..besides scaring them the noise hurts their ears..

maybe your grandson will come your way..his Mom lives in Georgia right?..

I took pictures of the logs D moved..he's moved 4..he used a handtruck..

your recent storm might have been stronger than ours..

your houseplants look great..

something new I learned today..roaches come in white!..

the leaves of your new alocasia are scalloped compared to mine..

all of my big leafs look like your Penny Mac..no blooms..

well now you're ready to buy hog rings if you need them!..

I like the Fairytrail Bride Cascade..

the droopy leaf before the rain..

today (July 14)..

my pitiful broken begonia..

squirrels messed up this pot..I'll fix it tomorrow..

the colocasias in the big pot are growing..

squirrels went after the sweet potato vine..I moved the pot..

the 2 corms/tubers I added to the black colocasia are growing..

I cleaned up the area next to the racks..I made 2 piles..long and medium branches..it'll be easy to move them when I'm ready..

D moved 2 curved logs to edge one side of a path into the flood zone..I was using some scrap pieces to fill gaps but I didn't finish..a lot of pieces laying there won't be staying there..I'm using the ugliest stones we have to keep the logs in place..I'll put stones in the front of the logs near each end..I found a stone that fits in the middle where the logs meet..the curve of the stone fits well with the logs..I'm also going to put a stone on top of it..when we get standing water the logs can actually float and move..I've seen that happen..

D moved the 2 heavy logs on the left to edge this wide path..

some pots on the sidewalk look nice..

I bet the landscapers are dirty, double-dealing cheats just looking at ripping off their clients time and time again. HAHA!

Unfortunately state laws allow citizens to buy and fire off fireworks. When we moved here, it was illegal for private citizens to buy and operate fireworks. Other states were selling to anyone who had the $$$, though. And there is nothing we can do about mother nature.

I guess you are talking about the grandson with a new baby? His mom (our oldest daughter) moved to South Carolina last year to be with her new boyfriend.

The white roach could be immature molt from what Google said. Kind of creepy.

I was shocked to see very little blooms on our big leaf hydrangeas this year. The only consistent one was a lace cap and that was Lady in Red. Oh well.

At least I know what the staples are now that bound the plastic bags to the pot. Hog ring staples! I always thought the hog rings were the ones farmers put in the noses of their big hogs.

Your Regal Shield(s) looks great, by the way. I haven't give mine much attention.

Those squirrels are a menace to society and garden pots. Another thing I am trying is inserting broken sticks into bare areas of the pot - sticks straight up. Maybe the squirrels will consider them too much of a hassle to deal with. I've seen other folks use plasticware forks to stick in their pot to foil the bushy tailed rodents.

Your sweet potato vine should cover the pot and the sidewalk if it has the right conditions (sun, fertilizer, and water),

Your wood pile and rack of sticks looks neat and orderly - as though you are getting ready to plant a new area there.

It will be interesting to see your finished project with sticks and stones. Wow, you must have quite a bit of water to float those sticks and logs.

I haven't done much at all outdoors lately. Too weak and almost nauseous. We went to La-Z-Boy yesterday to meet with the designer and overall liked her layout, so we signed a contract with them. It will be 4 to 6 weeks to get everything in place before delivery, though. I wonder why so long.

I saw a Picasso pot similar to yours yesterday. AND it is at Walmart. I wonder how big this one is.

Here is one on Etsy that I am debating on. I cannot believe the price so I wonder if it is a lot smaller than it looks.

I must be ancient by now.

my hardy hibiscus came in 2 days ago- very tall boxes

My wife helped me get them out of the boxes and on to the deck (she took them down to the yard earlier today)

They dropped a lot of leaves and blooms, but the stalks look good and healthy.

I had my wife shoot 10 photos of me in my new Father's Day shirt. I was looking for a pose that looked judgemental. HAHA! I need to teach her how to pose people.

On our way back home after picking Rufus up from a play date at the boarding place (while we looked over the furniture at lazy boy)

we hung a U-turn where the silver SUV is merging to head home and the skies were completely different.

Random pop-up storms.

landscapers love to spread mulch a mile high don't they?..😝 I think they do it to make money..

I thought of you when I saw this story..2 screenshots below..it didn't fit on one screen..it's about dogs and fireworks..(on Houzz the limited 4 pictures go to the bottom..I skipped GW tonight to place the captions)..

yes the grandson with the new baby..I was thinking both daughters lived in Georgia..

I've tried forks and sticks..it seems like it should help..

I've seen sweet potato vines 6 feet long..that won't happen to me..

I'm sorry you don't feel well..I hope you feel better soon..

I hope the new furniture looks great in your house 🙂..

the pot at Walmart is a different color than what I bought..but Amazon sold that one too!..they're not large..I have 2 sizes..maybe 5? and 7? inches in diameter..

my sister and I have laughed at things her grandchildren don't know 😂..

your hibiscus should do well 👍..

I looked up my coneflowers..they seem to be the right height..

that's a great shirt!..will you wear it to your begonia meeting?..

I went to Aldi today..after leaving my neighborhood I could see the sky..it was hazy..we have smoky air..

I have a caladium!..

Some landscapers do mulch, others mow. One man I met at the power plant said his son worked for a landscaper for years as a teen. He had an agreement with his dad that he wanted to try his own hand in landscape before going to college. Anyway, he got a loan from the landscaper to start his own business and he had several crew trucks, lots of immigrant workers, and was going up and down I-75 (Florida to Atlanta) and his 3rd year had made over $1 million. I didn't hear how much of that he set aside for himself or what, but still impressive for a young man with no college and doing well. Business centers love manicured lawns, massive beds of shrubs (azaleas mainly), and tidy entryways. More power to them. So, yeah, I am sure they will do whatever the customer wants to make a living.

That is a great story about the volunteers helping out scared dogs at a shelter during fireworks.

The oldest daughter moved to Charleston, SC last fall with her new boyfriend. She is the mother of the 3 oldest grandkids (age 27, 25, and 23). Well, the 27 year old is still 26 until early September.

I never understood the appeal of growing ornamental sweet potatoes, but the newer introductions look promising. I guess with my dad growing sweet potatoes in his veggie garden is what turned me off on growing the more ornamental ones. Look at this variegated one:

https://gardencrossings.com/products/sweet-caroline-sweetheart-shadowstorm-ornamental-sweet-potato-vine-ipomoea

I hope I can get over this gut/stomach cramps before soon. I requested to see the practice's nutritionist on my next visit (next week) to see if she can help me out.

I thought the Picasso pot looked similar to yours. It's good to get some art into our gardening obsession.

I bet your sister's grandchildren probably know things she doesn't know. The world changes so quickly these days.

Speaking of coneflowers, I watched a program today where the owner was going to rip out all of her plants due to aster-yellow disease. I had not heard of this before. I was thinking of looking at Lowe's for coneflowers on sale this week (doubles, different colors). Now I am not so sure. Apparently this disease is spread by some leafhopper that eats a diseased plant and spreads the germs this way. GRRR!

I have so many logo shirts now (and Hawaiian ones, too) that is hard to choose what to wear. I am wearing my two tees from my oldest daughter (one yesterday and one today). One says "The Dad Angle" with some triangle. At the middle of the shirt it says "You know I am right". HAHA! The one I am wearing today is a bit more cryptic. It has "f(x) = |x|" and below that it says "Avoid Negativity" One of our club members has put a design out for members to ponder buying - it is celebrating the 40th anniversary of our club. I told her it was nice, but I have to pass as I have too many Logo shirts as it is. Then she asked if I would like a coffee cup with the new design. Again, I had to tell her thanks, but no thanks because we have too many coffee cups (I don't know how many we have given away over the years).

Is the smoky air from the fires in Canada and Minnesota (it is Minnesota, right?)

Hallelujah! You have caladiums! If you plant them, they will grow!

What's up with your last two photos?

I finally walked through my back-lot and found 2 to 3 plants blown over. I am not happy with the growth I am seeing - too much rain and too shady. I will try to fertilize my moss poles tomorrow. I fertilized the few plants in the front yard today and the new flowers my wife bought and are in pots this afternoon. I got my hedger out and mowed a lot of overgrown plants in the immediate backyard - painter's palette, tiger lilies, knock-out roses, Mexican hydrangeas (where I don't want them), smart weed (Pennsylvania smart weed), grasses, etc. I need to pick up all my clippings tomorrow and drag them to the back of the lot. UGH! We took off our recyclables this morning but no hike (due to my weakened condition).

an impressive story about the young guy starting a landscaping business..👍

I knew you'd like the story about helping frightened dogs 😉..

if you told me your daughter moved to SC I forgot..but your youngest daughter lives in Georgia, right?..

I think sweet potato vines look great in annual combination pots..I've always liked them..I've seen the squirrels bite off a piece then go sit on my deck rail and nibble on it!..so I stopped buying them..but this year I lost my willpower and bought one..the one in your link is very pretty..

I hope you find a solution and get some relief for your stomach issues..

a good catch..even though the color is different you recognized my Picasso pot!..

I agree that kids often know things that we don't!..

so far my coneflowers are healthy..I've heard of aster yellows disease but don't know much about it..

we're guilty of too many coffee mugs too..I'm going to continue paring down our possessions..

yes the air in Indiana is affected by the Canadian wildfires..

it was fun to see a Caladium come up!..

I included a couple of shots looking across my backyard..I work hard here and think it's pretty so I took photos..

fyi..I saw the hybridizer of Regal Shields on a garden show.."Shields" was plural so I always write it that way..but when I did a Google search and saw plants for sale I saw it spelled both ways?..

funny timing..you just mentioned this disease..this morning there was a post about it on the only Facebook group I follow (Indianapolis Gardening)..
I've escaped so far..in the photo in this post the flowerhead does have a deformity 🤔..
I took a screenshot of some info..yikes is right 🙄..

I wonder how the young guy is doing today (guess he would be middle age by now). Hopefully he was able to sell his business and retire at 50 or younger.

Yes, my youngest still lives about 10 miles from us. She is busy with work and raising two kids (and going on vacations).

I remember days of yore where a sweet potato vine was always a good spiller in a pot combo. Black or gold, sometimes the variegated green and pink one.

My stomach-bowel cramps finally went away but if they continue doing this each time I get an infusion, then I am going to need something to counter the symptoms. I was able to work in the yard yesterday and go on a small walk in the evening. Progress.

It's hard to miss a Picasso type art work whether it is a painting or an object.

It's part of life - we learn from our parents, teachers, and friends. Then we teach our children and so forth. I am amazed how animals and insects continue to survive the world with people destroying so much - they have to learn to avoid man made items so they don't get entangled in nets, plastic junk, etc.

What would we do without more coffee cups? HAHA! I remember two vividly that a friend of my wife's got her. I think I posted similar pix in the past of those two. I will see if I can find those again.

Speaking of the air quality reminds me of the program we watched on Netflix last week or two and one story was about the Richmond Hills community in Indiana. I vaguely remember the horrific details but never heard the follow up. WOW - those neighbors were purely evil.

If I lived in frost free Florida I would have a massive bed(s) of caladiums.

The creator of Regal Shields was Brian Williams in Kentucky. I bought a few plants from him years ago. He is quite an active member in the aroid community as I recall. I think he is on GW and was on DG (may be still). He had a good presentation on DG on how he winters over a lot of his tropical plants in KY. I was wrong about the creator after doing some more research. It was LariAnn Garner in Homestead, FL.

https://www.briansbotanicals.net/

https://www.lariann.com/

I was looking for some coneflowers at Lowe's yesterday and I don't recall seeing any. At least none that struck me. I wanted doubles and bright colors. Oh, and at half price, too! I saw a guy (he is a landscaper for a hospital I think) and he goes to Lowe's to look for plants on the clearance rack. I think that is where I got my idea of looking for coneflowers from. Well, while I was there I wanted to see some tools. I got a new leaf blower so we have one for the back yard and one for the front yard. I also got a heavy duty grubbing hoe (too big really - five pounds). When I tried digging a hole yesterday for my hardy hibiscus, the ground was hard clay and lots of gravel. Time for a big digging tool.

The internet has some fascinating items on it (not all good), but the aster yellows was new to me (YouTube).

one of my crepe myrtles outside my bedroom window.

another large almost red HH yesterday from the deck.

half of the caladiums from the deck

one of those furry menaces

dramatic skies on our walk last evening

GRRR - Kudzu in a no man's land on our walk to the creek. Seems like the county should handle these vacant lots (well, I guess someone owns the land)

on our return trip - a long hill to climb.

Costco today

Disney Halloween. I might buy it without the wife around (hahaha)

A 7 foot animated figure ($200)

Terrible picture of this drone landing at Walmart. It's pretty much centered in the photo. This was at 5X zoom.

1X zoom - my wife headed to the car. I couldn't get my phone out fast enough while the drone was against the blue and white background.

it would be interesting to know the end of the story of the young guy and his business..

nice that at least one daughter lives nearby..

glad to hear that your stomach issues improved..

I remember my favorite mugs over the years..I'd put them in garage sales or pass them along to my parents or sisters..we've owned lots of coffee cups too!..

oh yes I remember the tragedy of the Richmond Hill explosion..truly horrible..😭

we'd have a great time growing tropical plants in a warm climate wouldn't we?..

yes LariAnn Garner is mentioned in my screenshot..

when I grabbed our mail today I examined my coneflowers..no sign of aster yellows disease 😀..

lovely crepe myrtle..

would you believe I haven't been to Costco in 2026?!!!..I need to go so I won't feel ripped off buying a membership..

we've had fantastic weather..one great day was interrupted by my 2 yr follow up shoulder doctor appointment..he said "looks good..come back in 2 yrs"..it's good to know that everything is in place and I don't need any treatment..

the racks are finished!..the area is clean 🙂..it looks nice..

D decided to get a knee replacement..he's miserable..he talked to the Ortho doctor today..they're making an appointment with a surgeon..

just a few pictures..I'll take more soon..

should've planted what I saved from last year back in May..better late than never..

only 1 tuberous looks nice..

the caladium/begonia pot looks nice..

If we lived in a tropical environment, we'd have to give up some of our favorite plants we grow here. At least we could grow all our houseplants in the ground (most of them at least).

Crepe myrtles are the summer highlight when it comes to blooming trees. If I had an acre or more, I would have a small parcel dedicated to them.

Wow, why haven't you been to your Costco at all this year? Too far away? You don't like what they offer?

HUH? What a segue you just posted: "we've had fantastic weather..one great day was interrupted by my 2 yr follow up shoulder doctor appointment..he said "looks good..come back in 2 yrs"..it's good to know that everything is in place and I don't need any treatment.." I don't know what to make of this run on sentence.

YAY! I'm glad you got your racks finished. What is next to do?

If the knee pain is too much to handle or gets in the way, then replacement surgery seems to be the best solution. I know many people who have had it done and they usually say it was a good decision. It's getting one's mind wrapped around the idea of getting it done.

Agreed on "better late than never". We still have 3 months to grow outdoors.

I picked up my computer yesterday. He wiped my hard drive and put a brand new system on it. It took a few hours to get most things back in some working order. GRRR! Computers anyway. HAHA!

I think I told you we stopped at Lowe's after dropping the computer off on Wednesday where I bought a five pound grubbing hoe (my dad's term) and a new leaf blower from EGO (the top model this time around). As the associate said about the model he bought below it - "It is a beast". That is what I said about my first EGO line trimmer. My second one is a beast but so much nicer.

I cannot log in to GW with my primary credentials now, so I have to use my Gmail address (which does not make me the owner).

my guard dog while I am on the computer

got the 3 new hibiscus planted with the help of the grubbing hoe (my wife did most of the digging since she doesn't want me to do much heavy work - GRRR)

Rain coming down so I had to quit weed whacking

I made pot roast by myself yesterday (first timer). My wife quit eating beef and pork long ago so I do this for me.

I added too many carrots and beef broth, but overall I was very pleased with the results.

Mexican hydrangeas this morning off the staircase platform

I cut down a lot of the bracken ferns and monkey grass (Liriope) so I have a bit more of a view of the caladiums in a row.

zoom in

Flying Dragon orange trees with fruit. I may cut down the majority of the trees and only keep 3 to 5 of them

Phantom without the rain

Finally got in as HC after resetting my password. The problem with two different email addresses manifests itself in interesting ways.

if I lived in the tropics I'd miss hostas..

Costco isn't far..two locations in less than 20 minutes..I just haven't bothered to go..

I use talk to text..the sentences can sound funny..I was trying to say that I wasted several hours of a nice day because of the doctor's appointment..

I have a lot of unused stone that I need to put in place..I have ideas in mind..

D has an appointment with a surgeon Wednesday..he's ready..

we have a hoe like yours..I've never used it..it would be way too heavy now with my repaired shoulder..

GW..one word..ugh..

your pot roast looks great 👍..good protein..

we could use rain..I missed D's help yesterday..I dragged hoses alone..

I took pictures..there's 8..the first 4..
a very late start but it looks pretty..

do I have brown tips because I didn't water enough?..

I tossed the worst begonia stems..I doubt if they root but it's kind of a sweet bouquet..

'Hilo Beauty' has a corm on the ground and one uprooted..I'll fix them..one is growing..

'Polly' has leaves on the empty side of the pot now..I intended to center the plant and never did..
the small alocasias look sad..the other plants are growing..
the racks..👍
a rustic log edging..it defines a path and prevents walking through the Northern Sea Oats..

My repaired computer just crashed. GRRR! Luckily I was answering in Notepad, so all was saved when it booted up.

You might miss Hostas in the tropics, but there are so many other things to grow - YEAR ROUND! The guy in N. FL. that I visited 3 or 4 times started breeding large begonias to replace hostas for example. Also you could grow huge alocasia/colocasia.

a couple of pictures of his place back in 2022

So, why are you avoiding Costco if you are a paying member?

Talk to text works fairly well, but still has many faults. The things that get mixed up are funny, but also frustrating. For example, yesterday I was searching for the "vagus nerve" and Google typed in Vegas Nerve. WOW!

What? I thought you hated stone. Or is it a certain color stone you hate?

Is this a consult for surgery or going under the knife today for D?

I preferred my old fireman's axe for chopping roots and grubbing - much smaller and the axe much bigger. The problem with a lot of digging tools is the handle - breaking or loosening. I should start looking into buying new handles if I can find them. It looks like this:

We had rain last night. I'm glad I was able to drag my hoses around the back and fertilize all my plants with the hose end sprayer (Ortho adjustable sprayer). I would love to find some quick disconnects that actually work all the time, every time. I'd also like to see Ortho improve their sprayer - better squeeze handle for senior citizens, accurate sprayer doses (the color of the spray looks weak compared to mixing the same dosage in a bucket so I am not trusting the mixer), and a better connection.

Your caladiums are growing fast (as I knew they would). Brown tips are usually a sign of too dry or too much fertilizer or not enough. That is a minor issue.

Your begonia stems look very good! Are there any roots showing yet?

Your Hilo Beauty is just starting to grow? What happened to it?

Your Polly is looking good. I am sure if you let it go, that the pot will soon fill out.

Have you got two red caladiums in that photo (the one with the Picasso pot)?

Your log racks look very good - neat and tidy. I guess the log edging has something going for it by holding back the sea oats.

I thought this wheel chair at the chemo office was kind of cool.

Silly Rufus is not dead but laying on the hot concrete yesterday while I was fertilizing the front yard plants was crazy.

Now that the wrens are gone, the coleus has grown quite a bit with proper watering and a couple of fertilizer treatments

the harlequin glory-bower tree is full of sweet smelling blooms.

The smell can be sickening sweet if you stuck around too long.

The color of this hardy hibiscus is actually more red than this dark pink.

The vagus nerve is something I learned 2 to 3 years ago from our NP when I felt dizzy after climbing high hills and sat down (not standing up, but sitting down). She told me about vasovagal syncope but I forgot the name until I saw some mention of it on YouTube.

I think I already showed this but this was my last episcia from HD or Pike's

I guess I need to cut down the bracken ferns to show more of the caladiums.

Flying Dragon oranges. I think I need to cut a lot of these down.

Phantom is past its peak. What a hydrangea this is!

what a relief when tech issues are resolved..

I agree..there's great tropicals with large leaves to grow as hosta substitutes..

I'm not avoiding Costco..I'm just not interested enough to go!..and kind of lazy..

I love large natural stone..I hate gravel, lava rock etc..river rock is pretty but I don't want small loose rocks on our property..

yes it was a consult for surgery..now he has to get some tests..they don't think he has any problems that would prohibit knee surgery..they told us every patient is assessed prior to surgery..will probably be 1? 2? months until surgery..

no roots on the begonia stems..

I don't know why Hilo Beauty is slower than the other corms?..

yes there are 2 caladiums on the green shelf..it looks like you have the same (or very similar) red caladium..

that is a nice scooter..

I'll never understand why Rufus lays on hot, hard as a rock surfaces!..

the harlequin glory-bower tree is pretty..

I've never heard of the vagus nerve..maybe since neither one of us has ever fainted we have no knowledge of it?..

good looking episcia..

I'd move the caladium pots and leave the ferns..

I was out a very short time today..I needed to go in and get ready for D's doctor's appointment..I intended to go out after we got home but I was tired and didn't make it..I have just 3 pictures from this morning..
Hilo Beauty..with sticks to hopefully deter squirrels..

I've enjoyed my big pot full of leftovers from last year..

my lycoris are up..I forgot to take a photo when I first saw them..4? 5? days ago..

Tech issues are like other types of maintenance issues - just a tad different.

I wish I could grow Gunnera - talk about large leaf perennial! It's too hot here to keep them. Maybe if I had a big pond where they could keep their roots in the water, then maybe.

We go to Costco at least every two weeks and Sam's once a week. We never know what we will find there.

Gravel, river rock, egg rock, lava rock, etc. are natural elements of the earth. They can be used in a lot of different situations where a problem exists. I used lava rock at our last place to create a small oasis/grotto when I had dozens of bromeliads. When we went on vacation one year, I was surprised that my daughter sculpted out a small pond in the same area. I wasn't thrilled with that but she showed initiative to do it.

I am sure your husband won't have any issues with his upcoming surgery (heart, diabetes, etc. always adds to the mix of problems).

Decades ago I was able to propagate a tuberous begonia using perlite. Because this type of begonia is so succulent, I had to treat like a succulent - less water, but also have higher humidity. There is a website in Scotland that showed how to propagate tuberous begonias with ease - just a stem with one leaf attached. While I love the massive blooms of tuberous show begonias, our area is not ideal for growing them.

I must take a picture of my Hilo Beauty this week. I had it in deeper shade than I like, but it has come out fairly well. I moved it to more sun last week, so time will tell how fast it grows (or doesn't).

Caladiums, coleus, crotons, and rex begonias are so showy in their many colors and shapes.

We don't understand why dogs like laying on hard surfaces but laying on HOT hard surfaces defies all logic (human logic).

I wished the glory-bower tree was in the open so I could get a better picture of its size and blooms. The trees around it (neighbor's and ours) takes away that beauty shot. The aroma is very strong and pleasant from a distance. If I am working close to the tree, the smell can be a bit nauseating (too much of a good thing). The butterflies love it. The botanical name is Clerodendrum trichotomum (I forgot the second part of it yesterday).

Well, now you know about the vagus nerve - haha! Vasovagal syncope - what a mouthful to describe fainting spells.

I think it is easier to cut the ferns and let the caladiums in place. The ferns will be back with a vengeance. I did not plant them in this spot - one spore happened to grow and the rest is from that one plant.

You probably need to put more sticks in your Hilo Beauty pot until they get some size. Squirrels will dig around the pot with only one stick in it.

Your big pot of leftovers is looking GREAT!

My Lycoris are up and probably over. I need to move them to a sunnier location as the bloom stalks were very tall and sparse. My red ones in full sun will come on later and so much prettier than my sun-starved pink ones.

P. Paraiso Verde and Neon Pothos tied to a redbud tree. On the other side is Pothos 'Cebu Blue'

I think this is a seedling I grew out years ago.

This is a dwarf banana (with red splotches) I got in a trade from a fellow GW member years ago. I took it out of its pot this winter, kept it in a pan and watered the corm here and there. I buried it in the ground back in May(?) and thought it was close to death.

A. Metalhead

What kind of bug on my lemon-lime philodendron? It looks like a stink bug in a way.

New shoot of Persicaria 'Red Dragon' from the ground.

some critter is chomping on a lot of my pothos, cutting them into short sticks.

Philodendron 'Florida Ghost' is growing on a rose of Sharon/climbing rose. One more project to do by moving it to a moss pole.

Gloriosum philodendrons can get massive. Its roots are in the small aluminum trays (stacked for stability). I have several of them now despite giving away many.

You already know what this is

A. Batik

Philodendron 'Burle Marx' which was sold as a variegated form but reverted early on. The limb knocked it over.

My Hilo Beauty from yesterday. I think I need to spray it for bugs, though.

basement pix

My Challenge Plant

I thought this was Purple Snow but the person I got it from said it is 50 Shades of Gray (Purple Snow must've been a parent, then)

3 more begonias I am trying to grow out

Episcia Time!

my least favorite one - why the brown spots on some of the leaves

2 views of this one

whoops, I let this hydrangea dry out.

it is sending up new shoots

My rotting dieffenbachia had to be cut to get rid of the rot. I finally laid the log down in some perlite and voila!

I need to pot this log up in a proper pot soon

my first prop box has some mixed results - most azaleas, Chinese viburnum, hydrangeas took well, BUT the camellias were the worst of the bunch. I will try those again soon.

3 rose of Sharon in the small pot and a Sinningia bullata in the squat pot.

I was nauseous yesterday and kind of that way today. I hope I get over this so I can get back to weeding and planting until my next chemo session (August 10th)

I like Gunnera too..I don't remember the circumstances, but I saw it mentioned on a garden show and the gardener had no success with it..at least we can grow tropicals right?..

I enjoy Costco when I get there..I'm just having trouble getting there 😝.. I admit I'm not that motivated..

to me gravel, river rock etc is messy..it scatters..doesn't improve the soil..I don't enjoy walking on it..so I don't use it..

I like bromeliads but I killed a few and stopped buying them..

I hope you're right that D does well with his surgery!!..I think he will..

I consider begonias annuals..I'm afraid of begonias as houseplants..but I love begonias in the summer..my tuberous begonias haven't been as pretty this year as usual..oh well there's always next year..

my biggest Hilo Beauty leaf has a brown edge..what happened? 🤷‍♀️..there's a second leaf on the way..pic below..

yes dogs make choices that defy logic 😝..

vagus nerve was my something new I learned that day!..

it does seem easier to cut the ferns back..and you don't mind cutting plants back Ha!..

I didn't put a lot of effort in adding sticks to Hilo Beauty..I found a couple on the ground and stuck them in!..

thanks for the compliment!..I'm glad I saved my "leftovers"..it was definitely worth it to plant them..

my Lycoris are tall and sparse too..but I still enjoy them..

have you ever tried hardy bananas?..mine died but my neighbors have huge ones..

your lemon-lime bug does look like a stink bug..

I have way too many plain green persicaria (?)..I should take a photo and definitely identify it..they have very strong roots..they're impossible to pull out..

ugh critters 🙁..

yes I recognize peace lilies 👍..

I think your Hilo Beauty looks great!..mine used to 🙄..I'm not sure why it declined..

so many beauties in the basement!..

I would've bought an episcia for summer but I didn't shop much..and didn't see a pretty episcia when I shopped..

oh my..I know you've had a lot going on..that hydrangea is in sad shape..but I know you'll be able to save it..

give yourself a break..you deserve it..concentrate on your recovery..

I went out to take pictures today but didn't take many..I'm tired from D's appointment..
will the ugly Hilo Beauty leaf grow more leaves from that stem?..

Sun King aralia..I'm so glad I bought this plant..love it..I'm allowing the ugly leaves on Autumn Frost to stay for photosynthesis..I probably have slugs..

I like this view..

how funny!..look what I saw on Facebook Marketplace..I don't need them..I think the ad's incorrect..mine aren't ceramic..these look the same as mine..

I tried Gunnera a couple of times but it is too hot for it to succeed. At Pike's they had some nice sized ones around a pond they built inside their covered area. I guess they gave up, too when customers started bringing back dead plants. I think I read that the best place to grow them is in the PNW where summers are cooler and winters are somewhat mild.

It's a shame you don't go to Costco at least once a month.

Rock is messy? That is too funny. It is permanent mulch - doesn't rot, doesn't float away. If it was on a steep bank, then I can see some of it washing downhill in hard rains. Rock is what breaks down into minerals, sand, etc. that plants benefit from. It will capture silt and leaves (unfortunately) to build up real soil. Oh well... You have never visited a garden with gravel paths? If it is large gravel, then I can see it as awkward, but pea gravel or about that size is easy to walk on and you get that pleasant crunch sound. Open your horizons!

I quit buying bromeliads after I lost a bunch one winter. They take up a lot of space. If I lived in Florida or any tropical area, I would have an acre in bromeliads.

Surgery will be a bit rough for the first couple of weeks, but then it should get better every day. My mother had her knee done when she was 92 (I thought that was too risky, but she came out fine). My sister had both of her knees replaced. I know a few women in the begonia club that had one or both knees done. I also knew quite a few guys at some of the work locations I went to that had both knees done.

There are some hardy begonias, but I am not a big experimenter in that. One of our club members is trialing many begonias for hardiness and having a lot of luck.

Check your Hilo Beauty for spider mites (the worst pest for aroids). There are also thrips which are harder to spot.

Sometimes we just have to make a hard decision on what plants to keep and which ones need cutting back.

Hope your caladiums will be started earlier next year so they have a longer growing season. They should put on a lot of size before cold weather, though.

I have not tried hardy bananas as I don't remember anyone saying they will produce fruit (they need two seasons to fruit as I recall). I go more for the beauty of the leaves. I see lots of yards with 12 foot banana trees, but no fruit. Yikes. Remind me to show you banana trees in a glasshouse at Callaway Gardens.

The bug reminds me of a stink bug, but it may be something else. Google Lens says it is a leaf-footed bug (still stinky).

You will get more color on your Persicaria if they get more light (sun). Green leaves occur in deep shade (some of mine under some shrubs are very green).

I am taking too many breaks as it is. I no longer hike, but I do go on neighborhood walks with the wife when I am up to it (1.5 miles). I don't do much yard-work as my wife always mows (usually) and I do the edging, trimming, and leaf-blowing (usually). As the next few months go by, I may have to curtail even more - time will tell.

Your Hilo Beauty should grow a lot more leaves with the right conditions - warmth (I bet you have plenty of that), water and fertilizer, and a lot of light. If you wanted to do some work on it, you could move it to a smaller pot with a different media.

I like that view, too! The one with a long aisle. The other areas seem like you are aiming to make several islands. Is that moss or grass growing in the rectangular areas? The straight lines make it look formal compared to the rest of the garden views.

That is neat with the Picasso vessels you found on FB. I wonder what the intent is for usage, though. The small one looks like a coffee cup. The biggest one could be used for a compost container?? I found some on Amazon yesterday. You know if you look at any product online, then you are bombarded with many products.

I went plant shopping Saturday after dropping my wife and Rufus off at the National Battlefield (we disposed of our recyclables first). I wanted to shop and she wanted to take Rufus with us. I told her he would have to sit in the car and she said she would sit with him. WHAT? I offered her another option. It worked out.

Home Depot first (nothing purchased). Some different colors in Mandevilla (Dipladenia) these years.

I want some new coneflowers but I want them on sale.

cool florist type anthuriums

I almost got this begonia, but

I didn't want to spend that much

nice rose of Sharon

I like the cacti that have lots of offsets

Then to Pike's next door. The problem is I forget what plant went to what store so I use the timestamp on the photo most of the time, EXCEPT these two locations are so close together. There are some helpful websites where you can use GPS coordinates to determine almost to a foot where the photo was taken!!!!

Anyhoo, Pike's had some nice florist type anthuriums, too

I don't know if I like this color, though.

This was nice.

This cool looking variegated Loropetalum caught my eye.

reminded me of my old (dead) Hawaiian Snowbush (Breynia disticha). The nice thing is the Loropetalum is hardy.

I bought this Hydrangea 'Puffer Fish' (too much) and two coneflowers on sale while there. I ran out of time to go to Lowe's which was across the street.

I've walked on gravel plenty of times at nurseries..and several of my neighbors have quite a bit of gravel..you won't change my mind..I don't like it.!!..I don't like bits of gravel scattered near my plants..and using gravel as "mulch" doesn't work for me..rocks/gravel are unattractive, uncomfortable, messy, hot, don't improve the soil, scatter and sink..you can ALWAYS find "free rock" on Marketplace..people want to get rid of it..

D has pre surgery tests on August 19..no surgery date yet..

good to know that so many people you know have had good knee surgery outcomes..

I've read that hardy bananas don't produce edible fruit..but to grow one in a cold climate and see their tropical look is a treat..

last winter those funny looking planters really caught my eye!..I own 5..that's enough for me..

does it seem that garden centers have more coneflowers than they used to?..until I move my volunteer plants I'm not buying any new hardy plants..

the red blooms stand out more than the burgundy ones on the anthuriums..

Puffer Fish is nice..

I have 16 pics..I'll have 4 comments..
I was right..my strong rooted weed is a persicaria..

my caladiums are bigger..

the variegated lily has new blooms..

this oakleaf isn't tall (dwarf variety) but is getting wider..

lycoris..the closeup looks nicer than most of my closeups..
my big tropicals..
see the crop of persicaria at the base of this tree?..
I'm saving time tonight..my captions aren't next to the pictures..

brunnera volunteers in paver cracks..I'm leaving them..these pavers are so mossy they feel carpeted..
this alocasia has put on a lot of leaves..alocasias are more appealing to me than colocasias..

3 Empress Wu shots..
another Lycoris shot..
I had a great day..I worked on my debris piles..1 is gone now..

Knee replacements are happening all around me lately. Your husband, a woman (another GW member) whose husband is going to get his second knee done this fall, and my wife's BIL had his first one done a week ago. It has become a very common surgery these days.

If I was going to grow a hardy banana, it better produce fruit or be attractive. A plain green, very large plant is not my cup of tea. The trend here lately is growing palm trees. Most won't survive our winter temps, yet they continue to try. The Chinese palm will grow here, but it is not the most attractive palm out there.

I don't think garden centers have more cone flowers than they used to have. I found their prices on the showier ones were too high to justify. Now I am looking at sales and even larger pots with more than one plant in them (can divide those into 3 or more plants to get your money's worth). The old species is good but having more color, vibrant colors, doubles, puffy tops, etc. make them more desirable.

I had to change my mouse pointer just a few seconds ago since the computer shop blew away my old hard drive along with my settings. It was very hard to see where my mouse pointer was with the default Windows pointer.

Your caladiums will hit their full size soon and continue to add sugars (starch?) to the bulbs for the dormancy phase. Mine start going down when the nights start getting cool (late September?)

I really like your peace lily. The blooms are icing on the cake.

At least your Lycoris aren't on the ground but didn't they have a lot more blooms last year? I really need to relocate mine that are in the shade if I want more blooms, more bulbs, etc.

"see the crop of Persicaria at the base of this tree?" What tree? I see some next to the yellow hosta. Are those the Pennsylvania smart weed? I try to pull the ones I don't want before they start flowering these days.

Your mossy pavers reminds me of the Mayan ruins in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Alocasia and Colocasia have their pros and cons and a lot of similarities. Get the ones that appeal to you the most and work out for you the best.

Your Empress Wu is coming along. I think my second one sized up in 3 years while my first one took more than five years. Deer destroyed them in a night.

I finally got my raised bed kit yesterday from an Amazon order. I ordered it on July 6th, today is August 6th. I have one month to return it for a full refund if I don't like it. I hope to get it together today. We bought soil at HD yesterday (around $100 and it will only fill the bed halfway). I plan on emptying our compost bins to fill the bottom half. A lot of people throw logs, limbs, twigs, leaves, straw, cardboard, etc. in their raised beds to save money and use what nature gives us.

What it should look like when I get it together.

Sam's Club Halloween. The kid kept hitting the button on the floor to see what each statue would do. I told him to watch out else they might grab him. HAHA!

Cool vine I found yesterday on FB. I should've know this from my previous years of looking over all plants, but it escaped me. Thank goodness for Google Lens.

I wonder if this is its real color intensity or if it has been beefed up with photo enhancements.

This was too stinky at HD yesterday and permeated the area where we picked up ten bags of raised bed soil. We got 4 bags of 2 CF and 6 bags of 1.5 CF for a total of 17 CF. I need almost twice that amount.

My wife helped another lady by placing a bag of pea gravel (40 pounds? but it was wet from all the rains so a lot heavier) into her cart. The lady wanted two bags, so my wife got her a second bag. The lady might've been a little younger and the look of amazement on her face was priceless. I told her my wife walks 3 to 6 miles a day with a 60 pound pit bull mix and that I was undergoing chemo. Anyway, we paid for our ten bags of soil (the dolly was overflowing) and I asked the cashier if she could send someone out to help us load the bags into my SUV. Did we get any help? We were done and I put the dolly back where the dollies are stored in the parking lot and we never saw a soul come out of the garden center. GRRR!

My last walk outside the neighborhood had a nice sunset reflection in the pool (unlike the reflecting pool in D.C.)

an angry cloud started raining on us as we got close to our house.

knee replacements do seem common 👍..

even without fruit and plain green leaves I still love a banana's tropical look..

I think the garden centers in Georgia have more of every plant than what I see here..

thanks 🙂..I like my variegated peace lily too..

my lycoris are declining..and not just mine..from what I can see 2 of my neighbors have a smaller display too..I don't think any of us did anything wrong..is it just old age??..

"what tree?"..you can see part of the tree base on the left side of the photo..is this correct?..the persicaria that I can't pull out has a slender stalk of delicate white blooms..what I call "smart weed" has a pink bloom..I can pull these most of the time..

I've never known of an Amazon order with such a slow delivery!..I'm glad you finally have it..I hope you're happy with it..

the red leaves of that vine are beautiful..

that was nice of your wife to help the woman at Home Depot.. customer service isn't what it used to be is it?..

nice looking pool..

I was out all day..I thought this plant was an aster..the botanical name contains aster but when I read about it it's toxic..the info said wear gloves..trash it don't compost it..some were 30 or so inches tall..lots of small ones too..I've seen them before and just left them..I thought they were harmless..
..

grrr..Houzz deleted my 2 photos..the first is a screenshot of a plant app identifying my plant photo (the big photo at the top)..
the second is an old screenshot in one of my albums..it says this plant is a poisonous perennial..I guess I forgot that..

We watched a knee replacement surgery on PBS over 20 years ago. It looked fake because no blood (they had some kind of covering over the entire leg - maybe a tourniquet?) Except when they started cutting the tops of the bones out, we realized this was real. Our youngest daughter fainted out in the kitchen and hit the floor. Later on (weeks, months?), she had a horrible neck ache. She went to an orthopedic doctor and they go through the basic stuff such as PT, heat and cold compresses, pain pills, and steroid shots into the neck. She couldn't deal with it anymore and went to a neurosurgeon and he advised a disk replacement (cadaver bone donor) and vertebrae fusion. It helped immensely. Back to the film, the surgery was done on a young woman who had rheumatoid arthritis and they expected her to have many other joints done over her life. They did a short interview with an older rodeo performer (he was in his 50's as I recall) and he had both knees done and was back in the saddle.

What other large tropical plants do you love (besides a banana tree)?

The further south you go, the more choices you have on tropical plants. What really amazes me is the videos I see on YouTube and the wide array of plants in Home Depot stores in CANADA!

I don't know enough about Lycoris to say if they need dividing every X years or they need more sun or even a dash of fertilizer. I hope to dig my old pink ones up and move them to a sunnier location this fall. The foliage is GREAT but the flowers are too tall and too few, though.

You are right about the base of the tree. I had to go find the photo again and look at it more intently this time. If you can't pull the "weed" up, then it is time for a tool to dig the roots out. Cutting it only delays the plant from sprouting again and going to seed.

I've had orders from Amazon before that are much slower than this. They used to ask if I wanted to cancel it every couple of weeks. Decades ago when Amazon was primarily a book seller (and before Kindle even came out), I ordered a second volume of some giant plant book. I must've said I would wait until it was back in stock a few times. Months went by, and finally I think Amazon said it was hopeless to find this book, so we both agreed to cancel the order and refund my money.

I think we are talking about the same picture of the woman under an arbor that is full of a flowering vine. Those aren't red leaves, but the flowers of Thunbergia mysorensis. I wish it was a hardy vine.

I remember the days when the gas station attendant put gas into your tank after asking what grade and how much to put in. I remember when the grocery stores pushed the cart of food to your car and loaded your trunk with your purchases. I remember when Home Depot, Lowe's, and other large stores would load/unload a dolly with heavy items. Those days are long gone, aren't they?

I like white snakeroot in the fall. Not a lot of it, but enough to attract pollinators. I think it used to be in the Eupatorium family and the common name I remember is white boneset (weird name, but so is snakeroot).

Whoops, I looked up white boneset and it is still in the Eupatorium family. So, white snakeroot and white boneset are not the same thing. They look very similar.

I planned on putting my raised bed kit together yesterday but then I saw all the weeds in the cracks of our flagstone and in the immediate backyard, so I got the weed-whacker out and went to town. I was pretty much done with that job when I felt some biting/stinging on my knee and calf. I felt this a couple of times earlier this year but could never find the culprit. This time, I rolled up my gym pants above my calf and found a small black insect on the inside of the pants. I gathered it in my hand and went upstairs to show my wife. Except I lost it on the kitchen island! Oh well, go to the bathroom to wash my hands and there it was in my other hand. I took two photos of it and one video in my vanity sink. The photos were terrible but the last 10 seconds of the 32 second video clip was much better. I trimmed the first 22 seconds off (blur, shaky, etc) and kept the last 10 seconds as a copy. After google failed to ID it, I typed in a few details and found an ant that is not native here (it has been here for decades, though and is expanding up and down the eastern seaboard). I believe it might be the Asian Needle Ant.

Some pix this morning when I took Rufus out for his first potty break.

10 bags of soil ready for the raised bed

Puffer Fish

This fallen maple leaf looks variegated. We had a huge storm last night so there is a lot of debris on the road and driveway.

I took some time between weed-whacking to get some shots of the caladiums (before my ant bite/sting)

PS: my pink Lycoris foliage this year was fantastic but the blooms are disappointing.

here is the second clump which has a bit more sun

grrr..I was adding pictures when Houzz dropped my comment 😪.. I'm too tired to scroll and rewrite..this is talk to text from memory..

I do have reasons for disliking rock..

I don't think I'd want to watch a video of a knee replacement surgery..D's doctor did not mention a tourniquet..
I'm glad your daughter recovered..

I love all tropical plants..big and small..

if my lycoris need more sun they're out of luck..I can accept whatever happens with them..

the name of the vine sounds familiar..I think you've posted it before..

white boneset resembles white snakeroot..now that I know white snakeroot is poisonous I'm going to try to get rid of all of it..

the ant you saw sounds nasty..

yes the world's courtesy is disappearing..

Hilo Beauty has a nice leaf now..squirrels (or chipmunks) were digging in several of my pots..🙁

I'll save my green colocasias (Jack's Giant) but going forward I'm not ever buying colocasias again..alocasia flop less and the leaves are thicker and prettier..

these photos would be prettier if D could help me put the stones in place 😥..
by August my hostas look a little ratty..I took just a few pictures..

Coast to Coast and Yellow Polka Dot Bikini..

Empress Wu..

an unknown seedling..

Sum and Substance..

I feel your pain when GW drops your comments. My best solution is Notepad. It never loses a thing.

You can always ask the surgeon about all the gory details. I am sure they get tired of explaining things.

My youngest daughter has been through a lot - heart surgery, neck spinal disk replacement and fusion, toe surgeries, etc. Life can be difficult.

My problem with Lycoris is I soon forget where they are planted. I either have to dig them up when the foliage is there or they are flowering. The other option is to mark them clearly while the foliage is in active growth.

Don't eat poisonous plants and that includes black snakeroot. I bet you have too many toxic plants in your yard to even know what is deadly or not. I watched a documentary on Sassafras today and how it was used in lots of things over the decades/centuries before scientists found out how dangerous it was. I think it was in 1969, all products using it were pulled off the shelves. I had to look up the year it was banned. I was wrong about the year. It was in 1960!

The ant that bit or stung me was quite the pest. I think I have six or more welts on my knee. I thought all ants just bit their victims. This ant (if it is the same Asian Needle Ant) has a stinger like a wasp.

Wow, do you have enough watering pitchers to go around? HAHA! At least you have two pairs that match.

What is the dark elephant ear? The one with the soil thrown about? Jack's Giant is best in a very large pot or pond in full sun.

Get some smaller stones to place around your hostas (or logs). That way you can do it yourself without waiting for D's help.

Your Sum and Substance looks nice.

Here is one of mine back in 2011 (before deer)

My daughter's S&S last year. I think she said they were there when they bought the house.

Back to one of mine in 2013

Our local Walmart had them for $10

I moved this one from our previous home to this house in 2004

But the deer found it so I had to protect it the next year with bird netting (snakes get trapped in the netting, though)

My third S&S (one of those 10 dollar ones from Walmart) surrounded by 3 Sleeping Beauty plants (again from Walmart for around $6 each)

My 4th one in another area of the backyard. The Gloriosum philodendron looks bigger.

Jack's Giant in 2018 (August)

I think mine has gotten smaller over the years by leaving them in the ground and not fertilizing them. Dry years is hard to keep them watered. A pond would do so much better. They do multiply, though. This was August 2022.

I started putting my raised bed kit together today. The directions are terrible, the metal is a bit thin and some of the coating has been scratched. I got the two long sides together before I called it quits. We moved all the remaining parts into the basement due to the heat and humidity. We walked 1.5 miles earlier in the neighborhood when the air was much cooler. Later I did some weed-trimming while waiting for my wife to come move the 10 bags of soil. She is much too protective with my condition. I can still lift the bags and hopefully wheelbarrow them to the backyard despite our side yard being a little steeped and banked. I found out later that I put all the straight pieces together, but I should've followed the picture instructions since a straight piece is between the curved pieces on the ends of the raised bed. That is not a big deal since I only used two screws with wingnuts to join all the pieces together and they are just snugged down (not super-tight). Anyway, I need to get all the pieces attached, locate a good site (some sun, some shade), level the base before putting the raised bed in place and adding 30+ cubic feet of soil and compost. I don't think I will put the canopy on until I get the bed in place and the soil inside it. It seems like stakes every two feet might be a bit of an obstacle to shovel soil inside of the bed.

I am sure my method of copying and pasting into GW would work on a phone, too. It would be much harder to do on a phone with all switching between apps (windows) than on a computer, though.

That's right about toxic plants; they may be toxic to humans but they are also toxic to animals (just remember not to eat the toxic plants). If only hostas were!!

We visit the "At Home" store when we drop my wife's car off for service. I like the store but we usually don't buy much there.

I prefer bigger leaf colocasia than the smaller leaf varieties (Black Magic vs Coffee Cups for instance).

Sum and Substance was the first giant hosta that I recall from all the garden programs on TV. Having a yellow leaf giant hosta was exciting at one time.

I should transplant my Jack's Giant plants to a sunnier location and make sure I make the area into a bog so I don't have to constantly water them when we hit a drought.

We can complain about instructions, but I don't see the vendors doing anything about it - if we don't buy it, someone will.

You said "I picked up a Target order..then picked up and bagged rocks for my neighbor..I took 6 Target bags of rock to her house in my wagon..I went in for lunch at 6 and didn't go back out.."

You picked up rock in Target bags? How strong were the bags or how small of a load of rocks was in each bag? You went to your neighbor's to drop off the bags, then ate lunch there at 6 and didn't go back out? Wouldn't your neighbor get tired of you eating at her house (after 6 PM is a late lunch, don't you think?)

Rain water in a wheelbarrow. Gee whiz, that seems like a lot.

Kool-Aid soda pop at Walmart?

Kudzu beans and spent blooms.

The raised bed kit in a box.

Disappointing on the scratches on the panels.

we took Rufus to the vet's yesterday for his yearly shots/exam and I took some photos of the boxwoods that were severely clipped back in the spring.

I don't know how I got these ads from Amazon but the tiered stands look nice enough

I took a bunch of photos yesterday in the basement.

Good luck on your WiFi! Why does it take so long to fix something you are paying for?

You can't use your new phone with cellular service? I know WiFi is better - cheaper, faster but when you need access (such as a hotel that has no WiFi or will charge so much a day for it, I will use my phone as a tether to my laptop).

I knew something was wrong the way your paragraph was written. It sounded like you gathered rocks for your neighbor, took the bags of rocks to their house, ate lunch with them at 6 PM (hope it wasn't AM), then stayed for hours. The whole thing sounded "fishy".

You said: "talk to text doesn't always sound right.."

I'm like, "Huh?" Can't you edit after you add text (from voice)? Voice to text is useful, but not 100% guaranteed.

Here are a few photos of the animal clinic earlier this year and a year in the past.

Back in early April (the snakebite incident)

two years ago in June after a rain

I've been weak as a kitten this week. I haven't done a thing outdoors and don't feel like doing much indoors. I hope I start gaining strength again by this weekend. So much to do.

we unplugged the TV since the uverse and wifi didn't work..I found the lights annoying..last night D decided to plug it in and try it..it worked!..but weird..the new modem connected to our old wifi number..during the outage the slow speed cellular data was worthless..it wouldn't load anything once we passed the cap of our high speed data..

I hope you're feeling better..

the metal plant stands are attractive..I like plastic..no rust..

your episcias still look great..

Indiana is flooding..we're ok but some places have major problems..

we have debris everywhere..it's so wet I don't think I'll be going out..

I'm glad your Wi-Fi is working again. It is better than cellular data, but sometimes we must resort to it depending on where we are at.

I had my fifth session yesterday. I don't plan on doing much until later this week. I would like to water my outdoor plants if possible and have my wife dig a hole for the Puffer Fish hydrangea before it croaks. I think I will start getting my basement ready for bringing plants in next month and start bringing them indoors in early October since I am a weak kitten. HAHA!

Plastic is better than wood or metal - lightweight, no rot, no rust, BUT it does fade in the outdoors.

I heard that Indiana has major flooding. I hope you are not in the flood zone. We get floods here and there, but so far we've been safe from encroaching flood waters (not true for the folks near the creeks, though).

We went to TN Thursday to visit and came home late Saturday. I hate making the trip, but it is something we do to keep in contact with our mothers.

Some photos from last week:

This hawk landed on our railing last week. I had to shoot between the blinds using the highest magnification on my phone. I didn't want to scare it off by lifting the blinds or opening the door to get closer. Not great, but not too bad, either.

I cropped into the one above and tried AI sharpening and AI denoise. Not great, but it is what it is.

Beauty Berry in the rectangular planter box.

Swallowtail on Pentas

Hilo Beauty (I added Osmocote last week and rotated it 90 degrees to grow evenly)

Penny Mac with nary a bloom this year. GRRR!

American Euonymus aka Hearts a Burstin' or Bustin'?

many alocasias to follow

knocked over

Burle Marx (purchased as a variegated version but it reverted in short time from a tiny, tiny plant)

the canes I brought back from my mother's a few months ago and combined them all into one big pot is doing great. Full sun.

3 poles lashed to a redbud tree for stability

a lot of my rexes haven't done well outdoors - too shaded I believe

Red Congo is a very big philodendron

McColley's Finale needs a much larger pot.

Illustris continues to come back but this year it is being shaded too much by bracken ferns.

time to cut some of these big fronds

big Gloriosum growing out of this tiny stacked aluminum trays.

double flowering rose of Sharon

volunteer tomato plants are taking over my mother's deck. No one to clean up the weeds.

a maple sapling was not there a couple of months ago

Poke weeds and Tree of Heaven weeds have taken over this bed.

where are the stepping stones that I exposed a couple of months ago

bind weed has taken over some other beds

Johnson grass?

crab grass on the driveway

I dug up several of these cannas to bring home (I gave her a piece of mine over 20 years ago) Mulberry trees and trumpet vines have taken over this area.

Limelight is still a fast big grower

skies at Walmart near dusk in Sparta, TN our first night

I am not good at Selfie mode. Dropping Rufus off at day care yesterday morning for my 5th session of chemo.

can you believe this price paid for a 1963 Corvette? WOW, oh WOW. I wished I had owned this car. HAHA!

I had to go back to 2022 to find any photo of the trimmed stepping stones at my mother's. Guess I don't take a lot of photos.

While she lived there, she kept things looking pretty good despite a lot of struggles. It took us and my BIL to keep the rest of it trimmed, mowed, and the brush pile burned.

yes no Wi-Fi or cable was very inconvenient 🙄🙄🙄..

as I took pics of my alocasias today I was thinking.."they're huge..I don't think they're going to fit in the kitchen"..

plastic works for me..fading is better than rust..

we aren't in a flood zone..we just get storm water runoff from the neighbors in back..

fun hawk photos 👍..

great Swallowtail shot..

my Hilo Beauty is not too bad now..

that surprises me that your Penny Mac is a dud..

we're both alocasia fans aren't we?..my new Coffee Cups colocasia is a disappointment..one by one the stems bent and eventually I cut them off..I'm down to 1 leaf..

the Corvette price is insane..someone has money to burn..

will your mother be able to go home someday?..
it's sad when we're elderly and need to move..

front and back views of Polly..

Hilo Beauty..

in person these plants feel big..

I think the red caladiums look nice in my Picasso pots..I'm glad some of the pots have plants that go dormant..my 2 biggest brown urns are going to be a hassle to overwinter..
I mowed our grass today..
yesterday I collected sticks..
D was cleared for surgery last week but they haven't called to schedule it..he left a message..they ignored it 🙁..

We take our utilities for granted until they are out of service. GRRR! First world problems?

What will you do when you have to take your plants indoors? Be glad you don't have my mess. It will be a lot more difficult this year, so I plan on starting sometime in September - maybe mid month.

All man made products seem great until they aren't. Plastic for instance. I cannot imagine a world without it, but the devastation of it will eventually have to be solved.

We have a gentle creek a short distance down the road from us, but it can be a major flooding spot when we get torrential rain. 2009 was our worst event since we've been here (48 years).

Your Hilo Beauty has grown a lot since your last shot of it. Did you fertilize it? I have given mine a couple of shots of water soluble fertilizer and added some Osmocote to the pot. I hope it grow a lot more before I have to bring it indoors.

Penny Mac was a dud this year, but it has been a beauty for many years. Most of my moptops were "duds" this year, yet I see many around town that have bloomed as usual. Maybe it got too cold at our house this spring.

Penny Mac the last few years:

2025

2019

2021

2022

Here is Purple Princess and LA Dreamin' in 2019 (the one in the rear has died back a lot, so I cut 4 stems and propagated those). Anyway, I got those from Lowe's and I doubt either one is really either of those names.

One woman in our club thinks it is probably Mathilda Gutges which Lowe's sold a lot of over the years.

Anyway, last year I named LA Dreamin' to Mathilda Gutges which makes my searches harder.

What LA Dreamin' is supposed to look like:

Colocasias loves full sun and water.

I wished I had that Corvette to sell. HAHA!

I doubt my mother will ever go back home to live alone. Maybe to visit. If she could find a person to live with her to take care of a lot of chores, then maybe.

A lot of people never get to the "elderly" stage. Anyway, that is part of life.

Your second shot of Polly looks full compared to the first shot. Hard to believe it is the same plant, but then I should know there is usually a good side and a bad side to most plants.

You can pull the canna and elephant ears out of those big pots and let them go dormant for winter. Do not let the bulbs/rhizomes dry rot, though.

I didn't know you had grass. Wow! What kind of grass do you have? It must be shade tolerant.

Well, you know doctor's offices aren't in a hurry to schedule anything until they need some more business.

Some pix from the past few days

Kroger's two days ago - not bad, but I think I have most of these

From Pinterest - a red blooming zigzag (fishbone) epiphyllum. I wish mine would bloom.

I thought of you when I saw this on FB - what a HOSTA PATCH.

yes many of our problems are first world problems!..

this year overwintering was supposed to be easier for me!..we'll see..

I've heard lots of flooding stories where people say "there hasn't been a flood here in 100 years"..

well now you know how I feel when macrophyllas are duds? 🙁..

I haven't fertilized lately..

I wish you had that Corvette to sell too..maybe you could buy me a greenhouse Ha!!!..

it makes me sad thinking about your Mom unable to go home 😥..

that's the difference in the "front" and "back" of my Polly..I still love it..

yep that's my plan..store the pots with and or without the dormant bulbs..

I don't have much "grass"..just a few spots where we mow..it's mostly weeds..

yes lots of the homes in my neighborhood have hosta patches..including me!..

I've been to tire stores 3 days in a row..we had a screw in our right front tire..
I finally made it to Costco..I went to the Tire Center Sunday..the only tire store that was open..Costco said we need a new tire and they don't sell what we need..so I left..it was too crowded to shop!..Monday I called Belle Tire to make an appointment..they were fully booked but said we'll look at it if you want..so I went..they said it could be repaired!..so Tuesday I went back to Belle Tire and they fixed it!..and it was free!..

D has surgery September 21..

sad about Dolly isn't it?..

Many of our "problems" are trivial but we think they are major issues (first world thinking).

Hard to believe we are in September already. Time to start thinking about moving our plants back in - potting down, pruning, treating for bugs, etc. Check our spaces, lights, etc.

Remember the floods back in the 80's and 90's? Where the dikes in the Mississippi and other major rivers were breached? Those were designed for the 100 year flood, but even they cannot stop Mother Nature. The major flooding in Nepal and Tibet looked like a tsunami in a way.

No, I don't know how you feel about macrophyllas, but I don't blame you for giving up on them due to your region and your shaded yard.

HAHA on the buying you a greenhouse if I had owned that Corvette. In my next life...

Old age is a terrible disease, but also the one disease that outperforms all the other known diseases.

Rotate your Polly to fill out the backside before you have to bring it back indoors.

How long does it take you to mow and how often? When we moved here, I knew I didn't want any grass in the backyard or side yards. I also wanted to cut down on the front yard by having trees and shrubs down both sides of the yard. I think it takes about 20 minutes to mow our yard (no bagging) and we do it about once a week.

It would be nice to go to a Hosta Society Convention and see homes with massive beds.

Wow! I am surprised you got your tire fixed for free (unless you bought the tires at that store). My newest set of tires was bought at Sam's and they will replace a tire under the warranty if they cannot find a slow leak. Unlike Ford that could not find my slow leak - GRRR! That is the reason I looked for a new option on my newest tires and I got Michelin instead of some off brand from Ford ($1400 as I recall vs. $1200 at Sam's for the top brand).

Wishing you and D the best of care on his upcoming surgery.

Yes, it is sad about Dolly. She was a very dignified celebrity and gave away millions for cancer, children, and other worthwhile causes without making it all about herself (unlike some others we know about).

We were at Target yesterday and I see they are trying to get back into some houseplants.

I zoomed into the photo above as I thought this was the best of this lot.

I would buy it and the yellow one below if I had more space. They were $40 each.

zoomed in on the almost pure yellow leaf above.

Some nice succulents

We stopped at Home Depot and Sam's before Target (no photos), but I found that HD has a lot of new plants for fall planting (I might go get some more cone flowers and Russian Sage). They had some large Alocasia but I didn't see any names on them (might be some Regal Shield). It is too hot and dry to think about buying and planting right now - maybe late this month.

I thought this was funny - wet wipes at Walmart.

Sad news if you love donkeys. A cop killed a family pet donkey last week. Why did he trespass on the property anyway and why did a tiny donkey scare him to death.

If I was younger, I would buy a five acre farm with a barn and raise some donkeys.

I saw this story, too. Interesting on this old-timer. I read that doctors can rate our longevity by how fast we walk and how far we can go. Unfortunately I am not walking these past few weeks and probably won't until December, maybe next year.

A blast from the past - the date is July 21, 2014.

I miss my big pots.

this summer went by so fast 🙁..

I thought of a tsunami about the flooding in Nepal too..

what I meant was that you now have experienced a nonblooming macrophylla too..

good idea to rotate Polly..

it takes 20? to 30? minutes to mow..lots to mow around..sometimes I don't want to hurry..I think we've only mowed 3 or 4 times since the spring..

I'd enjoy a Hosta Society tour too..

our tires are the ones that came on the car..that tire store offers free repairs..

thanks for the best wishes for D..2026 was rough on you and D..

Dolly left a big mark on the world..👍

your Target had some decent plants..we're doing online orders and picking up..I have no idea if our Target has plants..

those wet wipes are funny 😂..

I saw the donkey story 😭..he was not a very brave police officer..

your mother has had a long life!..you could too..

you had some good looking big pots!..they're a hassle to move though..

I'm doing what I can alone outside..I miss D's help so much..

I took pictures of an owl in my backyard..it was almost dark so I had to lighten them..

I let a few pots and some inground plants get too dry 🤦‍♀️..I started watering as soon as I noticed..

the squirrels are still getting into some pots grrr..