Bok-Bok-BAGOK!

That's what chickens sound like right? Yeah, I have no idea...I'm a city girl, remember?
Anyway, Hens and Chicks may be the EASIEST plant I have ever taken care of. I don't know why I don't just do an entire blog devoted to them.

Reasons why I love Hens and Chicks
1. They grow just about anywhere, even if there is a little bit of soil.
2. They are drought resistant.
3. They are evergreen in the winter and maintain their visual interest.
4. They look cool.

Reasons why I don't love Hens and Chicks
1. They make other plants look bad and very prissy because of how easy they are!

Hens and chicks are easy to divide and grow in other areas. All you do is take the little chicks or slightly larger ones growing off the big hens by grabbing them gently and pulling. Then plant the little root in the dirt. It's literally that easy that other plants should be embarrassed!

Step One: Grasp.

Step Two: Pull gently.

Step Three: Find dirt and cover root.

Hens and Chicks Basic Info
Zone: 3-11
Light Exposure: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Type: Evergreen, Perennial, Succulents
Bloom Time: Pretty much all the time! Little chicks usually grow during spring/summer/fall and go dormant in winter.
Colors: Green with tinges of red/burgandy

Best Uses : Interesting foliage, Low maintenance, container gardens, rock gardens
Water: drought tolerant, make sure soil is well drained and plants aren't sitting in puddles of water.

Geraniums are not just for old people!

For some odd reason I have had a dim view of geraniums ever since...well forever.

I hear "geraniums" and I think "old people garden". Why? I really don't know. I know older people and none of them grow geraniums.

I never considered them at all till this year for my containers but boy, am I glad I did.

Even though I typically only plant perennials in the ground, I am a big fan of putting annuals in pots on my steps and patio. It's nice because I can change my color schemes year after year if the mood strikes me. So this year, for some reason I picked up a pink geranium plant.

The best thing about geraniums is that they are an almost maintenance free flower with pretty foliage and summer long blooms. They can do with a little dryness every once in awhile which is great because sometimes I don't get around to watering every day. You should water them regularly but they should not be waterlogged and constantly wet. To get the flowers to continue blooming throughout the summer make sure you deadhead the fading blooms. Deadhead does not mean take them to see Jerry Garcia...it means to either snap or cut off the wilted flowers so new ones can bloom.

Here's the basics info on geraniums:
Basic Info
Light Exposure: Full Sun
Type: Annual, although you can "overwinter" them and plant again...I smell a project!
Bloom Time: Summer
Colors: White, Pink, Orange, Red, Purple
Best Uses : Cutting flowers, Interesting foliage, Low maintenence, container gardens
When to plant: Fall
Water: Minimal, soil should not be constantly wet

Happy Fourth of July!

Here are some pictures of plants that I will be discussing in the near future!



Hens and Chicks
I actually forget what these are called! Time to break out the information cards!

Geraniums

Lamb's Ear

Asiatic Lily

Hope you have a happy and safe holiday! Try not to eat too many hot dogs!

Happy First Birthday!

My baby monkey is one today and looking so cute next to Mommy's hydrangeas!

Lacecap Hydrangeas

As I mentioned previously I have two types of hydrangeas growing in my yard. I already talked about the Mophead Hydrangea so now it's time to focus on the Lacecap. Don't tell Mophead but Lacecap is my favorite! It's even got a prettier name! I mean seriously, let's play word association--Mophead=Dirty Water, Lacecap=Cute Babies. SEE!

Anyway, Lacecaps are in the same family as Mopheads so they require essentially the same growing habitat and care. My Lacecap is actually a transplant from the Hubs parent's shore house. Uncle Richie (have I mentioned him before? Son of Granny G of the Green Thumb, which he apparently inherited) tore it out and was going to throw it away! Sacrilege!! So I took it home and transplanted it into our yard. My husband was SOOOO HAPPY we had to drive home with a dirty, uproooted plant in the car.

What makes it even more special is that the leaves are variegated. I've been able to identify it as a 'Mariesii Variegata' (oooohhh, fancy Latin!!). Variegated Leaves means that in addition to the green that is on the leaves there is also a pattern or spots of white on them.

Variegated Leaves
Also very cool about this particular plant is the fact that I am getting 2 different flower colors this year--blue and a pinkish-purple, seen below. This has never happened before and I found out, when I was educating myself about hydrangeas over the past couple of days, that the pink-purple color may be the result of lime seeping into the ground near the plant from my concrete sidewalk and patio. This seems to be a good working theory as the pink-purple flowers are only really showing up in areas bordering concrete!

Blue

Purple
Here is the standard info on the 'Mariesii Variegata'
Zone: 5-9
Light Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade
Type: Perennial
Height/Spread: spreads to 4 feet by 4 feet over time
Bloom time: Different types bloom May to October
Colors: blue, pinks, white or off white
Best Uses: attracts bees (see previous posts about Xerces Foundation!)and butterflies, interesting foliage after flowers die, very unique flower, best suited for seashore locations (this would explain why it was planted originally at the shore house!)
When to plant: Spring or Fall
Water: Daily, ground should be moist

Mophead Hydrangeas

I have two different types of hydrangeas (Mopheads and Lacecaps) currently growing in my yard. They are both in bloom and the color is gorgeous!

The first ones to flower and bloom were the two I have in the front of my yard flanking the sidewalk. I never really care about what I am planting as long as it catches my eye. Here is a dramatic rendering of me at Home Depot/Lowes/Garden Center choosing plants:

ACT ONE

Enter stage left, me, slackjawed and overwhelmed my Nature's bounty before me, wandering aimlessly.

ME: "Thems is purty!", impulsively picks up flowers and runs to cash register.

ACT TWO

ME: Honey, I'm home! Look what I buyed at the flower store! Ain't they purty?

HUBBY: *SIGH* Where are we planting that?

ME: *sticks tongue out at him* Party pooper!

THE END

So I did a little research on the net via a couple of sites specifically hydrangeashydrangeas.com which has pictures (ALWAYS a plus in my book!) and I think I identified them as Mophead Nikko Blue Hydrangeas.

The great thing about hydrangeas is that you can typically change the color of them by messing with the pH levels of the soil around them. How do you do this? I have no idea, so let's find out. Hydrangeashydrangeas.com has such a concise explanation on how to change the colors that you would be best off going right to the source! Here is the link:

How to Change The Color of Your Hydrangeas

(Note: You can purchase both dolomitic lime and Aluminum sulfate at your local garden store!)

Interesting facts I learned from hydrangeashydrangeas.com:

1.It is easier to change a hydrangea from pink to blue than it is from blue to pink.

2.It's also easier to change the colors of a hydrangea that is in a container as opposed to in the ground.

3. Planting hydrangeas near a concrete foundation or sidewalk will often affect the color since the pH of the soil can be changed by the lime coming out of them, making it difficult to obtain blue. This completely explains why some of the flowers on my Lacecap Hydrangea are turning a purply pink near the sidewalk and the patio! I just thought I was a magical gardener!

Here is some basic information on the Nikko Blue hydrangeas:

Nikko Blue Hydrangeas

Zone: 6 to 9 (although I am in Zone 5 and I have never had a problem!)

Plant Type: Deciduous shrub

Height: 4 to 6 feet

Spread: 4 to 6 feet

Bloom Time: July - August (mine started in early June)

Bloom Color: Blue in acid soil; Pink in alkaline soil.

Sun: Sun to Part shade

Water: Daily, very thirsty suckers!

Prune: July, after blooms have faded

I am so BUZZED

BEES.
Pros
Make honey
Like flowers
Cons
Stingy litte suckers
Loud and buzzy
Make some us (me) scream and run in fear for our lives like little girls despite enormous size difference.

Whatever your feelings about bees there has been a noticable decline in bee populations in North America and other parts of the world due mainly to something called Colony Collapse Disorder. CCD has been blamed for bees disappearing in huge numbers for unknown reasons. Numerous studies have been done researching pesticides, viruses and bacteria, electromagnetics and starvation but have not been conclusive as to the causes of CCD. While those of us who are afraid of them welcome this because we are no longer frequently seen running and screaming around our yard like a crazy person, this is a serious issue.

What do bees do besides make one of my favorite food of all time, honey? The pollinate flowers and crops.

What happens if they don't pollinate? Major agricultural issues will arise such as food shortages.

So what can we do as gardeners? There is a foundation called The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation that is working on research and suggesting ways to help. Here is the link for their main website:

Plants for Native Bees in North America
If you are from California from the main site go under "Publications" then "Plant Lists" to see more specific plants from your region.

Some of the plants included in the list are commonly found ones from either Home Depot or Lowes such as: Asters, Black Eyed Susan, Lupine, Rhododendron, Sage and Sunflowers. Basil, Rosemary, English Lavendar, Hyssop and Marjoram are also considered to be bee friendly.

Get planting to save our little black and yellow, buzzy frenemies!

Photo courtesy of Leif Richardson of The Xerces Society.