Photo of the Week: California Poppy

 

Gardening: Nature is an Autocrat

As the title says, Mother Nature is an autocrat. All of the cantaloupe seedlings died and all but one of the sunflower seedlings died. So here comes Round 2. Tons of bird and squirrel-planted sunflowers have popped up though. I also scattered a bunch of marigold and California poppy seeds a little over a month ago and they are just no beginning to grow. I've also sown columbine under the existing crabapple tree (because I'm sick of mowing under there) and butterfly weed seeds in the mulch around the house.

As for trees the potted maple has begun leafing out although it's been slow going. I repotted it into a larger pot to try and help it out. Lazarus has has also leafed out although the main stem appears dead as it's begun sprouting leaves from a new stem. I've taken two cuttings from a ginkgo tree and potted them so here's hoping that in ~2 months they'll have taken root. I've also managed to save and pot two crabapple seedlings. Most exciting of all is that I was recently eating an apple when I discovered that a seed had sprouted inside of it, producing a root about a quarter-inch long. So I potted that and am now praying that it will survive. The Lord taketh but He also giveth.