Hello. My name is Isabeau and I'm a Plantaholic.

[Rose Karuna]

This was outside digging up my yard early this morning ... they are almost as big as my cat!

 

[Lexxi]

Anyone else here into indoor plants, gardens, flowers, etc?

I do not know if I've posted in this thread. I suspect I haven't, but have a vague idea I did.

Right, so.

Had a medicine plant growing up. Cat killed it when I was on vacation. No other memorable plant from childhood.

In 2018 got a Pointsetta at Christmas time. Shortly thereafter I got an Orchid. Both had flowers. Lost their flowers. Never bloomed again. They've also never died. I've an impression both should have died by now, but both still are alive. 4 years so far.

Haven't done much for them. Only weird thing I do is I given the Pointsetta flavored water. Because . . . no idea. Orchid gets ice cubes, because that's basically the only thing from the instructions I've followed.

 

[Rose Karuna]

I thought that this time lapse of plants moving was really interesting.

 

[Free]

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Pussy willow?

 

[Rose Karuna]

I planted some oregano and some basil on each side of my door. The oregano did fine but one day I saw this little tomato begin to come up in the pot with the oregano. I didn't plant it, I have no earthly idea where it came from but it has turned into the killer tomato that took over my front door.


I even bought an "Attack of the Killer Tomato" sign for him.

Nice cherry tomatoes on it though. My guess is that it is an Everglades tomato.

 

[Free]

The oregano did fine but one day I saw this little tomato begin to come up in the pot with the oregano. I didn't plant it, I have no earthly idea where it came from but it has turned into the killer tomato that took over my front door.

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" Tomato Invasion from Mars (TV Episode 1990) ⭐ 7.3 | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi

| TV-Y7-FV

www.imdb.com

 

[Rose Karuna]

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" Tomato Invasion from Mars (TV Episode 1990) ⭐ 7.3 | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi

| TV-Y7-FV

www.imdb.com

My favorite scene from the 1978 movie was Mason Dixon disguised as a tomato, sitting around a campfire with other killer tomatoes, eating the hotdog and then asking for someone to pass the ketchup. I know it got bad reviews, but I loved that movie. Then again, I also loved "Little Shop of Horrors" (the one from 1960, not the musical), the 1958 version of "The Blob" and all the [old] Godzilla movies. So my taste in movies is quite questionable.

 

[Free]

So my taste in movies is quite questionable.

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."
~H. L. Mencken

 

[Khamon]

I'm a contractor, look, they've planted a three-year-old tree here and clearly flagged it, now do we drive our tractor two feet to the left where it doesn't matter or right over the top of the planting, of course we destroy the tree, of course we destroy the tree, what fun we have, oh and look, there's another planting mulched and clearly marked, should we pile materials in this dirt area where a large tree used to be or pile the materials on top of the planting, well, the planting is further away, but still the destruction is so much fun we just can't help ourselves, carrying stuff those few extra yards will be worth knowing that we killed every living thing in the yard.

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

I planted some oregano and some basil on each side of my door. The oregano did fine but one day I saw this little tomato begin to come up in the pot with the oregano. I didn't plant it, I have no earthly idea where it came from but it has turned into the killer tomato that took over my front door.


I even bought an "Attack of the Killer Tomato" sign for him.

Nice cherry tomatoes on it though. My guess is that it is an Everglades tomato.

No one has posted the song yet? You disappoint the CC.

 

[Rose Karuna]

TLDR - but if anyone is interested in a long plant story ... After Hurricane Ian hit, my garden was literally under 5 feet of water. My work bench, bins and tool cabinet were floating in the flood debris (so were my Koi). Fortunately, I had picked up and brought many of my garden decorations into the house but lots were still out there, floating. I fully expected to lose all the plants and all the small young trees. When the water finally receded, we got hit with 90 degree temperatures and a drought and on top of that I was spending 100% of my time taking care of my husband who was in the hospital for a month and then nursing him at home. Hence, the whole area got neglected and forgotten. Around March, (about three months past our planting season), my husband was well enough for me leave him long enough to venture out to try and restore my garden. I was astounded to find that some of the plants were actually still alive. I cut them back, fertilized them and then proceeded to plant some things I know do ok in really hot weather. I also planted a "mushroom garden", no, not magic, just Shiitake and Oyster. Here are some pictures, because I'm kind of proud of what I was able to accomplish in a pretty short period of time.

 

[Isabeau]

Wow, Rose! I’m glad many of the plants came back. I suppose the flood meant there was some “reserves” of water deep down to protect them from the drought? Nature sure is resilient. As are you. That took a lot of work. The kind of work that keeps our mind off things, but still, lots of sweat went into that…

 

[WolfEyes]

I am so green with envy.

I've just never understood why, no matter what I do or how hard I work, I'm not allowed to have the nice things most everyone else has.

 

[Rose Karuna]

Bees are so critical for our food supply and gardens and life in general. I thought this was the appropriate thread to post a World Bee Day link.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/20/world/world-bee-day-2023-six-things-scn/index.html

The two scariest facts I read:

4. Bumblebees get hangry
Plants produce dazzling flowers laden with nectar to attract pollinators, but what’s an impatient, hungry bumblebee to do when those flowers haven’t yet bloomed?
When pollen is scarce, bumblebees damaged tomato and mustard plant leaves in a unique way that resulted in the plant flowering up to 30 days earlier than unnibbled plants, scientists in Switzerland and France found.
For bees, the pollen is a protein source they need to raise their young.

And ...

6. Some bees eat meat
The vast majority of bees feed on pollen and nectar, but some species have evolved to feast on meat, substituting dead animal carcasses for flower meadows.
Vulture bees in Costa Rica have guts rich in acid-loving bacteria similar to those found in hyenas and other animals that feed on carrion, scientists at the University of California, Riverside, Columbia University and Cornell University discovered in 2021.
Their research involved setting up 16 traps baited with 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of raw chicken dangling from branches about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) above the ground. Though vulture bees feed on flesh, their honey is still sweet and edible, the researchers said.

 

[Tirellia]

That article is fascinating. I love watching bees at work, including the leaf-cutter bees we have. They like the leaves of wild rose more than anything from what I can see. But I've not seen bees torturing plants to give up their nectar

 

[Rose Karuna]

This article cements my belief that you can never have too many plants!

houseplants-cancer-air-pollutants

Plants not only brighten up a dreary room, they may also save you from cancer! While many people may know plants produce oxygen, researchers say they can also soak up harmful chemicals in the air. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) researchers, in collaboration with plantscaping solutions company Ambius, have found that plants can remove almost all cancer-causing fumes from a room.

“We know that indoor air quality is often significantly more polluted than outdoor air, which in turn impacts mental and physical health. But the great news is this study has shown that something as simple as having plants indoors can make a huge difference,” says Ambius General Manager Johan Hodgson.

<-------Sneaks off to buy more plants.

 

[Free]

Who wants?

 

[Free]

Interesting looking place to work.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Interesting looking place to work.

I would LOVE to work in an office full of plants like that!