The Bees, the Weed and Gardens

It is so extraordinarily hot here in southern Missouri, which makes it even more surprising that the native plants are blooming.  But yet, this has been the best year ever for my purple coneflowers and as the summer progresses, I'm seeing more & more of them.

The 7-year old Compass plant in this video is reported to have 16' roots - it's going to need them if this heat continues.  The black-eyed Susans, rattlesnake master, Queen Anne's lace, and so much more in this video are busting out in tons of blooms this year - in spite of the heat.

The sensitive briar is so pretty up close:

The native bees are really digging the butterfly milkweed.  Are those Mason bees?

At first, I was disappointed that 2/3 of the milkweed grant was comprised of butterfly milkweed, but after seeing all the native bees and the honeybees on it, I've changed my mind about it.  Thanks to Doris & Lin Altom in Houston, MO who gave me a truck-load of pots, I had enough to transplant the plugs and bury them in mulch for the rest of the summer. I'm still trying to figure out whether to transplant these to the fields in the fall or wait until next Spring.  Over 140 plants have been moved into pots - my sister, Karen Perkins came to visit from Louisiana, so I put her to work helping me transplant them into pots.  It's so much easier with a helper - and you can plant a lot of milkweed when you're planning your next trip to Yellowstone!

Butterfly and common milkweed

After creating a boxed-in screen for my basil to protect it from the Japanese beetles, it is also producing some really healthy leaves this summer. I love basil pesto, so I grow at least 3 plants a year. I've already made one harvest of the leaves.

My first time growing purple hull peas in Missouri, so I'm not sure what to expect. They haven't bloomed yet...maybe it's due to the different growing zone and they'll be late bloomers?  My stepfather, John, used to grow these and give me a few bags when I came home to Louisiana.  These peas are my favorite garden pea and I really need to learn how to grow them here. 

My new friends Doris and Lin - Master Gardeners from Houston, MO, gave me some Red-climbing spinach and I can't wait to try this!

We are bordering on melting here and really need some relief from the heat...and we haven't even reached mid-July yet.

Milkweed, milkweed and More Milkweed

The common milkweed I planted on this bank is spreading!  Check out the video to see how much.

I was awarded this grant by Monarch Watch and now have all these milkweeds plants that need to be planted.  Check out the video below.
Don't know why I'm giggling at the end of the video.