Lacy #phacelia aka #purple#tansy is native to NW Mexico & SW USA - it's in the borage family. I've been using them as part of #pollinators#garden & as a natural aphids #PestControl for food plants. This pretty flowering #plant attracts hoverflies & those insects love eating aphids. When it's done flowering - you can cut it down & use cuttings as #GreenManure.
Indoors - one of my tiger #orchids bloomed last night.
Outdoors - 1st #IrisNigricans, #NationalFlower of #Jordan bloomed & more to open this week. One of my Syrian friends gave me a pot of rhizomes 3yrs ago.
More grape soda #irises bloomed too.
Some of my #nightshade#starterPlants - #eggplants & #tomatoes.
I was behind on seed sowing starts again this past Winter!
I don't transplant any nightshade plants out into beds/pots until at least 2-3 flowers appear on starters. That helps the transplants to do much better - they're stronger if you wait a bit longer to transplant out.
Our white #lilac tree is now over 8 feet tall.
I originally #propagated this from a small cutting, taken for free from a construction demolition site, 10 yrs ago.
It smells fabulous 🥰
My #cantaloupe#seedlings.
Hopefully I'll get more than 2 cantaloupes this year. Last year was my first time trying to grow cantaloupes. Most of them failed due to neglect. I was too stressed/overwhelmed after my Dad died from long covid cardiac arrest early last June - many of my plants didn't make it.
Side gardens. Our #strawberries patch is bursting with lots of flowers & baby #fruits. I'm patiently waiting for them to mature & ripen up.
We grow strawberries in front & back gardens too. It's one of our fave fruits to eat, so we grow lots of them. We grow new #strawberry#plants to give away & some to sell, from propagating runners.
Meanwhile, indoors, one of my #ChristmasCactus#houseplants has its last bloom (for this round). They bloom multiple times/year. I propagate a lot of them too.
The Caldeirão Verde waterfall during a really heavy downpour, which was probably one of the most tropically impressive views in Madeira, Portugal. 🇵🇹 This waterfall is 100 meters high, and the water flows into a huge basin. My entire photo equipment was totally soaked, miraculously nothing was damaged!
I have created two of these in the inverse. Beautiful striking black and white flower art by floral artist Sharon Cummings. A unique design with classical elements and botanical beauty.
I've been creating with pen and ink again! I prefer pens to pencils as I love the fluidity and smoother movements. I have collaged painted fabric to create a colorful garden!
2nd blooming of our front garden #rhododendron bush tree. It has its first blooms in February & the colour is light pink. It changes to this deep #red colour, on 2nd bloom times 🥰
Amidst the vibrant blooms of the Pride of Madeira, tall stalks host tiny purple flowers, where a honey bee finds joy in the nectar, a beautiful scene of nature's pride.
like ailing children
convalescing in mom's arms
oak trees heal orchids
***Someone gave me a throw away plant with only one leaf left. So I blessed it and put it up in an oak. This is the result! I had to make some art out of it too. :)