Turning to another battlefront–beetles

I decided to take a break from writing this morning and went outside to stroll along the Meadow. James joined me later. YIKES! Together, we saw that the dratted/hated/despised/argh coreopsis leaf beetle (Phaedon desotonis) are returning with a vengeance. 

Do a search on my blog, and you'll see why I hate them so much. When they're out of control, they DECIMATE OUR GREENTHREAD! James wanted to spray them all. Nope, can't do that. But what SHOULD I do? I tried a little vinegar-and-water spray, but that hurts other plants and critters. So I returned to my slow method of killing them, which plays into their defense behavior (they drop off plants whenever you try to nab'em). 

Armed with a bowl of soapy water, I sweep my hand across the vegetation, and some (not all) drop into my bowl of death. I'm not eradicating all of them, but I figure I'm eating into their population numbers and reproduction rates (I found a few larvae, too). I'll go back out periodically and continue my efforts. Phooey on them!

Below is a photo of the total end catch for today.

My snake man

 James found a rat snake this afternoon in our back yard and had to come show me while I was pulling Malta star-thistle.

Bearded irises UPDATED

 Cedar sage, too!

APRIL 16, 2016
Amaryllis blooms are joining the party....

 

Extending the battlelines against Malta star

As you drive along scenic Hill Country highways and byways, you can clearly see invasive bastard cabbage due to its bright yellow blooms. Not so with invasive Malta star-thistle. It is very covert and homely-looking in its diabolical quest to take over the world. See all the green stuff in the photo above? That's a thick crop of Malta star. I personally know how deceptive and sly this bad thistle species is because it pulled one over me in 2012. Then I learned what it was and what it looked like, which led to me declaring outright WAR against it! 

The war continues. And now I've extended the battle lines. 

With my neighbor's permission, I patroled her front yard on Cedar Street this afternoon for Malta star-thistle. THEN I looked over and saw a big crop of it on city easements at the corner of 8th and Cedar. OH MY GOODNESS! Well, I got right to work. Soon both my lovely assistants joined me. First, Gabe, one of our boy cats (he ALWAYS finds me), then my sweet husband James. Between the two of us, we pulled up two big garbage bags of thistles! Sadly, there's more to yank. James pointed out LOTS MORE that grows along another nearby city easement. Sigh.... But just think, if EVERYONE took care of their own properties and neighborhoods, we could win the battle and eventually the war against invasives. I'm not gonna give up! We're trying to take care of our neighborhood.

But alas, some property owners have HUGE populations of invasive species to handle. This afternoon, I walked a small Blanco property at the owners' bequest and was sad to tell them that they have Malta star-thistle (see top photo of this post). I couldn't advise them how to totally get rid of it, but I did suggest that they hand pull thistle around pockets of natives that they want to keep, like gaura and bluebonnets. I also gave them some names of experts to contact and asked that they keep me posted. 

How about it? Have you checked your own yard and property for bastard cabbage and Malta star-thistle? Let's pull together and wipe'em out.

Before and after

BEFORE

Awhile back, we bought this vintage garden chair at D&J's Good Ole Days in Brady (cool place!). James decided he'd paint it (see the test spot on the chair?) Doesn't it look GREAT? He also painted a garden bench that we bought from Blanco Floral & Gift Shop. It turned out beautifully, too. Don't you think? Thank you, James!

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

What happens when Sheryl doesn't mark a plant

So I'm walking along in the back yard last week or so, and I glance over to see a plant poking up its good-sized head through the mulch. "You look important," I told it. "But what are you?"

For the life of me, I couldn't remember! And worse, I hadn't marked it. How could I have not DONE THAT?! 

As a last resort, I looked back through blog posts from last year to see what I might have planted. Sure enough, I came across "New additions" from Sept. 27, 2015 and saw that I'd bought a butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) at the Pollinator Powwow in Kerrville. O happy day! Now I remembered! I'd planted it right there where that good-sized plant head was emerging. (I stuck a temporary marker on it.)

But WAIT! According to the blog post, I'd bought a possumhaw (Ilex decidua), too? Really? For the life of me, I couldn't remember buying one, much less planting it. So where in the world was the possumhaw? Oh, YEAH! There it was, growing happily in the last new gardens we'd added. 

When I told James about the butterflyweed and possumhaw, he reacted the same way. "We have a POSSUMHAW?" he asked, completely astounded. 

"Yep, right there!" I showed him later in the gardens. "See? The sign says Possumhaw!" 

 

Every yard needs yard art

Naturally, we've got our share! (Thanks, Mom, for the new solar bird to keep our other one company!)