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Category: Gardens

Rusty Tussock Moth – Orgyia antigua

Tonight I was cleaning up the courtyard garden and found a wonderful surprise. This little fellow was on a tree that is not doing well.

Rusty Tussock Moth

When I finished for the evening I took a quick look at the wormy guy and found that he was climbing down the tree. His movement indicated which was his head. He looks a bit prickly, but could that be an illusion? According to Debbie Hadley on the About.com site, “touch them with a bare finger and you’ll feel you’ve been pricked by fiberglass.”

Rusty Tussock Moth

I saw a photo of the Rusty Tussock male moth and it is amazing. I hope that I have an opportunity to see one up close.

Canadian Forest Service

Bug Guide Image of Flightless Female

Orgyia antiqua (Rusty Tussock Moth)

Armadillo Bugs or Rollie Pollies

I enjoy gardening. Growing things from seed, nurturing the plants, making more plants from cuttings, harvesting seed… And it is fine to have dirt under your nails.

This season, well we really don’t have seasons on the CA Central Coast, I have been cleaning up my gardens, moving plants, and adding new plants.

Recently I noticed what seems like loads of Armadillo Bugs, Rollie Pollies, Pill Bugs. A bug with several names. This morning when I was hand watering, I found a dozen on one of the garden walls. By the time I went inside to grab the camera, nearly all of them had disappeared, only this one remained.

Armadillo Bug

I was curious about their story. Can they cause damage? Armadillo Bugs are actually crustaceans and have gills. They typically clean up garden debris and don’t usually cause damage.

And according to several articles, Rollie Pollies, or Armadillidiidae possess the ability to safely remove heavy metals from soil.

More information about Armadillidiidae

Custom Fragrance

My backyard garden has the most amazing fragrance in the morning. It is the combination of the fragrance of Brugmansia, Wisteria, and the blossoms of a lemon tree yet to be planted.

Brugs
Wisteria
Lemon Tree

Don’t be too quick to remove weeds from your garden. This “weed” has a lovely flower that I would never have seen if I had removed it from my garden.

Weed

Potentially Dangerous Can Be Beautiful

I recently snagged some Oleander pods from the parking lot of a neighborhood restaurant. In California it is common to have plantings in parking lots.

Oleander has a reputation for killing people and animals. Some stories have a valid science component, others lean toward myth and urban legend.

The pods I snagged have dried and opened exposing their lovely seeds.

Oleander Pod with Seeds

Why did I snag the seed pods? I use poison plant bits in my work. Some of the bits that I use are from plants banned in a few states. The reason for the ban is reactionary. A couple of kids decide to get high, use too much, have a bad reaction, and the plant is held responsible.

Each of the cups in my Poison Cup series has a small bag of bits from poisonous plants. These are a few of the bags included in the series.

Seed Bags

The title of the series is actually Preservation. While the cups refer to the tea ceremony and poison goblets, the cups have been perforated making them a nice vessel for seedlings.

PC09

Treat with Respect contains the seed bag in the upper right corner of the above graphic.
The bag contains 11 Castor Bean seeds.

Additional image of the series can be seen on my website.

Nerium (Oleander)

Fatal Wienie Roast

Oleander Poisoning

ASPCA

The Poison Garden Website

The Merck Veterinary Manual

Aphids, Lichens, Rust, Mold…

Aphids and Lichens

Aphids and Lichens

Yesterday I found a few of my Hellebores were covered with aphids. How does that happen? I had just purchased a bottle of peppermint castile soap and decided to give the plants a washing and a cutting.

The lichens were seen on stones in the mountains behind our house. I have taken photos of loads of lichens but never red.

Aphids and Lichens

Rust and Mold

A rose bush very near the Hellebores has small orange splotches. I didn’t know it was rust until I did a google search. According to the Royal Horticultural Society what I found is probably the parasitic fungus, Phragmidium tuberculatum. More cutting will be needed.

The rose bush, actually more of a vine was here when we bought the house. We keep digging it up, attempting to move it, apparently never getting it all because it keeps coming back.

The mold is growing on a container of tomato and basil hummus. The container was hidden behind a large dish of couscous.

Why did I take photos of such things? It is interesting to see surfaces transformed in a natural way. There can be beauty in things that are opportunistic and even a bit destructive. Something small can make a difference.

Lichen on Fence

I had lovely gardens that took a lot of care. Recently I decided that I needed to spend less time in the gardens and more time in the studio. There isn’t enough time for everything. Strong plants should survive. Since I have found multiple things to damage the existing plants and trees, I suspect it is time to clear out everything potentially damaging and tend to the plants and trees that remain.

We finally did take down a tree that had been sick for quite a few years. Tried to save it because it was being grown for a source of art material. It is a sad day when a tree must be removed. Trying to think of the future and that we can use the space to grow dwarf citrus trees. I do love a good orange, but I am sure going to miss the tree.

Seeping Tree

Brugs and Snails

It seems that everything loves Brugmansia. I often have a difficult time with spider mites, but my current problem is with snails. They have eaten most of the passion vine in the courtyard and every Brug has snail damage.

Brug Leaf Damage

There are wee snails even inside of flowers.

Snail Inside Brug Flower

I gathered a bunch of snails and placed them in our open recycle bin with the leaves they had been feasting on. I suspect that they will eventually die. I feel that I am giving them a chance to find somewhere else to live.

I am debating about ordering Escar-Go! from Gardens Alive. It is a great product that I have used in the past. I really do hate killing things, but I would like my flowers and plants to stay intact.

South Carolina Highlights–The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

I recently spent three weeks in South Carolina and had the pleasure of visiting
The Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden.

Garden View 1

While there I heard Pearl speaking to a group. He is a lovely man and a great story teller.

Pearl Talking to Group

Pearl makes a wonderfully welcoming environment for all who visit his garden. He talked about the importance of encouraging students. My niece who is in third grade, went to meet Pearl as part of a presentation she is to give on a person she admires.

Garden View 2

Garden View 3

Pearl was kind and generous with his time, even giving her a packet of materials to use. The packet was put together by Pearl’s wife. When my sister called to try to set up a meeting with Pearl, she spoke with Pearl’s wife who was kind and welcoming.

Garden View 4

Garden View 6

There is a great documentary about Pearl that I rented a few years back, A Man Named Pearl. After viewing the video I added visiting Pearl’s garden to my wish list of very cool things to do.

I had an opportunity to talk with him a bit about his metal sculptures constructed from recycled materials. Very Cool.

The garden is amazing in so many ways– the scale of it, the aesthetic and organization of it, the collaboration with nature, and the enormous amount of work to develop and maintain it.

Garden View 5

A few details of some of Pearl’s work–

Topiary Detail

Cool Knobs

Sculpture Detail

If you are ever near Bishopville, SC spend a couple of hours or more taking in Pearl’s garden.