Lost Ladybug

Lost Ladybug

I found this Ladybug circling the rim of the plastic cup what I store my blank plant labels in. She must have hitched a ride when I brought the labels inside the house.

Bugs on the Swiss Chard

We’ve been having weird weather. Last weekend was sooooo hot, reaching the low 90s on Sunday. Throughout the week it’s been getting cooler and cooler, then this weekend, we got rain again. It’s actually not bad’ it’s kinda nice not having to water outdoors.

Before it rained today, I was cutting down more of our bolting Swiss Chard (in vegetable bed #1), because I want to fix it up and start my vegetable garden. At the same time, Calli was running around exploring the back yard and my oldest brother came to visit and was pulling out the Peach leaves with Peach Leaf Curl.

As I was pulling up the Swiss Chard, I found a whole bunch of bugs. There was a couple of Ladybird Beetle larvae, which I relocated to our aphid stricken Italian Plum tree.

Swiss Chard   Ladybird Larvae

Soldier Fly?   Unknown Bug

I think the left photo above is a Soldier Fly, but I’m not sure. If you click the photo and view the large version, you can see the details of its purple and blue eyes. It has an interesting pattern.

As for bug on the right… I don’t know what that bug is, but I’ve seen them in our Persimmon Tree. They are slow moving and very very shy. This one was very good at hiding from the camera. I’m surprised I got a photo of it.

I can’t wait to get the lens I ordered on Friday. I also got myself a 10x Macro Lens which I hope will give me more detail with photo like above.

Seeds-a-Beckoning + Dog Walk

As I was walking from the carpool lot to my car, parked several blocks away, I noticed these seeds scattered here and there as if it was a trail marker. It was beckoning me collect it… so I did.

Seeds-a-Beckoning

I have a feeling that some school children were eating “whatever this is” and spitting it out the seeds as they walked home. These may be Loquat seeds, but I’m not sure.

Once I got home, I took our dog Kelly for a walk. We walked all the way along the bay. She’s getting old, but she still enjoyed getting out. We saw these two doin’ it on a bush by the bay.

Makin' Baby Ladybirds

Finally, the sun began to set… and we headed back home.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeysplanting/136295662/

Thursday’s trip to Yard Birds…

Yesterday (Thursday) after work, I stopped by Yard Birds and got the following:

– a box of all natural tomato and vegetable fertilizer
– a gallon bottle of fish emulsion
– a bag of green moss
– a russet terra cotta colored Coleus called “Sedona”

The Coleus “Sedona” had a missing limb and wasn’t very lush, but it was the only one in it’s color. I’ve never seen this color in a garden shop before… So I just had to snatch it up. I’ll take cuttings and try to make more plants.

Which reminds me… I need to do some research and see if there are people who also take unique Coleus cuttings to trade with others.

I was also entertained at Yard Birds. There had these buckets of ladybugs. Tons and tons of them… and I was just fascinated watching them in such a cluster.

A hummingbird also paid a visit at Yard Birds and buzzed around all the fuchsias. It stopped right in front of me and watched me for a little bit, then went back to its business. At one point, it perched on one of the fuchsia branches and looked like it was picking at some bugs.

I saw a plant I really liked called Helichrysum petiolare or Licorice Plant. It’s chartreuse leaves were fuzzy and felt very velvety. If I had the room, I would have bought it. For now I’ll just add it to my wish list.

A Whole Bunch of Garden Photos…

Today I was able to take a whole bunch of garden photos, including some fruits, vegetables, flowers and other stuff in my garden. So if you have the bandwidth, check behind the cut.

Vegetables

Cucumbers
Cucumber

Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper
Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper

Pepperoncini
Pepperoncini

Baby Zuchini
Baby Zuchini

Sweet 100 Tomatoes
Sweet 100 Tomatoes

Newly transplanted Bok Choy
Newly transplanted Bok Choy

Flowers

Begonia
Begonia

Succulent Flower (I forgot this succulent’s name)
Succulent Flower

Flamingo Flower or Brazilian Plume Flower
Flamingo Flower

Coreopsis
Coreopsis

Clematis seed pod
Clematis

Fushia
Fushia

Radish
Radish Flowers

Lettuce
Lettuce Flowers

Young Hollyhock
Young Hollyhock

Garlic
Garlic

Young Gladiola
Young Gladiola

Hydrangea
Hydrangea

Fruits

Apples and Fushia
Apples and Fushia

Figs
Figs

Persimmons
Persimmons

Plum
Plum

Pear
Pear

Calamansi
Calamansi

Calamansi Leaves
Calamansi Leaves

Other Garden Stuff

Me
Me

Black Ladybug?
Black Ladybug?

Mickey
Mickey

p.s. Sorry for the image quality, my camera is acting up.

Also posted in gardening, entry: 691466