You have reached a quiet bamboo grove, where you will find an eclectic mix of nature, music, writing, and other creative arts. Tao-Talk is curated by a philosophical daoist who has thrown the net away.
Thanks to Dale (and Dan,) using the gallery block works better than either adding pics individually or in groups in the classic block. The test was the gardens tour last weekend. I purposely kept descriptions brief so as not to cut them off and it was more as a tester for the photo loading. Today’s batch, I’m going to try to add lengthier captions and see what happens.
These pics were all taken yesterday. I’m in the middle of POPO2023 and so time is precious and I didn’t get them posted yesterday. Speaking of which, for those participating in POPO2023, US postage is going up again tomorrow.
From axios: Sunday, July 9 is the day the new rates go into effect and postage for a 1-ounce letter is 66 cents, up from 63 cents. The first-class stamp will be double the 1999 rate of 33 cents. Other increases are: • Metered 1-ounce letters will cost 63 cents, up from 60 cents. • Postcards sent domestically are 51 cents, up from 48 cents. • International postcards and 1-ounce letters are $1.50, a 5-cent increase.
brown-eyed susan from the wetlands packper Pl@ntNet, butterfly milkweedbutterfly milkweed, can you see why butterflies love it?some of the plants staying in pots for nowchamomile in a very small pot4 of the dawn redwood are still alive and doing well. #1dawn redwood #2 please note these are tiny plants, between 1 to 3 inches talldawn redwood #3dawn redwood #4. it was touch and go for awhile for this tiniest one. it seems to be out of the woods for now (pun intended)one my two dianthus plants. this one’s in full bloom but the other one is strugglingthe false indigo I planted in the pots is doing fantastic. the ones direct seeded are struggling. can’t wait to see them bloom!another blessing in the yard is the ginkgo’s vibrant recovery after losing 80% of its leaves to frost. it has refoliated like magic. thank you to everyone who sent positive vibes to her.see those brown shriveled things? those are the leaves that got frostbite. Lady Ginkgo is strong and for every leaf lost, many new ones sprouted.The European larch tree had me worried with the drought, but with the last rain we had it started new growth like crazy. What a beauty she is!lavender from the seed kit younger son and his wife gave me going strongpink verbena. per a friend who went on the garden tour, the leaves make a good insect repellentstill trying to find the right glue to put this back together with. i bought a tube only to find it only works on flat cement :( i think i’m going to try epoxyi gave the roses some Osmocote and they are blooming their hearts outclose up on sedum pink blossoms. ahhhh!I took some of this sedum from a pot and planted it in the ground last year. It is doing fantastic in the ground!gazillions of tomato blossomsspearmint that grew from cut sprigs that Cari gave me last year. it’s an invasive so if you grow it keep it contained or it will take overaren’t baby tomatoes cute? there’s about a dozen growing here and there that i can seetomato plants in the raised bed going berserka couple of people have gotten willows as their spirit tree in Colleen’s latest TankaTuesday (hi Colleen and Paula) so I took a couple of pics of the old giants in the front yard. this is one standing under the willowthis is a pic of them from the other side of the yard.witch hazel #10 the healthiest one. it’s a little battered but still unbowed (henley reference)not very clear, but this is a yellow flicker (a type of woodpecker) notice a red patch on the back of the head and a black chest bar. best shot of the bunch i tooklet the black beauty zucchini begin!
The butterfly milkweed is beautiful. The milkweed that is common around here is, well, rather weedy looking. I bought some seed a few years back for some prettier milkweed to attract Monarchs. None of it germinated. Since then, lots of milkweed has shown up in my yard, but none of what I planted. Maybe I’ll try again, or buy plants instead of seed, or start them indoors.
I do not remember planting this plant and consider it a wondrous wanderer who decided to stay. It hasn’t spread from that spot, but every year it gets pods like a milkweed. I should try and sprout some and see what happens.
p.s. The “regular” milkweed grows here and spreads easily. I even saw a monarch caterpillar on one a few years ago. I was surprised at how small they are.
The only doo-dad I have in my landscaping is a small, pink T-Rex. I moved him a week or so back because the butterflies were freaking out. It’s so hot here in Texas that nothing is growing, and not much is surviving. I will stroke out when the next water bill comes.
Phil I hope you are putting water out for the butterflies and other critters. Sorry you’re in a heatwave. Michigan has been in one also but the temps never get beyond the 90s. We had rain for a few days over the last week and that has made a huge difference for the plants and animals. And yes, I leave water in trays and dishes and birdbaths at all levels for the critters.
If you click on the pics you will see them without captions but some of captions get cut off. If you read the caption first, then toggle to the pic you get the best of both worlds :)
Really? And you can read the whole caption? For me, it only works at the blog post itself. It may be different depending on the theme? Glad it works for you from the feed :)
I said this before, Lisa, but I feel compelled to repeat it: Your garden looks like a lovely oasis. I know it’s easy to say but much harder to accomplish!
I also enjoy your cover image, which I believe is something I haven’t said yet. That smiling sun reminds me of George Harrison, and the smiling frog makes me think of Kermit. Both look charming! :-)
Christian, thank you, my plants are like my family more than anything anymore. Starting from scratch on the yard when I moved here in 2011, it’s been a labor of love still in progress.
Thanks so much on the cover image also. Geo Sun was a gift from an old friend, the froggie farmer was a gift from younger son for Mother’s Day, and the butterfly house was a gift from older son for Mother’s Day. That swing was an old castaway from someone that I repurposed :)
Impressive. You’ve cultivated a beautiful garden. The baby toms are super cute. I wonder, do Zucchinis grow as quickly as I think they do, or is it just wishful thinking on my part?
You’re welcome. Zucchini is VERY easy to grow, the vines need quite a bit of space. Tomatoes can easily be grown in containers. I really hope you do have a garden in the future. There is something so affirming about eating food you grow and you know it doesn’t have pesticides on it and you pick it ripe. So much of what we get in supermarkets is picked green and shipped cross country and sprayed with pesticides.
Wonderful selection, Lisa.
Don’t complain about stamps… Here in Canada, within Canada, it costs us $1.07 (or $1.92 if you buy a booklet or roll); $1.30 for one ounce! It’s $1.30 to send an envelope to the States…
Now, as for your captions. I note that your photos already have titles. For example, the first flower has the caption but when I click on the i in the circle, I see “Resized brown-eyed susan 070723”. I did a test with mine and wrote a super-long caption and when we look at the i, it basically writes my caption twice.
I then went to Dan’s site to see and he also has a title but below it, is the full caption in two lines.
Sooooo… I think there is something in the set up of your photos in the administration of your site. I’ll ask Dan again if he has something in his settings. This is a mystery we will solve…
I knew Canada postage wasn’t cheap and I have to buy international stamps for the postcards I send outside of the US. OK good on getting with Dan to see what he does with his captions :)
Tao Talk 
So lovely just to sit here scrolling through the beautiful flowers and seeing their names, too.
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Luanne, so glad you are enjoying the stroll through the yard. The Pl@ntNet is an excellent site for identifying “mystery plants.”
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That is really what I need. But as soon as I learn them I usually forget them haha!
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Beautiful, vivid images, J. Thanks.
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Glad you enjoyed the stroll, Ron.
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The butterfly milkweed is beautiful. The milkweed that is common around here is, well, rather weedy looking. I bought some seed a few years back for some prettier milkweed to attract Monarchs. None of it germinated. Since then, lots of milkweed has shown up in my yard, but none of what I planted. Maybe I’ll try again, or buy plants instead of seed, or start them indoors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do not remember planting this plant and consider it a wondrous wanderer who decided to stay. It hasn’t spread from that spot, but every year it gets pods like a milkweed. I should try and sprout some and see what happens.
LikeLiked by 1 person
p.s. The “regular” milkweed grows here and spreads easily. I even saw a monarch caterpillar on one a few years ago. I was surprised at how small they are.
LikeLike
The only doo-dad I have in my landscaping is a small, pink T-Rex. I moved him a week or so back because the butterflies were freaking out. It’s so hot here in Texas that nothing is growing, and not much is surviving. I will stroke out when the next water bill comes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Phil I hope you are putting water out for the butterflies and other critters. Sorry you’re in a heatwave. Michigan has been in one also but the temps never get beyond the 90s. We had rain for a few days over the last week and that has made a huge difference for the plants and animals. And yes, I leave water in trays and dishes and birdbaths at all levels for the critters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the gallery block option. But the captions run over the photos. I enjoyed them though.
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If you click on the pics you will see them without captions but some of captions get cut off. If you read the caption first, then toggle to the pic you get the best of both worlds :)
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Oh I see. Thanks
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You’re welcome. It won’t work that way from the feed, but if you go directly to the post it will.
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Yes it does. I tried.
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Really? And you can read the whole caption? For me, it only works at the blog post itself. It may be different depending on the theme? Glad it works for you from the feed :)
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I opened in the browser.
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Beautiful Lisa!
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Thank you, Max. Despite how hot it’s been I’ve been enjoying the gardening so much this year.
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It’s got a little better this week here…but I doubt if it stays this way.
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It’s a lot of fun and good for you physically and mentally. When Jen gets into it she is always in a good mood.
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I said this before, Lisa, but I feel compelled to repeat it: Your garden looks like a lovely oasis. I know it’s easy to say but much harder to accomplish!
I also enjoy your cover image, which I believe is something I haven’t said yet. That smiling sun reminds me of George Harrison, and the smiling frog makes me think of Kermit. Both look charming! :-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Christian, thank you, my plants are like my family more than anything anymore. Starting from scratch on the yard when I moved here in 2011, it’s been a labor of love still in progress.
Thanks so much on the cover image also. Geo Sun was a gift from an old friend, the froggie farmer was a gift from younger son for Mother’s Day, and the butterfly house was a gift from older son for Mother’s Day. That swing was an old castaway from someone that I repurposed :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Impressive. You’ve cultivated a beautiful garden. The baby toms are super cute. I wonder, do Zucchinis grow as quickly as I think they do, or is it just wishful thinking on my part?
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Thanks much, Gia. And YES, they grow fast. A couple of inches a day (or more if weather/water is right.)
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Oh my goodness! That is really fas. That is reason enough to add it to my own future garden. 🤓 Thanks for the info.
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You’re welcome. Zucchini is VERY easy to grow, the vines need quite a bit of space. Tomatoes can easily be grown in containers. I really hope you do have a garden in the future. There is something so affirming about eating food you grow and you know it doesn’t have pesticides on it and you pick it ripe. So much of what we get in supermarkets is picked green and shipped cross country and sprayed with pesticides.
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Oh my! You have marvelous photos. 💗
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Thank you, Jude. The flowers love to pose for me :)
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Wonderful selection, Lisa.
Don’t complain about stamps… Here in Canada, within Canada, it costs us $1.07 (or $1.92 if you buy a booklet or roll); $1.30 for one ounce! It’s $1.30 to send an envelope to the States…
Now, as for your captions. I note that your photos already have titles. For example, the first flower has the caption but when I click on the i in the circle, I see “Resized brown-eyed susan 070723”. I did a test with mine and wrote a super-long caption and when we look at the i, it basically writes my caption twice.
I then went to Dan’s site to see and he also has a title but below it, is the full caption in two lines.
Sooooo… I think there is something in the set up of your photos in the administration of your site. I’ll ask Dan again if he has something in his settings. This is a mystery we will solve…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knew Canada postage wasn’t cheap and I have to buy international stamps for the postcards I send outside of the US. OK good on getting with Dan to see what he does with his captions :)
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No, it is not. Ugh.
Yeah, it’s bugging me now!
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