Pine Trees (and Pine Needles and Cones)
There are two large pine trees that live near the carport that grow bigger each year. They rain pine cones and needles that are as much of a hassle as oak leaves ever were. Not only that but their roots are pushing up the part of the driveway that isn’t cement. I appreciate their beauty and the shade they give, but I would not recommend new home owners planting them near their house for all of the above reasons.
The next pic is just a miniscule amount of the pine cones that need to be dealt with. I rake/shovel them into the wheelbarrow and dump them out back. I also have 2 5-gallon buckets full of them for the critters like small red squirrels to eat from. The needles spread everywhere onto the dirt and spoil the pH of it.
Like I said, I love the pine trees. They were here before me and I wouldn’t think of harming them. My ex-boyfriend liked the growth habit of red pine, so I bought some seeds and grew about a dozen. Only 3 survived after my neglect. These were planted out back, far away from the house. The last time I took a pic of them. The first one with the blue line shows approximately the 6-foot mark.
Prickly Pear Cactus
I’ve had it for a few years now and bought it from a plant nursery that provided plants for a conservation district sale. It was small then. It has grown larger. It’s been relocated to a few different places in the yard, but I’ve decided to keep it in a container now. It’s bloomed at least once. I took some lobes off of it last year and am trying to grow new plants. One of the lobes has a baby lobe on it, and the other ones have new needles which tells me they are alive. Once I can put them outside they should take off. FYI prickly pear cactus are a native Michigan species. They have anti-freeze in them that allows them to survive the winter. The original mama plant winters outside but I brought the lobes in to give them a chance to sprout.
Peony
Peonies are, without competition, my favorite flower. I’ve had peony in this yard since moving here. My old place was too shady and they languished. I bought a variety pack after moving here in 2011. They did fabulous for awhile, but the raised bed was overtaken by a noxious invasive. Then the bed got an infestation of ants. It meant digging up the roots and dismantling the bed, but I think it was for the best. Now they are in paper bags, waiting for me to get my … in gear to figure where to put them. I hope they are still alive.
What’s your favorite flower? Do you have cactus where you live?
Tao Talk 
The prickly pears cactus has antifreeze in it?
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Yes. Check this out: https://shuncy.com/article/how-cold-can-prickly-pear-cactus-survive
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When I was a kid…I loved pine cones…I just thought they were the neatest thing ever…mom didn’t after cleaning up my room with a bunch of them.
I didn’t know that about the prickly pears…about surviving the winter.
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lol Max. I can see why your mom wasn’t thrilled with them being in the house. I made a wreathe out of them and that wreathe is immortal :)
Yes, the prickly pears are amazing. Just happened across one out at the beach one day and thought what the heck. It got my interest in them going.
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Immortal lol.
That is so cool about the pricly pears…seems like they are partly immortal
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In India, pine trees mostly grow well in cooler regions and whenever I get a chance I pick a load of them and bring them home for decoration. I didn’t know having them in the garden could be such a hassle. Your trees look very beautiful though. Peonies are such pretty flowers, we don’t often see them here. So many beautiful colours and those petals !
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Good to know about the pines, Fatima. Yes, they are beautiful and they have a beautiful gingery fragrance.
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Anti freeze! I never knew that. I used to have a lot of cacti indoors but one apartment had something they did not like and they all died. I haven’t tried this place yet, but maybe I should.
It’s so hard to pick a favorite flower. I do like peonies as well. I like to draw irises.
I really like pine forests, but I’m not sure I would want to deal with all those needles and pine cones in my yard! (K)
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Anti freeze is pretty amazing for a plant. The one thing all cacti hate is wet soil. It will kill them quicker than anything. I know that fungus gnats love Christmas cactus roots also. I think drawing iris would be very challenging. Will you please post some of your iris drawings sometime?
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Lovely! Thank you for finding them.
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You’re welcome!
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I do love the smell of pine, and the blooms on the cactus are striking. My favorite flower are frangipanis!
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Brenda, I’ve seen those at Meijer Gardens in the tropical conservatory. They are gorgeous!
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Hi Li, I enjoyed learning more about you through this post. One’s approach to gardening and views about what grows does reflect a lot about them. And how fun to have those three baby pines to watch grow – and to change with you in the coming seasons. At our last house, we planted a bunch of stuff in 2008 and it was like a time gauge as we watched things grow.
The prickly pear sounds like a fun thing to explore propagation with and I could really relate to the pine trees because – get this – we have more than 20 surrounding our corner lot. I counted 24 last month but I am not sure exactly where the property line ends. I did not realize that the needles and cones impact the ph for the soil (makes sense) but I do know the needles make a terrible mulch (not that good and becomes a mildew and mold source) and I 100% agree to warn new homeowners to not plant pines too close to the house. Wr believe the ones on our lot were planted in early 1950s….. sigh –
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Your comment is appreciated, Prior. It sounds like they are far away enough from the house to not cause you too much hassle? I’ve seen that mold in the piles when picking the old ones up.
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Yes, they are far enough away, but some of them worry me. anyhow, we get what we get and do they best we can….
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This is so lovely! My favourite flowers are roses (cliché, I know, but their beauty and prickliness at the same time is so poetic) but I don’t keep them. I tried, but learned that they are rather hard to take care of and I’m only a beginner. So I started collecting little inside trees. I did plant a cherry tree in a pot for our terras (we don’t have a garden). But my favourite tree is my Polyscias.
The prickly pear cactus is really interesting. A plant with anti freeze, cool! Really enjoyed this read, it’s always nice to know what fellow plant lovers are up to.
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Thank you, Kat. I love roses. The only rose I’ve had is the one that was growing here when we moved in in 2011. It is a beauty and smells so good! I think you should at least try one and see what happens.
Very awesome on the terras trees. I just looked at Polyscias pics and it looks like their leaves are almost waxy? Lots of variety in variegation with them from the pics.
Agreed on the prickly pear being interesting. If I hadn’t happened across them on the beach I never would have known anything about them.
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They are really beautiful. I think I might give it another try this year. I’ve become much smarter about plants by now. Still have a lot to learn though.
It’s the Polyscias Scutellaria. They’re my favourite. I now have one on my desk about half a meter tall. Most plants I have are trees. :)
You seem to have a lot of interesting plants growing around where you live! Nothing like that here.
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Cool, Kat. A lot does grow here, but our growing season is fairly short, from about May to October.
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The prickly pear is wonderful – and how cool to see it in bloom. I wouldn’t have guessed it could survive a Michigan winter – nature is so amazing!
Peonies are a favorite of mine, too. Such unapologetic lush abundance – the flowers always make me smile and feel grateful.
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Yes on all!
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Peonies are dramatically beautiful, aren’t they? Growing up, because of my grandmother’s appalachian accent, I thought they were called “pineys” and it was a shock to me the first time I saw the word. @samanthabwriter from Balancing Act
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Thanks for sharing that story :)
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I’m fascinated to learn that prickly pear have antifreeze and are native to Michigan. That explains how someone in our neighborhood in Massachusetts has one in their yard, which I think looks really funny, and I never understood how it survives!
https://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com
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Yes, it is fascinating isn’t it. You have to be careful where you plant them. They can spread and if you have pets it could be a problem. I think keeping them in containers is safest, but if you have it fenced off it might be ok.
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Our favourite flowers are the peonies. We just published a post about.
We have several cacti in our garden. We were given them, but they are not our favourites. Even when in bloom, they don’t seem harmonious.
Keep well
The Fab Four of Cley
:-) :-) :-) :-)
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Peonies are also my favorites, each step of their way. Had no idea the plants could live so long.
I do like the prickly pear, a native Michigan species, but they will always be a plant apart because of their spines. Believe it or not there is a toad living among the new sprouting lobes (lobes taken from the mother plant and growing in small containers now.) When I’m back from hiatus I’ll post pics.
Thank you for reading and your comment.
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We are looking forward to your pics :-)
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:)
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