Thought I would begin a thread for "Other Than Gessie Photo's" for July since I don't see one yet.
One of my Plumeria's has one bloom and it smells heavenly! I got about 9 of these from sweet Susan51 ... oops, well now she's TurtleChi. A few of the plants froze this past winter but a I think there are 4 that survived and are looking good.
One of my Cordyline's is blooming.
Hoya brevialata
Very pretty, Lin!
Thanks Nichole!
Kong Coleus ...
Another not so great picture but this is Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' in full bloom
Wow, how did you ever grow that small leafed Hoya brevialata that big? That is amazing!
Lin, the pictures are great! I love Plumeria's. My hubby has two, smells so yummy!
Nice pics, Lin. I had brevialata too, a few years ago I left it outdoors too late in the fall, found out too late they don't like cooler temps. Mine never bloomed, though.
Gail, you can find full size brevialatas at HD and Lowes sometimes.
Thanks
It is so hot I haven't even looked at nursery the last two months. Today the heat index is already over 108 degrees..........just miserable to get out of the house.
Yes, I get sick when I go outside. I am staying in. Dangerous stuff.
Lovely pictures Lin!!
Gail and Sally,be careful in that heat!! It's bad enough here and very humid.I don't know what the index is,but temps. are in the 90's. A big thunderstorm came through Tuesday night.The only damage I had was my huge Fan Flower basket was blown out of the pot. It was nothing but roots,so I planted it in a big pot sitting on the ground.
Sally, this IS really getting dangerous as never before. I just talked to a friend in Houston who said it is actual temps of 106. I have big cracks around my house that are 3" wide, so now I am trying to keep the sprinklers on when it is not so hot........afraid my foundation is going to move and walls start cracking.
This summer heat is really awful, very oppressive ... and summer really just began, we've got a long way to go before it cools down a bit, it's not uncommon for us to be warm in October! Thank goodness for AC! Last month we were having upper 90's with heat indexes in triple digits. I don't remember it being this hot in years!
Gail, was it you saying y'all were needing rain badly? If it's been real dry there with severe drought conditions I think you should watch the cracks and also the ground around the outside of your house. I think Texas has problems with sinkholes like Florida and when you mentioned cracks that's the first thing that came to my mind! I have been complaining about all the rain we've been having but it's better than the severe droughts and possibilities of sinkholes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole
Thanks for reminding me Lin...........need to run outside right now and turn the sprinklers on................can't do it during the day because of the heat............
It has been hot here too, but we had all those weeks of rain so I am not too sick of the heat yet...mainly because the humidity has been lower than usual. Mornings and evenings are cool. Unusual for the northeast, typically our summers are very humid. Still, I am not one for the warm weather. I avoid going outdoors midday. I like it cool, I like fall and winter and rainy days. I think I have that Seasonal Affective Disorder, but instead of being depressed when the daylight hours shorten and it gets colder, I am the opposite, I get depressed when the days are long and the sun is endlessly shining. Nothing like sunlight and blue skys to make me miserable.
But yes, all of you in the REALLY hot places take care of yourselves and stay hydrated when the temps go up!
My husband's eldest brother and his wife live in the Syracuse N.Y. area and I remember many years ago my sister in law telling me that sometimes in winter they go many, many weeks without seeing the sun shine! She was born, raised and has lived in that area her entire life, she's almost 80 and says it gets very depressing with so many days of dreary, wet weather. I know I would definitely suffer from SAD in that situation.The older I get the more the humidity really bothers me but I can't imagine living someplace where the sun doesn't shine for weeks! Guess I've been in Florida too long, huh?
Oh ... I drink so much water I'm surprised I'm not floating! ^_^
I lived in the mountains of New Mexico for 11 years and I had the seasonal affective disorder but just the same as Lin's sister in law. I loved the snow all winter long and stayed up all night the first time it snowed in October. By March I was so depressed that we were still getting snow that I almost went to bed and slept my life away.
The only reason I could stay up there for 11 years was that my entire house was full of gro lights . Never have I ever had that many gro lights on all winter long to keep me sane.........by the time I could put them in the ground from seed they were half grown (LOL)
Gail, the local news talked about foudation problems being really bad now in homes. We keep watering. The weather tonight talked about having to wait two more months, THEN rainy. El Nino I believe. That is a long wait.
My brother pays for some kind of special weather equipment as most farmers do. He is saying the same thing you just said about no rain for two more month. Don't know how long we can wait....
Yes, it is a long time, but I DO hope at least a wetter pattern will begin then.
I worry about the wild animals, big old trees, Live Oaks... Farmers, ranchers, of course. Very serious. Water lake levels are going so fast.
Sally, are you all on water restrictions? I have had several people ask me and I don't really know because I wouldn't be restricted where I live anyway.........out of the city limits and I don't even know where my water comes from other than Rincon is the name of the company who supplies us.
Oh, my....You all have it bad right now! Isn't that when the wild fires pop up?
Connie
No, not yet. No talk yet that I know of.
Yes. Fires can happen. No fireworks were allowed even out of town. They are always not allowed in the city thankfully.
I truly wish you all some relief. Sally, saw some of your underwater creations earlier. You are truly talented!!!
Thank you. It is SO much fun sharing photos here and seeing everyone's plants etc.
Still cool and wet up here--everyone is wondering what happened to summer! Was in the 40's again last night! Hope you get some rain sooner than 2 months!
HD Mini Dendrobium NoID--an almost constant bloomer!
I don't have a garden--took these walking around the property where I live.
Bees
Dahlia
Phoebe, what wonderful pictures. I love the bees!
Love the Bees on the Salvia! Great pic!
You must have good shutter speed on your camera. That pic should be in a magazine...EXCELLENT!!!! Even the wings on the bee show up.
Love that white orchid!! I got one in a trade and I saw the first glimpse of what will be blooms and they are white........so excited!
The wings show better on these shots Aspenjocop....
This message was edited Jul 10, 2009 9:15 PM
Amazing, Phoebe. It is so close and the pic is so crisp and clear.
Phoebe,
She isn't going to be like your dynamite orchid, but she is just starting to bloom........
Now see, Gail, you can take them too. I tried to get a close up on an a.v. bloom earlier and it just wouldn't turn out. Part of the problem was the lighting but it just wasn't as crisp as yours and Phoebes. I eventually need to buy another camera with more pixels.
My computer tech used to be a professional photographer and he tell me it is not the pixel count that is important...........he says you don't need more than 6 maximum to take good pics.......
You just have to have a macro setting or lense (I don't put the macro lense on......just turn the setting to the little flower and not automatic for close up pics).
Our club president takes photos at all the conventions and she doesn't use her fancy pancy camera.............just a small one by Cannon.........will ask her what it is.........and get back to you...........
I know I have a macro setting on mine and I was using auto. That is probably what the problem is, Gail. I have a Sony Cybershot 6 pixel camera. It takes good clear pics in gerneral. I need to figure out the macro on this. You have solved another dilema! Thanks!
