Friday, May 8, 2015

Cross Pollination, new bread and new blooms

Sometimes  this is a good thing and sometimes it is not!

In the case of my Dame's Rocket it is a good thing.  I started with these:



Then one year I had some white ones.  Since I hadn't  any whites to cross with the purples I am thinking these were self-seeded and the white genes were in the plants.



Now I have some that look like these:



They are all fragrant in the early morning before the sun is up good, probably at night to but I am not out there then to check!  (I am early to bed/early to rise).

 I have been sticking  to the l-2 hours a day trimming until the showers began yesterday and today.
So far, we have just had about 1/2  inch.  We need several inches.

Finally the recommended  Contractor responded with a feasible bid to screen in the dining room porch, lay tile flooring and build a custom screen door. He said it will be about 3 weeks....in the meantime, we will clear cut the honeysuckle vine in his way. It needed to go anyway.  I am very excited about this project.  Now we can enjoy the outdoors without cats and puppies and wasps and other flying creatures and no maple seedlings to sweep up.  I will take before and after pictures.  We will leave the house siding as is in case.......it is just a screened in porch; not another room.
I am delighted. I plan to get a bid on enclosing the very small entrance porch that one person has used in 23 years! I want to make this my tiny computer office. It will be about 4.5x6 and is right off the living room.
Dont know yet if I will have a door to the outside.
5/7/15
I trimmed the garage wall and the east end garden, l hour, put my tools away (DH will be delighted not to have to do that later in the day......) Came in and have a new recipe of oatmeal bread going. Interestingly it calls for a teaspoon of cinnamon to 5.5 cups of flour. I don't think the taste will be significant. The dough looks good and is now in the l hour raising period.
It turned out great; just a faint taste of cinnamon.  The only negative is that loaf is dense right at the bottom crust.  I don't know what causes that.
From 2015-05-08
Each day something new  blooms:
Clematis by old chicken house with Blueberry Bliss iris:  I Think the clematis is 'The President'

My red iris:
Do iris cross pollinate on their own?:  This didn't have the edging before and it is near Wabash:
This was moved from cellar bed where it was buried from view:
 
and iris 'Swingtown' in the wellhouse bed:
The bed is a little bedraggled after the rain:
Lilies will be here shortly.  I see the clematis behind the pony has dropped down.....need to do something about that.
I should have lots of self-seeded poppies later:
This clematis H.F. Young by the garage and near the garden gate
Please note the wall of the garage bed.....this had weeds three feet tall a few days ago.  
 
 








10 comments:

  1. Wow, a lot going on at your farm! Love the cross-breaded flowers. Your other flowers are beautiful too.

    The bread looks good.

    We enclosed our front entry porch, it's about 6 ft. x 8 ft. Does have a door with a paned window on the top half, but we've never used it and it has a marble topped workspace in front of it. This is my computer space and creative space, plus it has 3 - 10 inch deep bookcases filled with books. :-) You'll be amazed at what you can do with a small amount of space.

    You will enjoy your screened in porch too. Looking forward to seeing pictures as you go along.

    Have a lovely weekend dear Glenda ~ Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That made me go measure my porch area and it is l0 feet wide by 5 feet deep. My desk won't fit but he can do a shelf across with two file cabinets under as support. I do hope everything works out.

      Delete
  2. Love the purples. Iris even do strange things like self-pollinating and throwing out a new color. I have one with a HUGE seed pod. I can hardly wait.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never realized that! I wonder do lilies do that also. I swear I have some where I have never planted lilies before...............or I don't remember which is scary!

      Delete
  3. Your flowers are beautiful.

    I hope I don't see the River "run backwards". Thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That New Madrid fault is worrying. We are supposed to feel it even here in the Springfield area.

      Delete
  4. You know, they often mix white Dame's Rocket seed with purple, and they don't always all come up in the same year. Just a thought. But yeah, I think that mottled purple and white IS a cross. Cool!

    Beautiful red iris!

    I know you will love your screened in porch AND your office.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That could be the source of the whites. I now seem to have various shades of purple and whites and nearly pinks.

      Delete
  5. Ooooo, the Iris are beautiful. And what great news on your new porch & office area. I'd love to have a screened in porch, for the same reasons you listed, but also including keeping the chickens & chicken POOP off the porch. Ick.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know what you mean. The minute I turn the chickens loose they come to the back patio area! or the front yard when there is all that green stuff behind the house.

    ReplyDelete