The Garden

[PHOBoS]

no idea why this thread has >250K views but this is reply #600

[PHOBoS]

IT'S WORLD BEE DAY 2024 AND THERE ARE NO BEES


as far as I can remember I always enjoyed nature, both plants and animals. I believe there is a photo or more likely slide somewhere of
a very young me holding a Goldcres in my hands that I had found. Not sure if it was actually still alive at that point, it probably wasn't doing
so well if I could hold it. If I can locate it I might upload it but in the meantime here's one of me holding a hedgehog:

I am not sure when this photo was taken but it must have been somewhere in the '80s

I was lucky to grow up at a time where it was normal to go outside alone and unsupervised as long as you were home in time for dinner,
or when the streetlights came on if it was in the evening. I don't have a lot of memories of those days but throughout my life there
have been several stages where I would end up hanging around in nature. I do have a memory of when I was in primary school and there
was a spider in the classroom which the teacher stepped on to kill it, I hated her ever since. Years later when I heard she passed away
I smiled, finally justice for that poor spider. I also have some faint memories of school excursions into nature, trying to identify
plants and insects. Probably some of the very few days in school that I actually enjoyed.

My parents always had a garden and I remember that in the house I grew up there was a huge (at least for little me) Monstera plant
and a very large 'cactus' which I am pretty sure was a Euphorbia trigona. There were also some pets at that time, including turtles,
guinea pigs and small birds. Thinking back at those it's clear now that they didn't grow up under the best conditions, I guess times
were different. My first pet was a mouse, I actually wanted a rat but my parents didn't like the idea of that. I've had 2 mice in total
and later a pair of gerbils but, well,.. let's just say I wasn't the best caretaker. These days I don't like the idea of pets anymore.
I do usually share my apartment with a couple of small spiders but those just live their own life here.

There is some more info on the first page of this thread on how I got into growing plants but I am not sure what the first plant
was that was actually mine, maybe a small cactus ?. I know I was fascinated by Venus Flytraps before ever seeing one in real life.
As far as I was aware they weren't readily available, at least not as they are now. At some point I did manage to get my hands
on one and I grew a couple of carnivorous plants at the time. Most of them being different Drosera varieties. They didn't last
a very long time though but I did have some luck with a one of the Droseras which thrived outside in a section of my dad's pond.
I would love to grow some carnivorous plants again but I now know much more about the care they require and it's far from easy.

but let's get back to the bees, after all
IT'S WORLD BEE DAY 2024 AND THERE ARE NO BEES

I am not sure which year it was that I first noticed them but I spotted an insect (didn't even know it was a bee) crawling into my
bamboo windchime. Somewhere between that day and when this photo was taken in 2017...

.. I figured out they were mason bees and got interested in them.
You can find out more info about them and how more bees appeared scattered throughout this thread.

In 2017 I also build a new bee nesting box that was quickly approved by the bees

in the following years there were always a couple of weeks in spring when my balcony would be buzzing with bees.
At any given time during the day there would be a bunch of them flying around and things were looking good.

At least until 2020,...

Most people will probably recall 2020 as the year of covid and lock downs, but I wasn't really affected by that. Work just continued
as normal and I don't have a social life anyway so I didn't even notice any lock downs. My life wouldn't have changed much if it
wasn't for the fact that the apartment building got an 'upgrade'. (which did get delayed a bit because of covid so in that regard I
was affected by it) One side effect of said upgrade was that I had to clear out my entire balcony which lasted for more than a year.
I was able to move the bee nesting boxes (incl. bees) and some plants over to my parents place but things didn't go well.
I know a woodpecker used it as a snack box and I don't know if anything else happened but when I got them back early in 2021
there weren't many bees left, if any at all.

This first year after getting them back I just waited to see what happened,. are there still bees ? do new bees arrive ?
I didn't even mention anything about them in this thread because I was too devastated by it.

Having hardly seen any bees I decided that the next year (2022) would be a good idea to clean out the nesting box to remove any
possible bee remains and also get rid of mites and or parasites that could have taken up residence in it. Of course I couldn't do
that if there might still be some bees from 2021 in there so I came up with the plan to close the holes off with rolling paper.
It's thin enough that any bee inside would be able to easily chew through it but at the same time it should deter any new bees
from nesting. This appeared to have worked remarkably well. (or maybe it was just the lack of bees)



To compensate for the lack of nesting space I created rolled up paper tubes for them to nest in instead. Also a healthier way to keep
mason bees as these can easily be removed and cleaned out. They didn't get a lot of attention though, as a matter of fact I don't think
any bees nested in it or not that I could tell. At least I was now able to give the wooden nesting box a thorough clean, which involved
redrilling the holes and cleaning with boiling water.

That already brings us to last year (2023). Empty tubes, empty nesting box, there might still have been a couple bees that found another
suitable place (like my bamboo wind chime) but things were not looking good. Some bees showed up though and now they did show interest
in my handcrafted nesting tubes. There was only a small amount that got occupied but when I cleaned out the tubes I still found about
80 cocoons:

They did hatch sooner than I hoped and I definitely wasn't expecting them to hatch while still in my fridge but I couldn't keep
them inside any longer. Once outside I occasionally checked on them and it still took a couple more weeks before the rest hatched.
After that I think I've only seen 2 or 3 bees on my balcony but that's about it.


IT'S WORLD BEE DAY 2024 AND THERE ARE NO BEES

so what do I think has happened ? This is speculation but I think there are a couple of things at play here.
Cleaning the wooden nesting box might have made it initially unattractive. I didn't use any soap but maybe it's too clean/fresh ?!
That would only account for the lack of bees the first year though and the few bees that did show up nested in it again this year.
Similarly, the paper tubes might have been too clean or maybe had some human scent, I am not sure but they were approved
last year so they should be ok.

but I did notice something else,..

The tubes that did get used were all in the same area which is also exactly the section that gets the most sun. You can see that area
line up perfectly with the sunlight in this photo:

Since the apartment makeover I do have a LOT less sun on my balcony so that could have something to do with it. They are
mounted on what's mostly a north facing wall though (it's slightly facing towards the west and does get a bit of late afternoon sun)
so although a lot of the rest of my balcony gets less sun I don't think that wall is much affected by it directly.
However, that wall did get insulated on both sides (that's why it now looks so ugly and grey instead of just having nice bricks)
and it could be that the sun would normally heat it up from the other, south-facing, side.

Another reason for a lack of bees and probably has a bigger impact is the change in climate. As I have mentioned before there was
a short period of warm weather early on which caused the bees to hatch, followed by a long period of wet and cold weather. There might
have even been some frost. This is only part of the problem though. What makes it worse is that when the bees hatch early there is
hardly any food available. There simply isn't much of a habitat left for wild life, it all gets destroyed. I think that might have also been
a reason why I am not seeing much bees around here anymore (I could be wrong though).

Part of that apartment make-over also involved removing most of the plants across the street of my balcony.
The border in the back that you can see on this photo:
note: that tree just snapped because of the wind, removing it wasn't part of the make-over

has been completely removed. It's just bare soil now with a couple of "weeds". Again, I might be wrong but that border was always
covered with yellow flowers in early spring and I think it's where the bees got most of their pollen and nectar from.
Maybe something new will be planted there in the future but I doubt it. They also just mowed the grass again a couple of days
ago wich was covered with dandelions and daisies. yeah, fuck flowers,..

I'll continue in another post but for now I'll leave you with this video from last year



Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

IT'S WORLD BEE DAY 2024 AND THERE ARE NO BEES

[PHOBoS]

A quick detour inside where something is happening that I didn't even know was a possibility.
But before I get to that here's a photo of my Peace Lily from 2020.
This was the first year (apart from when I purchased it) that it produced a flower.

I got it as one of those small plants in a 5cm pot. I now know that a lot of those small plants can become quite large plants.

In the photo you can see that it was placed against a wall (inside my kitchen) and was only getting light from the side.
I have since moved things around a bit and it is now positioned directly behind the window.
It still only gets light from one side but more of it and it seems to be quite happy with that.
It hasn't flowered (yet) this year but here's a photo of how it looks now after a refreshing spa day.

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[blue hell]

[PHOBoS]

I cleared out part of my kitchen window sill which created more room for,..
...did you guess it was plants ? because it's definitely plants.
It's not very wide though so I wanted something that could grow tall but not wide.

the first thing that came to mind (besides cacti) was a Sansevieria aka Snake plant.
I haven't always liked them but I think that had more to do with how I've seen them used as a decorative object
planted in a white pot as part of a modern minimalist decor. Put them in a terracotta pot combined with other plants
and they already look a lot more attractive to me. That was actually the only plant I came up with so I placed it on
my wishlist.

Another thing I had been thinking about was growing Ivy inside. After all it grows great in low light conditions outside
so why not try it inside, maybe with some supports across the wall. It was after watching this video* that I found just
the right plant. A plant I was actually somewhat familiar with but never paid much attention to when it was called Pothos.
* I'll come back to that youtube channel later

However, hearing it being called "Devil's Ivy" made my pointy ears perk up.
also seeing it growing along the wall in that video helped quite a bit to get my attention.

To give a better example, here's what you can do with Pothos Devil's Ivy.

(there's also a nice example at the start of this video and you can find lots more)

[PHOBoS]

And now for the part I was getting exited about

[PHOBoS]

[PHOBoS]

to come back to this:

[PHOBoS]

there was a bit of buzzing on my balcony today. The first Phacelia opened up and I spotted a bumblebee on it.
It also visited the Solanum dulcamara which has quite a lot of (closed) flower buds and always gets a lot of attention from bumblebees.
Even the small Delosperma flowers got a visit.

I think the Lavender flowers are also getting close to opening up and all of them combined should provide a feast for (bumble)bees.
I wish it was sunnier though, these overcast rainy days are getting tiresome and my plants could do with some more sunshine.

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20240521 - Phacelia tanacetifolia - 06.jpg
Description:	first flower opened up. They are rather small this year, maybe overcrowding, maybe lack of sun or too much rain but I did count about 70 of them.
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[PHOBoS]

a bit more info about flowering Dracaena fragrans here: https://laidbackgardener.blog/2017/01/11/when-a-corn-plant-blooms/

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[PHOBoS]

[PHOBoS]

the flower stalk on the Dracaena has now reached a length of ±50cm.

The Peace Lily is also starting to develop a flower, they might even open up around the same time.

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[PHOBoS]

More of the Phacelia flowers have opened up and are being visited by buzzy friends.
The Lavender flowers are also opening up and together with the climbing nightshade add more purple to the palette.


I was curious if there is a white version of the climbing nightshade and I did find this photo:

So it does exist but apparently it's rare.

I did also find something else; Solanum jasminoides 'Album', which is also referred to as a climbing nightshade.
The flowers are different though, resembling potato flowers (it's also known as potato vine) and the berries turn blue/black instead of red.

I suspect they messed with the saturation a bit on this photo

Apparently there are also variegated varieties which have similar leaf colors (green/gold) as the Ivy that I recently got.
I have to look into availability but I think it might be nice if I could grow it on the right side of my balcony where I am currently
growing the Thunbergia alata (which has started to pick up the pace)

edit: apparently there is also a variegated Solanum dulcamara

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[PHOBoS]

hiding behind a leaf I found a tiny yellow flower on the Epimedium 'Flowers of Sulphur'.
I wasn't really expecting it to flower this year and could have easily missed it.
it's a bit smaller than I expected but it makes sense for a plant that is also known as "Fairy wings"
and in dutch as "Elfenbloem" which translate to fairy flower.

There is also more yellow added by the Hyoscyamus albus aka white Henbane.
It's a bit odd to me that it has yellow flowers but albus in the name instead of lutea.

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[PHOBoS]

this might give a better sense of scale. ruler is in cm.

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[PHOBoS]

it's happening at this very moment

I did read online that the fragrance is quite strong and indeed,
I could smell that the flowers had began to open before I even saw it.

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[PHOBoS]

outside some things are happening too.
It always sneaks up on me a bit because seedlings often seem to take forever to start growing.
So while I am cheering those on, other plants that I am not paying as much attention too are already getting larger.

One of those seedlings is the Tithonia rotundifolia aka Mexican Sunflower which was sown on the 7th of April and
although it sprouted within a couple of days didn't grow very fast. I noticed this week that it has started to pick
up the pace and the leaves (which are really soft btw) are getting larger. I did have a mild heart attack last month
when I was looking up some videos about it and saw all these gigantic plants, for example this one:


somehow I had in my mind that it would grow similar to a regular sunflower with a long stalk and a single or maybe
a couple flowers, but only to about about 50~70cm and with smaller flowers (roughly the size that they actually are).
I checked on the site I got the seeds from and indeed it mentioned 70cm. Apparently there is also a 'dwarf' variety
which is mostly likely what I am growing. It could still get pretty bushy though with a lot of flowers and I am curious
how it will do on my balcony without a lot of sun and in a relatively small pot.
I also planted 4 of the Tagetes patula "Disco Red" (French Marigold) seedlings at the base of it which should have a
similar color scheme.

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[PHOBoS]

As I mentioned the Thunbergia alata (aka Black-eyed Susan vine) has started to pick up the pace and so have the
Ipomoea purpurea 'Venice Pink' (aka Morning glories). Once those have all grabbed onto the small trellis I will turn
the pot back around and maybe add some strings or extra bamboo canes for them to wind onto.

The Hyoscyamus albus (aka White Henbane) is starting to get some nice large leaves but isn't doing as well as last
year around this time. Could be the age or just the shitty weather. I am hoping that the seedlings growing below it
will get large enough to survive the winter so they can become the new plants for next year.

Solanum dulcamara is looking quite impressive. I didn't cut it back as far as usual and there is a lot of early bushy
growth at the ends of the branches. I'll probably cut it back further again next year so it's a bit less dense with larger
leaves.

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[PHOBoS]

The railing planters are also growing in nicely

I was afraid the herbs might rot away with all the rain and lack of sun we've had but they all have a very healthy green color
with both the Lavender and Thyme flowering. Haven't spotted any flowers on the Rosemary but there does seem to be some kind
of black-tie aphid party going on, on one of the stems.

next to it (out of view) is a planter that is for the most part overrun with Sedum rupestre. I'll have to think about what to do with
that one next year. The Sedum looks great but I can't actually see it. Maybe if it flowers and it sends up long stalks but I'd rather
grow something else in there. I guess if I continue the herbs then Salvia officinalis (common sage) would be a likely candidate
and maybe a Origanum variety.

The alpine gutter is slowly getting covered. I'll probably leave it alone for now unless I come across something that would fit in
or maybe if I have to remove something from the other alpine planter. Hmm,. looking at the photo I might put something between
those two patches of green sempervivum while there is still space.

The strawberry planter has 1 strawberry plant in the back that is doing great and even has some strawberries on it, 2 plants that
are small but will probably do ok and 1 plant that is barely holding on. I think I might have planted them a little it too deep and
combined with all the rain the crown may have gotten too wet. I dug away the top layer of soil around them and filled it up with
coco coir ground cover so it doesn't stay so wet while also providing a bit of air circulation.

It doesn't matter much If they don't make it. They're only good for a couple of years and I don't mind having a variety of things
in there. I am currently keeping my eyes open for some Strasberries which apparently tastes like a mix between strawberry
and raspberry. Some lettuce might grow ok in there as well and maybe I can find something else that's edible and could fit in.

There are also 2 Borago officinalis 'Alba' plants in there (and 2 more in small pots that have since been removed) which appear
to be happy. They can grow up to ±50cm and with the available root space and amount of light they receive I am curious how tall
they will get. (also edible btw)

And there are 3 of the Tagetes patula "Disco Red" plants in there which were sown much earlier than the ones I planted together
with the mexican sunflower and these already have flower buds.

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[PHOBoS]

I mostly post the things that appear to do well but it's not all rainbows and unicorns. As I have mentioned before I am quite skilled
in unintentionally killing plants.

I already mentioned Digitalis x mertonensis (Foxglove) that lost most of it's leaves due to the jar of peanut butter falling on it.
I initially thought it would still be ok but I am glad I got a replacement because it appears to be completely dead now. That one
hasn't flowered yet though and knowing that foxgloves are biannuals I was starting to wonder if I have to wait until next year in
which case it might not survive because I get even better at killing plants during the winter months. Well, Maybe not,..
If it was a Digitalis purpurea than it would likely not produce any flowers this year but apparently the Digitalis x mertonensis is a
bit different and flowers in June/July. Considering the relatively cold and wet weather we've had so far it's still a possibility.
Apparently it's also more of a short lived perennial and can live for a couple of years (2~5).

Calamintha grandiflora might still manage to pull through but I doubt it. Just like last year it was doing ok and then all of a sudden
started to wilt. I planted it in a very well draining soil mixture but when I removed it from the pot I found out that the soil it's grown
in retained a lot of moisture resulting in a soggy rootball. At least now I know in case I'll order another one.

Impatiens 'New Guinea' has also started to wilt. The soil didn't feel very wet but maybe that one actually got a bit too dry.
I did make some cuttings from the sections that had started to wilt and what's left might still pull through.

Aruncus aethusifolius (dwarf goat's beard) is barely hanging on. Too bad because I really like it last year and it was still doing ok
a couple moths ago. I think it stayed too wet for too long.

One of the Waldsteinia ternata plants has died. The other one is still alive and has some new leaves.

Lamium maculatum didn't make it but 3/5 cuttings did root.

Lewisia cotyledon 'sunset' has been losing most leaves but also growing new ones,. not sure yet what's going on with it.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Purple Pixie' appears to be on its way out.


There are also various seedlings that didn't make it (including the lupines) but that's to be expected.

[PHOBoS]

What does one do when plants start dying? buy more plants of course!

I wasn't really planning on getting more plants this year although I did pre-order.. checks notes,..
130 spring bulbs last week but those are technically for next year (they should arrive in October this year)


I needed some tubing from the hardware store for a water feature idea I had (more about that later) and
while looking at the plant section on the website I spotted an Aruncus aethusifolius (dwarf goat's beard).
Only 1 left in stock though so I didn't get my hopes up in actually getting it (those numbers aren't always
very accurate) but the weather was nice so I decided to have a look and at least get the tubing.

I did not find the dwarf goat's beard but did find the 'normal' one which gets much taller (±120cm). I assumed
that the one on the site might not have been a dwarf goat's beard after all and gave up on that endeavor.
(I looked it up again when I got home and it should really be a dwarf and there is still 1 in stock)

That didn't stop me from buying some other plants though.


I recently moved 2 of the lilies back against the wall and combined with the Impatiens, tiger lillies, the mexican sunflower,
coleus and the bamboo canes (+ jute rope) it has started to look somewhat like a tropical corner. I also refurbished the
'voodoo stick' which looks a bit like a pirate prop as well.

Since I am not sure if the Impatiens will pull through and even if it does it might still struggle I decided to just get a new one.
This is a bright red one which combines nice with all the other red things I seem to have going on. I did plant the ol' pink one
in the same pot so if it survives it'll be a nice bright red/pink flower combo. Of course it's also possible that they will both die.

Another replacement I got is a Fuchsia. Well, not so much a replacement as the one I have is still doing ok and flowering
but it did lose a substantial part shortly after I got it because of by what I assume was the pigeon trampling over it.
It also seems to be growing more horizontally than upright though I am pretty sure I didn't pick a trailing variety.
I planted the new one close to it so they appear to blend together. This new one should have a different flower color, at least
if the color on the pot is correct (purple instead of pink), but I can't tell yet because it doesn't have any open flowers.
It does have a lot of buds though.
while I planted it I also checked the Helleborus and Cyclamen that are growing in the same pot. They are dormant
right now but both of them appear to be alive

another shrubbery! foxglove

The one I already have might still flower later on but this one is flowering now. I also counted roughly 10 more flower stalks
on it so it might keep going for a while. Even though it does have so many flower stalks it's actually pretty compact and it fits
in really nicely between the other plants

I did mention before that I was thinking about growing more herbs in the railing planter that currently has the Sedum rupestre
in it so I had a quick look at what's currently available. I found a nice pink Salvia and I believe the other one is a kind of Nepeta.
They don't label these plants properly but the Salvia might be a Salvia nemorosa 'Rose Queen' or Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna Pink'.
Either way I am pretty sure it's a Salvia nemorosa. The Nepeta might be Nepeta racemosa at the very least it's some kind of mint.

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[PHOBoS]

just a peek,..

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[PHOBoS]

[PHOBoS]

I have been jamming some coleus plants in available spaces outside but at the same time I also still have 15 plants inside.
These have been growing under new (cheap) LED grow lights I recently bought. I have a set of 6 but only used 3 and the coleus
really seem to appreciate it. They're growing really compact but the leaves are now getting to a size that I can't keep them
inside much longer. It's quite a difference in size with the ones that have been growing outside and those where actually the
best looking ones.

Something that is a bit odd is that they all have muted colors and generally all look the same.
I think I used the same seedmix as in 2022 which resulted in this:

If I remember correct those were grown under different LED lights that are not actually grow lights (DMX PARs).
Maybe it has something to do with the light spectrum but then I'd expect the ones from outside to look different.
It could also be less of a mix this time and maybe they will change a bit once they get more sunlight.

I have already replaced the ones in the small hanging planter as they were not only small but also had some bird damage.
While I was at it I filled the center spot with a spare borage plant.

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[PHOBoS]

What doesn't have muted colors is the Tagetes patula 'disco red'

When they initially opened they didn't look as bright red as I was expecting
but I think they just needed a some extra time or bright sun or maybe both.

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