Geranium Blog

Austin Wildlife

An army of armadillos

A ghostly army of stampeding armadillos decorates the outside of Threadgill's on Barton Springs Road in Austin, TX. This restaurant stands very, very near the location of the well-loved and long-gone Armadillo World Headquarters.

We are still on vacation in Texas. We took the kids to Schlitterbahn, a water park, in New Braunfels. Then we went to Austin to visit family and touch base with our redneck hippy roots.

Scary bug

Aren't you glad your garden isn't infested with these? This bug resides outside Threadgill's as well. It used to be a sign for an Austin exterminator company and was frequently "kidnapped".

Have you ever seen so many pink flamingos?

This flock was sighted at Hwy. 360 and Bee Cave Rd. I think if it weren't for the flamingos, nobody would ever notice the nursery on the corner.

More Mutant Madness

All from the same vine

The mutant squash madness continues with all three of these squash coming from the same vine. The yellow summer squash on the right is normal. The yellow summer squash on the left is overgrown but normal. The green one in the middle is overgrown and just plain strange. It never was yellow. It just got real big real fast. My mother-in-law cut out the seeds and steamed it and it tasted just like regular summer squash. The picture below with the Pepsi can will give you an idea of its size.

Mega-squash

Texas Sunflowers

Wild sunflowers

My son, William, took these pictures on the farm especially for "Mom's blog". These are the wildflower kind of sunflowers that are all over the countryside in Brown County, Texas.

Sunflowers line the dirt road

ABC News Wants Your Global Warming Stories!

ABC News is out to "prove" the pseudo-science of global warming. They even have a nice little form to make it easy for citizen reporters to send in their stories. What I want to know is how they can tell if something is caused by global warming and not by a variety of other factors!

Here is my global warming horror story:

Water keeps evaporating out of my swimming pool. Also, 2 or 3 weeks ago, mushrooms came up in my Erodium reichardii. And during the summer, I have to water my garden a lot more than in fall, winter or spring. Spooky!

Siamese Squash Twins

Yellow summer squash Siamese twins

These two squash are fused together on the side. They were grown by my father-in-law in Brownwood, Texas - where we are right now on vacation. He says this is the second set of "twins" he's had this year!

I am Sunshine!

Now doesn't this make perfect sense? Especially since I live in Las Vegas and my name is Dawn!

You Are Sunshine

Soothing and calm You are often held up by others as the ideal But too much of you, and they'll get burned You are best known for: your warmth Your dominant state: connecting

Still Blooming in June

Pelargonium 'Sandalwood' (woodsy scented)

Sandalwood Geranium is outblooming every other scented geranium in the yard! It's normal for them to slow down in the heat of the summer, but Sandalwood just isn't ready for a rest! It is in the shade most of the day except for about 2-3 hours of sun.

Others still blooming - a bit more modestly - are P. 'Old Scarlet Unique' (pungent), P. 'Mexican Sage' (spicy) and P. 'Brilliant' (pineapple). Two more that have just never quit since I got them is P. ionidiflorum (celery) and P. odoratissimum (apple).

Taking the Bait

Pink Zonal Geranium - Geranium - Geranium

Usually I ignore blog postings I consider "wacked". If somebody dislikes pink flowers, they are welcome to their opinion. If somebody hates geraniums and their smell, then perhaps that's one of the little known differences between Canadians and Americans. Live and let live. But today I feel like deviating from my rule.

Jungle Jim of Scenic Nursery explains to us that a pelargonium is not a geranium. YAWN. He says, "Everyone knows what a geranium is. Right? Wrong! A saying I repeat often is 'It isn't what you don't know that causes problems. It's what you do know that isn't true that causes problems.'"

Who was it that said it is difficult to garden with a stick up your butt?

And what problem does it cause to call a pelargonium a geranium? It makes it hard for Jim to explain to his design clients what he wants to put in their garden! Horrors. Show them a picture and call it a blue flower bush.

Okay, so maybe I've become a bit dehydrated from outdoor gardening activity. Maybe I'm still suffering the effects of finding out I'm an Echinacea. Maybe I'm still holding a grudge against Geranium sanguineum. It remains a fact that Geranium is the customary nickname of the plant correctly known as Pelargonium.

Deal with it.

I am Hysterical!

Or perhaps I should say my inner flower is hysterical. I took the test at This Garden Is Illegal. My first thought when I found out I was an Echinacea was, "I would never grow that!" And didn't we just learn not long ago that Echinacea is useless against colds? At least it is pink! Here is the description that came with the pronouncement: "You are a health conscious person, both your health and the health of others. You know all about the health benefits and dangers of the world around you." I wouldn't call my self health-conscious, but exercise is my primary excuse for leaving other work undone when I go outside to garden. Also, it is true that I know what is best for everyone and have been known to tell them about it. If only they would listen!

I am an Echinacea What Flower Are You?

A Scientific Geranium Question

Pelargonium x fragrans 'Nutmeg' with red leaves (March 18, 2006)

Ronnie from the U.K. asks: Why do some geranium leaves turn an "autumnal" red now, June but others do not?

My answer: The different varieties of Pelargoniums often have very unique characteristics. The red leaves could be a response to some kind of stress like sudden change in the weather (hot days and cold nights). If the plant is otherwise healthy, there is nothing in particular to be done about it, but enjoy the show.

I am wondering if any one else has any thoughts on the phenomenon Ronnie describes.

Mushrooms in the Erodium - Oh, My!

Erodium reichardii with mushrooms

Here's something we don't see often in the desert: Mushrooms! It rained yesterday and was still humid today. That is all the excuse they needed.

Erodium is another genus of the family Geraniaceae, a cousin of the Pelargoniums. They are tiny low-growing cuties. Read more about them here. They aren't easy to find. I got mine from Geraniaceae.com.

Leafcutter Bees Move Elsewhere

Pelargonium 'Mexican Sage'

A whole, un-circle-cut Mexican Sage geranium indicates that the leafcutter bees have found more suitable materials for nest building. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, anyway. They are now carving up the leaves of the Scentimental rose and Victoria sage. That will be just fine.

I've been thinking about this a lot and have developed a strategy to deal with these so-called beneficial insects. At the first sign of a leafcutter bee attack on the scented geranium flowers, I'm going to sit there and wait by their chosen target, knock them down with a spray of soapy water, and then squash them with a flip-flop.

Mantis Update

Praying mantis at work

I was deadheading the roses this morning and this fine praying mantis hopped out of one of the bushes and onto the side of the house. It is about 2 1/2 inches long - much larger than the ones I saw a few weeks ago. Hopefully that means she's eating well! I believe it came from the mantis egg case I hung in the Blaze climbing rose.

The Munching Mischief

Max enjoys a tasty appetizer of fruitless mulberry leaves

Max the desert tortoise accepts an offering of mulberry leaves to dissuade him from eating the rest of the yard immediately.

Scented Geranium Buffet

Newly potted up scented geraniums

I moved a bunch of scented geranium babies - the larger growing ones - from 4" pots to 6" pots. They are lined up by the back of the house while they adjust. Everything was looking great the next day except for one Pelargonium 'Brilliant'. Looks like someone had a tasty snack! The culprit is Max, the big desert tortoise. He went back under the shed to think about what he will eat next. Strange as it may seem, this doesn't bother me at all. If he can reach it, he can eat it. But usually he leaves the scented geraniums alone.

Looks like a salad to me!

Paging Dr. Livingstone

Pelargonium 'Dr. Livingstone' (lemon-rose)

Such a cute little face! Dr. Livingstone is small here, but grows into a very large scented geranium. Even the leaves are large. But the flowers are tiny! Dr. Livingstone will grow into a perfectly round upright ball without too much effort: Just pinch the center top and then give it a quarter turn periodically.

Phoney-Baloney

In my continuing search for scented pelargoniums in Las Vegas nurseries, I called Plant World again. This time I was assured that they really did have scented geraniums in stock. I grabbed my purse and camera and raced out the door!

At the nursery I was shown a group of Geranium sanguineum varieties. I carried one up to the counter and explained that this was commonly called a "true geranium", but a scented geranium is a Pelargonium like zonals or regals.

"It says scented geranium right here," said the gals behind the counter. Sure enough, there was a sticker on the pot that said "Zonal geranium - scented geranium". And another sticker on the pot said "Geranium sanguineum". As if it could be all three things at once!

So that explains why they thought they had scented geraniums. I suspect the scented geranium stickers were added so the wholesaler could unload some weedy-looking, less desirable plants. (Sorry, but that pretty much describes what I saw.) Mislabeling is a time-honored marketing practice in the retail/wholesale plant biz.