Sunflower Bust / Turmeric Boon

The sunflower produces only one seed.  We replanted it in hopes of a better plant next time but I really don't know.  There are many reasons this can happen.  Looking at the flower head though, I think the culprit is poor pollination.   I only ever saw one bee hovering around and that likely is the only seed that got a good dusting.  There are bees around of course but we are a bit away from their usual grounds.  We have farms near us so they may have bee hives.  There are also woods around the lake we are next to so there could be wild hives as well.  I think the more flowers people plant the better the chance we will get some good harvests.  I know we have neighbors planting gardens, at least little ones.

I don't think the HOA wants bee hives in the neighborhood so the best bet is to plant some bee friendly plants near the woods in hopes of attracting a hive over there close by.

On a better note, we planted some turmeric in various pots.  I know at least one of them started rooting but I can't remember which one I found that way.  One of them, and of course I can see this one easily, has sprouted leaves.  This is the first time I've actually gotten turmeric to grow.  Usually it either dries out and composts or gets too soft, rots, and then composts.  Either way it ends up being other plant food.  Anyway I have high hopes of some day harvesting my own turmeric plants.  That would be awesome!

I see the entire plant is edible so I'm now looking forward to using it to cook either pork or fish.  Both would be good.  The taste is said to be gingery, makes sense because it's related to the ginger plant, and somewhat floral.

What would you use turmeric leaves for?

Day Lily #2

Here is the other day lily we bought last year that has decided to finally bloom.  This one is an orange flower with a little darker center, a more common flower.  This cluster has quite a few blooms on it though.

Day lily flowers only stay open for a day but the presence of so many buds means that it will have flowers for several days even if each individual flower is fleeting.

Next spring I'm going to have to amend the soil and divide up the root system.  It can get really crowded and dividing give the plants plenty of room to divide and thrive.

Again I'd like to try cross pollinating these guys.  This kind of flower is perfect for toning down or possibly a splash of contrast, depending on what the genes decide to do when crossing.

It's been a while but when I was a kid, back in the day, my grandfather had a grant to cross breed hibiscus plants.  I don't recall how many varieties he produced but I remember him making charts and reports on the resulting plants. We had so many pots of them inside and outside of the house.  The den would have them lining the wall in winter if it was going to get too cold.  I still remember the flagstone path that led to the sitting area out back and the flowers that surrounded it.  At the time I thought of it like my own little jungle.

Office ivy Growth

Since last time I posted about the ivy it's grown quite a bit.  It used to be in front of the wire sculpture and has since grown into it, around it, and back down the other side.  Some impressive growth here.  Our office manager said she'd like to repot it so it keeps growing well.  It doesn't seem to have complained so far though so I'm not sure if that's needed.

One of the reasons ivy plants trail out so much is to have more room to put out air roots.  These take the moisture out of the air and help the plant to keep going.  If you feel along the ivy you can find these little root bumps all along it.  These also help the plant cling onto anything it comes in contact with.  They will form those webbing out roots and grab hold of buildings, trees, rocks, anything they can find.  Apparently they don't seem to like the wire metal though.  It has avoided clinging to it.  Not sure if it's because it's metal, too thin, or what.

The white planter it's in has gone through some changes too.  Currently it's sporting sun glasses and a beard.  At one time there was an ear ring but it didn't last long.  I have one of these pots at home too.  It's made to hold your glasses and be a place to put a plant on your desk.  I don't think they though about an ivy though.

Local Bees

Finally saw a bee in the area.  I figured there would be some bees or something that pollinates since this area used to be mostly farming.  I didn't see him at first since he was so small but here he is.  Nice to see we aren't entirely pollinated by wasps, which are also a common pollinator.

The big sunflower is still forming seeds.  The head has drooped entirely and the petals are brown and mostly fallen off.  Just waiting for the stem to start turning colors, which indicates the seeds are about done forming and ready for harvest.

Something I still think it amazing is the color in the petals of the sunflower.  This specific flower has been blooming for about a week now and the colors are still this bright and vibrant.  And as I said about the other flower, the petals will lose their colors and drain out completely once they are done.  Reminds me of red glass.  A lot of red glass turns quickly in the sun and fades but there are some recipes that keep the deep red color.  Every pottery and glass company either has to inherit the recipe from previous generations or reinvent the red.  I have yet to find a readily available recipe for this.