Plant Camp Monday's

Oh this next plant you might not like but rest assure this is not the culprit of allergies in the fall.

Goldenrod Solidago sp.

I love this plant, tells me that fall is almost here. A host to so many beneficial insects. Its the last big flower show of the season and blooms from summers end tell frost.







Poor Goldenrod gets the blame for hay fever sufferers when the real culprit is ragweeds (Ambrosia sp.) that bloom at the same time.

Here's what happens. Ragweed needs wind to pollinate so it sends out billions of pollen hope'n to find a female flower. The bad part our noses are in the way.

These ragweeds don't have a pretty showy flowers so we tend to blame the Goldenrod for this suffering. We see that showy Goldenrod flower and point fingers and whip noses.

Because the makeup of the goldenrod pollen grains are fat and sticky so they will stick to insects for pollination from one plant to another. So in order to get affected by Goldenrod pollen you would have to stick you nose in the stuff. Hachoo

Along with the many insects that visit the Goldenrod there are two different types of insects that are parasites that uses the Goldenrod for a host plant, they make their homes on the stems and are called galls.

Here's a nice group of Goldenrod, be sure to look at them differently now , they are very pretty.

http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=goldenrod&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=Rf96TMSuIouLnQeuzqiWCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CEYQsAQwAw

Also Goldenrod is medcinal, here's an informative link.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/goldenrod-000251.htm

Well I sure hope I changed your mind on this plant and lets go after that ragweed.

Have you notice the weeks flying by? I sure have. I'm just about ready to decorate for Autumn.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by the camp

tc linda

Plant Camp Monday's

This plant I have growing , its names sounds like an ol song Joe-Pye, maybe b/c its reminds me of ol Joe Clark that I use to play on the banjo and fiddle. There should be and ol Joe-Pye song for sure.

Oh boy is this a plant to have. great for the butterfly gardens but its a biggy, from 4 ft to 10 ft tall on some varieties. A deffinite boarder plant. I know already i will need to move my one plant.

Joe-Pye Weed, Eupatorium purpureum

This picture is of my new plant , not very showy yet

Here's a link to some pretty Jo-Pye Weeds

http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=joe+pye+weed&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=f-RxTMipOMWqlAfjmemmDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQsAQwAw


In your butterfly garden this plant will attract the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, and the Tawny-edged Skipper.

Joe-Pye Weed is an herb, a wildflower, a butterfly plant and an ornamental for the flower beds
Its got some other common names you might know like Queen of the Meadow, gravel root, kidney root, mist-flower, snakeroot and purple boneset.

Joe Pye is the name of an Native American who was a herbalist who used the herb to cure fevers.

http://www.altnature.com/gallery/joe_pye_weed.htm

You can start from seeds and this is another great Winter Sowing seed you can start the first of the year, get those containers saved , toss in your seeds and put outdoors.

Joe-Pye Weed comes in colors of darker purples, wine, lavender and white. The purple shades seem to attract butterflies better than the white. Oh it looks like I got a white one.

Some of theflowers are more fragrant then others having a vanilla-like fragrance. These plants make nice cut flowers and can be dried too for arrangements. A nice all around plant to grow in your gardens.

Well that's it for the camp this week. I was humming ol Joe Clark while typing this up. Might get out the fiddle and start playing again. Maybe make up a song for ol Joe-Pye Weed.

Have a very nice week and always thanks for stopping by the camp.

tc linda

Plant Camp Monday's

Its Monday again , seems these weeks are fly'n by so fast. With school back in session for many, harvesting the gardens, battling the heat it just seems there's no rest. I'll be ready for the cooler weather and life getting into the Autumn routine.

Glad you could make it to camp. This week I'm going to share another new plant for me. My hubby brought home some unknown plants from school , they had a plant sale and all the left overs were given out. He handed me a box of seedlings with no name

School was out for summer and the instructor was gone, so no name. It was a wait and see. Where to plant, sunny, shade, where? So I chose in between . Weeks went by and they have flower heads.

Drum roll please,the unknown plant is Cockscomb, Celosia argentea .

These are still pretty small, I chose a good place for them to grow tho, they like sun





Well being new to this plant I googled to get info and was surprised to see it was edible. I clicked it on and it was a picture of a chicken head and its cockscomb said you can eat that part of the chicken and it taste like frog legs, thought I was going to say chicken?.

That was the wrong cockscomb for sure. Cockscomb flowers are said to resemble rooster combs so that's why I got into the wrong site.

But cockscomb is in the Amaranth family so there was hope that one could eat this plant.

Cockscomb flowers are also known as Wool Flowers or Brain Celosia, suggestive of a highly colored brain. People eat brains! its still looking good.

Cockscomb has no fragrance, that was looking positive to for eating.

Then I came upon this , In West Africa, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia, Celosia argentea is grown as a leaf vegetable and cereal crop. In southern Nigeria, it is the most important leaf vegetable and is known as soko. BINGO! We can eat it.

But like all new plants I still want to do more research on it before I cook it for super. Like find someone else around that eats it.

Celosia have very bright colors. They have three different kinds of blooms; candle, crested and plume.

I would like to grow the crested variety (Celosia cristata). It looks more like Amaranth that I'm more familiar with.

Here's some pictures of the different types

http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=Cockscomb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=-atoTPCsJYGKlwebtqWfBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQsAQwAw

Native to Africa, America and Asia. Celosia means "hot" in Greek. Perfect for this HOT summer.

So there it is growing and doing well, pretty easy to grow and not much care. I should be able to save seeds.

So those surprise unknown plants do pay off , hubby did good : )

Another fun camp and so glad you made it, see ya next week. I want to try and get some other everyday blogs in but boy is it hard sometimes. Autumn please come soon : )

Take good care
linda

Plant Camp Monday's

You ever drive the country roads and notice different wild flowers? How about the one that really catches your eye. Its a bright red orange about a foot high. Its a butterfly weed.

Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa

From the milkweed family. Asclepias, is the host plant for Monarch butterflies
So its a must for the garden when you want butterflies and humming birds to visit. Plus adds a nice bright color to your gardens.

Well I'm pretty new at growing Butterfly weed. I have tried to transplant from along our roadside , it didn't take. But I was able to grow from seed. Its a very bright orange.



Did you know Butterfly Weed is edible and medicinal. Heres info on that.

http://www.altnature.com/gallery/Butterflyweed.htm

Heres a link to a lot of pic of butterfly weed
http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=butterfly+weed&um=1&ie=UTF

Now another type of plant that attracts butterflies is the Butterfly Bush, not to be mistaken for the butterfly weed. Two different types of plants but they sure attract the butterflies and hummers.

We went to a Butterfly Festival at Powell Gardens. Was I in for a surprise and a couple of new butterfly plants for my gardens. Plus seeing all the native and tropical butterflies.

A beautiful fragrant Butterfly Bush , Buddleia davidii



Grow this beautiful bush for Hummingbirds, Swallowtails

http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=purple+butterfly+bush&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=KF9fTPnhMcP6lwfoyPSZCA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CC0QsAQwAA
Great for cut flowers, can be used as a border plant or in containers. Considered mostly allergy free. Deer resistant. Blooms July all the way to fall. I'm so going to enjoy this plant.

This other plant I got is a Butterfly Weed plant , forgot the name and it did not have a label. I will need to go back and check this one out. Its a tall plant, 30" or so.



Well I like those butterfly attracting plants so these are a great add to the gardens.

Let me know how you like them in your gardens.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for dropping by the camp : )

tc linda

Plant Camp Monday's

Lets talk about Lemon Grass at the camp this week!

This spring I bought a small lemon grass plant for the herb garden. I had grown lemon grass before and it never got to big but this plant is growing wonderful. Its way over a yard high and so full and the bugs are staying away from it.




I do have to keep hubby away cuz he thinks its a weed grass. He's banned from my gardens when he has taken out a few crops by not knowing whats what. He gets to mow the grass and so he gets his cutting down stuff that way. I have come running out of the house screaming to many times when I see a plant in danger of the mower, so boundaries have been set. Sometimes a gardener's gotta use tough love if they want a garden still standing : /

I was introduced to this herb when I did a 100 mile local foods challenge one summer. I had to be creative and I wanted to use herbs from my garden. Eat foods that were raised and grown in a 100 mile radius. I wanted to try something I don't cook much of and I like, Asian food.


I didn't have lemon grass growing at the time but I did buy a tube of lemon grass puree. I worked up a Thai dish and it was a hit so I went in search for lemon grass to grow.

Lemon Grass Cymbopogon ciatrus


Theres some health benefits of Lemon Grass you might like to check out
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-2-2006-107399.asp

How about a lot of pictures of lemon grass, here ya go!


http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS312US313&q=lemongrass&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=fTVWTN2RIJP2swPCm4TYDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CEsQsAQwAw

I haven't done anything with my plant but plans to dry some and maybe powder it up as well. I'm thinking lemon pepper on chicken and grill, yum. Also would be good sprinkled on veggies. How about wrapping the leaves around ears of corn and grill , might give it a nice new flavor.

Lemon Grass is a member of the Poaceae family, which includes all the common grasses. Originally from Malaysia, it does well in any humid climate. No wonder its doing well here in Missouri. Its been hot and humid.

You can harvest Lemon Grass several times in a season by cutting the upper portion of the leafy part. I will need to bring inside and try and keep for replanting in next spring. I will see if I can get seed from it as well.

Dry the leaves for a zesty tea, hot or cold. It has a light lemony taste with a slight hint of ginger. Its a good pick me up when your drag'n and good for the digestion too. Helps ease the pain of arthritis

Naturally caffeine-free and taste great. Recent studies show that Lemon Grass has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. So this plant is a good one to add in your herb garden. It really would be nice added in any type of gardens, flowers and veggies.

Do you grow Lemon Grass? Maybe cook with it? Tried the tea?

Thanks for dropping by this week at the camp. I learn a bit more about the plants I grow. This week for sure I'll make some lemon grass tea , cuz it s a push week and I know I'll need a pick me up.

Take good care and have a great week, see ya at the camp

tc linda