As Spring Wanders Through!

Wild Onions * photo by Suzanne * March 15, 2017

Hello, dear readers, fellow blogmates, and, all newcomers!  I will just bet you all are excited that Spring has finally arrived!  I know...some of you are still experiencing the wrath of winter and out of the way rainstorms!  I hope those annoying spurts of  mother nature do settle down for you soon.

In the meantime, I'm taking stock of all that is growing and sprouting here at MyTexasGardens!   We get a little bit of everything as Spring makes its entrance.   As you can see in the photo above, I am the proud recipient of what is known as "Wild Onions"!  It's the strongest smelling perennial weed I have!  "Wild Onions" are a common grass-like weed, and happen to be cousins of the garden variety kind!  These onions can grow in cooler weather, (faster than grass), as well as in the sun.  The interesting thing about these onions, though, is that the bulbs go dormant as the weather warms up.  AHA!!!  That is why I don't see them in the heat of the summer season!  Sources inform us that "Wild Onions" are edible, however, we are advised against eating ANYTHING that grows on our lawns!  Don't worry...I'm not interested in digging them up for my relish plate, haha!

That brings us to the weed known as "false garlic".  Another source tells us that, "if it smells like an onion, it is safe to eat, but, if it smells like grass, it is toxic 'Crow's Poison', aka 'false Garlic' !   Crow's Poison looks like a wild onion, but does not SMELL like one! 


~Crow's Onion in bloom * yahoo images

I don't think I've ever seen "Crow's Onion"...the blooms are very pretty, aren't they!  In the future, I will beware of onions bearing beautiful flowers, with no aroma!  And, I guess, Rusty will continue to mow over the "Wildly" fragrant, hard to dig up, annoying onions we all know and love!

***
Well, here they are now!  My garden associates!  
Rusty and Scootie have planted a few herbs, peppers, and, green onions from seed in a small garden out in the back '40 of our property.  Some of the plants are sprouting up now, and there is quite a lot of excitement about it.


~photo by Suzanne * March 14, 2017


~photo taken March 15, 2017


By the way, I collected my "Wild Onion" information from:
lawn-care-academy.com
foragingtexas.com

***
And, now for a sneak preview of what's happening at MyTexasGardens!


~photo March 23, 2017
~These are Zinnias, sent to me from a classmate in Kansas.  He had an abundance of seeds after harvesting them in the fall.  This is my first planting...I will need to thin them out some as they grow.  No worries...I have plenty more seeds to plant!
Thank you so much, Mike!

***


~Hosta growing in broken clay pot, watching over a red Canna plant,
and cushioned by dead leaves from winter's frosty temps.
March 22, 2017

***


~Dianthus and Dusty Miller
I planted them in the fall, and they made it through our Texas winter!
March 22, 2017

***


~Mums from last Halloween 2016 coming back for a Spring show!
March 24, 2017

***

~ An all time favorite!  Bearded Iris budding out!
March 22, 2017



~First Iris bloom of the 2017 season * Blue Iris
photo 3-23-17

Well, my gracious readers, that is it for now.   Time sure does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it!  I hope you have enjoyed my post today.  I'm sure you may want to run outside and look for "Wild Onions", and "Crow's Poison"!   

While I'm here, I wish to express my sorrow to the families in London for the tragedy that occurred earlier this week.  We can't always find the answers to why these terrible acts occur...we can only pray for more peace in the future, worldwide.

Thank you so much for coming by!  I know there are a few of you out there who are pretty shy about stopping in to say hello! 
  I am here to encourage all shy folks to take deep breaths, stand up, and say hello!

Be safe!  Love and laugh!  Until next time! ♥

Thank you Blogger  

Hi Mom! ♥


"It's Spring Fever!  That's what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want-oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so."
~ my old friend, Mark Twain

Look what just blew in!

~Early March 2012 * 3 years old * photo by Suzanne

Calling for Spring!

* Gala  apple tree * photo by Suzanne *  Late February 2013

Hello dear readers!  Here we are dancing into early March with Spring around the corner!  I'm here to tell you, it's time to get busy with garden Spring clean up, and, pruning projects.  I don't know about you, but just thinking about all that needs to be done, makes my head spin!  UGH!!!

*** Well, anyway ***

Why are we here today?  We're going to prune my Gala apple tree that my husband Karo planted a few years ago.  If you saw my previous post, "A Sweet Gala Tribute", from October 3, 2016,  you know that now is the time to prune!  According to my research, you should prune these trees in late winter, or very early spring.  Well, folks-we've got a little of both going on right now!

note: The featured post on my sidebar is "A Sweet Gala Tribute" if you would like to read it.

*** I'll run through a little history first to bring us up to speed! ***

The first photo above is the little tree in late February of 2013.  I believe it was sometime in 2011 or 2012, as Karo was eating a Gala apple, he discovered a tiny root on one of the seeds in the core.  He planted the seed in a coffee can at first, then, later we potted it to see if it would continue to grow.   Below is this tree in the same pot, just a little over a year later.  See how it has grown!

* Gala apple tree * photo by Suzanne * April 24, 2014

Finally, I am able to convince Karo that it should be planted in the ground!

* photo by Suzanne * April 24, 2014


Karo staked it to an old broomstick handle, or a rake!

***  Now, look at the tree!  ***  This is late September 2016

I didn't know if the tree should be pruned or not, so I looked up the care of Gala apple trees, and did come across some suggested pruning tips.

***
a.  Suckers
b.  Stubs or broken branches
c.  downward growing branches
d.  rubbing or criss-crossing branches
e.  upward or interior branches
f.  competing leaders
g.  narrow crotches
h.  whorls



The above diagram was very helpful to me, I HOPE!!!
  Here is my tree after winter's winds and cooler temperatures "ravaged" its appearance!  The leaves turn an ugly dried brown, but not all of them will fall off the tree.
  It has quite a dead appearance, doesn't it?


* photo by Suzanne * February 28, 2017


* photo February 28, 2017

Here is the Gala after my "butcher", I mean, pruning job!  And, you can see the debris on the ground that I took from the tree.  Gosh, I hope I didn't mess it up!  Well, time will tell.

I noticed some nubs on the branches, and my heart was sinking as I pruned, AAGH!  This tree has never blossomed in the Spring, and I have hopes that it will this year.  Some of the other trees in the area are already blooming, however, these nubs could be leaf buds.  And, it might be a good idea to find some fruit tree nutrition to help boost it along.

The photo is out of focus, but, maybe you can see the nubs I'm speaking of.
I circled one of them.

* photo by Suzanne * February 28, 2017

Have any of you ever pruned an apple tree?  We had several established apple trees on a lot of our property in Kansas as I was growing up, but, my parents didn't prune them.   They were already producing apples and blossoms when we moved to that residence.  I guess I am a bit skeptical, but my fingers are crossed that this pruning will yield more growth, green leaves (again), and possibly some blossoms, followed by apples...one day!



I hope you enjoyed today's juicy program, and if any of you has an apple tree small enough to prune, maybe the tips I mentioned will help you out some.  If my tree blossoms or starts exhibiting some leaf growth, I will send a photo and keep you all updated.

In the meantime I will thank:
Blogger
Google
Yahoo Images
weekendgardener.net (for the diagram and pruning tips)
For the cute animations, I am grateful to fg-a.com

All photos of the apple tree were taken by me (property of Suzanne Prickett)


*** Thank you so much for coming by today.  Please stop in if you have time, and say hello.  I would love to hear from you anytime! ***



"Cling, Swing, Spring, sing,
Swing up into the apple tree."
~T S Eliot

Sending blessings to you all * Be safe * Love and Laugh a lot! ♥
  Hi Mom!