Yeah, probably is…
2 Likes
beautiful!
camelias always make me think of Red Barber talking to “Colonel Bob” Edwards on Friday mornings on NPR’s Morning Edition.
i liked that…
7 Likes
They’re my favorites. This bush is trimmed so I can walk around the backyard without a flashlight without snagging my head.
Nighttime shot.
13 Likes
This year’s Meyer lemon harvest: 43
The most ever from my potted lemon bush/tree.
Marmalade and curd on the agenda this week. Might try limoncello finally (inspired by @anon33932455). That’s for the food thread.
16 Likes
Fresh, unwaxed lemons? I’m so jealous.
8 Likes
Would love to share the wealth. There’s only so much marmalade that one can realistically consume and give away.
7 Likes
Lemonade made with Meyer lemons and honey is AWESOME. Tho it does kind of require some kind of juicing thing. Either a dedicated one or one of the attachments to a food processor
8 Likes
You could make Preserved Lemons with some of them. Required when making any myriad of Tangias!
4 Likes
I love the cat in the sink. 
And if it’s not too late, definitely second @oncebce ’s suggestion for preserved lemons. We make a big jar once a year or so, they’re SO good and will make homemade hummus into something divine.
5 Likes
Started my first batch of them 
Just a quart jar with 8 of the smaller ones. They should be ready in a month, per the instructions.
6 Likes
Oh, good! The great part is, they last seemingly forever. We’ve had some sit in the fridge longer than a year, still just as good if not better than they were after that first month.
Crossing the streams here with the food thread, but this is the hummus recipe we make. Highly recommend!
The link should jump you right to the recipe.
5 Likes
So moved a whole bunch of Cast Iron plant to a border fence to keep the neighbor’s dogs from seeing me working in the back yard and trying to come over the fence to get me, and now have an open are of around 6ft by 12ft that I can plant. There’s a lovely maple taking up some space, and the area is fully shaded year-round. Zone 8a. Ideas?
ETA: just noticed that the girls had come to in spect all of my digging. No doubt they were certain that I’d overturned something tasty.
11 Likes
Witch hazel might be interesting, and seems to tolerate shade well.
Also, I haven’t had much luck with propagating them, but it’s always a treat to stumble upon rattlesnake plantain out in the woods. That might be fun to try as a lower plant.
4 Likes
Interesting! It looks like rattlesnake plantain grows here in central Alabama, and is a native plant. Witch hazel might grow a bit tall, unless there’s a bush version. I love both ideas.
4 Likes
Yeah, I installed a couple bush versions of witch hazel this spring. It’s a planting of balsam firs, hemlock (for the porcupines ), serviceberry trees for the cedar waxwings, and the witch hazel bushes. It’s not as fully shaded an area as what you have, but a much colder climate. Everything’s doing well so far.
Also, echinacea seems to do surprisingly well in mostly-shady areas near the house, so maybe?
But the rattlesnake plantain would be really special. They are so pretty. Rather rare up here, so it always feels like a gift when I see them on a hike.
5 Likes
We’ve got echinacea in a few places, and I have seeds from those. I’ll see if they can take there. I’m just tired of dividing hostas and ferns. Lol
4 Likes
I lived for about 30 years in a very shady (due to mature trees and housing built close together) part of Chicago and so I had an immediate gut reaction to your complaint about hostas and ferns!
When that’s all that you or any of your neighbors can grow, you do get sick of 'em.
8 Likes
sounds like bromeliads down here. they grow like crazy, come in all colors, some have beautiful blooms. BUT! they get so thick and the leaves are sharp and nasty and the pups have to be split off every season . beautiful, horrible sword plants that will rip clothes and rend flesh.
that said, i have a thicket of them growing beneath a cluster of palm trees.
9 Likes
The wildlife eat the hostas and ferns in my yard, but what I do have in abundance are hellebores (Lenten roses). Nothing eats them, they need a yearly haircut to not look scraggly, they self seed all over the place, and I get a rash every time I handle them.
Also, you are in the South, so aren’t you required to have a bed of monkey grass (liriope) that spreads, looks ratty half the time, and that the neighbors will lecture you about for planting the wrong variety and/or not mowing it at the right time? 
4 Likes
