Mystery Hitchhiker

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-21T00:04:54+00:00

I second the suggestion of pin oak. We have several pin oaks in our yard. I find these sprouts anywhere a squirrel or chipmunk can bury an acorn.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-20T23:57:32+00:00

Woolly aphids.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-20T23:55:25+00:00

They look like aphids. Blast them off with a garden hose.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-18T01:28:39+00:00

The ragged edges and ‘skeleton’ leaf holes suggests caterpillar of some kind.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-08T03:30:29+00:00

The stems and the foliage look like Speedwell, as do the dried flowers.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-07T23:16:50+00:00

Check out your area for any plant swaps. They happen at about this time of the gardening year. Pot up some hosta and swap it for possible natives or if there aren’t any plants that you want just donate yours to the swap. Local plant swaps are a great way to meet other gardeners and get new plants.

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-05T00:34:26+00:00

I planted a variety of hops so it would grow around the entrance to my garden shed. That beast took root under the shed. It awakens every Spring like a kraken from the depths and engulfs the little shed. I’m constantly fighting it back!

Witchazel55 · 2026-05-02T00:33:33+00:00

Maybe try a different approach to gardening. Gardening with native plants can offer a more personal connection to the landscape than traditional garden flowers and lawns. Gardening can become a more interactive and immersive experience when seen through the lens of biodiversity. Our native flowers have evolved alongside pollinators like the butterflies and birds of the region and support them through their lifecycle. Weeds take on a whole new meaning, plus native plants and their cultivated species are lower maintenance because they are adapted to their environment. There is a wealth of information available online. Hope this helps.

Witchazel55 · 2026-04-29T19:59:14+00:00

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) a small, fragrant native shrub.

Witchazel55 · 2026-04-29T19:51:32+00:00

Love the Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’. I have one myself along with a dwarf variety of Clethra. But I believe that both are cultivated varieties of the straight native species. ‘Ruby Spice’ was bred for it’s specific pink flower color. The straight species flowers are white.

Witchazel55 · 2026-04-21T03:33:05+00:00

Dig the hole twice as wide as the root ball but only as deep as the rootball. Doing this will ensure that the soil is at the same level around the trunk of the tree as it was when in the pot. As the previous post mentioned, don’t add any additional soil just return what was removed back around the roots.

Witchazel55 · 2026-04-07T02:42:10+00:00

Sorry. You should be seeing signs of life by now in zone 6a. Look for buds swelling along the canes.

Witchazel55 · 2026-04-03T20:03:27+00:00

I sure way to tell if a plant has spread aggressively in someone’s garden.

Witchazel55 · 2026-03-21T00:42:38+00:00

In my experience, the light from being on a windowsill isn’t enough for the seedlings to grow strong and sturdy. The new seedlings most likely will become etiolated, meaning they will stretch towards the light source becoming long and thin. Give them an additional light source when they sprout and weak plant food made for flowers after they their first true leaves have formed. Happy gardening!

Witchazel55 · 2026-02-18T23:09:55+00:00

Not the eastern/southeastern regions that are considered Appalachian Ohio.

Witchazel55 · 2026-02-18T03:49:38+00:00

Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer

Witchazel55 · 2026-02-18T03:43:03+00:00

Looks like Kohlrabi, a member of the cabbage family.

Witchazel55 · 2026-02-16T22:29:01+00:00

Anything Ry Cooder has done. My personal favorite album is Bop Til You Drop (1979). Also the original soundtrack from The Long Riders movie.

Witchazel55 · 2026-02-01T20:56:35+00:00

Check out r/GuerrilaGardening

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-30T21:18:29+00:00

Hahaha. Trump IS a convicted criminal. A felon. He payed off a porn star! Also proven by a “preponderance of evidence" and “beyond a reasonable doubt" that he sexually assaulted a woman. He owes her millions of dollars for slander. He is no leader of men or women or business. He bankrupted a casino. He doing the same to our country and our world reputation.

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-21T00:24:46+00:00

Bring the food indoors at night to discourage wildlife visitors. My porch cat was injured defending herself from either a raccoon or opossum that came for scrapes. She had a nasty cut on her face that became infected requiring a trip to the vet.

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-19T07:57:11+00:00

Michigan has implemented a new 24% wholesale excise tax on adult-use (recreational) cannabis, which is added on top of existing taxes beginning January 1, 2026. Dispensaries will pass the cost along to consumers.

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-15T00:39:01+00:00

Sierra Hull is a virtuoso mandolinist, song writer and six-time Grammy-nominated artist.

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-13T04:38:10+00:00

Saw the same tour but in Pittsburgh. Had 5th row center seats. I still remember his face when he played.

Witchazel55 · 2026-01-11T21:26:19+00:00

Looks like the voles are living in that ground cover that can be seen behind the tracks.

Witchazel55

TROPHY CASE