They just finished their 2nd practical session of the welding course at York Tech in South Carolina. This was their final project for the session.
It has an attached stand and can balance on the leaf.
Welding is their happy place.
Edit: Not the leaf. The stand.
When I met Sweet Leaf Nursery on BlueSky they were all mail order. But, by the time I was going to be in their area, they had gotten a booth at the PeeDee State Farmers Market. So, Saturday I went to see them. They are both delightful and happy to talk about their plants.
I bought 3.
I planned to get the nepenthes. But, the drosera were too much fun to leave behind.
The one that looks like an alien is Drosera binata. The Drosera aliciae is the more common type of sundew. (I saw them called bog buttons on Reddit yesterday.)
That dish was a wedding present to my parents and I had never figured out a good use for it since it has no drainage. But, drosera need to keep their feet wet. So, there they are.
The Nepenthes briggsiana needs moist soil but not a soggy bottom. This is its temporary spot. I haven’t decided about a pot yet.
Miranda said that if it quits making pitchers, it isn’t getting enough sun. Because nepenthes are tropical vines, they come in for winter and don’t grow new traps until they go back outside in spring. But, that happens pretty quickly once they have enough light. I’m curious to see how this one does with the full spectrum bulbs we have in the kitchen.
It’s a variegated lace cap hydrangea. See how variegated those leaves are?
I have no idea how long it will take to mature. I took cuttings from a bush in South Carolina 4 years ago. I know it should be variegated. The leaves on the cuttings were not solid green. Which is why I took cuttings.
I have never grown any plant this way before. So, I am pleased it’s not dead. But, I’m ready for it to look like its mother.
The original bush was in the shade. I planted this with lighting that matched its parent plant.
I planted 5 pawpaw trees in 2011 and 2 died.
I have never had fruit from the 3 remaining trees. But, I did start to see blossoms a few years ago. I just never see fruit.
The Pawpaw Field Day in Winston-Salem is in September. I’m hoping that having that on my calendar will remind me to check. I’ve never been to the festival because I keep neglecting to put it on my calendar and I always think about in November. Or April when I notice the flowers.
This year, I have also noticed that each tree seems to be creating its own patch. There are smaller trees growing near the original plantings.
My first thought was that they grow like aspens or trees-of-heaven and put out roots that sprout up making a grove that is actually one organism.
But, it might just be that the fruit dropped and sprouted because I wasn’t paying attention.
Ok. I looked it up. It’s clonal. So, trees are coming up from the roots of what I planted.
But, I may not have seen fruit because they are “self-incompatible” and if what I bought were shoots from the same tree, it probably won’t produce.
I’ll pay attention the Fall and may see if I can find another one to stick out there between the older tress.
This couple showed up in our back yard one day in October of 2020. I had never seen quail here before that and I have never seen any since.
I am the Audience 