Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, June 13

Penstemon cobaea close-up, showing the "bearded tongue" characteristic of the genus

Don in Kansas has a fine summary on his experiences growing penstemons, back on May 9: Tongues with Beards. Here are three of several he is growing. Click on the link for photos and description of others, along with growing tips:

One of my long-term projects is to find out which penstemons will do well in Kansas. I've got around twenty species planted in various parts of the yard, many of which are coming into bloom now. The Kansas natives such as Penstemon cobaea, above, have done very well. In general, most species I've tried have been easy and haven't needed attention beyond weeding and occasional watering during dry spells. . .

P. wrightii is native to west Texas, a place much drier than Kansas. Surprisingly, all the rain from last year's freakishly wet summer didn't bother it at all, nor did 0℉ in January or 12℉ in March. It's been blooming for three weeks now, and it should continue for at least one and possibly two weeks more. Although the individual flowers aren't large, there are a lot of them, and the color is vivid.

P. strictus, the “Rocky Mountain Penstemon,” grows throughout the Rocky Mountain states. It’s easy and tough, and will likely grow anywhere that the climate isn’t too extreme.

Interesting variety of beautiful flowers from different parts of the country at the link above, with helpful growing tips from Don.

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

By-Tor has a big update on his container garden with some good tips:

Tomatoes are going great guns. The plants are getting huge. No reds yet but they’re coming.

Peppers are the same. Zucchini and squash as well.

Dill is maxed out; I may have to dry them and store, then plant more. Or maybe trim the tops and see if it grows out.

Long hot days on the horizon, with lots of water, portend a successful harvest.
Most of these are in containers or grow bags; I’m a little surprised at how well they are doing.

The veggies and strawberries look great! You might think about freezing some dill, depending on how you intend to use it (maybe as immature seed heads for pickles?)

Keep the zucchini and summer squash picked small, since you are growing the plants in containers.

Next week, maybe we'll post By-Tor's instructions for making Fried Green Tomatoes.

Protecting your holiday celebrations from yellow Jackets

This week, a yellow jacket stung me while I was feeding the garden kitties. WOW. Haven't felt pain like that in a while!

Later that day, we found a nest set up in a torch that was not far from one of the kitty-feeding locations, a few inches from the ground. Those insects were buzzing around in an erratic fashion that was really unnerving. Glad that this didn't happen to me:

Stung by dozens of yellow jackets. There was no sense of where exactly the pain was coming from because there was no sense of where the pain wasn’t. https://t.co/meu5XqucPr

— typo (@TypoDynamofo) July 5, 2023

You can make a DIY trap from a two-liter bottle. I did. Wasp and hornet spray was more effective.

Here is a comparison of the top ten commercial yellow jacket traps. Some trap other insects. You don't want a trap that catches honeybees.

Speaking of honeybees, how are we doing with those murder hornets that decapitate honeybees? Beekeepers will often remove honeybee nests from your yard, but not wasps or hornets.

For your neighbors who are infected with suicidal empathy:

A lovely yellow jacket queen skulking on the ground to find a suitable nesting site to establish a new colony. She can sting but is quite docile. Yellow jackets have a bad rap for obvious reasons, but they do serve a purpose in the woods by preying on pests and consuming carrion. pic.twitter.com/XGRmXueJPt

— Sarah 🥨 (@cosmopterix) May 2, 2024

Are the rest of us ready to think of Google as a friend?

Do it for ticks and chiggers and yellow jackets https://t.co/LAkMMJHfrX

— Adam Geringer (@GeringerAdam) May 31, 2026

Gardens of The Horde

From lirio 100:

This is Magnolia figo, common name banana shrub. My plant buying got a little over enthusiatic last fall but managed to get it through the winter under lights. I finally put it outside 10 days or so ago and the buds are opening. It's only hardy to Zone 8 so I'm ooing to keep it pruned to container size and cross my fingers this coming winter again.

It is fragrant but to me the fragrance is more floral than banana like. It does have the magnolia fuzzy buds.

I like this plant and its fragrance. Probably attracts yellow jackets.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

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Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? Gardening, Home and Nature Thread, June 6

I closed the comments on that post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.