Friday, June 30, 2017

Stella de Oro Daylilies Add Beauty to Garden

A few years ago my neighbor had put two containers of Stella de Oro daylilies at the curb, they were near death and I did not think they would survive but took them anyway. I submerged the container of extremely dry dirt in tepid sink water. This allowed the container to take in the water and the soil became evenly moist. I removed the container plant and drained the sink before setting the container in the sink to drain.

When all the water had drained I set two lilies close to a plant to grow light, since they had been in a dark garage for several days. I knew that they needed light.  Well, I rescued the Stella de Oro's in time because both survived.  They were transplanted into my garden and today they bloomed. The repeat large gold star flower blooms are beautiful.


Stella d'oro Yellow Lilly Flower Wrapped Canvas

Plant taxonomy classifies Stella de Oro daylilies under the daylily genus, Hemerocallis, which derives from the Greek, hemera, "day," plus kallos, "beauty”

Grow Catnip and Felines will Come

Growing catnip in your yard is not difficult but finding the required growing location is a must. You do not want to grow catnip close to your outdoor space because neighborhood felines will come to your yard and you would want them in the back section away from human traffic, especially if they are stray or feral cats.





I have 10 catnip plants growing in my back wildflower garden. I grew these plants from seeds that I planted in ¼ inch soil then covered with a light layer of mulch so the rain would not wash them away. The seeds grew into seedlings and then plants and as soon as the stem was 4 inches in height the cats started to arrive.

I did have to protect the young plants so I covered them with a metal hanging basket.  The basket came with a coconut fiber liner that I removed. What was left was a metal dome with open work. I set the dome-shaped metal container over my catnip plants to protect them from the cats.
The metal dome protects the catnip roots and leaves grown through the openwork.

The metal dome (bottom part of the hanging basket) is a great way to protect seedlings from foot traffic because the roots are protected.

So if you love cats, and enjoy watching them then grow catnip in your garden and felines will come.

The photographs that you view in this blog post are my original photographs of neighborhood cats visiting my catnip garden.


Learn more about gardening here

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Olivos Olive Oil and Lavender Soap Review

When your lavender harvest is not great and you cannot make your own then I would recommend that you buy Olivos natural lavender and olive oil soap because it will leave your skin feeling like silk.


When it comes to bath and body bar soap I choose to make my own, When my lavender herb plants did not provide me with an ample harvest of flowers my friend recommended that I buy Olivos olive oil and lavender herbal soap from Walmart.com

At first, I did not think that Walmart.com carried essential oil soaps that were of high quality but did not realize that online offered more than the stores. My friend told me that this lavender bath soap left their skin feeling silky soft and they recommended that I try it. She said that the soap is made from 100% extra virgin olive oil and lavender minerals This is a smooth soap that feels very moisturizing. But unlike my homemade soap, this soap does not have visible flower buds.

Normally lavender soap is aromatic, but this soap has a light scent and I would prefer a more fragrant soap.  Know that the soap does produce a nice lather and it is very moisturizing, in fact, I did not need to add a body cream after my bath. I really like the way this olive oil and lavender soap makes my skin feel. Even the rough spot on my feet was soft to the touch.

I will definitely buy this soap again and as for the lavender fragrance that I love, I will remedy that by adding two drops of essential oil to my bath water. For those of you who like a moisturizing soap that leaves your skin feeling like silk then you may want to shop at Walmart.com and buy Olivos Olive Oil Lavender bath soap.


Learn how to make lavender herbal soap here