Pictures from Mosquitoland
We have such a mosquito problem out back. I am tempted to not weed again until it’s cool out there and the plants are dying and the mosquitoes have gone to wherever they go in the winter (mosquito heaven?). Today I went out and took a few pictures, then spent my time picking up debris from the wee little tropical storm that came through, then sweeping off the patio, deck, and carport. I did this instead of weeding because when I got out there I was instantly attacked by several mosquitoes, and spent the rest of the time out there doing the “don’t bite me” dance. I could probably help this by mowing, but it’s super-cloudy and about to rain, and our mower plugs into the wall. Ah, well.
I thought this was a weed, but it’s suddenly blooming. Maybe it is a weed, but now I don’t want to yank it out:
The flowers are papery and have little speckles on them.
There are three of these growing along the shady side of our house, and I don’t know what they are:
These little guys were choked off by the coreopsis and weeds; I bet if they hadn’t been, they would’ve been really gorgeous. Next year!
Someday I will know the names of all of these things. In the meantime, if you know, tell me.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Mosquito Heaven?
Oh I hope not, because Mosquito Heaven is, apparently, ME.
September 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
That 2nd one looks like yucca (not to be confused with yuca, of which the root is very tasty). See how the leaves are sorta hairy? You can scrape away the pulpy part of the leaf, then use the resulting strands to braid rope. Also, the pulpy part of the leaf (if this is the right plant) will give you suds if you mix it with water. So will the root, but don’t dig it up ’cause it takes years for these guys to grow.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I think the top is some kind of snapdragon. They are usually annuals, though, so maybe I’m wrong. It could be a volunteer from last year’s seed. And I agree with A that the middle is a yucca - my parents had tons of them in KY - they’ll send up a spiky white flower at some point.