Oh no my serpent gourd has officially begun it's assault on the neighbors patio this is gonna be a loooong summer

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm happy to hear of Nasturtium working as well (and the particular reference to tomato plants - as we lost all the tomato plants last year). Nice to know that Nasturtium can be used in salads too although if I do use it as a decoy, I won't get my hopes up ;D

@Bebop
Earlier I saw your photo of the praying mantis and I was thinking how it's been years since I've seen one. It's such an amazing coincidence that while I was outside doing some evening gardening I stumbled across one. Had no idea where it suddenly appeared from. I was laying down some mulch when it was just suddenly there. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo. It took off in a hurry.


@Ash
Yikes! Sounds like you've got some work for you.

I've got some bamboo I've been having to be careful about. Our neighbors said they don't mind if it spreads to them but even still I've been pretty careful. So far a barrier of dolomite rocks in a trench around it has been working pretty well. I don't know if that'd work for all bamboo though. This one isn't quite as aggressive as some other species or at least not in the particular environment this one is in.

Here's a picture of our Juliette Grape Tomato, and the Nasturtiums growing beside it (the umbrella like leaves). We grew these from seeds around mid April and this is how big they already are from that time period.

Finally getting some photos up! Unfortunately, not able to get all of them up as I took them with my husband's ipod and he hasn't sent them all to me yet. I was kinda hesitant to take some pictures since my garden's really weedy at the moment but I'm hoping this thread helps inspire me to get that weeding done!

First, Stargazer lilies are blooming. Here's one of them.



Next is Echeveria 'Lola'. She might be dead and doesn't realize it yet. I'm just waiting to see what happens. Went to transfer her to a nice new home and only a sliver of dirt came with her. But this is her a few days after that.



Then last is images of a liriope I've had for a few years now. This is a chance seedling since I own quite a few and every now and then you get a free plant. Liriope is also known as monkey grass around where I live and is often treated as something to mark property lines or garden beds. I prefer using them as something more ornamental and like having various sizes and colors. They look nice with camellias I think.

This particular one has leaves that are twisting. I'm not sure if it's a disease, nutrition deficiency, or if it's a mutation. I'm really hoping it's a mutation. I've transferred a tiny bit of it to another location to see if it keeps the twisted leaves or not.

Ooh lovely pictures! I've snapped some snazzy ones and would love to share!
This one is Brugmansia 'Fruit Salad' such a lovely scent!

This one is Brugmansia 'Cherub' so many blooms!

Thanks Zelly! The Nasturtium leaves are unique and quite pretty. Have you had any problem with the Nasturtium going to seed and popping-up elsewhere?

I love the pictures of the Stargazer and Brugmansia - so pretty!

My guess is 'Lola' will be fine! She'll be very hardy and we have a quite a few succulents that don't seem to require a lot of soil to cope. Many of our succulents also produce progeny which may not even be in the soil until we get around to potting them.

We've not personally had any self seed and come back on their own, though they can do so. I did a little reading around on the internet though, and from what I was seeing when they do self seed and come back on their own, it's usually pretty much where you had already planted them the prior year. I didn't really see anyone talking about them spreading around aside from the person who had the seeds fall off their deck of potted plants and end up growing under the deck the next year.

If you are worried about it, you can go ahead and pinch the flowers off a bit early, too. The flowers, like the leaves, are actually edible, so you could put those into salads also.

Thank you Zelly - very helpful!

I love looking at everyones gardens, i miss my garden. Its being babysat by my mother in law right now until i get back home on saturday. Its going to need a lot of weeding.