'Hope for Humanity' In the back of my mind, ProfessorRoush has a little nagging voice that keeps saying "you should post, it has been awhile," but I would not have thought that I wouldn't post during the entire month of August.   My, how it flew by! I blame the unusual weather, more rain than usual, and temperatures that kept weeds growing and me mowing weekend after weekend.  I blame my unfortunate needs for cash, which keep me working long hours during the week, ticking down the clock of my life, time I can't replace no matter how valuable I think it is in the moment ..read more

Lycoris squamigera ProfessorRoush was out early this morning, trying to beat the heat and spread some lawn weed-killer on a particularly rough-looking patch of buffalograss while there was a little dew on the grass to make it stick.   I then switched over to watering pots, and as I puttered around, I came across a little pink surprise that I wasn't expecting.  ProfessorRoush, as a general rule, doesn't like surprises, but this little gift I left for myself is always welcome.   If there is one plant that I would tell every young gardener to start with, particul ..read more

Well, this topic wasn't what ProfessorRoush had planned to blog about next, even if I'm due for a blog, but I'll take serendipity as a motivator for a blog entry.  Or at least I'll try to "take" serendipity, although sometimes the latter is often reticent to be captured in an optimal manner. I was out at 6:27 a.m. this morning, watching Bella as she went about her morning bodily functions, when I saw the bumblebee above feasting on this newly-opening bloom of 'Beautiful Edgings'.   Immediately, I thought "wow that would make a great picture" and I quickly reached into my pocket ..read more

ProfessorRoush set out this morning to face a dreaded chore;  bush-hogging the pastures nearest the house (on this side of the draw where it's semi-safe to drive a tractor).  I only do it once yearly for the primary purpose of mowing down noxious weeds on the prairie; foremost among which are the thistles, with the Wavy-Leaf Thistle, Cirsium undulatum, most common here (upper right).  I grew up mowing bull thistles on the home farm in Indiana and, as I've mentioned before, my maternal grandfather always said to mow them on June 21st to control them.   I'm a littl ..read more

'Raspberry Eclipse' Okay, ProfessorRoush tried to be cute here, but the blogging program just wouldn't allow me to format the text below with the pictures.  I couldn't even get the font of "Wisteria" to show up right.  Sometimes, the correct formatting just isn't worth the time it takes.  I gave up after spending hours of wasted effort. But I was trying to let you know I just can't stop taking pictures of daylilies this year!   Click on any picture to enlarge! 'Rocket Man' 'Timbercreek Ace' 'Redmon SDLG 0 ..read more

'Prairie Dawn' Those who know ProfessorRoush and his blog well have probably been wondering; why hasn't he said anything yet about Japanese Beetles?  Does he not have them? Are they late?  Has he given up the good fight and surrendered to inevitability? Surrendered?  Never!  I will never surrender to these shiny-helmeted alien invaders!   Vile creatures they are, ugly, immoral, bereft of a purpose in life, content only to defile and despoil that which is beautiful and pure.   Patrick Henry stirred a nation with the words "Give me Liberty or Give ..read more

 Warning:   Picture heavy! On schedule, and a little later in the year than for previous tours, the Riley County Extension Master Gardeners held their annual Manhattan Area Garden Tour yesterday (June 22nd), with 5 private homes, the 2 community garden sites, and, of course, the KSU Gardens included.   If you've read my blog before, you know already that I am the unofficial annual photographer for the event and this year is no exception.  Here, I've included my favorite two pictures from each site.  and it wasn't an easy task to choose from the over 863 pict ..read more

ProfessorRoush and his lovely wife, Mrs. ProfessorRoush, were in a Topeka restaurant Saturday evening around 4:15 p.m. when the wind-caused whipping undulations of the umbrellas outside the nearby window captured my attention.  Something about their flapping pattern and my years of prairie-honed instincts said "storm", even though the sky out the window was light blue and cloudless.     I did not recall any forecast chance of rain at all and a quick check of the Manhattan weather on our iPhones, 50 miles west of where we sat, showed no chances of precipitation for the ..read more

Black Sampson echinacea The weekly lawn-mowing occurred on schedule today, a necessary Saturday chore that ProfessorRoush routinely approaches with resignation combined with mild boredom.  I allegedly mow because the alternative to mowing (NOT-MOWing) leads ultimately to chaos in the garden and results in disdainful glances and shaking fists from passing neighbors and even threats of visits from authorities who have bestowed themselves with the ability to levy fines and prison sentences and the like. But truthfully, not really caring about the public reaction, I tolerate mowing b ..read more

'Red Cascade'  This week's lawn scalping, while always a chore and most especially during our "rainy season" when ProfessorRoush feels obligated to mow the entire yard at weekly intervals, had its pleasantries still as the rose are fading and other flowers come on to fill the borders with color.   Two of the "reds", vivid red roses, caught my eye particularly, one by itself ('Emily Carr') and one by contrast ('Red Cascade') with a neighboring perennial.  I use the word "contrast" lightly here because a color expert would almost certainly say that the vivid r ..read more