Rufus Photo Shoot for "Playdog" Magazine.

 Playdog exists only in my mind of course.  But Rufus is entirely real.

Ponca is Alive! 5.16.2021

 One of the pokey looking Ponca blackberries has put out some new growth.  I wondered if it would survive.  This is the most vigorous of the three.  We'll see how they all do as the summer comes along.

I imagine it will lose the red colors and become a more typical green as it grows,  Pretty colors now.

An Itoh Peony and a Couple of Irises. 5.16.2021

 I dont know the name of the Itoh peony.  Most of mine are yellow-ish.  This one is a year after planting - not bad for a peony.  The irises are Wabash and American Classic.

A Few More Bearded Iris Photos. 5.15.21

 Here are a few photos from this morning.  Some plants were photographed earlier, using Iphone.  This time it's with Nikon SLR.

I really think the hand me down varieties are nice.  Most seem healthier than the bought newer ones.  My guess is that the newest ones are over-hybridized for lush flowers, but not for disease resistance or durability or hardiness.  The hand me downs are ones that flourished over the years in local yards to the point where they had overcrowded their spaces, and were thinned out resulting in rhizomes to give away.  Ones that did not do well and were not liked, did not survive to the point of being given away.   So local gardens did the sorting out of the better ones.

However, there are some newer ones that are very nice, such as "Victoria Falls".

Dwarf Tomato Plants. Progress Notes. 5.15.2021

 The dwarf tomato plants are growing nicely.  I noticed a bit of chlorosis in some when planted in the ground, which I also noted in some of the Roma plants too.  Not sure why, and that seems to clear up in new leaves.

I decided to make a list of the dwarf cultivars that I'm testing this year, along with available trait info.

Variety / Info / Days to ripe tomato / Plant height / fruit size

Alpatieva 905A / a Soviet era Russian type from 1950 / 65 days / 18-24" tall / 2 to 5 oz

BrandyFred / Dwarf Tomato Project / 75 days / ? / 10 to 16 oz

CC McGee (light yellow) / late / ? / 4 to 8 oz

Clare Valley Pink / Dwarf Tomato Project / 84 days / ? / small to medium tomato

Dwarf Champion Improved / historic tomato (early 20th century?) / 85 days / ? / 3 to 8 oz

        (Dwarf Champion was developed in 1889 .  I don't know about the "improved".  Size is Dw. Champion)

Dwarf Johnson Cherry / Dwarf Tomato Project / 65 days / ? / cherry tomato

Extreme Bush / historic tomato (Germany, mid 20th century?) / 50 days / 12 to 28 " tall / 3 oz

Tanunda Red / Dwarf Tomato Project / 75 days /?  indeterminate  / 4 to 10 oz

For comparison, here are some "normal", non-dwarf tomatoes.  The Lemon Boy and Early Goliath Hybrid have fully recovered from their "wall'o'water" debacle and are nice and green and growing.  Several tomato plants are blooming.  Several of the dwarf tomato plants also have flower buds.