O is for Orlaya, Oleander, Okra, and Oregano
Season 7, Episode 29, June 25, 2025
Since we are both obstinate people, we are sticking to our alphabet theme almost as if we were writing the Sue Grafton alphabet series of books. This week we’re focused on “O” flowers and veggies.
But, first, we provided updates. Listen to the episode to hear about our wet gardens. To listen early on Buzzsprout, click here. To watch us on YouTube, click here.
Carol’s favorite was her bee balm. Mine is blooming too and is more reddish pink. My favorite is the crazy Verbena ‘Bampton.’ I love that silly plant.
The question of the week was about lavender and ticks. Listen to the episode for more information.
Our “O” flowers are Nerium oleander, commonly just called oleander, Orlaya grandiflora which Carol saw on her lavender farm tour, and obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, which is a thug. You can buy orlaya seeds from Johnny's Selected Seeds. (They have a warning on the website. If any listeners have experience with it, let us know about the sap or self-sowing problems.)
I talked about obedient plant’s thuggish ways here on Instagram.
In the vegetable garden, we discussed onions, okra, olive trees and oregano. Since we’ve discussed the first two a lot, we didn’t spend a lot of time explaining them. I’m growing okra, and Carol may or may not. It depends on her mood. We’re both growing onions. Yum.
On the bookshelf this week is a pretty one, Flower Fables, by Louisa M. Alcott (Amazon.)
Our dirt was leaf-cutter bees. To learn more about this beneficial insect and why it only seems to cut circles in spring from Missouri Botanical Garden.
Carol’s rabbit hole is Outrageous on BritBox, based upon the Mitford sisters. I watched the first two episodes too, and Bill and I are hooked. It’s very good.
Our affiliate links are here now on a separate tab, including our new link for Cobrahead tools! Until next time, enjoy the sunshine!