The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈

@rudiev

Plant nerd and gardening enthusiast just outside Richmond, VA. Nature lover, dog dad, baseball fan (Go Nats!); I also love travel, playing guitar, Asian cuisine, and a good book.

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Bluesky

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The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· 11d

#BloomScrolling #flowers #SilentSunday

A soft pink Rose of Sharon hibiscus flower with dark green foliage blurred in the background

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· 21d

Huron skipper and Horace’s Duskywing nectaring on butterfly bush #Lepidoptera #moths #butterflies

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· 23d

Garden snake looking for lunch at the nursery I work at

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· 25d

#Bees and #butterflies love Agastache!

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jul 15

CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS! The Senate voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act which includes a section merging the U.S. and Israeli militaries. #NDAA #USPol #Israel

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jul 14

A lesser known hybrid shrub/tree, xChitalpa boasts fragrant pink flowers in summer and early fall that smell like waffle cones! They get 10-15’ and make a good specimen in a full sun spot. #trees #plants

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jul 11

🐝 love echinacea #flowers #bees

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jul 10

Flower power! Summer color still going strong #BloomScrolling #Flowers

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jul 3

Coneflowers are holding up much better in this heat than I am 🥵

A cluster of bright pink coneflowers against the backdrop of other green plants of varying sizes and shapes

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jun 20

Daylily time in the garden! #flowers #BloomScrolling

A deep red daylily with a bright yellow center, the outer petals curling back away from the central staymens; green foliage is blurred in the background

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Apr 26

Autumn fern showing off spectacular color before the new fronds fade to their typical green. #Ferns #Plants

A large Autumn fern, new frond growth is copper/bronze, older leaves below are the typical green of the mature fronds

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Apr 4

Had a no-good, rotten, very bad day at work today and I happened to be passing by a Coco+Hazel on my way home, and whoops, ended up consuming the entirety of this beast of a milkshake. Enjoyed every bit of it though!

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Mar 21

#Spring in Richmond, VA 🌸 #flowers #BloomScrolling

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Mar 5

Spring has sprung at the nursery this week! #Plants #Flowers #BloomScrolling

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 27

Just got a text from my boss this morning that several greenhouses at the nursery collapsed from the weight of sleet and freezing rain this past weekend 😭 Fingers crossed we didn’t lose too many plants but it doesn’t look great

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 27

Hard to say no to that face #DogsOfBlueSky #Frenchies

This is a close-up, front-facing photo of a **small dog that looks like a French bulldog** perched on the arm of a couch. The dog has a **fawn-colored coat**, a **dark muzzle**, and **large upright ears**, with big, glossy eyes that give it a very alert, slightly pleading expression.

It’s wearing a **bright pink bandana** tied around its neck, which really pops against its light fur. The dog’s front paws are planted close together on the couch arm, making it look steady and attentive—almost like it’s posing on purpose.

The background appears to be a **cozy living room**, with a couch, a blanket draped over it, a bookshelf, and an office chair visible. The lighting is warm and soft, giving the whole scene a comfortable, homey feel. Overall, the image feels affectionate and a little humorous, thanks to the dog’s intense eye contact and stylish bandana. 🐶💗

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 17

#Virginia state senator Louise Lucas spitting facts as only she can! 😂

A tweet posted by Senator Louise Lucas that reads: "I have the utmost respect for Senator Kaine and Senator Warner but we do not need "coaching" coming from a cuck chair in the corner. How about you all stay focused on the fascist in the White House and let us handle redistricting in Virginia.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 11

Our plant room is looking more like a jungle room now with more #houseplants added in the last two weeks!

This image shows a cozy indoor plant corner filled with a wide variety of houseplants arranged around a large glass door or window that looks out onto a wooden deck and leafless trees, suggesting a cool season outside.

The room is bright and warm, with multiple grow lights mounted on tall vertical poles and shelves to supplement natural light. Plants are displayed on different levels: a metal shelving unit on the left, circular tiered plant stands on the right, and hanging or elevated pots near the window. Many of the plants appear to be tropical houseplants with trailing vines and large, glossy or textured leaves, alongside a few succulents and a cactus.

In the center foreground, there’s a plush, round pet bed on the floor, next to a small wooden stool holding a humidifier—hinting at careful plant care and a pet-friendly space. The overall feel is calm and curated, combining functional plant lighting with a homey, lived-in atmosphere that emphasizes greenery, warmth, and natural light.

An indoor image shows a black metal, five-tier plant rack and a smaller wooden three-tier plant rack, both filled with various potted plants. The black metal rack is the centerpiece, with its top tier housing three plants: a large-leafed plant in a terracotta pot, a slender green plant in a light green pot, and another leafy plant in a black pot. Below this, the second tier features a plant with large, heart-shaped leaves and white veins, a smaller plant with rounded leaves, and a plant with small, delicate leaves. The third tier contains a variety of smaller plants, including a cactus in a green pot and several other leafy varieties in different colored pots. The bottom two tiers of the black rack are mostly empty, except for two orange, pumpkin-shaped cushions.

To the right of the black rack is a smaller, three-tier wooden rack. Its top tier holds a large, bushy plant with dark green leaves, and its second tier has two smaller plants in white and black pots. The bottom tier of the wooden rack is empty.

The plants are arranged in a well-lit area, likely near a window, as natural light illuminates the scene. The background is a plain white wall with a wooden trim running horizontally. A white object, possibly a kitchen utensil, hangs on the wall behind the plants. The floor is made of light-colored wood. The overall impression is one of a vibrant, well-cared-for indoor garden.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 10

Sad to see a once-great university helping Big Tech bros plunder our future via #AI. Not exactly "higher learning" Why the hell would I want to learn how to help machines eliminate my job?

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Jan 9

Trying to figure out what exactly Ibanez thought they were doing with this new Alpha series #guitar they just introduced. Looks more like Telsa attempted to make a guitar. Tesla CyberGuitar? 🤨

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Dec 24

I love #RVA at night during the holidays, just gorgeous!

The photo shows a beautifully lit city skyline at night. Tall modern buildings glow with colorful lights—gold, white, blue, and red—standing out sharply against a dark, clear sky. In the foreground, there’s a long arched bridge stretching across a calm body of water. The lights from the bridge and buildings reflect vividly on the water’s surface, creating shimmering streaks of color. The overall mood is peaceful and dramatic, highlighting the contrast between the bright city and the dark night.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Dec 12

Grow light setup completed, with a test tray on a shelf. The LED strip lights are extremely bright, and this kit came with a plastic cover. Excited for spring already! #SeedStarting #Gardening

The image shows a black metal wire shelving rack on wheels that’s being set up as a plant-growing or seed-starting station. Here's what’s visible:

* One of the middle shelves holds a large black seed-starting tray with soil or growing medium inside.
* A bright LED grow light is mounted just above that tray, suspended from the shelf above it.
* Cords from the lights run down the left and right sides of the rack.
* The top shelf holds a large bag of potting soil.
* The remaining shelves below are empty except for a few small tools placed on one of them.
* The shelving unit has translucent plastic liners on each shelf.
* To the right, a separate green plant stand with houseplants is partially visible.
* The unit is positioned against a white wall with a wooden chair rail and sits on hardwood flooring.
* Power cords and a power strip are on the floor near the wall outlet.

Overall, it looks like a grow-light setup in progress for indoor gardening or seed starting.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Dec 12

I think this might be a first! Assembled something (a grow light rack for seed starting, in this case) without a single curse word uttered! No missing pieces or parts that don't fit! 😆

The image shows a black metal wire shelving unit standing on a hardwood floor. It has five shelves, each covered with a translucent plastic liner. The unit is on four caster wheels, two of which are visible in the front. The shelves are supported by four vertical posts, and the shelves appear adjustable.

To the left of the shelving unit, there is a white plastic baby/pet gate leaning against the wall. In the background on the far left, there is a countertop or table cluttered with various household items. To the right, there is another plant stand or shelving unit with a potted plant on it. An electrical outlet and some cords are visible near the bottom right of the image, and some packing materials are on the floor.

The room has white walls with a wooden chair rail trim running horizontally behind the shelf. The overall scene looks like someone is in the process of assembling or organizing the shelving.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Nov 9

Peak #FallColor in my neck of the woods right now, despite a largely dry fall. I guess temperatures have been just right. Regardless, it’s a fantastic week to be outside!

A medium sized tree (Chinese pistache) lights up the edge of some woods, leaves electric shades of orange and red

Fothergilla ‘Mt. Airy’ (a relative of our native witch hazel) all lit up in yellows, oranges, and reds in my mom’s garden, , various other shrubs (still green) in the background

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Oct 26

Walking around Forest Hill Park yesterday, I came across a genus completely new to me: Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana), a parasitic plant that subsists and grows on the roots of American beech. Completely lacking in chlorophyll, it produces small brown stems and white/purple flowers #RVA #plants

This image shows a small cluster of slender, reddish-pink plants growing on the forest floor among leaf litter and dappled sunlight. The plants have upright, unbranched stems with tiny, scale-like leaves and lack green foliage. Their color and form suggest they are a parasitic plant species that does not photosynthesize, likely **Beechdrops (*Epifagus virginiana*)**.

Beechdrops are known for growing in association with beech trees, drawing nutrients from their roots. The background is softly blurred, showing green leaves and a shaded woodland environment, emphasizing the plants’ delicate and distinctive appearance.

This image is a close-up photograph of a plant stem with a cluster of distinctively colored flowers.

Here's a breakdown of the visual elements:

* **Flowers:** The flowers are **tubular** and grow upwards in a spike-like cluster along the stalk. Each flower is a mix of **white and a deep reddish-brown or maroon color**, with the colors appearing as bold **stripes or veins** on the petals. The shape of the corolla is bilaterally symmetrical, curving slightly upward, and appears to have two lips or a hood. Small, bright **yellow-tipped stamens** are visible protruding from the mouth of some of the flowers.
* **Stem/Stalk:** The central stalk is a thick, reddish-brown or maroon color, which matches the darker color of the flowers. This stalk is mostly devoid of green leaves, which is characteristic of certain types of parasitic or non-photosynthetic plants.
* **Background:** The background is dark and out of focus, suggesting a **woodland or shaded environment**. Hints of green and brown blur into a soft, dark background, which makes the plant stand out.
* **Lighting:** The plant appears to be well-lit, possibly by a patch of **sunlight** filtering through the trees, highlighting the texture of the stem and the fine details of the flowers.

Based on its appearance—a reddish-brown, non-photosynthetic-looking stalk with tubular, two-lipped, striped flowers—it strongly resembles a species of **Broomrape** (*Orobanche*) or a related parasitic plant in the family **Orobanchaceae**.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Oct 25

Went for a walk this morning at one of our many great local parks, on this crisp autumn day. A few highlights

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Oct 19

Spooky season in the garden! 🎃

The image shows a small garden area next to a brick wall decorated for Halloween. In the mulch bed among green plants and hostas, there are three plastic skeletal arms and hands appearing to rise from the ground, as if skeletons are emerging from the soil. In front of the plants on the grass lies a plastic skull, completing the spooky graveyard effect. The setup is surrounded by trimmed grass and partially wilted foliage, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Oct 18

One of my favorite native wildflowers I saw at the festival was Rhexia virginica, or meadow beauty. Lovely pink flowers spring and summer, then the leaves and stems turn burgundy and red in the fall! #wildflowers #NativePlants #PlantNative

The image shows a wildflower with a striking magenta-pink blossom. The flower has four petals and a cluster of bright yellow stamens in the center. It grows among reddish and green lance-shaped leaves with noticeable parallel veins. Some reddish seed pods or spent flowers can be seen nearby on the same plant. The background consists of grasses and other low vegetation, suggesting a meadow or open field habitat.

This flower appears to be **Virginia Meadow Beauty** (*Rhexia virginica*), also known as **Handsome Harry**, a native North American wildflower often found in moist meadows and sandy soils.

The Garden Dude 🪴🏳️‍🌈@rudiev· Oct 18

Golden hues of autumn 🍂