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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026

🌱 🍅 Lemon Boy Plus tomato Incredible - like eating a dessert. Great for converting the tomato skeptics. My favorite this year. This variety is bred for disease resistance. Early to mature and it’s starting to slow down for me (some rude critters snapped branches)

Lemon Boy Plus tomatoes are bright yellow, indeterminate, 75 days to maturity. 5-8 oz, 3”-4” flattened round shape. Great slicer with a mild sweet and tangy flavor.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026

🌱 🍅 Purple Bumble Bee Tomato Super sweet and rich and very pretty. A larger cherry that also won’t stop producing. Easy to slice and snack on. I’m curious about the other bumble bees out there but I don’t know if I can skip growing this one next year!

Purple Bumble Bee tomato. Indeterminate, 70 days, 0.5oz or 1” round shape. A snacking or salad tomato with a umami rich taste.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026

🌱 🍅 Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato Delicious juice bombs, like perfect little grapes - but they’re tomatoes! Fast, wild, and free. Thin skin requires snapping the fruits at the stem so you don’t ruin them. Great raw and for roasting. An easy and flavorful cherry.

Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato. Text reads: indeterminate, 60 days, 0.1 oz, 1/2” round currant sized. Snacking and salad tomato with a sweet bold taste.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026

🌱 🍅 Green Zebra Tomato I’ve read mixed reviews online - but I love them. Great texture and flavor, prolific but slower to mature for me. I pick them as soon as I see some yellow underneath the green stripes. Firm and no splitting or scarring.

Green Zebra Tomato, picture of it cut in half and whole on a white background. Text reads: indeterminate, 80 days, 2-5 oz, 2-3” round. Salad and snacking with a bright acidic taste.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026

🌱 🍅 Japanese Black Trifele Tomato (Original name: yaponskiy trufel chernyi) Prolific and delicious slicer - popular amongst tomato fans and tomato haters alike. My first black tomato I’ve grown, so I can’t compare to others.

Japanese Black Trifele Tomato: shown sliced and whole on a white background. Text reads: Indeterminate, 60 days to maturity, 2-6 oz, 2-3” diameter, pear and plum shaped. Good slicer, canner and paste tomato, with a smokey sweet taste.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/08/2026

2026 Tomato line up: Japanese Black Trifele Green Zebra Lemon Boy Plus Matt’s Wild Cherry Purple Bumble Bee 🌱 🍅

The 5 tomato cultivars in a basket, labeled.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/08/2026

A few new flowers this year but it pales in comparison to last summer as we grieve our garden dog. 🌱 🦮 🐈‍⬛

A top-down view of a black cat sniffing some pretty zinnias.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/08/2026

My #cannabis is still doing great, and I continue to get cute visitors. A fuzzy bee from this morning (not sure which type) and an assassin bug from a few weeks ago. I haven’t and wont treat my plants with anything - bugs are my friends. 🌱

An assassin bug perches on the tip of a cannabis leaf.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 17/07/2026

Saw the early release of The Odyssey, really good stuff. I’ll have to rewatch it with Richard (my cat, big cinephile) when it’s streaming but I’m still messed up about the dog

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 16/07/2026

Thank god I have a partner that keeps me cool and hip

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/07/2026

Two truths: 1. Sims 3 is superior to all sims 2. Only fools buy Sims 3

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 08/07/2026

First time growing #cannabis. I have them set up outdoors in 7 gallon grow bags and they’ve been looking great. Enjoy this Oregon native butterfly (grey hairstreak). 🌱 🦋

Amid the leaves of a cannabis plant, rests a grey hairstreak butterfly.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/06/2026

The official term is “Cat Hours”. The hours vary depending on the season, location, and current weather conditions. Right now in Portland, the average Cat Hours peak during 7pm-9pm. The perfect time to go for a walk on a warm (dry) evening. #cathours #portland

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 05/06/2026

Working a booth at the farmers market was fun - but boy oh boy was it depressing to hear how much ChatGPT was referenced!!!

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 08/05/2026

Looks tropical - but it’s native to Oregon! Lewisia cotyledon or Siskiyou lewisia, given to me by my grandma a couple years ago. Shes kept these native plants thriving in pots, but it’s the first time I’ve gotten them to bloom. 🌱 #nativeplants #bloomscrolling

Lewisia cotyledon, or commonly known as Siskiyou lewisia, flowers. The flowers by themselves almost look tropical because they are so vibrant - 7 to 13 succulent looking petals on each flower, deliciously hot pink with white icing along the edges and a hint of yellow. They’re a native plant to Oregon, blooming once a year.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 01/05/2026

Record breaking butterfly numbers in my urban garden this spring 🚨 Although the flowers have barely begun, our hard work is seeming to pay off.

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Reposted by Alexa

multnomahmastergardeners.org @multnomahmastergardeners.org · 29/04/2026

Join us on May 9th, 10am-2pm for the Incredible Edible Plant Sale And Community Fair, 1624 NE Hancock Street, Portland. Hundreds of varieties of organic veggies & herbs that thrive in the Pacific NW, and Multnomah Co. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions, too!

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 29/04/2026

The native ladybugs are back. Idk if they overwintered in my yard or what - but they’re all over the place! #gardening #nativeplants 🐞🌱

A western polished lady beetle (Cycloneda polita) shines in the sun on a leaf of lettuce. This ladybug is native to this Oregon garden, it is extra small and a solid red with no spots.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 27/03/2026

My dog passed away and it feels impossible to do anything outside without him

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025

Spooky Scabiosas Still blooming through this awful weather

A picture showing mostly an overcast sky, light is barely filtering through the gloomy clouds. The very bottom of the frame you can see plants and flowers reaching up - very tendril like. The main focus is showing a scabiosa flower, one open in bloom, the other is a closed blossom. The scabiosas are a new variety called dark vino, and are so dark and rich in color they look black! In this image, it looks like a silhouette. A crow is flying overhead, a bit blurry as it’s in motion - but overall, super spooky flower garden! Grown in Portland Oregon, in an urban yard zone 8/9

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025

My two cats are *ndoor cats (though, we like to say homeschooled)

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 22/10/2025

I’m officially a certified horticulturalist 😎

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025

2025 GARDEN REVIEW: A garden path is the single most important part of a garden! It’s a defining characteristic of ANY space AND it is one that ALL creatures innately understand if it works or not. This year, the paths were deemed impeccable by our judge… #gardeningreport 🌱

A sweet golden retriever steps tenderly down the garden path. This garden path is made of layers of paper grocery bags.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025

2025 GARDEN REVIEW: To start off, let me introduce the judge - he’s more than just a colleague, he’s my dog and my son. He has high standards and good values. He rarely barks, never digs, always walks on the designated path… #gardeningreport

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 17/09/2025

Who wants to CYBERBULLY this FREAK of a tomato a SUCKER on the LEAF STEM?! 🍅 🌱

A mutant cherry tomato with suckers growing off the leaf stem (rachis).

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 16/09/2025

It’s a terrible thing to have your name hijacked by a corporation

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 15/09/2025

THE 2025 GARDEN REVIEW IS IN!!! 🌱 📈 Although the season is still going strong, our esteemed reviewer has provided us with an in-depth and nuanced report. This report helps us uphold the quality and functionality of the garden. Stay tuned as we release these assessments this week! #gardeningreport

A chipper golden retriever walking down a garden path made of paper grocery bags. This gentleman has finally released his 2025 gardening report, which we will be sharing with you throughout the week.

Urban garden in zone 8b, Pacific Northwest.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 14/09/2025

Comparing 2025 (left) and 2024 (right) sunflowers Photos taken beginning of June I went overboard with the crimson clover in 2025 because 2024 I felt like my soil was too dry. Did it help? Maybe. More rain and regrading the garden this year could contribute as well

2025 beginning of June: sunflowers are barely peaking out of the crimson clover that covers the bed. Currently blooming in this photo (cause I think it’s pretty), a nice green mulch - some might think it’s too much.

2024 beginning of June: comparing the sunflower growth, you can make out more seedlings because the crimson clover is in a neat row in the bed (as opposed to covering completely).

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 14/09/2025

2025 sunflowers so far Not the perfect comparison to 2024 sunflowers (different angle and layout, different types, different bloom times), but same 2 months documented #gardening #bloomscrolling

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 14/09/2025

The native ladybugs were everywhere this year. Lots of bug diversity this year, lots of predators. 3 years ago this urban yard had none. #gardening #nativeplants

A polished lady beetle (Cycloneda polita I think) hanging out in the lacy looking, bolted cilantro. It’s a smaller ladybug, spotless, a solid red body, and it’s white markings look like eyes. A very cute and native bug in the Pacific Northwest, found in my urban garden. Photo taken in late July.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 14/09/2025

I love creatures and critters and that includes plants

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/09/2025

Can’t wait for the new South Park episode

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 08/09/2025

The outrage in the replies are funny to me. In reality, every net zero, sustainability framework, whatever it is- is PR! The marketing worked. I’m not saying Net Zero is bad - I’m saying it’s a rigged system and we are pretending to sustain something unsustainable.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 31/08/2025

‘Sparky Vino’ Scabiosa In the direct sunshine it’s a nice red wine color - at any other moment it is a dark black flower that makes all other flowers POP. Perfect for the gothic gardeners. Here you can see how to flower opens up. #bloomscrolling #gardening

Scabiosa, or pincushion flower. ‘Sparky vino’ is a new cultivar and claims to be the darkest color yet. Nearly black, but when held in the direct sunlight, as shown in this photo, it’s a deep red wine color. Grown from seed from the Frank Morton at Wild Garden Seed. I started these plants indoors in March, before transplanting in my urban garden in Portland Oregon. Zone 8/9.

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Alexa @irlalexa.com · 31/08/2025

Scabiosa, or pincushion flowers, are new for me this year - and will become a regular. Highly productive with strong stems and a long vase life. #bloomscrolling #gardening