I'm In The Garden Today

Snow Covered Smorgasbord

2012-02-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.
~Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719), 'The Spectator'

Birds need food and water every day, just like us gardeners.
When your very own personal bird sanctuary looks like this…

…most of their natural food sources may have been covered under a blanket of snow or ice encrusted and inaccessible.

That is when I just start tossing loose seed over the snow.

In the winter months I forgo the seed feeders in favor of suet cakes. We have so much rain in winter that the seed often gets wet and molds before the birds eat it all so I put out a few of these instead. This is a flicker, a cousin of a Woodpecker.

Hummingbirds get assistance too.

The Anna’s hummingbird over winters on this side of the Cascade Mountain Range so they are year round in my garden. When the temps dip below freezing for any length of time I make a thicker sugar syrup (with NO red dye ever) and wrap the feeder with 3 or 4 layers of bubble wrap. For the most part the syrup does not freeze, unless we get prolonged temps, day and night in the teens. If that happens I bring it in for the night and put it back out for the day. For our most recent icy blast it was fine and stayed liquefied. I did notice though that the little yellow ‘bee guards’ filled with snow and iced over so I did remove them. They are really only needed in summer months anyway.

Also, when the night temps start to dip below freezing I always put a heater in the birdbath. It has a thermostat so if the temps go above 40 F degrees (4 C) it shuts off. Other wise it keeps the water thawed so they can drink. There are many styles out there but the best I’ve used is the Nelson Blue Devil 200 watt heater. I’ve had it for many years.

Be sure to watch your water levels, as you don’t want the warm steam evaporation to leave your heater high and dry.

These simple measures keep the birds coming all winter to my garden, where they also eat lots of bugs and grubs year round, helping to keep down the pest population. Most of us know that hummingbirds consume nectar, but did you know insects provide the protein in their diet? That’s IPM folks, one of the many simple things that can be done for Integrated Pest Management that can greatly reduce and even eliminate chemical pesticide use and keep our gardens organic.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Helleborus, Sarcococca confuse, Heather (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), winter pansies

Author’s photos

Rutless in 2012

2012-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.
~Welsh proverb

Ruts are easy to fall into.
I don’t mean the kind along the road but the kind that keeps you from trying new things.

Today as I am watching the snow fall on my Tuscan kale and Brussels Sprouts, I am deciding which new and which old favorite varieties of vegetables to grow this year. So far I’ve got 3 new to try.

With our Pacific Northwest growing season, there are many things to consider when selecting what to grow. For one thing, we have a short growing season so varieties needing over 100 days to mature are not necessarily going to make it before the season changes and the plant begins to decline.

Another, being only a mile from the water, the temps in my garden don’t necessarily get hot enough to ripen many vegetables like in those gardens more inland. With both those factors, melons, peppers and many others just will never produce and ripen for me. Some veggies need a certain number of heat units for full maturity. Some summers that isn’t a problem but for the last two it has been.

All that to say we are unpredictable in the weather department so tried and true varieties take much of the frustration out of gardening. Not a bad idea, as a matter of fact I’ve said many times on this blog that learning what works and what doesn’t from the more experienced gardeners around you is a great way to go.

However, experimentation can lead you to find something you’d never have found otherwise. For instance I’ve settled into only growing Stupice tomatoes for several years now. Stupice, with 65 days to maturity, is an heirloom variety that grows and ripens consistently in both sunny, warm conditions as well as in our often wet, cloudy and cool summers. That’s early for a mid size tomato so I’m getting ripe fruit sooner than most. While perusing my Nichols Garden Nursery catalog this year I’ve decided to try Willamette, a hybrid developed by Oregon State University for short season areas like ours. A medium size tomato with a 70 day maturation, it claims “good production in spite of false springs, late chills, damp or dry summers”. How can it fail I wonder, so I’m going to plant it instead of Stupice this year and see what I think of it.

Over this past winter I also have been preparing more squash for our meals. I’ve never been a fan of squash, with the exception of zucchini (courgettes) but Shari’s blog has peaked my interest in cooking with squash since she writes about how healthy it is. I’ve found I like acorn squash more than delicata and butternut, so I thought I’d try growing Sweet Reba, an acorn bush variety with a 90 day maturation.

I’m also going to try cucumber Rocky which I found in Territorial Seed catalog. At 48 days this hybrid is a tad earlier than my old standby Marketmore at 55 days. Rocky is a one bite size seedless variety.

Last but not least…the bees. This year I wrapped the beehive against the coldest of winter temps. The only warming efforts I’ve taken in winters past is to strap on a plywood wind break and plug in 2 strands of Christmas lights (the old style that heat up) under the box for some bottom warmth. It’s not a lot but it can add a few degrees to keep a tender perennial alive so I do it for the bees too. Beware if you try this, you may get laughed at by some beekeepers but I didn’t care when they laughed at me. Mine survived that winter when many of theirs didn’t. Dale, my beekeeping friend down the street convinced me to try a wrap this year. He found 4’ x 8’ (1.21 x 2.43 m) sheet polystyrene at the hardware store that cut down would be perfect to use. I opted for the 1 ½ inch thickness. Hive wrapping is a common practice in the upper Midwest and Northeastern U.S. but not so much here. In our temperate climate with mild winters, depending on who you ask, some beeks will wrap and some adamantly will not, believing a wrap gives the bees a false sense of warmth with detrimental results. I’ve never done it, even told new beekeepers not to do it because of the death stories I’d heard. That said, I have given it much thought over the years. If you consider the natural cavity of a dead, hollow tree is probably inches thick and that is a natural cavity honeybees will use in the wild. The standard Langstroth hive body box is ¾ of an inch (1.78cm) thick. The BeeMax polystyrene hive bodies available from Dadant claim better insulation in both summer and winter, and are thicker than a wood hive box but I can’t find the actual dimension in the catalog. Sooo… I decided to give a wrap a try. I may only leave the wrap on in the most frigid of temps…that is yet to be determined.

It’s a new year. What will you try new in your garden?

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Sarcococca confuse, Heather (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), winter pansies

Authors photos

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

"Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!" ~ William Arthur Ward

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were a stellar days here in the Pacific Northwest! They were crisp, cold and gloriously sunny with just a few wispy clouds overhead. The blue skies gave promise of joy in the New Year.

As we started on a long, hilly walk Saturday I noticed a squirrel in my rose bush in the front yard. It was eating the rose hips. I’d noticed some birds doing the same thing last week but I can’t say I’d ever seen a squirrel eating them. It stayed for quite a while before moving on to the seeds of my neighbors lilac tree.

When I started gardening I was told you must keep rose hips from forming or they would take strength from the rose, weakening it year after year. Now I believe quite the opposite. Rose hips are simply the seed pods that form once the flower is finished. For the plant it is one method of survival to form seeds to drop and grow more of itself. In fall when the day length shortens and temperatures drop it is also a signal to the plant that it’s time for it to power down for a dormancy period…like winter. A dormant plant will not succumb to winter’s damaging temperatures, or at least will have a better chance of survival.

The key is to know when to cut the faded flowers off and when to leave them to form hips. Keeping your roses deadheaded does indeed keep the blooms coming. I deadhead my roses all spring and summer, but once fall is well underway I stop deadheading. Let the flower whither on the stem, let the petals fall and in time you’ll see the rose hips forming.

Not all rose varieties have showy hips. Some are very small and not colorful. As you peruse the catalogs and nurseries, look specifically for reference to hips in the plants information tag if you want the lovely winter jewels for your garden. Some are as big as cherry tomatoes as seen in this picture. This is not my rose but I believe it is a Rugosa variety.

These are the less showy hips from my Pat Austin.

These are the hips the squirrel and birds were feasting on. I often tuck stems of these tiny bright red hips into my Christmas decorations.

You may have heard of how high rose hips are in Vitamin C. They are often used as the main source of Vitamin C in commercial supplements. I’ve eaten one once and found it bitter. My friend found it rather tasty. Now I know we picked it too early, as they sweeten after the first frost. Rose hips are used in many recipes of jellies, jams, tea, purees, sauces and syrups. Culinary rose water is made from the flower petals however. Harvest your rose hips after the first frost and prepare them by trimming off the stem and blossom ends, cutting them in half and removing the seeds then washing them well. I must stress how important it is to grow your roses organically whether they are used for your food or allowed as food for wild life. Chemicals are not needed to grow great disease free roses and many pesticide chemicals are systemic, traveling through the plant’s tissues. They cannot be washed off.

Minimal fall garden cleanup such as this gives a bounty of seeds and berries and hips in my garden for the wildlife to feed on during the winter months. And it provides endless hours of entertainment for me. Bird watching aside, I’m also getting ready to start some seeds on the window sill for spring planting. Oh and by the way, thus far the bees are faring well.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am unable to post as often as I had previously or would like to but I plan to keep this blog active and someday hope to pick up the pace again. Sorry for the long lapses in posts, I hope you’ll stick with me. You can receive new posts via email if that’s more convenient for you by using the email button in the right hand column.

Thanks for reading! Looking forward to a new year of gardening with you.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Heather (Erica carnea ‘springwood white’), Geum, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, winter pansies, Alyssum, Sarcococca confusa

Author’s photos

Tyler Street Bees

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

“First find your bees a settled sure abode…”
~Virgil, The Georgics, IV

Honey bees swarm. It’s a fact of nature. When their colony gets too big for their space they will raise a new queen to stay with the original colony and the old queen takes off with a portion of the bees to find new digs. It’s an amazing sight to behold and hear as the buzz from that many bees moving in unison is loud.

Sometimes their new home happens to be in your home. I’ve never heard of a case where the homeowner will actually go for that. Hmmm, what to do? Mostly the freaked out homeowner will just get a can of nasty spray poison and be done with them. It is understandable but unnecessary and undesirable from any viewpoint.

Happily this was not the case with a homeowner on Tyler Street. Her’s is an older home, not insulated like they are today. Homes used to be built with just big air cavities between the inner and outer walls. To remedy this holes are drilled into the outside wall and loose insulation is blown in. Then the hole is patched up. Or at least it should be. In this case the hole was not patched, nor was the cavity filled with any insulation which left a nice, protected, warm, perfectly sized space for some bees looking for a new abode. When the bees moved into this house, the homeowner wisely contacted her local beekeeping club to find help. And naturally my challenge-loving-dad answered the call.

We went out to look the situation over. Dad decided to try the cone method of removal, where he formed a cone from aluminum mesh, attached it to the house pointing up (bees naturally move upward), and provided an empty bee hive up close to give them a place to go. The worker bees can leave but they can’t get back in, so they eventually move into the hive close by, which we ‘baited’ with 2 frames of sealed brood (developing pupae) and 4 frames of honey. The queen on the other hand will not leave, which poses some problem which is why the wall must be opened up. You could leave her in there with the handful of bees that won’t leave her, close it up whereby they’d die, or you could take the wall apart after most of the bees are out to capture and transfer her into the baited hive that now contains the rest of the bees. That’s what we did since neither of us liked the idea of leaving the queen with a handful of her loyal attendants to die.

This kind of swarm capture obviously involves some structural tear out and repair to remove the bees. You may have trouble finding a beekeeper that is willing to do that because all kinds of liabilities get in the way but if you have a handyman or handywoman to work with the beekeeper, the bee removal can go quite smoothly. Such was the case with the Tyler Street bees. The homeowner had a handyfriend up for the challenge and he went to work on the wall after most of the bees had now moved into the baited hive.

And that’s what the inside of a natural honeybee colony looks like. Sheets and sheets of overlapping wax comb in which they store their honey and raise their young. Incredible sight isn’t it?

The white arc across the top is capped cells of honey. The tan cells in the center are capped brood which is the term for sealed pupae in stages of development. That is typical of how bees arrange their combs in the wild.

After the wall was opened up the sheets of wax were cut out and dispersed. The wax with brood was put into the bait hive so they could emerge and join their colony, as was some of the wax with honey. The remainder of wax with honey was put in my hive. By laying it out horizontally over the frames of a hive, the bees will clean out the honey and store it in their frames we beekeepers use in our standard hives. Then the cleaned wax was removed and melted down to sell to local entrepreneurs who make lotions and salves with beeswax.

Bees are truly remarkable. Maybe I’m just a bee geek but I never get tired of seeing these kinds of amazing situations when bees and people cross paths. All in all this whole process took over a month to complete. Once we transferred the queen and her handful of remaining bees we moved the entire colony in their new hive to my dad’s apiary. Presumably the handyman patched up the wall and made sure that hole was closed this time.

So if your path crosses with a swarm, please grab the phone and call your local bee club instead of grabbing a can of poisonous spray. You’ll do the world a favor.

In bloom in my garden today: Armeria, Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Canna, Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Caryopteris, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Lobelia, Kirengeshoma palmata, Nepeta, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Russian Sage, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), winter pansy, Rose, Eupatorium rugosum ‘chocolate’ (joe pye weed)

Author’s photos

Garden-y Baby Hats

2011-10-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden.
~John Erskine

Not all the love of gardens has to do with digging in the dirt. Being a follower of Cindy’s blog I love reading about her beautiful and creative knitting and this summer she designed the most adorable newborn caps in the style of vegetables! Lucky me, we have a new baby about to enter into our family, so I just had to order two for our new forthcoming nephew.

Aren’t they adorable? One has two actual green peas in a pod and the other is a lovely aubergine color for an eggplant. Both are complete with calyx, stem and leaf. The yarn she used is soooo soft too and the colors vibrant. How she fashioned a leaf complete with vein is beyond me but she did it.

Mom-to-be, an accomplished knitter herself loved them as I knew she would. Who wouldn’t? They are wonderful. I can’t wait to see them on baby. Yay for bringing the garden into more aspects of life!

In bloom in my garden today: Armeria, Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Canna, Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Caryopteris, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Lobelia, Kirengeshoma palmata, Nepeta, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Russian Sage, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), winter pansy, Rose, Eupatorium rugosum ‘chocolate’ (joe pye weed),

Authors photos

Harborside Gardens

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Human beings find less rest in idleness than in a change of occupation…just try it. Instead of collapsing in an easy chair, try tackling your hobby. Or write that neglected letter, or help Johnny build a radio receiving set. Activity – especially creative activity – is better recreation than loafing.
~Gardner Hunting

Lately our summer weather has been glorious!

So we took the opportunity to get the kayaks out of their dusty moorage from under the front porch and put them afloat. There must be some rule somewhere that says kayaks should never be idle long enough to accumulate dust!

It was a beautiful day, low 80’s F (27 C) a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Wanting to stay somewhat close to home we put them in at a local harbor not 30 minutes away. I took the opportunity to test out my new, way-too-expensive paddle which proved to be worth every penny. As we paddled around a harbor seal actually followed me around for awhile (but proved camera shy)…how cool is that?

Mostly though, as I dodged mindless, dingy (no pun intended) boaters who didn’t seem to see anything without a motor, I perused the local harbor-side homes for their gardens. I must say I was disappointed. You’d think homes facing a peaceful waterside paradise would have oodles of plants and landscaping in which to engage in peaceful tranquility. As far as I’m concerned peaceful tranquility requires gardens. Oh, there was landscaping yes, but mostly of the green shrubby sort. Lots of Nandina (heavenly bamboo), barberry and box, grasses and a hillside of heather that must be beautiful when in bloom, but not much in the way of color or artfulness. And nearly every deck that had flowers had pots of red annual geraniums. What gives? With the plethora of flowering plants available why not focus your perennial landscaping so that it will provide color, fragrance and seasonal changes? But alas out of dozens of waterside garden potential oasis’ there were only a few I felt were photo worthy.

After this disappointing lack of garden creativity I consoled myself as we docked for lunch. I can’t tell you how fun it is to ‘dock for lunch’. That’s the point of my kayak in the lower portion of the photo.

After a delicious rest we paddled again around the rest of the harbor to view gardens on the other side. Many had lounge chairs on their dock…ahhh, nice.

This one had a chiminea on the patio.

All in all a great day, and throw in participation of a group water rescue (I rescued their paddle and a water jug) of some poor tourists who somehow managed to flip over their rented canoe and I’d say the day was “very satisfactory” (as Nero Wolf would say).

In bloom in my garden today: Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Nandina, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), Lavender, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini

Author’s photos

Corn on the Cob on the Grill

2011-09-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty

Have you ever grilled your corn on the cob? I’ve read about it several times but never tried it. Mainly because I’d read you have to soak them beforehand for a few hours and I never managed to be that organized to get it done. But I love grilling in the summer and today’s the day, the corn in the garden is ready.

Every year I grow my own corn from seed. When I decided to try growing it in my own garden I asked a local, long time gardener what variety she recommended. Without hesitation she said “Bodacious, that’s the only corn I’ll grow”. Local, first hand advice just can’t be beat so I figured why inquire further? Off to the store I went to find a seed packet of Bodacious. I’ve been growing it ever since. The corn is sweet, juicy and the skins are not tough.

I start the seeds indoors in April and am sure to plant them outdoors by June 1. Since there’s only two of us to cook for I grow between 6-8 stalks. Each stalk will generally produce 2 ears. Sometimes you’ll only get one ear, sometimes 3 but usually 2 is the standard.

My normal corn on the cob cooking method is no doubt atrocious to the gourmet cook so I decided this year to read up on it in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. They recommend boiling the shucked ear 2-3 minutes only or grilling in the husk. For grilling they say you don’t necessarily have to soak it and you’ll get a different flavor if you don’t. Nor do you have to shuck them or mess with the silks if you grill it. Wow, how easy can that be…just pick it off the stalk and lay it on the grill.

So that’s what I did…picked two off the stalks and after tearing off just the dried silks at the top (I thought they might burn and smoke) I grilled them for 3-4 min on the med setting, turning it on 4 sides. That equates to 12-16 minutes total. I have to say, I think closer to 10-12 minutes rather than 16 minutes would be perfectly done. I have several more ears to experiment timing with so next time I’ll try it on the low setting. Ours isn’t a sophisticated grill, just the small, portable gas type that’s great for camping and tailgate parties. It only has low, medium, and high heat settings so I don’t know any actual temperatures.

This is a brilliant way to cook fresh corn from the garden. Quick with no dishes to clean and no waiting for a big pot of water to boil! Just snap it off the stalk and lay it on the grill for 12 minutes, turning every 3. Yay!

In bloom in my garden today: Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Nandina, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), LavenderLobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini

Author’s photo

Summer Zucchini Relish

2011-08-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden.
~Orson Scott Card

In the growing of zucchini, there’s ALWAYS one that gets away. I much prefer to pick them no bigger than 4-5 inches (10-12 cm) long and with the wilted flower still attached. That is a perfect size to slice up medallions for pizza or slice in half lengthwise to grill for a few minutes on the gas grill like Debra does. That small size also has miniscule seeds and a still firm center. Catching them at that size takes daily perusal. I was sure there was one to check on…should be perfect for dinner tonight by now. But when I looked, there it was. The first of the year to quadruple in size overnight! Well over a foot long (30 cm) I contemplated tossing it into the compost but that’s such a waste. I could make it into a casserole, or bread but I didn’t want to use the oven and I didn’t have all the ingredients for Vindaloo or Quesadillas. Nor did I want anything to be that involved. I was taking it easy that day, still feeling the effects of a migraine from the day before.

Hmmm, what to do. My friend Kathy LOVES those big’uns for making her relish for canning but I only had one and she doesn’t live close by. Looking through my recipe card files…no…I neglected to get the recipe from her. Ok, this can’t be that complicated…find one in the cookbooks and try it. As you can see I have saved several pickle recipes in years past. I tried pickling some zucchini spears last year but didn’t really like them. I didn’t find a recipe that was interesting and easy for my lack of energy and patience, but reading through a dozen or so for pickles and relish, I made one up and got started.

Making a relish is perfect for trying out the new shredder attachment my sister gave me at Christmas for the KitchenAid. Without it I wouldn’t have attempted all that grating by hand.

Cool shredder! Lickety split, done in less than 5 minutes! I can see how useful this will be for lots of recipes.

I used the ‘coarse’ shredding cone. It did a pretty good job with only a few chunks left uncut.

To that bowlful I added

• 2 tsp of Celtic Sea Salt (the gray salt but pink Himalayan sea salt would be great too)

and left it to sit for an hour to draw out the water from the zucchini. Give it a stir now and then. It will become frothy. After the hour soak, I let it drain in a colander for an hour. Don’t rinse it; you don’t want to lose those healthy minerals from your sea salt nor do you want to add moisture back in.

Meanwhile make up your ‘sauce’.

In a small bowl I combined:
• ½ c apple cider vinegar (local from Rockridge Orchards, yum)
• ¾ c Sucanat (a healthier form of sugar Shari told me about)
• ¼ tsp tumeric
• 1/8 tsp ground mustard seed (prepared mustard is fine)
• 7 twists of freshly ground fenugreek (no, it’s not in any of my recipes but I love fenugreek and in it goes. It’s wonderful on any veg)

Let all that dissolve and blend while the zucchini is draining. When the zucchini finished draining I spooned it into a wide mouth quart canning jar, poured in enough ‘sauce’ just to cover, gave it a stir, capped it and put it into the refrigerator. The jar was about ¾ full, but I took this picture after we had it for dinner. I had enough sauce for probably 2 jars but didn’t have another zucchini that big. You could save it for another batch or I just poured it into a salad dressing jar, added an equal amount of olive oil for a delish salad dressing.

One recipe for ‘quick cucumber pickles’ said by the next day you can enjoy them. I wanted to spoon this relish over a grilled salmon patty for dinner so it didn’t sit that long, but by next day it should be even better….if it lasts that long. I think the salting and draining of the zucchini leaves it softened and ready to absorb the sauce quickly which is why this doesn’t need weeks to be ready to enjoy.

I must say…this was a wonderful meal. Over a bed of lettuce I layered some brown rice, the grilled salmon patty, the relish and drizzled some sauce over the lettuce and rice. Yum. I’m tempted to let several zucchini ‘get away’ now that I have this recipe. It’s a keeper. I can see this jar won’t last much more than a day or two. It will be good on just about anything.

A relish from garden to table in a matter of hours…how fresh is that!

In bloom in my garden today: Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Armeria, Astlbe, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Bletilla pink, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Digitalis grandiflora, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), Green Beans, Hosta, Huchera, Lavender, Lily, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Scheherazade oriental lily, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Thyme ‘foxley’, Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini

Author’s photos

Abyssinian Glads Are Back!

2011-08-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener.
~J. C. Raulston

Perhaps you remember this post featuring Abyssinian glads I wrote in 2009.

Well here’s an update, if you will, on one bit of information I wrote then. I wrote that my original bulbs purchased were from Old House Gardens , which produced such beautiful and very fragrant flowers that I was hooked on them. So wonderful they are that I am willing to consider them annuals and buy new bulbs every year since they are not hardy enough for my USDA zone 7 garden to come back strong yearly. For the 2 years following I bought bagged bulbs from the garden center at Fred Meyer (Kroger) because it saved me on shipping costs and price per bulb over all. Well the first ‘thrifty’ batch of bulbs never produced any flowers at all. I wondered if it was due the cold fall that came earlier than normal, so I chalked the failure up to the weather in that given year. The following year my newly purchased package of ‘thrifty’ bulbs were planted and grew lots of lovely leaves again but our summer was overall colder than normal and this time I only got a few flowers to enjoy. Out of about 20 bulbs I got 5 that formed blooms. And it was another bad year for weather. Both of these years also gave me fits in the vegetable garden so you can see why I blamed it on the weather. I decided to buy my 2011 stock from Old House Gardens again to see if my thrifty-ness was the problem.

Well duh! The bulbs I received from OHG are far bigger, more than twice the size of the bulbs I was getting at the garden center. Clearly the package bulbs sold to the discounters are not of blooming size. Have you bought packaged bulbs at a hardware store or nursery only to have them fail. Did you blame yourself for doing something wrong to cause the failure? If a bulb is too small it won’t bloom for a year or more till it reaches the proper size, if it grows at all. It may not have been your fault. I have even seen these same packages being sold at a pricey nursery in my area. As you can see in the photo, four bulbs of the proper size nearly fill my hand.

All I can say is I wouldn’t buy them anywhere but Old House Gardens from now on and this isn’t an endorsed plug for them. It’s buyer beware as you know and when I can I like to steer fellow gardeners to the best resources I know of. Their link has been in my sidebar since I set up this blog in 2008 because they have quality stock are nice and personable to deal with by phone or online. Have you ever heard of Garden Watchdog ? It is a site that rates mail-order companies for gardeners. It’s quite handy to know about as it can save you headaches by learning from others experiences. Good to know that Old House Gardens is in their top 30 of most highly rated companies!

Here it is early August and the first flowers are opening. This has been a bad year weatherwise for us again, but the bulbs which I planted in April grew quickly and have lush leaves despite the cold, wet, cloudy spring and early summer we have had.

Thrifty isn’t thrifty if you are getting a lesser quality product for your money and the disappointment of poor performance. It’s simply a waste of money. For two years I missed out on the gorgeous flowers and fabulous fragrance by unknowingly buying under sized bulbs. They were simply not big enough to bloom.

Forgive me OHG for ever doubting your superiority. I’ll be back next year for my bulbs. From now on my gorgeous, fragrant Abyssinian glads (Gladiolus callianthus) will be from OHG!

In bloom in my garden today: Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Armeria, Astlbe, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Bletilla pink, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Digitalis grandiflora, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera),Green Beans, Hosta, Huchera, Lavender, Lily, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Purple poppies, Rose, Salvia, Scheherazade oriental lily, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (meadow rue), Thyme ‘foxley’, Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Veronica, Wisteria, Zucchini

Author’s photos

Garden of Memories

2011-07-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

In the sliding glass doors of the kitchen, I catch glimpses of an old woman hobbling around in my garden, and I realize in amazement that it’s me.
~Sidney Eddison

I definitely believe my love of gardening was infused in me by my mother decades ago. She started me gardening as a child growing pumpkins in California. In my 20’s she encouraged me to plant flower beds and revive a weak rose at the tiny house I rented. From then on I never stopped gardening. For years we lived, loved and laughed in each other’s gardens, municipal gardens, garden tours and nursery excursions. We shared the love of gardens and shared our love for each other in gardens. As her garden became too difficult for her to manage, I stepped in to help. Eventually we moved most of her garden to pots on her patio, so she could sit in a chair and tend them at a more manageable level. Her beloved rose bushes and a few perennials in a raised bed stayed where they were, still within her reach. I tended the rest.

A lovely, sunny, warm Saturday in July, my mom spent her day in her garden, doing what she loved, tending her pots. The next day she laid down for a nap, never again to regain consciousness. 24 hours later she was in the presence of her Lord Jesus, new, whole and joyful. Such sweet sorrow these days.

In the 3 days before her death, I kept seeing swallowtail butterflies. Always and only swallowtails, one each day. The day before her death, at the time she fell ill in her home, I was unaware what was happening. My husband and I were on a walk and a swallowtail came right up to us and swooped so close to my face that I jerked back so it wouldn’t hit me. On some level I felt there may be some significance to all these butterflies but didn’t understand what. Brushing such weird thoughts aside I decided it was simply a hatch brought on by the sudden burst of warm weather. I just enjoyed them. Every day for 5 days following her last breath I saw a swallowtail flit through her garden or mine. One day I saw two, one in each of our gardens as I had opportunity to be in both that day. Each time I strongly felt her presence and could smile. One landed briefly on her red rose bush, then proceeded away. The day we buried her, as the graveside service concluded, a swallowtail flew in the midst of us, swooped down and up over the casket and disappeared around the side of the grave stone. I smiled as I felt her presence, understanding now how you can feel sorrow and joy at the same time.

We gardened very differently. Hers was more of a formal style with swept grounds and 4 feet between each of her 25 rose bushes “for circulation”. Mine is more closely packed with perennials crowding out weeds. Sage and ajuga grow closely beneath my roses…overall a billowy English style with a perpetual layer of debris mulch covering the soil. “Messy…I like it but can’t seem to do it, I need more neatness” she would say. Some plants she’d describe as ‘leggy’ if she thought they should be fuller. “They are airy” I’d say and we’d laugh. Right now I can’t hear her laugh in my mind. I hope one day it will come back to me.

And as all gardeners do, we shared plants. She loved the pink old fashioned coral bells (huchera) and she kept a pot of the red flowering ones which were her mother’s favorite. I have cuttings of both in my garden. She had this Mullen chaixii ‘Album’ pictured below in a large pot for years. It began to languish and she was ready for me to remove it to the compost. I always loved it and was unsuccessful with its seeds for my own garden so I took it home, planted it in the ground where it thrives and has doubled in size, rewarding the bumblebees with its nectar and pollen.

One day she enjoyed standing next to my blueberry bushes and eating them right off the bush as we talked. So much so that she bought a dwarf blueberry for a pot on her patio. This year her bush is loaded with blueberries though she’ll miss the ripening. I bet the blueberries in heaven are far better.

My Alpine strawberries came from her plants too. Having plants and cuttings from her garden in my own has taken on a new meaning for me. Her potted garden has acquired a few treasures from my garden over the years. Her pots of Geranium ‘Lily Lovell’ and Lily of the Valley came from my holdings, and some of my hardy geraniums are blooming along the front walk to their home.

I feared that joy would leave my garden for a time after her death, but it has not. I find it a peaceful, restful place still, one in which I can smile as I think of her. I don’t think my gardening will ever be the same. I think forevermore I’ll feel mom’s presence in the garden whether I’m working in mine or hers as I maintain it for as long as my dad remains in their home. And I hope every summer the swallowtail butterflies will always come bringing me peace and some of her presence as God sends them my way. He does things of love like that you know.

In bloom in my garden today: Alpine Strawberries, Armeria, Astlbe, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Bletilla pink, Borage, Clematis alpina ‘frankie’, Daphne, Digitalis, Geranium, Green Beans, Hardy Geranium, Hosta, Huchera, Kniphofia, Lavender, Lily, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Peas, Phygelius, Purple poppies, Primrose vailii, Rose, Salvia, Sedum, Star Jasmine, Thyme, Tomato, Veronica, Zucchini,

Author’s photos

Good Garden Bugs

2011-06-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

When you see a garden bug, what’s your first reaction? Squash it at all costs? Spray it? Or study it?

Today when I came home I spied this guy on my Pat Austin rose bush, just putting forth its first apricot blooms of the year. I’d seen these beetle like bugs flying and crawling around in the past few weeks but didn’t pay much attention to them, not knowing what they were. But today I saw one on this rose, at the buds which have been chewed and deformed. I wondered if it was the culprit, so I watched it. It appeared to be eating the aphids that were there also. Hmmm, is this a good guy, I wondered?

I watched more.

Have you ever just sat and watched a bug? It is fascinating. You should try it. If I hadn’t watched it I’d have assumed it was what caused all the damage…the chewed out base of the buds, the curled buds that will open to a deformed rose. But I watched. Ok, first I had to go find my magnifying ‘reader’ glasses, THEN I watched. For several minutes. It WAS eating the aphids! SWEET! Since I do not use chemical insecticides, I rely on beneficial insects like this and birds to keep the bad bugs under control.

If you look closely you might be able to see some webbing under the leafy green that is below the bug’s abdomen. THAT is the culprit of the bud damage…a worm of some kind (I need to look that up) who had eaten into the buds and spun a cocoon. I can see it moving in there. Fascinating.

So, I have this great bug book. The fabulous photographs and descriptions of Whiney Cranshaw’s book Garden Insects of North America tells me this bug is a Rove Beetle and that they are generally predators of insects, specifically root maggots, found in soil. Boy Howdy am I glad I didn’t jump to a disastrous conclusion and squash this sweet baby before I knew what it was. From now on the Rove Beetle, a beneficial insect, is my friend.

As for that cocoon spinning worm…as soon as Rove Beetle has had its fill and moved onto another smorgasbord I’ll be removing those deformed buds and squashing that worm…it is not my friend.

In bloom in my garden today: Allium shubertii, Alpine Strawberry,Alyssum, Aquilegia, Armeria pseudarmeria latifolia ‘joystick mix’,Baptisia, Blueberries, Brunnera macrophylla,Chives,Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice,’ Daylily, Dianthus, Digitalis grandiflora, English daisy, Geum, Hardy Geranium, Heuchera , Iris, Lilac, Lobelia, Nepeta ‘six hills giant’ (catmint), Peas, Peony , Rose, Rosemary ‘hill hardy’, Salvia, Saxifraga , Solomon’s Seal, Tellima grandiflora (fringecup),Tomato, Vancouveria hexandra (inside out flower)

Authors photos

Strawberry Vine

2011-06-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful,
~Abram L. Urban

Isn’t that the funniest looking flower you’ve ever seen? When the red cherry-like bud opens it reveals something like a pine cone to my eye but its common name is Strawberry Vine. Shisandra rubiflora is a twining vine that likes a sunny or semi-sunny spot. Twining vines do best with some sort of a trellis or arbor with an open construction so the vines can spiral themselves around the supports. It does not like to dry out and reportedly will reach 10-15 feet (3-5 m) tall. It is hardy to USDA zone 7. Originally, in 2007 I planted it in a fairly shady spot that only got sun late in the day. It didn’t settle in very well nor did it bloom, then an errant soccer ball broke it to pieces, so 2 years ago I moved it to a safer spot that gets sun till well past mid-day. This year it is taking off, is filling out and there are more blooms than ever before.

A perfect example of ‘right plant, right place’. If you have a plant that is not happy, it is possible that it is simply in the wrong conditions for its needs. Read the tag that comes with it carefully for the necessary information to make it thrive in your garden. Of special note: the tag also says vigorous. Be aware that tags are written to sell plants, not warn of possible problems. When you see the term 'vigorous' on a tag let that be a red flag. A vigorous ground cover could become an invasive pest, difficult to eradicate. A vigorous vine could swallow up what ever it comes into contact with so beware. I may have to do a lot of maintenance on this vine like I do my wisteria to keep it under control. That will remain to be seen.

All in all it is a very odd flower and one to look for if you are a plant collector with a penchant for the unusual.

My friends, I am sorry that this post is so long in coming. I never meant to keep you hanging on, wondering if I was going to write more. Lately other responsibilities have been demanding more of my attention and I have had less time to write. I still have lots of ideas to write about and am not willing to say good bye, but I will be posting much less often. I hope you have enjoyed this blog and will stay with me. I know I have enjoyed having you visit and comment. It has been so fun to see visits from around the world, making our global garden so much smaller. If you are fairly new to this blog, there are many, many more articles archived for you to read and comment on. The previous posts will remain valid and I will answer all comments or questions you may have. If you want to be notified the next time I post, you can click on the subscription button in the right column and it will come to your email.

Until we meet again, I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere have a wonderful summer enjoying your gardens, and those of you in the southern hemisphere – enjoy the respite and have fun planning what you’ll do next year in your garden. Cheers!

In bloom in my garden today: shisandra rubriflora, saxifrage, hardy geraniums, lily of the valley, iris, huchera, lilac, dutch iris, columbine, peony, geum, dianthus, solomon’s seal, sedum, daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and 'Summer Ice’, wisteria, tellima, azalea, ajuga, chives, tomato, raspberry, alpine strawberry

Author’s photo

Kale for Bees?

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt — marvelous error!
that I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
and sweet honey from my old failures.
~Antonio Machado

So, we attend the meetings of three different bee associations in the region, and at one of them last month a fellow mentioned that he lets his kale go to flower for the bees. Hmmm, I got to thinking, I grow kale, the Tuscan variety (aka Dino kale or Black kale), and usually when it begins to flower I yank it out and start the garden over again. I didn’t know bees would go for it. This spring, if you can call it that, has been so cold and wet for so long that I’ve not been able to get any new seedlings other than peas and leeks in the ground. The garlic and remaining leeks have wintered over well, the asparagus is coming up, the alpine strawberries are blooming and now the kale is in full bloom.

Woo hoo! Not only do the bees love it but the hummingbirds are going for it too! Not in droves but the other day I saw a hummer flitting around and sampling all the flowers. In addition to honey bees and hummingbirds, there were also other different tiny pollinator bees going for it. Check out the honey bee in the picture here. Honey bees have shorter tongues than bumblebees and hummingbirds who could easily reach into such a deep flower. These flowers are a little too tight for the bees to get their heads in far enough for their tongues to reach the nectar so the smart little bee is accessing it from between the petals from the backside of the bloom nearer the stem end. Smart huh?

Who knew?? Not me, that’s for sure but I learned something new that I will continue in the years to come. Leave the kale to bloom for your pollinators.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Alpine strawberries, Bergenia, Ajuga, Kale, Tulips, Geum, Erythronium ‘pagoda, Fritillaria, Brunnera macrophylla, Anemone nemorosa, Dicenta alba (white bleeding heart), Skimmia, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Rhododendron, Mahonia, Clematis, Wood Hyacinths, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy),

Author’s photos

Bergenia

2011-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Take thy spade,
It is thy pencil;
Take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.
~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782

Are you one that thinks red and magenta shouldn’t go together?

Perhaps Bergenia ‘Evening Glow’ will change your mind. The color combination is truly eye-candy, grabbing your attention from across the garden. When I originally purchased this plant, the tag was labeled Bergenia ‘Abend Glut’ which is German for Evening Glow. For some reason all the tags I see now have been translated to Evening Glow. I think I liked the German vernacular better but it seems to be changed, at least here. Look for either to be sure to find the correct hybrid.

Bergenia, also known as ‘pig squeak’ (I have no idea why) or ‘elephants ears’, is hardy in USDA zones 1-9. This variety seems to do better in my garden with more sun, providing they don’t completely dry out too often. I have some in less sun but they don’t bloom as well, the leaves are smaller and they don’t have as much winter color. Those planted in morning sun or early afternoon sun with partial shade in the hottest part of the day give me the best blooms. You may want to experiment with locations to find the best spot in your garden. As always, the further north you live from the equator the more sun these plants can handle. If you live in a hot region, try them in some afternoon shade or light dappled shade all day. If they get too much sun, you could see shriveling leaves, spotting on the leaves, crispy leaf edges, and/or general unhappiness in the plants appearance.

Left are the lovely, large leaves of ‘Evening Glow’ …green in summer turning a gorgeous wine color in winter’s chilly temps (below). The more winter sun they get the more the leaves color up. This variety also keeps its leaves all year. While other varieties I’ve seen become a mass of dried or mushy leaves after a freeze, ‘Evening Glow’ stays strong in the garden. The photo below was taken in March after an especially cold, icy, snowy winter; obviously unaffected.

Bergenia is a great ground cover filling in to form a nice mass of large leaves. Our city has it in these sidewalk plantings. It can handle a little abuse from pedestrians concentrating on texting when they should be watching where they’re walking. Also when the clump is established it can take some drying out. This city planting is not irrigated.

To divide your mass, simply begin lifting the plants out of the ground with the help of a garden fork. They’ll break into smaller chunks. You can trim the rootstock to manageable size and plant them.

Even if you don’t get any smaller roots with the main rootstalk, it’ll root out. A piece as small as seen below will be fine, providing you don’t let the surrounding soil dry out. They store a lot of water and energy in the rootstalk, stems and leaves.

Plant it and water it in…notice how the leaves look chopped off in the next photo? They are. That piece of root can’t support full leaves anymore so cut them in half. That will allow the energy to go into producing new roots and not be wasted on trying to keep the whole leaves hydrated. It will put out new leaves as the roots grow and strengthen. Cut all the leaves in half on all your root pieces, even if they look like the bigger one. This practice also helps the plants stability. On windy days leaves can act as a sail, wiggling the plant out of the soil. Cutting the leaves down (but not off) keep the plant stable so new roots won’t be damaged while they are trying to grow.

Not all varieties are as nice as ‘Evening Glow’. I used to have Bergenia ‘Silber Licht’ aka ‘Silver Light’. The leaves did not seem to be as sturdy so was constantly eaten by slugs, not as nice in winter and they spotted with red spots. It’s white flowers spotted too so I got rid of it and divided my ‘Evening Glow’ to replace it.

So now what do you think of red and magenta together? Bergenia ‘Evening Glow’…it’s a stunner!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Bergenia, Ajuga, Kale, Tulips, Geum, Erythronium ‘pagoda, Fritillaria, Brunnera macrophylla, Anemone nemorosa, Dicenta alba (white bleeding heart), Skimmia, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Rhododendron, Mahonia, Clematis, Wood Hyacinths, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy), violet primrose

Authors photos

Taming the Vine

2011-04-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.
~Frank Lloyd Wright

Vines are a great way to cover an eye sore or add vertical plant interest to a small garden. Just about every garden has something ugly or boring that could be covered with a lovely vine. A dull fence, a neighboring garage that you’d rather not see or perhaps you’d like to add an arbor over your gate.

Are you afraid of vines after having seen a wisteria or English Ivy (Hedera helix) swallow up someone’s house? Not all vines are rampant thugs nor do they have to take over the house. I am going to describe how I prune 3 of my vines, Solanum, Wisteria and Fuchsia in my yard. This will be general pruning advice for many (not all) woody, deciduous, perennial vines.

The above picture is of a Solanum crispum glasnerium (Blue Potato Vine) taken in late summer. The trellis it is on is 16 feet (5.2 m) long and 7 feet (2.1m) tall. As you can see the plant covers it and rises several feet above it. In my locale it is in perpetual bloom from May well into December. Only our coldest sustained deep freeze will stop the blooms and make the leaves fall. It is a fast grower with no pest problems that I’ve experienced. After you initially train the twining branches where you want them, it is no work at all aside from annual pruning. Hummingbirds love it and I see the squirrels eat the green and orange berries in winter. I’ve had two of these vines. Only once, on a previous vine did I see sucker growth coming up a foot away from the plant. I’ve never had suckering from the second vine. It may or may not be a problem for you.

Above is the same vine after I prune it in March. Initially I tied the young pliable vines to a fence or trellis where I wanted them to grow and thicken. It blooms on new wood, so every year when you prune you will keep only those branches that will create a main framework for you. All the rest, prune out.

Next is my wisteria vine, trained into a ‘standard’. The photo above is in bloom, below is pruned prior to blooming. Twenty five years ago when we bought this house it was climbing over the roof, into the siding and about to swallow the back stoop. It is not self supporting. The trunk would have to be much thicker, so I have it supported by a cut willow branch. Wisteria is a bit trickier to prune. They bloom on old wood. The leaf buds come out at the same time as the flower buds. The flower buds will begin to elongate with a scale-ly appearance, while the leaf buds will stay tightly closed. Only then do I prune the wisteria, if it needs it, so I can tell if I am about to cut off flower buds. If your wisteria is really a big mess, you may have to sacrifice flower buds for a year to get it back into shape.

If you don’t like to putter in the garden on a weekly basis do not plant a wisteria. While this type of pruning easily keeps it to a manageable size and shape, it sends out new tendrils all throughout the summer that will quickly turn it into a mess. Be prepared to cut them off weekly to keep ahead of it.

Here’s a great example of another pruned wisteria. The main framework of it is trained along the front porch and around the side of this house. All the rest is removed each spring.

The wisteria below is out of control, reaching into the gutters and under the siding. It could be cleaned up and pruned the same as the one pictured above.

Next is my Fuchsia magellanica ‘hawkhead’ after pruning. A gorgeous fuchsia with a small lavender flower which the hummingbirds love. Left alone it will be a bushy shrub, but you can form it into an upright small tree. It took a few years to get it this big (over 6 feet/1.8m) and for the vines to thicken where I wanted them. When it’s in full leaf and flower, it covers the whole area. It is not self supporting. I use green flexible tie ‘tape’ to keep the main stems tied to the support which is an aluminum fence post, cemented in and painted black. I cut all the small branchlettes off the main network of branches in March or when I see new green leaf growth emerging.

• The time to prune your woody vine is when it is dormant but about to break dormancy or just as it is breaking dormancy. If it is still dormant there will be no leaves or buds opening. The leaf buds may be ‘swelling’, getting ready to ‘break’ but no color green is yet showing. The hardest time to prune is when it’s fully leafed out. It is really hard to see you’re progress with all those leaves in the way. In my region, late winter early spring is the best time to prune deciduous, woody vines.

• You need to know if the vine you are buying blooms on ‘old wood or new wood’. It is an important question to ask at the nursery. Wisterias, for example, bloom on old wood meaning they set their flower buds the previous summer and if you prune too hard you’ll cut off those flower buds. The buds will not necessarily be visible to you but they have formed in the stem nonetheless. A climbing rose on the other hand blooms on new wood so you can prune those in the spring with no fear of cutting off this year’s blooms. They set their flower buds on the new growth. I prune climbing roses the same as the Solanum. Leave the long, main arching canes, trim off the small stuff and cut out any dead canes.

• When you are cutting, think framework. Naturally, you’ll cut to a smaller overall size than you want the plant to be when in full leaf/flower. It may take you a few years of pruning to gauge that, as you prune and see how big it becomes when leafed out.

• When you are vine shopping from a reputable nursery, ask for pruning advice from the nursery staff and ask how ‘vigorous’ the vine is you are considering. The term vigorous on a plant tag is the grower’s cheeky way to get you to buy what is possibly a thug, plant or vine. Vigorous often translates to invasive. Yes, really. Ask a lot of questions before you buy, and if the staff can’t answer, find another nursery. In my region, early to mid May is often when nurseries offer vines at sale prices.

As I mentioned above, this advice is for some vines. Not all can be pruned this way. Clematis vines for example, depending on the type of Clematis you have, it can either be cut down to the ground or must not be pruned at all, except to remove dead stems. It’s best to ask the nursery personnel for specifics regarding what you are buying.

A very important post script. If you live and garden in the USA, please do not buy, plant, or even consider English Ivy (Hedera helix). On parts of the west coast Hedera helix is listed on the noxious weed register and now illegal for many (but not enough) nurseries to sell. The seeds are spread via air mail, courtesy of soaring birds. They are fast growers and hardy, quickly climbing over anything. It is smothering and choking out our native woodland shrubs. Not only does it grow up those pretty stone and brick estate mansions, it grows up our forest’s trees and can girdle them, which kills them. There are many grass-roots organizations spearheading its eradication in our forests, woodlands and wetlands, but they are a drop in the bucket of what’s needed. The mature, waxy leaves repel even the most deadly herbicidal sprays. It is best battled by hand. If a gardening ‘expert’ tells you to plant English Ivy for soil erosion control…find another ‘expert’ for a more educated solution. There are many, many better options, specific for your region. Please do not settle on English Ivy.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Daphne caucasica 'Eternal Fragrance', Anemone nemerosa 'robinsoniana', brunnera macdrophylla, Mahonia, Corylopsis veitch (Winter Hazel), Rhododendrons, Clematis, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hyacinths, Tulipa turkistanica, Hepatica, Daffodil, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy), violet primrose

Author’s photos

Random Thoughts and a Treat

2011-04-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Coffee. Garden. Coffee. Does a good morning need anything else?
~Betsy Cañas Garmon

We have been having one wet and cold spring! It’s often wet here in the Pacific Northwest, a fair exchange for the beauty that surrounds us, but this is one for the record book! The vegetable gardens are way behind, the tulips for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival are not open yet and the festival is nearly half over! The garden is languishing, not wanting to awaken fully but making a bold effort as you can see by my bloom listing below.

Even the local PNW natives who refuse to complain about the weather are beginning to sigh and moan. Some say it’s never been this bad, but I seem to remember the spring before last, it was cold and wet clear into May. Last year, summer didn’t start till July 5. A few years ago spring was so cold and wet I lost two of my most cherished Scheherazade lily bulbs. Originally I bought 3 huge bulbs which over a few years time increased themselves to 5. Then after that long, cold spring they were back to 3, two succumbing to the wet. Apparently they don’t like too much cold and wet when it’s time for them to make an appearance. Today I noticed some of my Aphrodite lilies are coming up but as I scan for Scheherazade…they are apparently still sleeping. I keep my fingers crossed for them. They have a lovely fragrance and I have a photo from last year that I hoped to make into a post for you when they bloom again this year.

Yesterday wasn’t too bad of a day though. I heard a few lawn mowers going, a neighbor was working on a lawn elimination project and I had some contented hours in the garden, weeding, trimming and planting several newly acquired treasures. A quick check on the bees revealed a low mite count. Yay! I also spread diatomaceous earth in a new effort at warfare against the slugs and something unknown that is eating most of my plants at the north fence.

As always, my beloved and I also made time for a walk. We have to MAKE time, otherwise I’d be lost in my garden and he’d be lost in his photography. And today I especially wanted to take my new friend Cup Cozy out for a drink. The forecasters promised a dry afternoon so we set out for a few miler, sans umbrellas and had a lovely albeit breezy walk to our local Starbucks. Cup Cozy is a newly acquired precious gift from Cindy fellow blogger, yarn spinner and knitter extraordinaire. Last fall she came to my rescue with a gorgeous and timely scarf. Cup Cozy came as a sweet springtime gift with a cute bunny notepad all wrapped up in pink tissue. Cindy spun fibers of blues and browns into a lovely blend. And yes, it did keep my coffee warmer for longer.

Cup Cozy not only put a warm hug on my coffee, it put a warm hug on my heart! Thank you Cindy! I hope you, dear reader, have such a friend.

Coffee, gardens, walking with your beloved, and friends…what more could bring a smile to a soggy Northwesterner? Well the sun of course, but that's a given.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Fritillaria, Anemone nemorosa, Dicenta alba (white bleeding heart), Skimmia, Corylopsis veitch (Winter Hazel), Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Rhododendron, Mahonia, Clematis, Hyacinths, Tulipa turkistanica, Hepatica, Daffodil, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy), violet primrose

Authors photo

Fragrant Winter Hazel

2011-04-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

April comes like an idiot, babbling, and strewing flowers.
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet, 1892-1950

I have two Winter Hazels (Corylopsis veitch) in my garden and they are in full bloom now. I specifically bought them for fragrance, size, shape and the soft yellow bloom color, in that order. At the time, I was also considering Witch Hazel (Hamamelis). Hamamelis has similar growth shape, size and also a fragrance but what bothered me about it is for one: it hangs onto its old leaves forever and two: it is commonly seen in gardens around here. I just didn’t like the look of last years old, brown, withered leaves still attached to the branches when this years blossoms open. It just looks messy to me and I’m on the fence whether or not I like the spidery looking blossoms.

Corylopsis veitch is harder to find but well worth the effort. Nurseries stock more of the smaller Corylopsis species (Corylopsis spicata) but in my opinion ‘veitch’ gives a much better show due to its larger size and I was after adding height to my garden. C. veitch is vase shaped, meaning V shaped, so it doesn’t really take up that much room in width low to the ground. After several years in my garden its skyward reaching branches rise to about 12 feet (3.6m) so I get nice structure and height, but I didn’t give up much garden space. Many shrubs and perennials can be planted around and under it. I don’t have a big garden, just a postage stamp sized city lot, but it fits well. There’s less than 17 feet (5.2m) between our houses and yet it fits nicely between the two walkways with minimal trimming.

Corylopsis is hardy in USDA zones 4-7. They are deciduous which provides me with leaf mulch and the bare branches don’t get broken by our fiercest winter winds. They do well in our acidic soil and only need average water. They like sun or partial shade. As always, the further north you go the more sun they can take. Northern gardeners like me can plant them in full sun but in the hotter Southern climates they may need some dappled shade during the heat of the day. The flowers open in pendulous clusters on leafless branches. They are a soft pale yellow, which fit perfectly into my mostly purple, blue and pale yellow color scheme. Sorry I can’t tell you how long I’ve had it to give you an indication of how long it will take to grow to 12 feet tall. I got it before I started writing the purchase date on the tags of plants, but resources say it’s slow growing. I did splurge and buy one that was already 6 feet (1.8m) tall or so…I wanted the space to fill in fast, so if I had to guess I’d say 6-7 years. When buying any tree or shrub, make sure the branching on the specimen you choose is nicely spaced and pleasing to the eye. A crooked or angled trunk will probably not ‘straighten’ out after you plant it.

And fragrance! It is very subtle initially. Your new, small plant won’t perfume your whole garden…yet. In fact you may have to get your nose right up to it, but naturally as the tree grows and increases in volume you’ll have many more flowers. Today, depending on wind direction, I get a nice perfume when I walk by or often a breeze carries it to me further back in the garden. But alas, I wanted more fragrance, and I like repetition in the garden, so I bought another! Can’t wait till the newbie gets bigger and the scent doubles!
Fragrance in the garden must be what is meant by the term, 'breathe in the beauty'.

My only regret is that the honeybees are not impressed with its nectar or pollen. They just don’t go for it. I chose this tree long before I became a beekeeper, so my criterion was not about bees. Would I have chosen differently if I had been a beekeeper? Probably, and I would have missed out on this fabulous plant. Would I choose it again for a future garden? Most decidedly yes! I just love it.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Corylopsis veitch (Winter Hazel), Mahonia, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hyacinths, Tulipa turkistanica, Hepatica, Daffodil, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy), violet primrose

Author’s photos

How Many Is Enough?

2011-03-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the soul.

~Luther Burbank, 1849-1926

Did you ever wonder how many plants it takes to create those full, overflowing, lush flowering baskets of annuals that you see hanging from the lamp posts on your local Main street?

This is basket week at the municipal greenhouse where I volunteer. We are planting thousands of plants in large wire and moss baskets that will eventually beautify lamp posts near and far on city streets. Just look at them…rows and rows of moss baskets. The baskets I planted today are destined to beautify Safeco Field in Seattle…home of our Mariners baseball team.

The pot pictured below is 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter. In it I have placed 20 plugs of differing but all cascading varieties of annuals. I have planted them in two offset circles, so as the plants closer to the center cascade they won’t completely cover the plant at the edge. In the center is a Begonia ‘bonfire’ which is upright but will also hang over as the stems lengthen.

At the greenhouse we plant ‘plugs’. As you can see below they are quite small but well rooted and used more in commercial applications because of volume and cost. At your local nursery you’ll find annuals often in ‘basket stuffer’ sizes, usually 2 inch (5 cm) pots. Even at that size you can still get 20 in this pot. Make sure to read the label and get everything in trailing or cascading varieties. Trailing lobelia, verbena, lotus vine, trailing begonia, calibrachoa, petunia, diascia, ivy geranium are all great for hanging pots. Something upright in the center will add height. Make sure all the plants you choose have the same light needs and are specified on the plant’s tags. If your basket is going to be in full sun be sure all the plants are labeled for full sun.

The brown plastic tubing lying in the pot is a part of the watering system Safeco Field uses. You definitely want to get that in place from the very beginning before the plants start to fill out if you are going to use a watering system like that.

Baskets need more attention to watering. Since they are made of wire and a mossy liner which allows more air flow and being suspended in the air and wind, they will dry out faster than terracotta or plastic pots. In mid summer, on a sunny, hot day you may need to water them two times a day.

Organic fertilizers are slow release naturally, so mixing in a handful of granular organic fertilizer before you put in your plants should feed your basket for 3-4 months. If you feel it needs a boost after 3 months or so you’ll want to switch to a liquid organic fertilizer, using every few weeks. Organic dry fertilizers need to be mixed into the soil, not just sprinkled on top. It will be too hard to mix in a dry type with all the plants and you don’t want to damage the lovely jumble of vines.

So now that your plants are in, all you need is sun, warmth, water and fertilizer and you too can have a beautiful, full hanging basket of colorful annuals this summer.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hyacinths, Tulipa turkistanica, Corylopsis veitch (Winter Hazel), Hepatica, Daffodil, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English daisy), violet primrose

Author’s photos

Seedlings on the Sill

2011-03-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Every spring, like it or not, we are all beginners, all over again.
~Dominique Browning

When my sunny, east facing window sills fill up with seedlings you know it’s nearly spring. My vegetable garden always gets its start this way. The advantage to starting your vegetable garden yourself from seed guarantees you get the varieties that have already proven successful in your garden. In addition to seed, nurseries offer “starts” or seedlings. With starts your choices are limited to what the growers grow and growers stick with those varieties that sell best or what they think will sell best. Selections can vary widely from year to year. You may find a variety one year and have great success with it only to never find it available in starts again. For me ‘Stupice’ is the only tomato I want to grow because it tolerates cool, cloudy weather but it performs great in sun and heat too. Since we never know what spring or summer will be like it’s a great choice for the Pacific Northwest. Also, most growers and nurseries do not offer organic vegetable starts, so your seedlings have been grown with chemicals. I prefer to grow my own so I have control over what fertilizers are used on the foods I’ll be eating.

Currently in an east window I have Anise Hyssop (seed I saved last year) and Canna (newly bought tubers) growing for the flower beds. Leeks and lettuce are germinating on the cooler sills.

Mini watermelon and one more tomato are germinating on the heat mat. I saved those watermelon seeds last summer from a delish mini yellow fleshed variety that I found in my organic market! I have no idea if they will grow, normally our summers don’t yield big juicy melons but since this is a mini, it will require less time till harvest. I thought I’d give it a go and hope for a hot summer. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Below are 3 tomato seedlings growing on the sill, more lettuce and leeks starting in between.

Previously I wrote a post on experimenting seeding in new coir based seedling mix and coir compressed pellets. As an update, based on my experience…I don’t like coir. I got so-so germination with the coir pellets, better results with the peat pellets. The bagged coir seedling mix was the same, not as reliable germination as with the peat based. I also bought some coir compressed plug’s for use in plug trays…they are the worst. After expanding in warm water they settle so densely in the plug tray there appears to be no air to keep the mix fluffy. I think they smother the seed. In every case the seed failed, I think it rotted. It seems to me that coir is just too heavy a material. That’s too bad because research shows coir to be more sustainable and eco-friendly to harvest than peat. Everything that is coming up today is in a peat based medium.

Do you start your own garden plants and vegetables from seed? Do you use peat, coir or something else? Please share your experience with these products and your preferred medium. We can all learn from each other. Blogging is great that way.

Oh how I covet a greenhouse for my seedlings but for now I’ll count my blessings and be grateful I have a laundry room with sunny, east and south facing window sills in which to grow my starts and begin my garden each spring.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Corylopsis (Winter Hazel), Hepatica, Daffodil, Cyclamen coum, crocus, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose

Author’s Photos

Thanks for the Bloom

2011-03-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Just because you've only got houseplants doesn't mean you don't have the gardening spirit - I look upon myself as an indoor gardener.
~Sara Moss-Wolfe

I mentioned a few posts ago in February that while at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show I got waylaid at Andy’s Orchids booth. I bought an Australian native species orchid, Dendrobium pugioniforme, basically because I fell in love with the leaves! Bad idea I know but based on what he said of its culture I was also fairly certain I could make it happy. He had me sold when he said it's flowers had greenish petals with a purple and white lip. I love green flowers.

Today it made me happy…it bloomed! Yay a bright spot on this grey drizzly day, it’s soooo sweet. It’s tiny…only 1 inch (2.5 cm) across, and fragrant too! I can’t take credit for this bloom, it was already in bud, so my test will be if it will bloom again for me someday.

What a cutie…just thought I’d share. Do you grow orchids? I just love them.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Daffodil ‘Tete a Tete’, Cyclamen coum, crocus, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops)

Authors photos

White Flowering Currant (Ribes)

2011-03-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

Listen! O, listen!
Here come the hum the golden bees
Underneath full blossomed trees,
At once with glowing fruit and flowers crowned.
~James Russell Lowell, The Sirens

My neighbor and fellow gardener, Margaret has a white flowering Currant (Ribes) shrub near her front door. I think I’ve mentioned her yard in previous posts…anytime I wonder where my bees are foraging I have only to walk up the block to find them somewhere in her garden.

Well it’s March, spring in my hemisphere, and the flowering currants are beginning to bloom in my neighborhood and that’s where I found them today, in her shrub. When it’s fully engulfed in open blooms they are there, in droves. As a passerby, you can hear them. Both of us look forward to the March days that are warm enough to lure the bees out of their hive and into her currant. Today, as I was walking to see if they were in her shrub, she called from her window…”Joan! Your bees are all around the garden!” And they were…on this gorgeous, sunny 50F (10C) degree morning they were in the crocus gathering pollen, in the heath gathering nectar and in her currant. When in bloom, this shrub is beautiful. Personally I think some white flowers are far classier than their colored counterparts and this is one example. The red flowering currant is nice but the white outshines it to my eye. That and I’ve not seen the bees go to the red varieties so perhaps I’m a little biased. However the hummingbirds frequent the red.

There are several Ribes species. Some can take colder winters, some need warm winters. The species hardy and prevalent in the Pacific Northwest is Ribes sanguineum. Her white variety is probably 10-12 feet (3-4m) tall but not as wide, and gets morning sun. Mostly I see the red King Edward VII variety around here, advertised to only reach about 8 feet (2.5m) in height. It is easy to find in bloom in nurseries now. Whichever color you choose the Ribes sanguineum is hardy in zones 4-9. This is a deciduous shrub native to the coastal ranges of California up to British Columbia. Plant them in sun to light shade. They are fairly drought tolerant but do better with moderate water. If your summers are hot and dry, give them a shadier spot for the heat of the day. They will need little if any pruning if you buy the variety that grows to the size you have space for in your garden. But beware, the tag may say a size of eight feet but ask a knowledgeable nursery employee before you buy…it could get bigger.

While this currant does produce some fruit it is not the same species used for culinary purposes. Look for those in the fruiting section of your nursery.

Nectar and Pollen Plants of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest by Burgett, Stringer and Johnston is a fantastic book. It is an illustrated guide to plants sought after by honeybees in this region. Though geared toward beekeepers, any gardener interested in attracting pollinators could benefit from it. In it they list Ribes sanguineum Pursh as “not very attractive to bees” but also list nectar and pollen both to be had. This is the only variety they mention, which includes the red, 'King Edward VII'. This may explain why I don’t see bees on the reds. Having not seen the tag from Margaret’s shrub, I can’t definitively give you the variety, however, ‘White Icicle’ is a white cultivar commonly sold here under the name Ribes sanguineum glutinosum ‘White Icicle’. Neither can I explain why the bees like it and not the red.

I am so glad my neighbor has this plant. This time of year with less nectar and pollen available, those blooming spring plants attractive to bees are especially important for them to begin foraging and replenishing their dwindling stores. The earlier they can find quality pollen and nectar the earlier the queen starts to lay eggs, the quicker the colony builds up, the more time for honey production.

Had I not seen the bee’s response to these blooms with my own eyes I’d probably have skipped over the importance of this plant. It’s now on my list of bee-plants for a future garden and you can be sure I’ll include it in my presentations to bee clubs and garden clubs.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Daffodil ‘Tete a Tete’, Cyclamen coum, crocus, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Sarcococca, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops)

Author’s photo

Field Trip - Northwest Flower and Garden Show

2011-02-28T13:48:00.000-08:00

I love how you can breathe in botanical names as if it's a shopping list.
~Katherine Jones

Well, the weather here has been atrocious…relatively speaking. Our normal winter of mild temps has turned arctic-esque again and we are just waiting for the rain to return tomorrow and melt all this snow and ice away. Normally we get a week or so in February of dry, sunny days and balmy temps, luring every gardener out to prune roses and do some general cleanup. I postponed my rose pruning because I knew this freeze was coming. On a happier note, another much anticipated warming activity in February is the annual Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. Acres (at least it seems like) of gardens, plants, vendors booths, seminars and wonderful people (gardeners are really nice) all milling around, dreaming big dreams and soaking up a bit of paradise.

There were 24 display gardens to spur-on the imagination this year. They are really big and each is planned according to the show theme of the year. The 2011 theme is “Once Upon A Time: Spectacular Gardens with Stories to Tell”. Frankly half the time I don’t get the theme out of the design I see, but I don’t really care. It’s about the inspiration for me and what ideas I can take from the show to my own garden. The first garden I saw ended up being my favorite. Lots of nooks and crannies with well made classy sheds using recycled parts and old wood windows. That’s my kind of construction. When I rounded the corner and saw the name of the nursery that designed and implemented it…well I wasn’t surprised. It was Christianson’s Nursery ...my all time favorite! Their nursery is just like this. Well done. If you can, you must visit.

By the time it was to leave I hadn’t seen the whole show. I don’t know if it’s possible in one day and this time I got held up at Andy’s Orchids booth. There are always several orchid vendors there but Andy’s has orchids for the true orchid geek. Not all in showy, tempting bloom of run of the mill varieties that can be had from your local grocery store (which are lovely and I have several) at half the price they wanted at the show. No, Andy’s had a huge selection of more rare and unusual species, not all in flower but he was quick to pull up a photo of the flower for you to see on his laptop. And he was happy to just talk orchids. No hard sell, no quick-sell-and-on-to-the-next-customer. Just sharing his knowledge and he really wanted to make sure you chose the orchid best suited to your situation and experience. A really neat guy. If you are into orchids and are going to a regional flower show, maybe he’ll be there. He’s worth searching out. If you are lucky enough to be near Encinitas, CA you could visit him. Oh and yes, I bought an orchid, dendrobium pugioniforme. Now I have nine of differing species. Darn things are just so addicting! I don’t even get them to bloom again every year but I live in high hopes…either that or delusion, but I’m learning. A few weeks ago I found the best online forum which is a huge and very helpful resource. That and a few library books and I’m confident I’ll get more blooms this year.

Back at the show, most of the display gardens had water features too. This ball with water enveloping it from an outlet at the top was my fav. The water fell so softly there was no sound and barely a ripple on the water’s surface. It was simply beautiful. And the flat, open patio for seating…ahhh, so serene. Yeah I could live there.

I love this quirky idea for a garden shed. I snapped a picture of it to keep in my photo file of future garden ideas. I have lots of old windows and even an old pair of small French doors, all just waiting for a design and space to make a fun garden building or greenhouse. I keep taking pictures and designing it in my head. Hopefully someday it’ll take shape. Someday.

As a matter of fact most of the pictures I take at the show go into a file for future garden ideas. This is a cool idea from the Creative Gardener to use old floor grates as ‘stepping stones’…which from our old house I have a few stowed in the attic.

I’m always sad when this show is over. Not your run-of-the-mill home and garden show, it’s special. We are really fortunate to have it here in our midst. I look forward to it every year, and always come away with something new for the garden. This year I bought some Allium bulbs (Allium sphaerocephalon) which promise a two-tone oblong spring flower of green and purple. How cool is that?? They are already sprouting in the bag so as soon as the ground thaws I’ll plant them. Can’t wait to see the bloom!

As I often do, I listed websites and extolled the virtues of a few businesses here today. I do so because I love passing on great information…nothing here is a paid endorsement.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Cyclamen coum, crocus, primrose (double English), Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Sarcococca, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops)

Author’s photos

Water In The Garden

2011-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.
~Okakura Kakuzo The Book of Tea

Ahhh, the fountains are bubbling with delight. Can’t you just hear them? I love the above quote, it paints such a tranquil scene. Being near a fountain is so restful to me, it promotes a peaceful calm.

Water has long been linked to easing the troubled spirit and can be enjoyed by all. The hearing impaired can gain from the visual relaxation cascading water brings and the sight impaired can hear the tranquil splashing. There is a tactile pleasure too…one young visitor to my garden had so much fun returning again and again to my tall pot fountain pictured here, plunging her hands and arms into the cool water several times on a warm day.

Your visiting wildlife will thank you for it too. I’ve often seen birds visit my ground level bubbler (below) for a drink or cleansing splash and squirrels often drink from it.

I have created two fountains for my garden. They were not expensive to make, nor do they take up a lot of room. The above tall pot style could even be used on a balcony. I have it situated under my study window. When the window is open for a summer’s breeze I can enjoy the water’s sounds while inside the house too.

Adding a water feature to your life is really as easy as 1,2,3…4.

1. leak proof container
2. pump
3. spout
4. electricity nearby

To make a fountain you need to decide if you want it above ground or below. Above ground fountains need more refilling to offset evaporation however, the top pictured fountain is easiest to create, although the more costly of the two. For a pot style fountain like mine you’ll need

• a tall pot
• a submersible electric pump (from a hardware/garden center or nursery)
• something the water can spill out of, a spout of your choosing. There are many spout styles at nurseries and garden centers. Some are metal, plastic or bamboo. I made the copper one pictured above from ½ inch copper tubing, some copper wire and soldering experience gained from many stained glass projects.

Some pots are already painted inside with waterproofing. Some have drainage holes and some do not. If you use an ordinary garden pot like I did, you’ll want to waterproof the interior and plug the drainage hole. In my glazed, terracotta pot I used an exterior, enamel, black, oil base, type of paint to coat the inside walls and bottom. A black pot interior is best for hiding the pump and its cord, which are also black. I also coated it with a liquefied silicone goo which peeled within the first year. I don’t think it is needed, I think the paint is enough. To plug the drainage hole, use silicone. It comes in a tube like glue. Fill the hole, being sure to seal all the sides and edges. When the silicone and paint are dry you are ready to fill it with water and put in your pump.

The pump for this size fountain should not be expensive. My pumps cost around US$20-30. For this size fountain you need only pump the water upward 4 feet (1.21m) or so, depending on how tall your pot is. You’re not making a geyser, unless you choose a pot 4 ft tall or more. My pot is about 19 inches (48cm) tall. A four foot rise of water may sound like too much but realize the pump only gets it up to that height and no more. At the 4 foot mark it’s only a dribble but it’s enough to get it to your spout. The distance to the top of my spout from the pump is 15 inches (38 cm). I get about an inch more of height before it cascades and softly splashes into the water below. If you want shooting water you’ll need a higher rise, but be aware, vigorously splashing water may not all land back into your pot, and could empty your water volume faster. Read the package label, it should indicate how high a rise each pump will create. My pump with a 4 foot rise is 120Volts, 9 Watts. These pumps also have a flow control adjustment dial, so you do have some ability to tweak the flow. I keep mine fully open. Attach the pump to your spout of choice, add water, plug it in and voila! You have a relaxing fountain.

Here is a close up showing the pump. It just hangs as is connected to the spout, and the cord comes up and over the back of the pot. Yes the cord shows, but being black is not glaring. My copper spout didn’t ‘hold’ the pump. It just fell out so I purchased some vinyl tubing which fits into the copper and is just right to hold the outlet of the pump. A minor complication that I can elaborate on in comments if you are interested in making your own spout. To comment just click on the word ‘comment’ at the bottom of the post.

My other fountain pictured is a below-ground style. All you really see is water bubbling up from the flat stones (which I found while digging in the garden). For it you need a few more items.

• a dark grey or black plastic bin that will hold two or three gallons of water
• hardware cloth, cut and shaped into a ‘lid’ to fit over the bin, with a hole cut in the center for the pump riser
• black or grey nylon window screen material to lay over the hardware cloth, with hole for riser
• a submersible pump with its own plastic riser (most come with risers)
• and rocks to cover the whole thing

This fountain is covered with rocks mostly hiding what’s below. If you use flat rocks like I did, be sure to angle them inward so any splash flows back into the reservoir. The hardware cloth is sturdy enough to hold the rocks that cover it. I spray painted the hardware cloth black because the silver glints in the sunlight where it peeks through the rock layer. The window screen material over the top keeps out smaller debris which keeps the water and pump cleaner for longer periods of time.

• Dig your hole to fit the bin so the rim is just slightly above the dirt level. Too low and dirt will get in.

• Put in your pump with riser centered, and electrical cord coming up and out.

• Using tin snips cut your hardware cloth and shape it into a lid that won’t shift around. Cut a hole in the center so the plastic riser (included with your pump) can fit through. Put the lid on the bin and pull the riser up a few inches higher than the top of the lid.

• Cut window screening material to fit with a central hole for the riser also. It can just loosely lie over the top of the lid.

• Bury the cord. Fill it with water.

• Plug it in. Make sure you like how it looks and is not splashing too much. If it is adjust the flow control on the pump or just lower the riser. It’s easier to tweak it before you cover it with rocks. When you love it…

• Now cover the whole thing with rocks. Initially I used the smaller round stones seen in the picture below. Looked great but to dismantle and clean it was a pain so I now use larger, flat, shale like pieces with a few of the smaller round stones to cover any gaps. Much less work to dismantle.

I have the same size pump for both fountains but since the water doesn’t need to rise as far for this one it has a stronger bubbling flow before it falls back down onto itself. At first I used a blue bin, thinking it wouldn’t show as I’d be covering it with rocks. It did. Keep everything you use black or dark grey and it won’t show. Even the window screen material in the picture could be darker.

Think about maintenance cleaning while you are designing it. You’ll need to drain it and/or get at the pump 2 or more times per year, depending on how much debris gets into it. If you make it too complicated to disassemble you won’t clean it often enough to keep the pump functioning. Goo in the water collects in the pump, which can clog and burn out a pump in no time and you’ll be spending more $ on pumps than is necessary.

Electricity is a problem you say? Nothing a heavy duty outdoor extension cord and a shovel won’t fix. Neither of my fountains are inches away from an electrical outlet. One is about 6 feet away and the other 10 feet away from the exterior outlet. I connected them by burying heavy duty extension cords in the garden and/or lawn several inches deep into the soil. Always be mindful of where they are as you dig and weed in the garden. Several inches should be deep enough in a lawn to not be touched by a lawn mower but if you have a lawn service contracted to maintain your grass be aware a gas powered edger blade could reach the cord. Be cautious where you bury your cords and how deeply.

I connected both to automatic timers so they don’t run 24/7. I want to save electricity and being in an urban setting, I don’t want to disturb my neighbors when they are trying to sleep on a warm summer night with open windows. There are exterior timers that have covers to protect the mechanism from the weather.

Lastly if you get freezing temps in winter you do need to drain the fountains and put them away. I drain the pot and put the pump and spout in the garage. For the below ground one I leave it all intact but unplug it and cover it so it won’t freeze. Our mild Pacific Northwest winters are not usually harsh, so that’s all I need to do. Naturally if you get hard winter weather you’ll need to dissemble it more.

So there it is, only 4 easy steps to install a water feature in your garden today…ok, you need water too…so that’d be 5.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Sarcococca, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops)

Author’s photos

Apairy Update

2011-02-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

“We are getting near,” said Gandalf. “We are on the edge of his bee-pastures.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Woohoo, the bees are doing well! Finally we’ve had some warm enough weather temps for them to get out on a cleansing flight and for us anxious beekeepers to take a quick peak just in the top to see if they are needing to be fed or even indeed still alive. The Italian bees that I have need it to be about 50F (10C) for all this to happen. My bees often fly on a sunny day at about 45-47F degrees but at 50F degrees they’ll fly and I’ll be able to lift the lid for a quick check without risking a potential death chill to the cluster. I wouldn’t dare remove frames and really dig around in there just now but a quick peek is ok. My dad’s Carnolian bees will fly at cooler temps by a few degrees so are able to get out a little more often during our cool winters. When the time comes to re-queen I may go for a Carnolian next time, but my Italians have been quite hardy. I haven’t lost a hive yet, while many around us have.

When it’s too cold for them to fly and take a peek inside, you never know if they are still alive. I do have a removable bottom board tray under my screened bottom board which collects debris so I can often see ‘activity’ based on what I see in the tray. I was a little concerned a few weeks ago. In winters past I’ve been able to hear the bees within the hive by the age old method of eavesdropping with a ‘drinking glass to the wall’. I hold a glass up to the side of the hive they normally winter-over on (always the sunny south side for mine) moving it around till I can hear a buzz now and then, so I know they are ok. I’ve been trying this several times this winter with no audible success. I even bought an inexpensive stethoscope hoping for an easier method but I just can’t hear a darn thing out of it…not even my own heartbeat! Bah! Since I was pretty sure I’m alive, I checked with my friendly neighborhood nurse and yep, the thing works so I guess I’m just not stethoscope friendly. Dang!!! Am I hard-of-hearing already? I was hoping to not have to get down on my creaky knees with the glass anymore. Well I couldn’t hear them with the glass either this winter so maybe the stethoscope idea isn’t a total loss…yet. Maybe it’s just where they are located. The bottom tray debris collection gives me a great idea of where to start listening.

So, all that to say I was not sure they were still alive. We’ve had a few frigid bouts with air temps and snow, more than normal, but today I’m so happy to report they are alive and well. They are flying and spiraling up, up and away and I think I saw one come back with a little pollen. Here the heaths are blooming, a very important bee plant in cold regions as many are usually in bloom for those first, important winter cleansing flights. I’m putting in a new garden in the parking strip in front of the house and I do believe I’ll be adding a few Erica carnea, the lower growing, ground covering heath. If you want a taller mound of heath consider the Erica darleyensis varieties. Both are most frequently seen in nurseries and either will make your gardens more bee friendly.

The next 2 months are tricky times for bees in my part of the world. Going into winter, this was a strong hive, meaning lots of bees. The queen should have begun to lay eggs by now and their numbers can grow quickly. They’ll go through their food sources faster so I need to keep an eye on if/when they need supplemental food. Plus, there’s a chance our coldest temps are still coming. Hang on little bees, hang on! We can see the light at the end of winter’s tunnel!

All in all it’s a good day and a good report from the apairy.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Heleborus, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), violet primrose, Sarcococca, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops),

Authors photo

Field Trip: W.W. Seymour Conservatory

2011-01-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
~William Blake (Fragment from "Auguries of Innocence")

Nestled in the north end of the city of Tacoma, Washington USA is the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory.

The community is fortunate beyond measure to have such a treasure in its midst. Listed in the city, state and National Historic Registers, the conservatory was built in 1907 and is one of only 3 on the US West Coast, the others being in Seattle and San Francisco.

On any given day, no matter what the weather outside you can walk into this tropical paradise, bask in its warmth and breathe in the beauty. It is kept at a balmy warm temperature and moderate humidity that makes all the plants thrive. The soft background music slows you down so it is easy to spend an hour taking in all the floral displays, which are changed with the seasons or to reflect holiday cheer. With the first step through the door, life’s stress seems to drop off your shoulders. You are transported to an Eden on this earth.

It is home to dozens of orchids…some rare and some fragrant. You’ll find varieties of palm trees, bird of paradise, papyrus, a lemon tree with huge fruits, a koi pond, flowering treasures from around the world, a gift shop and more.

Do you love orchids?…they have more than 200.
Do you love tropicals?…they have more than 250 plant species.
Do you love live music?…you can hear it there the 2nd Sunday of each month.
Do you love statuary?…they have several that reflect ancient African, Maori and Aztec cultures.

Even if you don’t love to garden but need a little (or a lot) of R&R from time to time, conservatories like this deliver! Wow do they deliver!

Do you have a conservatory nearby in your community? Do tell, I may want to come visit some day.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: English Daisy, Sarcococca, violet primrose

Photos courtesy of Pat Chissus

Soldier On

2011-01-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

"I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart, and I only know what they're feeling because that's how I read the seed catalogs in January."
~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle 2007

Well my friends I really must apologize to you. In the previous post about the snow that fell last week, I ended it with my usual listing of what’s blooming. I stated ‘no blooms’, but I obviously missed this little one. Check it out…such a trooper!

This is English Daisy (Bellis perennis), native to Europe and the Mediterranean region. This particular one is a horticultural variety I believe. The original species are single flowers, mostly white with a bit of pinkish tinge. It is a meadow plant that needs good soil, moisture, light shade in hot areas and full sun in cooler areas. It is super easy to sow from seed.

Have you ever been to Victoria B.C., to their parliament buildings? The expansive lawns are covered with these guys. So charming. Two springs ago, I ordered a packet of seed from Nichols Garden Nursery. I sprinkled some of the seed on my mossy path that leads to my compost bin. I just love diminutive plants amongst the pathway, so long as they don’t trip you and they can handle the occasional foot trod. The seed came up so prolifically I had to thin them out. What fun it is to see their cheerful faces. They bloom nearly non stop, even though the catalog says they are spring blooming. Here it is January and several of them are trying to bloom. Not a huge showing but a few flowers none the less, so on my list they go.

I’ll definitely be sowing some of these treasures in my lawn soon!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: bellis perennis, sarcococcoa, viola

Author’s photo

Just A Dusting

2011-01-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's.
~ Clyde Moore

Just a quick post to show you the garden blanketed with last night’s snowfall. This is the perfect kind of snow (in my opinion) here in the lowlands. Here today, gone tomorrow. We got 3-4 inches (7-10cm) in just a few short hours to play in and enjoy but it’ll be all gone by mid-day today. No prolonged freeze to turn it all to ice for days on end, no commuting nightmare, just the fleeting beauty of it. Today’s rain will make short work of it and life will be back to normal. I had to get out before sunrise to snap the pictures before it melted away, it was warming up quickly. The green haze is the glow from our yard light, it doesn’t look that way to us but the camera picked it up.

What’s the weather like in your part of the world?

In Bloom in My Garden Today: no blooms but bulbs are pushing their way up and the Helleborus corsicus and Sarcococca confusa both have buds ready to open.

Authors photos

A Trip of a Lifetime

2011-01-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Instruction ends in the school-room, but education ends only with life.
~Frederick W.Robertson

Caitlyn is one of the sweetest, smartest young women I know. I have been moved by her strength and courage in the past and am once again. She is embarking on a journey that will change her life forever.

Today she leaves for China, and will share what she sees via the lens of her camera and her words. Travel with Caitlyn on her photographic journey that promises to be fascinating and exciting via her new blog. You will surely be transported to another world with each post. Be sure to read her ‘my plans’ page…you’re inspiring Cait!

And don’t forget to leave her comments on what you see…bloggers LOVE getting comments!

To China and Back Again www.notsopc.com/caitlyn/

Photo Courtesy of Caitlyn Jones

The Potted Garden

2010-12-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

"When in these fresh mornings I go into my garden before anyone is awake, I go for the time being into perfect happiness. In this hour divinely fresh and still, the fair face of every flower salutes me with a silent joy. . . . All the cares, perplexities, and griefs of existence, all the burdens of life slip from my shoulders and leave me with the heart of a little child that asks nothing beyond the present moment of innocent bliss."
~ Celia Thaxter, 1835-1894, New England poet and author of An Island Garden

The quote from Celia Thaxter above is one reason why I love gardening so. Years ago, at a particularly difficult time in my life, I stepped out my back door to begin yet another emotionally dark day. My burdens were too heavy. As I turned from the door toward the garage I heard my bubbling fountain, which caused me to look up. I hadn’t been looking up enough. I saw the sun was shining and my garden was there…in all it’s restful beauty. For a brief moment I stood there, looking and listening to the sounds of my garden and some of the burden slipped off my shoulders. I so needed that in that moment.

Everyone can experience that peace from a garden, whether it’s their own garden or a municipal garden or a park to visit. You don’t have to have acres of land or a big yard to have a garden. Many a garden is made up of pots. Big pots, small pots, lots of pots or just a few pots. The potted garden is just the thing if you are limited on time (far less weeding), space (think of balcony gardens), physical ability to reach the ground (easier digging and accessible by wheelchair) and easier to install than raised beds.

However there are some things to keep in mind if your garden is in pots.

• Water – pots can dry out faster than the ground, so you may be watering more often. You’ll need to dig down into the root area to see if the pot needs watering. Just looking at or touching the soil surface, which dries fastest, is not indicative of what the moisture level is at the roots. There are moisture meter probes available. I haven’t had the greatest success with them but they may be just the thing for you. I just worm my finger down into the soil an inch or two to test for moisture. Hanging pots or moss lined wire pots may need to be watered daily, especially if they are in windy or warm sunny places.

• Good drainage is life or death to potted plants. Roots need oxygen. Oxygen increases as soil dries out and creates air pockets. In the case of most plants if the soil never dries out, even just a little bit, the roots will drown and rot. I do not recommend keeping saucers under pots outside. The saucer will hold water which will wick back up keeping the soil too wet. Remove all saucers and if necessary add ‘pot feet’ under your pots. Pot feet lift the pot up off the ground so water will flow freely out. Depending on the surface your pots are on you may or may not need them. They come in many styles, shapes and sizes. You can buy specialty feet or just use a few bricks or flat stones. Rolling trays allow you to move your pots but if they are solid like a saucer, drill holes in them so you won’t have any sitting water. I find covering the hole with a small square of window screen material before you add the soil works better than stones or pottery chards which can shift and plug up the hole.

• Potting soil – Since I am an organic gardener I buy only potting soils and compost from organic sources. Organic soil companies are tested regularly so you can be sure you are not putting your plants into soil with petrochemicals that will leach out into your surrounding environs or taint your pot of veggies. I do not recommend any bagged soil or compost that has fertilizers added. You don’t know what they are using and the term ‘organic’ is being tossed around too freely and deceptively in the bagged soil industry. Buy your own organic fertilizers from reputable sources and add it yourself depending on the specific needs of the plant(s) in you pot. Potting soil has a neutral ph so if you have a pot for acid loving plants like blueberries, you’ll want to add some spent coffee grounds to raise the acidity level of the soil, and you’ll fertilize with an acid loving plant fertilizer.

• Fertilizer - There is no such thing as one fertilizer fits all. Depending on what you are growing, you’ll want an organic fertilizer that will boost flower and fruiting production, another to boost nitrogen for leaf production. Pots may need fertilizer added more frequently than garden beds because the available nutrients get pulled into the roots or flushed away with watering. Organic fertilizers break down more slowly than chemical fertilizers so you’ll be using a safer ingredient and fertilizing less often. Once in early spring and once in summer are enough for dry organic fertilizers, but synthetics may need to be added monthly or in 6 week intervals.

• The pots themselves – I prefer terracotta or glazed pots. I just like the look of them, but they are really heavy when filled, so they stay where they are. Terracotta can chip and crack. Every winter my terracotta pots show a bit more freeze damage. Some glazed terracotta is marketed as frost proof and will last longer with little or no damage depending on how fierce your winters are. If you need to move your pots, plastic may be perfect for you. Plastic is lighter and easier to move but deteriorates from the sun and becomes brittle over time. If your potted garden has perennials that you want to survive cold winters you’ll need to move them to protected areas. Pots do not provide the insulation from freezing to the root zone like ground soils.

• Moving pots - even if you don’t plan to move your pots, there are times it seems it must be done. If you are not Ms/Mr. Brawny, don’t happen to have a Mr. Brawny nearby, or are too impatient to wait for him to get his act together, treat yourself to a handy hand truck. Mine is small but has a 300 pound capacity. Try to find one with bowed support rungs in the back so your pot doesn’t go sliding off as you round a corner. You may want to strap your pot to it for better security. I wouldn’t get one with inflatable tires either, they always seem to be flat when you need it most. Solid, hard rubber tires or the like are fine, and the bigger the better if you have to go over bumpy ground.

For the sake of keeping this post from being pages and pages long I’ve not elaborated too much on several points. If I’ve left you with unanswered questions, please drop me a line in comments so we can chat more. Or take your questions to your local nursery where they will have pot feet and fertilizers and what you need to have an awesome potted garden.

May your garden be one of many sanctuaries of rest for you as mine is for me.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: sadly nothing to report

Author’s photo

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

"A garden is never so good as it will be next year."

~ Thomas Cooper, American scientist and patriot, 1759-1839

This year’s winter bouquet is far more simple than last year's. Two weeks ago we had fierce winds so there were lots of downed limbs for me to choose from. I gathered Douglas Fir and Cedar for the backdrop. In the center I put stems of Skimmia japonica which I cut from the garden. It is in bud and the bud’s stems are reddish, giving the color. A collar of gathered silvery lichen finishes off the base. I had some red orbs to add to it but in the end I liked it much better without them. There’s beauty in the simplicity this time I think.

As the year draws to a close, I think of all of you who visited me this year. Thank you very much for supporting my blog. I hope it has inspired you in some way and I look forward to spending more time with you next year. Until then…Merry Christmas to you all.

May His love and presence fill you to overflowing and bring you a most joyous Christmas and a wonderful new year!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: sadly none to report

Author’s photo

Garden Companions

2010-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

“A true friend can multiply your joy and divide your sorrow.”
~Bruce Bickle and Stan Jantz

What a day, what a day! It was a gorgeous day to be in the garden on Monday. The buckets of rain ended but the unseasonably warm temperatures from the tropical jet stream that remained lured me out. It felt like March! First I went for a long walk, soaking up the sun. Then I brought my orchids out for a thorough cleanup and repotting, a messy job I’d rather do outside than in. A bit of sweeping and trimming needed to be done as well, and it was then I noticed bulbs pushing their way up. I saw the green tips of crocus, colchicum, and daffodils.

While the birds were singing and flitting about, I got to thinking of all the garden companions I’ve had visit this year. I’m never alone when I’m in my garden. Here’s a few of the many friends that kept company with me this year.

Now the rain has returned but for the morning at least the bees were flying and happy, birds were singing and happy, cat was galloping around and happy and I was happy. Now the orchids are happy. What a day!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Primrose, Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance' and 'Summer Ice'

Some photos courtesy of Pat Chissus
The rest are authors photos

Winter's All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

2010-12-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

Feed the birds, Tuppence a bag…
~Mary Poppins

Just in case you need any more reasons not to do big-time fall cleanup in your garden, perhaps this will do.

I looked out my kitchen window and saw this song sparrow, feasting on the delectable seeds left on the seed head of the Echinacea that I didn’t cut down in fall. Do you see the cone behind it just to the right? Every seed is completely devoured, leaving only the core, which I will compost in the spring when I do my garden cleanup.

A delightful sight I wouldn’t want to miss! Juncos and Chickadees also partake of the Echinacea seeds left on the stalk as well as the plant just to its left. That Caryopteris is also full of seeds which these birds feed on all winter and leaving the branching structure intact can also provide roosting shelter during storms. The untidy winter garden is a veritable smorgasbord for the birds. Keep them coming in the winter and they will come in the spring and summer to get those bugs that bug you.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’ are both eking out a few new blossoms.

Author’s photo

A Catalyst

2010-11-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

Gardens always mean something else, man absolutely uses one thing to say another.
~Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977

Do you celebrate Christmas? Well I do, and if you are like me sometimes you may need something to help transition you into the mood for all the hustle and bustle that can at times accompany this blessed celebration.

This week I got that catalyst at the greenhouse where I volunteer and I thought I’d share it with you.

Gorgeous I think. We have two greenhouses full of nothing but Poinsettias, truly a sight to see. And it was snowing outside.

In 1829 Joel Roberts Poinsett brought cuttings of this plant to the US from Mexico. The Poinsettia we enjoy today is reportedly nothing like that original plant as hybridizers have improved its ability to be brought indoors and kept in a pot. Poinsettias are of the Euphorbia family, and are native to warm climate regions like SE Europe, Mediterranean, Africa, South America and Morocco.

Depending on where you are they can be annual potted plants or perennial shrubs. I’ve seen a picture of my grandmother standing in front of a six foot (1.82 m) shrub in California, in full bloom. That is amazing to me as up here in the colder north our winter climates will kill them. Just getting a potted plant from the store to the house can do serious harm if you let them get too chilled.

• In the cold north if purchasing a potted poinsettia is on your day’s list of errands, pick it up last just before you go home. Leaving it in a cold car all day can kill it.

• In your house they need warm temps, nights in the low 60’s F (15-17C) and day highs around 70 F (21C).

• Place them away from cold drafts and give them a half day of sun.

• Let the soil dry slightly between watering.

• If you get one in a decorative foil or plastic sleeve be sure to cut the bottom of the sleeve off or be sure to allow the pot to fully drain after watering it before you return it to the sleeve. A poinsettia sitting in a pool of water in the sleeve will drown.

• The white sap you see if a leaf or stem breaks off is normal for the Euphorbia family. For some it can be a skin irritant so wash it off if you get any on you. If you have pets that like to eat plants or grass, put it out of their reach if possible. My local poison control center says today’s varieties are no longer poisonous to pets but better be safe than sorry. I personally know of 2 cats that have nibbled on poinsettia leaves with no ill effects. But that’s nibbled not devoured.

Are you going to get a Poinsettia this year? What’s your favorite color? I love the dark burgundy ones but last year I was partial to a red speckled beauty. Maybe I’ll get a white one this year. It’s fun to see the new hybrids that come out every year.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: nothing, three days of below freezing temperatures has wiped out all that was blooming.

Author’s photo

Just in the Nick of Time!

2010-11-21T12:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks, thanks, and ever thanks.
~Shakespeare

Normally I do minimal fall cleanup in the garden. I save the majority of trimming for spring. But the weather forecasters have been warning us of some unusually early temperatures in the 20’s F (-6C) and winds from Canada coming our way by weeks end. Normally we don’t get these low temps till January so I had to get moving on some garden chores. Saturday I spent the morning mowing the lawn for the last time, wrapping faucets, trimming roses a little so the winds wouldn’t whip and break them and generally tidying up some of the garden so plants wouldn’t scrape against the house with winds. But also I did a few winter protective things like tucking leaves and trimmings into neat little protective mounds around the crowns of some plants, covering others with burlap bags, draining and covering the fountains, wrapped bubble wrap around the hummingbird feeder and filled it with a heavier syrup, hooked up the birdbath heater so the water won’t freeze and so on. The temp was around 42F (6C) and breezy but I was moving at a good clip so I felt warm.

Later that afternoon we had to winterize the trailer and repair some fencing before more winds blew it down. The temps were dropping into the 30’s (2C), and with the wind chill it felt like -20 F to me. I was getting cold. I could no longer feel my fingers and I was getting a wee bit crabby. Ok…really crabby. I came into the house to put my hands in a sink of warm water and looked longingly at the tea kettle when I noticed the mail had come. And a happy package was awaiting! I tore into the envelope as fast as my stiff, cold hands could. It was a beautiful knitted fluffy, warm, cozy warm scarf in gorgeous colors and 2 tiny knitted bees from my friend, knitter and fellow blogger Cindy!! Did I say warm? I was so cold that I wrapped that scarf around my head! It is a perfect length to go around twice and tuck into the collar of my coat around my neck! I was as snug and warm as my bees in their hive. I wore that for 3 more hours while we finished our chores. The sky was turning pink like it does when it’s about to snow and the dark was closing in. The air felt arctic-esque to me and we finished the fence by the illumination of the street lights.

Snow is on the way, but I’m ready. Thanks Cindy, you saved the day. You Rock. I love it!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Geum, Primrose, Gladiolus callianthus Abyssinian Glad, Cyclamen hederifolium, Gaura, Fushia, Alyssum, Nepeta, Schizostylus, Veronica, Salvia, Lavender, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photo

Criminal Beekeeping

2010-11-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

How hard or easy something feels is simply a matter of where you choose to aim your focus.
~ Shari Becht, FitFeat.com

Urban beekeepers are a nefarious lot. For the greater good, and our own pleasure, many have scoffed the laws for decades, simply by keeping bees. Beeks (a loving term for us bee geeks) have persevered under cover of hedges, fences and balconies and many lug their equipment up fire escapes to reach their secreted roof top apiaries. Some have faced stiff fines and/or jail time. But over time their tenacity has been to their benefit…and yours. Many have spent those decadent years petitioning their governing agencies for the right to bring beekeeping back into legal standing. The good news is not all hives are being forced out to pasture anymore. Every year municipalities are beginning to heed the cry of beeks all over the US to re-evaluate misguided bans on city beekeeping.

It used to be every Pennsylvanian one room schoolhouse had curriculum that included beekeeping because every house had a hive to provide wax for their candles and honey for their table. Those days are long gone, but the urban household hive is making a comeback because of focused beeks who would not be defeated.

For 10 years New York City beeks have illegally kept bees despite the possibility of a $2000 fine if caught looming over their heads. But with determination, beekeepers spent 2 years gathering signatures to petition their Department of Health to lift the ban on city beekeeping which became law in 2000. Until this year, bees were forbidden and classified as dangerous in that city along with tigers, panthers, tarantulas, cobras, alligators and Komodo dragons to name a few. As of 2010 NYC beeks and their bees are now lawfully communing.

In 2008 one Denver beekeeper was fined nearly $1000 and a year in jail if she didn’t get rid of her hives. She successfully challenged her penalty, which resulted in the city council re-evaluating and lifting their ban. Now Denver beeks can proudly and publicly promote the Denver Beekeepers Association. One Santa Monica beekeeper is currently in negations for legalization with that city council and reports support for his proposal.

Last year Minneapolis beeks successfully got a ban lifted that had been in effect for over 30 years. Yay!!

Today studies report that city bees have an easier time finding a continuous supply of nectar and pollen that isn’t found in many rural areas. And the wider range of flower types over a longer growing season in the urban landscape provide more variety of pollens and nectars which benefits hive health. Also urban areas appear to be less exposed to pesticides and fewer chemical traces are found in urban honey. Streets and rooftops absorb heat making it a warmer environment than rural areas and urban beeks can devote more time and can monitor hives more closely.

As more and more people learn about the importance of honeybees in our existence, I have seen fear recede into the background. In the years I’ve been attending our 3 nearest bee clubs, last year alone we saw membership double at each club. DOUBLE! Not just a handful of interest walked through the door but 30-50 people per club joined and took classes with serious intent to add beekeeping to their life experience. Clubs that numbered 20+ members now number 60-100. One club had to start another club because our meeting room was bursting at the seams.

With this kind of strength, municipalities that continue to ban bees will have a strong force to contend with when petitions and ordinances get drawn up by beeks and proposed for review. Not all ordinances are the same, each city has its own specifications. Some municipality requirements include registration of hives with the city or state, an annual permit fee and/or restrictions on the number of hives per acre. Some require a specific fence height and distance from property lines. Some regulate hive management and transportation of hives. Some have very few regulations.

They will also have many bee-friendly examples of urban success around the country with which they cannot argue. Managed hives have reportedly been thriving on the rooftops of London’s Royal Festival Hall, Paris’s Opera, Toronto’s Royal York Hotel, Academy of Science in San Francisco, Chicago’s City Hall, The White House grounds and hives were recently installed on Google’s Mountain View, CA campus after the company’s executive chef dreamed of a plan to cook with and serve the honey in the corporate cafés under his charge.

And more good news…in April this year West Virginia was the first US city to pass an ordinance that protects beekeepers (page 6 in pdf file) providing they follow ‘good neighbor’ practices. In exchange for following 14 rules, beekeepers are protected from lawsuits. No doubt more and more cities will be looking into this and protecting their beekeepers as well. This law received strong support from both our national House and Senate.

Are you an outlaw beek? Do you know one? I promise I won’t tattle.

The time is ripe to find a favorable environment to petition for the legalization of beekeeping in your city if it is currently banned. For a list of US cities still banning beekeeping check out this post from The Daily Green .

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Geum, Primrose, Gladiolus callianthus Abyssinian Glad, Cyclamen hederifolium, Gaura, Fushia, Alyssum, Nepeta, Schizostylus, Alyssum, Veronica, Salvia, Lavender, kirengeshoma palmata, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photos

Doing The Limbo

2010-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

People should enjoy your garden, not be assaulted by it.

Has this ever happened to you?

You are happily walking or jogging along, fiddling with your iPod, considering animal shapes in cloud formations or surreptitiously checking out someone’s garden through the fence and all of a sudden…SMACK…a low hanging tree branch gives you a slap in the face!

Everyone I talk to about pruning say they don’t prune because they are afraid of doing something wrong. Or in the case of trees, they think given enough time the too low limb will eventually grow upward as the tree grows taller. This is not the case in most trees. Trees put new growth and height from the top, so it keeps producing new branches from the tree tops and those low branches will stay there and get bigger and longer. Those low branches need to be pruned off, or ‘limbed up’ as we say, and while it’s not rocket science there are some things to keep in mind when pruning tree limbs.

First are the pruning tools. The 3 I use most are pictured here. From the left…Felco bypass pruners (secateurs), loppers, and finally a garden saw.

Pruners are either bypass or anvil type. I prefer bypass, which means the blade actually cuts the limb cleanly as it passes. You will need to keep them sharpened for best cuts and less bodily strain to you. Anvil types just crush the limb till it breaks. Anvil styles are more stressful on the hands and wrist and don’t make a clean cut whereby allowing bugs or disease to enter the rough cut. Most hand pruners are for stems less than 1” ( 2.5 cm) in diameter. The packaging will indicate diameter limits when you buy them.

Loppers are for stems 1” diameter or larger, needing more leverage. Or if you are like me for stems as big as you can muscle through before the vein on your forehead bulges like a rope…then you know it’s time to give it up and stop being lazy, head to the garage and get the saw.

Obviously the saw is for the big ‘uns. And this ain’t no ordinary saw that might be in the wood shop or miter box. Nope, this is your very own special gardener’s saw that has thick, wider spaced, bucked teeth that look like they are badly in need of orthodontics. They cut through a limb like butter. Or should…if it doesn’t, treat yourself to a new one.

When it comes to buying tools, you get what you pay for. And if you skimp on quality in search of price chances are you’ll pay for it in aches and pains later. I went through too many cheaper pruners before I succumbed to buying a Felco. Not only do they have different sizes for your small or large hands, but they have a left handed style too. They sell parts, so you can FIX it rather than try to figure out how to make it into yard art after it breaks. By now I could probably have paid for 3 pair of Felco pruners for all those others that froze up or had parts that broke which I threw away because rusty tool yard art isn’t my thing. And only Sears Craftsman loppers will do, because they still have a free replacement policy for ANY Craftsman tool that breaks, guaranteed, no receipt needed, no statute of limitations, no sniveling, no sour looks. Lastly a folding saw like mine is easy to store and safely carry around in your back pocket, but be sure to get one that has a locking mechanism so the blade locks in open position so it can’t accidentally fold back onto your fingers while you’re sawing that branch. Believe me, it happens.

Now where to cut. Yes there is a sweet spot.

But this isn’t it.

Cutting only half the branch (hard to see but there are 3 in this pix) not only looks like a job undone, it leaves that remainder vulnerable to freezing, die back, breaking and bug or disease damage that can cause further problems. Plus you avoid the whole “you could poke somebody’s eye out with that thing” liability.

When we’re talking about tree branches, the sweet spot is a ring at the base of the branch where it comes out of the main trunk. The bark will look like a collar. You want to cut up to that collar (where my finger is) but not into it. Nor do you want to leave a long peg.

Remember the saying “leave a stub but not enough to hang a hat on”. Resist the temptation to cut it flush with the trunk thinking it will look better. That’s my usual problem, but I keep reminding myself it’s not about me (drat again), it’s about a healthy cut and speedy healing for the tree. There are cells in that collar that will grow and cover the edges of the cut, stopping bugs and disease from entering under the bark and causing damage to the tree.

And as importantly, don’t try to cut the whole branch off with this one cut. The weight of the 6 foot limb with leaves attached will pull down and tear off the bark you are trying to save. Cut most of the branch off first in shorter sections, working your way toward the trunk. When you are about a foot (30 cm) or so less from the trunk, then make your cut close to the collar. If you make a small cut under the branch first, then move to make the full cut from the top, you’ll again end the possibility of tearing into good bark should the limb begin to fall before you’re done.

The finished natural growth repair will look like a doughnut.

Here’s a healthy doughnut...no doubt the only doughnut that can be called healthy. Make your cut as smooth as possible, with sharp pruners, loppers or a saw. Never use a ‘tree salve’ of any kind to paint over pruning cuts. They are not helpful, necessary or needed. They are old school and can actually cause damage. Trees were designed to heal themselves.

Lastly is timing. Spring pruning stimulates growth so your perfectly pruned specimen will fill out, heal quicker and cover your cuts sooner. Many deciduous trees can be pruned when they are either in full leaf (summer) or dormant (late winter, no leaves). Fall is risky for this kind of pruning so wait, unless people are sustaining too much injury from your blasted low branches. That requires emergency efforts. Depending on which side of the equator you live and what you are pruning, timing will be different so best to consult with your local nursery. Don’t leave it up to your lawn trimming service if you use one. It’s a bit more complicated than the skills needed to cut grass and blow the debris all over your freshly washed car.

Most plants are very forgiving, but if you’re working on a prima donna and it rewards your efforts with death, just look at it as another opportunity to go nursery shopping! Remember, mangled lemons make lemonade.

This is your goal. The walkways that border your garden should be unobstructed to passersby.

No doubt they’ll be so enthralled with the splendor of your garden that they would walk right into a low hanging branch…uh…or gate left open.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Gladiolus callianthus Abyssinian Glad, Cyclamen hederifolium, Gaura, blue fall crocus speciosus, Fushia, Alyssum, Nepeta, Russian sage, rose, Eupatorium ‘Chocolate (Joe Pye Weed), Schizostylus, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Veronica, Salvia, hardy geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’, Lavender, kirengeshoma palmate, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photos

What's in Your Pot?

2010-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897

Fall is here in my world and with the colder weather and nights dipping to freezing already, many garden and potted plants are taking a hit. It’s time to refresh your pots, add cheer to your front door or patio and fill in a few holes in the garden. I took a stroll around my district, looking for great fall combination plantings to share with you. I don’t know about you but sometimes I need to be inspired. Usually in years past, front porches have been a treasure trove of ideas around where I live. This year, not so much! I did find a couple of bed planting combinations but they were both commercial establishments. Wow, more evidence of people spending less? Or is everyone just too busy? Or is it we are not ready to let go of summer? Hmmm, I wonder.

So here is one of what I found that was photo worthy. I think it’s my favorite.

The standard greens and purples of a Kale planting is livened up with what looks like spikey New Zealand Flax (Phormium). You could also use the burgundy Cordyline to achieve a similar look but for a smaller scale like a pot. What I love about this is the Dusty Miller. It really adds some brightness to an otherwise dark grouping.

Next is another kale display but with a geometric design of color blocks and blue pansies for a texture change. Truly I’d have chosen a creamy white or soft yellow pansy color but I was not the designer. Somehow the blue color looks off to me.

For cool weather displays Kale is kind of a standard and yet somehow I don’t get bored with it. To liven up your kale planting, you can choose from Aster, winter Pansy, Cyclamen, Chrysanthemum and Heaths and Heathers. All make nice textural combinations. And remember to leave a space in your pot to tuck a little gourd or pumpkin. And a casual tumble of pumpkins around the base is nice too. Hopefully next year will bring more ideas for me to pass on to you. But here’s one more I couldn’t resist sharing with you. Not a garden but adorable no less…

Dancing ghosts! The imagination of people never ceases to amaze me! Happy Halloween!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Gladiolus callianthus Abyssinian Glad, Cimcifuga ‘Brunette’, Cyclamen hederifolium, Colchicum, Gaura, blue fall crocus speciosus, Fushia, Alyssum, Coryopsis, Nepeta, Russian sage, rose, Eupatorium ‘Chocolate (Joe Pye Weed), Oregano, Schizostylus, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Veronica, Salvia, hardy geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’,Lavender, kirengeshoma palmate, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Authors photos

Sweet Cyclamen

2010-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart.
~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931

The best kept secret in my garden is the Cyclamen hederifolium (hedera leafed, of Turkey, SE Europe).

I know that’s a mouthful of a name but I know of no common name with which to ease your discomfort. However, Cyclamen you probably know. Think of the large flowering florist cyclamen which is Cyclamen persicum (of Persia, Iran) that are on sale now in cooler climates for indoor or protected outdoor plantings. Locally this time of year, the large flower florist cyclamen is used a lot for commercial indoor and outdoor plantings but they are not good for hardy re-bloom year after year in the garden. Here these are just annuals. They sport large flowers in white, reds and pinks, have showy leaves and are considered annuals here in the northern US states.

But today I’m talking about hardy Cyclamens that are smaller flowered and will survive winters to USDA zone 5 so they are perennials here. They are a secret in my garden because for a portion of the summer they are dormant and covered by other perennials. In late winter the gorgeous, green leaves with silver marbled patterning come out, and are showy till mid summer. Then after the leaves die down and a brief period of dormancy, the flowers make their entrance in fall when some surrounding perennials are wilting from the cold. They just seem to appear…I’m always caught by surprise. Oh! The Cyclamen is blooming. The picture does not do it justice…it is a must see in real life.

There are many varieties, all reportedly hardy in USDA zones 5-9, except for the persicum variety (the florist ones). According to Sunset Garden writers the hardy Cyclamen grow best in rich, porous soil with lots of humus (an annual mulch of your leaf raking can give you this, especially if you don’t walk on your beds). The tubers like to be planted fairly shallow, just about ½ inch (1-2 cm) below the soil surface, but understand if you live in a colder zone than my zone 7-8 you may have to plant them deeper. Be sure to consult with knowledgeable nursery staff for your regions specific requirements. These Cyclamen self sow, which for this diminutive, non-invasive treasure is desirable. I don’t think you can have too many and they are easy to transplant the pea sized starts the following year to areas not in reach of the ‘seed toss’. If you look at your plant after the flowers have died down, you’ll see the seed head, coiled up like a spring. So cool! I imagine it must give a good fling at some point as I’ve found new starts coming up within several feet of the original tuber.

Some varieties of Cyclamen may sport leaves with the blooms. C. hederifolium has just a smattering of leaves during flowering. All have interesting leaves for a nice show when not in bloom. Some flowers are fragrant, but I really have to get my nose close to catch the scent, and since they are only about 3” (7-8 cm) above the ground your flexibility will really be tested. Shari can help you with that.

Mine have been in the ground for several years. I noticed a few years ago, even though I planted it below the soil surface, the top of the tuber is now exposed. It seems to have moved itself up. I used to worry about this and dig and replant when bulbs would do that. My Lycoris did it too. After replanting them, within a few years they would be up and above ground a bit again. I’ve left them alone for several winters now and they always come back, they must know what they want more than I do.

As for pests, I’ve never noticed any bug, slug or snail damage on Cyclamen. They reportedly prefer dry, dappled shade or full shade areas, so under trees or largely un-watered shady spots will make them happy.

The time to choose and buy C. hederfolium is either in spring when the potted selections will be in full leaf or in fall when they are in bloom. Some of the leaf patterning is so beautiful you may choose the variety on this alone. If you want to see the flower to make your selection…waste no time…head to your nearest nursery NOW!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Cyclamen hederifolium, Gladiolus callianthus Abyssinian Glad, Cimcifuga ‘Brunette’, Colchicum, Gaura, blue fall crocus speciosus, Fushia, Alyssum, Coryopsis, Nepeta, Russian sage, rose, Eupatorium ‘Chocolate (Joe Pye Weed), Oregano, Schizostylus, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Veronica, Salvia, hardy geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’,Lavender, kirengeshoma palmate, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photos

Pumpkins and Poppies...It Must Be Fall

2010-10-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought.

~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane

I love growing plants in the garden that keep giving long after the plants have become compost in my bin. Every fall I look forward to making a fun arrangement at my front door using the seed pods from the purple poppies that bloom in the summer. I also like to grow the mini pumpkins in white or orange up a trellis. This year I grew ‘Baby Boo’ which is the white variety. Combine them with a fun Halloween plaque and the front door is ready to greet the October 31st revelers seeking candy treats for their tricks.

Purple poppies are gorgeous in summer.

The seed pods ripen in August and September. As they dry and the tops open I shake out all the seeds and save them for the next year and to share with friends.

Add a terracotta pot with the plaque and voila! This years fall decoration that will last till it’s time to change it to something for Christmas.

Happy Autumn!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: cimcifuga ‘Brunette’, colchicum, gaura, blue fall crocus speciosus, fushia, alyssum, coryopsis, nepeta, Russian sage, rose, eupatorium ‘chocolate’, oregano, Schizostylus, mullen chaixii ‘Album’, veronica, salvia, hardy geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’, lavender, kirengeshoma palmata, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photos

I'm OK...Really I Am

2010-10-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!

Sorry for the lapse in posts. Lest you worry that I’ve fallen into my rain barrel and can’t climb back out, worry not. I am still gardening and keeping bees, and I want to write about it, but I am having technical difficulties with blogger.com. We seem to have differing opinions about the easiest way to upload photos, and what fun is a gardening blog without photos? Please be patient with me as I explore my options and remedies. Until then, I trust you are raking your fall leaves for mulch and smiling every time you see a honeybee. Oh, and did you remember to buy and plant Abyssinian Glads this spring? Mine are blooming now…ahhh the fragrance!

Happy Fall season to you!

It's Fair Time!

2010-09-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand.
~Native American Saying

One of the many fun things beekeepers get to do is volunteer to share their enthusiasm for bees with others. And in my experience, the beekeepers booth at the local county fair is hard to beat. Every year my dad and I volunteer at our local beekeeping club’s booth for a few hours for a couple days. It’s a hit with school kids and adults alike. The kids are the most enthusiastic, so eager to learn and see the queen. There is always an observation frame with bees and a queen going about their business so people can see first hand what it’s all about and what goes on inside the hive. Some are afraid of bees when they get there, but usually are no longer afraid when they leave.

In the 'box' the kids are looking at a frame of bees and their queen. It is ventilated, and we put honey and water in daily for feed. The frame is changed out with new bees and queen from a different hive every other day so as not to stress out the bees. The bees are not harmed by this.

If your county fair is awesome enough to have a beekeeping booth, please stop by and learn all you can about honey bees. I think you’ll be fascinated.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: ajuga, colchicum, hardy geranium, primorse, schizostylus, pumpkin 'Baby Boo', tomato, basil, oregano, zucchini, cucumber, black mondo grass, lavender, borage, veronica, fushia, rose, nepeta, salvia, russian sage, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, echinacea, liatris, coryopsis, caryopteris, begonia, alyssum, lobelia, heather, hosta, gallardia, Star Jasmine, anise hyssop, gaura

Author's photos

The Sweetest Crop of Them All

2010-09-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best…" and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called”.
~ A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh

Have you ever given much thought to the honey you buy? Like where it came from or how it was actually made? I’ve spoken about honey now and then in this blog so since now is when much of the nations honey supply is being gathered by beekeepers from coast to coast, I thought you may be interested to see how it all works.

Bees gather the flower nectars and bring them back to the hive.

They mix the nectars with enzymes from their saliva and deposit the liquid in the cells. Then they evaporate some of the moisture out of the nectar by fanning their wings in the hive. When the moisture content is just right they cap the cells with wax for lengthy storage. In the photo above, the white stuff is the wax cappings over the ripe honey. The cells in the background contain honey that still needs some evaporation and/or filling.

Then I come along and take just some of those finished frames of honey. I must leave a certain number of pounds for them to use for their winter food. If I take too much I could cause them to starve and die over the winter months. The presence of honey in the hive also helps to equalize sudden temperature changes. In the Pacific Northwest each hive will need approx 60 pounds for winter survival. I usually leave more in case of a long, cold spring.

Then I scratch off the wax cappings, put the frames in an extractor and spin the honey out by centrifugal force.

The honey is then sieved to remove bits of wax and decanted into jars.

Isn’t it beautiful? I think it is. And it is ever so sweet and wonderful to eat. Just ask Winnie the Pooh.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: green beans, tomato, basil, oregano, zucchini, cucumber, black mondo grass, lavender, borage, veronica, fushia, rose, nepeta, salvia, russian sage, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, echinacea, liatris, coryopsis, caryopteris, begonia, alyssum, lobelia, heather, hosta, gallardia, Star Jasmine, anise hyssop, gaura

Bee on Chive photo courtesy of Pat Chissus
the rest are the author's photos

Blueberry Grunt

2010-09-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

"I prefer Hostess fruit pies to pop-up toaster tarts because they don't require as much cooking."
- Carrie Snow (comedienne, actress)

I have 2 bushes of Sunshine Blue blueberries in my garden. I’m contemplating a third. This variety is a smallish bush, reaching about 3-4 feet (1m) tall and wide. It is evergreen so is nice to look at most of the year round. The beautiful new leafy growth is bluish green leaves with pinky tinged edges.

All blueberries are shallow rooted, so good drainage, regular watering and mulch are best around the root zone for optimal performance and weed suppression. Blueberries like an acid pH soil, so your organic mulch can include spent coffee grounds and conifer needles. Your fertilizer should be an organic rhododendron or blueberry mix. Both are acidic.

Your local nurseries should carry plant varieties that will thrive in your climate and locale. There are lowbush varieties (New England), highbush varieties that grow throughout the US, and rabbiteye varieties (South and West US). Highbush like mine do not require cross-pollination but the others do, which means if you plant lowbush or rabbiteye varieties you’ll need more than one cultivar in your garden. Check with your local nurseries for specific information to your needs. They should sell you 2 year old plants or older to get a jump start on harvest. If you allow flower production on plants that are too young or too newly planted, you can slow down the root growth. A healthy root structure is so important to the plants overall health and more importantly, future fruit yield. Even removing the flowers the first year you have it will redirect the plants growing efforts back down to the roots. Patience will give you reward in the years to come.

Now for the harvest. Blueberry Grunt. What a bizarre name for a dish I thought when I first saw it, but there it is. Blueberry Grunt is like a steaming bowl of blueberries with a fluffy biscuit on top. It is yummy. It is said the sound of the simmering berries under the biscuit topping sounds like a grunt.

You can use your favorite biscuit or dumpling dough, or try my version below. Recently I’ve been experimenting with gluten free flours, so for this recipe I’m including both options. The gluten free flour mixture I used this time is Vanessa Maltin’s basic flour mix which can be found in her wonderful cookbook The Gloriously Gluten Free Cookbook.

Blueberry Grunt

In a 10 inch skillet (NOT cast iron) or an 8 inch pot, bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a simmer:
4 cups of fresh blueberries (no doubt frozen will do)
1/3 C water

Meanwhile in a separate bowl combine:
1 C all purpose flour OR
1 C of a gluten free flour mixture
½ TB baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt (I use Celtic Sea salt)
3 TB butter or butter substitute (I used Earth Balance organic buttery spread)
3 oz milk (I use soy or rice milk)

Wisk (or sift) the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter till it’s fine and crumbly. With a light hand fold in the milk just till it’s all combined.

On top of the simmering berries, drop small spoonfuls of the dough, dotting the whole surface. Use it all up. Cover with a lid and let steam 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy immediately. It is heaven on earth in a bowl!

It’s quick, easy and ever so wonderful. You can make it sweeter by adding your favorite sweetener to the berries or serving it with whipping cream, but I find that neither is needed. You can make it dairy free, gluten free, soy free, sugar free…whatever your needs. Make your own version. There is no reason why you can’t substitute raspberries, blackberries or other in-season summer fruits for the blueberries.

Get your creative mojo going! Then tell us about your ideas in the comments.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: green beans, tomato, basil, oregano, zucchini, cucumber, black mondo grass, lavender, borage, veronica, fushia, rose, nepeta, salvia, russian sage, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, echinacea, liatris, coryopsis, caryopteris, begonia, alyssum, lobelia, heather, hosta, gallardia, Star Jasmine, anise hyssop, gaura

Authors photo

No Dearth of Zucchini

2010-08-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

The trouble is, you cannot grow just one zucchini. Minutes after you plant a single seed, hundreds of zucchini will barge out of the ground and sprawl around the garden, menacing the other vegetables. At night, you will be able to hear the ground quake as more and more zucchinis erupt.
~Dave Barry

For my European readers, we’re talking about courgettes today. Doesn’t everyone have a neighbor who’s desperately trying to give away extra zucchini just about now? Have you ever been zucchini’d? You come home to find a mondo bag of zucchini left at your door by some desperate, cagey gardener? I’ve never resorted to that, thankfully my friend Kathy will take all the extra I can grow for her yummy zucchini relish.

Zucchini is a healthful vegetable for your table. It contains Calcium, Iron, and Vitamins A, B-1, B-2 Niacin and C. Growing it is so easy, it practically grows by itself. After the seed sprouts, there is no effort aside from watering it. I also happen to think it is a beautiful plant in the garden. The huge dark green leaves are often marbled with lighter veining. Depending on your locale, look for a seed variety that will fit into the full sun garden space you’ve allocated for it. In my small urban garden I grow ‘Sungreen’, which is a smallish, compact plant that is open, meaning it’s easy to reach in there to find the vegetables. It doesn’t get any more than 4 feet high or wide. In the fall when I pull it out of the ground it doesn’t seem to have a huge root ball either so I think it’s a good candidate for pot gardening too.

For our family of two, one plant yields more than enough. According to the seed package directions, before you plant your seedling, mix an organic complete fertilizer into the hole. I’ve been lazier than that and simply mixed a good shovelful of aged composted manure or compost in first. You should probably do as the seed packet directs. Little known fact: alfalfa meal is a complete organic fertilizer, is inexpensive and can be used throughout your whole garden, but it must be mixed in so the soil’s microorganisms can break it down. If your zucchini plant’s leaves get a whitish film on them toward the end of the season it’s probably just powdery mildew. Mine gets it every year as the late summer night temps begin to drop lower and lower. While the plant looks nasty, the vegetable is still good and healthy to eat.

All summer I pick my zucchini when they are still small, 4-6 inches long (10-15 cm), and after the flowers have closed but are still firm and attached. The flowers are often used in culinary dishes, but I’ve never tried them. Do you cook with zucchini flowers? I’d love to hear your experiences and recipes.

For today’s post I include a recipe. I tweak nearly every recipe that comes my way, and this recipe is great for using whatever veggies you have on hand. It is very much like stew, so you can serve it with your favorite loaf of bread, a fresh salad, or over a bed of lettuce or rice.

Zucchini Vindaloo

In typical Indian fashion you want to dry roast your spices in the pan first over low heat for a minute or so, till they become aromatic, but not too hot or too long, they can burn easily.

To a dry skillet heated on low, add and stir constantly till aromatic:

½ t ground Cinnamon
½ t ground Cumin
½ t ground Cardamom
½ t ground Coriander
½ t ground Paprika
½ t ground cloves
1 t ground Ginger
1 t ground Tumeric
¼ t ground Cayenne pepper (more of you like it spicy hot)

Add and stir till softened:
2-3 Tbs olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
onion or leek minced (I used one small leek)

Stir in:
mushrooms, celery, carrots, leeks, asparagus, zucchini - all chopped
1 14.5 oz can of chopped tomatoes (I puree them more with a blender first)
1 ½ C chicken broth (I use vegetarian “chicken flavored” powder with 1 ½ C water)
2 Tb red wine or wine vinegar
Tofu, drained and squeezed, cut into squares
1 Tb tomato paste
1 bay leaf

Simmer 30 minutes more or less till all veggies are cooked to your liking.

Salt and pepper to taste, add more cayenne if you want it hotter.

Yield 4 large bowls

The original recipe calls for chicken but I prefer tofu or poached eggs in my Vindaloo. If I have tofu I add it (drained, squeezed and cut into squares) early on to absorb the liquid and spices. If I want poached eggs, I add them to the simmering sauce at the last minutes, Cindy style.

Prepare your veggies beforehand. Use what ever you have on hand. This time I used zucchini, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and leeks. I sautéed the leeks, mushrooms, celery and carrots with the spices till they were beginning to soften, then added tofu chunks and zucchini, asparagus, tomato sauce etc. Chopped potatoes or lentils are also nice in this dish but take longer to cook if adding them raw. You can double the canned tomato and skip the ‘broth’ as I did this time.

This is a very forgiving recipe…I usually forget something (like broth, vinegar and tomato paste this time) and it always tastes great! It is also very versatile! For another great way to make this dish, hop over to Shari’s blog and find her crockpot version of Vindaloo.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: green beans, tomato, basil, oregano, zucchini, cucumber, thyme, black mondo grass, lavender, borage, veronica, fushia, rose, nepeta, salvia, russian sage, daphne, echinacea, liatris, coryopsis, caryopteris, begonia, alyssum, lobelia, heather, hosta, gallardia, Star Jasmine,

Author’s photo

Rose Wars

2010-08-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose”.
George William Curtis

I don’t like fussiness in the garden. And roses are at the top of the fussbudget list. The whole cycle of disease and spraying is endless, week after week, year after year.

Years ago when I began gardening I bought several varieties of hybrid tea roses on grafted root stock. I did as the books say one must do. I planted them all in a stick straight row, like soldiers, properly 3-4’ (1 m) apart for best ventilation, with swept clean grounds underneath to control disease. The books say they need 5+ hours of full sun and mine all got sun from morning till evening. I dutifully fertilized every 6 weeks and sprayed for disease as often. After all that effort, still the black-spot and mildew levels were high and needless to say discouraging. Then I got smart and went organic. Then I got even smarter and got rid of all the hybrid tea roses.

Most hybrid tea roses are grafted onto a different rootstock for some reason which I can’t remember and is unimportant. What is important is that sometimes the root stock will take over and sprout out so your deep red, velvety robust Mr. Lincoln could become something pink and spindly at any given time. That graft is also susceptible to freezing, so it should be buried below the ground level by a few inches. Hybrid teas also all have similar longish buds, which give way to the classic florist rose we are all familiar with. The hybridizers have tinkered so much with the wild roses to get specific colors and supposed disease resistance that they have lost much of the fragrance of olden days. Have you noticed that some roses just don’t smell much at all or if they do often the scents are similar to one another? And in my experience, all that tinkering hasn’t given us any help with controlling disease.

So in my newly found organic gardening awareness, my new efforts must deem chemical spraying and chemical fertilizing and chemical pest control obsolete. Can you just hear the garden and birds sigh a sigh of relief? Birds eat bugs, and when you poison bugs, the bird’s food now has poison residue on it, so you inadvertently poison birds too. Pretty soon you don’t get the songbirds to your garden because they are looking for food elsewhere.

I’d heard that the old English varieties were hardier, more disease resistant, more fragrant, not grafted and certainly less fussy. What can it hurt? Either that or leave roses out of my scheme all together…so I thought I’d give them one last try. Well, let me say I have not been disappointed.

In my opinion the blousy fullness of the old English rose is charming and far more interesting than that of the hybrid teas. In my opinion there is no fragrance better than that of the old English varieties and the differing perfumes are vast, ranging from soft to deeply musky. One deep inhale is hugely rewarding. Have you ever come across the term ‘heady scent’ in a novel…well now I know what that means.

I viewed a few English rose websites and ordered their print catalogs.
Then I spent a few weeks deciding which colors I wanted for my garden scheme, what size bushes would work and which had the highest disease resistance. If I couldn’t tell from the catalog, I phoned and spoke to a customer service representative. Be aware, catalog descriptions are written to sell plants. Read between the lines. Make no assumptions. I went with David Austin Roses. David Austin is a long time rose grower and hybridizer in the UK. His roses are available in this country, although it may take a bit more effort to find a nursery that sells them. Only one of my choices, ‘Pat Austin’ was iffy and the phone representative didn’t want to recommend it for my climate…but…I have seen one in a garden nearby (yes it had the label attached so I knew for sure it was ‘Pat Austin’) and being pretty sure by the ‘relaxed’ state of the rest of the garden that no effort at spraying was going on, I was satisfied with its performance there. That said, also understand no nursery/retailer can guarantee anything in your garden.

I do not recommend mail ordering roses. I have had some experience with mail ordered (direct from the grower) hybrid tea roses, and what arrives by post is VERY small for the price, bare root or in 4” (10 cm) dinky pots, and only about half of what was ordered actually survive. For a few dollars more, literally, you can support a local nursery and end up with a bigger, healthier, plant that will bloom in the same year.

These are what I chose, and would choose again with one exception. Keep in mind the following links are for the American pricing structure. The home page will offer you international links for your currency.

Pat Austin has gorgeous apricot and cream tones. In my garden it gets 4’ (1.21 m) tall and about as wide. A tiny bit of black spot occurs in the wettest of springs (like this one) but overall the healthy plant can keep it from taking over. I pick off the leaves and clean up the ground below. The loose but full bloom has a nice, strong fragrance.

A Shropshire Lad - An intensely coral bud opens to a sweet creamy peach fully packed blossom that turns pale pink as it ages. Not being a fan of pale pink in the garden, I probably would have passed it by, had it not been for the new growth and new leaves on this plant that are burgundy and beautiful. It has a dainty sweet fragrance, and is tall…reaching over 6’ (1.8m) and reaching lazily out to 5’ or more. It obliges me to grow within the confines of an obelisk because I have room for height but not width. The canes have few thorns with some of its tiny prickles just at and under the base of the leaves at the stem. One or two leaves of black spot on this rose have never fazed it.

Reine des Violettes The difficult to describe magenta violet color of this flower is extraordinary. Teensy but sharp thorns are scattered on the canes and under the base of the leaves. And just like the quote that opened this post says, this rose, nay the entire plant, leaves and all have a delicious old rose, spicy, musky scent that lingers on my hands even after I’ve washed them. It’s heavenly, and somehow de-stressing. This rose reaches about 3’-4’ (1 m) tall and about 2’-3’ wide. In my garden, on this variety only, occasionally a group of buds have a quirky habit of turning yellow then brown only to drop off. But the buds following are just fine. This comes and goes. I suspect it may be a cool, wet weather issue. By the time summer warmth comes, the buds usually form and open normally.

L.D. Braithwaite, a gorgeous crimson, is the one I would not get again.

I put two L. D. Braithwaites and two Reine des Violettes together in the front of the house which faces west. But the sun doesn’t get to them till just about noonish. I had an awful time with black-spot on both varieties in this location. Years prior I had 10 hybrid tea ‘Simplicity’ in that area and the black-spot was severe. There wasn’t enough sun there for roses. I waited a few years before planting roses again in that bed but perhaps the black-spot lived on in the soil and would infect any rose I may put there. I moved one Reine des Violettes to the back yard in all day sun and the black-spot reduced dramatically. I did the same with L.D. but to no avail. The black–spot was just as bad. I got rid of both of the L.D. Braithwaites and moved the final Reine des Violettes to the back for more sun. Now and then I’ll get a touch of black-spot on them but not enough to cause de-nuding of leaves or cause me grief. Removing the few leaves with black-spot early on in the game is crucial to gaining the upper hand.

Every spring I lightly work in a shovelful of alfalfa meal around the drip zone for fertilizing my roses. Lightly scratch it in, so as not to break up too many surface roots but to incorporate some of the soil so the microbes will begin to break it down. Alfalfa meal has an NPK ratio of 3-1-2, and one gardening radio host says this is the natural food ratio plants use. It is slow release, so early spring and early summer is what I do. I’d read somewhere that an annual fresh layer of mulch/compost under roses will prevent black spot. Spores settled in the dirt can be splashed back up onto the rose from raindrops and re-infect the plant. However I’ve also learned that black-spot over winters on rose canes. You can see it. An organic oil spray is supposed to smother that, but I didn’t have a lot of success with it. I like the compost idea, so I do that. This will also keep the moisture in the soil longer, reducing watering. I keep infected leaves picked off the plant and picked up from the ground. And by all means keep those leaves out of your personal compost heap. A typical home compost pile doesn’t always get hot enough to kill pathogens. Dispose of the leaves in the city pick up bin, garbage bin, or burn them if you do burn piles.

Perhaps you think me too lax, accepting a touch of black-spot. I don’t expect perfection from my garden, but I do expect performance. A little black-spot that a healthy plant can keep under control is acceptable to me. Perhaps you think plucking diseased leaves is too much work, but still want roses. Maybe one or two roses is enough for your garden, and your time.

Design wise, I dotted my roses amidst the perennials in my garden. I didn’t group the roses together nor did I plant them in rows. It is so much more a relaxed, natural look. I never plant anything in rows as I once did, with the exception of peas and beans.

One last thing. Hybrid tea’s seem to have a nice perpetual blooming, with a brief rest at some point. I don’t think I can say that about the English roses that I have. I would have to say repeating bloom but not perpetual. They have a nice initial full bloom, then rest for a spell, and then re-bloom. After that there is a sporadic lesser bloom that can go on into winter here. It’s not uncommon to have a rose blooming in December in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ve never grown Rugosa roses, the toughest most drought resistant of them all I think. I have never seen any disease on them. Their look is not refined enough for my garden. I prefer their style in a wooded or wild garden scheme, where I think they’d be eye-catching. I’ve seen honey bees gathering pollen from Rugosas often but alas, not the English rose.

If you’ve got an empty sunny spot in your garden and are considering roses, I highly recommend David Austin’s English Roses.

In bloom in my garden today: rose, canna, hosta, begonia, lobelia, alpine strawberry, tomato, beans, basil, chives, oregano, borage, thyme, lavender, nepeta, echinacea, liatris, loosestrife, veronica, gaillardia, purple poppy, oriental lily, phygelius, gaura, fushia, astillbe, guem, english daisy, star jasmine, hardy geranium, salvia, anise hyssop, coreopsis, tigridia, mullen, russian sage, ajuga, digitalis, nandina, daphne.

Authos photos

Rasperry Ice

2010-07-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.
~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

Berry season is upon us! I just love going out into the garden and picking a basket full of berries. Most don’t make it into the basket cuz my mouth gets in the way, but those that do make it to the kitchen counter are destined to become something yummy like raspberry sorbet or blueberry grunt. Grunt? What’s a grunt you ask? That’ll be a topic for a later post, when the blueberries are ripe. But for now…it’s raspberry season!

I’ve tried several varieties like Royalty, Munger, Fall Gold and Heritage, but currently Willamette feeds our cravings. All the other’s have slunk away while Willamette stays strong, so I think rather than more experimentation, I’ll transplant suckers from this plant to increase our crop. The picture above is our Willamette. Our honey bees and the local bumblebees did a great job pollinating it this year, so there are loads of berries. The only pests I’ve had problems with are squirrels. The birds don’t seem to get to my berries but a squirrel has gobbled more than I care to share.

Raspberries need full sun and good drainage. There are dozens of varieties, many with differing pruning requirements to ensure healthy crops. I highly recommend you purchase your raspberry canes from local, reputable, knowledgeable fruit and berry growers/retailers so you be sure to get the correct information on how to establish and prune the variety best suited for your area. Many of the US fruit catalogs don’t include enough information leaving you to pick from pretty pictures without knowing if the variety will thrive in your region. The local retailers should know which varieties have proven to be reliable in your area. The USA is big with vast climatic differences, and yes, this matters when we are talking about fruit set, pests and disease.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy raspberries, other than straight off the stem, is as a sorbet. And it’s not difficult to make your own.

The typical fruity granita recipe calls for pureed fruit or fruit juice of your choice, optional sweetener, something to freeze it in (a 9x9 glass dish, freezer safe), and a fork to scrape it. After pureeing the berries and straining the seeds (optional), pour the liquid into your freezer safe dish. After freezing for a few hours, it should be frozen firm but not rock hard. Now scraping thin layers with a fork will yield loads of icy, fruity crystals for a refreshing dessert.

I’ve put an ice cream maker to work for this, making it even faster.

This Donvier Half Pint Ice Cream Maker is indeed ancient. My hubby acquired this jewel in his bachelor days. An ice cream maker for two, this little half-pinter makes impromptu fruity sweet cravings easy, dairy free and healthy to satisfy. Needing no special rock salt, all you do is put this little gizmo’s inner cylinder in the freezer for a few hours prior, puree some just picked garden raspberries and in15 minutes sorbet is ready. Pour ¾ of a cup of the puree into the frozen cylinder, turn the handle frequently for 10-15 minutes and it is ready. The frozen puree will increase in volume by 25%, yielding a nice cool treat for two. In summer we keep the cylinder in the freezer all the time so it’s ready at a moments notice.

These little Donviers come in bigger sizes too. Such a naturally sweet way to keep cool in the summer heat!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Purple Poppies, Borage, Phygelius, Echinacea, Lobelia, Mullen, Nigella (Love-In-A-Mist), Thyme, Lavender, Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue), Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Digitalis, Begonia ‘Bonfire’, Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, Salvia officinalis (culinary sage), Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’ and 'Hot Lips', Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, Tomato ‘Stupice’, Hardy Geranium, Peas, Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Authors photos

Pathetic Peas

2010-07-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder.
~Alfred Austin

Well, it’s to the bottom of the class for me today!

Last year I bought a packet of snap pea seeds. I love the snap pea varieties. No shelling needed and incredibly sweet pods surround delish peas. With my small veggie garden a packet often yields me two seasons of sowing, so this year I planted again from the same packet.

Last year my peas were truly pathetic, the vines barely getting more than 1 foot (31 cm) tall and producing just a handful of sweet snap peas. Not enough even to get past my mouth and make it to the kitchen counter. I blamed it on the unseasonably short, cool spring that too quickly turned hot. Not very pea friendly, too much heat makes peas stop flowering. No flower, no vegetable.

This year however, our spring has been loooong and unseasonably cool. Very pea friendly. But wait…my pea vines, which should be 6’ (1.8 m) tall are still stunted, barely taller than last year. The only difference…more peas to munch on. What gives? I even moved this season’s crop to a sunnier locale and gave them an 8 foot (2.5 m) trellis upon which to produce their bumper crop. That and months of cool weather…what more could a pea vine want? I’ve been growing peas for years. My peas should look like Simon’s! Up to the front of the class, Simon. Ok, he does have a greenhouse in which to start his crops, but still…that’s only a covetous excuse when it comes to peas. It pains me to post this picture…to totally expose my pathetic pea crop…but alas one must remain humble. The bare naked fence should be covered!

Thinking perhaps my pea growing days are over because my lovely vine maple trees are making too much shade, I finally referred to the seed packet. ‘Sugar Sprint snap pea, edible pods’. So far so good. ‘Dwarf form of Sugar Snap, bear crunchy pods on 2 foot vines…”. DWARF! TWO FOOT VINES! How could I have missed that? I’ve got 8 feet of trellis attached to that fence! What a dunce! READ the packet, Joan! For two springs now we’ve missed out on a great pea crop because I missed the fact that I mistakenly bought a dwarf variety! Sigh.

I definitely won’t make that mistake again…I hope. Was I beguiled by the pretty picture on the front of the packet? Or was it the recipe on the back? Hmmm…Pea and Bulgur Salad. Yum. Fresh snap peas, grain bulgur, cucumber, sautéed onion, toasted pine nuts, chopped mint all tossed in an oil/vinegar dressing. Hmmm…maybe this seed packet wasn’t such a blunder after all. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait till next spring (and a new packet of seeds)mto make this wonderful salad from our own garden. But I will, mark my words!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Purple Poppies, Borage, Phygelius, Echinacea, Lobelia, Mullen, Nigella (Love-In-A-Mist), Thyme, Lavender, Dutch Iris, Clematis, Bletilla (hardy orchid), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue), Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Digitalis, Begonia ‘Bonfire’, Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, Salvia officinalis (culinary sage), Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’ and 'Hot Lips', Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, Baptisia, Tomato ‘Stupice’, Dianthus (Pinks), Hardy Geranium, Peas, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Authors photos

Pfabulous Purple Poppies!

2010-07-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy.
~Astrid Alauda

Yay! Summer has officially arrived in my garden when the purple poppies pop! And today, July 5, is the day! Take a look-see at this beauty, the first of the bunch, just opened this morning!

Oddly enough it’s a long running grumbling joke among the locals of these parts that summer always arrives on July 5. This year it holds true. Yesterday's celebrations of America’s Independence and Freedom were greeted with cool cloudy weather, a few sun breaks and a spot of rain overnight. But now the weather forecasters promise that the heat for the heat seekers will arrive this week. With each day jumping 10 degrees, by tomorrow it is supposed to be in the low 80’s F (27C). Yesterday was in the low 60’s F (15C). Woo hoo!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Purple Poppies, Borage, Phygelius, Echinacea, Lobelia, Mullen, Nigella (Love-In-A-Mist), Thyme, Lavender, Dutch Iris, Clematis, Bletilla (hardy orchid), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue), Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Digitalis, Begonia ‘Bonfire’, Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, Salvia officinalis (culinary sage), Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’ and 'Hot Lips', Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, Baptisia, Tomato ‘Stupice’, Dianthus (Pinks), Hardy Geranium, Peas, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author's photo

Shriveled Sage, Crispy Rosemary and Black Basil

2010-06-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

The garden is the poor man's apothecary.
~German Proverb

Does your herb garden produce more fresh savories than you can possibly use in summer? Then drying and storing the leaves is the way to go so you can add their pungent essences to your culinary masterpieces all year long!

My three favorite herbs to grow and cook with are Basil, Rosemary and Sage. Basil thrives in hot conditions though is shallow rooted so doesn’t like the soil to dry out. One source speculates that Basil may have originated in India, but is better known in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine (Herbs and Spices by Mary Trewby). Basil leaves taste best fresh but another source suggests when preserving, put the leaves into a jar, sprinkle a little salt between layers, and fill the jar with olive oil (Herbs by Susan Fleming). The leaves will blacken but they and the oil will flavor your dishes nicely.

I’ve tried growing the big ‘lettuce leaf’ Basil (Ocimum basicicum), unsuccessfully. Perhaps my garden just doesn’t get hot enough for it to thrive, so I buy fresh organic whole Basil leaves on stems from the grocery store. But they last only a few days on the kitchen counter (refrigeration turns the leaves black) so I have to have several recipes in mind ready to use it every day. If I keep it too long, it wilts and turns brown. I thought I’d get smart and try to keep it longer. I cut about a ¼ inch (0.5 cm) off the base of the stems and put them in a glass of water, like flowers in a vase, and ya know…it worked. The leaves perked up and lasted about a week and a half so I didn’t feel like I had to use some every night for dinner.

When I lifted the last few stems I noticed they’d begun to root out! Well, being the thrifty gardener that I am I potted them up and I think they are growing. Ok, with the cold, wet spring we are having here they are not really GROWING, more like sulking. But potentially when summer gets here I could get 4 basil plants out of this! We’ll see. If you want to see true Basil growing success, check out Shari’s Bully Basil! Shari’s experience prompted me to try again but with a different variety this time. So this year I bought some Greek Basil seed (Ocimum Balilicum minimum), a small leaf variety, growing to about 12 inches (25 cm). The seed germinated just fine and I have 6 seedlings, now with just a bit of continual summer heat they’ll be on their way. Still waiting for the heat.

I have better success growing sage and rosemary, which are perennials here. Both like the hot, dry Mediterranean sun with soils that drain well and are used extensively in that region’s cooking. Each spring when I prune my rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Hill Hardy’) I bring leafy stems in to dry for later use. In April I pruned back my sage (Salvia officinalis) and brought in the stems with leaves attached to dry as well. I gave up hanging stems upside down…I don’t have the space for that, so I dry my herbs in the refrigerator.

With today’s refrigerators, long gone are the days we need to defrost our freezers. Refrigerators are now designed to do that automatically, and because of this they will dry out foods left uncovered on the refrigerator shelving. After rinsing and spin drying the stems with leaves, I lay them out on a flat tray and put them at the back of the fridge shelf till they are crispy dry. It could take several weeks this way. For faster results you could pull all the leaves off the stems, but that’s more work. It’s much easier to remove the crispy leaves after they’ve dried. Keep it to a single layer for faster drying. Turning them daily helps too, but I usually forget this step and they dry anyway. Then I crumble the leaves from the stems (discarding stems) and put them in glass jars in my spice cupboard. Since I don’t like the feel of whole spiky rosemary leaves in my mouth, I crush them a little and keep them in a spice grinder, grinding fresh the leaves for each use.

Honey bees like herbal nectars and studies have shown the compounds they contain may be beneficial in strengthening their immunity, so I’m increasing the variety of herbs I grow. Last year I planted 2 dwarf oregano (origanum vulgare compactum ‘humile’) plants. I have several creeping thymes among my paths but added 2 taller varieties this year, Lemon-Gold Variegated Thyme (Thymus citriodorus ‘Aurens’) who’s lemony scent should smell amazing on the grill this summer, and Thyme ‘Foxley’ (Thymus pulegioides ‘Foxley’) a gorgeous large leafed, variegated thyme. Also, I’ve added 2 upright Sicilian Oregano (Origanum sp.). Herb harvesting for culinary purposes is usually done just before flowering for best flavor. As you harvest stems and plant tips you will be delaying flowering. Keep in mind the bees get the nectar from the flowers, so if you want to serve the bees you may be harvesting less. Perhaps buy double the herb plants, leaving the flowers for the bees on some and harvesting the leaves for you from others.

I’ve found a wonderful Scarborough Fair Bread recipe linked here from Taste For Life magazine. If you were around in the 60’s you may remember the song, it includes “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”. I like the finished loaf but found it a bit weak on herbs. Being a recipe tweaker I substitute ¼ of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and I more than double the dried herbs. Not being a fan of parsley, I leave it out completely. The herby-yeasty aroma of this bread during the rising and baking is outstanding!

Now if I could only get that song out of my head!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Bletilla (hardy orchid), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue), Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Digitalis, Begonia ‘Bonfire’, Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, Salvia officinalis (culinary sage), Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’, Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, Baptisia, Tomato ‘Stupice’, Dianthus (Pinks), Hardy Geranium, Peas, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Dianthus, Day Lily, Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, Saxifrage, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photos

Talkin' Trash

2010-06-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure”
Author unknown

My dad is my beekeeping partner and between our apiaries we have 5 hives.

So he leaves a message on my answering machine yesterday evening…”Hey I got a swarm call, give me a call back when you get home. I’ll tell you about it, and we’ll go get it tomorrow.” I got home late that evening and when I called him back he said the bees were on the 10th hole at the Northshore Golf Course, clustered on a branch lying on the ground. Lying on the ground…easy as pie as far as swam calls go, and he’d already taking a box out there, shaken most of the bees in, and left it there overnight for any remaining bees to go in on their own. By early morning, before they start flying, it should be as simple as screening off the entrance and loading it into the pickup. “Wanna go, I’ll pick you up at 8am?” Sweet! No ladders, no precarious situation, no muss, no fuss! I even debated the need to bring my veil but, as I say, always be prepared, so I did.

So we get there, and he drives over to the 10th hole and points to some trees, “It’s right over there.” Well I’m not seeing it, no box, no bees flying, just golfers and a whole lotta grass. Then he realizes it’s not there. I get out and start looking around, wondering if someone moved it, maybe stole it? Hive theft is not unheard of. He calls his contact, the head of grounds maintenance, who doesn’t know where it went. We flag a ‘marshall in a red shirt’…no, he didn’t see it. ‘Marshall’ then flags a couple of groundskeepers…”Oh, sure, it was HUGE!” as he indicates the size of a football. “We threw it in the dumpster.”

“You WHAT??” I was incredulous that anyone would pick up an obvious piece of equipment, that obviously belonged to someone, that had been located strategically, now containing the bees that had once been a HUGE mass laying on the grass, and without asking enough questions, proceed to throw it into a dumpster. But then that’s just me. I had visions of busted up parts and pieces with a whole lotta angry bees flying around. Good thing I brought my veil.

So we drive over to the dumpster, ‘over there, the green one’ and look down in. Sigh…yep there’s dad’s equipment and the bees. The lids flew off, the frames all dumped out, the box on it's side (nothing broken, thankfully) and most of the bees huddled on a couple of frames. Well I guess to a non bee person that little group of bees would look HUGE. So down I go, thinking I now need a bumper sticker that reads “will dumpster dive for bees”. Thankfully it is the dumpster the grounds keepers use so it just had a lot of plant debris, turf and branches and a pile of gravel which made it easy for me to climb down into it. I’d not have been a happy beekeeper if it was kitchen waste.

Poor bees. I carefully righted the box, replaced most of the empty frames, then began to slowly lift the frames containing the bee clusters, as I looked for the queen. I found her, put that frame in the box, then the rest, and put on the lid. Soon the box began to hum as the bees inside calmed, warmed and signaled to the others still outside, “come this way, here’s home”. Several were still flying and crawling around the debris so we waited and in a little while many more went in. Herding bees is a little like herding cats, so in a situation like that there is no way to get them all. Time to screen it and lift it out. I console myself that maybe those left will go back to the colony they swarmed from.

It’s in my yard now and we fed it syrup. It’s a small swarm, no doubt an ‘after swarm’. Swarming is the bee colony’s natural way to divide when they get crowded. This time of year, the colony it came from has probably already swarmed earlier but still needed more room. So a new queen was made and off they go. She’s small too, so she’s probably not mated yet. Many beekeepers wouldn’t bother with such a swarm, it’s too small to build up enough to survive a winter here. But dad and I go for them all, big or small if we can reach them. And this one came to us just when we needed a queen. My queen died last week. We need to check to see if she laid new eggs before she died, so the colony could make a new one, but the cold rainy weather has postponed an inspection. If there is no queen in the making, we’ll join this small swarm to my hive and all should be well again…providing my hive accepts the new queen and she mates successfully.

Not all is easy in the life of bees.

In Bloom In My Garden Today: Bletilla (hardy orchid), Thalictrum rochebrunianum (Meadow Rue), Lavender ‘Hidcote’, Digitalis, Begonia ‘Bonfire’, Penstemon schmidel ‘Red Riding Hood’, Salvia officinalis (culinary sage), Salvia nemorosa ‘Viola Klose’, Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil’, Baptisia, Tomato ‘Stupice’, Dianthus (Pinks), Hardy Geranium, Peas, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Dianthus, Day Lily, Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, Saxifrage, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Authors photos

Cleaning the Water Butts

2010-06-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.
~Author Unknown

Now that the title has got your attention, I have to explain to my American readers that we’re talking about rain barrels here…what did you think?? No surprise to my UK readers. What ever you call it, it’s a great way to collect free, clean water to use in your gardens. And I might add, house plants love it too because it has nothing added to it to ‘purify’ it.

I made all 3 of my 55 gallon rain barrels and a compost bin from former pickle barrels that I got from the Nalley’s Pickle Co before they closed the business in this area. They have a two part cap-and-ring style lid in which I drilled several holes so water from the downspout can drip in. I used nylon window screening just under the lids to screen out debris. They each have an overflow outlet near the top with tubing running down to the garden below so I don’t have to go out there in a downpour to open the spigot when they overflow. Then I drilled holes as low as possible, but high enough so I could reach in to be able to attach the spigots/washers/nuts for the outflow. It would probably be boring to read about all the parts and pieces I used. So I’ll just say I just went to the hardware store with a mental plan of how I wanted to make them and spent more than an hour finding parts that would accomplish it. All the parts I used were found in both the PVC plumbing and garden sprinkler departments. Back and forth I went more than once. Of course you can buy rain barrels already complete, but I’m a do-it-yourselfer, a problem solver and like to build/design things.

Naturally the size of roof you connect it to will determine how quickly it fills up. I have one attached to my house downspout…that one fills up in a day during a heavy rain. I have two attached to the smaller garage roof and they can take more than a week to fill. It would be better to attach two or all three to the house but aesthetics are important to me and garden space wouldn’t allow.

Two of the barrels are in the sun and one in the shade. I think it’s best to keep them in the shade if you can but even that one got ‘fragrant’ if I didn’t use it quickly enough. Each summer when I use up all the stored water, I open them up and give them a good rinse out and brush down (on the inside) with a long handled car wash brush. A quick, easy and not particularly unpleasant job.

Still, all that stagnant water can get foul at times. What to do? As a kid, didn’t I have a fish tank and didn’t the filters always use charcoal to keep the water clear? Why not charcoal for water butts? So I bought a bag of natural BBQ briquettes. Natural, with nothing added, as many manufacturers have added chemicals for better combustion. I put them in a nylon mesh bag (actually made for straining paint found in the paint dept), tied a long string to it and lowered it to the bottom of the barrel. By golly I think it really does help! It does seem to keep the water cleaner longer, at least by the time I use it up now.

So every year at cleaning time I re-supply the briquettes, about 6 or 8 per bag. They do eventually dissolve into a mucky ooze which I just turn out into the garden. Briquettes are wood ash, which is potash, the third nutrient on the NPK fertilizer list. Potassium (potash) is necessary for the development of strong plants able to overcome disease susceptibility and maintaining balanced nitrogen use. Potassium (potash) also alkalinizes soils that are too acidic. Then with clean, scrubbed insides and a fresh bag of briquettes they are ready for our next PNW rainstorm to fill them back up again.

Rain barrels don’t have enough water pressure to run a sprinkler but are great for filling watering cans, topping off water features, bird baths and rinsing off tools and boots. I can hook up a hose to them to run water anywhere the hose can reach, but it’s only gravity fed so the water runs slower. The lower the water level, the slower the water runs. That said, they do have their uses.

Do you have rain barrels? If not, do you plan to install any? If you get a lot of rain like we do here in western Washington they are great, and we can use them most of the spring and early summer months until the rain dries up!

In bloom in my garden today: Hardy Geranium, Peas, Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Dianthus, Day Lily, Aquilegia (Columbine), Rose, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, Iris, Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’, Saxifrage, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photo

Honey Laundering

2010-05-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

“Bee folk, settle here,

Do not go from this place,

I give thee house and place,

Thou must bring me honey and wax”

~Bessler, Geschichte der Bienenzucht

I have been a honey lover long before I started keeping bees. It’s hard to see but the open cells on this frame of bees are full of nectar that is being ripened into honey, soon to be capped with fresh wax for storage.

Honey is my number one, go to choice when I want to sweeten my tea, or drizzle a tad on my oatmeal and toast. I even use a dab of honey to get my yeast started when I make a loaf of bread or pizza crust. I have also had great success with honey’s healing properties on cuts or sores that won’t seem to heal…just a dab of honey under the bandage does the trick. Honey’s antibacterial qualities treat burns and scrapes and some cultures still use honey medicinally. Reportedly the US military is reinvestigating honey for healing wounds our troops sustain while in combat.

Honey is composed of carbohydrates and water and includes small amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

In the USA we consume more than 400 million pounds of honey annually! That’s 1.29 pounds per person each year. Many of us buy liquid honey in jars, but an even larger portion of the population enjoy honey in manufactured cereals, breads, cookies, sauces, desserts, salad dressings, meats…the list goes on and on. That is a lot of honey, more than can be supplied by US beekeepers alone, so much of our honey is imported from around the world. US and Canadian laws keep US and Canadian beekeepers to a high standard of honey purity. But what about that honey that is coming into our ports from other countries where standards may not be as high?

A few years ago The Seattle Post-Intelligencer did a series of articles exposing the ugly reality of honey laundering, researching in depth the fact that our current laws are not adequate to protect the US honey supply.

Chinese Honey Laundered in U.S., Seattle Paper Exposes the continued fraud.
By Alan Harman

Big shipments of contaminated honey from China are being laundered in other countries to avoid U.S. import fees, protective tariffs or taxes imposed on foreign products that intentionally undercut domestic prices.
A five-month investigation by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found that in a series of shipments in the past year, tons of honey produced in China passed through the ports of Tacoma, Wa. and Long Beach, Calif., after being fraudulently marked as a tariff-free product from Russia.
It found other shipments routed through India, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
The report, which mirrors a story in Bee Culture back in 2002, says tens of thousands of pounds of honey entering the U.S. each year come from countries that raise few bees and have no record of producing honey for export.
"In the U.S., where bee colonies are dying off and demand for imported honey is soaring, traders of the thick amber liquid are resorting to elaborate schemes to dodge tariffs and health safeguards in order to dump cheap honey on the market," the newspaper reports.
"The business is plagued by foreign hucksters and shady importers who rip off conscientious U.S. packers with honey diluted with sugar water or corn syrup - or worse, tainted with pesticides or antibiotics."
Changing the county of origin from China is designed to avoid tariffs of up to 500%. Vaughn Bryant, a palynologist and an anthropology professor, spends hours at a time peering at slides of pollen samples, comparing them to track down the origins of honey with questionable heritage. For the last five years, he has analyzed the pollen in honey samples from all over the world to determine the nectar sources and origin of the honey.
He examines imported samples purported to come from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos, and usually discovers the samples are blends, with a little honey from those countries and a majority of the blend coming from Chinese sources.
"And the U.S. needs to make it illegal to import honey that has been filtered to remove the pollen, which makes it almost impossible to detect where it came from."

(The italics above are quoted excerpts of the research of Alan Harman. The complete articles can be found in the ‘Catch the Buzz’ reference links below.)

Illegally imported honey is illegal because it has been adulterated in some way or contains contaminants banned by the US. But still this honey is finding its way into our ports and markets and food supply.

I am not engaging in more China bashing…I’d write no matter which country was doing this, and as you can see several are getting away with it. However based on numerous investigations, China is the originating source of unsafe honey at the time of this writing.

HonestHoney.com is a newly launched website providing more information on this problem and giving consumers, honey companies, food manufactures and retailers a way to fight back and stop the pollution of the US honey supply.

This is why knowing a local beekeeper and honey source is great, but not everyone has a beekeeper next door. Be aware too, that even small time beekeepers with a few hives, but who have a continual supply of honey at your local farmers market…well those few hives cannot produce enough for a year round supply…where is that vendor getting all that honey? They can buy it by the barrel too. It is the law for US retail honey labels to specify ‘country of origin’ but the FDA does not enforce it, so many do not include it. I only buy honey whose label specifies the country of origin to be Canada and/or USA or a blend of both. It's not a guarantee but it's about as close as I can get to assurance when I buy bottled honey.

This is a case where quality really does need to take precedence over price.

I write about the problems within the USA honey supply. No doubt there are problems abroad. If you live outside of the USA, are you aware of any illegal/tainted imported honey supply issues your country is dealing with?

************************************************************************

References:

Catch The Buzz e-newsletter (Kim@BeeCulture.com)
http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2009.01.02.12.02.archive.html
http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2010.02.02.12.53.archive.html
http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2010.04.30.13.26.archive.html

Honey Fact Sheet
www.honey.com

www.honesthoney.com

Seattle P-I links
www.seattlepi.com/specials/honey/
www.seattlepi.com/local/394053_honey30.asp
www.seattlepi.com/local/397445_honey26.html

In bloom in my garden today: Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’, Armeria latifolia ‘Joystick’, Star of Bethlehem, Bellis perennis (English Daisy), Dicentra spectabilis (common bleeding heart), Vancouveria hexandra, Dianthus, Day Lily, Aquilegia (Columbine), Rose, Peony, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’, Syringa ‘Adelaide Dunbar’, Blueberry ‘Sunshine Blue’, Iris, Huckleberry, Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’, Saxifrage, Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Tellima (Fringe Cups), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Solomon’s Seal, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’

Author’s photo

Cutting Corners

2010-05-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have a rock garden. Last week three of them died.
~Richard Diran

After my post on Guerilla Gardening reader Shari’s comment included the fact that her home is on a corner and that many a discourteous driver has left their imprint on her lawn. Much the bane of many corner property owners, what was once a nicely cared for FLAT piece of ground, now has deep ruts, mud and ruined lawn that must be repaired and re-grow, over and over again. All of which takes time, money, and work to get it looking as it was before.

Shari this post is for you as your dilemma is the inspiration for this post. As I drive around my city I see this problem is shared by many residents, so I thought perhaps many of my readers too. Mostly around here people who do anything about it at all, just put big rocks out as a deterrent. But as you’ll see in the photos below, there are various ways to just put big rocks out. Some are creative arrangements, some have gardens planted amongst the rocks and some simply reflect a minor, but apparently effective effort.

The first two are my favorite solutions…

This next one is…well, an interesting effort that appears to be somewhat effective, but it does look rather lonely doesn’t it?

And lastly, your neighbors who place some importance on their property values will thank you for not resorting to this…

Do you live on a corner that is constantly being carved up for you? What creative solutions have you implemented to stop those who want to cut your corner?

In bloom in my garden today: Raspberry, Chives, Azalea 'Exbury', Syringa ‘Adelaide Dunbar’, Blueberry ‘Sunshine Blue’, Iris, Huckleberry, Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’, Viburnum davidii, Saxifrage, Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Tellima (Fringe Cups), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Solomon’s Seal, Wisteria, creeping phlox, Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Heather, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Author’s photos

It's Lilac Season

2010-05-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

"To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat.
~Beverley Nichols (1898-1983)

I’ve not met anyone who doesn’t appreciate the fragrance of lilacs. Usually it brings a smile to one’s face and memories of Grandma’s garden. Lilacs have been in gardens forever, it seems.

Lilacs (Syringa) reportedly prefer alkaline soil but here in the Pacific Northwest we are known for our acidic soil, and my lilacs don’t give the impression they mind. Their zonal preferences seem to be all over the northern hemisphere, found in Middle Eastern, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, North American and European locals. In the hottest areas they apparently prefer some shade from the hottest sun and reportedly bloom best after a pronounced winter chill, with some blooming just fine with only a light chilling.

Lilacs bloom on old wood, meaning this year’s flowers were formed last year, and next years flowers will form in the months following current bloom. So if you cut off the spent flower clusters, as I do, you want to do it right away after blooming so as not to damage flower production for next year.

My garden was already charmed by an ordinary lilac tree (Syringa vulgaris no doubt) when I became caretaker 24 years ago and the house is over 100 years old now. I have no idea when this lilac was planted but whoever did so, kept the suckers controlled which allowed it to become a graceful tree. The same light purple variety is in many gardens in my neighborhood, and they are all huge sprawling shrubs with new suckers adding to their girth annually. I much preferred the tree shape, which means originally only one stem was allowed to thicken into a real trunk, so I too kept any extra suckers trimmed out, an annual task. One local gardening expert once said lilacs kept in this way usually only live 50 years or so. About 5 years ago mine began to get large fungi growing horizontally on the lower trunk portion, a good indication it was dying. So I allowed 2 new suckers to grow, and it took the tree about 2 or 3 years to finally die and the trunk to rot out but the 2 new suckers soldiered on to give me my tree back. Today it looks like this. I’m thrilled to have saved the original root, and in a few years it should be as full as before. It is already nearly as tall.

I was looking to add height and structure to my sunny, side garden and decided more fragrant lilacs would be wonderful. As I looked into it, no one could promise a variety that doesn’t sucker. Having a small garden and not wanting to give up any space to suckering plants, only a tree shape would allow more garden space for planting underneath. Then I found out about the Hulda Klager lilac farm in Woodland Washington. What a gem! If you love lilacs, and find yourself anywhere in western Washington (or Oregon for that matter) you must treat yourself to an April/May visit of Hulda’s treasure trove. Do plan on the whole day if you live more than an hour away and do bring a picnic lunch to enjoy under the lilacs or wisteria on the grounds of this historic farm.

The Hulda Klager Lilac Garden is a national landmark and was saved from destruction by local resident gardeners who didn’t want to see her work of hybridizing lilacs vanish. She had an interesting life and a passion for lilacs which you can read about on the website link…just click on her name to learn more. Better yet…go visit. Her 1880’s homestead has been restored and some of her personal belongings remain on display. The Hulda Klager Lilac Society has been set up to maintain the grounds and farmhouse, has garden meetings, lilac sales and a gift shop. All proceeds fund the operation, maintenance and continuance of her homestead and her legacy.

I planned my trip to coincide with their annual lilac festival. After enjoying the entire garden, I asked one of the volunteers if there was a non-suckering variety. She thought a minute and said yes, named 2 or 3 possible choices but said for sure Adelaide Dunbar (top picture) does not sucker. We walked over to where several Adelaides stood proudly in their pots and let me tell you, she’s gorgeous! Her new spring leaves are medium green with a tint of deep burgundy that turns all green with age. If that’s not enough, her flower buds are a rich, deep magenta/violet that lighten as they open and more so as they age, so the whole cluster has at least 3 differing tones within. That coupled with the two-tone leaves…well, I just had to make two of them mine right there and then, no dithering about it.

They are currently planted on both sides of the sidewalk near the front porch steps. My idea was that they would arch across toward each other…time will tell if that indeed happens. Even if not, my twin Adelaides are a beauty to behold every spring, both to the eye and nose.

In bloom in my garden today: Syringa ‘Adelaide Dunbar’,Blueberry 'Sunshine Blue, Mtn Ash, Lily of the Valley, Chives, Iris, Huckleberry, Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’, Viburnum davidii, Saxifrage, Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Tellima (Fringe Cups), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Solomon’s Seal, Wisteria, creeping phlox, Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Heather, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Authors Photos

Apiary Update

2010-04-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

“The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others”
~Saint John Chrysostom

In case you are stumped, an apiary is simply where you keep your bee colonies. Also called a bee yard, it can contain one hive like mine or many hives. So my apiary is in my side yard, between my house and garden. I’m small potatoes compared to most, at this time it’s a manageable size for me.

I’m happy to report that my bees have survived the winter admirably and are a VERY strong colony (meaning there are LOTS of them). In March, I opened up the hive for the first time this year, reversed the boxes, replaced several old frames of wax with new foundation, treated organically for mites, checked honey stores and looked for the queen or evidence of a laying queen. All checked out fine to my eye, so I closed it up again and left them alone for another month.

I opened the hive again yesterday and found that they are almost finished drawing out the new wax foundation that comprised the uppermost box (box #4, I use all western size), are storing new nectar in it and that the queen is laying there too. I didn’t see the queen but there were many eggs, properly laid in the bottom of cells and many, still standing indicating that they are only one or two days old. So over the 4 boxes containing brood (larvae/pupae), honey and pollen I added a queen excluder and added a honey super with new foundation since the top box was mostly drawn out and filling up with nectar. It seems early to do this to me, but as I said they are strong, and I don’t want to risk a swarm. They are working fast even though this has not been a stellar spring.

All evidence points to a busy, thriving colony and maybe, just maybe they’ll make enough honey for us too this year. This is their third year, each stronger than the last, but I haven’t taken any honey off as of yet as I never thought they had made enough for us and themselves. Honey bees store pollen and honey for their survival (protein and carbohydrates respectively) and if a beekeeper takes all or too much of the honey for him/herself, the bees will starve or the beekeeper will have to feed them (sugar/water syrup) for their survival till the weather warms and plants and flowers begin to bloom after winter again. Their natural honey is always the best dietary choice for them, and feeding them means more work for me so, I have left the honey. So far it has paid off…I didn’t have to feed them at all this year, which is a win-win situation for us all.

I realize I’ve used a lot of unexplained beekeeper jargon in this post. I apologize for not breaking it down more by way of explanation, it would probably be too lengthy. I know it can be confusing for those not familiar with bees, but hopefully you now have some insight into the life of bees and their keepers. In a nutshell…all in all, life is good in the apiary today!

Got a question? Click on comments!

If you want to explore the world of beekeeping more fully, I recommend perusing your local library’s shelves. Two excellent books on the subject are Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston and Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad.

In bloom in my garden today: Syringa ‘Adelaide Dunbar’, Iris, Huckleberry, Geum ‘Lady Stratheden’, Viburnum davidii, Saxifrage, Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Tellima (Fringe Cups), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Solomon’s Seal, Wisteria, creeping phlox, Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Heather, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Bee on Huckleberry top photo courtesy of Pat Chissus

It Just Happened!

2010-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to. But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough. Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them.
~Victoria Glendinning

Years ago it just happened to be our anniversary weekend, and we just happened to stay at a cute B&B up north, which just happened to have a Sunset magazine in the room, in which I just happened to read an article highlighting hardy Geraniums. The article just happened to mention a hardy Geranium mail-order/nursery/grower and profiled some rare varieties, one of which was ‘Lily Lovell’. The next day, we just happened to stop at a grocery store for some picnic lunch goodies and they just happened to have just received a nursery shipment. And guess what? There just happened to be a one gallon container of ‘Lily Lovell’! Of course I made it mine and do you know I’ve NEVER seen the fair ‘Lily Lovell’ since…anywhere! Just goes to prove the old adage…when you see it, if you like it, buy it.

There can be some confusion when we talk about geraniums. The brightly colored, large flowered, annual geraniums that grace pots and planters in spring are Pelargoniums also known as zonal geraniums. The mainstay of Germany’s window boxes, they come as upright varieties or the trailing ivy geranium varieties. Since our winters in western Washington can be mild we can often get the zonal geraniums to winter over, but usually they need some protection. There are also the tender scented geranium varieties that are only winter hardy in more tropical climes, unless you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse.

Not so for the hardy Geranium (Cranesbill). A true geranium, when it is planted in the ground they are a hardy perennial, and they look nothing like the Pelargonium plant. According to Sunset’s Western Garden Book, most are hardy in all zones with just one or two specifically hardy to zone 6 and to zone 9. Read the tag and know your zone before you buy. They sport a huge variety of leaf shape, leaf color and flower color too. The variety differences are endless. Some have leaves of deep purple color, some green, some a silver sheen. Some shamelessly seed themselves all over the place while others are very well behaved, slowly spreading and cooperative as we small garden tenders prefer. They are not bothered by any pests in my experience, including slugs and snails. I don’t know about deer, but since they do have an odor it may be worth a try if you and your deer friends have a disagreement over who your garden was planted for.

Over the years I’ve had many hardy Geraniums, but my two favorites are ‘Lily Lovell’ and ‘Mavis Simpson’ because they are well behaved and beautiful.

In my garden, Geranium phaeum ‘Lily Lovell’ (pictured above and right) blooms in late April through May, is nearly evergreen with large green leaves and has lovely purple flowers of reflexed petals revealing a white eye. It prefers morning sun and sulks if it gets a bit dry or too hot from later sun. I do cut off the stems after they flower (seeding issues) and it sometimes gives me a minor re-bloom later. The leaves stand about 12” (.30 m) tall and the flowering stems about 36” (.90 m). It started as a one gallon size plant and is now a 4’ (1m) diameter patch. It’s been slow to reach this size (more than 10 years if memory serves me) and definitely would be easy to keep smaller by digging up pass-along plants.

Geranium riversleaianum ‘Mavis Simpson’ (pictured below being enjoyed by a honey bee) on the other hand disappears completely in the winter. The fresh fuzzy grey green leaves start peeking out again in March and once the blooms begin about a month or so later, it continues to bloom all summer. The leaves are small compared to ‘Lily Lovell’ and from its basal location the stems grow each year to fill in spaces like a low ground cover about two feet (.60m) in diameter. It could be considered to be of a trailing habit, so would do well in hanging containers or spilling out of a pot. Overall the plant stays under 6” (15cm) tall. It does not spread underground and I’ve never had a seeding problem. Perhaps it is a hybrid, so the seeds would be sterile. I only trim this one when it encroaches upon its neighbors or the pathways. The flowers are pinkish violet with dark veining and light centers.

In my experience, my least favorite is Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor’. It has lovely burgundy marking in the leaves and dark cherry colored flowers but exuberantly seeds itself everywhere unless you are diligent at deadheading. I thought I was, but still found it coming up all over the place. I finally pulled it and it’s offspring out.

What a find ‘Lily Lovell’ was, all those years ago. Who knew she would be elusive ever since? Some days are just like that!

In bloom in my garden today: Bergenia ‘Winter Glow’, old fashioned Coral Bells (Heuchera), Tellima (Fringe Cups), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Solomon’s Seal, Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ (Yellow Fawn Lily),Wisteria, Tulipa ‘Gavota’, creeping phlox, Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Anemone nemerosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Fritillaria, Primrose, Hellebore, Heather, Clematis, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Top photo ‘Lily Lovell’ courtesy of Patrick Chissus
Other photos by author

Pay-Per-Scan Is Madness!

2010-04-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

“Archie, have you ever known me to show rancor? …vehement ill will, intense malignity… I have it now… it’s in the way! I can’t think clearly! Confound it! Rancor…it’s a pimple on the brain!”
~Rex Stout via Nero Wolfe

Last year I read an article exposing the pay-per-scan agreements generally contracted between big-box-hardware/garden center stores (BBHGC) and the growers supplying the nursery plants. I think it bears further discussion. I ~~groaned~~ ~~labored~~ worked 21 years in the retail ~~circus~~ industry and in my opinion this kind of contract shows just how desperate plant growers are to stay in business and how greedy big-box stores can be.

According to the article, pay-per-scan means that the commercial nursery grower only gets paid for the plants that are purchased and kept by customers of the BBHGC. At the BBHGC, when we buy a plant, it gets scanned. That purchase goes into a database and at some point, long after the grower delivered the plants to the BBHGC, they get paid. If the plant dies, and we return it, it gets scanned and it gets removed from the database so the commercial grower never gets paid for it.

When we buy a plant from an independent nursery, in addition to having access to knowledgeable, helpful staff, they often give planting and care directions with the receipt as they want us to be successful with our purchase because the return of a dead plant will cost the nursery money and sometimes reputation. They paid the grower already for the plants they received in the shipment, so any returns go against the nursery’s profits not the grower's.

On the other hand, when we buy a plant from a BBHGC, the staff usually has no gardening expertise to guide us and no additional plant care information is given with our purchase. Our dead plant can be returned simply with a receipt…no questions asked. Since the garden dept staff is usually assigned to the garden dept and not experienced in plant care or gardening, the plant we bought could have been either: under watered, over watered, fried, frozen or otherwise abused depending on how long ago it was delivered to the big-box store. By the time we get it, it may look ok but is already beginning to die.

Case in point…you may know that Hostas are generally a species that needs shade or partial shade, with a small handful of varieties that can handle some sun. Last year, while at one of these large BBHGC I saw an entire 4 tier rack of Hostas parked in the full hot afternoon sun on an 80F+ (27C) degree day. They were all in various stages of wilt. Each tier holds 3 trays. Each tray holds 9 one gallon plants. That’s a whopping 108 plants, toasted by the store’s staff that the grower will never get paid for, because they were too damaged to ever be sold! Or if some poor unsuspecting customer did buy one, it was no doubt returned due to its demise as the damage progressed. Who looses? The grower, who grew and shipped in good faith but who will never receive a dime for those 108 plants. From my perspective, that’s appalling!

That was last year…a few days ago when I took the picture it was a 45F (7C) degree blustery day with a wind chill factor of brrr! and what did my little wandering eye spy? Approximately 90 Delphiniums whose flowering stems had been broken down by the wind and a cart of Gardenias whose leaves had all curled and withered from being displayed outside in the cold temps. What a waste!

Should you stop buying plants from these BBHGC? If you do you’ll also hurt the grower, but it’s definitely a buyer beware situation. If I buy plants at a BBHGC, which is rare, I only do so if it’s obvious the shipment is relatively fresh and newly arrived. I much prefer to support small, independent nurseries that truly have a love for gardening, want to help you succeed in your garden and employ knowledgeable staff that are gardeners too.

Thanks for putting up with this gardener’s rant…I feel better…a little…well only marginally. I need a cup of tea!

In bloom in my garden today: Erythronium ‘Pagoda’ (Yellow Fawn Lily),Wisteria, Tulipa ‘Gavota’, creeping phlox, Daffodil ‘Erlicheer’, Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Anemone nemerosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Fritillaria, Primrose, Hellebore, Skimmia, Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape), Heather, Rhododendrons, Clematis, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Author’s photo

On A More Personal Note

2010-04-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

To my favorite honeydew, do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you, with your turnip nose, and radish face.
You are a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.
~Author Unknown

This is a non-gardening question for you my friends.

What does it mean, when on your anniversary you and your beloved hand each other an identical card!??

I’m a little worried. Will we be finishing each other’s sentences soon? Buying matching jackets? We are already ordering the same meals at restaurants (sometimes)…Oh nooooo!

In bloom in my garden today: Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Anemone nemerosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hepatica, Fritillaria, Primrose, Hellebore, Skimmia, Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape), Heather, Rhododendrons, Clematis, Hyacinth Orientaliis, Daphne caucasica 'Eternal Fragrance' and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Author’s photo

Easter Was First In A Garden

2010-04-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

“I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day”
~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body and laid it in a tomb, which was located in a garden. Three days later it was from that tomb, in that garden that Jesus arose and conquered death, for every person on the planet.

Trust in Him is all that is asked of you.

Then they asked of Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” John 6:28

Happy Easter

We Have A Winner...Or Two!

2010-04-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.
~Mirabel Osler

Thank you everyone for your entries! What a fun and imaginative bunch you are. But how to choose? They are all wonderful. Oh dilemma!

While looking over this fabulous list of entries and considering choosing just one via ‘pin-the tail on-the donkey’ style, a combo-name popped into my head, rolled around in there for a while and refuses to exit. Leaving you in suspense a little longer, I’ll give a rundown of the names submitted.

Shari from FitFeat got the ball rolling with:
Mary Jane: clever, verrrrry clever my dear, but no doubt some knuckle-head will point out that mary jane is aka ‘weed’ and since no weeds are allowed in my garden I had to root that one out ;)
Sukhon: meaning pleasing scent…hmmm I like that! It’s restful.

From Tracy at Kitsap Garden
Mali: meaning Jasmine…ohhh lovely and as she stated I do have Jasmine vines!

From Rosella at Rosella's Garden
Floradora: whimsical fun! Capricious comes to my mind…root: n caprice meaning…"head with hair standing on end"…and Rosella hadn’t even seen this picture yet!! Are you psychic?

Lastly, Cindy at A Sparkle A Day
After a frightening brain freeze, her ‘little grey cells’ kicked back into high gear just as the door was closing…
Petunia-Panten-a
Jasmine-Jehmima
Bee-Trice – Yay! Save the bees!
Rose-Annafanna - Love this, too funny!
Hya-Cynthias
Mademoiselle Fanny Le Fleur – I love French lingo and French music

Well I had some work ahead of me didn’t I? And the winning name is…drum roll…are you sitting down?...

Mademoiselle Mali Sukhonafloranna

Pronouncation: mad-mwa-zel molly sue-CĂNNĂ-flor-ănnă.

Translation: Miss pleasing scent Jasmine flower- anna.

How cool is that? Indeed, it is a mouthful and even my brain is beginning to freeze…but hey, I like it!! And if you’ve ever studied German, you know they make HUMONGEOUS compound words…so if they can, I can!

Well done all!! Which means you’re ALL winners!! I have packets of poppy seed ready to be sent to each of you. Email an address to which you’d like me to send them at: gardenblogger at msn dot com and I’ll get them out right away. Please, please…a big woohoo for each other!

This year Mlle. Mali Sukhonafloranna will be sporting a spikey do (no greasy kid stuff needed) of Spider plant (Cholorophytum) with a mossy crown. Normally, Spider plant is an indoor plant around here, but I think it will do well for her this summer as soon as the night temps stay above 50F (10C) degrees and she stays in a shady spot. It will be a fun experiment, and no doubt one of many changing hairdo’s she’ll undergo in the years to come. Though now it looks more like an unruly mohawk, as the plant grows and fills in I’ll be sure to update her picture. Stay tuned!

In bloom in my garden today: Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Anemone nemerosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hepatica, Fritillaria, Primrose, Hellebore, Skimmia, Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape), Heather, Rhododendrons, Clematis, Hyacinth Orientaliis, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Wood Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Author’s photo

What's In A Name?

2010-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

“Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive”
~Thomas C. Haliburton

This pothead is the newest addition to my garden. I’ve had a hankerin’ for a pot head for some time, and after a lot of looking but no finding, I was thrilled to stumble over a newly arrived, large shipment at a small nursery that was just what I was looking for!

Almost every pet I ever had was given a well thought-out name, and this hand crafted pothead that comes to my garden from Thailand is no different. I have a few ideas for a name for her but I’d love your input!

Ooh, ooh, I know…let’s make this a contest! The winner will be rewarded, naturally. If you are in the continental USA, I will send you a prize of TWO packets of my favorite annual purple poppy seeds! One for you and an extra if you choose to give a friend a gift. These poppy seeds should arrive to you in time to sow them in your spring garden in the Northern hemisphere. Here in the western part of Washington State, USDA zone 7-8, I can usually sow them in February, and they bloom in June. They reach over three feet tall and are a beautiful deep purple, single (occasionally double) flower with a darker throat and creamy pollen which my honey bees love. After flowering, it yields wonderful seed pods that not only supply you with a-gazillion more seeds to save but also snazzy dried pods to use in your fall decorations or arrangements. Heck, I even like to use the green under-ripened pods in flower arrangements, which you can see in this picture.

Outside of the continental US it is illegal for me to mail seed, so for my non USA readers, if I choose your suggestion for a name you’ll have to settle for knowing I celebrate you as the winner! Lame, I know but my hands are tied. Sorry! But your name and blog address (if you have one) will be forever posted for all to see! I’d love to hear all my reader’s suggestions!! I know I have many readers outside the US, so please join in the fun! After all how often do you get invited to give your opinion?

I’ll end the contest 7 days from the day of this posting.

In bloom in my garden today: Oxalis oregana ‘Wintergreen’, Anemone nemerosa ‘Robinsoniana’, Dodecatheon (Shooting Star), Alpine strawberry, Muscari (Grape Hyacinths), Hepatica, Fritillaria, Primrose, Hellebore, Skimmia, Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape), Heather, Rhododendrons, Clematis, Hyacinth Orientalis ‘Blue Jacket’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’, Wood Hyacinths (Hyacinthoides hispanica), Corylopsis veitchiana (Winter Hazel)

Author’s photos

Guerrilla Gardeners

2010-03-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Gardening is civil and social, but it wants the vigor and freedom of the forest and the outlaw.
~Henry David Thoreau

I’m talking about troops that have waged a war on ugly! A war to beautify neglected and abandoned hidey-holes or forsaken weed patches around their neighborhoods and cities. Not all communities have the resources to beautify unused pubic spaces, so this is a great way for gardeners to plant a face-lift for all to enjoy. This could even be a way to revitalize or reclaim a neighborhood that has seen its share of turf wars, and I mean the real thing here.

Guerrilla Gardening.org was started as a grass-roots effort to beautify London. Now gardeners all over the world have been inspired to turn to guerrilla gardening to spruce up their communities and it is documented on this website. Click on the ‘troop digs’ tab to see the handiwork of the troops at large. You can even find if there is a regiment in your area planning the next coup!

You can be sure this idea has got me looking differently at my city’s weed patches and cracked concrete medians. I think this is a great idea, but I must caution all of us to be responsible to choose seeds and plants that we know are NOT invasive species. For example English ivy (Hedera) and Kudzu are vines brought into the USA from overseas that are now choking out many of our native species. Both contain seeds that are eaten by birds and spread around via their system of air mail. Be careful which plants you choose and be informed of how they spread before your warfare begins.

Our city ~~randomly puts up concrete road blocks~~ installs roundabouts in various intersections and leaves it up to residents to care for them. As you can see some are well tended.

This one, on the other hand, needs a covert operation. Credit must be given to the effort made, there are some tulips actually trying to emerge even after the out-of-control 4X4 added its imprint to the topography.

Maybe somehow a handful of annual purple poppy seeds will accidentally scatter themselves on it this week.

How about you? Are you a guerrilla gardener? Do you intend to become one? Have you ever engaged in hand-to-dirt combat under the cloak of darkness to beautify a public space? Oh, do tell!

In bloom in my garden today: primrose, hellebore, Corylopsis veitchiana (Winter Hazel), daffodils, skimmia, Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape), Tulipa turkestanica, heather, Rhodendrons, Clematis, Hyacinth ‘Blue Jacket’, Muscari (grape hyacinths)

Author’s photos

Nursery Hopping Fun!

2010-03-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

"There are few places where we can spend money in the spring and receive as prompt and high a return as in the garden."
Nils Sundquist, Sundquist Nursery

We’ve been having a mild winter here, albeit it a tad wet. But who’s complaining when you look at the rest of the country’s weather woes? It’s an El Nino weather year for us here in the Pacific Northwest. The snow pack in the mountains is reportedly low this year but since there is some and since we love to snowshoe, we packed our bags, grabbed our snowshoes and headed north for a couple of days to see the snowy sights offered by Mount Baker. Lucky us, a sunny day, 10 inches of new snow and the addition of brother-in-law’s company, the snowshoeing was fabulous.

As we often do when visiting other cities, we checked out a couple of local nurseries too. Previously, I scouted out a few online that looked interesting. And naturally I found a treasure. Three crowns of Jersey Knight asparagus, ready to plant next to Mary Washington in the veggie garden. Yep, like a kid in a candy store when I visit cool nurseries. Hubby is such a good sport when it comes to my plant addiction.

I just love nursery hopping road trips! This photo is of the newly renovated antique greenhouse of Christianson’s Nursery in Mount Vernon, WA. We stopped by on our way home from this snowshoeing trip. If you are ever nearby you simply must visit. It is truly one of my favs. The summer of 2007 hubby was going to be gone for a week so I took myself on a solo trip to Oregon just to visit some of their local nurseries. I visited seven, some VERY rural and met the nicest people. What fun! Just me, the Mini Cooper, ~~a modest little plant budget~~ the mastercard, a suitcase, hotel reservations for two nights and the prospect of plants, plants, and more plants. A Mini Cooper can hold an amazing amount of treasures…don’t let the ‘mini’ moniker fool you! Each nursery often has its own specialty, so by hopping around you can find some of the most unusual plants that you may never find if you just go to the same nursery all the time. One of the plants I found on the trip to Oregon is a true Jasmine vine Jasminum officinale “Fiona Sunrise”, unusual in that it is hardy to USDA zone 8 and has golden foliage. Truly, I’ve never seen this vine at any other nursery. The foliage is a great color to draw your eye if you intend to plant it on a fence at the back of the garden where it would normally go unnoticed like I did. There it is a nice backdrop to the darker green leaves of Canna ‘Ermine’, they look great together. Did I plan it that way? Nah, as mostly happens in my garden it just worked out that way, much to my surprise. I saw the plant, had to have the plant, bought the plant….I’ll figure out where to put it later. And Jasmine fragrance…ahhh…need I say more?

As I’ve mentioned before, I save the plant labels in a box. Not only because I like to keep the record of the needs of the plants currently in the garden, I’ve also started to write the year I planted it and nursery I bought it from. That way if I want the plant again but can’t find it locally I know where I bought it. Plus, seeing the location often brings back pleasant memories of past trips. I also write the year I planted it because it’s helpful to be able to tell an admirer (of the plant ;)) how long it took to fill in its current spot in the garden. If I were more organized with the labels I’d do as reader Shari suggests in her comment following that post. As it is, my ‘organization’ consists of a box where I dig through a heap of labels to find the one I want. Shari’s way would be better!

What far and away excursions have you made to find some of your garden’s treasures? If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it.

In bloom in my garden today: Corylopsis veitchiana (Winter Hazel), Hepatica, Brunnera, Heather, Hyacinth, Daffodils, Daphne caucasica, Cyclamen coum, Galanthus elwesii (snow drops), crocus, primrose (double English), Sarcococca confusa, hellebore

Author’s photo

A Bee Or Not A Bee

2010-02-22T13:48:00.000-08:00

Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees.

~Anne Raver

WooHoo! It feels like spring and the bees are flying! We've had sunny days in the upper 50's all week. Being a beekeeper, I’d be remiss not to take this opportunity to point out that bees are not bad. Bees of all kinds are beneficial insects and they pollinate the plants that grow our food!

Honey bees not only give us healthy honey and natural wax, they pollinate loads of crops that produce the foods we eat. Without honey bees we’d see a huge reduction (and some sources claim elimination) of many of our fruit, nut and vegetable crops. Likewise bumble bees (used in commercial greenhouse pollination), leaf cutter bees (which are responsible for the circles cut out of your rose leaves for their nest materials), ground nesting bees, mason bees (also commercially used for crop pollination) and the bee fly are pollination pros.

Wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are pollinators and voracious bug eaters, chowing down on grubs, caterpillars and aphids, so while they are to be respected for their defensive stinging abilities they are not to be exterminated at all costs. If they are starting a nest that is above your front door, you may want to scrape it off while it’s still tiny, prompting them to build elsewhere, but if it’s on an out-building or garage that’s not too near people traffic you may consider leaving it for the benefit they bring. These are good bugs that help us keep the bad bugs at a manageable level all the while pollinating too.

You may also see the Syrphid fly, which looks a lot like a bee. Their larvae are insect predators and the adults pollinate as they visit flowering plants.

Since there are so many types of ‘bees’ and I often come across people who are confused as to which are the much loved honey bees, I’m including these photos, taken in my garden to help identify the visual differences in the flies, bees and yellow jackets that may visit your gardens.

My honey bees, aren't they beautiful?

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Bumble bee loaded with pollen on mullen and chive blossoms

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A Syrphid fly

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A yellow jacket on a rhododendron

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A managed honey bee hive and a paper hornet nest

Make note of the difference between honey bee hives and wasp nests. Honey bees in the wild will not make a paper ball style nest like the hornets or wasps. They will move into an empty cavity, like a hollow tree or the space in a wall.

If you are allergic to bee or wasp venom, even to the point of serious reaction, I still urge you to have an informed respect for these insects. The allergic person should always keep an Epi-pen with them during the warm months when honey bees and wasps are flying. Your doctor can write you a prescription for it. Understand, honey bees are not aggressive but simply defensive and will not attack unless they feel threatened. I work with my bees wearing no gloves and rarely get stung. Africanized bees in the warmer southern regions are a different matter all together. If you live there and are allergic you should keep an Epi-pen with you at all times. Africanized bees have a heightened sense of defensiveness and will defend for a much further distance from the nest than the calmer European honey bees used for managed beekeeping in the USA and worldwide. I could go on and on about honey bees, but that would digress from this post, so if any readers want more information about gentle honey bees, please leave a comment. If you are bee venom allergic there is hope of cure. Api-therapy uses bee venom to cure allergic reactions to bee stings and claims to be successful in treating many other serious ailments. I know a beekeeper that after years of not being allergic, became allergic. After treatments he can safely keep bees again, without a dangerous reaction.

If you are interested in pollinators, there is a fantastic website that goes beyond the bees. At pollinator.org you can find loads of information and an awesome eco-regional planting guide based on your zip code. This will tell you what plants to plant in your garden to attract beneficial insects and birds based on your locale in the USA. For my readers in the UK and elsewhere in the world, if you have a site like this I’d love to know about it! Please drop me a line in comments.

If you want info about other garden bugs in our North American gardens, an extensive resource to identify good and bad bugs of all kinds is Whitney Cranshaw’s Garden Insects of North America. It has a pollinator section and is full of wonderful color photographs and descriptions for easy identification. You may just find yourselves squashing less bugs and letting them do their job, making your life easier in the garden. And by all means, don’t buy that chemical/petroleum based insecticide/pesticide! Insecticides/pesticides kill honey bees too! Please BEE careful!! Turn to organic control methods, use organic sprays only when absolutely necessary and use them at dusk when bees and birds are not flying. Even some of the organic ingredients can kill a bee if it gets sprayed or is rummaging around on flowers that are still wet with spray. Your local beekeeper and bees will THANK YOU!

This is a post on bees, but I must mention our feathered friends too! Many birds, even hummingbirds help pollinate and eat lots of bugs, so put out those feeders and keep ‘em full to attract birds to your garden. Then have a heart to heart with your kitties that the birds are off limits.

Enjoy your summer and look around, you may just be blessed with a honey bee in your blossoms!

In bloom in my garden today: Daffodils, Daphne, Cyclamen coum, Galanthus elwesii (snow drops), crocus, primrose (double English), Sarcococca confusa, hellebore

Photos courtesy of Pat Chissus