Gardening
Even Green Thumbs Have Their Days
First Signs of Spring! (03/06/06)
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08/12/09 This year's garden has done fine. There have been a few bumps in the road, such as all but five green beans refusing to germinate, and a tomato plant dying, but other than that everything is growing and producing. Here's some of the things I picked this morning.
Here's what the garden looks like now:
Here's what part of the drip irrigation looks like:
_________________________________ 07/05/08 Blooming now: Rose, daylily, lavender, daisy, Black-eyed susan, petunia, salvia, marigold
_________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Roses 07/03/08 There is no flower with the sheer variety as the rose, which, along with its beauty, is the reason why it's the most prized garden flower.
Roses come in all sizes from this white Iceberg above which can grow to 8'+ to the 1' high miniature roses below. They come in nearly every color available to flowers, from white to near black. They bloom all summer long, from June clear into October. Roses love sun and need lots of water to bloom well.
There are roses with scent, climbing roses, bush roses, tree roses. What isn't there to love about this versatile flower? Well. Perhaps its maintenance.
Roses do require a lot of maintenance, so clearly their beauty and versatility has its tradeoffs. They require regular pruning, especially in late winter as they begin their spring growth. Some are susceptible to mildew, fungus, or insects so will need preventative spraying. For more specific information on the needs of roses (there is too much to cover here), check your local library.
But is all that work worth it? Absolutely. __________________________________ 06/15/08 These pictures were taken today. Here's the front Xeric flowerbed all in bloom! The other front yard flowers aren't quite as spectacular yet, so I'll have to post pictures of them another time. Click the picture to see a larger version.
Here's the vegetables so far. The potatoes are doing fabulously and we've already eaten a bunch of spinach and will be eating yummy lettuce salads with the mesclun mix this week.
My herbs are finally filling in some, although this bed still needs some work.
___________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Jupiter's Beard 06/11/08 Here's another easy-care perennial that self-seeds, and its cheerful color and form makes it a great companion plant for many gardens.
Jupiter's Beard comes in pink or white and does best in well-drained soils. It doesn't like being overwatered or moved (like flax and Caifornia poppy, it may die if transplanted). It's drought tolerant and only needs a deep watering 2-4x a month during the summer, althought it's happy with more. It does best in full sun. It's blooming now, but if you dead-head it after blooming it should bloom again later in the summer. You can sew the seeds any time or else purchase plants from a local nursery. It self-seeds itself so if you don't keep it dead-headed it will spread; but if you leave them to go to seed that's an easy way to fill up a bare patch of garden in a short amount of time. It doesn't need to be pruned except for dead leaves in the spring. ________________________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: California Poppy 06/05/08 These wildflowers are drought tolerant and hardy. You will often see them growing on the side of the road, but they also make great filler in your xeric garden.
Like flax, the California poppy does not like to be moved--I have never had a transplant survive--it does best when you seed it straight into the ground. Unlike flax, however, it's an annual and will die, but it re-seeds itself for next year just as readily as flax does. They require very little water, but, of course, will flower more often with more water--and they flower off and on from June until late summer. They need full sun, although they do fine in part-shade, too. They are great in the front of the flowerbed because they don't get very tall, about 10". ________________________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Clematis 06/02/08 To be honest, I'm still learning about what makes a clematis tick. This is the first one that I have had grow successfully (let's not count the rotting corpses of my failures, and they are legion...). But the wait was worth it.
These flowers are easily 5-6" across and they are a pleasing shade of purple with frilly yellow centers. Clematis come in a wide variety of colors and bloom times, so it's important to keep that in mind when shopping for one. The trick to clematis is this: location, location, location. The roots cannot get too hot, which means that they can't get much sun, but the flowers need and love the sun. Often, as in my case, this is solved by planting it behind another plant so that the roots are shaded, but the rest of the vines get the sun they need. Fortunately this isn't too hard, since clematis is a vigorous climber and can easily grow higher than what you have in front of it and will reach for the sun it needs. _______________________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Iris 05/22/08 The iris is one of those flowers that evokes memories of your grandmother's garden. But its paper-fragile appearance betrays a sturdiness your grandmother understood all too well and that's why she had so many of them.
This is because not only is the iris beautiful, it's dang near indestructable. You can plant it in a hot, dry, unfertile spot and it will still grow and bloom and multiply. Certainly it doesn't have the best scent, and it tends to leave disguting things on your table if you put it in a vase (if you've done this you know what I'm talking about....otherwise, take my word for it), but it's incomparable as a filler for those spots in your yard that just won't grow anything else.
They are blooming now and will bloom in succession for the next few weeks, at which point you'll want to cut off the stems because they get ugly. Otherwise, the leaves provide a nice green that you won't have to touch unless they go brown (cutting them back doesn't hurt them, and is actually helpful when transplanting). You can transplant them any time they aren't blooming. Dig them up and divide ther the roots with a sharp shovel or knife. Gentleness is not required. They multiply pretty quickly so you probably have a neighbor or relative who has more than she knows what to do with---and who can resist free starts? Iris comes in many different colors, styles, and bloom times. Dwarf iris is as small as 6" and blooms early with the tulips. Bearded iris (above) blooms in late spring--which is great because by this time the tulips and daffodils are done and withered and the roses, peonies, and other early summer plants haven't started yet. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Flax 05/20/08 One of the few true-blue flowers, flax is a prized garden plant because of its rare color. But it can be a little finicky.
Flax is best grown when sown directly from seed and doesn't tolerate being moved. Sometimes it likes where you've put it, sometimes it doesn't. And if it does bloom, it will re-seed itself into a more preferred location. After a few years it will die, but by then you should have a few new flax plants growing nearby. I planted an entire packet last year and it's not until this year that they've germinated and are filling up the empty spots in my xeric flowerbed. This one is the largest, but the others will grow bigger and provide blooms for most of the summer. The plant itself usually gets about 18" tall and about that wide, in a vase-like shape. It's blooming now and will bloom off and on all summer. It's drought tolerant and requires full sun, like many wildflowers, and once it's established will do fine on little water. Its best bloom-time is in the morning, as the petals fall off during the day. New ones will bloom the next day. __________________________________ 05/13/08 The daffodils are done, and the tulips are on their way out, but the allium is just starting. When I first planted them I only had a dozen bulbs, but now there are easily three times that many blooming now!
The lilac bushes are finally doing well, after a year of rejuvination. I really love this bi-color variety.
The fruit trees are blooming, including the apple. For two years I've struggled to get the apple tree back in shape. I pruned it back by 2/3 last summer, put in fertilizer stakes, and I have a regimin planned for preventing disease/bugs. So far I don't see any scale on the leaves yet! (Cross your fingers.)
New this year is a drip irrigation system for my vegetable garden. And while it still needs a little tweaking, it's working great!
________________________________________________ 03/20/08
The crocuses are blooming and so is my indoor African violet!
__________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Chrysanthemum 10/04/07 If you're looking for plants with fall color, chrysanthemums are the best place to start. Mums rival roses in the sheer variety of forms, colors, and sizes they offer. You can't go wrong planting a few (or many!) mums in your yard.
You will find both annual and perennial mums on sale this time of year. For best results, plant the perennial variety if you want blooms for next year. Make sure you buy them blooming, otherwise you may end up with a flower color you didn't plan on--the labels are often too generic to be reliable. You can plant them now, or when they finish blooming, as long as you do it before the ground freezes. You may want to mulch with leaves to protect them until they can get established.
Mums get started kind of late in the spring, so don't worry about them too much until midsummer, when you'll need to cut them back by about 1/3 to 1/2 of the height of the plant (unless you plan to use them in flower arrangements, as the stems will be longer)--cutting them back won't hurt the plant. They will need regular water and lots of sun. For continuous blooms, buy several different varieties. Some, such as the yellow and purple ones above, begin blooming as early as mid-August; while I have several plants that haven't yet begun to bloom. Mums can be as short as 18" or as tall as 4'--yes, I have one that tall! I wish I had cut it back because it's so leggy that parts of it is flopping over, leaving the center wide open. I will be cutting it back next summer. My 30" plants were a mere 6" tall when I planted them last fall, so they grow big even after only one year. Make sure when you plant them to allow for horizontal growth as they grow much wider than their height. Mums divide easily, and I would actually recommend it when they get too big. In the fall after they bloom, or else in late spring after they've started coming up, dig them up, cut through the roots with a sharp knife, and replant, making sure to water regularly until it's established. ___________________________________ 09/27/07 When we moved into our house last summer we were very excited to have mature fruit trees growing on the property: a pear, a macintosh apple, and a cherry tree. The pear tree has done very well, and I've been able to bottle a lot of what it's produced, which is great because the kids love pears. The cherry tree did ok last year, but this spring a late frost nipped this year's crop in the bud, and the tree is showing signs of decay, so we need to take it out soon. The apple tree has been a bit of a conundrum. It produces pretty well, actually. In fact, it produces way more apples than I know what to do with. Unfortuantely, they're full of worms. So this year I sprayed. Didn't seem to help. I've finally figured out what the spots on the leaves are (scale) and have plans to prevent it for next year. But a healthy tree goes beyond spraying, it also needs pruning, and our apple tree hasn't seen shears in what seems like 10+ years the thing is so overgrown. The problems with an overgrown apple tree are many: too many branches restrict air flow which encourages disease and insects; too many branches mean too many apples and too many apples mean small fruit; a tree that pulls all the nutrients out of the ground to support such a large branching system depletes the soil. Hence, my plan to revitalize the three is three-fold: 1. Spray dormant oil in the spring to keep scale at bay. Spray 3x monthly during the summer to prevent insects. 2. Fertilize the tree. 3. Prune it like crazy! Which I have. When I finished and showed Mark my handiwork, he wondered out loud if I'm trying to kill it. Ha! He said the same thing when I cut back the grape vine and you should see that thing now! But pruning is hard work. I have the scratches to prove it! And who knew how many different tools you need to prune a tree? A ladder, hand pruners, the larger clippers with extended handles, and a saw. People told me I should 'top it off' since it's such a tall tree and we can't reach the upper branches. But I don't care about that because it would ruin it's natural shape, which is pretty. Mostly I thinned it out so there would be better air flow. I've probably spent a total of about 15 hours pruning that thing since the beginning of the year. I sure hope it's worth it come next year! ___________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Aster 09/18/07 Talk about a spectacular fall-flowering plant! It's blooming like crazy right now and should last for another week or two.
Asters need full sun, but will do fine in average soil and and are very drought tolerant. Asters come in blues, purples, and a variety of pinks. They are also known as Michelmas Daisy (because of when it blooms), but are more related to sunflowers than daisies or chrysanthemums. This plant is about 30" tall and about 3' wide, although some varieties are larger/smaller. I cut it back halfway in the middle of June; next year I'm going to cut it back even harder because part of it is too leggy and flopping over onto the ground. I have no idea why this plant has two colors of flowers blooming on it. But I think it's cool, so I'm not complaining. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Caryopteris 09/14/07 This variety of caryopteris is often mistaken for a spirea variety, because of the shape of its leaves. But it isn't. However, like many spirea varieties, it's drought tolerant, gets about 3-4 feet tall and just as wide, and prefers full sun.
This variety started blooming about mid-August, and will bloom for several more weeks. It's nice to have some late-summer color since this is usually the time when most perennials are winding down, and right before the chrysanthemum rush. This variety called "Blue Mist" will bloom for at least another month, has greyish-green foliage, and is a butterfly magnet. It dies back pretty hard during the winter, a lot like Russian Sage does, and seems to take quite a while in the spring to come back. But it's worth it. The flowers are nice and it's such a hardy plant even in hot and dry weather. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Morning Glory 08/30/07 When most people hear the name 'morning glory' they automatically think of that invasive weed in your lawn that just won't die. This isn't that plant--this is the cultivated variety. It's an annual, so it dies at the first frost, but it spends all summer climbing and blooming like crazy.
I plant them early in the spring, usually right after the first frost. The seeds are tough little guys, so you need to nick and then soak them in water overnight. They germinate pretty quickly if you do that, and in a couple of weeks you'll have a vine already a foot long climbing up whatever it can reach. This one is running about ten feet and is threatening to climb onto the roof.
As their name implies, they bloom in the morning, early, and then the blooms fade by afternoon; although some varieties will persist all day long. There are many different colors, including blue, purple, pink, white, and red. They seem to do best with at least 5-6 hours of sun a day, and somewhere to twine themselves, whether it means growing up a trellis or along a fence. They also need plenty of water, but are otherwise really easy to care for. ___________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Black-Eyed Susan 08/27/07 Black-eyed susan is a really vibrant plant, with long-lasting flowers, a good size, and bold color.
I planted this one from seed early this spring, and now it's blooming. You can buy potted versions from the local nursery and then they'll bloom sooner, but I like that these are blooming now when most everything else is fading (like the daisies, echinacea, etc). They can get pretty big (30" tall x about 30" wide) when they have good soil and water. They do well in less hospitable circumstances (less water), but don't get quite as big. They make great cutting flowers because of their long stems and long-lasting blooms. As you can see, they're a great companion plant for lavender, and would probably look good with Russian sage as well. They are quite hardy and are happy in very sunny gardens. They often self-seed, but will also persist as a perennial, so this plant will come back next year, but there will likely be little seedlings I'll have to pull out next summer to keep them from crowding out everything else. There are other varieties with bigger flowers and some with brown on the center of the petals themselves. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Cleome 08/25/07 I used to have a neighbor who grew lots of small-variety cleome, and I thought it was pretty. But I didn't know what it was really supposed to look like until I visiting the Washington DC temple for my brother's wedding that I found out the true glory of this stunning flower. I wanted some in my garden, too, so this spring I planted some by seed. I waited. And waited. And then gave up that it would ever germinate. Fortunately, it finally did in August and then it exploded.
It started with one blossoming head, and now there are five, and they have a new row of petals blooming everyday. I love it! The delicate colors and petals, the interesting foliage, the size (at least 3' tall and 2' wide). It seems to like sun (with a little shade for part of the day) and plenty of water in well-composted soil. Other than that, I have no tips because this is the first year I've grown it. Simply enjoy the picture. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Artemisia 08/20/07 Ok, so it isn't technically a flower. But it is a very nice plant, and I think quite underutilized in modern flowerbeds. Artemisia comes in several different vareties, but they all have silvery foliage, and most of them are very drought tolerant. This variety is called 'Powis Castle', and it gets about 3' wide x 2.5' high (which is as large as it will get if you don't overwater it, in which case it will spread as much as 5'):
This variety is called 'Silver Mound' and is much smaller than 'Powis Castle', getting to only about 18" wide x 12" high:
I have watered these plants perhaps twice a month, even in the hottest and driest of weather. These are excellent xericaping plants because they thrive on neglect. They don't have any flowers to speak of (although the Silver Mound had a few little tiny silvery-white ones during the summer). I prune them back in the spring, sometime in March or April when they begin to look straggly, but they otherwise are great for winter interest because they keep their shape and color even through cold weather. They will only do well in full sun, and the Silver Mound will only do well with very very little water. I once had a Silver Mound planted where it would get water from the lawn sprinklers and it sulked and never got very big. This one, however, is large and beautiful, and I've hardly watered it since I planted it. Silver Mound would be great for a children's garden because it's so soft and fun for little hands to pet--plus it takes a bit of abuse. They are great companion plants for tall spindly plants like Russian Sage, Black-eyed Susan, or other plants with bright colors as they make a nice, subtle constrast. _________________________________ 08/14/07 I planted a bunch of green bean plants this spring, and now they're overloaded with beans. We've been picking them, and now it's time to bottle them. I like to can them with pint-sized jars (the perfect size for them to be a side-dish at dinner). Here they're cleaned and ready to bottle in the now-clean jars:
I stuff them in tightly, add hot water, add 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt, screw on the lid, and cook them in the pressure canner.
They come out not as green, but they're sure tasty. I haven't bought a can of green beans in.....I don't remember when. We go through about 20 pints of beans in a year, but as the kids get bigger, I'm sure that will increase.
_________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Echinacea 08/06/07 This is the first year I've grown echinacea (also known as coneflower) and it's been a little bit of an adjustment for the both of us. I was under the impression that it's a more xeric plant than it really is. I companion planted it with the gaura, but the gaura can do with a lot less water, so the echinacia suffered and I had to supplement water it a bunch.
Perhaps if I had given it more time to adjust to its location it would have been fine, but I moved it next to the lavender where it will get more water. It's happiest where it gets plenty of sun, and I'm still figuring out the ideal water situation, but right now it's going to get as much as the lawn does, since it's next to the sprinklers. I just hope that isn't too much. I rather like the height it is now; if it's grown in a heavily watered area it can get as tall as four feet--but I don't recommend that because it would get leggy and fall over without support. It's a good-sized plant, with a lot of flowers that bloom strongest through July, although it seems to be working hard to bloom in August, as well. The pink-purple is a great color in the garden and will look great next to gaura, lavendar, and daylilies. Echinacea also comes in other colors: white, yellow, orange, red, pink, and green (weird!). Echinacea is used in herbal remedies, but I don't use it for that. If you decide to make your own remedies, make sure you get good information on what parts of the plant to use. ___________________________________ Vegetable Garden: July Edition 08/04/07 Here's how it looked the end of last month:
The tomatoes have taken over everything, as have the pumpkins. The beans are producting a ton, and we've harvested the first of the potatoes--with many more to come.
The herbs are finally doing well--after spending the spring and early summer looking rather anemic. They're getting bigger and filling in the space. I still have more to plant and build up for the herb section, though.
__________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Sunflower 07/29/07 Sunflowers are one of the easiest annuals to grow from seed; and unlike most annuals, can grow to over 10 feet in one summer! Last fall we did a great deal of landscaping, and one of the things was to remove a cyprus tree from the front corner of the house. Unforunately, it seemed to leave a gaping hole there, come summer, that I had to fill. The only problem is that the magnolia I planted is still too small, as well as the other perennials that will eventually grow to fill the space.
Enter the sunflowers. In about 4-5 weeks after planting, they were a few feet tall; and now they are about 8-10 feet tall. They fill in the space nicely. But since they're annuals I can get rid of them by the time the perennials have filled in the space. But you have to admit, they are rather nice.
Sunflowers need almost no care other than LOTS of sun. I also planted these very same sunflowers in my Xeric garden, which gets considerably less water (the ones in the top picture get the same water as a the lawn). And while they only got to about half the height, they used less than half the amount of water.
There are lots of fun different varieties. There are dwarf varieties that only get about 3-4 feet tall; there are different colored petals, different sizes, different center colors...you name it. This year I planted four different varieties, placing the smaller ones in front. Next spring when the seeds are put out in the stores, pick up several different varieties to experiment. They're also great for kids to plant because they can see results almost immediately. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the day: Gaura 07/11/07 Gaura (aka Whirling Butterflies) is a great plant because it's so different. The base of the plant is a mass of little leaves, and then great big stems (20-30" long!) at the end of which are these delicate white flowers.
Gaura are particularly stunning as mass plantings (there are two side-by-side in this picture). There is also a pink variety that blooms later in the summer. I have these planted in my Xeric garden because they're drought tolerant and love the sun (although they do fine in moist conditions, too). I planted them last fall from 6" pots and they're already huge! They seem to die back quite a bit in the fall, but they bounce back in late spring, sprouting their first blossoms in early June. They don't seem to need any pruning. This is their second set of flowers this year, having shed the first set, and re-bloomed without having to be cut back. They don't self-seed, so won't get out of control in your garden. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Puerto Rico's Aibonito Festival de las Flores 07/05/07 The small town of Aibonito is situated high in the central mountains of Puerto Rico. They call it the "Garden of Puerto Rico" and it was easy to see why when we visited their annual flower festival during our vacation to the island this week. There were rows and rows of vendors selling every tropical plant that grows on the island. There were displays that were judged. And lots and lots of people...even though I was the only gringa (white chick) there, so I stood out! Orchids were by far the most plentiful at the festival. There were several dozen different varieties in color and shape.
Another of my festival favorites were the hibiscus. Some hibiscus plants can get really big, so these were just small, but the blooms were stunningly large and I loved the colors.
Plumeria:
Bougainvillea (aka paper flower) came in several different colors, including this vivid pink, light pink, yellow, and white.
Golden trumpet was sold at the festival, but I also found it growing randomly on the side of the road, including this bush:
Ginger (gengibre) had a lot of different varieties, including this one called 'beehive':
More ginger:
Jamon con huevo (ham & eggs) weren't impressive, but I thought the name was pretty funny:
Heliconia:
Sanguinaria:
Bromeliads come in so many different varieties--their leaves are what make these stunning. Some of the flowers were incredible, too.
It was cool how they included bromeliads in these displays:
They sold a surprising number of cacti (there are some dry locations on a tropical island, if you can believe that!) including this unusual cactus euforbia:
A carnivorous plant I didn't find the name for:
Another hanging plant I didn't catch the name of, but which Amber calls the 'caterpillar plant':
Other flowers they had for sale are common to where I live, such as coleus, impatiens, primrose, geraniums, roses, and others. Although I suspect that ones that usually are annuals here in Utah, last much longer as perennials there. The only sad thing about the festival is that I couldn't take any of the flowers home! Still, it was worth seeing. _________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Daisy 06/20/07 These have to be about the friendliest looking flowers. They're just so cheerful and happy, and they make great flowers for arrangements or just simply in a vase on your table.
This particular variety is called "Alaska", and the petals are a little more frilly than the "Shasta" variety you're used to seeing (and which begins to bloom a few weeks after these). There's also the "Crazy Daisy" which is just beginning to bloom, and its petals are even lacier:
Daisies require moderate to frequent watering, so probably about as often as your yard. They can be suseptible to bugs, so keep an eye on them and spray them if necessary. If you don't, you'll be disappointed when it comes time for them to bloom. They do their best in full sun, but will do ok in part shade. The plants can get big, so it's a good idea to divide them every couple of years; fortunately, they don't seem to mind. If you cut them back a little after their first blooms they'll bloom again later in the summer. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Yarrow 06/13/07 This is not a flower people automatically think of when planting their gardens, but they should.
Yarrow is extremely hardy, and once established, needs to be watered maybe once a month, even in the hotest weather. It will grow even in poor soil. And the best thing is they bloom in late spring, and stay bright and colorful clear into autumn. This picture does not do justice to the bright yellow color. This variety is called "Moonbeam", but there are other varieties that are white or pink. This is one of the taller varieties, getting about 30" tall. The leaves on yarrow are silvery-grey, a nice contrast to the green of other plants. The smaller varieties can even be used as groundcover, since they withstand being tread on and their fern-like leaves are soft and make a nice mat. Some people don't like their astrigent-like smell, but I don't mind. It's planted in my xeric flowerbed, which means it's off to the side and doesn't get brushed against. I don't cut down my yarrow at the end of the year, instead leaving the flowers to fade to brown. They stay upright all winter long, providing a nice winter-interest in the garden when everything else had died back or the leaves have fallen. Yarrow grows large quickly, this plant was maybe 4" tall when I planted it last autumn. If they get lots of water, they do even better--perhaps too well, and will crowd out other plants. It's best to plant them where they get lots of sun, but not frequent watering. ___________________________________
The Vegetable Garden: June Edition 06/12/07 Yes, everything is taking off (click the image for a close-up view).
Those are my tomatoes there in the middle, with the potatoes on the bottom left, and the peppers on the bottom right. The top right are the grapes, and clear at the top are the raspberries.
Here are the green beans and the radishes. I've been having trouble getting the carrots to sprout, but they hopefully will soon.
A close-up of the tomatoes and their snazzy new cages. Behind those is the in-progress herb garden that's recently been invaded by bugs. *Sigh* I keep having trouble getting the herb garden off the ground. First our cat dug everything up, and now the bugs. But I am determined! Someday it will be full and beautiful and overflowing with deliciousness! __________________________________
Vanessa's Flower of the day: Daylily 06/08/07 Daylilies are just about the easiest plants to care for. They aren't picky about the type of soil they're planted in, they survive lack of frequent watering, they don't need much in the way of pruning, and yet they still bloom and propogate.
One important thing to remember about daylilies is this: sun! They need lots of it. If they have too much shade their colors will wash out and they'll struggle to bloom. Some varieties, however, need partial afternoon shade if you live in a hot-summer climate. Make sure to read the tags your plants come with. Daylilies come in many different varieties. This one pictured is called "Stella de Oro" and it's a dwarf variety I have planted next to my purple lavender. They compliment each other well. Daylilies come in a variety of sizes, colors, and bloom times. To get the most out of all-summer-long blooming it's best to plant a variety of daylilies. For example, "Stella" above will bloom during the summer, but I have another yellow daylily variety, "Happy Returns" that will begin blooming later in the summer and into the fall. __________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Lavender 06/06/07 After peonies, this is my second favorite flower, and for much the same reasons as peonies: it's easy-care, hardy, pretty, and smells heavenly. But unlike peonies, lavender blooms all summer long!
There are two important things to remember about growing a happy lavender plant: it needs lots of sun and well-drained soil. When I say lots of sun, I mean it, minimum eight hours everyday, and you need to plant it where it will be hot all summer long. Even with all the heat, this flower will thrive with a deep watering once a week or so, and doesn't like frequently moist soil. It's not particularly fast-growing, so if you plant a small one in the spring it may not bloom its first year. But once established in a place it likes, it will do very well. Some varieties can get to a good size, their flower spikes upwards of 30" and the base will grow at least that wide (make sure to check the tag when you buy it). They tend to flop, so don't plant right on the edge of a flowerbed, make sure it has room to expand. You can harvest the flowers pretty much anytime after it begins to bloom, but you should harvest all by the first frost. You can cut it back in early spring, cutting out the dead parts, but I mostly let it maintain its own shape and size. There are several different varieties, even a pink and a couple of white varieties. I haven't ever successfully grown lavender from seed, so you'll need to buy plants from a nursery. It's important to buy a kind that will survive in your area. Sometimes a harsh winter will do it in, so make sure to cover up the base with mulch after the first frost if it's planted in an exposed area. One of my favorites is the Grosso variety because it has particularly fragrant flowers, great for sachets and potpourri. Munstead is the most common variety, but can be tender so needs special care to over-winter. Hidcote (aka English Lavender--pictured above) has a nice deep purple color. My white one I bought last year died, so I need to get a new one. My pink one is looking good, though. I haven't ever grown the French version, but may try it in the future. ________________________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Peony 05/31/07 This is quite easily my favorite flower, and for so many reasons: it's easy to care for, it's hardy, the flowers are not only beautiful but smell good, and there are so many varieties to choose from.
Peonies are long-living plants that bloom in an explosion of huge blossoms in late spring/early summer. They are especially stunning when grouped together. Mine are still small, but as they mature, they'll fill in the bed they occupy and really put on a show. They require full sun or else you'll not get many blooms. Once established they are quite drought and neglect tolerant. They die completely to the ground in the fall so you worry that you've killed them, but you haven't. Some people like to use supports because the stems aren't very strong, but the blooms are huge and droop. I don't because I find their droopiness a part of their charm. Besides, too-long stems usually happen because of over-watering or not enough sun, so if you don't do that you won't have as much problem with droopiness. They're easy to transplant, but I recommend
doing it in early fall after the heat of summer is over. This plant
I got from cutting off a chunk from a neighbor's huge plant. _________________________________
Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Geranium 05/29/07 Generally I prefer to plant perennials, because I like to plant something once and have it grow big and full and not have to spend spring with lots of bare ground and a ton of things to plant ever year. However, there are some advantages to annuals, and one of them is that they bloom all summer long, and some of them just have amazing colors. I particularly enjoy geraniums.
They are such happy plants. They don't get too big, but they bloom their little hearts out all summer long. They love the sun, but need plenty of water. Geraniums seem to prefer being in planters, but I've put them in flowerbeds before and they've done fine as long as they get plety of sun and water. There are some perennial varieties that live in my zone (6), but I haven't tried them yet. I will in the future, because I've seen some purple ones I like. _________________________________ Vanessa's Flower of the Day: Bleeding Heart 05/23/07 This is such a fun flower bush, especially for little kids, because it's so unique: the long flower stems have rows of dark pink and white flowers that are shaped like hearts.
It's blooming right now, and will continue to bloom for sevreal weeks, at which time it will begin to die back and you'll suddenly think you've killed it. Don't worry, you haven't. Like peonies, this plant dies completely to the ground every year, spends all winter building up its root system, and then explodes the next year with spring growth. It's an easy to care for plant as long as you give it what it needs: part to full shade and moderately moist soil. It can get pretty big after a few years (this is a picture of just a small one), getting to about 3' high and up to 4' across. It's generally a good idea to cut it back when it begins to look raggedy and then plant summer flowers around it to fill in the bare spot it leaves behind when it's done for the year. There is also a white variety and a fernleaf variety that keeps it leaves longer during the summer. ___________________________________ 05/13/07 This is a really easy-care kind of plant. You don't have to prune it (unless you want to), you hardly have to water it, you never have to fertilize it--heck, you could even mow it and it would come back.
It grows low to the ground (the flowers get as tall as 12", but the leaves hardly top 8"), so it's best for the front of a flowerbed or as a groundcover. It's blooming now and stays blooming for a couple of weeks, then the flowers recede until next year; but the silvery foliage stays nice and crisp all summer long, even in the hottest weather--it loves the sun. Snow in Summer is extremely drought tolerat. This particular plant I've only watered a handful of times, and it's already doubled in size since I planted it late last fall. It spreads quickly, so make sure to not plant it in flowerbeds where it could take over (for example, where you have other small perennials, or flowerbeds that recieve a lot of moisture). One great thing about this plant is that it transplants very easily because it has a spreading root system. So if you have a neighbor with a bunch, you can easily dig up part of it, divide it, and it will bounce back in a short amount of time (if it is from a division, water it regularly at first, until it's established). __________________________________ 05/09/07 This is one of my favorite bushes, Bridal Veil Spirea, and it's blooming right now!
I just bought it last fall, so it's just a baby, but in a few years it will grow really big--eventually they can grow up to over 6' high and about that wide, so make sure you plant them where they have plenty of space. Related to other spirea varieties, this variety (S. x vanhouttei), also called Bridalwreath or Snowmound, is highly drought tolerant, and withstands neglect quite well--which is great for first-time gardeners. Most people like to prune these to shape them. However, they don't need pruning except to take out the deadwood, and I rather like the flowing shape, so I leave them as they are. If you do prune them, do it in the spring right after they're done flowering, because they flower only on new growth, and if you cut in fall/winter, you won't have spring flowers. Spirea loves the sun, so plant them in bright spots in your garden, and watch them take off without hardly any work! ___________________________________ 05/01/07 I have discovered the beauties of allium.
Related to the onion, these bulbs are planted in winter at the same time as daffodils and tulips, but bloom when the tulips have faded and the daffodils are waning. Right now it's the only thing blooming in my yard, except for a few yellow double-daffodils and lilacs, and they are STUNNING, I tell you!
I need to find some more varieties to plant next year, because I'm really enjoying these. The biggest ones of these are bigger than my fist! There are smaller varieties, and they come in white, pink, purple, and blue. I'm getting blue ones this fall to plant in my front flowerbed so I can have more flowers blooming this time next year. ___________________________________
04/22/07 My trees are all blooming. The pear and cherry are finished, now the apple and magnolia are in full-bloom.
My magnolia is still just a baby, but some day, when she'll full grown, she'll be stunning to see.
The only downside to a blooming fruit tree is that once the blossoms are off, the spraying season begins. And I get to spray them 2-3x a month to keep the pests at bay. *Sigh Locally there's a Japaense Beetle infestation. Not in my particular area, but I am concerned that next year I won't be able to harvest and eat any of my fruit if the infestation spreads. This is because the spray the city puts down is saturated by the fruit, which makes it inedible. This also means no tomoatoes or other edible foods in my garden if it spreads to here next year. So, here's to praying that the city gets it contained! ________________________________
04/11/07 Miniature daffodils (narcissus):
Double-tulip:
The flowerbed (a little messed up because of sprinklers being installed, but still beautiful!):
___________________________________
Hiring Other People to Make Messes 03/28/07 We are heavy into prepping the yard for spring and summer! We've hired a guy to come yank out the conrete from the back yard. We're going to replace it with an expanse of beautiful, green lawn. We're also having the sprinklers completely re-done. In the meantime, we have a big mess.
It looks very different already. There used to be two sheds there and about 200 square feet of concrete. Over the next couple of days we'll be disposing of the pile of garbage, tilling the south yard, and prepping it for the veggie garden and sod that will be going in at the end of April. I'll post pictures when it's finished, but that won't be for at least a month. ________________________________ 03/14/07 They just showed up a couple of days ago, and I say, "Finally!" When we first moved into this house there were no flowers, only a few stray bulbs I found while we were overhauling the front yard flowerbeds. These are all new bulbs! I have a whole lot of daffodils and tulips on the way, too, and I'm very excited for them to show themselves.
__________________________________ 03/05/07 ...I thought I would post something flowery. This winter I grew an amaryllis flower from a bulb for the first time, and I must say that these flowers are spectacular. It took forever to bloom; even though the package said 6-8 weeks, it was more like 12. So instead of being big and beautiful during Christmas, it was barely blooming mid-January.
This month I've also been looking through the gardening catalogs. I mostly get seeds and other flowers locally because they're cheaper and are best suited to this area, but sometimes there are flowers and vegetables you can only get through a catalog. One of my favorite catalogs for ordering specialty seeds is (will order soon):
The best place to get quality roses (I've already ordered mine):
The best place to find specialty plants suitable for growing in the inter-mountain west (particularly drought tolerant plants; I ordered mine in the fall and already planted them, but the spring is a good time, too):
You can order a free catalog from any of the sites, and I highly recommend it. _________________________________ 10/08/06 This spring I told Amber that she could choose one thing to plant, and she chose sweetpeas. We planted them in a large container with the geraniums on the patio and they really took over. They were all sorts of colors and so fun.
____________________________________ 10/07/06 I love homegrown carrots. I don't ever seem to grow enough. I promise, next year I want to try at least three different varieties and I'll have lots more room to grow a whole ton of them. They're so tasty!
I've found that they always seem to grow really well when I companion plant them with tomatoes. _____________________________________ The Mega-Blog of My Garden Project 10/01/06 Since we moved into our new house in June I've wanted to get rid of the ugly bushes and spruce tree that not only uglify our yard and take up precious gardening space, they add no color other than green to our landscape (other than the yellow jackets that make their homes in the bushes). Did I mention they were ugly? Unable to plant anything that didn't involve a planter, I was ready to attack the project ASAP. But I also knew that summer was not the best time to work outside and plant new things without anything dying from the heat. I had to be patient while Mark hacked away at the bushes and tree. Plus I sunburn quite easily, and even with sunscreen I still got a 'gardener's glow' from the last few weeks outside--who knows how I would have looked from working at the height of summer. My patience has paid off...the two main flowerbeds are finished! The Front Flowerbed 1. In April we first saw the house and loved it, but knew at once that that ugly bushes had to go if we bought it.
2. In July we first began pulling out the bushes.
3. The bushes/roots are finally gone by September.
4. In September
Mark expanded the flowerbed by taking
5. Finished pulling up the old pipes
and it's ready to till.
6. Tilled and composted.
7. Figuring out where to put everything, including spring bulbs and flagstones.
8. Planted the flowers, added the flagstone, and put in the brick edge.
A detailed picture of the flowerbed can be seen here where I name all the flowers. Driveway Flowerbed 1. Had the same ugly bushes as the front flowerbed. Mark removed the concrete bed liner.
2. Tilled the flowerbed and it's ready for compost to be added.
3. Added the compost, flagstone, plants, and brick edge. The plants look so small and scraggly, but just wait until summer! They'll grow nice, strong roots all winter and when it gets warm again they'll really grow big.
A detailed picture of the driveway flowerbed can be seen here where I name all the flowers. Porch Flowerbed 1. Had yet more ugly bushes (sorry, no picture) and an ugly spruce (to the right).
2. Removed the tree (goodbye forever!) and planted roses and a magnolia tree. The sod is there for safekeeping until the front walkway is in--just in case we need it for filler later.
Say Goodbye to the Green Waste 1. The pile of trash that filled our dead south lawn included all the bushes, sod, and eventually the spruce tree. Mice were living in the bramble (we think), but fortunately our trusty cat Panda happily kept them out of the house.
2. The bin came filled with compost...
...and left filled with green waste.
Horray! It feels good to
Next Project...? We're having the porch expanded and a walkway put in to the sidewalk. The only thing I have to do for this project is watch other people do all the work ;) Oh, and find a contractor who knows how to cut brick for a new doorway and help Mark decide which new door we should have put in. Speaking of which, you care to recommend anyone in Utah Valley? ________________________________ 09/23/06 So my neighbors wanted the old firewood that's taking up space in our backyard. Instead of throwing it away like we had planned, we let them haul it away. Under the pile I found this:
It's a hand plow, quite the antique. Not pictured are the three attachments that went with it. I was excited to find this, as I've been contemplating purchasing a garden ornament for my herb garden. Now I don't have to buy anything, and I have this unique piece. In the front yard Mark has been taking out the grass to extend the flowerbed. We're also planning on getting rid of this vintage light post:
On the south lawn, where I eventually plan to plant the new, extended version of the vegetable/herb/cutting flower gardens, is our repository for all things trash:
Fortunately once the bin is empty of compost I can fill it up with green waste, which includes the bushes we so recenrtly took out. Once I have all the fall planting done, then I can begin working on this part of the yard. I have all winter to work on it. Speaking of fall planting, here's my flowers patiently waiting to be put in the ground:
And that's not even all of them. I have several in the mail en route, and four bushes in the front, two trees (a magnolia and a Japanese maple), several peonies, and a box full of spring bulbs. I will be planting these over the next week. I love flowers and I'm excited to finally have a huge flower garden! Of course, it will be a few years before I have collected all the plants I want to add, and it will take time for the plants to mature and fill in their spaces, but it's the journey, not the destination, right? ___________________________________ 09/21/06 For some reason I always get a late start planting the morning glory. Then only a few bloom before it gets too cold, which makes for a short season of blooms. I resolve to do better next year, because I always enjoy the flowers. They're short-lived, but huge and pretty, and such a nice shade of blue. Not many flowers are such a perfect blue.
___________________________________ The Gardening Project in Full Swing 09/20/06 So for the last few months we've been pulling out the bushes (here, too) in preparation for fall planting. It's taken us this long to get all the bushes and their roots out. Now that it's finished it's ready to be tilled. Hence, meet my new best friend:
It's a Mantis garden tiller. Once I figured out how to mix the fuel and get the sucker started, I was ready to go. I gave it a thorough workout yesterday (my arms and back are feeling it today).
Now the flower bed is ready for compost, which was delivered today.
No, it's not completely full of compost, only about 7 yards worth, but that's still a lot.
So I spent this morning unloading it. I only got about 1/3 of it it out and on the side flowerbed. Later I'll do the flowerbed in the back, and once we have the driveway flowerbed cleaned of debris and old pipes, I can compost it, too. Then I'll use the tiller to mix up everything, and hopefully by Friday I'll be ready to plant! Yay! The boys had fun in the dirt, too.
They were so filthy after rolling around the compost bin as I was working, that I had to hose them down before I dared take them in the house to give them a bath. __________________________________ 08/22/06 For Stacy, because I Vanessa's Fresh Salsa 1-2 lbs fresh tomatoes, quartered (about 4-5 large
tomatoes) Add everything but the tomatoes to a food processor and blend until well chopped. Add tomatoes, pulsing just until the tomato pieces are the right size (squeeze the tomato quarters a little before adding to the food processor--this makes it less watery). Fresh salsa stays really good for only a couple of days; after that the onion starts taking over. A good excuse to eat it quickly. This is a very basic recipe, so you can alter it however you like (for example, my dad doesn't like cilantro). I like to add different colored tomatoes or peppers to make it pretty. _________________________________ 08/21/06 We've had tomatoes for a week now, but they're finally beginning to ripen in a rush. Yes, those yellow tomatoes are supposed to be that color. I can't remember the variety name, though.
So I've been making salsa with our homegrown tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro. It's all I eat for lunch (with a few Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips, of course).
This is the garden this morning:
The tomatoes are sprawling everywhere. I have more ambitious plans for a garden next year. In fact I'll convert a great deal of the south lawn to garden next year, if I can (you can see the dead grass there on the lower left corner--why bother keeping it alive if I'm just going to change it?). I found a book by the guy who does the PBS show The Victory Garden and I've been inspired. __________________________________ 08/12/06 Sometimes you hear the occasional horror story about a canning session gone awry, where the canner explodes and either destroys the kitchen and/or burns the cook. I have fortunately not experienced anything of this sort since I first started using a pressure canner a few years ago. I've always borrowed my neighbor's, but this year Mark let me buy one for myself. Isn't she pretty? All shiny and new?
I tried her out for the first time yesterday and it went off without a hitch. I canned 5 pints of green beans and a pint of peppers from the garden.
It's quite satisfying to see those rows of canned veggies from your own garden. And my kids actually will eat the green beans. I can never seem to make enough of them. _________________________________ 08/04/06 They finally bloomed!
The problem with the new yard is that there aren't many shady spots, so shade-loving plants like this begonia don't have a good place to live. This one is in a hanging basket. I hope to have a little shade garden on the north-east corner when I take out that horrid tree (see the first picture from yesterday, it's that one) and plant a new one and and re-do the sprinklers. That's for the spring, though. _________________________________ 08/03/06 So Mark and I have been pulling the hideous bushes from the front yard. Our neighbor with a pickup truck and chain so generously helped us to pull out the roots from the ones we had already cut. Here's what it looks like now:
And under the living room window:
I plan to expand these flower beds and do some major perennial planting this September and October, before it gets cold. Here we're still cutting the bushes and eventually will pull out the roots:
Phew. It's turning out to be a lot of work, but I'm really happy with the results thus far. _________________________________ 07/12/06 Having a new yard is a two-edged sword--particularly when the yard is without any flowers! On the pro side, I get to start from scratch, having a blank slate, so to speak. On the con side, there are no flowers to work with, which leaves a rather barren landscape in the meantime. Fortunately, the former owners left behind two huge patio barrels. Here's one that I planted:
The daylilies I brought with me from my old yard. I bought a lavender--it's in there somewhere, still little, but will spend the summer growing and by fall I can transplant it into the ground in time for it to really take off next spring. Then I added petunias and some periwinkle...and voila! Some much-needed color in my yard. It's a little ray of sunshine in my otherwise-boring yard. __________________________________ Even Green Thumbs Have Their Days 06/30/06 This is for you out there who think that we green thumb types never kill anything. (This is for you, Emily.)
Yes, my tomato plant is dying. The other tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and squash plants are doing just fine, but this one tomtato and the beans are straggling along. This is what I get for planting kind of late in the season (because of the move to the new house). __________________________________ 06/23/06 When we moved into our new house we knew we had a big project ahead of us. Not only will we be re-doing a good portion of the interior, but also the yard. Last night we began on the hideous bushes that lined the front driveway:
(I snuck in this picture of Mark--he HATES having his picture taken.) Here's the beginnings of the big pile of branches and another row of bushes we'll be taking out in the near future:
We're still sorting out where all this trash is going to go. My vote is to take it to the yard waste recycling center in Provo. But it would be a big job. Carter decided he would help. He couldn't find is sandles (not a surprise--he lost them last week, the little twerp!) so he's wearing not only my flip-flops, but also my gloves.
So here officially begins my documenting the monumental task of re-doing the yard. It will be a long-running project and I'll keep you updated. It will be fun. __________________________________ 05/25/06 This is a Japanese peony:
This kind of peony isn't as frilly as the darker pink one, but it does smell a little nicer. The pink is a really nice color (the Internet doesn't do it justice). In this picture, the pink are Jupiter's Beard (very easy to grow, by the way, they're drought tolerant and self-seeding) and the blue are Lewis's Flax (also easy care and self-seeding). If you cut them back after the first blooming, they'll bloom again later in the summer.
__________________________________ 05/22/06 I can say without a doubt that the peony is my favorite flower. Aren't they amazingly beautiful?
I have two other peony plants of different varieties that are blooming this week, and I'll take pictures when they do. I love how they look, how they smell, the time of year...all that. Have you tried the peony lotion from Bath & Body Works? You should. It's divine. My second favorite flowers, roses:
They don't usually bloom this early, but it's been a hot past couple of weeks. These are my climbing red roses I planted last summer, called 'Don Juan.' I am so buying this same plant when we move to the new house. It's robust, the flowers are stunning, and they smell great. Now, a white iris:
Irises aren't one of my favorite flowers. I was just adding that because I had the picture. __________________________________ 05/17/06 "Late spring?" you ask. "But it's been so summer-like this week." Well, yes, but technically it's not summer yet (that begins June 21), so these are "late spring" blooming flowers according to the catalogs. Pink iris:
Coral bells (the pink) and laurel (the white ones in the background):
Lilly of the valley and laurel:
__________________________________ 05/16/06 Some Irises from my yard. When I first moved in, the previous owner had a TON of these, but she took quite a few with her when she moved. I still have a bunch of them. They are so easy to grow and move around.
They are pretty and delicate looking, but I don't recommend putting them in vases. I did that once and the flowers turned into a wet yucky mass and puked all over my kitchen table, staining my table purple. I'm sure there's some trick, like burning the end of the stem or something, if you put it in a vase, but I don't care what it is, because I'm never bringing them in my house again.
I also have some white, pink, and yellow ones. __________________________________ 05/09/06 From my front yard, the Bridal Wreath Bush (Vanhoutte Spirea). It only blooms in the spring (the same time as lilacs) and I love it! It's so cute. Some day it's going to be a giant bush and will be spectacular in the spring. Unfortunately I have to leave it behind when we move. But I will get a new bush for the new house.
___________________________________ Even More Spring Flowers 05/02/06 Some flowers from my garden.
_________________________________ 04/26/06 Traditional tulips:
Fancy tulip:
Narcissus (they smell great!):
Double-centered daffodils :
_________________________________ Retarded Utah Weather 04/17/06 *Grumble*
__________________________________ 04/13/06 Some flowers from my yard today:
These are dwarf iris. Their bloom time is early spring and quite brief, but they're so cute.
Tulips. I have some fancier tulips yet to bloom. I'll make sure to post those later, they're quite lovely. _______________________________________________ 03/06/06 I am so excited! I can't wait for spring to come, for the snow to finally melt away from our front yard, so I can begin gardening again! The smell of dirt, the muddiness between your fingers, planting pretty little flowers. Yay!
These crocuses showed up last week and they're blooming their little hearts out. Such happy little things, aren't they? My new favorite quote: "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." -- Margaret Atwood (author) __________________________ 01/20 I was out shoveling snow on Wednesday and couldn't help taking this picture of my overburdened Russian Sage. Usually it's upright, so I thought this was an unusual sight--and pretty. Sometimes not pruning everything back in the fall is a good thing.
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