September in the Garden

I left for a three+ week trip to Mongolia on the 7th of July and got back on the 30th. The vegetable garden had, of course, exploded with  growth while I was gone. I’ve grown some vegies before, but never on this scale. Things got busy, painting-wise and then, last week, I was at the opening weekend of the Society of Animal Artists annual juried show, Art and the Animal, which I finally got into after five years of trying. All this to say why there haven’t been any posts for awhile.

Things are slowing down now. We got a great zucchini soup recipe from our neighbor, along with a jar of the finished product, which used some zucchini that we foisted on gave them. For a joke I had also posted an offer for zucchini on my Facebook newsfeed and, to my utter surprise, two people took me up on it since their plants hadn’t done well this year. Must be a first of some kind.

In the Live and Learn Department:

-Don’t use bird netting to cover the bean and pea teepees because it makes it impossible to get to the beans and peas that are within the teepee.

-In fact, don’t use teepees for serious food-growing. They look really cool, but are an inefficient use of the available space.

-Don’t over-water the tomatoes and don’t plant them so close together. Some of the plants are HUGE, but with very little fruit. I’m trying to move the branches with fruit so that they get as much sun as possible, but the plants needed a lot more room and also much bigger supports. This has been the year to learn what does and doesn’t work in our particular micro-climate.

-Try what you want even if you’re told it won’t work. Like the heritage tomatoes that we were told wouldn’t do much so close to the coast. Not enough warm days. We aren’t going to get a lot (see above), but there will be a few tomatoes from each plant. Standard variety Early Girl will be, as expected, the most productive, but I think we’ll be having fried green tomatoes in the not-too-distant future.

The peas, beans, carrots and beets are done  and harvested. Summer squash plants still producing, but it’s really been raining today so I suspect that it’s going to be a race with mildew now. Our little patch of salad greens is still producing after all this time. We’ve been pulling shallots and green onions for a few weeks now. Need to check the garlic. The breadseed poppies are done and I’ve cut the first seed heads.

We have LOTS of beans in the freezer. Four varieties: Blue Lake, Romano, Scarlet Emperor and  Purple-podded pole beans.

Also a good supply of peas: Progress No.9 and Blauschokker blue-podded peas.

In the next couple of weeks we’ll get the winter garden in: more greens, plus carrots, beets, radishes, winter squash and peas.

As of this morning we have enough Himalayan blackberries for a big batch of jam and enough raspberries for a decent batch. No fruit from the gooseberries this year.

A decent crop of apples are still on the trees and espalier. Learned last year not to leave them on the trees too long. I had to prune the espaliers hard over the winter to get the branches under control and supported, so not as many apples this year.

Photos from the last day or so:

Vegetable garden on right and to back, looking south

Vegetable garden, south side

Vegetable garden with breadseed poppies

Tropical garden and vegetable garden, looking east

Tropical garden, looking west

Tropical garden, acanthus with nasturtium growing into it

Rose border, east side, with Alexander

Rose border, looking south, new path

Red dahlia, rose border, east side

Lily 'Arena'

Striped rose, 'Purple Tiger' (Jackson & Perkins) with Sweet William

Rose 'Citrus Splash' (Jackson & Perkins)

June and Things are Taking Off

Next year I’m not even going to worry about putting in the summer vegies until May. It’s just not warm enough. The beans and peas finally started to really grow about three weeks ago after just sitting there.  On Saturday, Alex came out to lounge around.

Also, on Saturday morning, we saw out first quail ever on the property, and out front in the cultivated area instead of out back in the more natural west end.

The vegetable garden looking nice.

We picked our first salad greens yesterday and ate them within a couple of hours after chilling them in the frig. Best. Salad. Ever. Parisian mesclun “cut and come again” mix.

The roses are in full swing now, too.

Rosa mundi

Rose Ferdinand Pichard

Rosa moyesii ‘geranium”, courtesy Fickle Hill Old Rose Nursery. I’ve never seen it for sale from anyone else.

Some of the other flowers and beds.

“Lollipop” lilies.

Pansies.

Rose border, south side.

Tropical garden, looking west.

Wisteria being trained to go along wall of house and across gap towards garage.

First Radishes! And Flower Photos….

I’m finally over the cold that has had me down and it’s time to update the photos so I can see in the future where things were at this point. But first, we have started to harvest our radishes. Plus new flower and border photos.

Alex inspects the radish harvest

Our first real radish harvest

Rosa mundi

Rose Camieaux

English rose 'Graham Thomas'

Duchess de Montebello 1

Duchess de Montebello 2

Front porch border with collie Niki

Rock garden; apricot daschia is blooming

Rock garden

Rose border looking east

Rose border

Rose border with Michiko, our calico cat

Rose border, south side

Border on west side of studio; edge in progress

Tropical border with Michiko; upright plant is Sisyrinchium striatum

The vegetable garden

New Photos! First Sun in Three Days!

It’s Memorial Day and the sun has finally come out for awhile after three days of overcast, extended even out to areas where it’s “always sunny”, like Blue Lake and Fieldbrook.  I’ve has a cold for the last couple of days, so not getting anything done in the yard. David, however, has gotten the OSB “floor” down for my new potting area on the north side of the house. Next step will be to move the potting table, the pots, tools, etc. Then I can finally get some seeds started.Things are really starting to burst into bloom now.

Geranium 'Splish Splash', one of my favorites and it's self-seeding!

Cranesbill 'Ballerina'

Red Baron grass

Climbing rose 'Dublin Bay'; might be the Best Red Rose Ever

English rose 'Brother Caedfael'

English rose 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh'

Rose 'Ispahan'

Rose 'Fantin Latour'; one of my all time favorites

Rose 'Moonlight'; one of the Vintage Gardens roses I decided to try

Looking back towards the house; veg garden in foreground

Feels Like Summer!

Sunday:

Seeds arrived from Thompson and Morgan yesterday.  I wanted Limnanthes douglasii, in particular and they seem to be the only company that has it. Ironic, in a way, since they are a British company and Limnanthes in a North American native plant. We saw it for the first time at a garden in England, absolutely covered with bees. It’s common name over there is Poached Egg Plant.

T&M really have an incredible seed selection to choose from, so while I was at it I got:

2 Limnanthes douglasii

1 Papaver Coral Reet- to be started this fall

1 Nasturtium Tip-Tip Apricot

1 Verbascum “Snow Maiden”

1 Bellis Tasso Strawberry and Cream

1 Dianthus Elegance Lavender

1 Dianthus Elegance Pink

T&M are also the only good source I’ve found for wallflower seeds, so I got:

1 Wallflower My Fair Lady mix

1 Wallflower Sunset mixed

1 Wallflower Kew Collection Sunset mixed

Wednesday:

Took a bunch of photos yesterday. Still battling the slugs, who seem to prefer the sunflowers and squash sprouts, but otherwise things are coming along nicely. Some of the new roses have their first blooms, so I finally get to see what they look like “in person”.

Scored nine yards of cedar mulch at a good price and almost have the Rose Border done. I ran out of gas on Sunday after about six wheelbarrow loads, but it sure looks nice!

We’re filling the bird feeders once a week and are currently getting American goldfinches and house or purple finches.

On to the photos:

South edge all nice and mulched with mixed nemesia and dwarf snapdragons blooming

Beans and Peas

Tomatoes coming along nicely

Tropical garden with sunroses in full bloom

Bulgarian allium- pretty much the only allium that is rated for zone 9; it's repeating well

Icelandic poppies and an unusual volunteer dark pink dicentra, which is growing in full sun; an unintended and possibly "dire" combination

Leopard Lilies getting very lush; dig and divide this fall, I think

Sunrose 'Wisley Pink" with galtonia on the left and rose 'Duchess de Montebello' above

Hardy geranium 'Orion'

Persicaria 'Red Dragon' with flower stalk of a dyckia fosteriana in front

At last, the Hamburger Phoenix floribunda rose; nice crimson color with a small white eye

Rose 'Sappho'; floribunda; very clean white

Rose 'Old Homestead'; found rose; deep purple-red; loads of petals

Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll' bursting into bloom now

Sunday Vegie Seed Madness!

I really wanted to get the rest of the first round of seeds planted in the vegetable garden so that I can move on to the ten or so other things that are first on my list of things to do around the property.

Yesterday we got the small logs and branches from part of a tree we had to have taken down last year moved out around the edge of the pond. In the afternoon, Holly and Laura came by. They got the tour and a bunch of plants, mostly volunteers that needed new homes.

Sweet Williams

The female belted-kingfisher came by yesterday and caught herself what looked to be one the bigger mosquito fish. This morning I heard a familiar bird sound. looked out and there at the seed feeder was a male black-headed grosbeak! They’re one of our favorites.

Walked the dog this morning. It was overcast when we left the house and sunny by the time we got back. Was out in the garden by 10:30. Quit about 3:30. David got soaker hose in to all the newly planted beds.

Root vegetable bed

Planted today:

From John Scheepers-

Purple Dragon Carrots

Atomic Red Carrots

Snow White Carrots

White Icicle Radishes

Pink Celebration Radishes

Petit Pois Precoville Peas

Vernandon Bush Beans

Galia Melon

Summertime Lettuce

Merlot Batavian Lettuce

Blushed Butter Cos Lettuce

Flashy Troutback Lettuce

Alex supervises the installation of the soaker hose

From Renee’s Garden-

Easter Egg II Radishes

Petit Dejeuner French Breakfast Radishes

Paris Market Mix Baby Mesclum Salad

From Squirrel’s Choice-

Champion Radishes

Early Wonder Table Beets

SMR 58 Pickling Cucumbers

From Seeds of Change-

Haricot Vert “Maxibel” Bush Beans

From Territorial Seed Company-

Red Samurai Carrots

Covering the bed with a little straw to discourage the cats

Got In Another Hour After the Giants Won

Planted teepee no. 3. Two sides of Purple Podded Pole Beans and one of Blue Lake Beans.

Planted a pound of French red shallots and the last seven cloves of garlic.

No rain today. Kind of spooky light through the clouds, sort of like when there’s a  smoke from a fire.

Giants took two out of three from the Rockies; 1-0 in the 10th.

Earthquake was a 3.8, epicenter to the south of us. I was in the house and felt a jolt. David was in the garage and felt zip.

New Seeds Have Arrived! And Pictures, too.

Alex doing the rounds

Just had a quick mild jolt of an earthquake.

A black-shouldered kite has been showing up the last few mornings. Saw it flying off with something in its talons yesterday. Hope it wasn’t a frog.

Our pond; about 40'x50'; 5' deep at one end; self-regulating

Cover used by frogs (red-legged) and fish (goldfish and mosquito fish)

Peas up; Cosmos seeds planted outboard at base of plants

The seed order from John Scheepers has arrived:

One packet each

Pea ‘Petite Pois Precoville’- the classic French pea

Pea ‘Blauschokker Alauws Blue’- couldn’t resist the name and I was looking for a tall climbing pea; turns out they’re hard to find; I guess most people want bush varieties so they don’t have to mess with setting up a support

Bean ‘Blue Lake Pole’- what the heck, it’s a classic

Bean ‘Purple Podded Pole”- love the beans that are purple on the vine and turn green when you cook them; magic!

Cauliflower ‘Rainbow Mixture’- with luck, one will produce in our climate

Lemon Basil

Lime Basil

Morning Glory ‘Flying Saucer’- I think this one used to be called ‘Tie Dye”. I love morning glories.

1 pound of French shallots

Shady garden corner; caramel heucara, primroses, leopard lily foliage

Estelle Rjinveld tulips

Azalea 'Arneson's Gem"

David Austin English Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll'; first rose to bloom this year

the back of our house looking east; my studio is on the right

A Gopher Thought and More Seeds Planted!

A couple of days ago, as I watched one of the cats on what we think of as “gopher duty”, I suddenly envisioned (apologies to my Mongol friends) the gophers as the Mongol Horde, operating underground, of course, moving relentlessly and irresistibly from west to east, surrounding some plants and destroying them and passing others by untouched. It looks like the English laurel will survive, but I did lose a decent-sized grevillia. Tulips all seem to be present and accounted for, which is pretty amazing.

Spent the last couple of afternoons in the garden and planted seeds of:

‘Legion of Honor’ heirloom crimson poppies, Renee’s Garden

‘Lauren’s Grape’ poppies- Botanical Interests

Heirloom Pepperbox poppies- Rene’s Garden

‘Elves Blend’ sunflowers, Botanical Interests

Forget-Me-Not- Squirrel’s Choice

Sweet Alyssum- Squirrel’s Choice

California Poppy- Squirrel’s Choice

‘Rose Barlow’ columbine- Burpee

plus a few more ‘Van Gogh’ sunflower seeds since only about half the original planting germinated.

Nasturtiums in the Tropical Garden starting to come up.

Azalea in Tropical Garden blooming.

filled in the vegie rows with more ‘Scarlet Emperor’ pole beans, Romano beans and #9 Progress peas

David did the initial bed prep for the root vegies, which will go in as soon as there’s a break in the weather. 70% chance of rain tomorrow and it’s raining lightly now.

Got the herb border mostly weeded and mulched with cut grass.

Finally got the wisteria tied to the support wires.

Got the final plants shifted until fall, did a musical chairs with the Sussex Red grape and the two kiwis, which Genvieve said needed more room, so now they are at the end of the arbor instead of in the middle.

Scored some shrubs and a hot pink kangaroo paw for half price at Miller Farms.

Watering system pretty much up and running again out front. One more side of the Rose Border to tweak.

Windy, But A Productive Weekend

Got the bed on the west wall of my studio cleaned up yesterday and planted two David Austin English roses that were part of the batch I got from Jackson & Perkins: Janet and Bishop’s Castle.

Planted Abraham Darby out in the rose border on the edge of where the septic tank is buried. We’ll put a couple of chairs there and create a destination off the main path since I don’t want to plant anything there. There’s also a Graham Thomas rose. The area is sort of a transition between the more traditional English style mixed border with my striped rose collection and the tropical garden.

Nasturtiums starting to come up. Tithonias are up. Sunroses are blooming. Gertrude Jekyll rose has three blooms, the first rose of the year to flower. Goldflame honeysuckle is starting. Some tulips still going, but most starting to fade. Lilies are up. Sarah Berhardt herbacious peony is up, an experiment. I have no idea if it will bloom, but who knows what will bloom where anymore.

Quite a few frogs out down at the pond and saw a salamander swimming around, along with some big tadpoles.

American goldfinches are back. I often think “screaming yellow zonkers” when I see the bright yellow males. Maybe some purple or house finches too. Violet-green swallows were swooping around this afternoon.

The last three roses (for the time being ;0) ) arrived from Rogue Valley Roses a few days ago: Rosa chinensis mutabilis, The Yeoman and the stripped Variegata de Bologna, which I planted today. Still thinking about where to put to the first two.

Yesterday and this morning, we moved all the plants that Genvieve pointed out were in the wrong places, except the kiwis. The south side of the yard should flow much better now, like at all. It looks like the English laurel that the gopher got to is going to survive.

David has been re-doing the watering system out front and has made good progress. Every rose gets its own drip and there are around two dozen new ones. We’re using 1/4″ soaker tubing for the vegetable beds and he got all that done for the areas that have been planted.

I picked up some six packs on Friday and got them all in today:

1 Foxy foxglove

3 Sonata Mix Cosmos

2 Dwarf Snapdragons (They told me at Miller Farms that no one is offering snapdragons this year. One flat of Rocket, which sold out right away and now only the dwarf variety. Very odd.)

And, the jackpot: 2 six-packs of Verbascum “Southern Charm”. I bought one when we lived in the Victorian. It was in that Austin rose border and stood out so much that I got asked about it more than the roses. It’s only been available, at a stiff price, from Burpee, as in $19 for three tiny plants, which I sprung for a couple of years ago. Sometimes there is a plant that you just Have To Have. And now I have 12 out front. Life is good.

David loves Moonflowers and I love Morning Glories, so I soaked the seeds last night a put a row of each along the west facing fence in front. Also planted a row of giant sunflowers, Heirloom Titan. The packet (Renee’s Garden) says 12-14′. I hope.