Sunday, June 29, 2008

Potatoes!


I planted potatoes in black nursery pots some time ago...Yukon Gold, Fingerling and Colorado Rose. I've got four pots plus some plants in the ground due to buying too many seed potatoes. The pots haven't all looked that great and yesterday I decided to plant some of my basil starts in the one that looked least like anything was growing there. I thought I should fluff up the soil and reuse it since it seemed fairly unused. Look what I found! A nice handful of fingerlings! Now I'm hoping for even better results in the pots that actually look like there are plants growing in them. I am so excited! I've never grown potatoes before but it's been a snap so far...now I just need to be patient and not decide to reuse any of the other pots until the potatoes are done!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

GBBD June 2008


This is my new hymenocallis, Sulpher Queen. I am really liking them although the first two buds on a different plant were enjoyed by earwigs before opening. This one looks much better! Not as tall as the old common peruvian daffodil I've had for years...or maybe it's because it's the first year?
Chamomile that I'm hoping to dry for tea...if I figure out the process soon!


Blue agapanthus...the white is about a week or more behind the blue. I guess I'll have to pay attention and see if that is always true. We like these strong tall stems because we often get garden spider webs from one to another...and they're in the perfect spot for observing!

Salvia nemorosa Friesland Pink...much pinker than any other of my salvias...makes a nice contrast to all the blue/purple.
Hemerocallis...hmmm... can't find name tag under plant and I don't remember it!

Glossy abelia Edward Goucher. Cute tiny trumpet-shaped flowers.

Another hemerocallis...could this be Judith?

OK...this one is Siloam Spizz! See...yellow in my garden!

This is actually in bud...my last year's experiment that barely grew is much happier this year! Any guesses? Well...it's not an artichoke. This is cardoon. I was very excited to get seeds and start a plant last year, having heard that the stems are the edible part of the plant and that they tasted like artichoke. Yum! And I got tired years ago of earwigs in home grown artichokes so I quit growing them. But the poor thing had no stems to spare last year. Now I'm torn between eating some of this and letting the plants go to seed so I get a few more plants. I'm a bit apprehensive, too, since I've heard it really likes to reseed in a borderline invasive way. And...it's not a small plant. I think I will let it reseed, try cooking some and if it proves worthy allow it to occupy a bigger spot next year!

Now for the more or less complete list of what's blooming in Davis this month...
Solanum jasminoides
Solanum rantonnetii
Canterbury bells
Campanula poscharskyana
Lilium regale
Blue agapanthus
Lemon verbena
Alstroemeria Regina
Glossy abelia Edward Goucher
Yellow columbine
Geranium-Biokova
-Dean's Delight
-Rose scented
-endressi
- citrosa
-Staghorn Oak
Lanvandula pinnata bucchii
Dietes
Plumbago capensis
Anisodontia -Elegant Lady
-Very Cranberry
-Hibiscus Bits
Pink Pandorea
various succulents
Star Jasmine
Pelargoniums
Privet
Vinca
Allysum
Wax begonias
Shasta daisies
Dwarf carnation Evermore
Scabiosa Butterfly Blue
Blue felicia
Marguerite Comet Pink
Wisteria...limited amount after first big bloom
Asparagus fern
Nepeta Walker's Low
Dianthus Devon Cottage
Erodium reichardii
Lobelia
Penstemon Appleblossom
Hemerocallis -Siloam Spizz
-others forgot names?
Sweet Pea shrub
Salvia-Friesland Pink
-Mulberry Jam
-Dancing Dolls
-Autumn...light pink...not sure of exact variety
-Caradonna
-Blue Hill
-May Night
-Clary
-Victoria Blue
Hollyhock-Chater's Double
-Black Beauty
-passalong pink from a friend
Rosa Flower Girl
Rosa Demitasse
Penstemon heterophyllus Blue Springs
common thyme
lemon thyme
cardoon
garlic
onions
tomatoes
peppers
eggplant
common fennel
Green beans-Nickel french filet
-Blue Lake pole
-Marconi
Zucchini

Friday, June 06, 2008

Plum Anticipation


With the unusually cool weather we've been having much of the garden is in slow motion. Peppers especially have gotten off to a slow start...I'm considering supplementing with store bought plants in case the home grown starts never take off. While the tomatoes seem to be OK with some cool weather when first planted peppers seem to sulk forever if they've been too cool for too long...even when the heat finally begins to build. But right now I am eagerly awaiting the first ripe plums. I always feel that eating the first ripe plum deserves a ceremony, akin to Carol's tomato ceremony. The rule is that I always get the first plum and I get to eat it in privacy. One would never celebrate with anything less than the best so after carefully choosing a perfectly ripe beautiful purple plum I polish it with a dry cloth until it shines, sit down outside and eat every bit with a mindfulness almost unmatched any time else in the year. I am amazed and thankful every year that I can reach up and pick something so wonderful right there in my garden. This is not the time to remember that in a few weeks I will be offering plums to the day care parents, stirring another batch of jam or throwing overripe fruit in a bucket for the compost pile. Right at that moment the miracle of the first plum will be the only thing in my mind. And it looks as if this year's ceremony is going to arrive soon...I can't wait!