Late Summer Update

I probably have more bamboo stakes than plants on this side.



Luminescent physostegia (probably the only obedient thing in my garden.)




Japanese Anemone



Bamboo Ewok arbor with clematis

Lady Emma Hamilton 9/07/2008

Master Gardener's Plant Sale

Lucky for me it was pouring rain; by the time I got to the plant sale after work, there was still a pretty good selection. Too bad for me that I imposed a very strict spending limit.

My loot:

Wood Aster - I have very high hopes for this plant. Likes shade and late blooming and xeric AND liked by butterflies?! Inconceivable!
Viola walteri - I think this was mislabeled because it doesn't really look like the violas that I am continually pulling out of my lawn and beds, which is what most of the viola walteris look like in my online search.
hollyhock - not sure what color it will be, but it is supposed to be perennial. I must cultivate (literally) my cottage garden look.
Geranium sanguineum - Bloody cranesbill is so descriptive. I love it! This is my second try for this plant. Last time I chose a spot that I think was way too shady for it.
Sisyrinchium bellum - blue-eyed grass. I was looking for some grasses, any grasses, no concern for any other aspect of its form. I had no idea it would have such a pretty flower! This is why I love the plant sale; I'm willing to spend a dollar on something I am completely unfamiliar with, and then it's a complete surprise when I bring home something like this!
Begonia grandis - another shady lady.

Now... where to put everything...

Bats are scary when they're flying directly at you...

7/18/2008



7/06/2008





7/06/2008




6/08/2008




6/07/2008




5/22/2008

4/20/2008

Lady Emma Hamilton

I had read about the lack of quality of the Lady Emma Hamilton rose on some gardening forums but from the description of the color, the scent and the growing habit, I was really excited to get it. It was sold out two years ago when I placed the order, so I had to wait until this spring until it was delivered. The condition was a little suspect when I received it; but I'm not an expert rose collector, and in general, I'm not a very picky person. So... I planted it and hoped that it would live and even thrive.

It was doing better than I could have hoped, but Maya had other ideas. The evil little girl enjoys killing plants. It's what she does best. Brodie tries not to hurt anything, and will exhibit remorse if he does misstep; but she is plantbane. You can see the evil gleam in her eye; flowers quiver in fear under her mere glance.

So she stepped on Lady Emma several times and knocked her first bud off before I put up a little fence to redirect dog traffic.

Lady Emma is doing much better now, and even deigned to produce another bud.

Poppies

I think I planted these poppy seeds two years ago. They finally decided to grow.

Bamboo Arbor

$2.00. I have nothing else to say.

If I had a laptop that I could take outside and add posts, I think I would be a little more prolific as a blogger. As it is, I am a garden freak and would rather sit outside and stare at my plants (and drink beer) than be inside in the A/C in front of my computer. But it is 104 degrees "real feel," and even though there is a very pleasant breeze flowing down 4th Ave., it's still slightly less uncomfortable inside. Apparently the appreciation of pleasant breezes is confined to my family; my fiance has absolutely no time for pleasant breezes.

"It's hot; I'm going inside."

"Stay out here with me; there is a very pleasant breeze..."

"That's a blazing solar wind blowing off the face of the sun; I'm going in."

"Smell my lily Casa Blanca and then you can go in."

"No."

"Smell it."

I can't. My olfactory faculties have been blasted by this 'pleasant breeze.'"

Rain Barrel

Link to article with instructions to build a rain barrel. The article is from Co-Op America: economic action for a just planet.
"Just planet?" Whatever, the article is informative.

Second Year of Crown Princess Margareta