20 July 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Dear Garden Diary,
It's too bad the garden within has been annihilated by the damn army worms. It's ugly out there - like shrapnel blew through the kale and chard.
The Trichograms are visible in small numbers, not that I've been able to photograph any. I suspect the ants ate more than hatched.
The ridiculous heat of late has kept me from bothering with much of anything in the garden, aside from drought prevention and pea picking. I still have some things to pot, and I have little time to get it all done before we're gone for three weeks. Yipes.
This morning while lying in bed, awake after R left to catch his early flight, I thought of something profound to write about the garden - or about how I feel about something to do with it. It was good, really good..., but it's gone. I actually got up and partially dressed thinking I would sit down with pot of coffee and write it all down, then shook my head, threw off my gown and crawled back into bed. There was no way I'd survive the day in the greenhouse on such little sleep. So, I willed myself to remember that profound thought and went back to sleep.
This is why it's important to keep a notebook and pencil at had at all times. I bet if I had I would have something more interesting to write about.
Somebody recently said they loved the idea of keeping a garden blog, but just couldn't imagine having the time to do it. I can't - as a gardener - imagine not doing it. Before my online journals I always kept written journal - still do, sort of. I will always doodle, and keep a pad and pencil in my garden apron - I don't know how to keep track of everything without notes. I note when I plant things, when pests arrive, buds bloom - scribbles and notes on dirty paper. I've been trying to keep better records of all my plants, inspired by the exemplary excel sheet organization of Northern Shade. Mine are coming along. Along with that darned glossary (which I've been "working on" for a few years now..)
Time is a funny thing. Funny how when you're running out of it so much can get done. So much of everything I do is done in pieces. I wish I had ten times the time I have do get things done, started - breathe life into some imagined projects. Ah well, for the time being I'm happy with keep this scattered blog. It's the best record I have of gardens I've known. My desk is covered in years of notebooks and baggies full of plant tags & empty seed packages waiting to be logged. A hoarder of important stuff.
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| #twopeasinapod |
This is why I love photography so much - how so much can be said in a photo, one shot. I framed this one of two peas in a pod to show my engagement & wedding rings, the two peas, R's beautiful garden fence, and our summer garden all over everything. A photo that completely defines 'amy's garden' right now, us: two peas in a pod - with our Australian wedding just around the corner.♥ ♥ ♥
My to-do list is long - starting with: finish planting the poor suffering plants in small greenhouse pots. Reseed some things (spinach, beets)..plant more peas again. (The dogs have enjoyed most of the peas this year...as always). ...and on...
I look forward to seeing it all when we return.
Speaking of which, my most important to-do list item in Australia this year is to garden blog the experience. I had such good intentions of doing it last year. With tulips and daffodils blooming along side woody zonal geranium shrubs, bird of paradise plants lining the highway during Christmas in July in the Mountains. At least I can count on my hashtags to bring me back.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
a fork'd radish
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| radish 1 July 2012 |
...he was, for all the world,
like a fork'd radish,
with a head fantastically carved upon it with a knife
King Henry IV. Part II. Act iii. Sc. 2.
FREE EBOOK
by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Peonyography
While photographing the peonies the other morning (after a long shower under the sprinkler) I wondered if I would ever get tired of photographs of these peonies. Their upright bloom time is always so short-lived, and all it takes is one good rainfall to flop them all over; I madly capture them year after year, same pinks, same same droplets, ...same glorious photograph of a blooming peony for the journal. I'm glad I save the moment, and I'll do it again next year.
I cut a good number of them this afternoon, along with some Alchemilla mollis 'Lady's Mantle' blooms - and after meticulously picking at and shaking them free of bugs & worms ...yes: unpleasant... I arranged them for a vase in the kitchen and photographed them again.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
a garden fence
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| photo by Rohan M. |
Rohan built a garden fence.
It's quite incredible, curving around the existing pathway between the small kitchen garden and the new, larger kitchen garden bed. Cedar pickets, each cut by R himself. Notice the perfectly aligned screws. OCD anyone? Two gates, one near the barbecue patio, the other halfway to the dog run - both with self closing hinges. It just might be the most beautiful garden fence in the world.
I doodled on his photo of the fence in progress; imagining the last of the grass away and our fire-pit in place. It's going to be lovely. Recycled brick will make take the place of the grass - and though we'll have a lot going on in a small space path-wise, that is what makes an adopted garden.
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| A neighbourhood cat strolling through the photo :) |
Stick Amy is in the garden replanting the spinach - as most of the leaves have been nibbled away. I'm counting on some established roots, but along with washed away carrots some new seeds need to be added.
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| garden plan 2011 change of plans, no more grass: brick patio instead things are coming along |
Dear Garden Diary,
Rhodochiton
first bloom
25 June 2012
Okay, I'll say it - I can not find any reference to the above pictured plant being a "Rhodochiton"...; and though it resembles the Lophspermum I know, it's not nearly the same.
If anyone can help explain this plant to me, please...
I'm going to miss this plant when we're away this summer. I've waited so long (it seems) for this first bloom; and with more on the way I suspect the magnificence of this plant is only just beginning.
It's so different from the easily searched Rhodochiton we have blooming profusely in the greenhouse:
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| John Davis Explorer Rose 25 June 2012 |
Peonies are blooming, the Weigela (Red Prince) too
tucked tight in front are some wild Knautia macedonica (Crimson Scabious),
with our special Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) blooming below
in lemon-lime
contrasting all those pinks and reds.
...from the back door:
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| pea webs |
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Beneficial Trichograms
Friday, June 22, 2012
in the garden this week....
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| Dianthus 'Raspberry Parfait' line the small kitchen garden |
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| Achillea millefolium 'Apricot Delight' Yarrow Globosa Blue Spruce |
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| Gromit Wensleydale Chief Pea Inspector |
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| peas pummelled by rain |
John Davis, first day of summer
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| John Davis blooms 21 June 2012 summer solstice |
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| even Claire is in awe of the height of our John Davis blooms |
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
another jerk
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| on our magical Lady's Mantle |
Armyworm fact sheet from
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
True Armyworm infestations are more common in years with cool wet spring weather, which follow years of drought. The cool wet spring weather is thought to slow down the development of parasites which usually keep armyworm populations under control.
After hiding under debris during the day, movement and feeding occur at night - or on cloudy days.
Armyworm larvae are pale green in the early growth stage and dark green in later stages. Full grown larvae are smooth, striped and almost hairless, up to one to two inches in length. A series of stripes on the body are arranged by a thin, white, broken line down the middle of the black followed by a wide, dark, mottled stripe halfway down the side, then a pale orange stripe with white border, a brownish mottled stripe, and slightly above the legs, there is another pale orange stripe with white borders.
The adult armyworm is a light brownish gray moth or "miller" with a white spot about the size of a pinhead on each front wing. When expanded, the wings are about one inch across. Moths lay eggs at night in folded leaves or under leaf sheaths of small grain plants and other grasses. They prefer to lay eggs in moist, shady areas of vegetation.
For control, I'm using Btk
"Bacteria are present everywhere in our natural environment, including in soil, in food and even on our skin. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterium that is found naturally in the soil and is known to cause illness in various insect larvae, including caterpillars of pest species such as gypsy moth, spruce budworm and cabbage looper.more on Btk from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, British Columbia
There are more than 20 varieties of Bt. The "kurstaki" variety (Btk) is used for caterpillar control and other varieties are used for blackfly and mosquito control. It is not harmful to humans, birds, pets, fish, honey bees, beetles, spiders, etc. Within each variety are numerous strains. The Btk used for caterpillar control is the HD-1 strain."
I'm also introducing some beneficial insects - Trichograms Trichogramma brassicae
H was not impressed this morning when she discovered what I had left in the fridge overnight. Grin. I'm going to release them into the vegetable garden later this morning and will update later... :o)
and some really nerdy further reading:
Demography and life history of the egg parasitoid,
Trichogramma brassicae, on two moths Anagasta kuehniella and
Plodia interpunctella in the laboratory
S Iranipour, A Farazmand, M Saber, and Jafarloo M Mashhadi
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran
Agriculture and Natural Resource Research Center of East Azarbaidjan, Tabriz, Iran
Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 9 | Article 51
www.insectscience.org
10 July 2009
John Davis
1986 Explorer Series Rose
R. kordesii x Red Dawn & Suzanne cross
Taller than me today
19 June 2012
in our kitchen garden.
What's in a name?
The plants that came in simply labelled "Rhodochiton" - the one I have planted in my large pot with the twig obelisk - has bloomed in the greenhouse. It's breathtaking.
Our rhodochiton is wet - like everything else in gardens this year. The rain, the rain, the rain, then heat & humidity, then rain.. has been great for leafy things and leaf eaters, ....but things in pots aren't drying out enough between downpours and that's making life.. interesting. I have this guy in a very sunny spot on the back deck, one of the hottest spots, getting sun from mid-morning until it falls over the Port Arthur Ridge in late evening. Hopefully we'll see some blooms soon.
A little history of the synonym of names Rhodochiton & Lophospermum:
The Lophospermum plants at Vanderwees are what I'm most familiar with (seen below). There was a time when I couldn't imagine my annual garden season without one - though I should mention that Jean has kept one alive for years by cutting it back and taking it in at the end of the season. This one has larger leaves than 'Purple Bells', and long mauve trumpet flowers.
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| 'Lophospermum' |
Rhodochiton 'Purple Bells'
I love them all. I love the way this vine tendrils, the blossoms on every one - it's a beautiful plant. One of the more vigorous climbers (and trailing plant) I know - for an annual here. It puts on a great show where ever is grows.
Dirty Ladies, Mystery of the Plant
Laura and I reintroduced ourselves recently - we've been neighbours (a house apart) now for three years, and have been spying over each other's gardens just as long. We've talked before, but it wasn't until the a few weeks ago - one evening when I was recovering in the shade on the front balcony with a glass of wine, and I yelled down to Laura to ask if she wanted a mugo pine. I was already half in my nightwear - a skimpy tank-dress, but with some garden grubs beneath, still with dirty hands. I had no business being out of the privacy of home, but I went downstairs and out front with my glass of wine to talk without yelling over the neighbour. Laura was in her comfortable clothes too, and we both agreed we didn't care.
We talked over my garden for a while, then we went to her garden for a while. She told me about Marla's garden, of which I've already heard enough about to be in jealous awe. We decided to peek over the fence, and following Laura's lead climbed a little hill in the back lane to get an even better view - at which point Marla, who was working in her garden, saw us, and instead of reporting two nosey gardeners to the police, invited us in and brought out a bottle of Riesling. This was the first meeting of The Dirty Ladies (named so by Laura...HEEHEE).
Marla was definitely the most dirty, and no wonder - her garden is a wonderland. Tulips were blooming, the sun was setting through the apple blossoms, alliums rising. The visit inspired me. Both her and Laura are growing Kiwi vines - which I informed R later that evening that we would be adopting some Kiwi's as soon as the soffits are in place on the back balcony (removing the horrible drip line that ruins a foot and a half of the little kitchen garden).
After taking the garden tour back through Laura's garden, to mine again, the meeting was adjourned. It reminded me of year ago when Caroline, Shelly and I would walk barefoot from one another's gardens with summer drinks in hand.
I was in our backyard garden then other night when Laura yelled over the neighbour's yard - she had something to show me, so I invited her over. Dressed again in our garden skimpies, the Dirty Ladies stood and stared at a tall picked plant, slightly shrivelled. A mystery plant, unidentified from a friend's cottage - once a Finlander's land. She said it reminded her of a tobacco plant, maybe coffee plant. ? Tall and wild, hardy and perennial. It's surrounded by organized plants - once a garden, long overgrown, so likely something someone put there.
From it's shrivelled condition and not having a photo I could only guess curly dock, but now that I see the photos it's obviously not. I'm with Laura that it is some kind of tobacco plant. ??? Maybe? She sent me the photos by email yesterday, which I received while still at the greenhouse - I went through every book and plant person there yesterday, nobody could say for sure.
I pose the question of identity to the interweb sources now. Does anybody know what this is?
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| Mystery Plant |
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