GBBD November 2009

The miniature roses in the front door bed are having a little bloom fest. This unknown pink mini was given to me years ago by my good friend.
Chater's Double hollyhock has bloomed off and on for months and the cooler November weather isn't a deterrent at all.
Lavandula pinnata buchii has likewise bloomed for months...actually it's been blooming for over a year. Last winter it shared the warmth from the lights I had strung up to protect the Meyer lemon in the pot behind it. That was enough to keep it blooming all winter.
I know that there is a bit of negative thinking about mums and some, like Elizabeth at Gardening While Intoxicated think they are unnecessary. I think to a large extent I agree with her but I do like these passalongs...blooming in the trident maple bed where I can see them from the dinner table.
Solanum jasminoides is another long term bloomer.
And my Camellia sasanqua Kanjiro has put out one early bloom...just in time for bloom day!
The more or less complete list of blooms in my Davis garden this month...

Alyssum
Wax begonias
Solanum rantonnetii
Snapdragons
Pansies
Plumbago auriculata
Rosa Flower Girl
Dwarf carnation Evermore
Pelargoniums
Lavandula pinnata bucchii
Anisodontea Elegant Lady
Anisodontea Hibiscus Bits
Pink pandorea
Salvia Victoria Blue
Salvia Dwarf Indigo Spires
Salvia greggii
Salvia Dancing Dolls
Hollyhock Chater's Double
Abutilon Pink Parasol
Unknown pink abutilon
Culinary oregano

L'Orto Botanico di Roma

L'Orto Botanico di Roma is the botanic garden in Rome. It belongs to the University of Rome and is the former garden of the Palazzo Corsini. We visited the garden last June on our first day in Italy. It was a lovely morning but by the time we arrived we were a bit tired as we had taken one wrong turn and walked up an unnecessary hill or two before regaining our bearings. I found the garden pleasant even if a bit disheveled. The young mothers playing with their children on the lawns reminded me of other botanic gardens I have visited...from Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA to Boboli Gardens in Florence I'm pretty sure moms and kids are standard features in most botanic gardens.
I wandered the paths and saw a few interesting plant groupings, including a bamboo collection that also reminded me of Quail Gardens, but it was for the most part unexciting. When I saw the above sign, however, I found something that I felt was worth the wandering. The Orto dei Semplici is an herb garden with an emphasis on medicinal uses for plants. That being said, it seemed to me there were an excess of plants capable of causing moderate to severe digestive reactions...I'm not sure I would appreciate being the recipient of some of these cures.These curious fuzzy fruits on a cucumber type plant were not what you'd want to find in your salad!
L'Orto dei Semplici was set out in raised brick beds, the whole of which was also raised so that you entered it by climbing a few steps.
Leaving L'Orto dei Semplici I found a strange but beautiful 18th century staircase, designed by Fuga, complete with water feature that seemed cast adrift from whatever purpose it once served.

And even further into the far reaches of the garden I found the Nicchione, also designed by Fuga in the 18th century.

One of the last things I saw here was the star shaped Giardino degli Aromi or garden of aromas. This area featured many scented plants and plants that have pleasant tactile characteristics. There were quite a few scented geraniums...a pretty way to end my visit.

Herb Harvesting In The Dark Or How I Finally Made Simple Syrups

Last night on Facebook I saw that my daughter had made basil simple syrup. It reminded me that I've been planning to make some simple syrups myself before the herbs were done for the year. The more I thought about it the more motivated I got so before I thought too much about it I grabbed a flashlight and went out to get some basil and lemon grass. I decided to make a batch with the licorice basil that I have not cooked with much as well as the Genovese. I haven't liked the texture of the licorice basil, especially raw in things like caprese. In no time at all I had cleaned about a cup each of the basils and the lemon grass. After cleaning the lemon grass I crushed the stems a bit to allow the flavor to permeate the syrup more easily. Each went into a separate pot and into each pot I added one cup of sugar and a half cup of water. I brought them to a boil and simmered them for a few minutes. I took them off the heat, let them sit for about 15 minutes and then strained them through a fine mesh tea strainer into half pint canning jars. This was a super simple (no pun intended) endeavor and the syrups smell fantastic! I think I'll try some with lemon verbena tonight.
I meant to do a better taste test to compare the basil syrups but decided one Lemon Basiltini on a work night was sufficient.

Post Storm: Project Number Two

From this angle it is obvious...but I walked past this tree twice on the way to the compost pile without noticing that a good part of my ornamental plum, Prunus c. Purple Pony, was now in the neighbor's yard.
The storm had softened the soil and the winds finished the poor thing off.
I decided it needed to come down before it took the poor old fence it was hung up on down with it.


It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Trying to recover from the flu that knocked me back for the better part of a week I took it slow and cut a few branches two days in a row. Then Saturday I cut the trunk down to a two foot stump. The stump is still there...it's not going to cause any further damage. I'll have to get it out in the next week or two. The question is...what am I going to do with that space now? I do know Cecil Brunner won't complain about more sun. And that privet is on short time anyway. Possibilities abound! RIP Purple Pony.

GBBD October 2009

Abutilon Pink Parasol is slowly filling in and blooms Tuesday in the back border.
However, she is going to need a bit of help if I think I want her to make it through the winter. Miss PP, stake and all, was horizontal after the storm that blew through here yesterday. OK...I admit I meant to get a decent stake and was making do with a lightweight one...but it's only October! Oh. Guess I said that yesterday.

I am amazed at the fact that most of the photos I took Tuesday are still valid today...this little hollyhock blooms so close to the ground that the wind didn't faze it.

Abutilon Souvenir de Bonn has bloomed a bit all summer. I know, I know, I don't like orange flowers. But these are so not gaudy and look at that foliage! And when she came home with me that tag said 'used almost entirely for its foliage' so I sort of figured the blooms would be nondescript. While I'm not going to be buying any orange cannas anytime soon this little sweetheart is staying. But in a bigger pot before it really gets cold.

Devil wing begonia is lovely on Tuesday in this photo. Not so much today darn it.

Rosa Berries and Cream is putting out a few blooms still although slowing way down. This was Tuesday but the petals hung on yesterday...they're just not quite so perky today.

Pelargoniums bloom around the yard and really didn't mind the wind.Solanum rantonnetti got whipped around but stood up to the wind like a trooper. And I love the blooms. But I am going to have to find a less enthusiastic replacement for this spot on the edge of the patio. And when I do I will repeat 'right plant in the right place' over and over.

These purple basil blooms have been left because the leaves are too pungent for me (the basil lover!). But who doesn't love those blooms?

One more round of blooms from Alstroemeria Regina. Reliable, long lasting and easy. What more could I ask?


Other bloomers include allysum, erodium, plumbago, wax begonias, pink pandorea, lavenders, garlic chives, various salvias, bat faced cuphea, anisodonteas and possibly pansies ~guess I should check tomorrow morning and see if they got washed away.

Check out other bloom lists by visiting our esteemed leader Carol, at May Dreams Gardens. See what's blooming today around the world!

Post Storm: Project Number One

One of my favorite little vignettes in the back garden was this small table where various succulents have decided to hang together and be happy. They really needed to have been put away for winter but fall has just arrived and I was so happy with the way they look that I was trying to squeeze a few more weeks of enjoyment from them. I mean...it's only October! Once they are relegated to the patio shelves out of harm's way for the winter they will be pretty much out of sight.

Here are those same plants this morning after an unusually early winter storm barreled through knocking out power to many homes (including mine), toppling trees, snapping branches, spreading leaves and, sadly, knocking over tables of unprepared succulent growers. Amazingly, only one pot broke and I think all the plants are there and not shoved up against the fence somewhere.

CobraHead Rocks Against Bermuda

Carol at May Dreams Gardens had a contest recently for which the prize was to be a CobraHead Weeder. Having seen these weeders and lusting after them at Spring Fling last May in Chicago I of course promptly entered the contest. I wanted to try one out against the bermuda that infests my yard. As one of my previous neighbors said, the only way to completely get rid of bermuda is to move. Which he did. As for me, I've been beating it back into submission for 29 years and I had to wonder whether the CobraHead could be my new best weapon in the ongoing war.
Imagine my surprise when Carol announced that the wonderful family who owns the company had decided to award all of the entrants a weeder! Not only was I to get one, it arrived within days of my sending in my actual address for shipment!
Today was the day of our trial run. It was easy to find a good spot in which to experiment...my brick path seems to attract that annoying plant overnight. I went out with my lovely CobraHead, a bucket and gloves. Within no time at all (seriously...maybe 10 minutes!) I had cleaned out a bucketful of burmuda. I like the way the weeder feels in my hand and am amazed at how it sliced through the soil and roots so I could pull out the weeds. The CobraHead completely rocks against bermuda! I know I will never eliminate it in my yard and, truth be told, it helps fill in the bad spots during the summer in what little lawn I have. But for getting it out of the paths or other inappropriate places...I'll be using my CobraHead!