GBBD July 2008

The best thing in my garden... The Sweet Granddaughter (and shastas)
Eggplant

Origanum laevigatum "Herrenhausen"
Lemon Verbena

Four O'Clocks


Despite the heat of last week there are still blooms to be found in Davis. Many herbs and vegetables are happy and didn't mind the heat at all...they thrive on it resulting in much of the farm land here being planted in tomatoes and other heat lovers. Trying to keep up with the gardening at the peak growing season, begin the year's canning by putting up jam, as well as visiting with family coming into town and continuing to care for the day care children has resulted in a last minute GBBD post...hopefully to be completed before my son shows up to straighten out an internet hook-up glitch!
So here's what's blooming today in Davis~

Solanum jasminoides
Solanum rantonnetii
White agapanthus
Lemon verbena
Alstroemeria regina
Glossy Abelia
Pelargoniums
Lavendula pinnata bucchii
Lavandula Wings of Night
Geranium Rozanne
Dietes
Plumbago capensis
Anisodontea Elegant Lady
A. Hibiscus Bits
A.Very Cranberry
Pink Pandorea
Star Jasmine
Wisteria
Erodium
Lobelia
Vinca
Allysum
Wax begonias
Shastas
Carnation Evermore
Scabiosa
Blue marguerite
Comet Pink marguerite
Nepeta Walker's Low
Dianthus
Rosa Flower Girl
Abutilon
Society Garlic
Lilium Sorbonne
Lilium auratum virginale
Hollyhock Chaters Double
Gaura
Salvia May Night
Salvia Freisland Pink
Salvia Mulberry Jam
Salvia Dancing Dolls
Salvia Caradonna
Salvia Victoria Blue
Salvia Clary
Salvia greggii Moonlight
Autumn Sage
Vinca
Penstemon Apple Blossom
Hemerocallis Teahouse Tapestry
Hymenocallis narcissiflora
Chamomile
Cardoon
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Fennel
Borage
Anise
Anise hyssop
Chives
Oregano
Green beans
Zucchini
Cucumbers

Blooms in the Smoke

Lilium Sorbonne


Hemerocallis Teahouse Tapestry


Cardoon...no I haven't cooked any yet!


Hymenocallis narcissiflora


Some of the first Padrone peppers of the year...pick, rinse, saute quickly in a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and eat! Use the stem for a handle...yum!

Here are a few photos of recent blooms in Davis. It's difficult to enjoy them as the air has been really awful due to the wildfires burning all around northern California...none of them near enough to worry about burning here but the smoke is pretty much disgusting. This isn't the first time we've had fire smoke here but it isn't very common either. Add to the smoke multiple triple digit heat days (106.5 today!) and the garden isn't a good place to be right now. Reading garden blogs will reveal that pretty much all gardeners suffer/endure gifts of nature of one type or another...we may not enjoy our own particular gifts but we do seem to acclimate to what we're given. The Austin bloggers talk about closing up shop to a certain degree in the heat of summer, midwesterners have their humidity, thunderstorms and tornadoes, there are ice storms many places around the country and that doesn't even get into the insect problems or things like poison ivy. But being the compulsive/dedicated gardeners that we seem to be we just carry on...knowing that this too will pass. For myself, I know (please, please, please) that the smoke will clear and I know that the heat will not keep up...we should be back into the 90's (hey...it's a dry heat!) by Sunday.

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!

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

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!

What's For Lunch?

We picked pretty much all the lettuce we finally grew in pots...in order to foil the sparrows who kept eating our lettuce sprouts. We were heading into 3 or 4 days of triple digit heat and decided to play it safe and enjoy the lettuce while it was still yummy and sweet. While we were picking we picked most of the remaining peas, thinking that the heat wasn't going to do them any good either. That was a good choice since the plants looked fried by the third day of 100+ heat and they have now been replaced with sweet Italian peppers. So we had make-your-own salad for lunch last Thursday, with peas on the side. It might be surprising to see how much lettuce a preschooler can eat when she just picked it herself!

GBBD May 2008

Many of the spring bloomers are hanging on today as the summer blooms are beginning...the pansies that will dry up soon, the iberis and snapdragons are finishing, the lavender trumpet vine is just about finished. The shasta daisies and society garlics will bloom any day signaling the real arrival of summer...and with the hot weather we've had the last few days I'm surprised they didn't make it in time for Bloom Day! I'm pretty happy with my new Black Beauty Hollyhock...I like the way it sets off the nearby Alstroemeria regina.

Hollyhock Black Beauty
White Lavender...it's looking good here but I don't have a good track record with white lavenders...I've only had this since last fall...we'll see how it goes!Lime Scented Geranium
White Carnation...I love the smell of carnations...it reminds me of the corsages my Dad bought us for Easter many years ago!
Pink Carnation
Strawberry Scented Geranium

Alstroemeria Regina
Climbing New Dawn...I found this last year after looking for a while...it doesn't require as much sun as many roses and at least for this spring has been blooming wonderfully in the partially sunny corner behind the kids' bench.
Brunfelsia paciflora (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow)
Almost a swath! Salvia Blue Hill backed by Salvia Caradonna backed by pink pelargoniums.

The list for May 2008...
Pink Cosmic marguerites
Blue marguerites (felicia)
Bush Mallow
Pelargoniums
Pansies
Scabiosa
Alstroemeria Regina
Alstroemeria pink
Iberis
Pink hollyhock
Hollyhock Black Beauty
Hollyhock Chater's Double
Yellow Columbine
Dwarf Carnation Evermore
White carnation
Pink carnation
Pink Pandorea
Salvia Dancing Dolls
Salvia May Night
Salvia Blue Hills
Salvia greggii Moonlight
Salvia Mulberry Jam
Salvia barrelieri
Abutilon Pink Parasol
Abutilon unknown pink
Borage
Fennel
Cilantro
Parsley
Alyssum
Nemesia
Lavandula pinnata bucchii
Lavender white
Lavandula Wings of Night
Sweet Pea Bush (Polygala)
Forget-me-nots
Biokova Cranesbill
Rozanne Cranesbill
White Solanum jasminoides
Purple Solanum rantonnetii
Erodium
Geranium citrosa
Geranium Staghorn Oak
Geranium Chocolate Mint
Geranium Scented Lime
Geranium Scented Rose
Nepeta Walker's Low
Wax begonias
Dianthus
Wisteria
Penstemon heterophyllus Blue Springs
Rosa Demitasse
Rosa Berries and Cream
Rosa Flower Girl
Rosa Climbing New Dawn
Star Jasmine
Lavender Trumpet Vine
Anisodontea Hibiscus Bits
Yellow snapdragons