Rain Likely Today

Spring is sproinging

2010-02-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

While the East Coast may be getting snowed in, here in the Pacific Northwest, spring is sprung, and cherry trees are starting to pop.

My favorite houseplant

2009-12-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

This anthurium is a great houseplant. Trouble free, and always in bloom.

Japanese Blood Grass

2009-11-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

My two pots of Blood Grass in the early morning sun.

Not ready for winter quite yet

2009-11-03T21:16:00.001-08:00

It's still summertime, according to my pelargonium "Vancouver Centennial."

Hello, October

2009-10-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

An eclectic mix basking on the front steps. Under Bananarama, which has grown by leaps and bounds all summer, Sun Gold tomatoes have woven themselves through the avocado, the begonia and the pelargonium. Strawberries drip down the steps, and a jade plant shares a pot with an amaryllis.

Octoroot

2009-09-15T11:10:00.001-07:00

Tomatoes Gone Wild

2009-08-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Birdie

Alien Alien II This one we just call "Pedro"

How tall IS that?!

2009-08-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

What is this, a rogue sunflower on steroids?

"Autumn Glory" in August

Sungolds growing up the brick pillar by the front steps.

Now THAT'S an "accent table"

2009-07-08T15:46:00.001-07:00

Orange has never been my color for anything, but this table is just the size we wanted, and it was on sale, and it looks nice with sunflowers.

Bang for the Buck

2009-07-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

This unnamed Angelwing begonia was a buck fitty impulse buy off the rack in front of Ace Hardware. You know, one of those sale racks right in front of the door stacked with overgrown, yellowing plants tugging at your heartstrings like puppies at the pound. In this case, $1.50 well spent.

Bring on the Butterflies

2009-06-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

My garden vision has always included a big butterfly bush in the corner. The first one was ordered from Burpee's catalogue, and I was in denial for weeks that it was DOA. Meanwhile, I kept searching the local nurseries for another one, and finally hit paydirt at the Gray Barn in Redmond. The tag says this color is "Royal Red," but it looks more like a pinkish purple.

Foxy

2009-06-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here are the new Adirondack chairs posing in front of my volunteer foxglove. A few store bought cosmos are under the foxglove.

Little Green Tomatoes

2009-06-19T09:12:00.001-07:00

The first tomatoes have appeared. This is "Beaverlodge Slicer," a new determinate variety from Territorial Seeds that I am trying for the first time. Territorial gives them a big sendup "Truly a great combination of earliness, size, productivity and quality." We shall see.

A Plethora of Peas

2009-06-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is the best crop of snow peas ever! Planted February 22, so about 15 weeks to harvest.

2009-05-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Late afternoon sun hightlights the "potager" . . . leeks, bok choi, spinach, a tomato, and snow peas in the background.

Finally . . .

2009-05-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

. . . it's starting to look like a real garden. So far we have planted: artichokes, two kinds of pole beans, two kinds of beets, carrots, leeks, elephant garlic, four kinds of lettuce, two kinds of mustard greens, bok choi, snow peas, dwarf sweet peas, five varieties of tomatoes, spinach, green onions, petunias, sunflowers and zinnias. Volunteer dill, calendulas and sunflowers are sprouting, and half a dozen Block Island beach roses are thriving in their pots. I need my new Adirondack chairs. And an umbrella for when it gets hot!

May Day Update

2009-05-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

Stumpy the Squirrel raiding the bird feeder . . .
Bleeding heart in bloom in the front garden . . .

Potted Roma tomatoes and pansies on the front porch . . .

The spinach is ready and the snow peas are about 10" tall . . .

The red kale and parsley on the front porch are just about done for . . .

Leeks

2009-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

These are mailordered "Lancelot" leeks, being used to divide the bed into sections which will be planted with lettuces and beets. Never done this before, hope it works out.

Visualize Zig Zagged Peas

2009-03-23T16:04:00.001-07:00

Does this look goofy or what. The naughty squirrels are digging holes everywhere (no more peanuts for YOU, Stumpy). Snow peas are planted on both sides of the fencing, which is zigged for more footage and hopefully a decorative effect. Row cover won't go over the bed in a normal way, so it is alligator clipped to the fence.

This is not the "decorative effect" I had originally envisioned.

Tomato babies movin' on up!

2009-03-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

These babies were started from seed on February 28, and some of them need to go into bigger pots.
The plastic cups are an inexpensive way to provide plenty of depth for increased root production and to prevent legginess. This year I am trying Beaverlodge Slicer, Siletz, Windowbox Roma, Sun Gold, and Oregon Star.

The tomatoes are all set, but there's no room for anything else! I need one of those big fancy light carts.

Goldfish haiku

2009-03-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

The goldfish are gone

Evil raccoon ate them up

Bugger off, raccoon!

March snow

2009-03-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

We woke up to a raincrusty snow . . .

Happy New Gardening Year!

2009-03-02T16:02:00.001-08:00

I can never resist the 10 for $10 grocery store primroses! Dug out all the sad dead stuff . . . only the parsley and kale are left from the fall.
The fishies made it through the winter, all five of them. They are three years old now.

The garden in late February . . . ready for peas and spinach in the bed on the far left.

Arctic Blast!

2008-12-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

My hummers keep humming, even in the snow.
Frozen papyrus; somewhere under there I hope my goldfishies are OK.

Our house looking wintery . .

Bird's Eye View

2008-12-01T11:31:00.001-08:00

"Baby" and I soak up some toasty warm weekend sunshine. Yes I know it's pathetic that she has no tail.
Can I have some of this salad?

The Hanging Gardens of Little Si

2008-12-01T09:10:00.001-08:00

4,000' Mount Si sports an accessory; Little Si, elevation 1,560'. An ancient glacial river cracked them apart, leaving a deep, dark and rocky canyon. On a misty overcast day, this is Pacific Northwest Paradise . . . softly glowing and vibrantly damp. The vertical rock face on the north side of Little Si drips with massive sword ferns; arched crowns over plush mossy thrones.

Northwest Tropical

2008-11-24T07:52:00.001-08:00

This is the banana grove in the fabulous garden of artists George Little and David Lewis (http://www.littleandlewis.com/) which we visited earlier this year during the Bainbridge Island Garden Tour.
This is my banana tree, purchased from Top Foods for about $10. It's companion is an avocado I raised from a pup.

Front Porch Salad

2008-11-20T12:09:00.001-08:00

Gardeners have to have something to check on every day; especially in the Season of Dark and Wet. I am considering sacrificing salad art for Thanksgiving dinner . . . if I can stand the loss.

The Inside Garden

2008-11-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

I like the way the low winter sun lights up the plants in our living room window.

The Fuschia Pot

2008-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Fuschias are supposed to spend the winter in the garage, but these are still blooming, I think I'll leave them out until Thanksgiving.

There can't be anything more perfect than a fuschia blossom.

Sun Gold

2008-11-11T12:48:00.001-08:00

While the rest of the tomato plants dissolve into blackened mush and mildew, Sun Gold soldiers on, still ripening its shiny little sweet/tart orbs. It clamored over the rest of the tomatoes, flung itself into the sunflowers and eensie weensie spidered up the water spout.

It was a beautiful summer for humans but a bad bad summer for tomatoes, and right now Sun Gold is the only one out of 6-8 varieties that will be invited back next year. "Ultra Super Extra Early?" Here that means last week of October. The word "Oregon" is included in the variety name? Best we can do . . . they don't breed a "Washington Spring." Buy plants from Territorial Seeds? Yeah yeah, they're the Big Dog in the Pacific Northwest, but that was just me being lazy. Next year I will start my own and use row covers. And sadly give up my love for the rowdy and extravagently foliaged but refuse-to-ripen indeterminates and go for the more plebian determinates.

Still Blooming . . .

2008-11-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial' still blooming happily away in November. It spent last winter indoors (there are actually several plants in the pot). It was infested with aphids, and had to be cut down to the nubs and sprayed several times with insecticidal soap. During its hybernation, the foliage remained pale green, but the red returned when the plant was moved back outside in the spring. So far it has not experienced another Attack of the Aphids.