tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33187727983189906242024-03-08T10:17:03.387-07:00Girl Sprout NMrandom musings on gardening and foodGirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-39794836137394797602013-05-29T07:17:00.000-06:002013-05-29T07:17:01.408-06:00A Comedy of Errors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I’m back from London and the Chelsea Flower Show. It was an adventure getting to London. The photos below are from the rhododendron area at Kew Gardens and are not related to my post below.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JgQKyNTRsRg/UaX58TVsaTI/AAAAAAAABfw/6E8x1IQPmDU/s1600/1-DSCN0464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JgQKyNTRsRg/UaX58TVsaTI/AAAAAAAABfw/6E8x1IQPmDU/s640/1-DSCN0464.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Prior to leaving for London, I wanted to ensure that my garden would be watered in my absence. My supervisor came over and helped me tighten up the connections to the drip system. I was feeling secure that my garden watered. I set the timer for the drip system to water three times a week. I went to work the next day thinking all is well.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6NjYTcX6hUo/UaX58bBaIGI/AAAAAAAABf0/z2CI73MqOo8/s1600/1-DSCN0467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6NjYTcX6hUo/UaX58bBaIGI/AAAAAAAABf0/z2CI73MqOo8/s640/1-DSCN0467.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
When I returned home, I found watering pooling on the tile floor in the family room. I was panic stricken. I called my friend Bill who wasn't home; but his wife Katie offered a tool for me to use for turning off the water at the meter. I was wondering if this was beyond my mechanical ability, but turned to my reliable DIY guru YouTube. The first video I found gave clear instructions on how to turn off the water at the meter; a 90 degree clockwise turn was all that was needed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Li0PtcBlmYw/UaX58c8R1NI/AAAAAAAABf4/snnaxZlcb1o/s1600/1-DSCN0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Li0PtcBlmYw/UaX58c8R1NI/AAAAAAAABf4/snnaxZlcb1o/s640/1-DSCN0473.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
My friend Katie also advised me to contact the dog sitter and have her bring water daily for my dog Aster. I went to the store and bought two gallons of water for the dog sitter to refill at her house. I wasn't sure of I should cancel my trip because of the water situation and was angst ridden.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sz4_OEHGD9M/UaX59EKW9eI/AAAAAAAABgI/Nc4GeSnH-k0/s1600/1-DSCN0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sz4_OEHGD9M/UaX59EKW9eI/AAAAAAAABgI/Nc4GeSnH-k0/s640/1-DSCN0476.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The next day, I flew out of the Santa Fe airport. The flight has a 90% on time rate. We were on the runway for a while because of some storms in Dallas. The flight finally took off. As we neared Dallas, the plane was in a holding pattern. We waited for the weather to clear, but were eventually diverted to Abilene, Texas.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jhTFTr2hBg/UaX59L13AvI/AAAAAAAABgE/Jz9NhDM2O8Y/s1600/1-DSCN0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7jhTFTr2hBg/UaX59L13AvI/AAAAAAAABgE/Jz9NhDM2O8Y/s640/1-DSCN0486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
We waited on the runway until TSA staff could return to the airport for security reasons because the airport was closed. Someone at the airport ordered pizza for our dinner. Kudos to the airport staff in Abilene for all they did to help us. I found out later that there were devastating tornadoes in Dallas and that DFW was closed. The airline provided hotel and taxi vouchers. The taxi vouchers were only for one cab company. It looked like it would be a long wait for a cab that took vouchers. However, there was a business man from another flight that had been diverted who generously paid for the cab to the hotel from the cab company that didn't take vouchers. A few of us jumped in the taxi-van and were grateful for not having to wait. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5LFk4uGaw0o/UaX59I30bvI/AAAAAAAABgM/I8hcpDVlKkc/s1600/1-DSCN0495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5LFk4uGaw0o/UaX59I30bvI/AAAAAAAABgM/I8hcpDVlKkc/s640/1-DSCN0495.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Sleep was fitful. The next day the power was out at the Abilene airport and it was running on backup generators. The remaining passengers who didn't drive to Dallas from Abilene in rental cars got on the flight the next morning. It felt like a chartered flight because there were only about 10 of us on the plane. I hung out at the Dallas airport for about 10 hours.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g8y0Cc11aHk/UaX59hT48sI/AAAAAAAABgU/dLYa7tNVg1k/s1600/1-DSCN0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g8y0Cc11aHk/UaX59hT48sI/AAAAAAAABgU/dLYa7tNVg1k/s640/1-DSCN0499.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The next flight leaving for London departed at 7:30 pm. I learned a lot about DFW while waiting. They have WiFi lounges on the domestic side to charge electronics and surf the web and email. However, the international terminal only had charging kiosks, but WiFi was available, too if you know how to access it. I had yummy Popeye's fried chicken for lunch. Something that isn't available in Santa Fe.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbI4vLl7y28/UaX595Ta-1I/AAAAAAAABgY/708hlxAbRCM/s1600/1-DSCN0508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbI4vLl7y28/UaX595Ta-1I/AAAAAAAABgY/708hlxAbRCM/s640/1-DSCN0508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I finally boarded the plane and was ensconced in my seat belt when a fellow passenger came up to me holding a ticket for the same seat number. One of the flight attendants found another seat for him and we finally departed for London. Whew, what a challenging few days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5Qn1436waE/UaX7l8uKUrI/AAAAAAAABg4/-ADsJL6H6Xc/s1600/1-DSCN0511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5Qn1436waE/UaX7l8uKUrI/AAAAAAAABg4/-ADsJL6H6Xc/s640/1-DSCN0511.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
All's well that ends well???<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-57662121108160255912013-02-05T19:31:00.000-07:002013-02-05T19:31:01.398-07:00Back From Hibernation, Sort of....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a while since I've posted. The project management class I took last semester was a bear. I have one class this term and I will be done with my project management certificate program and hope I can do more blogging this year. As a graduation present to myself I booked a ticket to London in May so I can go see the Chelsea Flower Show during its Centennial or as the English call it, its Centenary. Tickets to the flower show are going fast! I'm glad I didn't wait until the last minute to buy them.<br />
<br />
During my holiday break from class, work was chaotic in what are usually the slow months, November and December. Something went wrong with a system upgrade and I had my first 50-email email chain. Instead of divesting my inbox of old and unwanted emails, more were added.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7YTX41LW-eY/URG1PJn5WZI/AAAAAAAABeA/ujpemyUlEIY/s1600/1-100_5245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7YTX41LW-eY/URG1PJn5WZI/AAAAAAAABeA/ujpemyUlEIY/s640/1-100_5245.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
It was bitterly cold last week so I thought I would post some pictures of the lemon Maximilian sunflowers that bloomed in my garden last fall. They are so warm and cheery looking.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ouV5285Xn0/URG1PI24npI/AAAAAAAABeE/kbE5zR236X0/s1600/1-100_5239-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6ouV5285Xn0/URG1PI24npI/AAAAAAAABeE/kbE5zR236X0/s640/1-100_5239-001.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
They're are water hogs so I might need to find a good home for them and my echinacea, too. Last year my water bill skyrocketed during the summer. I don't know if it was the vegetable garden or having plants that needed more irrigation.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HdLnYDQmLyY/URG1PiCBUGI/AAAAAAAABeQ/DfP-0zw4q_k/s1600/1-100_5246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HdLnYDQmLyY/URG1PiCBUGI/AAAAAAAABeQ/DfP-0zw4q_k/s640/1-100_5246.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Or if I watered more frequently because I had the watering on timer for the drip system. I might need to pull out the water wasters and find some drought tolerant ground covers.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NOoiEGx1yOo/URG1P0D4LSI/AAAAAAAABeU/N4NJQieIL6A/s1600/1-100_5250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NOoiEGx1yOo/URG1P0D4LSI/AAAAAAAABeU/N4NJQieIL6A/s640/1-100_5250.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The flowers remind me of the theme song to the show Sesame Street.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8f_VU5tg9mo/URG1PLuku3I/AAAAAAAABeI/nKW01mWuOys/s1600/1-100_5241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8f_VU5tg9mo/URG1PLuku3I/AAAAAAAABeI/nKW01mWuOys/s640/1-100_5241.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Sunny Day<br />
Sweepin' the clouds away<br />
On my way to where the air is sweet<br />
<br />
Can you tell me how to get,<br />
How to get to Sesame Street?<br />
<br />
<br />
I hope it's warmer in your neck of the woods!</div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-86776794536409603122012-10-01T21:13:00.000-06:002012-10-01T21:13:01.065-06:00Veggie Garden Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not sure where the summer went, but I'm glad it's fall. I've been cranky lately because I started another project management class and can't fritter my time away like I did over the summer. I visited Karin at <a href="http://gardeningsoul.blogspot.com/2012/09/bring-funk.html">Southern Meadows</a> and she wrote a post about being in a funk, but turned it around with a little help from some sunflowers and P. Funk. Thanks to Karin for some much needed inspiration.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D6XaeQWZ9JQ/UGpEtvgtheI/AAAAAAAABc0/E1n7PbFOTRM/s1600/2-100_5191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D6XaeQWZ9JQ/UGpEtvgtheI/AAAAAAAABc0/E1n7PbFOTRM/s640/2-100_5191.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I've been ready for garden season to be over for a few weeks now and have been trying to will the vegetable garden to hibernate, but it's not ready to go to bed. It's like the energizer bunny. It keeps going and going and going.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JSjJhafL6ek/UGpEPeGjL2I/AAAAAAAABcU/1kL5IIKbJKA/s1600/1-100_5197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JSjJhafL6ek/UGpEPeGjL2I/AAAAAAAABcU/1kL5IIKbJKA/s640/1-100_5197.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
One of the lesson learned this year is that I tried to cram too many plants into my square foot garden. Nonetheless, the nasturtiums are keepers and I will plant more next year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9b7pcaJ2qu8/UGpERIPPInI/AAAAAAAABck/_q1STtVLVGI/s1600/1-100_5201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9b7pcaJ2qu8/UGpERIPPInI/AAAAAAAABck/_q1STtVLVGI/s640/1-100_5201.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The tomatoes were too large for their cages and for the square foot garden. I decreased the watering about a month ago, but they still keep growing. The organic Roma tomatoes are supposed to be determinate. I thought that they would ripen all at once so I could do some canning, but that hasn't happened. They are still blooming as are the heirloom Brandywine tomatoes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SPqhC5dUJvY/UGpESNauwNI/AAAAAAAABcs/1enMjL2vPDI/s1600/1-100_5205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SPqhC5dUJvY/UGpESNauwNI/AAAAAAAABcs/1enMjL2vPDI/s640/1-100_5205.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
I read that I could stop watering if I wanted all of my tomatoes to ripen at once. If it gets a lot cooler, I might have to try this. Another lesson learned from the veggie garden was that it took a lot of water. This is another reason to decrease the number of plants that I grow next year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PUAvWuNnW4/UGpGUsWuYnI/AAAAAAAABc8/cRnkyAVwjtY/s1600/1-100_5206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PUAvWuNnW4/UGpGUsWuYnI/AAAAAAAABc8/cRnkyAVwjtY/s640/1-100_5206.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
One of the zucchini plants is still producing deformed little squash. I'm not sure if I'm a huge fan of zucchini. They're definitely not keepers. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ghNzptA8s-4/UGpGVaUvwEI/AAAAAAAABdE/1jeHpdakfFw/s1600/2-100_5209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ghNzptA8s-4/UGpGVaUvwEI/AAAAAAAABdE/1jeHpdakfFw/s640/2-100_5209.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The eggplant didn't flourish in the garden. Isn't it cute? It's an heirloom Bianca Sfumata di Rosa eggplant. This wasn't an epic fail, but I did have some other plants that were completely unsuccessful. The red onions and golden beets were very sad. Too sad that they didn't even warrant photos.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BaA3NCqOHZY/UGpGV59OBOI/AAAAAAAABdM/wUmz5zac3Rs/s1600/3-100_5208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BaA3NCqOHZY/UGpGV59OBOI/AAAAAAAABdM/wUmz5zac3Rs/s640/3-100_5208.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm still ready for the garden to go night night, but the vegetable garden was a great learning experience for me. Next year, I would like to start some more plants from seeds, plant fewer numbers and grow lots of herbs and be done with all of my project management classes.<br />
<br /></div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-9897617093459891032012-09-15T13:02:00.001-06:002012-09-15T13:02:28.448-06:00GBBD - September 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm ready for gardening season to wind down and to spend time cocooning in the fall and winter months. I've been curling up with mystery novels instead of pulling weeds. There have been intermittent afternoon and evening rains the last few weeks and my garden is soaking up all the moisture. The late monsoonal rains have brought some late summer booms.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pN573Cx95Nw/UFTGwAYjnzI/AAAAAAAABbY/B3l6M2k8Nkc/s1600/raspsalvia.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pN573Cx95Nw/UFTGwAYjnzI/AAAAAAAABbY/B3l6M2k8Nkc/s640/raspsalvia.jpg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Everything is coming up salvia. I've had this raspberry delight salvia for years. My supervisor gave me a set of three and this is the only one that is left. Hers are everblooming, but mine only blooms in the late summer. I'm not sure if it's a lack of water or fertilizer. It complements the white gaura that grows next to it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ey0udAaq6A4/UFTG2OPIpxI/AAAAAAAABbg/4W5vj86zMbA/s1600/patvlasto3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ey0udAaq6A4/UFTG2OPIpxI/AAAAAAAABbg/4W5vj86zMbA/s640/patvlasto3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I planted the Pat Vlasto salvia in the spring. I think they will be favorite when they grow in more. They have a melon/watermelon color. I only saw them once at the nursery and they weren't available on any of my return trips. I can't wait to see what a whole bush of them will look like.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CmjtOa1UhHQ/UFTHAaD_yOI/AAAAAAAABbo/CFYLY7rsb_U/s1600/ultravsalvia.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CmjtOa1UhHQ/UFTHAaD_yOI/AAAAAAAABbo/CFYLY7rsb_U/s640/ultravsalvia.jpg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The ultra violet salvia is so dependable. It has teeny tiny flowers, but it blooms all the time. I can't recall what the other salvia is. It's a zone 7 that might not come back next year, but sometimes a good sale is hard to resist.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgUF0273xcI/UFTHHXR5jGI/AAAAAAAABbw/Kz0lzNOx_mo/s1600/bluesalvia4.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgUF0273xcI/UFTHHXR5jGI/AAAAAAAABbw/Kz0lzNOx_mo/s640/bluesalvia4.jpg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The salvia azurea (prarie sage) is lovely blue color. I planted them a few weeks ago and they're blooming up a storm. My apologies for all the blurry photos. Salvia flowers are too tiny for my point and shoot camera to handle.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I'm joining </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/09/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-september-2012.html" target="_blank">Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day</a><span style="background-color: white;">. Special thanks to Carol at</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/" target="_blank">May Dreams Gardens</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">for hosting. Please check out what's blooming in other parts of the country and in other parts of the world.</span>
</div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-71778357288686561322012-08-27T20:36:00.000-06:002012-08-27T20:36:20.728-06:00Goodbye Patricia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Patricia Tryon was a frequent visitor to my blog and one of the earliest bloggers that befriended me. She introduced me to the photography of <a href="http://www.picturingplants.com/2011/08/karl-blossfeldt-phlomis.html" target="_blank">Karl Blossfeldt</a> and the botanical art of <a href="http://www.picturingplants.com/2012/01/redoute-camellia-japonica.html" target="_blank">Pierre-Joseph Redouté</a>. This spring I was on a blogging hiatus for a few months because of school and was wondering where Patricia was in the blogosphere when I came back. I followed her on twitter and hadn't seen a post in a while. As it turns out, she passed away on April 14, 2012.<br />
<br />
While on vacation in July, I was reading some book reviews on Amazon and stumbled upon one that she had written. I knew it was the same Patricia Tryon because she had done a review for a book of photographs by Karl Blossfeldt and used her full name. One thing led to another and I googled Patricia Tryon. Upon entering Patricia Tryon, the search engine auto-populated Patricia Tryon obituary and I learned of her death. The last thing she tweeted was I know what it feels like to cough up a lung.<br />
<br />
She was an avid blogger and had several blogs going at once, but my favorite blog was <a href="http://www.picturingplants.com/" target="_blank">Picturing Plants and Flowers</a>. In it she introduced me to the world of botanical art and artists. My favorite post of hers was of lilies by <a href="http://www.picturingplants.com/2011/08/walter-hood-fitch-lilium-speciosum.html" target="_blank">Walter Hood Fitch</a>. I would look at it on cold dreary winter days and think of summer blooms.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xrbqvrru1Qs/UDwsbiLrbUI/AAAAAAAABa0/HUQsdYdETQs/s1600/1-110824_fitch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xrbqvrru1Qs/UDwsbiLrbUI/AAAAAAAABa0/HUQsdYdETQs/s400/1-110824_fitch2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
She mentioned to me that her daughter went to school in Santa Fe. Patricia also loved to shop at Santa Fe Greenhouses and its online presence High Country Gardens. One of the last things that she commented about this year was that she still had not gotten used to the late frost date in Colorado. It's the same one that we have in Santa Fe, May 15th.<br />
<br />
Rest in peace Patricia. The blogging community will miss you!</div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-37034721648502500152012-08-21T22:22:00.001-06:002012-08-21T22:36:59.218-06:00Vertical Vegetables & Fruit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When a friend of mine introduced me to the vertical gardens of <a href="http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/" target="_blank">Patrick Blanc</a>, they seemed so surreal or otherworldly at the time. Now vertical gardening is ubiquitous. There are instructions all over YouTube and Pinterest. You can even find a vertical gardening kit on the shopping channel.*<br />
<br />
I've been hemming and hawing about writing this book review. It feels like summer is almost over so I'm not sure if it's timely to write about vegetable gardening. I'm joining the August book reviews at <a href="http://dreamingofroses.blogspot.com/2012/08/august-2012-garden-book-reviews.html" target="_blank">Roses and Other Gardening Joys</a>. Special thanks to Holley for hosting.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1m0v8UJe_g/UDRXEWar1oI/AAAAAAAABZM/-WwQaSw_tQo/s1600/vertical.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1m0v8UJe_g/UDRXEWar1oI/AAAAAAAABZM/-WwQaSw_tQo/s400/vertical.JPG" width="306" /></a></div>
I picked up a copy of <i>Vertical Vegetables & Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing in Small Spaces</i> by Rhonda Massingham Hart this spring at a local bookstore. The books is divided into three parts: one on vertical gardening tips and techniques, the second on vertical annual vines, and the third on perennial fruits that grow well vertically.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jgMKnX9jGYs/UDRXUb0LYvI/AAAAAAAABZU/pGqmpgBEnDQ/s1600/1-100_5027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jgMKnX9jGYs/UDRXUb0LYvI/AAAAAAAABZU/pGqmpgBEnDQ/s640/1-100_5027.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The book is well laid out, which is a big plus for me. Sometimes, I won't by a book if the typeface is too small or if there is something about the layout that is incongruous. It doesn't have any photographs, but has inspiring illustrations that made me want to try the techniques in the book. The sections of text are broken up by sidebars that gave hints on specific topics. The book also has a great chart about the soil depth, spacing and sunlight needed for container planting.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5WloSzdi3_Y/UDRXihwiZgI/AAAAAAAABZc/eglfvOnUsaA/s1600/2-100_5017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5WloSzdi3_Y/UDRXihwiZgI/AAAAAAAABZc/eglfvOnUsaA/s640/2-100_5017.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
The author describes some conventional methods for training plants vertically like building a tepee or tuteur and some unconventional methods like building your own upside down planter or a potato tower. The book is filled with lots of information in small chunks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wY5gf_8CmS4/UDRXta5Sq2I/AAAAAAAABZk/ZHV_aEszjbg/s1600/1-100_4913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wY5gf_8CmS4/UDRXta5Sq2I/AAAAAAAABZk/ZHV_aEszjbg/s640/1-100_4913.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I used the second and third sections on annual vines and fruits more for reference. It's not encyclopedic. The author gives an overview of different varieties to consider, the length of time from planting to harvesting, planting guidelines and how to train plants up. The annual vines, the author describes for growing are: beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons and sweet potatoes. One of the the sidebars in the tomato chapter was about the different initials and numerals you see on seed packets and that they stand for disease resistance. The book is also sprinkled with trivia and fun facts about plants, like how burpless cucumbers came into being.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r__453fgEL0/UDRYw2PoN7I/AAAAAAAABZ0/WolyQ8DNnCs/s1600/1-100_5040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r__453fgEL0/UDRYw2PoN7I/AAAAAAAABZ0/WolyQ8DNnCs/s640/1-100_5040.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
The chapters in the fruit section are: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, kiwis, and espalier. I liked the illustrations of different types of espalier. The kiwi chapter discusses growing fuzzy kiwi and hardy kiwi. I've seen hardy kiwi at the store before; they are about the size of kumquats and you eat them like grapes with the skin on.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xWEc6ll8WA/UDRZNIHZqII/AAAAAAAABaE/M6dhtsO63eQ/s1600/1-100_5043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xWEc6ll8WA/UDRZNIHZqII/AAAAAAAABaE/M6dhtsO63eQ/s640/1-100_5043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm glad I picked up <i>Vertical Vegetables & Fruits</i>. It makes a good addition to my limited gardening library. The text and illustrations are engaging and I wholeheartedly recommend this book.<br />
<br />
* Sometimes, when I have insomnia I watch the shopping channel and I saw a vertical garden kit on it one night this past spring. I can't watch for long. The cadence and speed of the hosts make it feel as if I would miss out on a lifetime opportunity if I don't make an immediate purchase. I wonder if there is a school for shopping channel hosting. Maybe it's the same school you would attend to become a carnival barker. </div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-78006966520212457432012-08-14T22:32:00.000-06:002012-08-14T22:32:26.389-06:00GBBD - August 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Gardening in Santa Fe is a mixed blessing. The average rainfall is 14.22 inches. However, Santa Fe has an average of 283 sunny days. The soil can be rocky, sandy or clay. Last year I hardly planted anything because there was a severe drought. Sometimes, I plant three plants and only one or two plants overwinter. Planting odd numbers has rarely worked for me for this reason. However, this month I'm going to count the blessings in my garden.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I'm joining </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/08/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-august-2012.html" target="_blank">Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day</a><span style="background-color: white;">. Special thanks to Carol at</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/" target="_blank">May Dreams Gardens</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">for hosting. Please check out what's blooming in other parts of the country and in other parts of the world.</span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PXJlUmU87w/UCrsrezSzrI/AAAAAAAABXU/beUjKXo9QdY/s1600/hesperloe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PXJlUmU87w/UCrsrezSzrI/AAAAAAAABXU/beUjKXo9QdY/s640/hesperloe.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
About twelve years, the view outside the window of my office was of a courtyard dotted with red yucca (hesperaloe parviflora). However, it seemed too large to put in my garden so that thought entered the recesses of my mind. Last year Susan at <a href="http://inkandpenstemon.tumblr.com/post/9956900396" target="_blank">Ink & Penstemon</a> blogged about a dwarf hesperaloe that would be the plant to have this year, Brakelights(R) red yucca. I don't know if it was the power of suggestion, but I planted three in my garden this spring. A month or so after planting, aphids covered the blooms on all three plants. I cut all the blooms off and forgot about it. One of the plants rebloomed recently with nary an aphid.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KyQKzFJcbEY/UCrqTAea-1I/AAAAAAAABW8/q4UfsOFyXxA/s1600/gaura+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KyQKzFJcbEY/UCrqTAea-1I/AAAAAAAABW8/q4UfsOFyXxA/s640/gaura+02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I've had this gaura in my garden for while. It came in a set of three. Only one survived, but for the first time ever it reseeded and now I have another gaura that is doing well in the garden.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAaW9fGDFyM/UCr6jG8vj6I/AAAAAAAABYM/mLqAZXX5v8Y/s1600/cosmos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAaW9fGDFyM/UCr6jG8vj6I/AAAAAAAABYM/mLqAZXX5v8Y/s640/cosmos.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
These might be the saddest cosmos of all time, but I started them from seed this spring and they're still going. I'm hoping they'll reseed and I won't have to plant cosmos next year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTLOHQkoiKs/UCrrTnMGvHI/AAAAAAAABXM/9HEjsyOaOBw/s1600/mirabillis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTLOHQkoiKs/UCrrTnMGvHI/AAAAAAAABXM/9HEjsyOaOBw/s640/mirabillis.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I planted this desert four o'clock about three summers ago. It's one of the more xeric plants in my garden. Last week the four foot plus wide plant was covered in blossoms.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Ci1BbsaNNE/UCr255CdfCI/AAAAAAAABX4/Vk4b73Hd12k/s1600/agastache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Ci1BbsaNNE/UCr255CdfCI/AAAAAAAABX4/Vk4b73Hd12k/s640/agastache.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
It's a sea o' licorice mint (agastache rupestris). I've tried other cultivars, but none does as well as the rupestris. I can count on it from year to year to provide soft waves of color in the waning days of summer.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YxSLx1qGB9A/UCr39aOM01I/AAAAAAAABYA/tO_S3xxJaTM/s1600/aster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YxSLx1qGB9A/UCr39aOM01I/AAAAAAAABYA/tO_S3xxJaTM/s640/aster.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
My last blessing is plants overwintering. Plants don't reliably come back in the spring. I had a phantom drip emitter that wasn't attached to a plant so I plugged the end. The xeric desert asters came back where the drip emitter had been plugged. It is not as finicky and doesn't need as much water as traditional asters. I also planted the blue blazes agastache last year and wasn't sure what to expect. Woohoo, all three plants came back.<br />
<br />
What blessings are you thankful for in your garden this year?</div>
GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-35002967142049790252012-08-12T19:32:00.003-06:002012-08-12T19:32:34.224-06:00Almost Free Plants<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This post was supposed to be entitled "Free Plants." Alas, a clearance sale got the better of me. Two weeks ago today, I received an email from Santa Fe Greenhouses, the flagship store of the online nursery <a href="http://www.highcountrygardens.com/" target="_blank">High Country Gardens</a> stating that perennials were 60% off because they are closing for the summer after August 26th. (I hope they're are only closing for the summer and not for good since it's my favorite nursery.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JruJ4m-riLo/UCc13OrJFuI/AAAAAAAABV8/T8aUsjWjy-4/s1600/1-100_4845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JruJ4m-riLo/UCc13OrJFuI/AAAAAAAABV8/T8aUsjWjy-4/s640/1-100_4845.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I went shopping during my lunch break. When I arrived, the parking lot was already full so I parked on the street. As I entered the nursery, I saw that the line to pay went out the sliding glass doors and about 30 feet to the left to the entrance of one of the greenhouses. I almost made a hasty exit because the queue to pay was so long, but I didn't. I made my way around the perennial tables and found a plant or two or three or....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YEn0qE7ycOc/UCc14KnJEGI/AAAAAAAABWM/1pkt4pywes0/s1600/2-100_4849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YEn0qE7ycOc/UCc14KnJEGI/AAAAAAAABWM/1pkt4pywes0/s640/2-100_4849.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Walker's Low catmint (nepeta) is one my favorites. Catmint can drive gardeners crazy because of its propensity to reseed EVERYWHERE. Walker's Low is a non-reseeding cultivar. It blooms in the spring and fall if the flowers are deadheaded. I don't always deadhead in spring, but I usually will have fall blooms nonetheless. I also got some more silver edged horehound (marrubium rotundifolium). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olB8ap63Jz4/UCc142j0TZI/AAAAAAAABWY/YkNKWdJUxsc/s1600/3-100_4848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olB8ap63Jz4/UCc142j0TZI/AAAAAAAABWY/YkNKWdJUxsc/s640/3-100_4848.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I went looking for some <a href="http://www.highcountrygardens.com/index/page/product/product_id/4496/category_id/1/product_name/Salvia+jamensis+'Pat+Vlasto'" target="_blank">Pat Vlasto sage (salvia jamensis)</a>, but to no avail and ended up with some <a href="http://www.highcountrygardens.com/index/page/product/product_id/2329" target="_blank">Prairie Sage (salvia azurea)</a>. I also got a row cover and some seaweed fertilizer. Aside from the perennials being 60% off, the garden supplies were 40% off. Everything was free because I had two gift cards and belong to the waterwise gardeners' club and had points that I could redeem towards purchases. Yea for gift cards from my friends who know that I'm obsessed with plants.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dba0k-eCH68/UCc13wt5tkI/AAAAAAAABWE/S-lnwrLFsEY/s1600/1-100_4874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dba0k-eCH68/UCc13wt5tkI/AAAAAAAABWE/S-lnwrLFsEY/s640/1-100_4874.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Last Friday, I received another email that the plants had been replenished. Maybe, there were some plants that I couldn't live without. I haven't been gardening much this summer so I thought I would pop over for a look-see. I still had a small balance on my gift card and points from the previous week's purchases so my whopping total for four plants was about $1.86.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-80TXK3BrJ88/UCc14olwFlI/AAAAAAAABWU/6Cv2uWFzyHk/s1600/2-100_4879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-80TXK3BrJ88/UCc14olwFlI/AAAAAAAABWU/6Cv2uWFzyHk/s640/2-100_4879.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Well this Friday, when I came into the office my supervisor showed me the Santa Fe Greenhouses advertisement in the local paper and perennials were 70% off! Gallon plants that are usually $10.99 were $3.30. So I loaded up with Flore Pleno poppies and Blue Lips penstemon and a salvia, gaura, and spirea thrown in for good measure. I have three plants left to plant from my shopping spree(s): a Black Cherry salvia, the spirea and a White Swan echinacea. However, I did spend money today, $31.81 on plants and sundry garden supplies. However, on all three of my shopping trips I saved around $126. Hooray for summer clearance sales.</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-28268002012798267772012-07-25T19:48:00.001-06:002012-07-25T19:54:00.056-06:00Fibonacci in Flowers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This post is an excuse to show some photos of my white swan echinacea. Feel free to skip the text and look at the photos.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-x7_LszOQo/UAJHnVfy_EI/AAAAAAAABTc/RzFSUBm64jY/s1600/04-100_4773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-x7_LszOQo/UAJHnVfy_EI/AAAAAAAABTc/RzFSUBm64jY/s640/04-100_4773.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm not a math nerd. I think I struggled through calculus in high school and I know I struggled through geometry. Geometry made complete sense to me until one fateful day when I was helping a classmate study for a test. The next day I completely blanked out on the exam and my friend got an "A." Since then math has never been the same for me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56kJ0jg_HhQ/UAJHq2rM9ZI/AAAAAAAABTs/aYBkgn2l-hc/s1600/06-100_4768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-56kJ0jg_HhQ/UAJHq2rM9ZI/AAAAAAAABTs/aYBkgn2l-hc/s640/06-100_4768.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Nonetheless, it not's hard to be intrigued by patterns in nature that are a result of math. The Fibonacci Sequence is a series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 .... </span><span style="background-color: white;">Each number is the sum of the previous two.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
0+1=1<br />
1+1=2<br />
1+2=3<br />
2+3=5<br />
3+5=8<br />
5+8=13<br />
8+13=21<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o0mj1Wqzfac/UAJHpSwAOMI/AAAAAAAABTk/Fsadl7itF-8/s1600/05-100_4770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o0mj1Wqzfac/UAJHpSwAOMI/AAAAAAAABTk/Fsadl7itF-8/s640/05-100_4770.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">This sequence is pervasive in nature in the spirals that form seed heads, in pine cones, and cauliflower. If you look at a the bottom of a pine cone or at a seed head, you will see that the spirals go clockwise and counterclockwise.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHZHvkynRok/UBCaH_tkaSI/AAAAAAAABVw/SrQWHTBbR_M/s1600/FibonacciChamomile.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cHZHvkynRok/UBCaH_tkaSI/AAAAAAAABVw/SrQWHTBbR_M/s1600/FibonacciChamomile.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FibonacciChamomile.PNG" target="_blank">Source: Wikipedia Commons - Alvesgaspar</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are 21 clockwise blue spirals and 13 counterclockwise aqua spirals. 21 and 13 are two numbers in the sequence. This pattern allows the density of the seeds on the head to be uniform without overcrowding in the middle or sparseness along the edges. Pretty cool, huh?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8jaYbdKKV3Q/UA92Hk5IfnI/AAAAAAAABVc/nQFxX9tWmRE/s1600/1-100_4816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8jaYbdKKV3Q/UA92Hk5IfnI/AAAAAAAABVc/nQFxX9tWmRE/s640/1-100_4816.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Look at the spirals the next time you see a sunflower or echinacea. Who knew math could be so fun? Do you know of other examples of the Fibonacci sequence in nature?<br />
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white;">Lagniappe</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kkGeOWYOFoA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkGeOWYOFoA&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">Nature by Numbers</a></div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-19766663449901320232012-07-22T20:17:00.003-06:002012-07-22T20:17:52.477-06:00Kitchen Garden A to Z<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A local bookstore in Santa Fe, <a href="http://garciastreetbooks.com/" target="_blank">Garcia Street Books</a> has two bargain tables outside that I can't help rummaging through. One of the books I purchased there this Spring about vegetable gardening was <i>Kitchen Garden A to Z: Growing Harvesting, Buying and Storing </i>by Mike McGrath.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4JCMZNdLYok/UAsU4XcKlVI/AAAAAAAABT8/v5jaubVjSTw/s1600/ktchgarden2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4JCMZNdLYok/UAsU4XcKlVI/AAAAAAAABT8/v5jaubVjSTw/s400/ktchgarden2.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen Garden A to Z</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's a coffee table book for beginning vegetable gardeners. There are four sections:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Kitchen Garden Basics,</li>
<li>Tools of the Trade,</li>
<li>The Cycle of Life, and</li>
<li>The Kitchen Garden A to Z</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HAgsiEcXZ6s/UAs3ReVY-oI/AAAAAAAABUQ/zRqgT66we2k/s1600/1-100_4834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HAgsiEcXZ6s/UAs3ReVY-oI/AAAAAAAABUQ/zRqgT66we2k/s640/1-100_4834.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">square foot garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Kitchen Garden Basics gives an overview of raised beds, composting, companion planting, natural pest and weed control, and containers. The overviews are brief, which I appreciated. I especially liked the summary of composting. It gave enough information without overwhelming a newbie vegetable gardener with too many details. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The Tool of the Trade, and the Cycle of Life sections are similarly structured. I might even try making my own seed starting mix next year with the recipe provided in this book. </span></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PKvXDmSolxg/UAs3TNdhCbI/AAAAAAAABUw/SxFAW1dIkL4/s1600/4-100_4795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PKvXDmSolxg/UAs3TNdhCbI/AAAAAAAABUw/SxFAW1dIkL4/s640/4-100_4795.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lemon cucumbers on makeshift tuteur</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;">The meat of the book is the Kitchen Garden A to Z section. The book starts with artichokes and ends with zucchini. I loved the layout of this section. It devotes a two page spread to most of the plants. (Tomatoes have a four page spread.) </span><span style="background-color: white;">The left page has two columns: the first is a photo collage of the plant and the second column provides an overview of the plant with the following headings: scientific name, types, growing tips, harvest, buying, storage, and tricks. It also footnotes what each of the photos are in the collage. </span><span style="background-color: white;">The right page is a full page photo of the plant. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meJtntXYE_c/UAtMnda5qbI/AAAAAAAABVE/g0rn9kMUVRM/s1600/1-1-100_4793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meJtntXYE_c/UAtMnda5qbI/AAAAAAAABVE/g0rn9kMUVRM/s640/1-1-100_4793.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">zucchini gone wild</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The trick it mentions about zucchini is, "You do not have to choose between the delicious edible squash blossom flowers and fabulous fruit. There is a golden moment when the baby fruits have <i>just</i> become big enough to eat and the flowers is still attached and in good shape." (p. 158)</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G3Al-GTOprQ/UAs3SfYxhhI/AAAAAAAABUg/taBZkriCLn8/s1600/2-100_4830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G3Al-GTOprQ/UAs3SfYxhhI/AAAAAAAABUg/taBZkriCLn8/s640/2-100_4830.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roma tomatoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;">Even though it is a coffee table book, it is not devoid of useful information.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> I find myself reading this book before I go to sleep. It includes growing tips for herbs, non-traditional vegetables like kohlrabi and edible flowers. Some readers might find this book scant on detail, but it was enough for me. </span>Please note this book is out of print. However, you can find it online at used book resellers.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5v6cYwSkeLU/UAtOMe7-cdI/AAAAAAAABVM/9RGBNy6-hAE/s1600/1-100_4838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5v6cYwSkeLU/UAtOMe7-cdI/AAAAAAAABVM/9RGBNy6-hAE/s640/1-100_4838.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandywine tomato</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'm joining Holley's</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"> monthly <a href="http://dreamingofroses.blogspot.com/2012/07/garden-book-reviews-july-2012.html" target="_blank">Garden Book Review</a> meme. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> Special thanks to Holley at <a href="http://dreamingofroses.blogspot.com/2012/07/garden-book-reviews-july-2012.html" target="_blank">Roses and Other Gardening Joys</a> </span><span style="background-color: white;">for hosting. Please check out what other garden bloggers are reading.</span></div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-76511124433938861732012-07-14T23:18:00.003-06:002012-07-14T23:18:52.630-06:00GBBD - July 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My perennial bed in the backyard seems to be half overgrown and half barren. There is a periphery of flowers now and the agastache rupestris are starting their bloom cycle.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miCdlcTlCTY/UAI81WCoxhI/AAAAAAAABRI/E0CjvA_BIXc/s1600/03-100_4780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miCdlcTlCTY/UAI81WCoxhI/AAAAAAAABRI/E0CjvA_BIXc/s640/03-100_4780.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Last summer, I had one sad salvia pachyphylla, "Blue Flame" bloom. It's my favorite salvia in my garden. High Country Gardens states in the Spring 2012 catalog, it's "A finicky plant for experienced gardeners." That definitely leaves me out. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNC6TgCFTs8/UAI95Xio-XI/AAAAAAAABRw/hFZcdqm_6-0/s1600/15-100_4742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNC6TgCFTs8/UAI95Xio-XI/AAAAAAAABRw/hFZcdqm_6-0/s640/15-100_4742.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Last summer was dry dry dry. Did I mention it was dry? </span>However, my three plants have gotten lots of supplemental water this year because it's connected to the same drip system as my vegetable garden. I need to start a new drip zone for the vegetables with a separate timer, but for the time being they're receiving the benefit of more water. </span><span style="background-color: white;">What a difference a little water makes.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOLQPRlkGbo/UAI-IBTJgZI/AAAAAAAABSQ/0wxtvat1LBg/s1600/19-100_4699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pOLQPRlkGbo/UAI-IBTJgZI/AAAAAAAABSQ/0wxtvat1LBg/s640/19-100_4699.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I don't think they're as xeric as they're purported to be. A friend of mine planted one last year and hers is gargantuan. She doesn't do anything special, but water and feed it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2o9thPIxriA/UAI-E0fLmJI/AAAAAAAABSI/bzgEwOX7Nnc/s1600/18-100_4701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2o9thPIxriA/UAI-E0fLmJI/AAAAAAAABSI/bzgEwOX7Nnc/s640/18-100_4701.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">I probably shouldn't have gone crazy with the salvia photos, but I'm not sure when I'll have so many flowers again. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QQ-aS5CDeg/UAJD5aStwSI/AAAAAAAABS4/rvNMMrF1Z2k/s1600/13-100_4750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QQ-aS5CDeg/UAJD5aStwSI/AAAAAAAABS4/rvNMMrF1Z2k/s640/13-100_4750.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This week I was able to turn off the timer for the drip system and didn't need to water because of some monsoonal rains. The ground was moist in the mornings and in the afternoons I heard the tapping of raindrops on the windows in my office.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rnhXJujtxQ8/UAJD6tzredI/AAAAAAAABTA/JOaYEXBj-Tg/s1600/21-100_4696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rnhXJujtxQ8/UAJD6tzredI/AAAAAAAABTA/JOaYEXBj-Tg/s640/21-100_4696.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
These firecracker penstemon (eatonii?) have gotten overgrown and are ready to be divided. They've been long lived in my garden, which is something I can't say for many of my penstemon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gurBFEa5Qtg/UAI9ewXOicI/AAAAAAAABRY/nLyAdoDwbG0/s1600/10-100_4755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gurBFEa5Qtg/UAI9ewXOicI/AAAAAAAABRY/nLyAdoDwbG0/s640/10-100_4755.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The Shasta daisies are faring well with extra water, too. I probably shouldn't have them in my garden, but I planted them when I was still trying to fit a square peg in a round hole in terms of gardening. I wanted a traditional perennial border that doesn't lend itself to gardening in Santa Fe. They don't bloom often, but I don't have the heart to pull them out. So are you receiving extra rain this year or is it as dry as a bone where you live?<br />
<br />
I hope you enjoyed the little tour of the back garden. <span style="background-color: white;">I'm joining </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/07/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-july-2012.html" target="_blank">Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day</a><span style="background-color: white;">. Special thanks to Carol at</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/" target="_blank">May Dreams Gardens</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">for hosting. Please check out what's blooming in other parts of the country and in other parts of the world.</span></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-8667688900564135642012-07-09T22:05:00.002-06:002012-07-09T22:05:41.404-06:00Apricot Mojitos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been hard to get back into the swing of blogging. I was on vacation last week during the Fourth of July holiday.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Before I left I was inundated with apricots and now I'm inundated with rotting apricots that my dog, Aster has mostly ignored. Unless, she has a stronger constitution than most dogs overeating fruit. I've been trying to get them picked up before she decides they're tasty morsels. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Thursday before my vacation, I picked as many as I could and brought most of them to work for my co-workers. The few I saved I made an <a href="http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-apricot-crisp-10000001622421/" target="_blank">apricot crisp</a> with a recipe I found in Sunset magazine.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XyvzX96DC2w/T_ujhAm_d_I/AAAAAAAABQk/yqAUszFu80Y/s1600/apricots04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XyvzX96DC2w/T_ujhAm_d_I/AAAAAAAABQk/yqAUszFu80Y/s640/apricots04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">In addition to the apricot crisp recipe, I also tried making apricot mojitos. It's my personal twist on the refreshing lime and mint Cuban cocktail. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0i3ODmnnqJo/T_ujyjMN5OI/AAAAAAAABQs/GyvzqtiC7Fg/s1600/1-100_4576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0i3ODmnnqJo/T_ujyjMN5OI/AAAAAAAABQs/GyvzqtiC7Fg/s400/1-100_4576.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Apricot Mojito</span></div>
<div>
1 oz of brandy (less or more to taste)</div>
<div>
3 small apricots or 1 store bought apricot</div>
<div>
12 mint leaves</div>
<div>
2 wedges of lemon</div>
<div>
4 oz of club soda</div>
<div>
sugar or simple syrup to taste</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Muddle ripe apricots, brandy, and mint leaves. I use a mortar and pestle. Pour over a glass full of ice. Add <span style="background-color: white;">club soda, sugar or simple syrup to taste. Squeeze juice from lemon wedges and stir. I wish I'd had the time to can or freeze the apricots before I went on vacation. However, the apricots mojitos were a yummy pre-vacation cocktail to start my summer fun at the beach. Cheers!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UQxTaSBRd8/T_unuFNxdrI/AAAAAAAABQ8/rXNvyeu17nE/s1600/1-2012-07-01_17-37-09_866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UQxTaSBRd8/T_unuFNxdrI/AAAAAAAABQ8/rXNvyeu17nE/s640/1-2012-07-01_17-37-09_866.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-6941556916042868122012-06-24T15:39:00.001-06:002012-06-24T21:44:45.075-06:00Apricots Galore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't have the expectation that there will be any fruit on my apricot tree. In the 10 or so years that I've lived in my house, the apricot tree fruited once. Although the tree is planted in my yard about a third of the tree's limbs hang over on Lucille's, my neighbor's yard. Lucille had commented that the last time the tree fruited, she had picked about a handful of fruit or enough to make an apricot cobbler. I had picked about two handfuls of fruit that year. Needless to say, it wasn't a bumper crop. <span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVAug4QFxPI/T-d7WdCdaoI/AAAAAAAABQc/5dWmro5JHDI/s1600/Apricots03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVAug4QFxPI/T-d7WdCdaoI/AAAAAAAABQc/5dWmro5JHDI/s640/Apricots03.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That same year, you could drive down Agua Fria Street and see people pulling over to pluck apricots. There is a row of apricot trees on one side of the street that is not flanking any houses. The sidewalk was littered with them. Alas, my house was not littered with them that year. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cxW-w4IBe5A/T-d7VrQR8tI/AAAAAAAABQM/AF7cxIDpGQs/s1600/Apricots01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cxW-w4IBe5A/T-d7VrQR8tI/AAAAAAAABQM/AF7cxIDpGQs/s640/Apricots01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Due to intermittent warming and freezing in winter and spring, I haven't had any apricots in six or seven years. The apricot tree has gotten unwieldy and I have considered chopping it down. This year the tree had lots of blossoms, but there was another freeze. I assumed, the tree would not bear fruit and mostly forgot about it. One day my neighbor stopped me as I pulled into the driveway from work. She asked if, "I noticed the fruit on our apricot tree?" I had, but only a single or pair of fruit here and there. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nothing had prepared me for this year's bounty. When I arrived home from work on Friday, there were apricots scattered all over the ground in the backyard. I started gathering them with the hope that they wouldn't entice my dog, Aster. I called my neighbor and left a message about the apricots falling and put a tarp over the ground so they wouldn't be damaged falling from the tree. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PznCrixBYh8/T-d7V43wIwI/AAAAAAAABQU/jpWHDVpVdMg/s1600/Apricots02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PznCrixBYh8/T-d7V43wIwI/AAAAAAAABQU/jpWHDVpVdMg/s640/Apricots02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">After overindulging in freshly picked apricots Friday night, </span>I've been zealously looking up apricot recipes. The first recipe I tried is for an Apricot Clafouti. The recipe I used is for a <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/CherryClafoutis.html#" target="_blank">Cherry Clafouti</a> from the <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/" target="_blank">Joy of Baking</a>. A clafouti is a custard like dessert from the Limousin region of France and is traditionally made with cherries. I chose this recipe over others because it only required 20 minutes of baking. It was simple to make for a non-baker like myself and served four. Changes I might make the next time are: add some brandy or other liqueur, add lemon zest, and a pinch more salt for the batter.<br />
<br />
I hope everyone has a bumper crop of something this year. Who knew I would have so many apricots? I'm joining the <a href="http://www.greenishthumb.net/2012/06/gttc-fresh-juice-and-pulp-bread.html" target="_blank">"Garden To Table Challenge"</a> hosted by Wendy at <a href="http://www.greenishthumb.net/" target="_blank">Greenish Thumb</a>. Check out what other gardeners are cooking from their gardens this week. </div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-47682508865402990292012-06-21T21:35:00.001-06:002012-06-21T21:35:20.959-06:00Oops!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last fall I bought some drumstick allium. I'm an inattentive bulb planter and plant my bulbs as an afterthought after the designated time. I saw a bunch of sprouts in the spring so I created a network of drip emitters to ensure that the drumstick allium bloomed. I probably should have planted them earlier to ensure they bloomed! Today, my first drumstick allium started to bloom. Unfortunately, it's not one of the plants I've been faithfully watering all spring. <span style="background-color: white;">Oops!</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rvcPeEHExfI/T-PiIm_z1uI/AAAAAAAABPs/OZLRbDua7fc/s1600/1-100_4471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rvcPeEHExfI/T-PiIm_z1uI/AAAAAAAABPs/OZLRbDua7fc/s640/1-100_4471.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maximilian sunflowers and a handful of the drumstick allium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;">As it turns out, the plants that I've been babying look like Maximilian sunflowers. I've been mentally cursing the nursery where I bought them last year because not one of the three that I planted came back. As it turned out, I have 21 plants so they came back seven-fold. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eAEcmYCLze0/T-PiSlmf9tI/AAAAAAAABP0/bFtvrfMco6c/s1600/1-100_4469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eAEcmYCLze0/T-PiSlmf9tI/AAAAAAAABP0/bFtvrfMco6c/s640/1-100_4469.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not drumstick allium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Maximilian sunflower anyone?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4-X2AFS5ZVg/TYaiLAho7yI/AAAAAAAAAxU/dF8Q93DAZSM/s1600/2flwr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4-X2AFS5ZVg/TYaiLAho7yI/AAAAAAAAAxU/dF8Q93DAZSM/s1600/2flwr.JPG" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v4EwLdlWIFg/T-Pj6kniTFI/AAAAAAAABP8/wwZ1zOJgXOM/s1600/1-100_4489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v4EwLdlWIFg/T-Pj6kniTFI/AAAAAAAABP8/wwZ1zOJgXOM/s640/1-100_4489.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">zucchini in the upper right corner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;">As I've mentioned in other posts, I researched square foot gardening prior to planting my vegetable garden. In all of my research, I neglected to learn that zucchini doesn't lend itself to square foot gardens. Oops, it's starting to take over four squares of the veggie bed.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ka6uhmxruLw/T-PkJHmnsAI/AAAAAAAABQE/uuI3pqRjZ10/s1600/1-100_4490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ka6uhmxruLw/T-PkJHmnsAI/AAAAAAAABQE/uuI3pqRjZ10/s640/1-100_4490.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">invasion of the zucchini plant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<br /></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-36964267068898973852012-06-14T23:21:00.002-06:002012-06-14T23:21:19.608-06:00GBBD - June 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
The warm colors are blooming in the perennial bed in the backyard. I'm not sure how I have so many of them.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I favor cooler colors in the garden, but "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." (John Lennon?) I think the same could be said of the garden. My garden is a mishmash of impulse purchases, pass along plants from friends, and must-have nursery buys. </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JDbokiD_xGY/T9VskvqwyyI/AAAAAAAABO0/BwC_w0yhzdI/s1600/1-100_4403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JDbokiD_xGY/T9VskvqwyyI/AAAAAAAABO0/BwC_w0yhzdI/s640/1-100_4403.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Fashioned Day Lilies
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I love old fashioned day lilies. My supervisor gave me some of hers when she divided them four years ago. They took a few years to become established, but now I look forward to them annually. Earlier this week, we were talking about gardening and how some people are garden planners and others are ploppers. She said she is a plopper. She plops plants down in a bed and starts to design around them. I have a couple of friends who are compulsive garden planners.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-08DGfFGpX7U/T9Vc3yAH7vI/AAAAAAAABOU/HZmQUFhjq9s/s1600/day+lilies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-08DGfFGpX7U/T9Vc3yAH7vI/AAAAAAAABOU/HZmQUFhjq9s/s640/day+lilies.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day Lilies and Yarrow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The yarrow behind the day lilies are volunteers from my own garden. They tend to reseed willy-nilly. I plopped them in the back of the bed for some height and they have worked out well.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPwMPjNmQ0w/T9Vc4VC84nI/AAAAAAAABOc/VnQdk5ccAsk/s1600/primroses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPwMPjNmQ0w/T9Vc4VC84nI/AAAAAAAABOc/VnQdk5ccAsk/s640/primroses.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Missouri Evening Primrose (oenothera macrocarpa)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I told myself I wouldn't go gaga over the Missouri evening primroses this year and write another post about them, but it's difficult not to. Sometimes, they are a soft buttery yellow and when the light changes they almost glow in the dark. I probably wrote the exact same thing about them last year. I can't seem to help myself. I planted two or three more last year. At last count I have eight of them. The last two were an impulse purchase and not a result of planning. I think I'm so besotted with them and didn't realize that I already had a collection.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3VevGPrJpY/T9Vc4v4D4lI/AAAAAAAABOk/ZNzATdcr-sg/s1600/red+hot+poker+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3VevGPrJpY/T9Vc4v4D4lI/AAAAAAAABOk/ZNzATdcr-sg/s640/red+hot+poker+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penstemon Palmeri and Red Hot Pokers (kniphofia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The red hot pokers are blooming this year. They're a native of South Africa and do well in the high desert of Santa Fe. Last year I had one lowly bloom, but this year all three of my plants have flowers. They're not cooperating by blooming at the same time. But I can't complain. I bought three of them in two inch containers many moons ago and all of them stayed alive. Buying an odd number of plants rarely works for me, but in this case it did. So are you a planner or a plopper? Do you fastidiously plan before planting or do you plop and grow?<br />
<br />
I'm joining <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/06/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-june-2012.html" target="_blank">Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day</a>. Special thanks to Carol at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/" target="_blank">May Dreams Gardens</a> for hosting. Please check out what's blooming in other parts of the country and in other parts of the world.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-28805977914929886852012-06-12T21:55:00.000-06:002012-06-12T21:55:03.821-06:00Veggie Garden Planner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not much of a garden planner. However, when I had the incipient thought about starting a square foot vegetable garden I did do some research.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9I9D8aa--t0/T9gHoY978BI/AAAAAAAABPc/0Gg8upv78Qo/s1600/tomato01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9I9D8aa--t0/T9gHoY978BI/AAAAAAAABPc/0Gg8upv78Qo/s640/tomato01.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Uncertain about what to plant in my square foot garden, I found a website for a <a href="http://vegetableplanner.vegetable-gardening-online.com/" target="_blank">vegetable garden planner</a>. It lets you select your garden size. I chose 4 ft by 4 ft. Then you drag and drop the vegetables you want to plant onto a grid. The grid indicates how many of each vegetable to plant in a square. How fun is this!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vqouz0BGMU/T9gIvAMY8EI/AAAAAAAABPk/DZPCQTNDZ1w/s1600/garden+plan+v2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7vqouz0BGMU/T9gIvAMY8EI/AAAAAAAABPk/DZPCQTNDZ1w/s400/garden+plan+v2.png" width="396" /></a></div>
There wasn't a wide range of vegetables to choose from, but I liked the ease of moving the veggie icons around and having a visual representation. After you're done, you can print to a PDF document and save it on your computer. I didn't plant as many plants in some of the squares as I was supposed to and in others I mixed and matched. The chives are planted with three onions and the basil with three shallots.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tDpF-qE_XGI/T9fqWNYm49I/AAAAAAAABPU/5rGBVss2XmU/s1600/1-100_4460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tDpF-qE_XGI/T9fqWNYm49I/AAAAAAAABPU/5rGBVss2XmU/s640/1-100_4460.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This is what the garden looks like today. The tomatoes and pepper are the only plants that I started from seed. The three varieties that I'm growing are: Brandywine, Roma, and Black Krim. I hope you enjoy the online <a href="http://vegetableplanner.vegetable-gardening-online.com/" target="_blank">vegetable garden planner</a> as much as I did. Happy planting!</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-38338827166706625472012-06-08T22:08:00.000-06:002012-06-08T22:08:07.658-06:00Eldorado Garden Tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's garden tour time again. Last weekend I attended the third annual <a href="http://www.eldoradogardeningtour.com/" target="_blank">Eldorado Garden Tour</a>. There were seven gardens, including the Eldorado Community Garden to visit. I made it to four of the seven gardens. My camera was acting up and some of my photos did not register as jpg images and were lost. Below are photos of my favorite garden on the tour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-th6cV4NTgDE/T9Ao6BFNh6I/AAAAAAAABM8/8xWQhka0Q20/s1600/8-100KZ7123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-th6cV4NTgDE/T9Ao6BFNh6I/AAAAAAAABM8/8xWQhka0Q20/s640/8-100KZ7123.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I walked into the front courtyard of the house and was greeted by a monolithic fountain. I was taken aback by how imposing it was. I wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the garden, but was instructed to make a counterclockwise loop around the house so off I went scurrying with the rest of the mice.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GvGSXUlumEw/T9ApZeehI4I/AAAAAAAABNM/9NQmgwxY7YE/s1600/5-100_4237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GvGSXUlumEw/T9ApZeehI4I/AAAAAAAABNM/9NQmgwxY7YE/s640/5-100_4237.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The courtyard entrance belied what the rest of the garden look liked. Turn the corner and you find a well appointed outdoor kitchen. There is more room on the granite counter top than counter space in my galley kitchen at home. I love the fire pit and wish I had taken a close up photo. This is one of the many seating areas throughout the garden. It's right off the kitchen so the owners can entertain here.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwlfmBsatUI/T9ApoA6FQQI/AAAAAAAABNU/lX3Vp4j4ETI/s1600/3-100_4247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xwlfmBsatUI/T9ApoA6FQQI/AAAAAAAABNU/lX3Vp4j4ETI/s640/3-100_4247.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Around the corner from the dining area, the home owners built a garden oasis of terraced beds.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zzAyrR5M4VE/T9AqDfDII2I/AAAAAAAABNk/5FSh8Nb_MCE/s1600/2-100_4250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zzAyrR5M4VE/T9AqDfDII2I/AAAAAAAABNk/5FSh8Nb_MCE/s640/2-100_4250.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The landscaping closer to the house has fountain that's hidden by the sculpture. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FO4COqviSkY/T9Ap-N3eA9I/AAAAAAAABNc/1h7Qk5hPlKk/s1600/1-100_4251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FO4COqviSkY/T9Ap-N3eA9I/AAAAAAAABNc/1h7Qk5hPlKk/s640/1-100_4251.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
What's in the right corner of this photo? Is it the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra" target="_blank">chupacabra</a>? The chupacabra is a mythical creature that sucks the blood of goats that finds itself in stories on the local news when nothing else is newsworthy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDuZ6A_hhCk/T9FhUpMRXQI/AAAAAAAABNs/G-6MzcLfZaQ/s1600/1-100_4245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDuZ6A_hhCk/T9FhUpMRXQI/AAAAAAAABNs/G-6MzcLfZaQ/s640/1-100_4245.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No, just some reed reindeer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5TtyxrexOTU/T9FqhiWTyzI/AAAAAAAABN0/mhG2CGCcqEs/s1600/ornament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5TtyxrexOTU/T9FqhiWTyzI/AAAAAAAABN0/mhG2CGCcqEs/s640/ornament.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The garden had lots of eclectic garden ornaments interspersed throughout.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAUxmIXoeVs/T9LDfhHGsMI/AAAAAAAABOM/suFOGf-Q29g/s1600/1-100_4257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAUxmIXoeVs/T9LDfhHGsMI/AAAAAAAABOM/suFOGf-Q29g/s640/1-100_4257.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The flagstone and thyme patio winds around the garden and leads to an enclosed courtyard.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icxsAb9ve20/T9FtXGv8UYI/AAAAAAAABN8/RHXGOpP_ZAM/s1600/courtyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icxsAb9ve20/T9FtXGv8UYI/AAAAAAAABN8/RHXGOpP_ZAM/s640/courtyard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
One of the owners had a display of before photos that showed dirt around the house and nothing else. She exclaimed how delighted she was when the slab for the dining area was poured. She must have told the story to many garden visitors throughout the day and relayed the story to me excitedly at almost four in the afternoon. I could tell from her exuberance that the garden was a labor of love. </div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-60791273131360595172012-06-04T22:20:00.000-06:002012-06-04T22:20:17.502-06:00May In Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wow, it seems like May flew by. I'm trying to journal what works and what doesn't in my garden. There are two great memes that echo this theme. I'm going to join Bumble Lush on the <a href="http://bumblelush.blogspot.com/2012/05/best-and-worst-of-my-garden-may-2012.html" target="_blank">Best and Worst of the Garden </a>and Plant Postings on <a href="http://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2012/05/garden-lessons-learned-spring-2012.html" target="_blank">Lessons Learned</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>The Worst</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Unfortunately, it looks like one of my aspen <span style="font-family: inherit;">trees is diseased with <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.extension.org/pages/41705/what-can-be-done-about-an-orange-substance-oozing-from-an-aspen-tree" target="_blank">Cytospora canker</a>. It has an oozing a rust colored sap-like substance or might have poplar borers. One of my neighbors has a beautiful dry riverbed that is buttressed by aspens and his look terrible. At least only one of my plants didn't survive the spring. They had started to leaf out and then we had another freeze. I'm not sure if the weather had any bearing on my aspen's poor health, but it seemed to precipitate its decline. Alas. </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xz6iKK_JgTQ/T8xA_lHbXeI/AAAAAAAABMU/QC6znIj4mWQ/s1600/1-101_4316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xz6iKK_JgTQ/T8xA_lHbXeI/AAAAAAAABMU/QC6znIj4mWQ/s640/1-101_4316.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aspens that didn't leaf out</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Lesson Learned </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">If you decide to plant fussy trees be ready for the consequences. I'm going to try pruning the oozing area and continue watering and hope for the best. Unfortunately, I might need to cut the aspen down. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><b>The Best</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Like many other gardeners, the strange weather this year has caused many of the flowers to bloom one or two weeks sooner. Usually, nothing blooms when the Oriental poppies are blooming. However the strange weather makes it look like I have a planned planting when the norm is that the poppies bloom; there is a lull and the rest of the flowers wake up from their annual hibernation.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uj2gC-F4dfs/T8xFlFCt35I/AAAAAAAABMk/GyVlIcqPW2M/s1600/1-100_4103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uj2gC-F4dfs/T8xFlFCt35I/AAAAAAAABMk/GyVlIcqPW2M/s640/1-100_4103.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back perennial bed (Oriental poppies and yarrow)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dla816OAz3E/T8xFJO31hgI/AAAAAAAABMc/hYx61gU5tWs/s1600/1-101_4327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dla816OAz3E/T8xFJO31hgI/AAAAAAAABMc/hYx61gU5tWs/s640/1-101_4327.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky mountain penstemon, Jupiter's beard, penstemon eatonii or bridges?, penstemon plameri</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Lesson Learned</b><br />
Be grateful for weather anomalies; they make me seem to be a more accomplished gardener than I actually am.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">I went to buy a lightweight row cover for my square foot garden at <a href="http://www.aguafrianurserynm.net/" target="_blank">Agua Fria Nursery</a> and the owner talked me out of it. As an alternative to the row cover, I picked up some golden beets, romaine lettuce, shallots, red onions, and nasturtiums. I have read online and on seed packets that nasturtiums and morning glories don't transplant well. The morning glories that I started from seed and planted in the garden seem to be doing fine as are the nasturtiums from the nursery. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0t21KzbVBHs/T818xizX7hI/AAAAAAAABM0/zulpddMsgyc/s1600/1-100_4291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0t21KzbVBHs/T818xizX7hI/AAAAAAAABM0/zulpddMsgyc/s640/1-100_4291.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nasturtium seedlings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Lesson Learned</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">Don't believe everything you read. (I might eat these words next month!)</span></span></div>
<br />
I also finished planting my square foot garden except for a lone green chile plant from a coworker that I'm hardening off and put drip irrigation in the square foot garden. I tend to lose more plants by not ensuring that they're watered after planting.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2xx0lHAgtKQ/T8xA8YbWXRI/AAAAAAAABMM/1o5ZzDsQj-Q/s1600/1-101_4323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2xx0lHAgtKQ/T8xA8YbWXRI/AAAAAAAABMM/1o5ZzDsQj-Q/s640/1-101_4323.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Square foot garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Lesson Learned</b><br />
I'm not sure if there is a lesson learned, but I'm hoping that I don't lose plants from forgetfulness to water. Woohoo, the the veggie bed is planted.<br />
<br />
Last year, the drought was so pervasive that few of my perennials bloomed and I didn't have much better luck with my annuals or biennials. However, this year the bloom season has already made up for the dearth of flowers last summer.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TK7ZfUT4lM/T816hL2CvcI/AAAAAAAABMs/tylBZLPoHXk/s1600/3-100KZ7122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TK7ZfUT4lM/T816hL2CvcI/AAAAAAAABMs/tylBZLPoHXk/s640/3-100KZ7122.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapdragons planted last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Lesson Learned</b><br />
What a difference a year makes!</div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-14743041739635984742012-05-30T18:19:00.000-06:002012-05-30T18:19:01.629-06:00Wordless Wednesday - Swallowtail Butterfly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q7hIIlctqx0/T8Q5tFs6cfI/AAAAAAAABK8/4M395kODr0c/s1600/01-100_4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q7hIIlctqx0/T8Q5tFs6cfI/AAAAAAAABK8/4M395kODr0c/s640/01-100_4038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YXsyCUjOjVg/T8Q5-wDYX0I/AAAAAAAABLE/lKo41xX2ZAM/s1600/02-100_4039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YXsyCUjOjVg/T8Q5-wDYX0I/AAAAAAAABLE/lKo41xX2ZAM/s640/02-100_4039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-owzlzxVzKrg/T8Q5_dZtqdI/AAAAAAAABLM/kQv5zefbxG8/s1600/03-100_4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-owzlzxVzKrg/T8Q5_dZtqdI/AAAAAAAABLM/kQv5zefbxG8/s640/03-100_4041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1HMAZgqE8k/T8Q5_0zcCCI/AAAAAAAABLU/dIDeWUD3Brg/s1600/04-100_4043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1HMAZgqE8k/T8Q5_0zcCCI/AAAAAAAABLU/dIDeWUD3Brg/s640/04-100_4043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNZaxSXKShE/T8Q6AcQ10OI/AAAAAAAABLc/lZkvTWjUC9g/s1600/06-100_4057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nNZaxSXKShE/T8Q6AcQ10OI/AAAAAAAABLc/lZkvTWjUC9g/s640/06-100_4057.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgjVXyq0Mpg/T8Q6A_WKG2I/AAAAAAAABLk/NfRbaMeTF3g/s1600/07-100_4059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgjVXyq0Mpg/T8Q6A_WKG2I/AAAAAAAABLk/NfRbaMeTF3g/s640/07-100_4059.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LEsOPUlpM38/T8Q6B7vlGII/AAAAAAAABL0/FXQEqU34uPU/s1600/09-100_4068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LEsOPUlpM38/T8Q6B7vlGII/AAAAAAAABL0/FXQEqU34uPU/s640/09-100_4068.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j2-uFfFH62s/T8Q6CQw-RQI/AAAAAAAABL8/Er7l-gbfwso/s1600/10-100_4069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j2-uFfFH62s/T8Q6CQw-RQI/AAAAAAAABL8/Er7l-gbfwso/s640/10-100_4069.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_ns0l_F3sHw/T8Q6BUR6CaI/AAAAAAAABLs/jFh8hTemWew/s1600/08-100_4067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_ns0l_F3sHw/T8Q6BUR6CaI/AAAAAAAABLs/jFh8hTemWew/s640/08-100_4067.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-42714385808824401052012-05-26T09:49:00.000-06:002012-05-26T09:49:37.766-06:00Poppy Fever<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Like anyone else, some days are good and others not so much. Unfortunately, it was the latter on Tuesday and I needed some music to reinforce my mood. I flipped through my CD case and settled on some Peggy Lee and listened repeatedly to "Is That All There Is?" on my short drive home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh6XnfWNOts/T77TuzC_d1I/AAAAAAAABJE/06wB4e_HW0Y/s1600/1-100_3936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh6XnfWNOts/T77TuzC_d1I/AAAAAAAABJE/06wB4e_HW0Y/s640/1-100_3936.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Feeling less disgruntled the next day, I cycled through the other songs on the CD. This CD isn't on heavy rotation in my car so I couldn't recall the songs on it. I was pleasantly surprised when <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYxoAJ3Boyc" target="_blank">"Fever"</a> started playing. The Oriental poppies in my garden remind me of this song and right now I have poppy fever. </div>
</div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m42vdBy3Qr0/T77TtlRKYOI/AAAAAAAABIs/z0qk9VUg7LQ/s1600/1-100_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m42vdBy3Qr0/T77TtlRKYOI/AAAAAAAABIs/z0qk9VUg7LQ/s640/1-100_3921.JPG" width="640" /></a>It's poppy time again. The time of year when poppies start their annual bloom fest. The buds belie the flowers greatness. Poppies herald the unofficial beginning of summer (Memorial Day) and my back garden starting to wake up. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZg67qT48Rk/T77Tv8tcqDI/AAAAAAAABJU/hmKC4BbfwI8/s1600/1-102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZg67qT48Rk/T77Tv8tcqDI/AAAAAAAABJU/hmKC4BbfwI8/s640/1-102.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Poppies are a sultry flower. Look even the wasps can't keep themselves away. I think that's a wasp. I have a wasps' nest in my shed that I've never figured out what to do with it. Since it's still there I have a healthy supply of pollinators.
</div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aovYlELMi5s/T77TuY-mlrI/AAAAAAAABI8/e3GCUUnXI7Y/s1600/1-100_3925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aovYlELMi5s/T77TuY-mlrI/AAAAAAAABI8/e3GCUUnXI7Y/s640/1-100_3925.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The pop pop pop of the buds reminds me of Peggy Lee snapping her fingers as she sings. The unfurling of the delicate petals takes my breath away. I will leave you with a few parting photos and the first stanza of "Fever."</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sfpb5g14L8A/T8AwCUMGXYI/AAAAAAAABKk/1KAseJGvkSs/s1600/1-100_3942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sfpb5g14L8A/T8AwCUMGXYI/AAAAAAAABKk/1KAseJGvkSs/s640/1-100_3942.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Never know how much I love you</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGqwPdlSX8I/T8AwDewuKXI/AAAAAAAABK0/fuz_0kycgXE/s1600/1-100_3970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qGqwPdlSX8I/T8AwDewuKXI/AAAAAAAABK0/fuz_0kycgXE/s640/1-100_3970.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Never know how much I care</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GuJqF67sSh8/T8AvkE9ed3I/AAAAAAAABKM/s4H8Q9v7y5c/s1600/1-100_3964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GuJqF67sSh8/T8AvkE9ed3I/AAAAAAAABKM/s4H8Q9v7y5c/s640/1-100_3964.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When you put your arms around me</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PP8BUlPL97I/T8AuF23jzaI/AAAAAAAABJc/OB1gA3GlOsk/s1600/1-100_3976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PP8BUlPL97I/T8AuF23jzaI/AAAAAAAABJc/OB1gA3GlOsk/s640/1-100_3976.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I get a fever that's so hard to bare</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You give me fever....</span></div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-9016816426000015762012-05-22T21:44:00.000-06:002012-05-22T21:44:28.902-06:00W4W - Harmony<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In an article about <a href="http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/gardening/trees/get-pruning/" target="_blank">pruning</a> fellow blogger <a href="http://www.leemaysgardeninglife.com/" target="_blank">Lee May</a> stated, "In some ways, all gardening is unnatural, including watering, fertilizing, mulching, weeding – any intervention that goes beyond what nature would do." This sentence resonated with me and got me thinking about some of the features in my garden that are contrivances and whether they are harmonious or discordant with the surrounding environment. And I realized the whole garden is contrived in some respects. If something is contrived does it lack harmony with its environment? You be the judge.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-InecCPpQJAA/T7hyYCbKI9I/AAAAAAAABH8/Tg82c4YGKFc/s1600/1-100_3524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-InecCPpQJAA/T7hyYCbKI9I/AAAAAAAABH8/Tg82c4YGKFc/s640/1-100_3524.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have a dry riverbed in my garden that is a spiral of river rocks and thyme. Spirals are a universal symbol that is echoed in nature. I think I'm drawn to spirals much like many other people. The river rocks anchor the spiral and the pink chintz thyme repeats the theme.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O180EX0xmUE/T7hyYxyo9kI/AAAAAAAABIE/qGhJvOG3pgM/s1600/1-100_3651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O180EX0xmUE/T7hyYxyo9kI/AAAAAAAABIE/qGhJvOG3pgM/s640/1-100_3651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The pink chintz thyme overwintered well and none died out. I don't recall that I watered. There must have been enough intermittent snow last winter to keep the plants alive.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2BBNzxcqHG0/T7hyZtDLQyI/AAAAAAAABIM/gB_M64cXTac/s1600/3-100_3795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2BBNzxcqHG0/T7hyZtDLQyI/AAAAAAAABIM/gB_M64cXTac/s640/3-100_3795.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This year, I tried dividing thyme to fill in some of the bare spots. Dividing was relatively easy. I found a resource that suggested dividing it in 2 x 2 inch squares and transplanting it. I wasn't that methodical and divided into about 4 inch pieces. The thyme I managed to keep watered stayed alive. Alas, I didn't always remember to water.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyMaGdyXBnk/T7hyabYQMSI/AAAAAAAABIU/GvAPCSW31Bc/s1600/3-100_3875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TyMaGdyXBnk/T7hyabYQMSI/AAAAAAAABIU/GvAPCSW31Bc/s640/3-100_3875.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Almost all of the thyme has bloomed, which I didn't think would happen. It's like having my own pink spiral galaxy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dMMjd5jgJeU/T7hycK0g2AI/AAAAAAAABIk/l_n0SICL9IA/s1600/spiral+collage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dMMjd5jgJeU/T7hycK0g2AI/AAAAAAAABIk/l_n0SICL9IA/s640/spiral+collage.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The spiral was a huge self indulgence. I'm not sure if the pink chintz thyme and river rock are "united in perfect harmony" or with their surroundings. (My apologies to Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul!) However, the pollinators love the thyme and that's good enough for me. To read more about the development of the spiral, check out <a href="http://girlsproutnm.blogspot.com/2011/04/spiral-vision.html" target="_blank">Spiral Vision</a> and <a href="http://girlsproutnm.blogspot.com/2011/08/spiral-vision-part-deux.html" target="_blank">Spiral Vision, Part Deux</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm joining Donna's Word 4 Wednesday meme on harmony at <a href="http://gardenwalkgardentalk.com/2012/05/23/w4w-harmony-with-color/" target="_blank">Garden Walk, Garden Talk</a>. Please read her exploration of harmony in the garden and other bloggers interpretation of the harmony theme. Thanks Donna for hosting! </div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-18546934367267176892012-05-17T22:06:00.000-06:002012-05-17T22:07:33.818-06:00My Square Foot Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I must be easily influenced by the power of suggestion. After a year of other gardeners regaling me with posts and photos of vegetables I thought I should try growing my own. I've never had a vegetable garden before. Although, I did plant tomatoes one summer when I lived in Albuquerque.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oj9xsks7ucQ/T7XB7GFH6JI/AAAAAAAABHk/tJiNfS2G4t8/s1600/1-100_3611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oj9xsks7ucQ/T7XB7GFH6JI/AAAAAAAABHk/tJiNfS2G4t8/s640/1-100_3611.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
After wading through the plethora of resources on the Internet. I decided on a square foot garden. I was able to find an <a href="http://ana-white.com/2010/05/hack-natural-rustic-cedar-raised-beds.html" target="_blank">inexpensive plan</a> for a raised bed that uses cedar dog eared fence pickets for the sides and adapted it to suit my needs. I opted to err on the of side of caution and made a 4 x 4 bed. <i>Sunset</i> magazine has a beautiful <a href="http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/" target="_blank">raised bed plan</a> that I nixed because I wasn't sure if vegetable gardening would work for me or if I would lose interest after the novelty wore off.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFSUyogyWsE/T7XCegIUfxI/AAAAAAAABH0/kb5rVHzczkk/s1600/1-2012-05-12_15-58-012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hFSUyogyWsE/T7XCegIUfxI/AAAAAAAABH0/kb5rVHzczkk/s640/1-2012-05-12_15-58-012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Unfortunately, the problem with using fence pickets is that I didn't ensure they were all straight before I brought them home. Another mishap that I had was remembering to level two sides, but not the other two. I also discovered that it is relatively easy to make my raised bed into a hoop house. I only needed some PVC pipe, galvanized brackets and some wood screws.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKBdM05yvI8/T7XB7w1ThAI/AAAAAAAABHs/Tub9ATeamu8/s1600/1-101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="526" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kKBdM05yvI8/T7XB7w1ThAI/AAAAAAAABHs/Tub9ATeamu8/s640/1-101.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
My apologies for all the garden detritus in the photos. I had to pull up landscape cloth and move some mulch around to put the raised bed in. Voila, the finished product! </div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-90295738702992269792012-05-15T20:02:00.000-06:002012-05-15T20:04:03.922-06:00GBBD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Special thanks to Carol for hosting Bloom Day at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/2012/05/garden-bloggers-bloom-day-may-2012.html">May Dreams Gardens</a>. I wasn't sure if I would get a post done this month. It was gray, wet and windy most of the weekend, which didn't lend itself to taking photos.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MrKH9ftinkE/T7L-Et_KxOI/AAAAAAAABG8/waobEtHKg5Y/s1600/1-100_3771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MrKH9ftinkE/T7L-Et_KxOI/AAAAAAAABG8/waobEtHKg5Y/s640/1-100_3771.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
The penstemon pseudospectabilis looks so healthy this year. It has already started to peak and the blossoms are starting to fade.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vteWlrUPCWU/T7L-ELtMKHI/AAAAAAAABG0/xdYkpNWLbhU/s1600/1-100KZ712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vteWlrUPCWU/T7L-ELtMKHI/AAAAAAAABG0/xdYkpNWLbhU/s640/1-100KZ712.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Another photo of penstemon on the left. The rose queen salvia in the upper </span><span style="text-align: left;">right </span><span style="text-align: left;">corner has become one of my favorites. And the primroses in the bottom corner are more plentiful than they've ever been. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CKSj_ZZc08/T7L-Es-AFhI/AAAAAAAABHA/ZiZSPfRQtJk/s1600/1-100KZ7121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CKSj_ZZc08/T7L-Es-AFhI/AAAAAAAABHA/ZiZSPfRQtJk/s640/1-100KZ7121.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Everything is coming up primroses. The primroses started blooming earlier than they ordinarily do and have ensconced many of the flowers.They surround the penstemon, columbine and ultraviolet salvia.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xy8WbI1PcEA/T7L-FY8nekI/AAAAAAAABHM/ZxBq01YEr6Y/s1600/1-100_3775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xy8WbI1PcEA/T7L-FY8nekI/AAAAAAAABHM/ZxBq01YEr6Y/s640/1-100_3775.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I feel like a woke up one day and there was an unexpected sea of pink of primroses. A parting photo of the front garden on an overcast day.<br />
<br /></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-90461418477408879632012-05-09T00:03:00.000-06:002012-05-09T00:03:51.243-06:00Lovely Lilacs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A belated post to commemorate the stunning lilacs in Santa Fe this year.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml77wmZCjF0/T6oEYxr-e0I/AAAAAAAABGY/BbPaGD8CoUc/s1600/1-2012-04-23_18-53-05_547.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml77wmZCjF0/T6oEYxr-e0I/AAAAAAAABGY/BbPaGD8CoUc/s640/1-2012-04-23_18-53-05_547.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The scent of lilacs permeated the air as I was coming home from a walk with my dog, Aster. The wind lifted their scent. The blossoms poked their heads out between the chain link. One of my neighbors has lilacs that cheer me me up when I walk past. The blooms are white, pink and shades of the eponymous lilac. (Unfortunately, the photo below is blurry camera phone shot that Aster patiently allowed me to take.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9IkikDpSC50/T6oFHMS06hI/AAAAAAAABGo/qtp3Xou6thw/s1600/1-2012-04-23_18-53-022.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9IkikDpSC50/T6oFHMS06hI/AAAAAAAABGo/qtp3Xou6thw/s640/1-2012-04-23_18-53-022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
However, my lilacs are a sad testament to my lack of gardening skills. As with many of my early attempts at gardening in the desert Southwest, I plopped them into the ground without any soil amendment and anticipated the flush of blooms in years to follow. Year after year, I was disappointed as they increased in size but the flowers failed to impress. How hard could it be? I saw volunteers all over the place.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KErVokV1PNI/T6NOncbE1KI/AAAAAAAABGA/YBQUd0K5obk/s1600/1-101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KErVokV1PNI/T6NOncbE1KI/AAAAAAAABGA/YBQUd0K5obk/s640/1-101.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
People suggested amending the soil around the plants, but I recalled how hard it was to dig the holes to plant them and mentally said, "No." I've tried giving them away. Trying to tempt my friends with the size of the bushes. Well this year, everyone's lilacs went wild and mine did, too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1X6WHvOmVF4/T6NOnRmwDiI/AAAAAAAABGI/AN0QXxphxj8/s1600/1-100_3555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1X6WHvOmVF4/T6NOnRmwDiI/AAAAAAAABGI/AN0QXxphxj8/s640/1-100_3555.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
My blooms weren't as prolific as some of the lilacs around town, but they were just enough for me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZNtxWBLR-c/T6NOfOT8a8I/AAAAAAAABF4/R03BgBxflAs/s1600/1-100_3556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZNtxWBLR-c/T6NOfOT8a8I/AAAAAAAABF4/R03BgBxflAs/s640/1-100_3556.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3318772798318990624.post-86238649085058707922012-05-02T00:00:00.000-06:002012-05-02T14:54:51.342-06:00Wordless Wednesday - Irises<div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yo_hBzeTelg/T6CkRbcIfkI/AAAAAAAABEc/DP3p9KQ11IQ/s1600/1-1-100_3540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yo_hBzeTelg/T6CkRbcIfkI/AAAAAAAABEc/DP3p9KQ11IQ/s640/1-1-100_3540.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKszDOmmb0E/T6CkRvv0JeI/AAAAAAAABEk/bWhcdtM8scI/s1600/1-100_3511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uKszDOmmb0E/T6CkRvv0JeI/AAAAAAAABEk/bWhcdtM8scI/s640/1-100_3511.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I1WSMST-UiI/T6CkSFxeDuI/AAAAAAAABEs/twAuLkjxC_Y/s1600/1-100_3512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I1WSMST-UiI/T6CkSFxeDuI/AAAAAAAABEs/twAuLkjxC_Y/s640/1-100_3512.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6DMY1dlIvM/T6CkSks0eJI/AAAAAAAABE0/cn5v3C_NwOQ/s1600/1-100_3516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6DMY1dlIvM/T6CkSks0eJI/AAAAAAAABE0/cn5v3C_NwOQ/s640/1-100_3516.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sOSpEVhFVo/T6CkSx3lAmI/AAAAAAAABE8/p2OO6VIOtWg/s1600/1-100_3537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8sOSpEVhFVo/T6CkSx3lAmI/AAAAAAAABE8/p2OO6VIOtWg/s640/1-100_3537.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cQx1259jxQs/T6CkTc_u5LI/AAAAAAAABFE/nUnkyylg-lw/s1600/1-100_3539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cQx1259jxQs/T6CkTc_u5LI/AAAAAAAABFE/nUnkyylg-lw/s640/1-100_3539.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1vrRFc-DbXk/T6CkUGFNPjI/AAAAAAAABFU/hu7EHGFhEWY/s1600/1-100_3546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1vrRFc-DbXk/T6CkUGFNPjI/AAAAAAAABFU/hu7EHGFhEWY/s640/1-100_3546.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8YzaYAd-HI/T6CkUnQeUxI/AAAAAAAABFc/ueUg-IOtXBo/s1600/1-100_3550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8YzaYAd-HI/T6CkUnQeUxI/AAAAAAAABFc/ueUg-IOtXBo/s640/1-100_3550.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
</div>GirlSprouthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13029711241687325640noreply@blogger.com15