Monthly Archives: November 2011

November 26, 2011 · 3:28 pm

A DIFFERENT KIND OF “BLACK FRIDAY”

Thanksgiving Weekend.

I love the slow pace of this 4 day weekend.

At least the way it used to be.

Before Black Friday came along.

For me, I simply can’t get into the retail version of the day.

So yesterday I had a different kind of “Black Friday”.

I spent the day in the garden.

Digging in God’s great black earth.

Things are winding down in my garden.

Almost to a crawl.

But there is always something to do.

Megan and I are still trying to get our scheduled afternoon of bulb planting.

Because it’s getting a little late in the season

I went ahead and planted everything except the tulips leading to the garden house.

Lilies were the first on my list.

You may remember I’d gone a bit lily crazy on my order this year.

I have 25 mixed Oriental Lilies

They are going on the east side of the garden.

In front of a bank of Yews

Behind the Digitalis bed.

Or should I say the hoped for Digitalis bed.

I plan to try again with them in the spring.

This area lends itself to a trench as opposed to big oval holes.

It’s the same principal though.

Don’t dig a hole for each bulb.

And, because these come out of the ground a bit later.

Be sure and mark them so you won’t dig them up.

The saddest sound in the garden is a shovel slicing a lily bulb

Or a daffodil….or tulip…or dahlia.

I know I’ve sliced them all.

Then off to plant Trumpet Lilies.

These are golds, yellows and whites to fill in what I all ready have.

Next came the tulips that Debra gave me.

She selected black (Queen of the Night), white ( Maureen) and orange (Daydream)

For her dad’s garden.

So she gave me a few in memory of my dad.

Both of them taught at OSU during their “second careers”

So it is fitting.

Then, I never can resist Parrot tulips.

This year I’m doing Rai a purple and green with a touch of white.

And Blumex – kind of pink and orange.

Now, I know, most of you finished your bulbs weeks ago

And you are likely pulling your Christmas decorations out of the attic today.

But…there is still a bit more to do.

The pumpkin tower I’ve had in the front pot

Is well…over.

So I buried a few daffodils in a plastic pot.

Actually I did the lasagna method but with all daffodils.

Then I buried the pot within the pot.

This is important because my front pot sits right out in the open.

Lots of cold air swirling around it all winter long.

The double layer of pots will provide a little insulation.

I covered it with pansies.

We’ll see what kind of winter we have.

And how they survive.

I likely have another day or two in the garden this season

The afore-mentioned garden house tulips

and I’m still hoping to move that rose bush.

Though it is likely too late.

Normally by this time of the year I’m ready to be done.

But not this year.

I’m enjoying these days of digging.

Winter is closing in.

But for now

Fall is still with us.

Who could ask for anything more.

Here are the last of the season’s flowers.

Still blooming happily.

Take care,

Gail

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Filed under Daffodils, Dahlias, Digitalis, Fall, Garden House, Gardening, Oriental Lilies, Trumpet Lily, tulips

Tagged as Trumpet Lily

November 18, 2011 · 5:34 pm

AMARYLLIS

My first memory of Amaryllis is from early marriage.

I walked into my mother-in-laws kitchen on Christmas

There atop her refrigerator

Sat the biggest flower I had ever seen.

It was tall

Really tall

Almost touching the ceiling.

And the blooms were ENORMOUS

Five or six inches across.

Now…John’s mother was a great gardener.

But really….this was ridiculously impressive.

Which of course, meant I had to have one.

Her’s had come as a boxed kit.

Pot – soil and bulb in a simple cardboard box.

You will see them everywhere this time of year.

There are many varieties

Single, doubles and my favorite Hybrid Dutch Amaryllis

Once again, my source is k.van Bourgondien

For years I only ordered a soft pink called Apple Blossom.

The last few Christmases my choice has been Black Pearl

It’s a velvety deep red.

This year I’m on to Moonlight.

We’ll see.

But really they are all glorious.

Pinks, reds, white, salmon and lime green.

Endless choices.

The cardinal bulb rule applies here, too.

The bigger the bulb the bigger the bloom.

Hybrid Dutch Amaryllis are big.

As big as my hand.

They are simple to plant.

Choose a pot that is just slightly bigger than the bulb.

I use 6″ clay pots.

This plant is top-heavy so the clay helps to stabilize it.

Hydrate everything before planting.

Soak the pots

And just the roots of the bulb

For a bit

Put a couple of inches of soil in the bottom of the pot.

Then the bulb.

The stem and the tip 1/3 of the bulb should be above soil level

So….I usually have to play with it a bit to get the right amount of soil in the bottom.

Pack the soil around the edge of the bulb.

If possible water from the bottom by using a saucer or tray.

These bulbs have several “layers”

You want to make sure that you don’t get water inside those layers.

Or your bulb will rot!

Place in a location where it will get some sun.

But not all day.

Over the course of the next several weeks it will begin to grow.

And grow.

When Elliott was little we always put a yard stick in the pot.

Each day we would check to see how much it had grown.

Most days it was an inch or so.

You should get between 1 and 3 stems spread over a month or more.

Each stem will have 4 or 5 blooms.

Once they start to bloom move them away from the sun

The blooms will last longer that way.

Some will bloom as late as Valentine’s Day

Depending upon when they are planted.

Though Amaryllis are thought of as a Christmas plant.

I really like them to start blooming after the holidays.

That way when all the decorations are gone

And the house feels a bit naked.

Flowers appear.

One more thing

This is a splendid plant to share

They bring JOY!

Take care,

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Amaryllis, Uncategorized

November 11, 2011 · 2:08 am

BLOG BREAK

It’s been a busy week.

Nice rain

But no time to garden.

So…..I’m taking a blogging break this week.

I’ll return next week

We’ll begin wrapping up the season.

Meanwhile, here’s a picture of my friend Tary’s volunteer pumpkin.

She used last year’s pumpkins to prop up her Nativity set during Advent

And…this fall she got 5 of these great pumpkins!

Take care,

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Pumpkin

Tagged as Pumpkin

November 4, 2011 · 10:03 pm

BULB PLANTING TIME

It’s the time of the year when I begin my frost dance.

Or should I say “threat” of frost dance.

You know the routine.

The first few nights you just throw a sheet or towel over a few tender plants

Then you drag most of the ferns in to the warmth.

After a few more sunny days

It happens again.

Freeze warnings

You begin to take them seriously.

You start picking things.

Almost ripe tomatoes

Not quite mature peppers.

Then the freeze frenzy really sets in.

One cold windy morning you yank every green tomato off the vine.

Cut cockscomb to the ground.

Whack away at armloads of roses and zinnias

Dig up baby basil plants for your winter supply.

Then lie in wait for mother nature to kill everything you’ve nurtured all year.

After several nights of freeze warnings

It finally happens.

The first hard freeze.

The killing freeze.

With the end of one season

Another begins.

So now it’s time to plant…….

Spring Flowering Bulbs!!!

Even though I won’t actually plant my bulbs till later in the month.

I thought I’d send along this primer.

Here’s what I know about planting bulbs.

As with all of gardening the health and size of the bulb will determine the quality of bloom.

So look for big bulbs that are firm.

Make sure there is no mold present

Soft moldy bulbs will only turn into compost not flowers.

Tulip bulbs should still have their brown “skin” attached.

We talked about bulbs a bit in August in two prior blogs.

Planning Time and Planting Hope

So lets cover how to plant all this stuff.

First – find a gardening friend

Make a pact to help each other plant bulbs.

This friend may be a spouse, a child, a sibling, a neighbor

Or if you’re lucky you have a Megan.

Megan has helped me plant bulbs for well…

I don’t remember how long.

We use the “lasagna” method.

It saves labor

And makes for glorious blasts of color.

Which means you never….never….never

Plant in rows.

Instead if you want to line an edge

Dig a series of oval holes.

Good sized holes

Because you will put a minimum 7 daffodils and 11 tulips in each hole

Dig the hole 6 ” – 8″ deep.

Mix in a little Bone Meal

Place the daffodils pointy end up

(That is very important !)

Make sure they don’t touch – or they will rot!

Use odd numbers 7 – 9 – 11.

Cover with a few inches of soil

Add a bit more Bone Meal

Then place Tulips

Again pointy end up.

To get a good show use at least 11 tulips or more.

Then repeat soil and Bone Meal

Top off with Dutch Iris.

Then refill to ground level.

Actually a little higher since it will settle when you water it all in.

And do water it all in

The water will fill up the air pockets in the soil

This will keep it from freezing when it’s first planted.

If you’re really energetic or inspired you can cover it all with pansies.

Now….that’s a blast of spring!

We do a series of these “lasagna Holes” on each side of the path

Leading to my garden house.

This forms a full border that doesn’t look contrived.

You’ll notice that the biggest bulbs need to be buried the deepest.

So you plant from large to small bulbs with this method.

Lilies can be planted 3 – 5 to a hole

Or…you can dig a winding trench

Place the bulbs in a zig zag pattern along the trench.

I generally don’t plant anything else with them.

So…that’s pretty much how we do it here.

It’s a tried and true method you may want to try.

Or not.

After all gardening is personal.

We learn from each other.

We adapt to our own garden.

We create.

We wait.

Gail

Monthly Archives: November 2011

A DIFFERENT KIND OF “BLACK FRIDAY”

AMARYLLIS

BLOG BREAK

BULB PLANTING TIME

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