Category Archives: Gardening Friends

April 22, 2012 · 11:05 pm

THY NEIGHBORS GARDEN

Gardening is for me

a solitary pastime.

I love having people drop in

to see what’s blooming.

But I spend hours alone in my garden

Singing to myself

Admiring my work

And plotting my next adventure.

Roses & Iris

Perhaps that’s why I love having gardening neighbors.

Someone close by to share with

and borrow from.

Kelly and I have been that kind of gardening neighbors

Even before we were actual neighbors.

Now that we are only a block apart we are

Dangerous together.

Between the two of us we are constantly changing things.

Sharing things

Learning things

Our gardens complement each other.

Where mine is good-sized.

Kelly’s is mammoth.

Where I have endless varieties of perennials

Kelly wisely has focused on flowering bushes.

She has much more space to fill

And filling it with annuals or 4″ perennials is

Well….unimaginable.

She moved back to this part of the country from Seattle.

There she had learned a great deal about Roses and Peonies.

She brought that knowledge with her.

And has over the years adapted it to our “slightly” different climate.

She helped me overcome my fear of growing Roses.

Rosa Aloha

I in turn introduced her to Hellebore.

Hellebores

Over the years she has planted a “river” of them.

That’s the thing I love about gardeners.

They are so willing to share.

Actually, I can be a little annoying that way.

I’ve been known to give TMI too much information!

This week is a good example of that sharing.

I did a flower arrangement for a bridal shower.

I needed hot pink and oranges roses.

Since my Katy Road Pink is blooming out of it’s mind right now.

Rosa Katy Road Pink

I’ve got the pink part covered.

Orange on the other hand is a problem

Especially since it’s one of the few colors I don’t do.

Lucky for me Kelly has a whole row of the most glorious orange roses.

It’s a Weeks Rose called Colorific.

Kelly's Row of Rosa Colorific

And it is terrific.

So I took my favorite pruners and a bucket of water down the street

And cut a few.

Roses ready to arrange

Now it won’t be long till I can return the favor

Because next week Kelly needs 14 table decorations.

I have lots of spring bloom

Wild Orchid

And an endless amount of Euonymus for filler.

So you’ll find her cutting in my garden.

And because those Colorific Roses are so terrific.

I’m thinking of adding a few to my garden.

Shower Arrangement

Gardening neighbors.

Good friends.

If you don’t have one.

I hope you find one soon.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Gail

And speaking of gardening friends,

my friend Debra sent this marvelous quote.

“I think gardening is nearer to godliness than theology. True gardeners are both iconographers and theologians insofar as these activities are the fruit of prayer ‘without ceasing.’ Likewise, true gardeners never cease to garden, not even in their sleep, because gardening is not just something they do. It is how they live.”

—Vigen Guroian, from The Fragrance of God

3 Comments

Filed under Bouquets, Garden Planning, Gardening, Gardening Friends, Hellebores, Peonies, roses, Wedding Flowers

April 8, 2012 · 1:18 am

EASTER EGGS

There is a long legacy of eggs in my family.

When I was growing up we raised chickens.

And as a result – eggs.

It was a family effort.

Daddy raised the chickens

Mother, Pat, Ann & I gatherer, cleaned, candeled and sold eggs.

Ann, me, Pat and Mother gathering eggs late 1950's

I still have one of the wire egg baskets from those days

As well as that chicken nest in my garden house.

Perhaps that’s why my mother loved to die Easter eggs.

Every mother does things for their children at holidays.

Creating memories and all.

But I’m pretty sure that Easter egg dying

Was actually for mother.

I just don’t remember any other college students

who came home to die Easter eggs.

I think she did it even if we weren’t there!

So it’s with that heritage in mind that I volunteered

to have the Easter Egg Hunt for the children at my church.

Now granted no child in 2012 would be happy with a hard-boiled egg.

Even if it was died turquoise with their name etched with a wax pencil.

But it’s an Easter Egg Hunt just the same.

And I couldn’t have a bunch of kids in my garden

Without giving them a little gardening lesson.

So we added a lady bug release to the activities.

Aphids attacked my roses right on cue.

So the lady bugs had plenty to eat.

We divided the 20 plus children into 3 groups.

Three adults were strategically placed around the garden.

Each had a watering can full of water.

On cue they and the children watered an area of the garden path.

Then along we came with the bag of lady bugs.

They had been chilling in my refrigerator since the Fed Ex man delivered them on Wednesday.

Thank goodness we didn’t put the eggs on top of them!

Now, I’ve been doing lady bug releases in my garden for years.

Ever since my friend and neighbor Patti discovered Buglogical.com.

She and I would share an order each spring.

Lately, the neighbor children have come to share the fun.

But….

I’ve never done this with quite so many children.

So, I was a little concerned.

You never know how a child will react.

Or adults for that matter.

When lady bugs feel the warmth of your hands

They awake from their sleep and begin crawling.

Usually up your arm.

All of these children loved it.

They were – shall we say – naturals!

Children, parents, grand parents even great grandparents had a splendid time.

A time for friends old and new, children, bugs and all that is ours in nature.

Easter – telling and sharing the good news.

Experiencing life in a garden.

It was a good day.

Happy Easter.

Gail

7 Comments

Filed under Bugs, Easter Egg Hunt, Gardening Friends, Lady Bugs, spring, Uncategorized

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

A SEASON OF ORBS

It’s Orb season.

Every year in late summer

Orb spiders begin to build their itricate webs.

This year 2 came to the garden in early August.

Signature zig zag woven into an Orb spider's web

Then a third one appeared by the breakfast room window.

Number four built a mansion of a web in the hydrangea bushes in the front yard.

Then last weekend John discovered number 5 in the boxwood outside the den window.

We have spent hours watching the spider in the front yard.

I’m sure people walking through the neighborhood are beginning to wonder about our sanity.

John loves feeding them.

At first he would just catch a small moth and toss it into the sticky web.

Dinner!

Now he seeks out food for them

Moths big and little – dead crickets from the garage

Since some things seem to stick better than others

He’s developed a technique of making sure dinner stays put.

Tweezers – who knew?

Once “dinner” has flown into or been placed on the web the Orb will move to it

and begin to spin a cocoon around its victim.

This happens with great speed.

After the cocoon is spun and the “meal” is stabilized the Orb begins to eat.

She usually begins with the head.

Now…Orb spiders are no small thing.

The big one in the front is about 3″ – 4 ” long.

Yet it moves with lightening speed and accuracy.

Because we are spending so much time in the front we have shared our fascination with anyone walking by.

Which seems to be mostly mothers and young daughters.

First came Torry, Cassidy and Sloan.

No fear of giant spiders here.

Cassidy caught a bug and placed it on the web – twice.

Cassidy fixing dinner

Mom’s not afraid – why should I be.

Next came Michaela and Bridget on their way to school one morning.

Had no idea these California girls were so into spiders.

But not everyone.

By Saturday when Jessica and Madeline strolled by we could tell they were polite

But squeamish.

Giant spiders aren’t for everyone and that’s OK.

I’ve done a little research on these creatures.

They don’t bite unless aggravated

Their bite hurts but is not life threatening.

They have a life span of one year

The female is the big one

The male is only 1/2 inch long.

You can see them both in this picture that Debra took when she came to visit this week.

The female will lay one or more egg sacs and encase them in the same thread material as their food.

Each egg sack can contain between 300 and 1400 eggs,

She attaches her egg sacs to one side of her web

Close to her in the center of the web.

She will watch her eggs until the first hard freeze

When she will die.

Around here the hatchling spiders will remain dormant in the egg sacs till spring.

When like many things the cycle begins again.

They like to make their homes among flowers, shrubs and tall plants.

Which makes them lovers of Hydrangea.

I have taken endless pictures of these busy creatures.

Spiders, John, Elliott and neighbors.

It is nature in a pure form

Well, except for the part where we catch the bugs.

Watching these intricate sticky webs.

So strong that they withstand wind and rain and stupid human tricks

Knowing that they work hard to create the next generation.

And make the world a safe place.

We all have something in common

We share the same space

What an amazing space this is.

Take care,

Gail

P.S. And just when I think I’ve taken the last picture – last night’s dinner was a DRAGON FLY!!!

HYDRANGEAS WONDERFUL HYDRANGEAS!

I don’t actually remember when I fell in love with hydrangeas.

It was likely from a magazine picture years ago.

But the real romance began when I first visited Martha’s Vineyard.

The relationship was sealed on my last visit to Cape Cod.

Of course, they are blue in the sandy soil and salty air of the “Cape”.

Mine on the other hand live in an alkaline home and are pink for the most part turning to green in the fall.

Endless Summer Hydrangeas June - 2010

To my way of thinking the Hydrangeas give you more flowers over the course of a growing season than any other plant.

I know – that’s a pretty bold statement.

But since I finally have the right home for them they have rewarded me beyond my wildest dreams.

It all depends on several things.

First you have to get the right kind of hydrangeas.

The old H. macrophylla are wonderful.

But in our climate where spring can come early and tease those precious buds along, only to be clobbered by a late freeze – they are risky at best!

So, I’ve become a big fan of a variety of H. macrophylla called Endless Summer.

They named it right.

About 5 years ago I planted them across the front of my house and also just inside the backyard gate.

Hydrangea - Caladium - Impatiens at gate

I was patient – knowing it takes at least 3 years for them to hit their stride.

Then the pine tree that provided them shade for part of the day succumbed to pine needle blight.

They were left in total sunshine.

I panicked but had no place to move them.

So… I dripped water on them a little more than usual till they got established.

I treated them a bit like roses in that I put a ring of manure around them a couple of times each summer.

Then I would protect the crown for the winter with a big dose of in the fall.

They have rewarded me for my attention and bloomed well…endlessly!

Last summer they were simply breathtaking.

Truly Endless Summer

OK….that sounds like I’m bragging but the truth is I have had very little to do with it.

These guys know how to grow and bloom.

So…here’s the formula that’s worked for me.

Buy a reblooming variety – Endless Summer in the blue bucket is my favorite.

There is also a sibling of Endless Summer called Blushing Bride.

It’s white with a faint pink edge.

Site it well.

They do need some sunshine to really bloom well.

Morning sun and afternoon shade is perfect.

Use drip irrigation to soak it deeply.

Feed it manure.

Give them time to reach maturity and …..

Resist cutting them back until very late in the spring after every branch has had a chance to green up.

Enjoy!

Mine are just beginning to bloom so I’ve included pictures from last year when they were in full glorious bloom.

Hydrangeas connect people.

Seven years ago when Elliott and Kristina married I didn’t have one hydrangea bush.

But my friend Martie did – all across the front of her house.

And she was generous enough to let the florist cut away.

Now she always remembers their anniversary reminding me just this week of that fun adventure.

So, once you have them going at your house I know you will want to spread the joy around and share.

Debra's picture of cut Hydrangea

Seriously, if you find room for 6 or 8 you’ll be cutting arm loads of blooms just like Martha does on TV!!!

Even one or two will give you dozens of blooms.

They do require a little bit of special treatment to insure the cut blooms last a long time.

Here’s how.

When you go to the garden to cut take either a BBQ type lighter or a container of very hot water.

Cut flowers that are fully open and have been in bloom for a few days.

You can cut the stems long – all the way to the main branch – or short depending on your need.

Remove most of the foliage.

Make a slit in the bottom of the stem for an inch or so.

Then either dip the bottom of the stem in the hot water or singe it with the lighter for a few seconds.

Put them in a container of water up to their necks to condition for several hours or overnight.

Now…I know that sounds complicated but once you get the hang of it you’ll be glad you did because they will last for days or even a week or two.

I tested this last summer when I cut hydrangeas on a Wednesday and took them to Colorado for my nephew’s wedding.

Cut Hydrangea ready for arranging.

Ten days later Kristina and I and her friends made them into arrangements for the big day.

These instructions come from a book my mother gave me in 1997.

Tools for glorious Hydrangea arrangements.

It’s called “A Garden For Cutting” by Margaret Parke.

In the back it gives excellent instructions for cutting, conditioning or drying all every kind of fresh flowers.

If you want a cutting garden add this book to your library.

Thanks, Mom!

And…once you have them cut and conditioned…they practically arrange themselves.

Vases of Hydrangea and Roses

In late summer they turn to a lime green - yummy!

Gardeners love to share their gardens.

To share plants – it’s called “pass along plants”.

And seeds.

And the bounty of our gardens.

But most of all I like having people come and visit my garden.

This week my neighbor Lish invited friends from out of town to come and see her garden as well as our friend and neighbor Sally’s garden and then mine.

Then we had lunch in the garden house.

Margaret - Robin - Lish - Barbara - Suzanne - Sally

What joy!

Hope you have many hours in your garden.

If you don’t have one…visit a friends.

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Gardening Friends, Hydrangea, Uncategorized

Category Archives: Gardening Friends

THY NEIGHBORS GARDEN

EASTER EGGS

BULB PLANTING TIME

A SEASON OF ORBS

HYDRANGEAS WONDERFUL HYDRANGEAS!

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