PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - OK, let’s cut out the ugly bits. First everything bloomed early and then it got incredibly hot and a lot of plants just plain fried – and it shows. Browned leaves, spent stems that withered and flopped, perennials that pooped out weeks ago. Give them a haircut – get out the shears, pruners, scissors – whatever works for you.

This midsummer cleaning can encourage pretty new blooms that won’t have to share the stage with all those deadheads on your phlox, yarrow, and dianthus, as well as shrub roses and endless summer hydrangeas, to name a few.

The exception, are those plants that feed wildlife – such as Echinacea, our native purple coneflowers, whose dried flowerheads may look brown and ugly to you but are a feast to finches and other birdies. But for plants that are finished flowering and aren’t birdfood, and those with leaves that fried and died back in the heat, you’ll be surprised how much you can freshen your garden just by cutting out what’s browned out right now.

This photograph was shot in 2007.

Dianthus

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Aren’t these gorgeous? On this Sweet Saturday, I’d like to introduce to you Sweet Willliam if you don’t know “him” already.

Sweet William (aka “Dianthus Barbatus”) is a perennial, sweet-smelling flower that is usually planted as an annual. I remember buying these as Dianthus, where I included them in one of my flower beds way back when. They do enjoy some shade so if you live in a particularly hot and sunny climate—like I do in the southwest—plant these babies in areas where there is at least partial shade for a good portion of the day and keep them well watered.

I just thought I’d share this sweet flower with you seeing as it is Sweet Saturday!

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Culture: Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers slightly alkaline soils. Tolerates heat and humidity (as well as some drought) better than most other species of Dianthus. Remove spent flowers to promote continued bloom. Avoid planting in areas with poor drainage where crowns will remain wet in winter.

Characteristics:  This mat-forming dianthus (also commonly called cheddar pinks) produces numerous, fringed and fragrant, star-like, soft pink, 1″ diameter flowers singly atop wiry stems (to 10″ tall) arising from mounds of grassy, blue-green, linear foliage. Blooms in late spring with some intermittent repeat bloom in summer. Zones 3 to 9.

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A few days before this my mother returned from country-side, where we still own some land and a couple of buildings, with a handfull of yet more flowers. These, for wild flowers, are also my favorites. People here consider them to be wild tulips and same ones like these, just white, they grow in their little gardens. I find these a lot prettier, but if I have a chance, I will take a picture of white ones, they grow in the little garden around one drug-store nearby.

Here we call them Bells, or Bell-flowers. There are also a smaller for of these, those are pretty too, but all the bugs and intensive heat and danger of mites/ticks make it not worth it for me to run around meadows. I’d go there very early in the morning or very late at night, but all the flowers would be asleep. Just like all the bugs that cause me disturbance in the brain.

At the moment here we got a beautiful summer storm, lightening with this very specific smell in the air, rain onto hot ground and two rainbows, for sun is setting at other end of the town. I’ll add more pictures at the end of the blog.

“This amazing new cutflower may mark the end of those green-dyed Carnations we all shriek at on St. Patrick’s day. Finally, a true green Dianthus is hitting the market.
First, this is not a true carnation at all (Dianthus caryophyllus) but rather, it is a Dianthus barbatus cultivar, or Sweet William, But a Sweet William that looks more like a ball of moss.

Green Trick Dianthus is the hottest must-have flower introduced last February at a trade show in France and sold only for commercial growers as a cut flower crop. You may see it at stylish florist shops in large cities where cool green pom pommy things are as sexy as, well, green pom pommy things.”

A garden is the pride of many homeowners. It’s where you take family pictures, invite friends to visit, play with the dog, really life comes and go’s through the garden. I wonder if the new owners will be so diligent?  Do they have a green thumb?  Will they stake the Peonies as their giant blooms start to nod with heaviness?  What about the Poppy’s and Delphinium?  They certainly need some help to stand up tall. I hope they love my favorites like the Bleeding Heart, Lady’s Mantle and white Lilacs as much I as did.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could pack it all up like the dishes and just take it with you?  I was truly sad about leaving the rose-bush we transplanted from my mother-in-law’s garden when she moved to a nursing home.  Fran just loved to see it in my garden, growing happily and bigger every year.

Seems perhaps a garden never really belongs to you, it’s just temporarily in your care. I knew one day we would leave the lake and leave the garden. But while it may be gone, it’s not forgotten.

Buddy in the Garden (1995 – 2010)

Wow.  Amazing how fast time can pass when you’re not having fun.  My monthly friend came along like 3 all at once and I felt like I got run over by a 100 car coal train.  (TMI?)  My days and nights are now screwed as I was getting up every 2 to 3 hours.  Thus my eating has been hit and miss and I’m down to 122 lbs. which is Bad.  As soon as I hit 120 or below I start getting sick.  So got to start piling on the calories.  Cranky and tired are the words for the day.

I did make it out to our local Farmer’s Market and bought myself some comfort food – Butter Toffee Peanuts.  I deserve them.  I sucked down half the bag on the trip home.    (Oh, and I also bought ‘real’ food, kohlrabi, tomatoes, plums, mmmm – just picked raspberries.)

I still haven’t decided what to do about apportioning time for the blog (here I am at 10 pm again!), I’ve been brain fried for the last week.  And I still have to do bills!  I’m also currently wrangling my husband to get him to decide what in the heck he wants to do for Father’s Day and his Birthday (the 20th).  He is being uncooperative. *Sigh* (with a slight growl)

Sitting in the grass late yesterday with my baby lizard, I was eating and looking at life in the grass and realized that in our hustle and bustle we forget how much goes on around us unnoticed.  It made me think of this quote and it’s one I need to put up somewhere where I can see it regularly.

“The only difference between an extraordinary life and an ordinary one is the extraordinary pleasures you find in ordinary things.”  — Veronique Vienne

Life at Our House

We had a pop-up thunderstorm that made me smile.  It was over our house pouring down the rain and in the back part of our yard the sun was shining.

*****

School is out and Spider Bait is now home for the summer.  He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be working his butt off helping his mother get Shtuff done.

*****

Okay, Saver of Bugs, here is the sourdough bread recipe leaving out proofing times and temps, just doing it the way I do it at home.

World Bread

• 1/2 cup cold sponge culture
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 6 cups flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Bake at 375

Mix the 1/2 cup of sourdough with 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 cup of water.  Cover bowl and sit on top of the refrigerator.  Do this right before you go to bed. (Note:  In the summer it should be warm enough in your room that you don’t have to do this downstairs.  Out of curiosity, you should check the temps on your dorm fridge every 15 min.  for about an hour and a half.  You might be able to raise the loaves on it.)

When you get up, add 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup water and mix well.  Cover and put up on the fridge (or in your room – you’re looking for min. 72 degrees, no more than 85).  Let it work no less than 4 hours.  Depending on how warm your room is or on top of the fridge, the culture will start to go down at about 8 hrs.  At 12 hours it is flat.  I generally like to set up the loaves at about 6 hours.  But I’ve done it all along the time frame at one time or another.

Bread time.  Grease both bread pans and make sure you have enough space to knead bread.  Get your small saucepan out and toss 2 tbsp butter in it at medium heat.  With my old nasty pans, you should probably do it at a notch or so below medium.  When the butter is melted, put in the 1 cup milk and heat till lukewarm.  Remove from heat and add 2 tsp. salt and 2 tbsp. sugar and mix till dissolved.  Pour into sourdough mixture and mix well.  Begin adding flour 1 cup at a time till it gets too hard to stir well.  This is usually at about 5 cups for me.  Dust kneading surface with flour and tip sourdough out of bowl and start kneading and adding the rest of the flour.  Knead till smooth and elastic.  Depending on how humid it is and how dry the flour, you may need less than the 6 cups or more.  This is the part you learn to do by feel.  You want the dough as moist as possible and still workable and elastic.  Not gummy gooey.  Not stiff as a brick.

Divide the dough into 2 loaves, knead into shape and drop into the pans.  As wide as those bread pans are moosh the dough to cover the bottom.  Cover and let raise in a warm spot till the tops are just barely below the top of the pans.  About 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.  If you forget and the dough gets above the pan sides, use a fork or the tip of a knife to burst the bubbles or the top of the crust will come off when you cut it.  Spray or brush with water and cut the tops of the loaves.  Bake at 375 for 40 to 45 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

(You are feeding your sourdough at least once a week – riiiight?)

Fur Babies and Other Friends

This poor baby deer, just out of his spots, was apparently hit by a car.  That front leg is barely moveable.  And it clearly didn’t learn much from the experience, ’cause my husband almost hit him the next night coming home!

Will someone please explain to me how in the heck this is comfortable?  He didn’t even wake up when I turned the light on to take the picture!

Out In The Yard

Our header for today is one of my daughter’s Dianthus.

My lizard with no name* is also part of the yard stuff today, or should I say –  last night.  They need sun to manufacture Vit D to process calcium and I don’t have a UV bulb up yet so I take him outside.  While sitting there, I started watching life in the grass.  It was sooo relaxing.  There is so much going on right beneath our feet.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of my lizard and a couple of the lawn’s occupants living their lives around my feet.

The Jungle

Naw, I don’t let him run free.

I’m so cute!

Busy, busy, busy, Bee. It was really hard to get a picture of one of these guys!

One of my fav’s, the Preying Mantis. That clover flower next to him is about the size of a pea.

(*What to name this lizard?  I keep calling him Squirt, but he won’t be a Squirt forever.  More on that in my next post.  I kinda liked Willow but everyone’s running away screaming on that one.  Then Cooper kinda hit me, but Spider Bait sneered at that one too.  And apparently my hair dresser says it has to have a lizardish name or a dragon name. [Spider Bait got his haircut today and was discussing my lizard.]  Suggestions?)

Movement

Also while I was miserable this past week, I had problems with my right knee.  A reminder that I need to find my ankle weights and start back on my old knee exercises.  Horseback riding in the number of hours that I was putting in back in the day plus running created a muscle imbalance that will always be with me.  When I was working and running it wasn’t so much a problem because I was also doing weight work to keep my body evened up.  It was during the off-season when the muscles began to atrophy that my knees would give me the most trouble.  At one point the imbalance pulled my kneecaps sideways, which was less than fun and had one doctor wanting to cut the muscles off the sides of my kneecaps.  Well, you know that ain’t happening.  I eventually found a doctor and runner who realized what was going on and gave me exercises to do to save my knees and keep me moving.  The catch?  It will always be there and require exercises to keep my parts where they belong.  So gotta get back to it.

Things did straighten up enough that I started walking again yesterday.  NO sore muscles!  I’m excited.  I’ll walk a couple more times and if I still have no soreness I’m going to go from 20 min. to 25 min. and see what happens.  Squee!

Mug of the Day

I really need to bake some homemade ones.   Mmmmm…

Seeing the garden struggling in the heat, followed by rain and wind, has reminded me of some of the plants that have failed me over the years – some that didn’t take off full stop, and some that showed promise but for whatever reason, perished.

I am a dogged and stubborn gardener by nature (and in the rest of my life too, I suspect), so when something dies on me, I have often stuck my heels in and planted the same thing over again, determined to make it grow come hell or high water – but sometimes you have to know when to quit, if a plant just isn’t working out for you.

Here, then, is the roll call of those I have loved and lost.

Late lamented jasmine

Who doesn’t love jasmine? The smell is heavenly, and the white starry flowers against the dark leaves are beautiful – just perfect, I thought, for the shady corner at the bottom of my garden, imagining the white petals would glow out from the shadows to pleasing effect.

It was one of the first things I planted and it grew profusely that summer – beginning to cover a dead tree stump and trellis – but at the first sign of winter it turned up its toes and died. I had always assumed jasmine was hardy, but evidently not, and I decided not to replant it, as it would be so frustrating to start training a new plant up the trellis only to lose it again the next winter – so in its place, a honeysuckle AND a clematis are thriving.

Lily of the valley – don’t even have a photo of this, it grew so briefly. I’ve tried it a couple of times, picking out shady damp spaces you would think would be perfect for it, and the first time it did flower once, but it never reappeared and I’m not sure why, as it’s a perennial. The second time, slugs did for it, so I admitted defeat and have not tried to grow it again. One to try in my next garden, perhaps…

Sweet pea – honestly, I thought any idiot can grow sweet peas, surely? Not me. The first time I planted them from seed too late, and they never really got going. Second summer I bought established plants from the garden centre (cheating!), built a wigwam and got a fairly good result, although the flowers were nearly all burgundy when I was hoping for pale pinks, purples and whites.

Burgundy is boring!

Last year I decided to be organised and planted sweet peas from seed indoors, watered faithfully and planted them out – but the tray I’d cultivated them in was shallow and the roots weren’t deep enough, so they struggled to climb the wigwam and I eventually waved the white flag. This year, I haven’t bothered planting them at all. Bah, humbug!

Mexican daisies RIP

Now this one I am really angry about. I discovered Mexican daisies growing in a posh Dulwich garden on an open gardens day, and immediately decided I must have them in my garden – how adorable are those pink and white flowers, and how funky compared to an ordinary daisy? (not that I don’t love those too).

So I planted one at the end of my garden where it grew at the bottom of the wall in a cranny that was almost perfectly designed to take it – then I got the garden wall rebuilt. I gave the builders strict instructions that the plant was to be retained, and came home to find it had been dug up and thrown away. I was most displeased and had a good old whinge about it – but it was gone for good.

I finally replanted it last autumn as close to the original spot as I could, but it doesn’t appear to have survived the winter. Perhaps it’ll be third time lucky, but maybe I’ll save this one for my next garden.

Pinks before they got ragged looking

Pinks (dianthus) are rather garish – I think this variety above was called Raspberry Ripple – but we grew them in my parents garden and I’ve always thought they were a cheap and cheerful way of injecting some lively colour into a garden, often with attractive silvery foliage too.

This one looked perfect when newly planted, as did the pale peach one with pink edges to the flowers, and the white one – but within a matter of months they started to look ragged and messy. The foliage turns brown, and the buds go rotten and wither without even opening. Was I over-watering or under-watering? Too much sun or not enough?

It didn’t seem to matter whether they were planted in shade or sun, in pots or in beds, they looked ugly and straggly, and yet didn’t actually stop growing, just kept limping on and producing buds that never flowered. I ought to give up on them, and yet I have just planted a new pink. Triumph of hope over experience – either I am too stubborn or too easily swayed by a bargain (they are so cheap!) to resist. Let’s see whether this one finally works for me.

]]> http://rmsiblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/breaking-the-garden-rules-with-lettuce/ Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:51:19 +0000 rmsiblog http://rmsiblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/breaking-the-garden-rules-with-lettuce/ My sister recently told me that her lettuce wasn’t doing very well because she hadn’t had time to water it. I told her that shouldn’t matter, and she argued with me, telling me that lettuce needs lots of water. I like to test these “rules” in my own garden, which often makes for some interesting arrangements and results.

On May 5^th I bought a mix of lettuce and planted it. I watered it on the day of planting and once after. As you probably recall, we had very little rain in Southern Ontario in the month of May, so my watering was the most the lettuce got.

I was pleasantly surprised how much my lettuce grew in that time.  I had my first salad from my garden this past Monday, and it’s still growing strong, ready for another harvest today. (I know we had a fair amount of rain this past weekend, but I my lettuce was growing very well before that).

My low water lettuce, with one harvest already done.

A little about the conditions of my garden; I have a raised garden/retaining wall, which is south facing and has a sandy loam soil mix (thanks to the previous owner). The retaining wall is crumbling, adding to the “well-drained” conditions of the raised garden. I have wood mulch throughout, and lots of it (the other day I was planting some Kale and realized there was over 6 inches of mulch in once area of the garden).

I grow a mix of perennials, annuals and vegetables in my garden, most planted somewhat haphazardly as I use my garden to test and experiment, rather than as a visual masterpiece. Sometimes this works in my favor and a neat little colour combination of plants will reveal itself…

Using lettuce to create foliage interest in your garden.

For the first time ever, my other half actually commented on how great the garden looked, and how beautiful the colours looked (he prefers grass to EVERYTHING).

Dianthus with some chartreuse lettuce for an unexpected colour combo. Both get very little water…

Am I telling you to push your plants into a perpetual state of thirst? Not at all. But stop over-pampering your plants, they are living things and they will adapt to the conditions to survive. They have root systems which will quickly grow or move to find moisture, and at the same time, they will shrink and limit growth if there is too much water. Play with the “rules” of gardening a bit and see what great results you may end up with. Less water will typically amount in better results than too much.

Happy Gardening!

Aileen

I have to admit I am a bit of a foliage freak. These are two of my favourite plants together. This is a Hydrangea and a Cotinus or Smokebush. I love the chartreuse colour of the Hydrangea next to this large shrub. I see tiny buds on both plants.

 Hubby’s favourite Foxgloves are just beginning to bloom. The speckling inside the blooms is so cool and the bees love this plant.

 Love this Hosta in my shade garden but its getting crowded by the Skimmia next to it. I like the small leaves next to the large leaves of this Hosta. A garden should always have contrast.

This Foxglove is a darker shade than the other above and it only grew about three feet high.

 The Roses are putting on a full show and will bloom until mid July if I am lucky. I have Clematis mixed in so that when the Roses finish another plant will bloom.

The Dianthus is just starting to open with just a few flowers today. I have several different kinds planted under the rose arbor. I like the blue green foliage that stays evergreen here. The arbor is very fragrant to stroll under right now.

 The Roses have now decided to start scrambling over the bench seat next to the big arbor. There are two Clematis growing over this bench seat as it also has an small lattice type roof over it.

 My poor shrub Roses have taken a beating with all the rain this week. Today is sunny with a few clouds and we should get a couple days of dry weather.

This is Physocarpus or Ninebark blooming in my backyard. I am trying to continue this mahogany colour with the use of Heucheras in this garden. You know what they say, repeat the color schemes.
Well that’s about it for today. I am busy getting ready to speak on school gardens next week to a group of master gardeners. That’s what I am passionate about so it will be easy. I love, love , love teaching children how to grow food.
Happy gardening,
Kristin

If you live near a road, in an urban area, or even rural one with wild animals nearby in fields and woods, you may want to make your area for cats secure.  Fencing is the means for this, just make sure it is high enough, strong enough if they try to climb it, anchored or buried so they can’t dig under, and has openings not wider than two inches.  You may angle the tops inward so, if they do reach the top of the mesh fence, they can’t really get over.  Watch for nearby high areas from which they can jump over a fence.

Whether or not you need to make your cat area secure, you definitely want to make possible hazards secure and off limits behind shut doors.  This includes chemicals such as pesticides, oil, and antifreeze.  Don’t use slug baits around plants.  Make sure if cats can play around cars that they don’t sleep under them, potentially getting car chemicals on their fur or worse, being there if the car moves.

Because cats will want to eat, sleep, and play in their garden, the plants may become bedraggled, bent, or broken. So, you’ll probably want to tuck the garden behind a garage or in a corner of the yard. It’s also a good idea to isolate it from favorite flowers or your vegetable crops, and away from streets that can be dangerous if not just scary to cats with all their noises.

Although not all cats respond the same way to all so-called cat aphrodisiacs, most will go crazy over catnip (Nepeta cataria). Long before anyone discovered that this plant, a native of Europe, triggered a response in cats, it was used for tea and as a medicinal herb to treat a number of ailments. It is also said to be an effective mosquito repellent. Plant catnip in full sun in well-drained soil.  Plants will grow to a height of 12 inches or more (provided cats don’t chew them down), producing tiny lavender flowers beginning in early summer.

Some cats also will adore catmint (Nepeta mussinii), which induces similar frenzies in them. The plant has silvery leaves, and flowers ranging in color from white to dark blue, depending on cultivar (cultivated variety). The compact plants make a nice place for an afternoon catnap.  For best results, grow in a sunny location.

No cat’s garden would be complete without cat thyme (Teucrium marum) or valerian (Valeriana officinalis). The first is a member of the mint family and has deep green leaves and purple spires. A Mediterranean native, it is not hardy in cold climates.  If planted in full sun in a moist, well-drained spot it may grow to heights of one to two feet. It is related to the herb germander, not the herb thyme, so its common name is misleading.

Valerian, a sedative for humans but a stimulant for cats, is an attractive plant with fern-like foliage and fragrant pink, white, or lavender flowers. At maturity, plants may reach heights of three to four feet. Valerian can be grown in sun or partial shade and is not particular fussy about soil conditions.

Other plants that cats may fancy include creeping rosemary and the tender herb lemongrass (the same as used in cooking).  Both aren’t hardy in cold climates.  If buying any plants for cats, and not starting them yourself from seeds, just confirm with your retailer that pesticides haven’t been used on them.

Just as there are plants to include, there are plants to avoid in the cat garden as they may be toxic to felines.  Keep them away from azaleas, caladium, castor bean, chrysanthemums, daffodils, elephant ears, foxglove, hosta, iris, ivies, lilies and particularly tiger lilies, morning glory, pinks (Dianthus) and lily of the valley among others.  A more complete listing can be found online (www.aspca.org).

In addition to planting a smorgasbord of favorite plants, be sure to leave a patch of loose dirt for rolling and digging. Compost is sometimes even better than dirt for cats, but if you use this in a good flower bed be aware that they may use this for a litter box! You can put some wire mesh under mulch or compost in flower beds to make it less attractive.

Add some shade with a small teepee of boards or half a plastic culvert, burying the bottom few inches in the soil so it won’t collapse in heavy rain or wind or by roughhousing by playful cats. The culvert or similar structure also provides a secure hideout for them, or protection if being chased. It saves them from getting stuck up a tree! Just make sure it is not too large for small kids to climb in and get stuck. It also provides cover in bad weather, as does an open area under porch or nearby shed.

Cats also like to be up high to survey their world, so add a perch if you don’t have a wall or picnic table.  If you have some form of fence, add a board or two at various heights for shelves. A trellis with board on top not only supports vines but gives cats a walking beam.

Cats like to explore, so create some interesting places for them.  This could be as simple as a grouping of pots on a patio, or some shrubs to hide under awaiting possible bugs or mice.

If your cats like to scratch, consider adding a scratching post such as a cedar fence post, or post wrapped in roping or even old carpet.  If they take to scratching on your favorite tree, you’ll need to encircle the trunk with hardware cloth wire mesh.

Consider adding a water feature like small pond for drinking water for your cats. However, if you put in fish, you may need to place a net just under the water surface to protect them! Some cats like to play in moving water, as with small fountains and water cascades.

If you have bird feeders near your garden, make sure that they are high enough so the cats can’t climb up to get birds. I put mine on a pole so I can easily take them down, or on a pulley and rope to lower them, when I need to refill.

Finally, cats like to nibble on grass. So, include some nice grassy plants in your garden or leave a patch of unmown grass near the garden for munching, just make sure the grass you leave isn’t treated with pesticides.  You can buy kitty grass kits at many pet outlets, or simply sow some oat seeds.  You’ll find these at feed stores and at full-service garden stores as they also are used for garden cover crops. A small patch of grass in a sunny spot may afford a favorite place for kitty to sunbathe.

(Dr. Leonard Perry)

I started with wild rose petals, and I choose a native rose that grows around Lake Ontario and in parks. It has a euphoric, subtle sweet smell that is going to get me through a long cold winter.

The wild rose petals look like white hearts when you pluck them out.

The peonies are so delicate they look like tissue paper, and the most exotic smell exudes from their floral pink clouds. With my fingers I tore the petals from around the center and left the remaining flowers to continue to bloom they are so gorgeous.

Peony

The small lilac bush smelled so hypnotic I could smell it through the open bedroom window at night haunting my dreams. I just have to capture that smell again! This is the lilac bush the hummingbird moth visited.

Lilac

Dianthus is a favourite perennial that smells like white chocolate to me.

Dianthus

I know it will make amazing perfume. Dianthus petals

All the flowers are basking in sunbeams of the sun and venus transit in a water alcohol mixture.

See how these natural perfumes press out next month!

I saw my first hummingbird for the season!  I can barely imagine that what I witness in them actually works.  The speed of their wings is amazing! 

A pair of rabbits and I had a pleasant exchange.  At first they ran when I approached the back of my yard to drop off some sticks I collected today.  They stopped not very far from me.  Then the best part. . . one came back!  At just feet away we chatted (truth be told, I was the only one of us talking, at least as far as I can say with any certainty).  I rewarded them by dropping off some fresh lettuce for them to find. 

Today was a day for finding things.  As I pulled mugwort (in my practice for the mugwort-pulling event to be held at the London Olympics) I found some surviving pants.  I was rewarded with a bright white astilbe bloomed in the White Garden, and 3 Jack-in-the-Pulpits. Truth be told, the “Jacks” failed to go dormant over the mild winter and look the worse for wear.  But they survived!

Happy findings

There were more obvious “finds” as well.  The yellow garden is being uncovered more and more, week by week. 

In the Yellow Garden a beautiful Asian Lily is in bloom, another lily is in the bud stage, and a tiny yellow flower managed to show me it’s host plant is surviving the mugwort invasion.

The mugwort is being taken care of day by day.  Most is being pulled and dug from the soil.  Below is what the poisoned patches show.  The adult plants are more wilted, but not gone.  The young, previously pulled plants are gone.  I am watching carefully.  Despite all the weeding, there is mugwort as far as the eye can see.

Are you as tired of seeing the mugwort as am I? Yet I am obsessed with mugwort.

The efforts and the invasions and the rain and . . . . . . have let Nature do her thing!  My efforts are rewarded beyond what a person deserves.

More and more spiderwort is blooming, in several shades. The white astilbe is fully open and the palest of pink is following (bottom right). The pink and orange lily is in the proper garden. The pale orange lilies show in both the Shade and the Mixed Gardens. The beautiful spread of red lilies is striking as an entry to the Shade Garden.  And in the middle, a pink and white “Clownfish” dianthus was purchased to help repopulate the Pink and White Garden.

Today was a busy day.  The treat of strawberries from the food garden brought a smile. The potatoes are growing well so far. They will soon have soil added to keep the growth going with the aim of more potatoes.  The eggplant and peppers have been under the attack of the flea beetle.  Not a flea, but similar in size and in its jumping habit to the flea, this beetle is causing a good deal of damage.  They have shown some dislike for mint, so the area was sprayed with a natural animal repellant having mint.  The beetles are being picked off by hand.  I will see what happens as the growing season progresses.  It is my error to have planted the peppers and the eggplant as neighbors in the garden – allowing a flea beetle party (Dr. Seuss would like that, I think).  The planting is not as I planned, due to a bamboo invasion (more on that later).  I do remain optimystic for the plants, but not for the beetles.

Fianlly, on the top right, above, is one of the onions that wintered over well,  and it is ready to flower!  Normally, in the North East, a flower would not be achieved as onions are a biennial member of the allium family.  Lucky me!

In joy or sadness flowers are our constant friends.~ Kakuzō Okakura

That’s it for this trip through the garden. Isn’t it interesting how many native plants we have adopted to grow in our gardens?  Thanks for visiting.

Yesterday a friend gave me a Dianthus also know as a Clove Pink or Sweet William. Its heady, sweet clove scent brought back the Clove Pinks my grandmother grew down the side of her house. As a child I didn’t much like the fragrance but now I adore it.

My gran loved spicy scents. I used to open the door to her linen closet and take out her box of Maja soap by Myrurgia. The red and black box depicted a dark Spanish Flamenco dancer posing with her fan open and held aloft in a dramatic gesture. The most wonderful thing to my young eyes was that beautiful flanged box with each individual round soap wrapped in a pleated black tissue circle. I used to beg for the empty boxes in which I would keep my most treasured possessions. The Maja always sat on the middle shelf while the Yardley’s Lavender soap sat on the third shelf. To this day I prefer lavender or sandalwood soaps.

There was always an orange pomander suspended from a red ribbon in Gran’s linen closet in the hallway. Most people don’t remember pomanders but they scented the towels and sheets of my childhood. They are so out of fashion my Spellcheck feature didn’t recognize the word. We as children used to make the pomanders to give away as Christmas presents. I am not sure when I stopped doing it but I think I should make a few for our armoires and the warming closet. It is a simple thing to do and very satisfying. You take a fresh orange and stud it completely over its skin with whole cloves. I warn you the cloves will leave your fingertips a bit sore unless you pre-drill the hole with a needle or push-pin. Wearing a thimble might be a good idea. The clove-studded orange is then rolled in powdered Orris Root. This is the dried, ground root of the Iris plant. It is important to remember that Orris Root is poisonous when ingested so take care to keep your hands away from your face and wash them thoroughly afterwards. Wrap the powdered orange in a circle of tulle netting, tie it closed with a ribbon and hang it to dry in a warm, dry place. You can always tie on a few fresh Bay leaves for a nice mixture. Orris Root is easily obtainable on-line at Neals Yard Remedies at the Link to the right. You can use any citrus fruit, limes or lemons work well too but I think I would give grapefruit a miss..

Grandmother placed little bags of Lavender in between her crisply ironed sheets. We were tucked into those cool sheets and their Lavender scent would send us off to dream. This was pre-aromatherapy. Each year Gran would gather the Lavender flowers, dry them and replace the last year’s worn out buds with new spicy ones. I found a pile of ridiculously inexpensive organza bags printed with stars and moons at a bargain shop and bought them all to fill with Spanish Lavender from the tops of the Contraviesa mountains in Granada, Spain. I still have one of those bags but sadly its scent has long since played out. I am expecting 6 Hidcote lavender plugs to arrive from a free magazine offer. I just hope they flourish this year so that we can have scented sheets again. If they are not abundant I will order some buds from Neals Yard, or see if I can find some locally. There is nothing as wonderful as sleeping in line-dried sheets scented with Lavender. When my Lavenders do become prolific I am going to make Lavender Batons threaded with pale pink and violet satin ribbons to hang in the armoires. These little wands sell for big money in posh stores but are terribly simple to make. I have included an instructional Link under Information to the right. One of their best uses is to help repel moths and other insects attracted to your lovely things.

This all seems rather fussy and old fashioned I suppose. After all it is so easy to buy aerosol sprays that imitate these scents and help reduce our ozone layer and then contribute to our landfills with their useless metal bodies. Where would we be without a synthetic rock that sprays the air periodically turning your house into an imitation forest glen. My favourite is the expensive jar of scented oil with some reeds stuck into it that transforms loos. We live in a damp cold climate which keeps the windows and doors shut in the winter and breeds mildew in closets. We wear wool all year long. Mothballs are extremely poisonous, so much so that they are no longer used in museum collections. Killed a curator or two I am afraid. We use our tumble drier whenever it is raining and nothing smells as good as when it is line-dried. Life isn’t always about the big things. These are unsettling times and if a whiff of Lavender or cloves gives you a moment of comfort and joy isn’t it worth doing? I am going out to buy a few oranges and some cloves to stud while I await the arrival of the Lavender plants.

5 Pairs of socks are finished, the 6th is on the needles. My Clove Pink sits within reach on the patio table.