A Day at the Farm 05/29/2011

During the evenings of the hot months of summer, bees will gather on the outside of the hive as if they are hanging out on the front porch.

We dropped off our bags and drove straight to the farm after our flight from San Diego.

• I harvested some honey today!!! I pulled three supers from the hive. They were loaded with honey. The process is pretty disconcerting - the bees don't like when their hive is disturbed. They were angry! I brushed the bees off the surface of the supers and carried the supers inside. Then I scraped the bee wax off both sides of each of the supers and slipped them into the honey harvester. Next, I spun the handle so that the honey flew off the supers and splattered on to the sides of the metal canister. Then the honey dripped down the sides of the canister. All that was left to do after that was to open the spigot at the bottom, and let it pour through a strainer into sterilized jars. Fun! It is very thick and dark brown. Interesting. Not like what you can purchase in the grocery store. My personal experience with all things that are home grown or gathered is that they are never exactly like what can be purchased in the grocery store. My honey is delicious, but different.



• Big disappointment: Every single plum in the Orchard was eaten by raccoons. The skins and the pits were all around the tree. Two big branches were broken from them crawling all over the tree trying to reach the plums. Damn! I couldn't believe it. Every single one was eaten.



• I watered various plants.



• Gathered about 30 tomatoes and some cucumbers.



• Weeded all the gardens.



• Swam in the pool for a long time.

What's Blooming Now Souvenir de la Malmaison 05/22/2011

This Bourbon rose was introduced into trade in 1843 by Beluze. Below is a quote from a passage in Brent Dickerson's Old Rose Advisor discussing the introduction of Souvenir de la Malmaison:

"The blossoms ... were taken to the markets of Lyon, whence they were quickly borne off, and Beluze was not of a mind to release this wonderful variety [wanting to maintain his 'monopoly' on its appearance in the florist trade] ... Beluze was so happy in the possession of this jewel that, whenever someone would enter his yard, he would place that person under the strictest surveillance, believing that otherwise the person would take many cuttings. The story also goes on to say that Mme Beluze would stand, watching, in one of the windows of the house. As for Beluze himself, he would be lost in watching the visitor from head to toe."

A Day at the Farm 05/22/2011

I went up for the day by myself. I didn't even bring my dogs. I just needed to check on things quickly before we leave for San Diego.

• Picked lots of pretty vegetables: tomatoes, little red peppers, banana peppers, patty pan squash, eggplants, and cucumbers. Looks good in there. The corn is coming right along. Bees were crawling all over the tassels. I have about 50 sunflowers growing. They all have big buds on them. They will be pretty.


• In the early morning there were many dozens of beautiful blue flowers growing on the radicchio that I am allowing to go to seed. When this particular variety of radicchio goes to seed it throw off a tall stalk, about 4 feet tall, and then - surprise! - all along the stalk bloom large blue flowers. The flowers only last a few short hours. When I went into the Vegetable Garden later in the day they were all gone. I forgot to bring my camera or I would have taken a picture. So pretty!


• All vegetables go to seed if you don't pull them up - how do you think the pioneers in the olden days got their seed for their plantings? You can gather the seeds and plant them at the appropriate time of the year, or you can let them fall to the ground and they will take root when the climate signals their time. I usually pull up my vegetables so that I can plant something new. And I like to try new varieties, so I don't want to grow the same variety every year.


• I filled the pool with water. The pool is not in good shape. There is something wrong with the motor. The pool people are coming sometime later this week to take a look at it. No doubt it will be expensive - isn't everything?


• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden, the Orchard, the Star Garden, the Greenhouse Gardens, around lots of the flowerbed edging, the driveway, and paths in the Vegetable Garden.


• There was half an inch in the rain gauge.


• Tried to sun bathe for awhile, but I got impatient.


• Watered here and there, especially around the pool.


• Threw out some stale bread to the birds.


• Weeded and observed. The hot weather-loving plants are starting to take over.


• The plums in the Orchard are just beginning to show the faintest blush of pink although they are still small. I am excited about the plums. Plums are my favorite fruit.

Some of my Cannas

This a pretty red canna called Scarlet Wave. It is at the entrance to the Orchard and the color really pops. Very visible from the top of the hill. This canna spreads quickly! The two pictures below are Striped Beauty Canna. The leaves are variegated and quite pretty. The buds of cannas are one of my favorite things about this group of flowers. The buds are beautiful works of art. I also love the big, luscious flowers and the tropical foliage. The leaves are the larval food for butterflies in the skipper family. I have this one planted next to the pool. It is a dwarf, and it has turned out to be more slow growing than Scarlet Wave or Tropical Sunrise (below).
This canna is called Tropical Sunrise. I planted it in the Long Border next to the Rose Garden. It has really spread quickly, and it is always in bloom.

What's Blooming Now - White Mist Flower 05/14/2011

This is White Mist Flower next to Feverfew. It is more amazing than I could ever describe to sit next to these two plants. They attract hundreds and hundreds of insects.

It interesting how the weather significantly influences plant and animal life. For example, last year the spiders were everywhere. Every time we took a walk we ran into webs. They had to be cleaned daily off our eaves and off the arbor. This year there are none! I assume it is drought-related. The white mist plant didn't bloom until August of last year. This year it is blooming in May. Very strange because I believe this plant to be a fall bloomer. Again, I assume it is drought-related.

A Day at the Farm 05/13-14/2011

What a gorgeous day! The temperature was very cool on Saturday. And it was sunny. Perfect. We left in the early afternoon to go to a family party.

• Planted 3 Pink Autumn Sage 'Salvia greggii'. Two in the Wave Garden and one in the back bed by the bedroom. I have a soft spot for salvias. I just love them. There is an endless variety to choose from. And they are deer resistant.
  



• Weeded, weeded, weeded. But I'm weeding a lot less than I would be if we weren't in a drought. There was an inch of rain in the rain gauge, that's good but not nearly enough.
  



• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden, the Orchard, around the pool, and in the Vegetable Garden.
  



• Worked in the Vegetable Garden for awhile. Picked some peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash.
  



• For dinner made a salad with the cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, chives, and thyme marinated in vinegar and sugar and lemon juice. All from the garden. Also for dinner tossed the squash in olive oil and roasted it with some garlic.
  



• Swam in the pool and soaked up some sun.
  



• Fertilized the fruiting plum, the pomegranate, and the Mayhaw. Fertilized the asparagus and the Anacachoe Orchid tree.
  



• Trimmed the wisteria.
  



• A bird hatched some eggs in the glove box of the cub cadet. We had to move the nest - we drive that thing all the time! I hope the mother finds her babies.
  



• Butterflies everywhere! There is a frenzy of movement in the Star Garden - butterflies, all manner of bees and bee-like insects and an endless array of odd looking insects.
  



• Moved sprinklers and adjusted sprinklers.
  



• Deadheaded the roses.
  



• Planted some Echinacea seeds.
  



• Sat in the Orchard for some time. It is the same as the Star Garden - crazy with insect movement.



• I need to re-do the Bulb Bed. I have a bed that spans the length of the shed, and the only thing growing in it is bulbs - irises, watsonia, rain lilies, and amaryllis. The armadillos were terrorizing it, so I covered the whole thing with chicken wire. But now it is too difficult to weed it, and things aren't growing as well as they should. Plus I need some height in there, something shrubby, not sure what. Hydrangeas maybe. It doesn't get full sun there. I'll fix it in the fall. That's the best time to move bulbs. I'll need to figure out where to put all the bulbs I dig up.

Some of my Hostas

The two photographs above are Guacamole Plantain Lily. The plantain lilies do a little better in our heat than the hostas do.

The two photographs above are Stained Glass Hosta.

The photograph above is Alligator Shoes Hosta.

The two photographs above are Sum and Substance Hosta.

What's Blooming Now - Butterfly Weed 05/02/2010

Butterfly Weed is a must have plant in a butterfly garden. It is a milkweed plant. Milkweed is the larval food plant for Monarch butterflies. And all butterflies love the flowers. Orange is my least favorite flower color, but these are established plants so I'm keeping them.

There are several varieties of Butterfly Weed and various flower colors: white, yellow, pink, as well as some exotic varieties. Butterfly Weed is a perennial. It will die back in the winter, and it will come up from the roots and get bigger every year. Don't be afraid to cut it back when it gets leggy in the middle of summer. It grows fast, and you'll have lots of new growth and flowers for fall. August, September, and October are prime butterfly months.

What's Blooming Now - Rudbeckia Maxima 05/02/2011

Planted along a fence next to the Vegetable Garden. Alongside I have some Mexican Mint Marigold, some rain lilies, and I am growing pumpkins.

Rudbeckia Maxima has very large ears which is why it has earned the common name Dumbo Ear Cone Flower. It can grow to 6 feet tall. I have mine growing along a fence to help prop it up and protect it from high winds. The leaves are large as I mentioned previously, and they are a pretty gray-green. The petals are that yellow color we are all familiar with amongst the black-eyed Susan type of wildflower, but the central cone of the flower can be 4 - 6 inches tall. Very unusual. When the cone dries out the finches and other small birds love the seeds. This is an evergreen perennial. A clump of greenery remains throughout the winter. Each year the clump (I like that word!) gets bigger. It is a drought tolerant plant. I have mine planted in a place that gets some incidental water, it is not in the main path of the sprinklers.

Joe Pye Weed - the Medicinal Herb

I have Joe Pye Weed growing in the Star Garden. It is interplanted with Cleome, Stone Crop, and Verbena Bonariensis.

The Joe-Pye Weed was named after a Native American doctor named Joe Pye who used it medicinally. The medicine man taught early settlers how to use it.

As a medicinal herb, the root is the "official" part, with a fragrance that resembles old hay. It is a good remedy for gravel in the gallbladder - it dissolves stones. It has been used for chronic urinary and kidney disorders, bed wetting, poor appetite, dropsy, neuralgia, rheumatism. It is very soothing and will relax the nerves. Joe Pye increases the flow of urine. It is good for female troubles, bladder and kidney infections, diabetes, and Bright’s disease.
It is also used for headache, hysteria, impotence, indigestion, intermittent fever, sciatica, sore throat, urine retention, vomiting, asthma, chronic coughs, colds, typhus fever.

And it blooms pretty flowers! The flowers haven't begin to bloom yet, but they are quite lovely.

What's Blooming Now - Verbena Bonariensis 05/02/2011

I just love this plant. It is so pretty. It is a good re-seeder and a tender perennial. This Verbena Bonariensis came back from seed. I have it planted in the Star Garden, which is where these pictures were taken. I also have lots of it in the Long Border and the Rose Garden. It is inter-planted with Joe Pye Weed and Cleome.

Nasturtiums - the Medicinal Herb

Nasturtiums are very fun to grow. The seeds are big and easy to handle. The large seeds and the fast growth rate of nasturtiums makes them a favorite in childrens' gardens. All parts of the nasturtium are edible including the stems. They have a peppery taste. They like cool weather, and they will be long gone by summertime. Plant seeds in the early spring time and in the fall. They also like poor soil which is unusual. The only other plant I can think of that likes poor soil is Morning Glories.

Nasturtiums are loaded with vitamin C. The seeds have been used historically as an antibiotic and for respiratory and urniary tract infections.

Feverfew - the Medicinal Herb

Feverfew has turned out to be a very pretty plant. This is the second year I've grown it, and it has turned out to be a very showy plant. Tea made from the flowers alleviates migraine headaches. Tea made from the leaves may also be used for migraines as well as menstrual pain. The leaves should be harvested before the flowers begin to form in the spring. The flowers should be harvested before they are fully open. Dry them upside down and store them in glass jars. Feverfew is a short-lived perennial, and it reseeds freely.

The Feverfew in these pictures is located in the Star Garden. I planted some seeds in the Medicine Garden this spring. Feverfew seeds are tiny specs like dust, so buy enough to have a showing.