Garden Lust!

I've been reading some amazing blogs, well written and funny, but the problem is well......they can be little oh shall we say, "free with the expressive language?"

Nothing BAD just a little bit more racy than I am. But as much as I enjoy them, I hear my Moms voice in my head saying "Jenniferrrrrrrr" with a slightly shocked tone. So this is my disclaimer, should my mom ever read this. This is all tongue in cheek Mom, HONEST! And Garden Lust is a real feeling, but its not a bad kind of feeling. It's what drives the gardening industry. If there were not real and luscious plants being paraded out onto the horticultural runway, like the celebrities of the gardening world they are, there would be no excitement.

None of the "got to have it". No My Best Friend just got one, and I Need to have it!

None of that "I saw it shiny and perfectly not eaten by slugs/bugs in all its beauty at the garden centre and yes it costs more than my mortgage, but who needs to eat.....this week." It's all just to make you want to buy that plant, take it home, and adore it. That's what Garden Lust is. Not what you're thinking, Mom!

Volunteers NOT wanted.

Every garden has them, the extra hardy, and quick to volunteer plants that seem to take over every available spot, space, and pot. Colorful cosmos are welcome.

But I have Thalictrum, meadow rue, [which is lovely in its own right,] growing in about 10 different spots. Some of it so well established in the ginko tree's container that it is bigger than the tree. But I have a hard time getting rid of it when it is blooming, so I wait until it gets mildewy and then cut it down.

There are grasses that have gone to seed in almost every pot on my patio. Don't plant millium effusium, a wonderful chartreuse green/yellow shade grass, unless you want it everywhere. And I mean everywhere! It is really stubborn and difficult to pull out from between the branches of hydrangeas, or any other plants. But oh so beautiful. Of course none of the really great perennials want to volunteer. Snobby golden hops, won't raise it's hand, nor will any of the beautiful zebra grasses reproduce. No they are too good for that. Its the workhorses of the garden that love to volunteer.

Plant euphorbia wolfennii in this climate and have a baby boom. Almost as many babies as Hollywood seems to be experiencing. But it is a lovely plant with those limey yellow blossoms. A real show stopper when planted. The trick is to wait until it blooms, and then drop the seeds in the neighbours yard....... wow a baby boom!

Why I am giving up peat moss

Peat moss has been a garden staple for ever. So why am I giving up peat?

It seems almost illogical to garden without it. We have always recommended mulching with peat, for it's acidity and water retention qualities that complement the type of plants that we naturally grow in this area. Like hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas, blueberries, heathers, and ferns. But a few years ago, I read somewhere that peat was not a quickly renewable resource. In fact it took hundreds of years to establish a peat bog. http://www.greenlivingonline.com/HomeGarden/giving-up-peat-moss-for-coconut-coir/

What was I going to do with out peat moss, we used it for everything?

The answer came quickly, use coconut coir. Made from the husk of coconuts, it was a easily renewable resource. Cost little, and soaked up water like a sponge. I admit I was a little leery at first. I kind of thought it would be a gimmick. What if my plants did not survive being in coconut coir over the winter. Actually they have done exceptionally well, survived two harsh winters, and don't need watering as much during the summer. I mix my own soil, and just subsituted coconut coir for the peat moss. I highly recommend it. It's easy to use, mixes well, and can be used as a mulch. Read up about it and give it a try. Usually available at garden centres, in bricks or bales. It expands when mixed with water. It costs about the same as peat, and is much more enviromentally friendly. Tell me what you think, are you willing to give up peat moss? Or is it the only one for you?

The One That Got Away

With some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, there are tons of photo ops around here that I just seem to miss when I don't take my camera with me. Like the masses of florescent colored poppies growing in the empty lot, and I did not want to trespass. So I shot this peony instead. And the cutest little white cottage with red geraniums spilling out of its window boxes. Not wanting to to knock on the door and ask permission to photograph, because they might think that I was a local weirdo spying on them. Now the house has been sold and doesn't look the same at all anymore. So I can't show you that either. Or the perfect picket fence with the purple lilacs peeking through, I did not have the time to knock on the door. The next time I came back they were all brown. No shot of the picket fence to show you. Miss any wonderful shots because you forgot to take the camera? Tell me about the "ones that got away". There might never be a better time to take a photo of that old rickety barn with the amazing sunset behind it. That is one that I got, and the next year, the barn collasped from all the winter snow. And then after you take the great photo, try and remember what you did with it.

Because I can't show you that one either.

Madame Z's Garden

Look up, see that balcony there? Yes that one with the all the plants in the windows. Thats our next secret garden. This one comes with a resident kitty, we call her Madame. As in Madame Z.

Here she is waiting for her closeup.

A very large banana with graceful leaves blows in the breeze.

Madame is waiting for her breakfast. She would rather eat, than watch me take photos.

A mix of sun and shade loving plants grow here.

Found washed up on the beach, this piece of Coral makes a nice accent.

A antique gate is propped up against the wall.

The streptocarpus and the maidenhair ferns love the shady spots.

It's a beautiful lush extension of the apartment. Full of treasures and exciting things for Madame Z to explore.

High hopes, caterpillar dreams

I have never really grown winter veggies here, if you live on the wet coast, you will understand. It's really beautiful for the first 2 weeks of September, and then...... all rain breaks loose. And it doesn't really stop until June of the next year. It kind of takes all the fun out of gardening.

Now we have the garden plots, and I am blogging, and am a member of Blotanical. So some of my old enthusiasm is back. As I happily browsed the seed rack for winter veggie seeds, I was amazed by the selection we could have. The only problem, I was about 2 months too late.

Right there in the West Coast Seeds catalogue was a article called

Summer Planting - Winter Gardening. Plant your winter garden by JULY.

Whoops!

We did not get into the garden plots until June, and everything I had planted was just starting to grow in July.

There went my opportunity to grow Brussels Sprouts, Leeks, and Winter Cabbages.

Winter transplants are a little hard to find. It just doesn't seem to be a big thing here on the coast. Might be all the rain?

I am growing great worms.

There was a great paragraph titled, "It's September and you forgot about planting in JULY.

You can still try corn salad, arugula, radishes and spinach."

OK, but I wanted.........

I have put some peas in, because we are supposed to get a really nice fall. And they love cool weather, they hated the hot summer sun we had.

I am also growing my absolute favorite Black Tuscan Kale. Which they say is the most elegant vegetable you will ever see. I just know that it's one of the most expensive I have ever bought organically. But the taste is so worth it.

After I planted the seeds, the seedlings looked so lovely and perfect, until the day when I was finally ready to transplant them, and they were striped of foliage. Some cute little caterpillars had eaten most of my transplants. They were exactly the same color as the leaves. So here I am nearsightedly peering at black caterpillar poop trying to find the leaf color matching bugs!

Now I realize that my optometrist is correct and I am going to need bifocals soon....... I keep saying I am not old enough yet, but trying to find those babies on the leaves has given me a huge headache.