Man Over Onion

We all have at least one plant that refuses to like us, no matter what we do for it. Like a spoiled child, the onions got more than their share of attention, and every year gave me back nothing. I wrote about my broken heart in a past post [2011.06.26], with a photo of my thankless children. It seems that root crops do not like me. Radishes, carrots, potatoes (darn potato beetles) and onions. I wasn't going to take it any more.

This year carrots are growing in the back yard vegetable garden. Onions were planted in the front cottage garden, like recent years. Unlike recent years, these are something I can be proud of. And there are more larger ones still growing. So what happened?

First, I went back to onion sets instead of seeds. Not because I wanted to, but because it was too late to plant seed. Second, I purchased both red and yellow onions by weight from a local garden center where one could pick them out of large bins; meanning pick the best ones. Third, I enriched the soil more than usual (the soil is pretty good in that bed already) with manure and humus. I read somewhere (in my quest to find an answer to my none-ions) that rich soil and plenty of water is what they want. That leads me to the last point.

Thank climate change. Our springs over that past five years have all been abnormal in one way or another. This year, cooler temperatures and plenty of rains helped me out. (I think last year was our desert highland spring, while this year was the Pacific northwest spring.) everything is growing like gangbusters -- even the weeds.

But, I like to think I triumphed over the onions. Now on to those carrots.

For The Record:   • Rich, well-drained soil   • Full sun   • Humus and manure fertilizer at planting, slow release fertilizer during growth   • No serious pests/disease Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: nicotiana, cleome, cosmos, lily, daylilies, rose,     astilbe, hosta, rudbeckia, echinacea   • Harvested: 2 onions

June 2013 Flowers In The House

On Saturday, we had dinner on the deck. When guests attend dinner, they most likely prefer to bring along something to add to the dinner. Everyone contributes some tasty dish that when combined with the others, creates a memorable evening meal.

This weekend, one guest brought blue hydrangea. To reflect the dinner modus operandi, contributions from two other gardens were included and combined to make this summer composition. After a brief Sunday morning rain, it was brought indoors today to become the flowers in the house.

Visit more Flowers In The House at Jane's blog Small But Charming.

My Lily Has No Name

Plant swaps are wonderful for picking up fill for the garden and the soul. And, since our neighborhood plant swaps are brunches, they are for filling the belly, too. But at these, I don't expect any latin names, let alone cultivars.

This Asiatic lily (Lilium) was picked up from Mary, who is a regular at our swaps. How does her garden grow? It is very well, although Mary knows none of the names of her plants, nor where she got most of them. For me, her plants are jinxed. I kill every plant I get from her (except the Nandina.) After always getting another victim the following year, her second donations survive. And so it was with the lily.

After the first murder, the next batch of only two plants lived. Mary does not like to give out lots of plants to killers, and I understand. The replacement lilies ended their first year as pathetic specimens. Last year, Mary's lilies were much improved after being moved to a sunny spot with better soil. This year, the now fab five sport more buds on each stem, and I believe I even see some side shoots from new bulbettes forming underground.

After searching through a hundred photos for their name, I have yet to find a match. It resembles 'Brushstroke' in coloring, but a 'Graffiti' series in markings. These have strong stems and require no staking, although growing 3-feet tall (1 m.) They have pale yellow blooms with green streaks in their throats.

They are now part of the side yard melange garden bordering the platform steps down the slope, and liking it. Everyone deserves a second chance. Are you reading this Mary?

I threw in my first wildlife photo; taken in a neighbor's yard. Baby birds are too photogenic, and besides, there is a plant in the shot.

For The Record:   • Well-drained soil, slightly improved clay   • Full sun   • Small amount of slow release fertilizer in autumn   • No serious pests/disease   • No fragrance Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: nicotiana, cleome, cosmos, lily, daylilies, rose,     astilbe, hosta, rudbeckia, echinacea

Almost Lost You

Mr. Astilbe ... we almost lost you. Glad you pulled through.

The Bridal Veil Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) was one of the first shady newcomers to the rear yard upgrade four or five years ago. Who doesn't look for a double planted or dividable pot when selecting that something special to take home from the expensive nursery? I found one and planted my twins side by side.

They prospered and grew larger, and then last year there were no flowers. The plants just stopped growing. I came to the rescue with some life-support compost and mulch, but the ground was rock-hard and dry after the exceptionally hot spring. These plants probably like shade for a reason.

Coddling them through the spring, they turned a nice golden crispy brown and finally disappeared around July. They came back this year, but the blossoms look nothing like the fluffy happy photos on web sites.

After blooming, I plan to move them further from the photinia that steal every drop of water from the soil under them. And maybe we give them some additional light. There was a new red astilbe planted in the garden about a year ago that seems more hardy, either because it is further away from the photinia, or it receives a little more sun.

I could not let a few other impressive results of this spring go by without showing them off. Kniphofia uvaria has multiplied more - do they make a good cut flower? And the opuntia shows why I keep it around.

For The Record:   • Clay soil with leaf mulch & organic amendments   • Shade   • Small amount of fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: astilbe, rudbeckia, phlox, coreopsis, opuntia, kniphofia, poppy, daylily, rose campion, lime echinacea   • Harvested: 1 radish

Bombastic Poppies

My poppies are usually not big and loud, except for this year. These particular pink poppies are very unique to almost everyone who sees them, believing they are peonies. They grow and reseed each year at the back of my parent's garage in Johnson City NY (zone 5b). They came with the house, so no one knows anything about them.

Years ago, they were planted in my yard (zone 7a). The seeds are saved annually (although I don't know why since the poppies easily reseed themselves), planted in the fall, and in the spring pop up like poppies do. They have smooth solid leaves of a blue-green color like cabbage, and pink multi-petal blooms resembling shredded coleslaw. They are definitely poppies given the appearance of the seed pods, and given the manner in which they hang their heads until ready to bloom. After the internet came along, voila! - we now know they are: Bombast Rose Poppies (Papaver somniferum var. paeoniflorum).

They are essentially one of the opium poppies. (Fits well into my poison garden theme.) My advice for growing them: don't believe what you read on the internet about their cultivation. First, they should be planted in the fall and seem to prefer cool temperatures in spring - not very promising around here. Most all seeds planted in the spring turn into minuscule plants that get fried in the heat of late spring and summer.

Second, they hate to be transplanted, and never seem to recover from that shock. Third, they are anti-social plants - not liking crowded conditions. I find they seem to compete with each if close together. Fourth, they do not like heat. This last piece of advice relates to this year's crop.

In the past, a handful would grow to 3-feet tall (1 m) while others would remain midgets with almost no blooms. This year, there is the usual crop of midgets, but a few shot up to 4-feet (1.2 m) in height with gigantic blooms. The over-scaled plants began sprouting earlier than the others when weather was cooler. This may have given them a head start. When the weather changes a bit, the heat seems to toast their lower leaves, reducing the amount of food for the plant, my guess. We had a somewhat cool spring this year, so the plants with the head start really took off early while the others were affected by the heat as they began to grow.

For The Record:   • Rich well-drained amended soil   • Full sun   • Small amount of fertilizer   • No serious pests/disease   • No fragrance Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: pink poppies, nicotiana, coreopsis, salvia, california poppies, tradescantia, rose, cactus