Utah Valley Gardens

Gardening Offers Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Aurinia Basket of Gold

One of the bright spots in my whole garden this time of year is Basket of Gold. This plant definitely deserves to be spread more throughout my perennial beds, something I plan on doing this Fall or next Spring by root-division.

The daffodils behind it were deadheaded two days ago and the Clematis Jackmanii on the trellis is busy sending out climber tendrils and lots of leaves.

The entire landscape is in a sort of flux as I attempt to figure out how to arrange beds so they are in bloom throughout the year. Currently each of my seven perennial beds have blooms in Spring but once the bulbs have faded there will be patches of no bloom. Something I need to remedy.

One bed that is in transition is the Herb bed. Currently, the few herbs I have share this bed with a mugo pine, daylily, sedum, and a few bulbs. I had planted creeping thyme here a few years ago to fill in a huge space. It did it so well that I had to move a few plants that it was choking out. I am in the process of removing it and adding Chamomile, mint, rosemary and maybe a few other herbs. The bed will eventually reach out further into the yard as my knowledge and abilities matures.

One of the many things I love about gardening is it is a never-ending proposition. The 'look' and 'feel' of the garden will change both seasonally and yearly.

Update for March - week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:55:00 +0000

I took a break from pouring over last years garden journal and jumped into my herb bed. This bed is in transition, oh who am I kidding, every bed is in transition. Anyway, the bed was in dire need of pruning so that's what I set out to and did it. Most of it anyway.

Daylily Stella de Oro and Chives

Monarda Blue Stockings aka Bee Balm

Mugo Pine 'Slowmound'

Oregano - a plant that keeps on giving

Thyme - another plant that wont quit

Looking much better after the chop job, still more to go


and what's Spring without a few surprises? I have no idea what this is

Collector of Ideas and Frustration

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:34:00 +0000

Each year, during the garden-dormant season of winter, I go through the previous years garden journal - the hand written one - and I am always struck by how plans for my garden beds change just over the course of that year. And then I make an 'inspection tour' through the real-life garden and take note of how it is very different from what I had planned seven years ago.

I'm what might be labeled an 'idea hoarder'. Whether the ideas collected are in the form of hand-written notes or photos found on the internet and safely tucked into an appropriately named file folder, I am becoming over-whelmed with the seemingly insurmountable task of choosing and using one or more favorites.

I am quite sure I am not alone in this collector phenomena, but knowing I am not alone doesn't make the task any easier.

As the garden awakens each year and the fever to put new plans into place takes hold of me,my old nemesis is always there to greet me. This enemy is so persistent and onery that I almost want to give up. I'm talking about grass.

Grass creeps into my beds, some worse than others, but in every bed, save for the one that is surrounded by the house, a concrete driveway, a concrete sidewalk and a concrete porch, grass taunts me to no end.

All of these grass-ridden beds were started with the method of laying down multiple layers of wet newspaper, a layer of wet cardboard and a 2-3" layer of mulch. One would think that such a widely accepted means of starting a new bed would work for more than a a few years. I have edged the beds with that long ribbon of black edging six inches into the ground and buried a log on the outside of that. I still get grass in the beds.

So, once again, I am faced with having to dig up plants, separate the grass from them, replant them, and hope they can be enjoyed without sharing their space with grass.

My task list this week is laying wet newspaper down on the larger areas, covering the areas with cardboard, wetting it all down and covering it all with mulch.

As frustrated as I sound I know I'm not going to give up but I have to wonder yet again "when is gardening going to be more joy than work?"

Things to do today (or next couple of days)

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:34:00 +0000

The outside temp has been very favorable for working in the garden these past few days. I see people around the neighborhood out walking again as well as doing yard work. The weather service tells us this will change for this weekend. Temps will dip back into the 40’s and the storm that is currently dumping snow on Washington state and Oregon will bring its ‘gifts’ to us.

The list of things I need to do to get this garden up and running is the usual spring list but with a few additions. Last Autumn I laid out water line to carry water to two spigots at the back end of the yard so I don’t have to drag my hoses out that far every watering day. I was either getting tired or lazy and did not bury the line in the ground but instead opted to cover it with mulch for over winter. Well, that didn’t work out very well because several sections split and need to be replaced. I had only run water through them once to check for leaks but the line must not have emptied well enough. So, another thing to add to my list is to make sure the line is angled so that it will drain more completely.

Chores for the next few days are:

rake the front lawn of Catalpa tree seed pods. I will store them near the compost pile for when I bring the lawn mower out and then chop them all up to use as mulch.
Fill the newest planting bed from the compost pile
Plant peas in B9
Move the Aster Snowdrift from F1 to B1. It spread out much further than I was told it would, so it needs more space plus I will no longer hear my wife complaining about it taking over our front walkway.
Do something about the grass encroaching into B3 from the neighbors yard. I’m thinking I will dig a trench along the chain link fence and bury boards deep enough to block the roots (expected success is iffy at best) and cover the area with wet newspaper and cardboard as if I’m starting over. I do so much hate having to repeat what was already done, but grass is forever persistent.
Spread manure over the vegetable beds so that it mellows before planting out in a month or so.

I seriously doubt I will get all of this done before the coming rains and possible snow, but it sure feels good to get back out into the garden.

Ok, I'm ready for Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:18:00 +0000

The Crocus and hyacinth are ready. The Roses are sending out new leaves, therefore its time for pruning them, even though the Forsythia has begun sending out its yellow leaves.


Crocus 'Four Color' although only one has opened up there will be dark blue, light blue and white

Since we haven't gotten much snow this winter, to have it all show up at the end of the year when the plants are waking up is, well, its just plain cruel.


Scilla 'Spring Beauty' Siberian Squill are some of the earliest risers and these few are especially eager

My garden beds are almost completely planned out and the seeds have been ordered. Let's get this years party started.

Tulips are very eager to get up into the sunshine.

These photos were taken as our late winter snow dump of 3" melted away after one day. I love winters in Utah.

A Day in the Life

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:18:00 +0000

"Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. "-- Frank A. Clark

Up before the sun again. Went out into the garden and yard for a little communing with nature and was greeted by a big beautiful full moon just above the Western horizon. Also to meet me were a couple roosters down the street and some robins – one with a very large worm.

The wind is a bit cool for the what the thermometer says is 70 degrees. Feels nice after the high heat of the afternoons. You know it’s going to hot when its 70 degrees at 5:30 AM.

Filled the bird feeders, poured fresh water into the bird baths and then was off to care for some plants. After attaching the liquid plant food sprayer to the garden hose I fed all the containers and hanging baskets as well as the earth-bound annuals.

There’s a low-hanging branch of the dogwood tree in the front yard that has been bothersome when I mow so I pruned that off. Also, while I had the pruning shears in hand I took off the suckers from around the apple tree. Next up is the plum and cherry trees. The Cherry Tree. I have to pause a bit whenever I think of this ole girl. Something has a hold on it and it isn’t pleasant. Each year, more and more of its once stately branches are staying bare through summer’s heat. In the past we have gotten many, many pounds of sweet juicy fruit from this old lady. Enough so that we freely share it with the birds. But something evil has moved in and this year we haven’t gotten one cherry from her. It’s too sad to contemplate her future but I fear it is going to be needed soon.

Along the same line – that being pests – I set out six small containers of beer for a little slug suicide party. Only two of the containers caught anything for a total of six slugs. Not a very good catch especially since I know there there are a lot more than that out there. So, the party will be extended through tonight.

Pulled all the veggie containers out from under their protective row covers to catch some early morning sunlight, the best time of day for them. They being well-fed and well-watered should recover nicely from the harvest we took yesterday for our salads.

That’s it for this morning from the Utah Valley. Hope everyone’s day is pleasurable and at least productive in some way.

July 11 2011 New Blooms and High Hopes

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Pumpkin 'Rouge d'Etampes cinderella' Cucurbita maxima

Aurinia 'Basket of Gold' Aurinia saxatilis

Clematis 'Jackmanii' Clematis x jackmanii

Hummingbird Trumpet 'Mountain Flame' Zauschneria garrettii

Geum 'Lady Stratheden' Geum chiloense

7 AM this morning

Catmint 'Walkers low' Nepeta x faassenii

Salvia 'Nymph Coral' Salvia coccinea

Coreopsis 'Nana' Coreopsis auriculata

Bluebeard 'Sunshine Blue' Caryopteris incana

Thyme Thymus Vulgaris

7 AM this morning

Hollyhock 'Brilliant Miniature' Sidalcea malviflora

Hollyhock 'Chater's Double' Alcea rosea

Clematis 'Niobe' Clematis

Asiatic Lily Lilium asiatic

Squash, summer 'Patissons Panache Jaune Et Vert Scallop' Cucurbita pepo

Bean, pole Emerite filet Phaseolus vulgaris

Pepper, sweet 'Golden Bell' Capsicum annuum

Pepper, Sweet 'Purple Beauty' Capsicum annuum

Pepper, Mild 'Anaheim' Capsicum annuum

Eggplant 'Ichiban'

Raspberry 'Heritage'

Tomato 'Cherokee Purple' Lycopersicon lycopersicum

Tomato 'Juliet' Lycopersicon esculentum

7 AM this morning

Pinch Your Mum and Go for More

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:25:00 +0000

You ever see big beautiful Asters and Mums in full bloom? Well, they got that way from having their growth stunted until around the first of August. Pinching their flower buds every time you see them might seem a bit counter-intuitive to why you grow flowers but in the case of these two plants, you are doing yourself a huge favor by squelching their urge to bloom.

I didn’t learn the importance of taking this seemingly irrational action until just recently and allowed my Shasta Daisy bloom whenever it wanted to. I got flowers but way too early in the Summer and nothing in the Fall. Plus the plant looked scraggly and I was very disappointed in its performance. This year I’ve been happily pinching off flower buds every time I see them knowing I’m finally helping this beautiful plant reach its full potential.

six cuttings of Mums

Three hardy mums I bought last year and planted among some Tulips have been pinched as well. Since they were among the Tulips they got leggy and they really need to be bushy. This was a blessing in disguise although I didn’t realize that until today. I found some info from other mum owners who said they keep their mums cut to 6” tall but will occasionally allow them to grow a little taller so they can take cuttings. Mine are already tall and need to be cut back quite a bit so I took this opportunity to take some cuttings.

After cutting them so you have at least two leaves to trim off of the bottom, wet the bottom of the cutting to cover both wounds, dip it in rooting hormone (again cover both wounds) and put them in any potting mix you have available. The rooting hormone helps prevent any bacterial growth from occurring at the wound site. Wetting the cutting only helps the rooting hormone to adhere to the stem. Be sure you have a couple of leaves remaining on the cutting, put the containers somewhere so they stay hydrated and in as little as three weeks you should have new cuttings.

I’m going to keep mine in the basement under grow lights until they root.

Now, I’m going to do the same thing for my Shasta Daisy and a couple of Asters.

Early July Update

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:29:00 +0000

'What was Paradise? but a garden, full of pleasure, and nothing there but delights.' - William Lawson, 1617.

Not too much happening around the homestead. All the plants are busy soaking up sunlight and heat building up their energy to produce their goodies.

Deck Side Garden - too much grass in it

I on the other hand have been busy helping these same plants along by deadheading, feeding and pulling weeds. And grass! Two of my beds have grass growing right up through the plants, which is extremely frustrating because I can’t get them out by their roots without damaging the plants themselves. I’m sure a solution will come about, I’ll just have to bide my time and hope I recognize it when it does.

As I dig deeper into my ‘to do’ list in a desperate attempt to get anything on it done and crossed off, a laughable endeavor to say the least, I keep finding new things to add to it.

One item that is currently on the list that seems like it should be the most pressing task is to get the irrigation system in. But honestly, after getting my watering done sufficiently well by dragging a hose around for the last six years, even that task is not really pressing. It’ll get done eventually.

Another item that really must get done this year is to find the time to dig up all of the bulbs so they can be divided. It’s a bit embarrassing that this will be the first year I’ve done this. Everything I read says to do it every 2-3 years so after 5-6 years I rather imagine they really need it. I pulled up some Grape Hyacinth a week ago and I could not believe how many bulblets there were, many still attached to the Mom. Of course the other part of getting this task done is to find room after I dig them up. Which brings me to my next tast: making new beds.

Deck Side Garden - before and after expansion

The expansion for my Deck Side bed is finally finished, for now. It would be no surprise for me to want to expand it yet again sometime in the future. But right now there are no plans. After the expanded area sits over winter it should be ready for new plants. I’ve got a bunch of new plants from cuttings that need somewhere to go but they’ll have to wait for this area until Spring. Can I keep them alive that long? I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

birdhouse welcome

I finished the birdhouse-on-a-stick thingy and it needs to be put into one of the front yard beds.

There is another trellis to be built for the newly planted beans along the back fence. This should be fairly simple to build out of a pile of tree limbs I’ve been collecting.

An idea I’ve been kicking around for sometime is to make some solar powered light to spread around the yard and pathways. Really simple and cheap is the way to go here. My non-gardening partner and I have been discussing attaching rope lights around the deck too. A couple more things to add to my list.

A couple of ideas for what to put in the B1 expansion at the west gate is an old-fashioned Weigela or the lilac taking up space in one of the raised vegetable beds. I’ve tried the newer varieties of Weigela and have lost them all, so maybe the old-fashioned type will do better. Which ever one I decide to plant here, I’m sure I’ll change my mind before something finally goes in.

The Butterfly Bush is finally getting flower buds and the Hydrangea has bloomed. First time ever.

As this all of this wasn’t enough, tiny grasshoppers are beginning to show up so I need to be ready with some organic means of kicking them out should they start getting out of control.

Jun 30 Update – part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Echinacea Bravado

I transplanted this Echinacea Bravado from a front bed to a much sunnier location in the backyard and it is clearly stressed. I have to water it almost daily to keep it looking like it could make it. These things are drought tolerant once they are established. It ust needs to be babied right now. On a positive note, it is sending up flower buds, so there is hope yet.

Salvia East Friesland cuttings

These are one of my attempts to practice propagation. Stem cuttings of Salvia East Friesland. The test to see if they are ‘taking’ is to gently pull on the leaves, if there is some resistance then they are rooting. I am happy to report that all six have rooted and since they have been in a plastic bag for three weeks, today they are getting a few hours of sun to harden them off.

Salvia Coral Nymph

Another salvia, this one is an annual, is sending up new stems that will have coral colored trumpet-like flowers running the length of the stems.

Eversweet

Strawberry Eversweet is beginning to produce some berries. Since this is the first year for these plants I think I’ll let the birds have them. It is good to see them finally start doing their job.

Pumpkin Orange Smoothie

Can’t wait for these 8 pound pie pumpkins. Some say they are the best for pies. Cute as a button.

Eggplant Ichiban

For those of us who like eggplant this one has a really nice flavor.

Pepper Golden Bell

My peppers are re-growing their lower leaves after being eaten by something earlier this year. Never did find out what it was.

Raspberry Heritage

The raspberries were transplanted into a raised bed in May of last year because they were spreading under the fence into the neighbors yard. Hey, free raspberries, what’s not to love? Anyway I moved five of the best plants in this 8’x4’ bed – may not be big enough – and they are absolutely flourishing. Last week I saw this wilted stem and got worried it was verticillium wilt – a soil borne fungus. I will need to watch it further before doing anything drastic.

Hydrangea Annabelle

This is one blossom I cannot wait to see. It will be the first for this plant. It was planted here October 26, 2007 from a 4” pot. Long time coming.

Hosta Piedmont Gold

Seemingly unaffected by the cooler than normal weather that the rest of the garden felt this guy is blooming right on time.

June 30 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:36:00 +0000

TOMATOES

Cherokee Purple getting some support

Tied up the Tomato Cherokee Purple in bed V1. The poor thing didn’t even know it had a huge cage to climb up in. To give it some direction, namely ‘UP’, I used jute twine tied off at one leg and then tied to the opposite leg diagonally.

Cherokee Purple tied with jute for support

Then came back on the other side of the plant. Then repeated it using the other two legs. It looks like the plant is confused but I’m hoping the sun will help ‘straighten it out’. I’ll repeat this tying up about every 15-18” as it grows.

Juliet grape tomato 1st of the year

First tomato of the year. Juliet grape is a very prolific producer. The plant will get very large and bushy If left unchecked as I usually do. This year I plan, as I do at the start of every year, to keep its size in check. It usually gets its own 4’x4’ bed, this year it is sharing an 8’x4’ with the Cherokee so it simply MUST behave.

GARDEN BED NAMES

I think I’m finally getting to the point, after six years here, where I can begin to better identify my garden beds. When we first moved in to this house in 2004 I was so excited to finally have a place where we could settle for more than just a few years that I went a little ‘random’ as to where I planted things. My main plan was to just get them in the ground and find out what makes it here. Some have survived, others have not.

Now that we are setting down roots as deep as the plants we are growing, I’m beginning to get the urge to move away from my previous random plantings and create beds like ‘Butterfly Garden’ and ‘Hummingbird Garden’ and ‘Cut Flower Garden’, etc.

In the backyard, I have eight clearly defined beds, not counting the raised beds for edibles. In the past I have very originally referred to them as B1, B2, B3, and so on because they are in the backyard. Yes, before you ask the beds in the front yard are labeled F1, F2, F3, and so on. Not very insightful labels by anyone’s measure but in my head each bed had a specific ‘calling’, even if I couldn’t put into words what it was. Now, I’m beginning to see the plan more clearly and have decided on the following ‘themes’:

B1 will now be known as ‘Deck Side Garden’. How’s that for a descriptive name? Bet you can guess where its located.
B2 is now the Hummingbird Garden;
B3 the Bird Garden;
B4 is simply the Garage Shed;
B5 the Herb Garden
B6 has yet to be built much less named
B7 Butterfly Garden
B8 another as yet built garden
B9 the Vine Garden because it runs along a fence, very handy for vines and such
B10 will be the Cut Flower or Fragrance Garden

I have been building lists of what plants are suitable for each garden, such as what attracts butterflies, and I have also been able to track what plants can survive in our climate. Keeping track of the performance of my plantings has been time consuming but rewarding. I have found that gardening affords as much pleasure in the journey as it does in the destination. Hopefully, all of this hard work will soon pay off and my landscape won’t look so random.

Updates and Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:39:00 +0000

The Veronica Red Fox finally bloomed. There is a lot of grass growing throughout this bed. This has created more work for me than weeds. It's difficult to pull grass out by the roots when they grow in stubborn clay. It's a constant struggle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

current irrigation system

So many projects on my list, it’s tough to decide where to start. This morning, as I climbed out of bed, way too early I might add, the first thing on my mind was to work some more on the irrigation system. My current irrigation ‘system’ consists of two faucets running directly from the city’s irrigation canal system. From those two faucets I have a garden hose attached to a twenty foot long pvc pipe with an irrigation sprinkler head attached to each end. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done. Still, dragging this thing around the yard is getting old.

timer and two gates

The only thing automatic about it is a timer set to run for one hour (or whatever limit I tell it) whenever I decide to turn it on.

A week ago I decided that six years of dragging this thing around was enough. It would be easy to rent a trench digger but being frugal – okay cheap – I am digging trenches as I need them. The first part of my new irrigation system is to run a main water line to several positions around the entire yard from where will run drip irrigation and soaker hoses. No more overhead watering, yeah! No more dragging the DIY portable irrigation system around, yeah!

I had already connected pipe and ran it the length of the west fence and buried it. This photo shows grass clippings I have been saving along the fence for a couple of years now in hopes of protecting the pipe from the weather so I would not have to bury it. But in the end I decided to bury it anyway.

This will connect to another faucet at the garden shed. I cannot hook it up yet until I get to the end of the whole thing, i.e., all faucets must be on line before I tap into the currently working system. As I was burying the pipe that will connect the working faucet to the rest of the yard I got the bright idea to expand the Deck Side Garden across the two gates (shown in the photo above) and permanently anchor the largest of the two gates. That gate never gets used except to mow the grass under it so it was a very easy decision to lock it down and turn the grassy area into another garden bed, namely an extention of the existing neighboring bed. Any time I can cut down on grass to cut I am all for it.

Why not put a gravel and stepping stone path under the working gate? Sure, why not indeed. So that is just what I did today. Shown here is as far as I got today. I really can't complete the stepping stones until the pipe is hooked up to this faucet and then buried.

The thermometer hit 93 and the call of a couple of fans and the tall cold glass of iced tea won me over. I’ll finish tomorrow morning. Or maybe the next day.

Playing with Picasa

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:32:00 +0000

Picasa Collage feature

Just some random photos from a few beds to see how a collage would look. Looks pretty good I think.

Garlic and Early Stardrift

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:01:00 +0000

In November 2008, I planted 9 cloves of garlic divided among six locations around the roses in order to help keep aphids away. Today, I pulled up 19 garlic heads ranging in size from a quarter to golf ball.

I think planting the garlic might have worked because I seem to remember having more of a problem with aphids before planting it. But I guess there’s no real way to determine if I would have had more had I not planted the garlic.

After cleaning them I researched how to braid them and did a thoroughly sloppy version of a braid but they are braided and are now hanging in the garage shed for the next two weeks where I hope they will cure sufficiently enough that I can use them.

I also dug up a bunch of Early Stardrift aka Striped Squill, because they did not bloom very well this year, a sure sign of over-crowding. Boy, were they ever over-crowded. In November 2006, I planted 10 bulbs in front of a couple of roses bushes, they were spread out pretty thin but I knew they would multiply and fill in. They have spread out to fill-in a space 40” long and 8-10” wide. This batch in the photo is from one clump about 12” across. There must be over 100 bulblets in here. Now I need to decide where to replant them and all the others that will be dug up.

I love getting new bulbs to spread around.

Mulches

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:23:00 +0000

Mulch is one of those things we don’t typically give a lot of thought to. We are pretty sure we need it because everyone else is spreading it around their gardens.

But when we get to our favorite garden supply center and see the different types of mulch we either scratch our heads and wonder what type to get or we just buy what’s on sale. After all, mulch is mulch, right? Well, in the general sense of what mulch is used for, the answer is yes. But what you want the mulch to do will determine whether you want the bark chips, the shredded stuff or something else entirely.

Summer Mulches

During the hot summer months plants need mulch to moderate soil temperatures, retain moisture and reduce weeds and diseases.

At this time, mulches are applied to annual and perennial beds and woody plants. For annuals, a fast-decomposing organic mulch of some kind works well: compost, leaves, pine needles, straw, grass clippings (not too thick), even newspaper or thin cardboard. For perennials and woody plants, you may want something a little more permanent and attractive: wood chips or bark, for example. These mulches come in different colors and in materials with different rates of decomposition. Some are more prone to being tossed by the wind. Some lose their color more quickly. And some cost more than others.

If cost is a concern, check with your local parks department or tree trimming service. Quite often they have it sitting around and want to get rid of it. Although be aware that since more and more people are gardening they may see that mulch as a source of income. But in many cities that pile of wood chips are still free for the taking.

Rock can be used as mulch but it is almost never a good choice because it does not moderate soil temperature, and it is almost impossible to remove once it is put down.

Winter Mulches

Winter mulches have a different function. They are used to protect plants against the freeze/thaw cycle and are most effective if put down after the ground has frozen - late November - and removed in mid to late March. The idea is to keep the ground frozen and prevent the plant from coming out of dormancy triggering a new growth during a brief warm spell. Apply a winter mulch to perennials and woody plants, especially newly planted plants. Hopefully you’ve been keeping your garden beds watered right up until the hard frost.

Use any loose, insulating material. Keep in mind that you’ll need to remove the mulch in the spring, or at least rake it aside. So choose a material that’s easy to handle. Shredded mulch, straw, pine needles or shredded leaves are all easy to remove or easy to work into the soil.

Anticipation

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:56:00 +0000

We humans like to have things on a schedule, I suppose it helps us believe we are in some sort of control. But deep down we all understand that nature controls everything in the garden. Sure we can mix up some 'booster fertilizer' recipe that has been handed down through generations to help get tomatoes ahead of everybody else, or just help our little dependent plants get off to a good start. But if the weather isn’t right ‘it ain’t gonna grow’.

It has taken two weeks for these plants to go from here. . .

Tomato Juliet June 9

Tomato Cherokee Purple June 9

to here . . .

Tomato Juliet June 20

Tomato Cherokee Purple June 20

These tomato plants have some BIG shoes to fill.

Tomato Juliet last year June 21

I figure they are about a week to 10 days behind schedule but with the upcoming hot weather they'll get back on schedule in no time.

The Garden, She Is A Seductive Mistress

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:15:00 +0000

Went out into the garden today.

My sole intention was to just sit, enjoy the sunshine, listen to the wildlife and read a book.

Before I realized what was happening, my gardener self had pulled weeds, spread mulch, deadheaded flowers, planted a squash, and was digging for bulbs that did not come up this year.

All in all I believe I feel just as contented as if I had sat down and read a book.

Hydrangea Annabelle Finally Coming of Age

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 23:02:00 +0000

I first received this plant in May 2008. It was hard to believe that such a little slip of a plant had the potential of becoming such a beautiful large shrub.

Hydrangea Annabelle Hydrangea arborescens

It has taken three years to get its first blooms. Now, finally, the long awaited moment is upon us. Hydrangea Annabelle’s first blooms. Well, almost. Okay, maybe I'm pushing it just a bit. I feel like this photo is one of those scanner pictures that baby doctors take of expectant mothers. A baby in the womb sort of thing. But I just know its gonna be big, really big. These little buds can get up to 12" across. This thing is, what, maybe 1" across.

First bloom?

Anyway, this plant is pretty rare around Utah. At least to me it is. In all my travels throughout this state I have found but a handful. I was beginning to think it would be too much trouble to get it to grow here, much less get it to bloom.

The shrub is a remnant of a memory from my childhood. My grandmother had one of these proudly displayed in her front yard. I remember walking up the pathway to her front door and this thing just about covered the whole front porch. And the fragrance was heaven. This one is sitting right next to our back deck and I simply cannot wait to get a whiff of it when we are sitting out there eating supper or just relaxing.

I've actually tried growing two other hydrangea at this house and neither made it past the first winter. I'm either getting better at prepping the planting hole or my luck is simply changing. Either way I was ecstatic when I saw these blooms forming.

Any day now I'm going to look over the deck railing and see this starring back at me:

This photo comes from www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com

Puttering Around the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:22:00 +0000

Picked some peas this morning but all in all it is turning out to be a very disappointing harvest. They taste sweet enough it's just that we have had too much rain and they haven't grown as well as they usually do. Plus, they are just tiny.

Trimmed the Aster ‘Snowdrift’ to allow one of the petunia's more room. When I planted these two Asters in 2008 this space was going to be just the right size, according to the description I was given when I ordered it. Little did I know it would get almost twice as large. Nowadays, every plant I buy I allow for an additional 20% growth in width.

My Acorn Squash has sprouted. One out of three seeds isn't too bad considering these seeds were saved from a squash were purchased at a local farmer's market last year.

You may be wondering why I started it in a pot instead of just straight in the ground, well, I have to confess I had no idea how things were going to work out this year as far as what was going to go where and I didn't want to wait any longer in case it got too late. What with the terrible gardening weather we have been having lately it would not have been too late to wait until next week. So I decided to start a bunch of plants in containers and counted on the weather co-operating by they time they got big enough to plant.

Radicchio ‘Variagata di Chioggia’ has sprouted. About a dozen plants have broken ground and boy are they small. I can just barely see them but in no time at all they'll be big enough to eat. This is the second batch this year. The first batch was in a raised bed that was planned for the squash and pumpkins. Again the weather slowed things down.

The Butternut Squash has gotten large enough to go into a bed so I put it at the foot of a ladder trellis I built for this purpose. In all the years I have grown squash this is the first time I've tried it on a trellis. Normally I just let it spread out but I'm testing the 'vertical' theory this year. Hope I didn't get it too close to the pepper plants.

Same story with the Pumpkin Orange Smoothie. Each pumpkin will only weigh around eight pounds so a vertical trellis should hold them just fine. They are not sitting on little hills but they will do just fine.

Gotta go check on my stem cuttings. This is the first time I ever took cuttings so I'm pretty anxious over how its going to turn out.

Residents of the Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:00:00 +0000

My wife and I decided to take a walk along the Jordan River Parkway between 12600 to 11400. It was a beautiful day and we hadn’t been along this stretch of the river since last Autumn. The river was up high and running very swiftly due to the Spring snow melt from the Wasatch Mountains. In other parts of the state the unusually heavy runoff is causing many problems for homeowners and farmers. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have lost homes, farm land, and loved ones. But where we live, far south Salt Lake City, we have only experienced minor flooding over parts of the trail.

flooding at 11400 bridge

Wildlife

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Close relative of the Red-winged Blackbird, which are everywhere along the river, this is the first time I have seen this bird this far south of wildlife refuge at the Great Salt Lake. Their call is a very distinctive squawk, much like a parrot and has often been described as a ‘rusty hunge’. They make their nests attached to cattails and reeds over water.

These cliff swallows have built their mud nests under every bridge crossing the Jordan River. They are very social birds and often make their nests in large colonies. It is not unusual to see 10-20 of them at a time gracefully swooping through the air just above the water grabbing flying insects by the hundreds

Killdeer

This Killdeer sat here for a very long time, quite unusual for these because they seem to be constantly on the move. These are becoming more common around here as sections of the Jordan River are being converted into wetlands areas.

These guys, as well as the Mallard duck, are all along the river and very often we see them resting in farm fields on both sides of the river.

We heard frogs. I have yet to actually see a frog around here, but today with the abundance of extra water, we heard several. And we also saw what looked like a red fox bounding across a meadow of high grass. There was no way I could get a photo but another first for us here in the valley.

New Flowers

The greenery is especially nice for mid-June this year after the extra rain and the extended pleasantness that is Spring. We, my wife Linda and I, saw many new flowers.

These poppies were quite unusual for the river environ. I’m pretty sure someone tossed some seeds to see if they would take. I want to thank whoever did it. Very nice touch.

The weather may be giving us gardeners a few challenges in our backyards this year but what we get in exchange along the river more than makes up for it.

Central Utah Gardens Water Conservation Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:12:00 +0000

One of several of Utah’s water conservation gardens, created to demonstrate and encourage the wise use of water in Utah landscapes, is located in the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

At the gardens and in their series of classes you will learn the 7 steps of water-efficientlandscaping, also known as waterwise landscaping. Often, when people think of saving water in a landscape, they picture a yard full of rock, cactus, and yucca plants. Water-efficient landscapes can be anything from an English cottage garden style to a formal garden to a southwest garden style. The key is to follow the seven water-efficient landscaping steps that help you use water wisely in your Utah landscape.

To learn how you can cut down on our water usage for landscaping visit a water conservation demonstration garden and be informed.

Central Utah Gardens

355 W. University Parkway

Orem, UT

Sego Lily Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:54:00 +0000

Sego Lily Gardens, winner of Best of State Utah 2011 for their conservation efforts, is sited on 2.5 acres in the heart of Sandy, surrounded by residential homes and is one of the first demonstration gardens along the Wasatch Front to emphasize low-water use plants and landscaping. They have done an outstanding job of displaying plants native to Utah and the staff is very informative and eager to answer any questions. I went with the idea of learning what plants are already adapted to our local environment and I was not disappointed.

On display are a large variety of drought tolerant plants, including trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, groundcovers and vines. The gardens are simply beautiful and every plant is clearly identified.

There are over 1,100 plants at Sego Lily Gardens and different types of irrigation systems. Overall it was a very informative visit and I encourage everyone to make plans to see what you too can learn on water conservation techniques and what plants are best adapted to our climate.

Sego Lily Gardens

1472 East Sego Lily Drive (10200 South)

Sandy, UT

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Plum Tree Problems
I'm having a bit of an issue with my Italian Plum tree. It's over 30 years old - according to neighbors and by the looks of it - so it's probably to be expected to have problems. Since moving into this house in 2004 the tree has given us a couple of good crops for plum jam and plum chutney.

With this years cool wet spring the bark has begun to split, which is a common woe for thin-barked trees, especially fruit trees. I could work with to save it but it really is on its last legs, so to speak. Yesterday I discovered several dozen leaves have been infested with aphids. The leaves are curled and there is the tale-tell stickiness all over them. I saturated the affected leaves and surrounding leaves with soapy water hoping to slow them down but today they are still there.

Relocating Salvia

Salvia Coral Nymph

This Salvia Coral Nymph was sitting in front of the house this morning. I planted it at the same time I planted four others - shown below - in one of the plots in the backyard. The ones in the backyard appear to be much happier so I decided to re-unite them. Hopefully they will all get along nicely.

This Salvia is an annual but is said to reseed readily, I'm hoping this is the case because these are a beautiful shade of pink. They are sited in front of the above mentioned Plum tree and will hopefully get large enough to cover the upcoming stumps that will remain after I cut that Plum tree down.

Primrose Opening Up

The Evening Primrose Fireworks Oenothera fruticosa glauca has finally opened up, about two weeks behind schedule. Within a week these red-edged beauties will be covered with bright yellow flowers.

Well, that's all the updating I have for now. I'm going to sow some more Zinnias and Sunflowers to help fill in some empty spots and I think the container plants need a drink of water.

Minimal leaf damage . . . not much to worry about

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Searched the garden with a flashlight before sun came up this morning to try to learn what is eating my plant leaves. Did not find any slugs or snails, which was my first guess. Did find a few sow bugs aka pillbugs. Not really very many to concern myself over. Could it be these that are eating my plant leaves? Upon further investigate via the internet I learned: ‘sow bugs are omnivores or scavengers feeding on dead or decaying plants or animals. Some may eat live plants.’ I think it’s more likely they lust after the decomposing shredded bark I use for mulch.

Besides, sow bugs are a food source for other animals. So, for now, I’m ruling these guys out as the cause of my loss. How do you like the cool 'scientific' touch of this sketch? Looks like something straight out of my high school biology class.

The leaves in question are pepper – only one type, the other two are untouched

Pepper Golden Bell leaf damage

eggplant – I have only one and it’s ion the same bed as the pepper with the same kind of damage

Eggplant Ichiban leaf damage

my only hydrangea – oh no not my only hydrangea!

Hydrangea Annabelle

Curiously, only one of the Hosta has holes and only a couple – slugs absolutely adore Hosta plants and would tend to claim the whole plant as theirs, so again, I don’t think it’s slugs.

Hosta Piedmont Gold leaf damage

A few weeks ago, after much, way too much, rain for this part of the country, I found a great many slugs and only 3 or 4 snails, which I am pretty sure the large population of birds that visit my feeders daily quickly dispatched. With slugs and snails you can expect to find slime trails on the plants and the surrounding area leading up to the smorgasbord. I haven’t found any slime trails at all. So, I think I can rule out slugs. I will try the old ‘beer in a cup’ trick just to see if any are still out there. Just bury the container so the top is level with the ground and they will fall in and blissfully drown themselves in beer. I love this idea because I get to drink the 'excess' beer.

Another clue in determining what is eating the leaves is where on the plant the damage is. The holes are not on the edge, that pretty much rules out most caterpillars, but not all. The holes are irregular shaped – not perfectly round - and the majority of ‘holes’ are actually rips or tears. This is the most puzzling feature of all.

I did get an idea from one website – Yates - that suggested the ripping damage might be caused by birds. Makes the best sense so far. The aforementioned large population of birds could be searching for bugs and ripping my leaves as they pick the little morsels off the plants. I do see several birds wandering through my beds pecking about here and there. Could it be that I will need to surround the plants with netting to keep them out?

Boy, this gardening thing could raise my ‘cost of growing my own’ just a little more. I may as well grow my plants inside a building. Just kidding. The damage is rather minimal so no extreme measures will be needed, yet. I just want the mystery solved and I’m pretty sure that birds are probably the cause.

It is odd though that the leaf damage is on a Golden Bell Pepper plant and not on the Purple Beauty Pepper or the Anaheim. Hmmm, maybe these birds are picky eaters after all.

Morning rounds

noreply@blogger.com (Greg W) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:49:00 +0000

The grass is wet every morning. This is really good for the plants coming alive for the summer months.

Squash Pumpkin Cantaloupe

Carrots

Radish yellow and purple

The hanging planters and containers sitting around outside need a little more than this morning refreshment to stay alive. I sprinkle them well with additional water. Soil in the clay pots is typically dry to the touch while the plastic pots are damp. They still need a deep soaking everyday.

Buddleia Black Knight

The Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) needs to have its older branches cut back more than the spring trimming I gave them - since I killed a couple of these a few years ago by following advice that said cut them all the way to the ground I'm a little scared to cut too much until after they are really coming back big. It looks like it safe to cut the rest of it back.

Pepper Golden Bell

The pepper plants are still being chewed on. The Golden Bell appears to be the favorite of whatever is eating them. It would seem a night time visit is needed to find out what is eating these. I found several holes that were not there yesterday. With the cooler than normal weather and all the rain my suspicion is high that these are the ear marks of slug and snail activity. But, I need to know for certain who the culprits are.

Raised bed sentries

Every morning when I look out on the row of raised beds and see those newly built trellises I think of sentries watching over the garden. They all seem foreboding and it is hard to imagine that they will soon be covered with vegetative growth and then those great sentries will be too small.

And now, on with the days schedule of weeding, trimming, and propagating.