Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July 2008

On the 15th of every month, Carol over at May Dreams Gardens takes a break from planting plastic spoons and filing quarterly gardening reports to host Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I am usually late to these gatherings, so this month I decided to get ahead and post a day early instead.

Walking out into the garden this morning, I realized 2 things almost immediately: 1) My garden is showing the effects of having gone for 3 weeks without any attention from me, and 2) "July" and "Jungle" may have a few different letters between them, but they are one in the same in my main backyard garden bed:


Yikes! Crazy, huh? Ligularia, eggplant, blueberry shrubs, creeping thyme... no wonder my garden has a bit of an identity crisis going on! Most are foliage and edible plants, but there are a few things in flower. Like this 'Yubi Red' portulaca and light purple Russian sage:


And at the feet of the Russian sage, this cute little Hardy Ice Plant from Mulberry Creek Herb Farm is a color echo for the portulaca blooms:


Walking further back, I am reminded that I have not yet dug up the little strip at the side of the driveway, in order to start my lavender hedge, by these 'Grosso' blooms:


The bees (and I) enjoy the drumstick flowers of allium sphaerocephalon:


And I wonder why the butterflies continue to ignore my bronze fennel, and my butterfly weed:


'Cinderella' asclepias, wintersown with seed shared by the wonderful Colleen, isn't even enough to tempt them, it seems:


At the end of the garden, my 'Copper King' lilies brighten up one of the grape arbor posts, although they appear a bit washed out in this early morning light. They are just about done blooming:


Around the corner, the first of these pretty lilies--which bloom like stargazers but stay dwarf--has just become fully open:


Nearby, a shrubby little clematis weaves its dainty blue blooms amongst the strawberries and sedum:


In the front yard, the garden is mostly quiet. The Spanish foxgloves are finished, and there are only a few snapdragons and verbena to keep the lovely oakleaf hydrangea blooms company:


Containers carry their weight here, though. In addition to the big urn, chock full of stuff, and the porch planter with New Guinea impatiens and lots of coleus, the rescued crown of thorns plant is happily blooming away at the bottom of the steps:


Since my digital camera is so old, it doesn't take good pictures at dusk... so I didn't get good shots of the other containers this time. Here is where our tour of July's blooms ends in my garden--but check out May Dreams Gardens on the 15th to see what's blooming around the world!

-------- My full July Blooms List:

Shrubs, grasses and climbers: Oakleaf hydrangea, clematis integrifolia, lonicera sempervirens, 'Rotstrahlbusch' panicum virgatum

Perennials and bulbs: 'Caradonna' salvia, Spanish foxglove (almost finished,) 'Chubby Fingers' sedum, 'Fuldaglut' sedum, 'Marcus' salvia, hardy red ice plant, Russian sage, various hosta, NOID artemisia, asclepias tuberosa, 'Cinderella' asclepias, drumstick allium, NOID dwarf lilies, 'Copper King' lilies, linaria, Mom's dianthus, 'Walker's Low' catmint, various heuchera

Annuals, herbs and vegetables: 'Bonfire' begonia, 'Totally Tempted' cuphea, 'Black & Blue' salvia, various snapdragons, purple verbena, everbearing strawberries, all tomatoes, sweet peppers, salvia officinalis, 'Infinity Orange Frost' New Guinea impatiens

Weekend Trip: Two Garden Visits

This weekend, I took a small Tour of Ohio, of sorts. Friday, I headed down to the Queen City to visit Jessica, my best friend from my college days at the University of Dayton. Had I not followed my former husband up to Cleveland after school, I probably would have ended up in Cincinnati myself (Chicago, my first choice, was probably a bit out of my league) and I still love to visit.

I had really missed hanging out with Jess, and we had a great time. (A separate post, once I get pictures from Jess of things like the Findlay Market excursion, will be forthcoming.) She competed in the Fit to Fight team triathlon, to benefit Ovarian Cancer research, this morning... so I headed up to Dayton late on Saturday night to give her a chance to get rested for her part (biking) and stay with The Overachievers, my brother Jeff and his wife Amanda.


Amanda worked a 7pm-7am shift overnight Saturday, as she is in residency at a local hospital. She and Jeff gave me a tour of their garden on Sunday morning after breakfast, and I got a chance to look at the compost bin they built up close. Not only do they already have a divider in the compost bin--as several alert commenters pointed out--but also they have removable sides for easy pile turning. All of the boards in the sides of the bin lift slide up and out! See:


Very nice job! Speaking of work, this second picture gives you a better scale idea/size of the huge raised garden that they put in this spring. It's in the sunny far back corner of their yard.


As I was getting up this morning, my Mom and Dad (who were also visiting, on their way home from vacation on the gulf coast) noticed a rabbit in the garden. First it was eating a few weeds that Jeff had picked and left on the rock ledge, but then it went to visit the fennel and the cabbage.


Molly was let outside to chase Mr. Rabbit to the property line, and that gives me an excuse to post a picture of her happily enjoying a congratulatory chin scratch for a job well done:


Okay, I admit, Molly's just adorable so I wanted an excuse to post a picture of her. She isn't always just a help in the garden, though. She has been known to pull these sempervivum out of the wall for some reason... maybe she thinks she's weeding? But Amanda tucks them back in and crosses her fingers that they will take in the cracks yet again. It seems to have worked so far:


Above these sempervivums, tomato plants are towering. Jeff has been staking and tying up the tomatoes, and they are going to have a TON of beautiful tomatoes soon. Among the varieties grown are Marglobe, Early Girl, Yellow Pear, and Sweet 100's. (There is also an heirloom yellow variety that they grew in a pot last year and loved, but I can't remember its name.) As you can see, all are happy with this new bed:


In the other far corner of the triangle, their zucchini are blooming prettily. Amanda has plans to fry some of these squash blossoms:


But others are already turning into zucchinis. Jeff (posting as "Anonymous" on my cherry jam post!) had suggested that The Overachievers might enjoy some of that cherry/orange ginger jam. In return, I suggested today that I might enjoy some of these heavy, deep green zucchini since I hadn't planted any this year.


I did in fact arrive at their house bearing gifts of cherry jam and dried bay leaves from my laurel. As a result, I hefted two big squash (one of which doubled in size overnight, while he wasn't looking--as zucchini tend to do) home with me, although one was left at my next stop in Columbus. I also got to sample some of these yummy peas...


... and admired the rest of the garden, which includes asparagus, blueberries, black raspberries (from Amanda's grandma's,) eggplant, peppers, lots of herbs, and two grapes. On one side of this grape fence is a Concord, but that is a little behind the white Niagra you see here:


Yup... The Overachievers are definitely off to an amazing start!

On my way home from Dayton today, I swung through Columbus and visited my other younger brother (Craig, the middle child) and his wife, Jennifer. Since Jeff and Amanda have a nickname on my blog, it's only fitting that Craig and Jen get one, too. I think that we'll call them the Apartment Dwellers--that moniker definitely sums up their biggest challenges in having a garden!

The Apartment Gardeners do lots of container gardening on a little patio and plot in front of their house--facing the hard Western afternoon sun, to boot. That doesn't stop them from growing yummy everbearing strawberries in several large hanging baskets and containers:


And this nifty window box, which fits snugly over their porch railing, adds some interest (and Jenny's favorite colors, purple and pink) to the front porch:


Check out this gorgeous hanging basket next to the window box, chock full of petunias and verbena:


They asked me if I had any hints on how to take care of this hanging basket. Mine have never looked so full and lush, so I think that they should keep on doing what they've been doing! You can see how lovely the pretty verbena looks next to the purple-throated petunias when the plants are basking in the sunshine:


Last year, The Apartment Dwellers planted a couple of tomatoes in containers, but this year they have all kinds of peppers instead. You can see the first tiny, baby pepper plant--which I need to get Craig to tell me how to start from seed successfully--at the tip of my finger here:


I had arrived in Columbus bearing another jar of cherry jam, and a live lemon verbena plant (which Craig loved, like I do, when he saw it in my garden last year)... and I ended up leaving them one of the two zucchinis that I had snagged from The Overachievers, too. They are going to bring me up a hot pepper or two when they come up to visit me in August, if the peppers are ready by then.

All of this garden visiting and sharing today really got me thinking. Between the Apartment Dwellers' peppers, The Overachievers' tomatoes, and my onions and herbs... we're going to have the fixin's for some darn good salsa this summer! Maybe it's time to plan a sibling reunion of sorts for next month? (What do you say, "Anonymous?!")

Late Night Jam Session

Last night, at my friend Alli's house, I spent a couple of hours picking "a shit-ton" (her words) of gorgeous, ripe tart cherries off of her trees while we chatted and sipped a few beverages. (Latte for me, white wine for Alli.)

Tonight, at my house, after a late day at work and some much-needed grocery shopping, I spent a few hours sorting and pitting yesterday's haul. I did the first half by myself, but luckily Brian consented to help me out for the second half. If not, I would STILL be pitting cherries, I think! Each half was turned into "cherry pulp"--which I couldn't help but photograph in its early stages, here:


The first half received some pure almond extract--not to be confused with "imitation" almond extract. The latter was composed of chemicals I couldn't pronounce, plus water and alcohol, so I bought the real stuff with recognizable ingredients for a few bucks more.

You may notice some grated stuff on the spoon handle in the picture above. That's either the zest from one orange or grated ginger from the 1 inch piece that I added to the second pot. When such things are needed, I go to my beloved micro-grater to get the job done. It does such a nice job of finely grating everything from soft orange peel to tough, fibrous ginger, and turns blocks of gourmet chocolate into yummy chocolate dust, too. I seriously don't know how I got by in the kitchen without this thing:


So tomorrow night, after volleyball, I am going to come home and turn this delicious cherry goodness into jam. I think that I'll do the orange/ginger mix first, and let the almond mixture simmer with some cinnamon and cloves on the stovetop while the first batches are being processed... even though I know the scent will tempt me to taste some along the way.

(Just a reminder, in case Brian is reading this post: Tasting along the way is referred to as "quality testing," not "snitching from the pot." I appreciate it when this is referred to correctly in my kitchen!)

The jars are ready, the waterbath canner is ready, and I don't have to work on Thursday so I can work as late into the night as I'd like tomorrow without having to worry. I do, however, still have to work tomorrow. I mean today. Wednesday. And since I need to get up for work around 6 am I'd better get my cherry pulp packed away in the fridge and myself tucked into bed... as my ex's wonderful character of a grandmother always says: "Tonight is one of those nights I need to sleep fast!"

Borrowed Garden: Stately Angelica

On every spring and summer morning that I make the drive to work, I take time to notice some of the interesting plant life hanging out on the side of the road. Along with the grasses, "ditch lilies," butterfly weeds, teasel, skunk cabbage and the occasional verbascum, there are usually some good stands of the architecturally interesting angelica. Like this one:


Much of my drive is highway and housing developments, but when I near work I get to drive through part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I wonder if the wild, primitiveness of the angelica after all of that "progress" isn't part of its appeal. It kind of punctuates the messy natural beauty around it. Here you see it contrasting against a fallen tree that's so weatherbeaten it looks as though it were driftwood:


Unfortunately, these photos were taken this morning and the angelica (which I believe is a. archangelica, a.k.a. angelica officinalis) is almost done blooming. In bloom, their flowerheads are a pale lime green color. They fade to whitish yellow, then a pale gold, and finally turn a tawny brown color. Here you can see a couple of blooms in various stages:


The seeds have reportedly been used in some recipes for absinthe, and to flavor some wines from the Rhine Valley as well. The stems can be candied, and the whole plant was used as an edible vegetable until modern times... but you have to be pretty sure of your plant ID before you start cooking with it. Several plants with look-alike leaves and/or stems are pretty toxic, including the potentially fatal poison hemlock.

The roots are used in herbal medicine, and the plant reportedly got its name because it was thought that the archangel St. Michael introduced it to the people as a cure for the plague. Another explanation for its name is that it normally blooms around St. Michael's day, which was traditionally May 8th, and thus was named for him.

All of the pictures above were taken in the early morning light, when the angelicas have their faces in the sun--at least from my angle of view as I drive to work. Later in the evening, the giant globes of seedheads glow, backlit by the sunshine:


Yes, I literally stopped my car on the road to take this shot, so you would get to see my usual afternoon view here. It may sound kind of funny but I think of these as "my" angelicas, even though they're here for all of the world to see. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who notices them on the roadsides, but unless I move to the country I simply don't have room to devote to angelicas in my garden. Since these are as close as I'm going to get to having my own angelicas for the time being, I have no qualms claiming them as "mine!" :)

I hope you enjoyed my angelicas... and with that, I should head to bed. I picked a whole big box of tart cherries from a friend's yard this evening, and tomorrow will be devoted to pitting cherries and making jam.

And this weekend I'm heading down to visit a good friend in Cincinnati... and swinging up through Dayton on my way home to check out what The Overachievers have been up to in that huge garden of theirs. Full reports will follow--have a great weekend, all!

In the Early Morning Light

I realize that some employers would not agree, but my feelings on getting up a little later than you should on a workday are a little unconventional.

For example, if you are already late, why should you hurry? No need to refrain from taking a couple of extra minutes to photograph the garden before you actually get in the car and start driving to work. Especially when the first thing you notice when you walk out the back door is a backlit tapestry of color:


You should also walk slowly past areas that come to your attention, lest you miss the orangey glow of chocolate snakeroot:


... or the shiny gleam of 'Othello' ligularia leaves in the early slanted light:


... or the delicious promise of soon-to-be-ripe raspberries:


And then you should congratulate yourself for your laziness this spring, which allowed your black hollyhock to grow unmoved next to the driveway where it picks up the light:


And then you absolutely need to go inspect the other corners of the garden. After all, you're already late, right? Why should you be late for work AND miss the happy accident of your reflowering linaria picking up the purple tones in your red cabbage:


... or miss the anticipation caused by the knowledge that the butterfly weed that you winter sowed last year (with seed from a generous fellow blogger) is about to bloom:


And you can go ahead and take a few more pictures of the drumstick allium while you're at it:

You probably STILL won't get a good representation of the wonder they add to your garden, but maybe you'll get a little bit closer this time. Or maybe not.

Once you find that you have circled back to where you began your morning tour--and only then--can you pick up your pace. Call the dog to come inside, put your camera away, and head out the door... and, if you're me, thank your lucky stars that you have a boss who believes in flex time! :)