Monday, May 19, 2008

What's For Lunch?


We picked pretty much all the lettuce we finally grew in pots...in order to foil the sparrows who kept eating our lettuce sprouts. We were heading into 3 or 4 days of triple digit heat and decided to play it safe and enjoy the lettuce while it was still yummy and sweet. While we were picking we picked most of the remaining peas, thinking that the heat wasn't going to do them any good either. That was a good choice since the plants looked fried by the third day of 100+ heat and they have now been replaced with sweet Italian peppers. So we had make-your-own salad for lunch last Thursday, with peas on the side. It might be surprising to see how much lettuce a preschooler can eat when she just picked it herself!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

GBBD May 2008

Many of the spring bloomers are hanging on today as the summer blooms are beginning...the pansies that will dry up soon, the iberis and snapdragons are finishing, the lavender trumpet vine is just about finished. The shasta daisies and society garlics will bloom any day signaling the real arrival of summer...and with the hot weather we've had the last few days I'm surprised they didn't make it in time for Bloom Day! I'm pretty happy with my new Black Beauty Hollyhock...I like the way it sets off the nearby Alstroemeria regina.

Hollyhock Black Beauty
White Lavender...it's looking good here but I don't have a good track record with white lavenders...I've only had this since last fall...we'll see how it goes!Lime Scented Geranium
White Carnation...I love the smell of carnations...it reminds me of the corsages my Dad bought us for Easter many years ago!
Pink Carnation
Strawberry Scented Geranium

Alstroemeria Regina
Climbing New Dawn...I found this last year after looking for a while...it doesn't require as much sun as many roses and at least for this spring has been blooming wonderfully in the partially sunny corner behind the kids' bench.
Brunfelsia paciflora (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow)
Almost a swath! Salvia Blue Hill backed by Salvia Caradonna backed by pink pelargoniums.

The list for May 2008...
Pink Cosmic marguerites
Blue marguerites (felicia)
Bush Mallow
Pelargoniums
Pansies
Scabiosa
Alstroemeria Regina
Alstroemeria pink
Iberis
Pink hollyhock
Hollyhock Black Beauty
Hollyhock Chater's Double
Yellow Columbine
Dwarf Carnation Evermore
White carnation
Pink carnation
Pink Pandorea
Salvia Dancing Dolls
Salvia May Night
Salvia Blue Hills
Salvia greggii Moonlight
Salvia Mulberry Jam
Salvia barrelieri
Abutilon Pink Parasol
Abutilon unknown pink
Borage
Fennel
Cilantro
Parsley
Alyssum
Nemesia
Lavandula pinnata bucchii
Lavender white
Lavandula Wings of Night
Sweet Pea Bush (Polygala)
Forget-me-nots
Biokova Cranesbill
Rozanne Cranesbill
White Solanum jasminoides
Purple Solanum rantonnetii
Erodium
Geranium citrosa
Geranium Staghorn Oak
Geranium Chocolate Mint
Geranium Scented Lime
Geranium Scented Rose
Nepeta Walker's Low
Wax begonias
Dianthus
Wisteria
Penstemon heterophyllus Blue Springs
Rosa Demitasse
Rosa Berries and Cream
Rosa Flower Girl
Rosa Climbing New Dawn
Star Jasmine
Lavender Trumpet Vine
Anisodontea Hibiscus Bits
Yellow snapdragons

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Late For The Hoe Down


Here are my two hoes...the long handled one that I've had forever and the short handled one that belonged to my father-in-law...which I've never actually used. The truth is they are shown here relaxing in the yard because that is what they usually do...neither of them do all that much work. At one point in time I used the long handled one a lot but now there just isn't much room to swing a hoe...I guess because I usually work in small areas at a time. And the short handled one looks like a back ache waiting to happen...but I keep it anyway for sentimental reasons.