Gardens in Desert

New Beds

2012-01-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

More new vegetable beds for the garden! I am happy to be adding more vegetable beds to my backyard! I have wanted these vinyl raised beds for about a year, but I was concerned with how they would look with my wild, natural rock garden setting. I decided to keep all of the existing rockwork, and just drop the garden beds in where I could find room. I have to step over the rocks in order to access the beds for planting and cultivating but at least it still has it's original character.

Here is the other new bed. I am going to cut down the Eucalyptus tree. It is going to have to go because of the vegetables and their need of sunlight. Two fruit trees that are already planted will fill in the edges of this area, growing to just barely cover the ends of the bed in the picture above.

It will be a big change!

Thanks for stopping by! To all of my gardening friends, Garden on!

Garden Bling

2011-08-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today I purchased a chandelier at a garage sale for $5.00 and I knew that it was going to go into the garden.

So for right now it is hanging from the greenhouse door jamb. It reminds of ice and sunlight and a beehive. I just love garden bling!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, hang in there, the heat wave is almost over!

To Begin Again

2011-05-08T21:07:00.001-07:00

How about I begin at the new path edging and start again from there. I decided to line the paths with local rock and selected chunks of basalt from Black Mountain just up the road.

This area has changed alot since the last post. The garden bed to the right of the Peach tree has Green Bell Peppers in it, and the Canna bed from last year has been completely re-worked and now contains Zucchini, Bread Seed and Ornamental Poppies and Black Berries. The Apple Tree is new, and the in-ground bed that is located in the corner actually went in today! Ijust planted it with Melons, 1st quarter, Moon in Cancer. The melon is an unknown to me variety that is yellow with green stripes and is salmon colored on the inside. I harvested the seeds last year from a melon a friend gave me, so we will see if the seeds are viable. It is a gamble for sure.

So there we have it, Scarlet Runner Beans on the greenhouse frame, with Armenian Cucumbers to follow up the netting, flanked by Zuchinni in the whiskey barrels, Green Tiger Cherry Tomatoes are inside of the greenhouse against the wall with Fortex Beans growing on the white vintage metal vine supports. There is alot going on, and the Poppies are sprinkled in the rocks everywhere just to top it off!

The large Basalt Rock flower accents are there to stay. I can't imagine it without them now. I hope you like the rockwork!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry on, and hurry back!

It's All About Food

2011-01-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

My vision is skewed and now it is all about food in the garden. I look to the left where I added vegetables to the In-Ground garden in the fall, and I asked myself what is the difference between the left and the right of this particular garden area. The left represents the capacity to grow food in the desert in the Winter using Tomato Lady Soil, drip irrigation, and cool season plant seeds, and on the right it is pretty much the way most gardens look in Las Vegas right now with dormant shrubs and flowers. And now to me, it is a new place to grow more food.

So I dug up the Lantana, the two varieties of Canna, and removed the Chaste Tree. The mulch was removed and placed behind the Sunning Patio. The soil was moist and you could where tell there was microbial activity under the mulch. The canna did a great job breaking up the soil with their roots. ( I hesitate to grow them again because of all of the bio-mass.) The Chaste tree was spreading roots under everything and had gotten everywhere so it would have reduced the vitality of everything growing in this bed, which was worth a mention. I have Iris and Double Lilies, and Hummingbird bush in the area where I am working. I need to relocate them somewhere else. I like the rockwork, I wrestle with raised wooden beds in this area. I think about Corn, and Melons and an In-Ground bed would be perfect for them, also it would be less confining without the lumber, which then you have to accomodate walking paths, and access to both sides of the beds, and with the walls there and the rock layout, in order to accomodate all of those aspects it would reduce the size of the final planting area overall.

So I think that I can make two large rectangular planting areas, essentually divide the area in half, place small flagstones down the center then off to the left nuancing the flow of the rock in the wall in the forground, which will provide a simple access but still allow for most planting area. So I will get more soil, level the pads, sow Poppies, and be ready for early summer for my Corn and whatever else, until it is Melon time!

Here is what is growing on the other side of the patio right now. Eventually there will be food growing on both sides of the sunning patio.

Here is Cilantro growing in the pot almost in the shade from the south most wall. It is in it's peak right now. I have it growing with Red Onions from seed planted in the fall.

I have Turnips, Lettuce and Spinach growing in the Greenhouse. I need to take some more photos to capture the garden this time of year.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Garden on!

New Asparagus Bed

2010-12-22T04:35:00.000-08:00

When someone gifts you 8 crowns of 3 year old Asparagus, you start to see areas of your yard a little differently then before.

Asparagus is willowy and bramble at the same time and is typically located in the back of the garden area. I don't have a "behind the garage" type area in my garden so this spot is as close as it gets. It's behind the Greenhouse but in plain view.

With the dirt poured to establish the desired depth, I start placing boulders to create a second tier to the Sunning Bed. Here you can see the size of the boulders and the finished project. I removed the large boulder in the top of the photo and planted the Asparagus, all 8 of them in this bed. It was moon in Taurus, which is a strong root sign, in the Second Quarter which is good for above ground plants (just shooting from the hip). I did some research to find out how deep to plant them and planted them about 4 inches deep. Even though they are about 3 years old, I read where you are not to harvest them for over a year because they have been transplanted and that they still need the time to establish no matter how old the crowns are. That might be a challenge. I'd like to tell you in April if I agree. I definately cannot wait until the Asparagus start to grow!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Potpourri #9 - Saffron Mix

2010-11-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

This special mix took courage to muster, awaiting the combination to arrive like an epiphany, I worked around the Saffron Crocus petals, cleaning the other areas of the table until I could avoid it no longer.

This mix is mint based. It needed something to lighten the base so I went with a pale gray eucalyptus. It contains both Apple mint and Spear mint, Eucalyptus leaves, Saffron petals, Statis Flowers, and a few Hummingbird Bush flowers as dots of orange for a wild note. The last two mixes have been my absolute favorites because of the rich colors that are so pure and stellar!

Thank you Leslie for the Saffron!

To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

All Put Up

2010-11-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

The holidays are filled with lots of food. It was time to make some room in the refrigerator and get this Harvest thing rolling. I finally got around to slicing all of the Bell Peppers that Leslie gave me, and put them in a large freezer bag and stuffed them into the freezer.

So then it was time to do something with the bags on the table. Diamond, (don't you love her name?) gave out tomatillos at the last Boulder City Community Garden meeting, and I ended up with a bag full. So I went online to find a good tomatillo recipe. I had to get on the scales holding the bag of tomatillos in order to follow the recipe for Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce, so I ended up with apparently about 8 lbs. from the looks of it......Actually 3 lbs. tomatillos, and about 5 lbs. of what we will consider for now "Layers of Extra Clothing in order to stay warm"........ Time to get a food scale. Anyway the sauce was simple. Tomatillos, onions, garlic, salt. I added extra hot New Mexico roasted green chile to spike up the heat. Yum! I am thinking about making Turkey Enchiladas wth the Thanksgiving left overs!

So then there was the Kale that I harvested from Boulder City Community Gardens that was taking up a refrigerator shelf and I again went online and found lots of recipes, but opted for the no vinegar recipe of Kale Chips. Wash, tear, coat with olive oil, spread out on pan, 300° for 10 min (+-) then lightly sprinkle with Sea Salt.

Here they are ready to eat. Dark green and crisp. When they are brown they are burnt. I walked them down to my neighbor Julie who gave me two different varieties of Sea Salt. I really liked the Redman's the best, too btw. Thanks Julie!

I love the Harvest! Don't you love to put it all away!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Potpourri #8

2010-11-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

We are having the Christmas Party at my house so I have to clean up the formal dining room table for once and for all! So it is once again time for potpourri. I jump in where the Mint and Bay leaves have been spilled onto the pizza box setting the foundation for Potpourri #8. Atop this mixture goes my favorite Blue Salvia, which I have been savoring for just the perfect blend.

Next come the blue Hawthorn berries, and their sticks are interesting as I ponder the roughness and diverting energy that the pointing sticks create.

I like the contrast of the rosy colored sticks, and the weight of the wood lowers the energy of the blend so it is not so "airy". So it is "shorten the sticks themselves" and see it that improves the overall appearance.

It's difficult to improve on perfection! This is a simple mix of Blue Salvia flowers, Hawthorn berries, Apple Mint, Spearmint, and Bay leaves.

I hope you are enjoying the harvest!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Harvest On and hurry back!

Rediculously Abundant

2010-10-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

It was time to pull the Armenian Cucumber plants down for the year and what a fantastic year it was for Armenian Cucumbers at Black Mountain Garden.

I decided to keep a list of the fruits and vegetables harvested from the garden, and this variety was quite impressive. Talleying the fruits as I entered the kitchen, the final count was 77 cucumbers from 6 plants. (Planted in the First Quarter, Cancer in late Spring.)

This plant is a chosen favorite and will go on the list of of Fabulous Fruits and Vegetables for our Desert Climate.

In order to qualify for the list, the fruits and vegetables will have to produce a rediculously abundant amount, because that is what we are going for around here!

Here is one for the list!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Garden on!

Potpourri #3

2010-10-26T07:17:00.001-07:00

I'm still cleaning off the formal dining room table which is where all of the potpourri materials are strewn about. It is a lovely sight. Today's concoction is a potpourri and tea! It consists of Chocolate Mint, Tulsi (Holy Basil), Hybiscus and Calendula flowers.

Of all of the potpourris so far, this one is the most fragrant and it is because of the mint and Tulsi.

I adore Tulsi. I have contemplated becoming a Tulsi farmer, possibly growing nothing else. That is how much I adore the stuff. It is addicting. I make everyone Tulsi tea when they come over to visit, and gift Tulsi cuttings to them when they leave. One visitor later asked if the tea had euphoric properties, and I would say that it obviously does, considering that I would like to forsake all my other favorites in the garden and grow it exclusively! It's some pretty cool stuff. If you need any, come on over, seems like I'll have plenty.

Hail Damage

2010-10-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

I must have planted about 70 lettuce, a mixture of Red Romaine, and an unknown variety that I saved the seeds from, which is pictured above. I had hoped that it was Forellenschuss. I also planted about a dozen coles, broccoli, cauliflower, asian greens, a speckle of spinach and cilantro. I had waited for weeks for the proper planting time, Moon is Pisces, 2nd Quarter, all was a go. It was overcast outside with a 30% chance of rain and it rained. Apparently it hailed as well. Husband and I went out on the town and were oblivious to the plummeting of hail that was taking place back home.

It must have been a nice storm. The kind that you open the doors, call in the cat and stand out on the covered patio and revel at. Too bad we missed it.

Too bad the vegetables didn't. Needless to say, I lost about all of the what could have been Forellenschuss lettuce, and a number of the Red Breen COS, but it showed me how tender the Forellenschuss were, they just don't stand up at Black Mountain Garden. And as I ended up with just enough plants to let one go to seed, I might just let that one roll.....

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Jalapeno~ Jelly

2010-10-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

After a visit with the Tomato Lady, I got to bring home some of the peppers and jalapenos that were growing in her garden. She had zillions, and I was thinking about Jalapeno Jelly!

So I looked up the recipe and was astonished to discover that the body of the jelly is comprised of cider vinegar. Curious, I continued with the recipe and it turned out fabulous! One batch which made 7 jars of jelly only took 4 bell peppers and 10 Jalapenos. That means I will be able to make 21 jars!

That is a lot of Jalapeno Jelly. I hope Michael changes his mind about the idea of it, and finally decides to taste some. Seems like everyone I know will be getting Jalapeno Jelly for Christmas! Now if only I can get a hold of some Pomegranates.....

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Potpourri #2

2010-10-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

I had to clean up the tabletops around here and get a handle on the place. I was getting pretty spread out with all of the potpourri material, the herbs drying, and the seeds that I've harvested for use for next year. (I did decide to start hanging things from the ceiling in the garage, btw).

I am thankful that I married a patient man. He hasn't said anything about nature completely taking over the house.

So I grabbed a coffee can and decided that the potpourris can be stored in coffee cans and if they pick up the scent of coffee that is okay, because I love coffee. So there I am looking at the materials again and decided to put together another blend.

The one pictured above is Eggplant leaf, Apple slices and Orange and Pink Zinna flowers. (The Apples are from my tree and they are Red Delicious hastened to the earth in an unripened state by the wind.) So I contemplated the blend and decided that it needed a bit more refinement.

So I added Lavender leaf to the mix and it quieted the need to do anything else to it. I think this one is ready to receive a "note" of coffee.

Enough cleaning, don't you think?

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Potpourri #1

2010-10-10T17:09:00.001-07:00

Here is my first potpourri mix and I definately need to dry some more Eggplant leaves because I ran out already, and they do curl nicely in the mix. Here are the ingredients for this blend. It contains Eggplant leaf, Pineapple Quava leaf, Echanacea flowers, and Chase Tree berry clusters.

I haven't dabbled in the fixatives or the essential oils yet to embellish the potpourri. I did read where it is important to use a chopped root fixative and not a powder because the powders will trash the appearance of your potpourri, definately not the look I am going for. The idea of using essential oils is vexing too. I know myself and I end up getting overwhelmed smelling all of the fragrances and dabbing a few of them on, waving them about in the air (you are not supposed to drink them btw.) Anyway, I'm tampering with the balance of my Vata Dosha, so right before that goes completely out of whack I finally end up leaving smelling like a garden and affirming my love of vanilla.

My first instinct is to have everything smell like vanilla, and I also love myrrh. Vanilla, myrrh, but not everything can smell like vanilla and myrrh, and I don't even know if those two fragrances even go together. Oh this is going to be interesting! I will keep you posted!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening freinds, carry on and hurry back!

Potpourri

2010-10-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

I have been collecting everything that I can think of from my garden for potpourri. It's spread out across the table and I am sure it is going to start taking over my house.

Today I gathered Cucumber leaves, Lantana flowers, a tiny peach rosebud, Echanacea flowers and seedheads, Sunflower seedheads,

Yellow Purky Sue flowers, Chaste Tree Berries, Crape Murtle Blossoms, pink Lambs Ear leaves, Penstemmon blossoms, Garlic Chive seedheads, Butterfly Bush seedheads, Chocolate Mint, Calendula Petals, Eucalyptus, Zinna flowers, Blue Salvia flowers,

The items on the glass plate will fit right in, they are interesting seedheads from a tree during a walk in the park, Blue Hawthorn berries, Statice from a bouquet from hubby and a dried Zinna flower. The California Poppy seed hulls might be a stretch but we will see, there's dried Catnip seedheads, and Catnip leaf bundles which should work pretty nicely as a base.

On the kitchen table there are materials that can be used for the base. There is Tulsi, Sage, and Lemon-Lime (mixed) Basil.

The grow shelves have been repurposed as drying shelves and they contain Genovese Basil, and Lemon-Lime Basil.

The available horizontal surfaces are all taken, so in the garage are Apple slices with fresh and dried Zinnas. Once everything is dry I am going to start assembling combinations and maybe consider adding essential oils to the mix.

I enjoy collecting items for potpourri. It is just another way to be surrounded by the colors and textures of your garden.

Thanks for visiting! Garden on!

Circle Bed

2010-10-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

It was time for another garden bed to be added to the garden. In this photo you can see the design when it was just beginning to take form. This one is called the Circle Bed. I have wanted a garden bed right in this particular spot for some time. I have been contemplating all of the different building materials that could be used for the wall support, wood, rock, a large ceramic pot, but none of those materials inspired me to action. I have just enought wood element, and just enough rock element in the garden already, and I didn't want to disturb the balance.

Then I saw this flagstone brick product and it adds just a touch of refinement to my wild, nature inspired garden.
Using the pickaxe I removed about 3 to 4 inches of dirt and rock out of the base of the design so that I have a depth of at least 6 inches of Tomato Lady Soil when I am done.

This bed will be irrigated using the same valve as all of the vegetables. I decided to tie it into the Bevel Bed line which was tricky because it had been planted with root vegetables already and I had to find the irrigation line and tie into it. I was able to remove 3 of the plants, set them aside, tie into the irrigation, then replant them and it worked out perfectly.

This bed is now planted with 25 cloves of Ichelium Red Garlic from my garden that I grew last year.

And here is the new Circle Bed from the patio!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back.

Black Eyed Susans

2010-09-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

I pulled out the Zucchini a few weeks ago along with the Sunflowers, and hauled in a load of Tomato Lady Soil and was working it into the edges of the paths (which are typically neglected because the center of the beds have always been the center of attention), so I thought I would work in reverse and take care of some of the details. It is nice to have lots of rich black dirt on hand because then you feel you can garden with it generously.

While cleaning up I was intrigued by the Black Eyed Susans and their post flowering form. I have not had Black Eyed Susans before, they have always grown wild along the roadways in Missouri where I grew up. I don't recall if they will eventually explode into a tuft ball of seed fluff but until something like that happens they provide some rather interesting form in the garden.

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Jonesin' for Yellow

2010-09-22T16:55:00.000-07:00

I have been making Garden Tool Belts lately. Here modeling their Garden Tool Belts are my lovely niece Tallie, and sister-in-law Stacia. Garden on Girls!

I have made 6 Garden Tool Belts in the last two weeks. Some of the fabric patterns are so awesome that I have to tell myself that I cannot start the poppie floral fabric until I make 4 of the striped rose patterns just so that I finish with the ones that I've started, otherwise I would make a poppy one, then that purple floral one and then I'd be jonesin' for something yellow I am sure. I will post the poppy one the minute I get one finished!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Toxic Green Melon and the Flavor Bland

2010-09-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

The Melon was ripe and friends came over for a garden walk and then we sat down to eat and it was time to break into the Melon. So I cut into it and I had no idea that it was going to be green inside. (Yes, it was the gift pack of seeds in the seed order that came in the mail and I planted it without knowing what to expect, beautiful vines all over the yard, huge melons, like about 7 still on the vine, all good.)

There is nothing like expecting a Cantelope Orange and finding Lime Green. So for a second I doubted everything. Am I awake? Is this the right city? Is this thing Toxic? Needless to say the color reminded me of Toxic Green, but I tasted it, and my friends were up for it, so they ate some, and maybe it wasn't "Toxic Green" that I was thinking of but instead it was "It Doesn't Really Taste That Sweet Green".

This brings me to the subject of bland. I recently read where bland falls under the classification of sweet, and that there are organs in our system that are nourished or supported or assisted by things that are bland. This crossed my mind while I sauteed Patty Pan Squash and ate it with leftover meatloaf for lunch today. Sauteed Patty Pan Squash with olive oil and sprinkled garlic and herb spices tastes pretty good, but not too much spices as to not overwhelm the flavor of it's blandness, for blandness' sake.

Green Machine Melon is subtle like the flavor of Patty Pan Squash. It must be appreciated for it's subtleties in order to be enjoyed. I would go on, but I hear the wind calling.......

Thanks for visiting, To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Visiting Leslie

2010-09-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

This post is for my good friend Leslie Doyle who is traveling about Wyoming with her husband Bill. She is the one who gave me the Melons, Peppers, and Watermelon in this photo.

I have told the Watermelon story a few times, how Leslie gave me half a Watermelon, that her husband loaded it into the car and I didn't think anything about it, until I had to unload the thing, but this thing was huge and I struggled to get it into the house. I couldn't believe it, this is half of a 40 lb. watermelon! She is an amazing gardener and a true inspiration.

I love to go to Leslie's house because I come home with lots of great things to eat. Thank you Leslie, enjoy your trip, hurry home!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry on and hurry back!

Squash Invasion

2010-08-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

In the dark stormy sky, I look up at what looks like a flying saucer overhead.

Then another one flies in and now there are two.

This is amazing!

thanks Honey!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

A Day in August

2010-08-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to make a calendar with each day's harvest representing it's calendar day. I would bring the items in, early in the morning, lay them out on the cutting board and snap a photo to represent that day. The following photos are days in August and they are somewhat out of order , it's an upload thing. I started working on the draft around the 26th. The photo above is from August 27th. It consists of Armenian Cucumbers, Ornamental Squash (2 varieties) and a Patty Pan Squash.

The harvest for August 28th is Armenian Cucumbers and Long Purple Eggplant.

August 30th's harvest is more Armenian Cucumbers. Now the month is fully represented. The 1st through the 26th photos follow.

This photo represents the harvest from August 7th, those are Peruvian Peppers. (No those are not my hands!)

More Peruvian Peppers with Bell Peppers starting to change color, August 15th.

August 16th, Armenian Cucumbers and a slightly overripe Pickling Cucumber (whoops.)

August 17th, Armenian Cucumbers and a slight blur on the focus (note to self).

August 18th, Apples are starting to fall from the tree and this Cherry Tomato was all alone so I brought him in.

August 20th, more Armenian Cucumbers, and another Cherry Tomato.

August 26th, Armenian Cucumber and Patty Pan Squash.

August's temperatures where up around 108 degrees for most of the month. When it is so hot outside, it can be discouraging because you see the potential, then you ponder "that" possibility that was side railed because of the heat. I remember feeling a little discouraged, which is why I decided to make the calendar. In looking back, August was actually better then I remembered, and I am really look forward to September!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

My Kinda Place

2010-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I traveled to Taos, New Mexico with my mom to visit my niece. Of course I took alot of photos, and a good majority of them are garden related, and some are just devastatingly beautiful scenes, so I course I had to share them with you because you, as I, have vivacious garden appetites, and we must be fed. Today's menu consists of lots of greens and rustic architecture.

This old house sits on the main street of Taos, and it is a familiar icon to all who have lived there. I lived in Taos about 20 years ago and this house was vacant then, and it still is today.

Can you see the rocks along the top of the front wall?

Take a moment here. Notice the shades of green, the shingles and the motif on the gable of the garage, the construction of the garage doors, the detail of the fence, the lattice under the screened porch and the shadow of the trees on the roof.

Can you see the rocks place along the roof line, and the fence detail and all of the different colors of green paint for the fence, patio, and outbuilding's doors and trim? They are all different shades of green.

It's my kinda place.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Color Chaos and Sprawl

2010-08-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile I take a photo that is my absolute favorite. This one is perfect for the Chaos Series.

The Armenian Cucumbers are amazing! I have picked about 15 and there are currently 7 forming on the vine. It is wonderful to have something grow that is extremely prolific. I want to shout from the rooftops, but nobody would get me.....

Don't you want to pat the left cheek of this sunflower with reassuring words so that it will fatten up? I love sunflowers. Some are starting to hang downwards as big black flower heads.

I am curious about the Pickling Cucumber vine to see how large it will become. There are 6 plants huddled together and I have picked 2 Cucumbers already. I am saving them to make more pickles in the next few days.

The Green Machine Melon is all over the place. It is growing up the wall lattice, up the sunflowers and Plum tree, and rambling down the path. I will miss this dense green look in the winter. Chaos will fade away and everything will become tidy and the path will be seen again. Or not....... I haven't deadheaded some of the flowers, because it is like a bookmark of where they were not long ago and they still catch the moonlight.

Here are the Ornamental Gourds escaping the bed and trying to get at my feet. You should see the vine supports this thing throws out. They are about a foot long on this one plant. Maybe it's been genetically crossed with a catfish!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Black Eyed Susans

2010-07-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite area in the garden right now, where the Black Eyed Susans, Echinacea and Zinnas sway in the breeze beneath the Sunflowers.

I love Black Eyed Susans. They remind me of back home in Missouri where I grew up. These Black Eyed Susans are from seeds that I planted last year. Which reminds me.... I had wanted to plant Forget-Me-Nots which bloom in January, so maybe I should broadcast seed for those someday soon.....

Here are the Cucumbers, Squash and Melon spilling over the walkway. I have harvested 2 Scallop Ssquash and 2 Green Machine Melon off of the plants in the corner. The Pickling Cucumber in the foreground has Cucumbers forming so I will let you know how they are doing in upcoming posts.

The more recent garden design changes include removing some rock and creating more pathways. This area leads to the water hose, greenhouse and side gate. Someday there might not be any 3/4" granite back here, but it's 112 degrees out lately so it's small moves in the earthwork department.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

All the Best

2010-07-11T10:04:00.001-07:00

I am calling this post all of the best and here is the reason why. I have been gone for an extremely long time, and I want to share the most awesome photos that I have collected as I still do take about a handful of photos a day, but I have been busy reading recipes for preserving the garden harvest, and obviously a myriad of other things, but apparently they didn't amount to much because I can't remember their significance in the whole scheme of things.

So perhaps busy isn't always best..... But I do really enjoy this photo of the Copper Dragon Fly solaring up in the warmth of the morning sun and wanted to share this with everyone.

Here is the perfect effect of the Morning Glories and they are all that I imagined that they would be.

The Red Canna from the Master Gardener's giveaway is more than expected! Perhaps the person who brought them in needs to drink more coffee so that they are more excitable and explenitive in their decriptions...... Just Red Canna had me thinking, well.....you know.

The Tomatoes have been a delight to pick everyday. They are starting to fade off and I am okay with it. I froze some in a gallon bag and made salsa and pasta sauce, and we have been eating them everyday, so all is fine by me.

The Armenian Cucumbers are in the midst of things. This is the fifth one harvested so far, and it will go into the pickle jar. The other half went into the salad last night. They are spectacular and recommended to me by Leslie Doyle last year. They will become a Black Mountain Garden standard.

So this is how the Armenian Cucumbers are presented in the garden. If you double click the photo, you will be able to pick out a few handing on the vine.

The Green Room is alot of fun to walk through and you can see the corn on the left which has grown tall and has produced ears. The white flowers in the center on the right are Lime Basil and they are quite lovely and I totally love the effect. I want to grown Lime Basil as a ground cover next year.

Here is a closeup of the corn before I picked them. I didn't know when to pick the corn, but if you wait too long the sugars change and they are no longer at their tasty best.

And I had no idea when that was...but either way they are sure beautiful. These are the prettiest corn in my little world, and I am going to let them dry. I remember all of the colored corn hanging from the lattias in one of the adobes at the Pueblos de Taos Indian Reservation in Taos, New Mexico. It made falling over the furniture really quite enjoyable and a remarkably, memorable experience. This one is for "Up the Hill" Susan. I miss you girl. Are you still just as wild as I remember? (Nobody could grow colored corn like Susan!)

Thanks for visiting! To all of my colored corn loving gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

OM

2010-07-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hands in mudra, hands in prayer, the Sunflower's perfect Sun Salutation.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, happy 4th of July!

One for Chaos

2010-06-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

It is suddenly extremely hot and many of the plants have singed tips. I ramped up the water hopefully enough to stay off the increase in temperatures. We shall see.......

The Morning Glory are starting to come on with vigor.

The Echanacea are enjoying the heat.

The contrast of purple with burnt orange is striking and and all I can do is react with startled fondness.

This one is for you!

This photo belongs in the Chaos Series and that is surely where it will go.

No squash yet on the Turk's Turban, just flowers.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Balance Will Be Restored

2010-06-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Alot of time has passed and it seems like time is going way too fast or there is essentially no time whatsoever. But it is time to back up a bit and post the recent going's on so that at least I can take it from here. So let's start with the Iris Bed which has been re-worked. All of the Hottentot has been removed and I found it to be really healthy, and stealing the health from everything in it's way. So because it wasn't behaving "neighborly", I booted it right out of the garden! In it's stead I planted this Cape Plumbago and about 40 Daffodils that came from the Community Gardens up in Boulder City. They had to be relocated as they were incidently excavated when trying to get rid of the Sun Chokes that had completely overtook a section of the community gardens. I have had the opportunity to experience about three different plants that should be banned from community gardens, Sun Chokes (Jeruselum Artichokes), Mexican Primrose, and Mint.) The bed that I am working on up at the Boulder City Community Gardens has all three planted in it and I feel fortunate in a wierd twisted way to have been able to reconquer that bed from the clutches of havok. But get this! In my enthusiasm, I neglected to take a before photo! Oh well... you will just have to use your imagination.

But back to Black Mountain Garden, the Main Bed is a flourish of many plantings hidden by the vigor of the items in the mid-ground. There are Lemon Cucumbers inside there along with a Zucchini which I don't think is very happy, but the Sunflowers are happy, or at least they make me happy......

The Shaded Bed is not in the shadows mid-day only in the morning and evening which is unusual, but it is planted with Corn and a few Tomatoes and Ornamental Squash planted to drape over the front, then the walkway will have to be abandoned or at least carefully manuveured.

The Catnip is flowering and there are Pickling Cucumbers planted to the left, with Coriander that needs to be harvested and I actually planted Green Giant Melon seeds in the pot too, to take over and cascade out of the pot and rest on the carpet of Catnip because that is just way to much Catnip, so I will cover it with something, then balance will be restored.

Here is the Green Room which is the Green House that is designed to be completely covered with vines. It is planted with Green Beans and Lime Basil with Armenian Cucumbers that are starting to climb up the mesh. There is another piece of mesh as part of the design which I will put up shortly. The Corn is in flower and it is beautiful. I haven't grown Corn before so it is a real treat to learn about it's nuances.

The Armenian Cucumber flowers are abundant. They are vivacious. So with that, may you all find vivaciousness in your gardens!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

White Spider

2010-05-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

White Spider sits on blue Lobelia and days go by.....

And after he was gone, blue Lobelia missed the spider.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Poppy Fascination

2010-05-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

These red crape poppies typically have a black cross in the center, but not this particular one.

The centers are mostly dark purple, with some variation, such as the powder green above,

And here is a yellow, with no sign of the black cross at all, as it is yet to form.

Here is the purple, power green, and yellow all next to each other perfect for the photo.

The yellow center has a white cross which is very unusual.

All of the nodding flowers are facinating because their form is so unusual compared to other flowers,

With their hairy pods, and stems and they way they will eventually lift up.

The black cross is seen from underneath the flowers too.

The seed pods have a striking architectural form and I can't wait until I can gather them to put in a vase, and to collect the seed for next season.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Red Poppy Prayer

2010-05-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you dear God for flower seeds so that I may sow seeds for a wonderous future, and may I realize if I do ever happen to forget,

Oh, how I need to remember to sow seed............ like flowers.

Amen.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Red, White and Blue

2010-05-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

I took off the lower branches of the Eucalyptus and it really opens up the area. All you can see is red, white and blue.

The Coreopsis are flowering! I sowed the seed last year with the Lobelia and Alyssum and they have become permanent fixtures in the main bed. It took a whole year but they were well worth the wait. There is blue Salvia in the center that is about to flower too!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

My Tomato Universe

2010-05-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

I can go out and look at the tomatoes and completely loose track of time. There are about 15 plants here in the garden. One blew around in the wind like a tumbleweed, so I pulled the branches off and stuck them in seed starter mix to see if they would sprout. They are looking mighty rough. Already I have two that the cutworms dropped to the ground, and they re-rooted in the seed starter mix, and now are ready to replant. That's another nine if my math is any good. What will become of them if they survive? Where will they go?

My tomato universe somewhat resembles the flower array above.

It is nice to live in an abundant tomato universe!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Bird Seed

2010-04-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've named this Sunflower "Bird Seed". It is the first Sunflower of the season and came in the bird seed package from Wally World. Who would think that it would be so lovely and short in height? I can see them all over the place now........

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

The Soft Spoken Tour

2010-04-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the iris in bloom in my garden. It was a lot of fun to walk around and tape it because of the newness of videoing the garden, and panning, and walking around while trying to avoid fall hazards.

It is also a perfect medium for personal introspection to listen to yourself as you candidly speaking to yourself, recording it for others.

I usually delete most of the photos of myself, because I think they don't accurately represent who I think I am, or at least not the me that happens to be operating the camera delete button. It is also true for recorded messages, apparently I also don't sound like myself either, so I am pleased that this seems to have passed the editing process, at least for now............

The inner "soft spoken tour guide" me, hopes you enjoy the show.

Thank you for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back.

Iris and Right Now

2010-04-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

This post is really about Iris, but I have to live in the now, and now I am also blanching peas to freeze.

With each new bloom that appears in the garden, the Iris they just keep getting better and better. Puccini is blooming and it is Michael's favorite.

This is our first spring with strawberries. Definately a nice garden addition.

And this Red Delicious Apple is not supposed to do well in our region (although they did sell it at the nursery which is where I picked it up, go figure....) So time will tell. Hopefully we will get some apples. There are a rediculous amount of blossoms and bees. Isn't that a good sign?

Can I just smudge this color onto my face? California Poppy eye, check and lip color, with flowers behind the ears and I'll be ready to go. Oh yeah, Iris....

This was a gift from Julie my neighbor although I'm still thinking about eye color.

This is from Leslie (lip color) I have taken photos of these to take to the Iris Sale so hopefully the photos that they have available, will help me be able to identify this one. The previous Iris is an old-timey one so it's name is forever lost with the people that planted it up at Mount Charleston. You can tell by it's appearance that it is an older variety because of it's narrow falls.

This one is called White Fox and I purchased it from the Iris sale last June.

And this is an unknow Space Age variety because of it's horns (the beards that have an unusual flair) and you can see how they lift in the photo (the beard is the catepillar). I am still trying to identify the name of this one.

I feel like donning some dramatic eye color changing my name....

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Where to Begin

2010-04-16T06:24:00.001-07:00

I don't know where to begin. First there is the bench I made out of recycled shipping crates.

And all of the Iris are preparing to bloom and this is the first one, a gift from my friend Don.

I've planted Bed Seven and while configuring the irrigation, (I use the chopsticks to layout the design) Symba was stricken sleepy by the effect of the Catnip. That stuff is mighty powerful.

And I captured this photo of Spring to add to the photo of Winter on the sidebar. There are many opportunities to take photos of birds, the hummingbirds on the Penstemon, I just fear scratching the camera with the pruning shears or something else so I set the camera down and repeatedly miss the opportunity. Maybe today is a good day to try again.

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Color Chaos

2010-04-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Color Chaos in red against green with splashes of orange.

Thanks for visiting. For all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Too Much of a Good Thing

2010-04-05T12:56:00.001-07:00

It is time to go vertical.

Moving lattice about the yard contemplating the effect of extremely busy grid work on the eye,

I kind of like the look of the two pieces framing the corner.

But here is the location where one will be. It is a good idea to consider other options, once you have the lattice on your property you can move it around and feel the effect.

So here is the second location and the lattice is in place.

Here are the two pieces side by side. Once they have vines growing on them it will increase the amount of visual green in this area, and reduce the amount of reflected heat. I had my heart set on morning glories but after speaking with my friend Leslie, she shared with me that they are extremely prolific. That would mean that I would be trying to eradicate them before long. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

But this is an artist's vision and Zen has latched on to this vision and won't let go. I will be the one who unleashed the Blue Morning Glory on Black Mountain and right now I'm okay with it.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Random Thoughts

2010-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Penstemmon can be amazingly rediculous.

Happy Easter to everyone!

The iceplant blossoms are beginning to multiply.

The carrots were harvested to make room for Turk's Turban Squash which just seems fun to grow.

Here are the carrots after a good scrub and they are quasi pale, which is curious.

The peas are producing large quantities each day. I am blanching them and freezing them in gallon sized ziplock bags. They separate nicely after being frozen.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Lettuces and Flowers

2010-03-28T19:05:00.001-07:00

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Help for Her Addiction

2010-03-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the "official" first carrot of the season growing in the full shade bed. The "other"one was half the size, and I ate it and that is that.

Julie my neighbor gave me a mix of Heirloom Tomatoes which I then cut open and saved the seeds. After searching the names of a few on the internet, I believe two are Black Russian Pear (2nd from top left) and Black Zebra Cherry (lower left). When you save seeds, you don't know if it was crossed with something else at pollination, but saving seeds is a gamble that appeals to the Wrangler. I had to protect these cherry tomatoes from Julie's baby. He was popping them in his mouth as fast as he could as she shared them with me.

I belong to an online gardening group which I truly enjoy, (I belong to 3) and in one the thread it came up about gardening addictions and how to distract the husband while you unload a new purchase from the vehicle without him noticing. I shared how, when being confronted about if something is new, to avoid direct eye contact and immediately comment on the weather. It was a funny thread. Later in thinking about it, it shed new light on the little gardening pictures that I have in my kitchen. In the picture of the couple on the left, she is praying for the crop's harvest and the season, and he is praying for her. And in the one on the right, her man has already run off!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

New Bed 7

2010-03-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

I removed all of the rock that had been accumulating for 3 years from the back corner and filled in the next new bed with Tomato Lady Soil. This will be called Bed Seven.

The Burgandy Plum is flowering and to the right is the location for the Medicinal Herbs bed. So far it contains Echinacea and Lemon Grass.

Here is the vantage from the same location and you can see the new bed with plantings of Catnip and Echinacea and Mexican Primrose on the lower right. There is also Catnip and Corriander in the barrel. Far in the distance you can make out the new compost tumbler that I purchased from Lowes. It was $88 on sale and is really a nice design.

The wall of Peas are just touching the 6 foot mark.

There are Lettuces at their feet.

Penstemmon are flowering all over the garden.

I've been busy planting seeds and transplanting seedlings.

This is the photo for the archives of the Seasonal Changes of the Main Bed in Spring 2010.

And here is the update of the Poppies that were broadcast in the half abandoned walkway.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Among Friends

2010-02-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

On the indoor grow shelves in the kitchen rest 4 pots of cuttings from various trees and vines. There are cuttings from a blush colored Grape (from Julie's across the street), Bay Tree cuttings, Meyer Lemon cuttings, and a Green Seedless Thompson Grape.

They are in lightweight seed starting medium, in pots tented with plastic bags held by bamboo sticks. I mist them throughout the day.

One of the grapes is starting to leaf out. There is swelling of the bud and signs of green. It is the Green Seedless Thompson from Marilyn's garden. Yeah!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Blue with Intermission

2010-02-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

When asked what is my favorite flower it is Grape Hyacinth. It is the blue.

And Lobelia blue is my favorite color.

But Grape Hyacinths are dear to my heart.

Rosemary provides a blue backdrop to the regal couple beside the tree.

With little babes nearby.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Baked Peas

2010-02-21T17:33:00.001-08:00

I was making curtains for the french doors and totally spaced out the time, then it dawned on me that the green house was overheating so I dashed to open the door to vent it. The temperature was a balmy 105°. Whoops! So I propped the door open for a few days so as not to repeat the episode, then yesterday the plastic came down. The Snow Peas survived the heat and are covered with flowers. The Broccoli in the tubs are finished so they will become compost and be dug into the new bed along the backwall and something new will be planted in their place.

Here are the pure white Turnips that were planted in the fall that are today's harvest. One has been left to go to seed and as this was gifted from Leslie's workshop, and originally came from CSN, they might be heirloom and it is definately worth saving the seed to see if they will grow true again.

The pots were freshened up with Tomato Lady Soil, and Armenian Cucumbers were planted in the front of the pots to grow up the frame and become a mass of green overhead. In the center are Nasturiums that grow 6' long, a trailing variety that will also cover the green house frame. Towards the walkway in the raised pots are a bush variety Green Bean.

The plants in the Bevel Bed are leafing out and enjoying the warmth. It has been in the high 60°'s during the day. Some of the plants have flower clusters forming in the centers. The winter weather stunted their growth, but they are still growing in accordance to their individual DTM's. These plants were started indoors the day after Christmas so they have been growing for almost 60 days. This was a good lesson, that cold stunts, and DTM is DTM whether the plant is tiny or full size.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Hint of Spring Garden Tour

2010-02-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

The first of the Grape Hyacinth is hidden in the shade of the Rosemary.

The Pansies are thriving and share hint of yellow.

Faces toward the sun.

Another bed is born and starts to change from the rock collector to the place for the Artichoke, and the Mexican Primrose. It is a hot baking spot.

The Artichoke was planted in October and is ready to spring into action. The Artichoke was fine in a raised planter above the rock, but once the rock is removed and becomes a bed, the Artichoke has to be lowered to the ground. It is too heavy in size and appearance to remain in the pot above anything at all.

The over-wintered Long Bed receives more light as the shade decreases moving across the garden, revealing the areas that used to be in full sun before last August.

The New Zealand Spinach bit by frost shows sign of regaining it's vigour.

The traveling pots filled with Lettuce have remained the same and look as if they were recently planted.

The newly abandoned walkway, (what started out as full abandon has be met with half abandon) has been seeded with Poppies and Hollyhock. All of the humus has been washed away by the heavy rain and litely sprinkled with compost where the seedlings emerged.

Here is a close up of the Flanders Poppies.

I was given this herb plack placed by the herbs which is now surrounded with newly placed strawberries. The Rhubarb is located at the dripper to the left, and fingers are crossed that it will flourish. It has just survived it's first winter here.

This yellow daisy is the first to flower in the Lily Bed.

The red Chard has such an unusual color and texture.

There are lots of contrasts of color and texture.

Here is how the knot gardens in the raised tubs look this spring.

These have survived the winter as they were planted in the fall.

Along with the early winter items planted in December.

I am preparing for Iris to put on a stellar show in the Main Bed this spring.

This one was a gift and I have no idea what color it will be. It's a surprise.

This angle from the patio, reveals the garden's intricacy.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Your Guess is as Good as Mine

2010-02-10T15:00:00.001-08:00

There was a worm on top of the greenhouse this morning. I went out to push the water off of the roof from that light rain that we had last evening, and there he was swimming on the ceiling. I can't imagine how he got up there, your quess is as good as mine. Thoughts that run through one's mind in response to something like this are wild, Neighbors are slinging worms through the air!

The peas have started blooming which is great because I was thinking that the plastic reduced the light and that might be a problem, but it was early still. Yeah for pea blossoms! I have left the tomato (roma) in the greenhouse now for about 3 nights. The heater vent is closed that would blow down on the grow shelves, but still the tomato did not like the inside temps or the air that escaped the vent (you could see the movement), or being spritz with mist, or all three combined. It is looking a bit rough so I might as well try 40° temps at night and throw that into the mix. If anyone asks about the tomato I will say "Your guess is as good as mine, did you hear about the worm on the greenhouse?"

Thanks for visiting? To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Little Rosemary Wreaths

2010-02-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here are little Rosemary wreaths that are perfect to make after a rain. I added them to the bowl of orange rind and dried lemon slices and they spice up the kitchen.

The new raised bed is filled with Black Dirt and the irrigation is installed. The rain settled everything in and the whole garden is fresh and new.

Here is a close up of the irrigation and it was fun to arrive at this design where the lumber was cut at an angle. As all of my planting areas and raised beds have names, I thought about this one for a while, this one is called the Bevel Bed.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Saved Citrus

2010-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Old lemons sit on my counter under the dried lemon slices that were strung together and tied to the overhead cabinet to dry. The breeze spins them around imparting what little fragrance remains into the air.

Here is a bowl of orange peel and it collects the rind from recently peeled oranges that were cut into strips to dry. The oranges smell wonderful and other things can be added to the bowl as potpourri. The rosemary is in bloom so I will bring some in later this morning. I have envisioned tiny wreaths of flowering rosemary. A tiny wreath would sit nicely on the edge of the bowl for the fragrances to mingle.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Moon in Leo

2010-01-30T16:16:00.000-08:00

The new raised bed is finished and you can see how it fits next to the patio.

Here is the vantage from another angle.

Husband and I moved the whiskey barrels by sliding them on rails made by tree stake poles.

Here is a pretty cool vantage point. Next will be filling the bed in with black dirt. Right now there are a half-dozen Mexican Primrose in the center of the bed. They need to be relocated but not today when the Moon is in Leo, considered barren and dry and there is to be no planting. But it is a time to harvest, cultivate, control pests and weeds, and build raised beds!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Chi Happy and Free

2010-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Today was the day to start the new raised bed for the winter greens that are ready to plant out from the greenhouse. I consider the principles of Feng Shui when incorporating new elements into the garden. There are angles created by the shape of the box that were a consideration in it's design and placement. There would be no chards (cutting Chi) pointing to the door of the house or to the center of the pathways that approach the bed from various directions.

Even the length of the side board was considered so that it wouldn't feel as though it blocked Chi when walking along the curving path. The wood will eventually grey in color and visually become an extention of the patio. Originally I had considered redwood but the color would overwhelm this area of the garden.

The front board requires miter cuts before it can be installed and then the whole frame will be brought forward and settled in.

In the garden there are penstemmons with their rosey leaf tips preparing for spring.

And here is a Firecracker Penstemmon already in bloom.

Here is a Perky Sue and the leaves of California Poppy hinting at what is to come!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Mind Paper

2010-01-21T06:16:00.000-08:00

Buckets of rain, buckets of tears, I got all them buckets coming out of my ears, buckets of moonbeams in my hand, you got all the love, honey baby I can stand. Ahhh, a little Bob in the morning! Can you see all of the rain that pooled atop the greenhouse!

The peas have taking over. Pea flowers would be nice.

Here you can see that I have now started gardening in the walkways. This is a plum planted in the corner of the property which is an indication that I have run out of room for fruit trees. I have already reduced the width of the walkway if not abandoned part of the walkway completely on mind paper.

This will be the next area with a raised bed and it will be constructed with 2 rows of 6 inch redwood. Something to ponder is that there are whiskey barrels in the design area, so they need to be relocated.

You can see the Rose of Sharon Hybiscus that is planted in this abandoned walkway. I am interested in seeing what will happen to this area. I have placed bird netting on the ground held by bbq sticks to control the antics of Cat. I have scattered poppies here and I wish that I had some leaves to toss on the ground to help with moisture retention. Ahhh, to want the simple things like pea flowers and leaves!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Garden Friends

2010-01-17T16:06:00.000-08:00

I really appreciate all of my new garden friends.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Put Up and Grow

2010-01-07T07:02:00.000-08:00

I put up grow shelves and a shop light in the dining room. I have been pricing the shelves for about 5 months, and I just couldn't bring myself to spring for full price, so when they went down to $60.00, it was time to act. The shop light is a 2 light unit for $13.00, and the bulbs are 5000 lumins, full spectrum, $7.00 set of two. (You can compare the plant and aquarium lights, identify the lumins (5000), and locate the same lumins for less money than the plant lights are marketed for.)

The self sown tomato growing in the compost from September is brought in from the greenhouse each night and is placed in it's prominent position on the shelves. I jostle the flowers, and mist it so that it can help it polinate. Greenhouse tomatoes don't have the wind to help them so you have to act like the wind, so they say to blow on them.

The seedlings, as they get bigger are transferred from the cookie box greenhouse into a six pack. These are spinach and blue bells in the back.

Here is the poppy to the left, and the spinach in the cookie box greenhouse. I have already re-filled the indentation from the removal of the spinach with fresh seed starter mix, and planted it with turnips for turnip greens. Odd craving at 7:30 pm, but when it hits you, you have to act on it, so I was planting a row in the kitchen last evening.

So 4 of the six packs are filled with blue bells, and the seeds were a gift from a neighbor. I have not seen blue bells here in Las Vegas, and I had the seed in an envelope with no picture or information to google. The leaves have black dots on them. If they are familiar to you, please comment and let me know what you think. I will post about the leaves and get a close up when they are larger. The second row is filled with "Second Chance" Salvia. It is seed that I gathered from a plant back in the fall that I thought was absolutely stunning. I tried to root a sprig, but it didn't survive, so I am thrilled that I have a second chance to propagate this variety. I have googled it for hours and have not identified it yet, and when I stumbled upon it originally I didn't have my camera with me. Also here with the newly seeded broccoli, that took the bluebells place, is two rows of parsley. The six packs of spinach are headed out to the greenhouse so there will be less plants, because as you can see, I already need another shop light!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

For The Birds

2010-01-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

I threw together this bird feeder post and stuck it in the corner of the garden. This is where I have been working improving the bed, removing and discarding the old Cannas, (which are in the garage until mid February,) contemplating what to do with the monstrous Lantana, although the birds like the seeds, and the butterflies and hummingbirds enjoy the flowers, and us to when they are new in the spring and don't devour everything in site because of their size later in the season. But I see Grapes here, and Morning Glories this spring, and Hollyhocks, and orange California Poppies, and Oriental Poppies, and at that point all the rest becomes a blur.

So I went in to get the camera, and the bird feeder had already attracted birds! Yeah!

And I adore the red breasted one, and I am pleased that he showed up for the photo.

I call him the Desert Cardinal and my husband calls him the Desert Robin until we find out his true identity.

Is there room for four?

The hummingbird over winters and perches on the tree behind the wall in the same location. I hope they will all get along.

The apples last about a week and the birds really enjoy them. Symba has taken to sleeping all day in the house. Good thing he is missing all of the action.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

A Treasure to Behold

2009-12-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

During the holidays, it is nice to visit with old friends. One particular friend of mine is a Holy Man with a penchant for collections. He has a nutcracker collection,

And a collection of christmas village houses, which in it's amazement, can only be trumped by the manificence of his studio that he dug by hand,

and he poured each block and placed them one by one, over time until his studio resonated with the richness,

that only this particular Artisan could impress upon the place that he had seen so clearly in his mind, even at that first shovelful. (You see his studio is underground.)

The walls are comprised with his collections. It is remarkable, that each block has a story, and each rock it's significance by person, place or time.

Richness exemplified and resonate.

Each block is numbered and logged in a directory listing it's collection.

And in addition to stones, there were other items added to the molds.

And as you look, it keeps unfolding with more and more treasure,

And then you must find your favorite collection as this happens to be mine, with it's clear quartz, lapis lazuli, shells and fossils.

But then those huge chucks of colored glass and rich vermillion are so enticing,

So for this holiday season, I wish for you to be surrounded with old friends and family, and rich tradition, and delightful memories and may your holidays be joyous and may you be surrounded with simple treasure! Merry Christmas!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

It's a Toss Up

2009-12-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Here is the inside of the greenhouse. The lettuce and peas against the wall like the increased heat. I'll bring the tomato back into the house at night if there is sign that it will freeze. I haven't been in the greenhouse at night yet with a flashlight to check the thermometer, but my guess is that it may only be a few degrees difference from outside. No room inside here for black 55 gal. water barrels as a source of heat storage.

The starter pots sit on the raised tubs, and they contain the Asian Greens. Seems like all I do is talk about Asian Greens.

The temperature can get to a balmy 88 degrees with 60 percent humidity. I rather like it and the plants do too.

Outside their are signs of how windy it can get up here on Black Mountain. The wind blew over the wheelbarrow, and blew the marbles off of the bamboo poles and so I gathered them up into a little pile until I re-glue them. Just seeing them clustered together is a nice surprise in the garden walk about.

This is what hungry birds think is delightful to happen upon. These are Lantana berries.

A California Poppy seedling has appeared after the rain, and I wonder if this is early or if they just stagger their sprouting, sprouting here and there for a big show in February-March. I have more seed to scatter, and I thought I would wait until early January so that the rains would water them in, and they could get settled, so I find this curious that a few have started already.

Finding this Garlic Chive sprayed out and showing it's color of orange and yellow is a curious site, too.

I chopped down the Eucalyptus and this will be the home of a new fruit tree. I can't decide if it will be an apple, apricot or the next changing whim, but I have a few weeks until I have to decide. This will also be the location of a new vegetable bed, too. It will be triangular shaped, so I am excited to see how this will evolve. I am tossing around triangular shaped wooden bed frames in addition to circular fruit.

The greenhouse changes the dynamics of the sunning bed. Before it was quiet, and now it is screaming for attention. Toss that up as well. The air is full around here.

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Delve In

2009-12-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

Tomato Blossoms are delightful, but I am going to stop with all of the diversions. It is time to open the box of plastic for the greenhouse and get it ready for installation.

I ordered 18 linear feet from ACF Greenhouses but the company shipped 14 ft. instead. Oh great, that's totally blows. I'll let Wrangler call them and square it up tomorrow.

I had ordered extra footage so that I would have a safety net, maybe use the extra to make cold frames, whatever. The idea of fitting the plastic onto the frame has been somewhat daunting, and I have been preparating myself, contemplating the folds and the way the pieces would be cut and with the least cuts possible.

But something about today was different. It crossed my mind a little after 10:00 that hey, it was a perfect idea. I felt confident that whatever happened with the design and the way the folds would fall, it would all work out and that today was the day to delve in.

And it came together nicely. The batten is a nice product and I would highly recommend it. The quality of the 6 mil greenhouse plastic is nice and strong. I had made a few buffer strips from the batten to soften a few of the sharp edges in the wood at the angles. Once I got the door plastic secured, I had to go inside and check it out. Something about a greenhouse is so nurishing. It is like an overflowing pantry. It is a sweet, whispered promise of abundance, waiting to be filled with possibilities. I am happy the way this has come together, and altogether the experience has been alot of fun. I will prop open the door when it's sunny during the day as I am still working on the venting system, but I have moved the Asian Greens seedlings into the greenhouse so that they can get to growing.

Already the humidity is noticable inside. I also purchased a thermometer with a humidity guage so it will be fun to see what the temperature and humidity are in the morning.

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Freeze Passing Through

2009-12-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

We took off to Phoenix to see Bret Favre play Minnesota Vikings vs the Phoenix Cardinals and before we left I brought the self-sowed tomato that was growing in homemade compost into the house. So here it is with blossoms, looking for some 60 degree weather.

Well it's not going to find it outside, because we got back and it is winter now at Black Mountain Garden. There is ice in the birdbath leftover from the rain last weekend. And with all of the rain and overcast skies, it froze the last few nights.

So lets walkabout and see the effect of freeze on the winter garden. Here are the Mesclun Lettuces. They all look fine, with the addition of yellow leaves from the apple tree.

The Basil bit the dust due to the freeze. The tree stake pole segments are chunky mulch/feline guard, (my own invention) and quite effective I might say. They are temporary, and some things are just temporary.

I commandeered the unused trash bin from the garage and it's a new rain barrel and it is over half full from the rain from the weekend. This picture qualifies as ugly but it is okay, it is educational.

Here is another ugly picture, but with the addition of rainwater being captured in a clay vessel it is elevated to "ugliness transcended".

Here is frozen water on the leaves of the "Mother of all Hens and Chickens" (for lack of it's true name) and this can't possibly be good.

The spinach are getting bigger. They have taken a long time to get to this size but the freeze passing through didn't bother them a bit.

Against the south side of the north facing wall is where the Green Beans are located and they did not get hit by the freeze. This is the location where Leslie the garden expert suggests planting Lemon Trees because the reflected heat from the wall is retained well into the night.

The freeze whacked the Purple Heart Wandering Jew located in the Cactus Bed.

There are a few unusual things to mention, like this Penstemmon with flower buds forming,

And this California Poppy hiding out under the Penstemmon leaves which will be the first to flower, long before the others that haven't even started germinating yet.

The New Zealand Spinach bit the dust, got whacked, met it's frozen demise, you choose.

But the chard looks like no frost here.

So here is a panorama of the garden in early December after the first freeze. All of the salts that consolidate on the surface of the soil in the fall, (seems more predominate) have been washed away.

Hose art is provided by Laura who now recuperating from a cold, thought the idea of carrying around a frozen hose to get it out of the picture didn't seem too appealing, so she left it there. Watch for more hose art in upcoming posts! Can you see the color in the leaves of the Eucalyptus?

Now this is what Heavenly Bamboo is all about! There are alot more garden pots gathered around then there have been in previous updates. It's a sign, spring is going to be amazing!

There's a sign of freeze on the Peach Tree and the Lantana in the sunning bed, freeze that was just passing through.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

No You Didn't

2009-12-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Help me now, I have started gardening in black poly pots. This is what it has come to, but once I describe the contents to you, you will understand. In the center we have cabbage, except the center of the center pot, it is a califlower. There are beets in the end pots and they are called Bulls Blood, whoa. There are turnips and they are all white, and one lone gourmet fancy lettuce, unknown. They were from the University, they were going to get chucked, so hey, I planted all that I could, gave some away, and although Husband said we have enough raised beds, I kind of recall the last time something like this happened, dirt started to accumulate and it became another raised bed. I can see it all too clearly I guess is my point.

The Nandina are ablaze with color.

Here is another angle of the array.

The patio rabbit is from a garage sale. I used to have a white lopped earred rabbit so for a dollar I couldn't resist him. I told my Husband that they had the mate, a rabbit that was standing up on it's hind legs, and it was really cute, except it's ear was broken off, just needed a dab of glue. He said "Great now you are bringing broken stuff home from garage sales," and I assured him that I drew the line at broken stuff. Broken stuff is bad Feng Shui don't you know.

Rocks look good in the bonsai pot, but don't get too attached, it's too soon, we are not out of the woods yet.

Some of the Asian Greens were potted up in 6 packs. I am taking the cookie box to a friend's house and we are having a 6 pack potting party tomorrow, so the rest of the seedlings in the cookie box will be give aways. Can you see the Red Winter Kale in the top center?

Here is a lovely Peacock Purple Broccoli, with an excellent leaf form.

And here is a bronze and rose lettuce from the mesclun mix planted inside the greenhouse. Sometimes I feel like a color junkie, just like today.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

It's Educational

2009-11-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

I planted peas between the green beans in the greenhouse bed and they are about 3 inches tall now. The plastic for the greenhouse is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, which is exciting, and now I have to devise the venting system. It is getting down to low 40's and the tomato that self sowed is targeted to go into the plastic covered greenhouse all things considering.

I have had these Euonymus for over 2 years and they did not like the early morning sun where they were located, and they were just not happy. So I dug them up and placed them in these bonsai pots and discovered that they were planted way too deep, which is possibly why they weren't happy. I cut the roots to place them in the bonsai pots, and they probably won't like that either, it is a gamble. Seems just like Wrangler. It must be this vest that I made, It's kind of heavy duty and western. I decided about a month ago to make a vest and I purchased the fabric and sorted over patterns, and finally as the Master Gardener Graduation is coming up, I made one, and decided it will be fitting to wear the new vest to the event. I scored 98 on the test, and I am pleased with the score.

So I have started salad greens that like the cold. Botanical Interests has an Asian Salad Greens Mix (link is located on the sidebar) which contains Tatsoi, along with Arugula, Chinese Cabbage, Japanese Spinach, Mizuna, Mustard Green, Mustard Red, Mustard Ruby Streaks, represented as 4 rows, and I planted 2 rows of Red Winter Kale in the clear cookie box. The 6 packs contain COS Breen Lettuce (less fond of cold) that was started in the cookie box, and they did get too leggy, so I planted them deeper in the 6 pack containers, and they do not like to have their stems buried deep and I have lost some of them as a result. I am going to breakdown and get the shelving unit and the shop lights eventually so that the starts won't get leggy when I grow them in the house. The Tatsoi, along with the rest of the Asian Mix has been growing outside all along and seems to like the temperature.

I planted a 6 pack of pansies and they are next to the rosemary that is flowering, and the lobelia. It is a study of blue. Blue flowers are stellar.

And there are some yellow leaves in the garden now, and one plant with yellow leaves is the Rose of Sharon Hybiscus seen in the photo above. I can't take a picture of it without capturing the salts that are ever abundant in our Nevada soil. All you can do is scrape the crystal-ish powder up and discard it. It is Calcium Carbonate I believe. It is the reason we cannot use Miracle-Grow here in Nevada, as Miracle-Grow is comprised of salts, and salt on salt is just wrong. So as a fellow blogger stated, you are not supposed to share ugly pictures, but it is ok, it's educational.

Here is the apple tree, and I am going to prune it this year for the first time, so it is being mentioned as I am in my preparatory pruning meditative stage and this will last until early January at which time I will actually prune the tree. It is like a metamorphosis of a really great apple tree pruner, like a butterfly type thing.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Boss of Your Garden

2009-11-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

This is my Yoga post. I have a friend who started Yoga about a year ago and she is absolutely beautiful. I know I needed to exercise more, so I started doing Chi Gong again, and added Yoga, so I am doing them both, and they meld beautifully and I like the results. I mention this because I bend incorrectly. I guess I always have. I bend at my mid back and my back hurts. I lift incorrectly too. My husband yells at me to correct me all of the time. So as we must not overlook the lovely faint violet cast to the petal's tips, we must not overlook to bend properly even though we are hard core gardeners.

Here is a lovely form of as rose with violet cast, as we continue the subject. Consider placing your hands on your hips when you are crouched over and you are preparing to lift yourself up. Just by placing your hands on your hips you rise from the hips and your mid back is not used like a fulcrum. Then walk around with your hands on your hips because you are the boss of your garden!

And stand upright and breath deeply and when you bend over exhale, and when you come back up, hands on hips, inhale. I would recommend one week of yoga just for gardeners. You can continue with it if it suits you, but your back would greatly benefit, and the impression of how to bend and breath correctly is invaluable to us because gardening is back breaking work they say.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

It's Rosy Sunshine

2009-11-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

I saw this amazing salvia, and prior to it's dying back for the winter I took a couple of sprigs to try to root in my kitchen. Try is the appropriate word, as this is not the time of year to start cuttings, and especially if you don't use a starting powder, which I never have. But there is the slightest green leaf in the middle of the stem on the right that I am watching, and life at the base by the soil that is promising so I offer this to you for your prayers and let's hope that it survives. The result, I promise will be amazing!

For the kitchen I picked up this Devil's Wing Begonia, and although it looks rough and tattered by the wind at the nursery, it has nice form and replaces the orchid that now lives by the sink, so that I can remember to water it almost every other day. Let's take a moment to respect orchid enthusiasts because their watering tasks are relentless.

I purchased this inexpensive juicer and thought I had better juice up the limes that Beverly gave me from her tree, now that someone gave me a new bag of lemons. Lemons are in season now, but limes don't do well here in Las Vegas, and that fact that she had a lime tree is amazing, but I wouldn't run out and get one. She has hers backed up to a fireplace chimney and mentioned it as a strong argument as to how it has survived the winters here. But back to the juicer, you can see that the unit can also be used as a mortar using the piece at the left as the pestle.

Which is how I juiced the pomegranates to make pomegranate jelly. I removed all of the bitter pith, juiced the fruit and then started making jelly right away. If you let it sit over night, it will separate and become clear but then that portion with the solids is tossed and that decreases the quantity by roughly a third or so.

Here is the color and the clarity of the jelly without it being separated, and although getting the juice from pomegranates is a lot of work, it is delicious and well worth it, it's Rosy Sunshine!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Cat Scratches

2009-11-19T12:50:00.000-08:00

Once I posted about sowing mesclun lettuce in a clear plastic "To Go" box, and here is a photograph of the next step which is to transfer the seedlings from the box by gently lifting them out of the soil-less starter medium (butter knife is perfect) and transfering them into 6 packs that can then grow until they are ready to be placed into the soil.

And while doing just that this striking Blue Lobelia caught my eye a couple of times from across the garden and don't you just love granite?

In fall, the Purple Iceplant started as cuttings placed directly into the soil a few months ago takes on colors of magenta and pink with it's new green growth.

The days are chilly now and Symba is growing his winter coat. He has taken to sleeping on the Grape Hyacinth in the sun and there is nothing we can do but wait and hope for the best. Once when the wind was trecherous, a child's play surface foam square about 2 foot square resembling a puzzle piece flew into our backyard, and the neighbor denied it was theirs. Symba liked to sharpen his claws on it, and eventually I tossed it because it was always in the way and was puzzling. So I bought him a gardener's knee pad 2 ft.by 7 inches and he has been tearing into that with delight all summer, I catch the handle under the patio chair leg to secure it least it get in the way. Well, two days ago, I brought home a lovely new yoga pad and laid it out on the floor upstairs in the studio and went off carrying about, and later discovered that it too is perfect for a cat scratch pad, regretably. But then it is the color of his eyes and it still looks almost as good as new except where he scratched the hell out of it! So when you take up yoga again, (tickle, tickle) and purchase your new yoga mat (one week is enough time, don't you think?) please consider your pets and store it when not in use.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Jiggy with It

2009-11-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

I find myself spotting flower seeds while I am out and about, and then concocting a seed holder contraption out of tissue, a folded business card, anything that I can use to last until I can get back home. I've watched asparagus seeds tumble from my shirt pocket into the rock mulch below and had to go after them. A friend of mine glues the sides of long rectangles and makes cute little envelopes. I have used regular envelopes in a pinch and they are way too big. So here is the modified version using payment return envelopes provided by the utility companies. (Yeah utility companies, and the fact that I love running water and the heater, as it is cold outside now, 42 degrees at night.) You can cut them to the size that you wish and glue one end using a glue stick. Test the results as glue sticks vary, and see if it holds and then you can clip the tab to match the other finished end and really get meticulously jiggy with it. There is some satisfaction in cutting the utility envelops, (Where did this come from?) But most of all, have fun, collect seeds, and share with friends. And if they are your friends seeds, ask first!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Having That Space

2009-11-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

I've had something on my mind for awhile, how to keep cedar bark from traveling via the wind, or as a result of the cat two stepping while batting at winged things or sometimes he gets filled with the dickens and high tails it around the place, and rocks and things go flying. He's a pretty big cat. So I had alot of the left over ends of tree stake poles from the green house and was tossing around the idea of using them as edging. Hmmm......it's too busy....

Looking further back, I recall thinking that I would like to weight the Blue Salvia stems to the earth so that they will sprout and multiply, and the flowers have all but dwindled. So why not now, while I need some space away from the edging to work out the details.

Coat hangers are perfect to press into rocky soil and hold the stems in place against newly placed black compost rich soil. A snow load would bend the stems down to touch the soil naturally and allow it to occur of it's own, possibly one fateful spring, if this were such a place.

You can see the new soil that has been placed atop the now secured stems.

Looking at the bed where the work was just completed, the energy created by the new edging is frenetic and that is what I was feeling when I was working out the pattern, so I still need some space as the resolution is conjured.

Planting an Aloe in another part of the garden, I know that I am not really working on the pathway per se. I am working on the green house plastic and venting system. I am having That Space.

Then back to the task at hand, and laying the tree stake pole pieces on their side end to end takes care of that frenetic energy, and it is alot quieter now and more in keeping with the overall feel of Black Mountain Garden's theme, Western Zen. This project away from the greenhouse plastic is a nice distraction.

So the cat dancing can resume, and just in time. It seems like he did most of it after dark anyway.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

What's Going On

2009-11-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

The pots in the greenhouse are really flourishing.

The four brocolli are growing larger, and eventually the turnips will be harvested. There are recently planted lettuce and peas hidden beneath the leaves so the appearance of this planter will change soon enough.

Here is the New Zealand Spinach. It is growing in complete shade and seems to be happy.

I've pulled off the cricket cloches, and they will be stored in the garage. The carrots don't seem to mind the reduced light, and additional carrots were planted today for a later harvest.

In the herb garden, the Purple Basil has changed to green with purple splashes.

The hottentot is flowing over the edges of the bed and tempts me to let it take over.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my garden friends, carry on and hurry back!

This Day was Different

2009-11-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

The colors of fall are subtle at Black Mountain Garden. The Hawthorn berries in shades of purple have fattened up and rise above the leaves to be noticed.

And the red tips on the leaves of the Eucalyptus just hint of fall.

I potted up about a dozen Aloe pups to share with friends, and captured this vantage of the garden.

There have been many times that I have missed great butterfly photos, because the camera was inside and after rushing in and retrieving it, they are flitting over the wall when I return. But this day was different.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Matchy Matchy

2009-11-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

The melon vine perished so it was time to see what the melon was like inside. It is small and it also matches the kitchen.

It is a melon for one.

The door is installed on the greenhouse. I found this wonderful door handle, and I am so thankful that I did. None of this can't get your fingers in the handle nonsense, I looked at the cabinet pulls, at the leaves and such, but it was a limited assortment, and they all have pinky oversight. This one is glove friendly, and looks ole timely too, in a glisteny galvanized way.

The interior of the door shares it's construction. It will need a diagonal board or something so that it doesn't skew.

The crystal is out of this world! I love crystals and I think everyone should go out and get crystals and hang them about.

The Iceberg Rose is blooming and it is head bowing gorgeous.

With subtle pink in the buds.

We can learn coy and demure from roses.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Like Wisteria, Except Cucumbers

2009-10-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

The green room is framed in and the shape reminds me of a gemstone. I can see why people sit under pyramids. This structure has the same affect on me. I want to hang a crystal from one of the beams, but I have to consider that it might have the same affect as the sun that bounces off the upstairs window that has burnt the chard leaves like a magnifying glass. I don't really know what happened to the chard, it's just that at a certain time of day the sun glare off of the window will force you to relocate, coffee and all. So when a few of the neighboring chard leaves became unexplainably white, I just figured it was the sun glare that flash fried the chard and that seemed reasonable at the time. I suppose I could hang a crystal or two and see if the plant leaves go unscathed? Bands of prism colors are so tempting!

This is a great arbor for armenian cucumbers that could hang down from overhead like wisteria, except cucumbers. I could also envision it covered with screen and filled with finches but someone, somewhere else would have to run with that one because birds are out of the picture.

Here is a mesclun lettuce update. I tell you I love this stuff. There is one variety of lettuce in the forefront pot located at about 3:17 that is entirely magenta! It is the only one, and it is the favorite. Another lettuce that I am unfamiliar with has leaves that resemble a hand print. They are delicious! Does anyone know what they are called?

This is the first harvested turnip.

An mid-morning snack before heading back out to the garden or better yet, take them on the walkabout and save the greens for another day.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Three Down

2009-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the front wall. The top and the slanted side are on the to do list for tomorrow. I'm looking into a louvered vent that I understand self closes which sounds pretty cool. More on that as it developes.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

David J. West's Photography

2009-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Michael and I met a remarkable photographer in Springdale, UT just outside of Zion National Park and his name is David J. West. For three years we have been following his work and we look forward to visiting him when we travel there.

The pieces in his gallery take your breath away, and it is a very popular gallery with people waiting to buy things when you arrive, and then of course we did too. When we left, the people before us were headed back in, and of course we couldn't decide so we walked out with two prints, so I totally get them. He has a website and also sells his fine art photography online. There you will see the splendor, but it is in having the large pieces before you that you can really feel the magic. Here is the link to his website http://www.davidjwest.com/. The website is interactive and it's kind of fun to try to choose the photos you would like to view. It made me laugh because it is unpredictable. We also signed up for David's newsletter.

David and his wife also have a blog http://davidjwest.blogspot.com/, so please enjoy the sites and let him know you appreciate fine art and his spectacular pieces!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

On the Other Side

2009-10-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here is the update on the green room. The other side wall is stood and the concrete poured.

Nine feet isn't very long, but interior roof supports will be required.

The transplanted green beans and lettuce are taking hold with just a few casualties.

Green beans are forming in the other pots.

The chard is lightly being harvested.

The New Zealand Spinach has what resembles seeds (a sepaled nondescript flower?) forming where side leaves have been harvested. I will take more photos in a day or two to see what develops.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Green Room

2009-10-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

I've been toying around with the idea of building a greenhouse. It started out as desire for a greenhouse "someday", to the need for a hotbed over the lettuces in the newly constructed raised bed. Now I envision a greenhouse instead, and off we go. I have decided to use recycled tree stakes for the framing material.

Paint is a great program to throw around ideas and work out the design. The idea is to construct it so that it can receive plastic but also looks good without plastic, and would look great with vining vegetables growing all over it, hence the green room. That was the criteria. Today I bought some incidentals, drill bits, screws, and they ran about $20.00. (Excuse me, that stuff was supposed to fall from the sky.) I'll have to purchase 5 -10 foot posts and they'll run about $35.00. (Apparently they were to fall from the sky too.) No problem, if I can't get plastic right away, I'll be closer to the goal, and there is no pressure. It's all about having leeway and enjoying the process.

With the design on paper, I needed to map out the existing items into the scheme of things. I rigged this set up so that I could determine the placement and width of the door. The height of the structure will equal the block wall, the doorway is to the left of the black pot, and the right side of the structure will just exceed the barrels.

Another element that came into play is that the site is sloped. This required a little more engineering, as the posts are different lengths. I'm setting the posts in cement to strenghten the wall and to ward off the strong winds. The design for the greenhouse is the one on the upper right of the Paint program. The construction should go alot faster now, as this part seemed to take forever. Tomorrow I will take down the braces, and it will be a door with a side wall.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Hold On

2009-10-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Zion National Park in southern Utah in time to see the fall foliage.

The Pioneer Lodge is great place to stay in the center of Springdale, the town located at the entrance to the park.

The town is overflowing with shops filled with beautiful Zion inspired artwork.

The following morning we headed out to conquer Angel's Landing which is what I consider to be a phenomenal feat as you will soon see.

The scenery is breathtaking as the elevation continues to rise on our ascent.

The change in vegetation evokes different senses. Take note, you will see this again.

Is it just around the corner?

There are about 5 or 6 switchbacks in this photo that take you a great vertical distance.

We reached Scouts Landing, where you can see the line of people ascend the ridge of Angels Landing. (The light dot in the center of the photo is a person, and they are headed up to that higher tree, and to the top ridge.)

This crevice allows a view of the height and the shear face of the mountain.

Here is Scout's Landing again. The line of hikers to Angel's point are hidden behind the pine tree located above the hikers in this photo.

We headed atop Scout's Landing to another ridge and could see the trail to Angel's Landing, and the valley down below.

Here is a view from the top.

Michael takes in the view from over the side.

A bonsai moment.

A fellow hiker offered to take our picture.

It is best not to think too much ahead, but to concentrate on what is at foot.(Least you need to be talked down from high places.)

Remember the green vegetation from before?

Back at the entrance to the park.

Springdale is a lovely place surrounded by all of the mountains.

And seated outside at a restaurant there is beauty all around you.

As evening falls, the landscape changes, and all of the mountains take on new appearances.

Fall in Zion is spectacular. We visited a local photographer, David J. West at his gallery, and his work is stellar. I will share a few of his pieces with you in an upcoming post.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Fair and Delightful

2009-10-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

We headed out at about 4:30 pm to the Renaissance Fair, the annual event at Sunset Park in Las Vegas.

It is intriguing to see the different tribes with their encampments, the detail, and great lengths that they go to haul in their goods. Whoa, I'll be off.

Tree nymphs on a wooded trail are a memorable encounter.

I am impressed by those that don armor because of it's size and weight, and then there is "their sword play".

There is alot of dust in the air and it lends a faraway quality to the late afternoon light.

The ship was totally awesome and the water application was perfect.

This tribe of travelers had falcons on display,

Elevating their encampment to "elaborate squared".

Even the dogs seemed apropos. Far in the distance in the center of the picture, a group of children were taunting a Goliath of a man, which added even more dimension to the photo.

How can this be. It seems so real to be unreal.

Are they always seated so? It is ponderous. Is there tea?

I love it when the patrons dress up too.

Bellydancers are aways alluring.

There were alot of wares for sale. I happened upon these fairy houses and they are covered in sea glass mailed to the artisan from all over the world. They are extremely elaborate and very colorful. I hope you liked this year's fair.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Looks Like Heaven

2009-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Back to building the raised bed. I excavated the soil out of the center, scratched the base with a pickax and raked up the rocks. The depth will be just over 6 inches. The plant's roots can venture into the highly alkaline, devoid of organic matter putty colored dirt if they desire.

Here is the irrigation and I am using what is left, I can't seem to keep this stuff around.

Tomato Lady Soil is my favorite soil in the world and it will fill the bed. This will hold 10 cubic feet.

So here is the new bed with the transplanted green beans from the traveling pots. There were lettuces at their bases when I dug them up so they came along too. There will be casualties unfortunately, but we must not dwell on that. Husband says this looks like a tar pit.
Apparently he's seen a tar pit. I am thinking it looks like heaven.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Bean Shreads

2009-10-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Radishes make me smile. They must be sown repeatedly, so put that on the list somewhere.

Jim from mg class gave me a bag of roasted green chile. It was really hot but delicious, so I am retaliating with bags of fresh herbs.

The basil can be dried for later use, and the chopped chives are ready to go into the freezer to be used anytime.

Here is the update on the purple top turnips. DTM is 55 days which will be Oct. 27th. They seem to be on schedule.

The beans are not happy in the windy location by the apple tree. I pondered what could be done. When a plant is not right for a particular location, there is no good to come of it, and you are postponing the inevitable. With that in mind, I contemplated my choices. They beans look healthy despite being ripped to shreads. I remember reading that green beans will not set fruit if it's windy. Oh great! So it looks like I either scrap the green beans, or the traveling pots will have to be moved to get out of the wind.

So my options are to transplant some of the newly sown seeds to a new bed down on the ground, where they will be somewhat protected from the wind. I removed the rockpile that surrounded the cactus garden, and potted up the cactus for destination unknown,

and started another raised bed out of redwood. Lettuce can go in the front, and this bed is suitable for a coldframe later on.

Of course there was a huge rock right where the center post was to go. (Pickax gardening to the rescue.) I am going to remove the inside dirt a few inches, install a plastic liner on the interior and waterguard the outside of the wood. Then I am going to fill it with Tomato Lady Soil, and it will be ready to plant.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Runaway with the Show

2009-10-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've heard of people wanting to run away with the circus. I want to run away with the Boulder City Art Festival, just for the weekend. First I must say that this particular booth was the 3rd or 4th booth we happened upon, and all of the pieces were spectacular, and then I saw this piece in the center and just broke out crying. I couldn't help it. The photographs were magnificent. The artist was standing there and he noticed me, and I thought to myself that he just counted me amongst all of the others that this happens to, like there is a whole bunch of us. http://www.martres.com/portfolios/faves/content/the_wave_reflection_large.html

Then we walk into this booth and it was too soon for I had not fully recovered.

My husband doesn't know what to think. I tell him that I am okay, just that everything is so amazingly beautiful.

Creation, beginning, life, water, ice, snowflakes. So from this point I must control my thinking, and perhaps not internalize everything so much.

Can't be done. Let er rip. No actually I was similarly unaffected from then on, I just had to clear the air with some large metal sculptural insect pieces.

Bug armament changed my perspective completely.

I became carefree by floral delight.

And little flower frizzies.

Somewhat emboldened by the oversized brush and the warm colors.

Spritzed by cool primary and secondary colors.

Firmed up by the evergreens (assisted with a little copper wiring.)

I could see clearly again.

With gardening as perspective, it is delightful to see the continuity of everything imbued with plants and nature at an art show. Gardening has runaway with the show!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Western Zen

2009-10-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday everyone in mg class was asked whether or not they had a garden theme. I described my garden theme to the group. It is called Western Zen. It is described as In the desert but not of the desert. I hope to convey a western sense, after all, it is hard to escape in the air and the sky and the creatures that come to visit. Even the cat is dusty. But I have the strong emotional need to convey that the pioneer wagon kept on moving and that there is hope here and green pastures, and that everything has a place and all is properous, and abundant. This led to Wild Desert Lush, and after a rain it is descriptive of Western Zen, but that is just for fun, like when you have your boots on.

So the best way to describe it is to go back to some of my favorite garden photos (indulge me here, as you may have seen these before,) that convey that sense of what I am trying to acheive, what feeds my soul, and this was the point of the lecture, (a very good lecture I might add) that your garden must intrinsically make you happy. So here are some of my favorite photos which for me convey my garden style, my Western Zen.

Om...

Yehaw!

Yahoo!

Om....... Western Zen is also descriptive of my interior decorative style as well. (Hey, No boots in the house!)

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Outside of 360

2009-10-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have just published my new website called Outside of 360. It is an online Art Gallery featuring artwork, posters and prints of nature, landscapes and botanicals with other interesting items thrown in for fun. The pieces consist of pieces from Art.Com and AllPosters.Com. I enjoy being an affiliate for both companies, and hopefully you have seen the gallery located at the bottom below all of the posts. The website is the new venue for the collections that I will assemble. The website address is http://www.outsideof360.com/. It is a new beginning, and I am very excited, so please visit the site and I hope you enjoy it.

There is a new collection on the site called School Science. It has a couple of posters that I adore

Here is one called Butterflies of the World. I love this poster and if my daughter were 12 again, it would be on her bedroom wall.

Here is another totally awesome poster located in the same collection, School Science. You can access the new website at the above link, and a permanent link will be located on the sidebar under Great Places to Visit. My desire is to provide some really great artwork so that everyone can can have botanical prints and landscapes all over their interior spaces. Let's landscape our walls and call it vertical gardening! I need to mention that the website host is Atlas Hosting and they've been fantastic! Let me know what you think!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

A Little Thing

2009-09-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here is where I keep my seeds in the pantry. I didn't always keep them in the pantry. They started out in the garage, and it can get 120 degrees in there, so I moved them to the kitchen table while I was using them, until company came, and then they went into the laundry room, above the washer and dryer on a shelf. Then back on the table, then outside on the patio for a couple of days (109 temp.) then the table inside again, and now they have been in the pantry, and this is where they will stay. I had no intention to treat my seeds so badly, I just didn't contemplate them and treat them like the magic that they are. I have learned that they need to be protected from heat and cold, and humidity and innocent yet mindless neglect. From now on my seeds belong in the pantry. It's just one of those little things.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Are We There Yet

2009-09-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

Irrigation to the raised beds is complete! I finished the final stretch this morning. It is time for the dance of joy!

It would be nice to take a break and relax, and appreciate the garden,

But the wind has picked up and the green beans are thrashing about in the pots.

The lettuce doesn't like green beans thrashing overhead in this companion planting.

I don't recall the lantana being that big. The peach tree seems like it is about to be gobbled up! When I brought home the Lantana, it was in a one gallon pot. Alot of the plants at Black Mountain Garden were purchased as one gallon plants, and they have all outgrown the number of emitters they originally received. Seems like I will be doing some more irrigation!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Livin' Large

2009-09-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed out to Searchlight, NV. It is rugged country located southeast of Las Vegas, and the drive down to the Colorado River from Searchlight can make one wonder what they are doing living so close to such an inhospitable place.

Cottonwood Bay has a small beach for frolicking in the sun and the frigid water.

The beach is right where the boat launch is, so floating petroleum products would interfere with all of the good clean fun.

A searchlight can be used to signal for help or to locate those that are in need of assistance. In this garden we have a play on the bottle tree (?) and a juxtaposition in contrasts between the naturalized drought non-tolerant cactus and a subtle water nuance represented by the boat. The paper and other white reflective pieces are left strewn about to convey a "devil may care" attitude.

Searchlight has some old abandoned equipment on the main thoroughfare, (as was the house in the last photo),

And a deserted mine is located right on the main highway back to Las Vegas. Property is available for purchase, and you can even find higher priced property without access for some uppity livin'.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Balzar's Cape

2009-09-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's been twenty three days and the radishes look great and taste great too. Tomato Lady Soil is amazing!

Following the instructions from garden expert Leslie Doyle, I started mesclun lettuce in my little mini hot house. Alot of the seedlings resemble radishes, how ponderous.

The Lobelia is flourishing and hopefully it will self sow for next year.

The Northern Lights Chard is absolutely my favorite! These colors are fabulous! Everyone should have this array of color in the fall garden.

I've adjusted the water and now there are melons forming on the new growth in the melon patch. There are three fruits in the above picture.

One of the melons is an Armenian Cucumber. Here are two fruits growing inches apart. Now I must not adjust the water and just leave it alone.

Here is the silver reflective mulch. It will increase the amount of light in the raised bed, if it is affixed to the vertical wall surface. This is an extremely windy spot, so it must be stapled to a backboard and stood securely in place. Michael hasn't seen this milar yet. It is tucked in place to see how I respond to it, and so far it's not good. It is hella tacky, and fun house is not a relaxing garden motif. A disco ball also comes to mind and it is obvious why this product is an insect repellant. I think I have a new blind spot in my right eye. Balzar's Cape looked better in the bag.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!