Delve In

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!

Cat Scratches

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!

Blue of my Baby's Eyes

I love blue in the garden. It's subtle but it can make you stop in your tracks, and get down low so that you are surrounded by it.

I think that everyone should run out and buy Blue Salvia to stimulate the economy.

The blue of the Chaste Tree stands out on the way to check on the melons.

Thank goodness I am able to refrain from picking the cute ones!

The latest rose Donna Darlin' is a whole palet of colors and the camera only hints at it's beauty. Pick up one of these while your out!

And then we have him. There's nothing like This Blue!

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

Pockets of Rocks

Here is the lovely Agate from our fishing trip to Panguitch, UT. The rocks feel like treasure in your hands and sound like glass when they jostle about in your pockets. (The little button was a hitchhiker.)

So when we got back home there was a new sunflower in the garden,

and crickets or whatever it was ate all of the lettuce seedlings, but other than that everything else in the garden seemed just as we had left it.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On and Hurry Back!

Fish Nets, Cat Nets

With the song by Stevie Nicks, "Gypsy" playing in my head, I contemplate how to keep Symba out of the vegetable garden. Hmm, this will do for now.....

I know this is a vegetable bed, but flowers look good anywhere.

Heading out with my coffee (my morning ritual) I don't see Symba. Oh, then I spot him as he is strategically placing his paws between the net squares and walks the length of the bed entraced like a masterful ninja in slow motion. I am going to get chicken wire for the bed tomorrow and do it up right because this could be cat lethal. I am thankful I had the netting handy so the rows still look like rows and not Symba's representation of Richard Dryfus's mountain, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The tree is standing tall today. Looking skyward, I recalled our alarm went off at 4:30 am this morning so that we could get up to see the Perseid Meteor Showers, but at 4:31 actually doing it next year seemed like an even better idea.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On, and Hurry Back!

Cat Dog

There's plastic stapled just shy of the edge, waterseal on the exterior, and irrigation curled for the strike. Now I am waiting for Wrangler to rustle me some dirt.
The Crape Myrtle is flowering nicely since increasing the water.

Cat Dog destroyed one of the echinaceas so now there are about 6 and the melon that was growing new leaves took a turn for the worse, being in the same area....draw your own conclusion, so I went oriental on him and placed more chopsticks strategically around the echinacea and black eyed susans that are planted for next years enjoyment. We are trying to stick to the plan here. He looks proud as he lounges there. I am going to paint a picture of him in that style like he is a hunting dog, and then see if it is befitting over the fireplace.

This photo comes to mind as the motivation for the piece. I would move the green in closer, and painting the mulch might become distracting which presents some challenges as does painting rocks. Me painting fur presents even greater challenges. I'm trying to grow those brain cells as I go.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On!, and Hurry Back!

Raining Diamonds

It rained briefly yesterday, and the sky looked full of glittering diamonds. Big cold drops...

We waited out the passing rain clouds from the patio. Both of them were a nice reprieve.

Earlier, a friend had commented about the pretty catch all garden pot that I keep by the edge of the patio. It is where I keep my everyday gardening tools. I thought I would share this little idea with you, as I like finding out how other gardeners finese their lives and thought it might stir some idea sharing.

This morning I added some mulch to Lily Hill. I picked up Margaret's painting book and read a little bit, to wear like a protective vest as I headed in between the leaves. I bought some more mulch yesterday that I might apply to some of the beds in the real world later today.

Thanks for visiting! To all my gardening friends, Carry On!

The Fickle Gardener

A few new blossoms on the cannas since yesterday's wind so now they are ready for a close up. Here's Symba, the cat faced boy, as he zooms in from an opposite angle.

Here is a photo of the new lily. It is absolutely my new favorite. Have my favorites become so fleeting, that perhaps I am fickle? I feel like I am being unfaithful to the iris. Perhaps some flowering zinnas will make me feel better. Will an annual cure this perennial woe?

Here is an all black hummingbird thanks to the placement of the feeder against the sky. If you have hummingbirds, you are familiar with their call, that timeless looping whistle. Hummingbirds are the best. Someone asked me once what kind of pets I had, and I said," A cat and hummingbirds." They said "Oh, you can tell alot about a person by the kinds of pets they have." Hummm. They probably had me figured wrong. I am a siamese rescue of 6, koi pond full of beauties, banty chicken loving, peacocks in the trees kind of person.

Here is a photo of a peacock in the trees from our last trip to Bonnie Springs.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On!

Like a Cat in a Corner

Here is a lovely butterfly iris in bloom. They come in yellow also, but I prefer the white because of the purple and orange.


We went to Bonnie Springs up by Red Rock, outside of Las Vegas for a day trip. It is a spring tradition to go see the baby animals, and because there is a natural spring, with cottonwoods, native grasses, wildflowers, a pond with ducks and turtles, it is a nice little adventure. We didn't see any baby animals though, and alot of the animals from last year were no longer there. There were alot of peacocks, though.


There were some people there, but even Bonnie Springs is experiencing hard times right now.



We went to Cactus Joes on the way back home.

It is a gardener's paradise of color and form, and always an excellent place to visit.

The wandering pet pig stopped to pose for the camera.

Always nice to get home, though and check in on the garden and the cat.

Symba is seated on the wall in the corner. He is intrigued by the moths that resemble hummingbirds that flutter in the yard down below. I hope I can catch him before nightfall or I won't see him again until morning. We have coyotes in the surrounding hills, but I am not too concerned about the coyotes because of his wall walking ability.

Dreaming Blue Iris

Here is a lovely blue iris spotted in my travels in Las Vegas. It is a phenomenal color and I would love to have one for Black Mountain Garden. I have logged the location in my garden diary, and have made a note to return to acquire the seed before the landscapers clean up the dried flower heads.

Here is a close up for it's name sake.

I visited a fellow blogger and they shared about composting in their gardening post. Last November we started composting everything from the kitchen. We compost everything possible and here's what I have to share so far,

I use the produce bags from the vegetables as they are used up. The bags sit on the counter from 1 to 3 days or until it is full. The landscaping pots from mid-sided trees make great starter compost containers for the garden, expecially if you have space constraints. At my last place, I used the landscapers large wooden tree boxes that somewhat taper to the ground, and they worked great in the space and looked neat as well all lined up in sentry.

I could go big and import leaves, and nursery waste, it is just a matter of time. I am at the tipping point. For now I just have this much baking. I leave the pots under the apple tree for the tea to leach out when the pots are watered. Another note, we throw the coffee filters in too and they work their way out because they don't seem to break down, and grabbing them when they are dry is less messy.

The daisy is loving the temperature, and it reached 90 degrees today. There are now flowers on the starts taken from this wonderful daisy back in January.

I pulled starts from the underside of the plant and planted them directly into the soil, and watered them until they took. Signs that they were still alive were that they were still plyable, then one by one they started to lift themselves off of the ground and I knew they had taken, and the slightest new green appeared at the center. All together 2 1/2 months till flower.

Here is Hula Hands that opened completely today. Symba was faster than shutter spead as he crossed the garden.