May 1, 2012

April 30, 2012

April 16, 2012

Iris Time

 Refreshing Gingersnap iris by the front sidewalk
 a nice, petite siberian 
 a double stack of white
(a wal-mart $1 special)
(Shiloh Dog is viewing out the open window)
the mass of wine-colored Louisiana iris are coming soon!

March 13, 2012

Front of the House

CG is pleased overall with the condition of the front planting areas.
The nandinas are strong, healthy, and about 90% filled-in to the desired 'naturalized mass'.
The azaleas and gardenias are lacking, however.

Importing rocks to the front of the house is about 75% complete.

The daffodils look great!
Some will need thinning in a few weeks.
More areas will be marked for more planting in the fall.

Daylilys were transplanted in November (near the windows)
they seem to like their new home!
(a tall iris bud can be seen at the top right -any day!)

Daffodils continue to be the featured attraction!
the daffodils are about half-way finished with their 6 weeks of splendor!


March 7, 2012

March 6, 2012

March 1, 2012

February 24, 2012

In Amongst the Giants


It's one of the earliest-blooming plants in the garden!
At first glance, it appears to be an iris flower that has broken-off, and is laying on the ground.


Au contraire!
The dwarf iris (K.Hodgkin) is firmly grounded.
(fingers crossed that the majority of them emerge this year!)
October marked the second year these flowers were planted.
(CG Jr helped dig & plant a few -he even named  the one between the rocks lining the sidewalk Rocky)
With continued success in the next few weeks, we are already looking forward to planting even more this fall! 

February 8, 2012

Crocus

early-blooming crocus have been a serious challenge for CG.

One is better than none:

November 2, 2011

back with saffron

CG wonders about a lot of things. After looking back through the blog, he wondered why, after planting less than a dozen smallish unique bulbs, would he apply the label 'Will Trade'? After all, it takes a few years and a more substantial initial planting before a gardener is ready to trade.
Turns-out that CG should be more trusting. While researching to find tips/tricks on how to harvest the saffron threads (and then what to do with them), CG read that people have been trading saffron for more than 4,000 years. 
To this day, saffron is among the world's most costly spices by weight.
From what CG can research on the blog, these crocus were planted in September 2010. They sprouted less than a month later, but never bloomed. CG might remember to order & plant more of these next Fall. They might grow well in the Farm Bed.

It may take a few years, but CG is bee-termined to have more saffron than he knows what to do with

(that may already bee the case- 12 saffron 'threads' were harvested today,
-they're drying on top of the fridge now)

(CG has no immediate plans for the saffron)
(except that they may have already served their purpose-
by allowing CG to correctly claim that he has grown
and harvested his own saffron)

Why the long dry-spell between blog posts?

The drought that hit was damaging not only to the plants.
CG was hit hard as well.
Not being able to keep-up with watering,
there was a lot of stress. 
Some plants seemed like they were unable
to survive the incessant heat -even with ample water.

November 1, 2011

This time next year...

  • establish a spot where saffron crocus have plenty of room to spread-out
  • plant at least 40 more dwarf iris
  • have 100% of cannas remove from the cut flower bed
  • establish a butterfly garden
  • re-install & maintain bird feeders

October 28, 2011

Landscape Notes

  • planted 60 dwarf iris
  • planted 40 daffodils
  • improved plantings of 7 forsythia
  • completed Fall fertilizing
  • Fall color of burning bushes was 'good'
  • thinned-out cannas (40% complete)