August 16, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Blog Must Go On!

This is a first for me. I’m blogging using my iPhone and a portable keyboard. I live with superior tech support (my husband and my 13 year old son are a force) so between them they figured this out.

We’ve been without an internet connection, phones or electricity most of the day. Around 2:30 this morning a drunk teenage driver crashed into a power pole one house over. The driver and his passenger were unharmed, but the ensuing mess inconvenienced a lot of people and caused thousands of dollars in damage. The good news: they hit the *pole*. A few yards to the left and they would have plowed through a fence into a yard and a bedroom.

What this crazy day did was help me put a few things in perspective. For starters, it’s not the end of the world that I dropped my newly harvested pumpkin (the biggest one in the patch) splitting it wide open. My nickname is Ms. Overachiever. For some reason I thought I could tuck a slippery, round pumpkin under one arm while carrying the kitchen scrap bin with the other. My treasured pumpkin rolled right out of the crook of my arm and landed with a thud.

No! Those orangey orbs of goodness are such a high point of my gardening experience. For a few seconds I simply wanted to deny what I had done. There was no getting around it though. There it sat, split wide open. One moment I marveled that it would last through the end of October. The next moment is was clear it would turn to mush by week’s end.

My careless handling of the pumpkin is hardly comparable to the damage of an inebriated driver, but it is a reminder of the fragility of life. Be sure to hug your loved ones as often as you can and remember to treat your precious pumpkins with the respect they deserve.

[insert split pumpkin photo here]…I guess that will have to wait until tech support is done watching a soccer game. Check back next week for a peek.

August 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Treasure

Look what arrived in my mailbox last week? Isn’t it a treasure? It flew all the way from Edmonton, Canada via the effervescent Boomdee of Boomdeeada. I love it!

The cover features a one-dimensional cut-out of the 3D version, above. Once open, you’re treated to this. I love fairy gardening, so my mind has been spinning ever since this arrived. I carried my Boomdee card around the garden today and snapped a few shots.

What are you doing down there?

Here…

Fairies and birds at the fountain

and here.

Kissing near the roses

I’m planning on color-copying the front of the card, but reducing it in size. Then I’ll figure a way to use the miniaturized copy in the fairy garden. I’ll be tickled pink, and I know that Jazzy’s day care kids will too. I wonder what the fairies will think?

Do you know what I think? I’m the luckiest gardener in the world. ♥♥♥

Have you discovered the joy of fairy gardening?

August 14, 2013 by Born To Organize

Ladybugs vs. Aphids: Last One Standing

Last bug standing?

I mentioned last week that I would be heading to the garden center for another batch of living ladybugs. My lovely, onion-scented Allium is dripping in aphids and soot. Ick, yuck and blech!

The first batch of ladybugs made some progress, but now all but one or two are gone. They didn’t even leave a note to say why.

Where did they go? The tasty aphid smorgasbord remains. What’s an organic gardener to do?

Then I read this from OurWaterOurWorld.org:

Tolerate low to moderate numbers of aphids as long as they aren’t causing noticeable plant damage. There is a reason for this: aphids have many natural enemies such as spiders, ladybugs, lacewings and minute parasitoids (tiny non-stinging wasps) that often keep aphid numbers below damaging levels. These beneficial insects rarely appear on the scene until after aphids have begun attacking plants. This “lag-time” can be a day or two or as long as several weeks. As the season progresses, aphid control by these natural enemies improves because more natural enemies are attracted to your garden and more stay to breed.

So…I’m taking the wait and see approach as I keep a close eye on the plant.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to identify a different set of insects on my beloved pumpkins. Stop by later this week for a look-see. I bet you can hardly wait. ;-)

August 13, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Walks

One of our favorite summer pastimes at the end of a hot day is taking a walk. The days are long so the sun is still up past 8 here in Silicon Valley. It’s nice to simply head out the front door and meander through the neighborhood.

Mighty Mouse likes to follow us down the block, though on our last walk, he encountered a territorial feline. ‘Words’ were exchanged, but he thought better of an altercation and returned home. I worry about him when he heads toward the park, so if he insists on coming we just circle the block instead.

Aside from the balmy weather and my husband’s good company, I love checking out all the gardens. It’s a great way to get ideas for your own yard.

I wish I could identify all the plants we see, but since half the fun is speculating, I’ll let you guess along with me.

A fabulous pumpkin growing along a cute picket fence.

I love this shade of rose. Do you know the variety?

More roses

Gorgeous foliage, unknown plant.

Any ideas? It’s a bulb of some kind.

iFruit
I didn’t think we could grow apples in the Valley. I thought they needed a good frost.

I wonder what this was? It reminds me of a rose hip, but the foliage looks like a different plant entirely.

Oh, and I think Mouse’s ears were burning when I greeted this kitty at the curb. I couldn’t help but notice the resemblance. This sweet kitty has personality to spare as well.

Thanks for joining me on my virtual walk. If you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by.

August 12, 2013 by Born To Organize

Anenome Redux

It’s that time of year again. The Anemones gather steam throughout the early summer, then as August dawns, so too do the stunning white flowers.

Last year I wrote Party in the Anemones which received quite a few giggles, so I’m sharing it again, below. Perhaps you missed it the first go around. If not, then please enjoy Anemone Redux.

The first day of fall is just five weeks away in our hemisphere. Time flies when you’re gardening!

* * *

Prolific Anemones bloom every summer, monopolizing the back garden fence. I’ve been gathering them into bouquets every few days to bring indoors. Little did I know that atop those crisp white blooms and their buttercup yellow centers there was a party going on.

Prolific Anemones

It wasn’t your typical, garden-variety party. In fact, I wasn’t even invited. Apparently you needed four to six legs to attend, and the invites are on the QT. I don’t think my neighbors even knew!

The party host wasn’t available for comment, so instead I snapped a few pics of the guests. Our host has an eclectic group of friends, including elegant katydids, busy-body ants and even the low-brow house fly. I didn’t recognize all of the party goers. A few of their identities remain a mystery.

Mystery Guest

I don’t want to name names, but things may have gotten a bit out of hand. I saw a small spider chatting with a katydid, and in the next shot…the spider was gone! Do you think I should say something to the host?

Katydid…or didn’t?

One of the spotted guests spent most of his time at the food table, while the ant kept darting in and out of the petals. I think he had too much pollen to drink.

Anty Em! Anty Em!

The house fly enjoyed making the rounds, but the others seemed to be avoiding her. It might have been her over-powering perfume.

House Fly

I’m no party-crasher, so I finished taking my pictures and left. Back on the patio steps once again, you would never know there was a party going on.

Going to Seed

August 9, 2013 by Born To Organize

Ladies in Red

The ladybug entourage seems to be moving on, but darn it, I’m not ready to see them go. They still have aphids to eat, people to see. It’s too soon! I’ve being watching intently, but I don’t see a lot of bug noshing. I guess their time has come.

I’ll be making another trip to the garden center for another batch this weekend. Meanwhile, here are a few candid shots before they fly away home.

Happy Friday! I’ll be back with more ladies in red next week.

August 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

Theories on Thursday

What’s your theory?

I never sit still for long in the garden, as there is always something to do. When I do, however, I’m often rewarded. Such was the case with this bird.

‘Chillin on a branch

I heard ‘her’ singing from a tree nearby, before she flew into our yard where she sat preening on the low branch of a tree.

Preening

A second bird sat on the telephone wires, and chirped what seemed like a response. Chirp-chirp. Sing-song.

Secret code?

I took several pics of the bird resting in the Pittosporum, before she flew away. She soon returned, this time perched in the branches of a fruit tree.

Trying out the fruit tree

My husband was making repairs to the irrigation system (he doesn’t sit still for long either) so we gave up our perch on the garden swing and got to work.

The bird tracked my movements, then hopped along the fence toward the orange tree, and finally on to the neighboring fence. She continued the chatter with an ever-watchful eye.

bird on the fence

It seems late in the year for nesting, so I’m not sure what the charade was about. She definitely wanted to keep her eye on us, and with all the cats in the garden, I wanted to keep my eye safely on her as well.

Mighty Mouse lounging under the orange tree

What do you think? Was she protecting a nest nearby? Was she warning the cats to keep their distance? Was there some diabolical ruse going on with the bird on the wire and our friend on the fence? You know…’you distract them while I raid the worm bin.’ or ‘I dropped a seed and now I want to retrieve it.’

What’s your theory? I would love to hear what you think.

August 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

It’s a Bug’s Life

Confession time.

Are you ready?

I’ve got some mad skills but they have little to do with gardening. I excel at raising insects and bugs. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I might qualify for ‘Top Incubator of Garden Pests.’

Don’t believe me? Come take a look:

After chatting you up about my gorgeous coleus, and my plans to take cuttings for next year, I found this:

Spider Mites or Whitefly?

I’m not sure if I have whiteflies or spider mites or both, but boy are they prolific. While watering the plant this evening, I removed a large, partially eaten leaf. When I turned it over, I could see that a small family had moved in. In just a week’s time, they spread to half of the plant’s leaves and part of the soil. Damn I’m good!

Next up, aphids. Why settle for a hundred aphids when a gazillion will do? The more the merrier, I always say. I noticed a bit of ‘black soot’ on the stems of my soon to bloom Allium, but I just walked right on by. Might as well let the aphids settle in first.

Aphids

By the time I made it to the garden center for a batch of ladybugs, the party was well under way. The ladybugs arrive in a container saying pre-fed. Huh? I guess all that good aphid food will just go to waste.

Aphids, and the ladybugs that love them

Saving the best for last, will you take a look at that Scale? I diligently removed all traces of scale earlier in the year while the tree was dormant. I manually scraped the scale into a bucket, then went back over the young branches with warm soap and water. I run a tight ship here. I cleaned those branches top to bottom to get the tree ready for the new residents. They moved in early this summer, and show no signs of leaving. In fact, it looks like they’ve invited a few guests.

Scale

In case you’re interested:

All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. Read on.
This makes two scales I like to avoid.
De-scaling the tree.

August 6, 2013 by Born To Organize

Tomato Envy

Amy’s bounty

You can’t rush the garden. Not even when you have a case of tomato envy.

You can encourage it, yes. Lots of support…of course. But rushed, never.

I planted several heirloom tomatoes this year, but they had a hard time making a go of it. I bought a few starter plants to fill in, just in case, which in the end was a good idea. I’m not sure any of the seeds were viable.

The plants from the nursery are green and healthy and starting to bend from the weight. I scooted the rolling tomato garden to the back of the patio so I can keep an eye on them. They’re drying out faster now that the plants have taken flight.

City Picker with tomato plants

Any day now…

Meanwhile, I received these lovely tomatoes from Amy’s garden. You’ll hear more about Amy in a future post. Mike paired the tomatoes with basil from our garden and made a delicious caprese salad. It’s one of my favorites and a sure sign that we’re in the heart of summer.

Caprese Salad

August 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Kitty in Search of a Play Date

Our three kitties love the time we spend in the garden. One by one they join us outdoors. We installed a cat fence-in system over 16 years ago to keep them safe, so they have the run of the garden without the dangers of street-life. It’s been the best of both worlds.

Lindy in repose

When we first installed the system, we monitored carefully for possible escape routes. Our fab felines quickly settled in and we let out a collective sigh.

Beijing enjoying her solitude

Then…Mighty Mouse came along. Mouse belongs to a neighbor, but he prefers life at our place. He’s also the Harry Houdini of the cat world. He knows the ins and outs of our house and garden, and makes himself at home wherever his little paws carry him. Mouse navigates his way into our yard by crossing the neighbors gate along the top of the shared fence. From there he weaves through the Jasmin vine, over the netting and across one of the broken standards we keep meaning to fix.

This weekend he joined us in search of a play date.

Mouse looking up

bird on the fence

Our furry friend listened to the birds rustling in the orange tree for a while, but lost interest when Lindy came outside. He circled her for a game of patty-cake, but she was not amused. Her bent ears sent a clear message of annoyance. Mouse wised up and moved on.

Fun and games

Next up, he tried to engage Beijing. She was busy snoozing, pressed against the warm rock wall, when Mouse slyly meandered nearby. He inched closer and closer, sitting down each time in the dirt. Before he could dangle an inquisitive paw, Beijing stood up, braced her shoulders and vocalized her first warning. Unperturbed, he held the higher ground. ‘I have no time for this nonsense,’ she seemed to say, as she turned her back and returned inside in what I can only imagine was disgust. I found her sphinx like in the entry way, wondering when the intruder would be heading home.