March 19, 2013 by Born To Organize

Early Bird Special: Catch the 4:02 to the Vernal Equinox

It’s here. Well, almost here. The first day of spring. The day we gardeners dream about.

If you live on the west coast of North America like I do, spring officially arrives at 4:02 am. When I worked full-time, I used to try to take the first few days of spring off so I could start a garden. This year, I’ve rearranged my schedule to attend the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. I am so excited.

The show opens tomorrow, March 20th and runs through Sunday. It’s exciting to be among the first to arrive when everything is still fresh. This year’s theme is Gardens Make the World Go Around. Frankly, I couldn’t agree more!

I’ll be taking photos galore to share with you later in the week. And…guess what? It’s raining! (Shhhhhh….we don’t want it to stop).

Ah, spring, how I love you so.

What is a Vernal Equinox?

An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth’s equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length.

At an equinox the Sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator (i.e. declination 0) and ecliptic intersect. These points of intersection are called equinoctial points: classically, the vernal point (RA = 00h 00m 00s and longitude = 0º) and the autumnal point (RA = 12h 00m 00s and longitude = 180º). By extension, the term equinox may denote an equinoctial point.

The equinoxes are the only times when the sub-solar point is on the Equator. The sub-solar point (the place on the Earth’s surface where the center of the Sun is exactly overhead) crosses the Equator moving northward at the March equinox and moving southward at the September equinox. (Since the sun’s ecliptic latitude isn’t exactly zero it isn’t exactly above the equator at the moment of the equinox, but the two events usually occur less than 30 seconds apart.) – Read more at Wikipedia

March 6, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Bulbs: Putting on a Show

Today, I was ready! I’ve been enjoying these beautiful tulips putting on a show and wanted to share them with you. I kept missing the chance to grab a picture of their buttery centers. The tulips start to ‘disrobe’ around mid-day, usually when I’m gone. They’re wrapped up snugly first thing in the morning and again by dusk. Aren’t they something?

Tulip opens up

Trio of Beauties

Petite and purple crocus broke ground this week, blooming with sporty stripes and tailored leaves to match They’re small put powerful, and once established, appear year after year. I planted crocus in several pots and as a border under the Acer and around the steps. Next year I’ll be far more adventurous, planting in greater volume. They’re magnificent!

Purple Crocus with Lemony Centers

This lovely should burst on the scene tomorrow, just in time for Blooming Thursday. (No pressure, little flower.)

Tomorrow’s promise

I’ll close with this luscious number. I don’t remember planting it and don’t know what it is. Suggestions welcome.

March 2, 2013 by Born To Organize

A Day in the Garden: Made to Order

If you like to garden, today was made to order. The temps climbed into the 70’s F (24C) with just the stirring of a breeze. Can you believe it? After a day in the garden, I have a sore back but a happy spirit. My perfect husband had plans for the afternoon, but still took time to dig a few holes before he left, voluntarily and with no complaining. Coincidentally, we met 19 years ago today. I’m so glad I had the good sense to make sure he danced with me first that night. :-)

The Man of My Dreams

Where was I…

Oh yeah…digging holes. A few months back, I decided to thin the overgrown shrubs around the fruit cocktail tree, originally thinking I would re-plant with a few annuals. Today we removed the last three overgrown shrubs, making enough room for the two new raspberries. There was also enough room to transplant the blueberry plant, which after three or four years is just limping along. Hopefully the blueberry likes its new home. I’ll be filling in with annuals if not.

Raspberry Cane

Promising new growth on the blueberry shrub

I tamped the dirt into place and stepped back realizing we’d created a micro fruit orchard. I’m using the word “orchard” liberally; with our tiny suburban lot, it all needed to fit into about 6 x 8 feet (1.8 x 2.4 meters) of space. Our micro-orchard has blueberries, raspberries, plums, nectarines, peaches and apricots. When you garden in a tiny plot, every bit of dirt counts.

Since rain is forecast (oh how they tease) I figured I would make good use of the day. I pulled out the last of the broccoli plants, now covered in green pests, before they could multiply further. We dug out some old raspberry canes, and moved them away from the raised beds. Moving them gives me more space to plant vegetables and herbs.

I finished the day raking, pulling out dead twigs, watering the pots (yes…the hose in early March…sigh) and sweeping the walkway.

“An addiction to gardening is not all bad when you consider all the other choices in life.”- Cora Lee Bell

Micro Orchard

The Long View

February 26, 2013 by Born To Organize

A Compost We Will Grow

What the well dressed pumpkin seedlings are wearing this season.

I popped the lid off the green compost bin and oh, what a surprise.

Along side the rotting leaves and decaying kitchen scraps, there is a lot of growing going on. The first thing I noticed: the pumpkins! They’re enjoying the warmth and shelter inside the bin. I’m surprised though that they’ve found enough light. Will you look at them growing so tall and straight?

Lanky blades of grass are also taking root, along with sprouts of a to-be-determined nature. I’m using an old Rubbermaid bin for additional composting, since I quickly filled my tumbling composter. It’s hard to get leverage with the shovel, however, so I’m not turning it as often as I should. Now I don’t have the heart.

Happy Sprout

Finding Nemo?

Sprouting mushrooms are right at home, the more predictable compost heap resident. The silver cap would look great in the fairy garden, but I’m resisting temptation. Its questionable origin makes it an unsafe bet for a tiny garden with small visitors. It’s cute though…if you’re into grey flowers.

Grey Blooms: Tim Burton Inspiration

February 21, 2013 by Born To Organize

Watercolor Tulips

The first of the tulips are up, unfurling petals like the strokes of a water-colored canvas. I love the way they look just before they open. Wouldn’t it be fun to peak inside the tightly coiled flower? Do you think they have a secret to tell?

In a few more days they’ll open revealing a colorful, reproductive center. Then quietly, one by one, the petals drop and the tulip is done for the season. If you went on an ill-timed vacation you could miss the whole thing.

I have a dear friend who attends the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival most years. She has several pictures showing rows and rows of growing tulips and a few with her posing among the rows. I have to giggle at my excitement over a pair of tulips, when I think of that sea of flowers. Perhaps I’ll get to go one day, too. For now, I’m enjoying the pair of tulips in the planter on my back steps, marveling at nature’s perpetual beauty.

Potted tulips

Ready to spring forth

For Kecker

February 19, 2013 by Born To Organize

Foreshadowing the Scented Garden

Flowering Daphne

The lovely Daphne is in full bloom, her scent powerful enough to knock you sideways. No wonder the neighborhood squirrels like to hide their nuts nearby. Her waxy green leaves, edged in buttercup yellow, frame the bouquet of blooms. It would be easy to envy that effortless beauty, but I know she’s been working hard since the fall, storing energy for this fabulous display. Deep pink shadows give way to a blush of pinks and creams. Effervescence, defined.

Daphne Banner

February 17, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Joy of Gardening: Eating What You Grow

It’s a remarkable experience eating something you grow yourself. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it.

I grow vegetables on a small-scale, and suffer the same garden failures we all do: pests, frost, heatwaves, drought. It’s a wonder anything gets on the table.

It’s human nature to persevere, however, and when success follows…wow!

We ate fresh broccoli from the garden today. Six beautifully formed plants, six perfect heads of broccoli. Those remarkable greens moved from garden to kitchen to table in under an hour. Broccoli never tasted so sweet.

Cream of the Broccoli Crop

Broccoli Fresh from the Plant

Basket of Freshly Picked Broccoli

Broccoli Sauteed in Garlic and Olive Oil

Broccoli sautéed in Garlic and Olive Oil

My Husband’s Recipe

Two heads of broccoli
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
dash of lemon juice
handful of slivered almonds

Heat oil on medium. Add garlic and broccoli; salt and pepper to taste

Cover for 2 to 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender

Add a dash of lemon juice and a handful of slivered almonds

Cover and cook for one more minute.

Serve immediately

February 13, 2013 by Born To Organize

Punny Garden: The Sequel

Gardenlocks

This time last year, I published a post called Punny Garden: Garden Jokes and Puns. It proved to be one of my most popular. It continues to get hits most days. People like to smile, laugh or guffaw. Even the groaners are fun.

Without further ado, I give you Punny Garden: The Sequel. Thank you, Google, and all the individual contributors, for making this possible.

One-liners:

When kissing flowers, tulips are better than one.
Organic farmers till it like it is.
Why do melons have fancy weddings? Because they cantaloupe.
I once heard that the most popular thing to download on the internet is corn.

Books and Theater:

My Fair Lilac
Hello, Dahlia
Crocus Pocus
Bird of Paradise Lost
A Midsummer Nightshade’s Dream
The Garden of Weedin’

Puns:

King Tut’s favorite flower? Chrysanthemums

Thanks to reader Marcella Rouseau of For Your Good Health. Marcella won a pun contest at Organic Gardening and Farming with these:

Nevergreen by Barbra Drysand
Little Fruit Coup by the Peachboys

For more laughs, be sure to check out David Hobson’s Garden Humour

February 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

What do Trugs and Raspberries Have in Common?

Absolutely nothing!

Does this every happen to you? You go into the store for one thing, then leave with something else? I popped into Home Depot today looking for another ‘Trug,’ the light but strong, flexible buckets known as Tubtrugs®. They are really handy in the garden. I bought one a few years ago, and although they say the handles are ‘super strong,’ one of the handles on mine broke. No matter. I turned it into a worm bin. When I went looking for a replacement at the end of the season, they only had the smaller size.

Today I wandered around the store for a while, then asked for help from two associates. They had never heard of them before. As I readied to leave empty-handed I saw these:

Early Heritage Raspberries

Mmmmm…raspberries. The containers alone intrigued me along with the price. $6.98 for an entire shrub of raspberries!!! Holy cow. I’ll take two, please. I thought all raspberries grew as vines until Boomdee mentioned growing them as shrubs. Low and behold, there they were. We really enjoyed eating berries off the vine last summer, so I figured the more the merrier.

I’m still in the market for a Tubtrug, but I left the store in a good mood anyway. Did anything interesting making it into your shopping cart this week?

February 7, 2013 by Born To Organize

(Almost) Blooming Thursday: Tulips!

Tulips Break Ground

Did you hear me squeal with delight?

Tulips are popping up all over the garden. They won’t flower for a little while, but the fact that they’ve survived this long (shh…don’t tip off the squirrels) is amazing.

Last fall I planted three varieties, purchased at a local garden center. They are all sourced from Van Zyverden.

I planted:

15 Tulip ‘Angélique‘
15 Tulip ‘Attila‘; and
5 Tulip ‘Passionale‘

In other words, the potential for 35 stunning acts of nature. Guess what? I counted over twenty, ground-breaking bulbs! The last time I planted tulips, nothing came up. Zip. Zero. Nada. I’m really liking these odds.

Tulips all Around!

While I had my nose to the earth, I noticed several more bulbs breaking through: Crocus, Narcissus and a few others, to-be-determined when they bloom.

Oh happy day! What’s ‘cooking’ in your garden this Thursday?