August 26, 2012 by Born To Organize

Changing Seasons: The Pumpkin Knows

Vegetable Garden April 25, 2012

According to the sun, summer doesn’t end for another four weeks. It draws to a close, today, however for the 12 year-old in the house. He reluctantly returns to school tomorrow.

Autumnal Equinox arrives September 22nd at 10:49 am EDT. The changing of the seasons in our sunny state are easy to miss. My son will wear shorts to school for several more months, and the rain doesn’t arrive till late October.

The Pumpkin Knows

Back in April, a small pumpkin seed knew it was time to grow. Genetic information, stored in that tiny seed pronounced that the soil and sun were a go. The seed pushed a pair of tender leaves up through the earth while setting down roots below. True leaves followed, right on schedule and within weeks the small plant was a vine. Tendrils curled out, looking for support, knowing the vine would grow and grow. Magnificent yellow flowers appeared, first male than female. They had a short window of time to attract a bee before curling up for the night. The first few pumpkins formed on the vine, but shriveled and died within days. Eventually the vines set larger fruit, first green, then yellow and now orange.

As the fruit matures, the once tiny plant sends the last of its energy directly to the pumpkins. It’s time for the plant to wither and die with the genetic understanding of a job well done. Trickle-down economics doesn’t work in the real world, but boy does it work in the garden. One small seed produces numerous edible flowers, then goes on to produce several jaw-dropping gourd-like squash. Each pumpkin holds hundreds of seeds, enough to eat and plant the following season. Pumpkins produce sweet flesh for cooking and baking. Sturdy, colorful pumpkin shells line windows and porches on Halloween, carved to perfection.

Vegetable Garden, August 25, 2012

The season is changing
The pumpkin knows
tiny seeds become heavy gourds,
vines turn brown
their cycle complete;
Jack O’Lanterns grin
at Trick-or-Treater’s feet.

-A. Milner

August 25, 2012 by Born To Organize

Gifts from the Garden: Late Season Surprises

I love receiving gifts from the garden, little treasures and discoveries I didn’t expect. Here is what she offered up this week.

Turning Orange After All

This acorn-shaped pumpkin was doing well, when a scar on the skin opened into a small wound. With the fruit exposed to air, I assumed that was the end of it. How disappointing.

To my delight, it continued to turn orange.You can see right through to the inside of the pumpkin, so I’m surprised at this development. It’s a gift!

Raspberry Redux

We devoured raspberries for several weeks this summer, eating them straight off the vine. Eventually they stopped blooming and I cut back the vine. This week, they are at it again. Fresh berries in August. Yum, yum, yum. Thank you berry vine for your generous gift. How sweet of you!

It’s a Whopper!

One of our pumpkin vines produced three large gourds in late July. They’ve put on weight daily, though the pumpkins to follow mostly shriveled and died on the vine. In what seemed like an overnight sensation, we now have a fourth still-yellow but equally large pumpkin on the vine. I hope it stays warm enough for the fruit to turn orange. Occasionally the size of the gift is important.

Unexpected Sunflower

I planted Evening Sun and Mammoth Russian Botanical Interests® sunflowers, so imagine my surprise when a third variety appeared this week. I love the shiny yellow flowers and their perfect little centers. Who doesn’t love a gift out of the blue?

What’s up in your garden this week?

August 23, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Borrowed Landscaping

The concept of borrowed landscaping incorporates the view beyond your garden. It takes advantage of nearby elements like trees, architectural structures, and other natural views, so that your garden seems to extend beyond its borders.

Active borrowed landscaping requires planning. The idea behind it is to blend trees and plants grown on your property into a cohesive flow, so that the landscaping out of your control becomes one with your garden.

Passive borrowed landscaping simply takes advantage of what is already there. You accept the challenges, and works within those parameters. We are grateful for our borrowed trees every time we head out to the yard.

We live on a small lot in the suburbs with narrow lot lines and small yards. They built homes with fences surrounding the back yards to afford privacy. I have friends on the east coast with two acres of land, and others out of country with farms. We measure our puny lot size in feet. With 1/8 of an acre, you want to make everything count.

Here is what we borrow every day:

Monterey Pine

This majestic tree grows at the back corner of our lot. It towers over neighborhood homes. The pine provides shade we wouldn’t otherwise have and drops an occasional pine cone. It makes a suitable race track for energetic squirrels who go round and round, the tree.

Muskogee Crape Myrtle

Our neighbors Crape Myrtle is tall enough to branch out over our shared fence. It’s covered in tiny lavender blossoms this time of year, giving a softness to an otherwise rigid fence. Myrtle isn’t far from our dining patio, so our guests get to enjoy her lovely show.

Cactus

This prickly plant belongs to a prickly neighbor, so it seems appropriate to include it on the list. It’s currently flowering behind the lattice. In this case “good fences do make good neighbors” with a thorny plant thrown in for good measure.

Crepe Myrtle-Southern Belle

I discovered alternate spellings for this lovely tree. Our shared Crepe Myrtle sits on the property line in front of our homes. It has lovely white flowers all summer long, then further entertains with its shedding bark. The kitty from a few doors down love using it as a scratching post. This tree gets lots of “love” and attention.

Do you have a favorite borrowed landscape outside your window or door? Let me know in the comments below.

August 20, 2012 by Born To Organize

Spring Bulbs: To Plant or not to Plant?

That is the question. The answer: it’s complicated. I’m perusing the Fall Netherland Bulb Company catalog this morning. It arrived about a month ago, far too early to take it seriously. Now that fall approaches, I’m giving it a second glance. Years ago I planted several bulb varieties from Costco. Either I made the beginners mistake of planting them all upside down, or they didn’t like our soil. Not a single one came up! Perhaps a squirrel dug them up behind my back, but I never saw evidence of that.

I know many bulbs need frost first, then a proper thaw to get them going. Was it foolish to assume that bulbs sold in our town would actually grow in our temperate climate?

One year a friend gave me a pot of paper white Narcissus. Once the plant was spent indoors, I transplanted the bulbs outside. Do you know what happened? Nothing.

As I gaze lovingly at the ‘Tulip Fat Tuesday Blend,’ I can picture the purple and yellow blooms scattered all over my yard. Further on, they’ve dedicated a page to ‘Darwin Hybrids’, including Tulip Beauty of Spring. The petals remind me of a fresh peach.

The most intoxicating of all bulbs are the Hyacinth. Their scent makes me giddy. I received my first Hyacinth as a Christmas present from Mom. I grew it indoors in a glass jar. I still remember the beginning of the transformation and that incredible smell when it bloomed. Planting something with evocative memories isn’t always a good thing. Tied up with the memory of that flowering bulb are things I would like to leave in the past.

So, to plant or not to plant? The icon on the cover says “Bulbs: dig, drop,done.™” They don’t know the half of it.

Hyacinth orientalis ‘Blue Jacket’, exactly as I remember mine.

August 19, 2012 by Born To Organize

A Taste of Fall: Flower Season Winding Down

The air feels like early fall today. It really cooled down in the past 24 hours. The crisp breeze foreshadows the season to come.

We’ve enjoyed a week of warm weather, lasting well into the evening, enjoying several meals on the patio. Today it’s 15 degrees cooler than predicted. As our days are shorten the pumpkin leaves are turning a tell-tale brown. Even my beloved cosmos are showing signs of decay. In California, warm weather continues well into October, but the growing season is definitely winding down.

It dawned on me today that the bounty of flowers we’ve enjoyed all summer will soon be a sweet memory. I decided to take pictures of each lusty bloom. Mother Nature is about to pull a blanket over the garden. Summer annuals will finish their cycle as they set seed and wither. Perennials go dormant. The Chinese Pistache treats us to an autumn show, with golden, red and amber leaves drifting to the ground below. The maple out back does a strip tease as well, but often in slow motion. Depending on the wind and the rain, our maple may hang on to the changing leaves for some time.

So to my lovely garden belles, arranged below in rainbow order, won’t you please take a bow?

Blooming Since July, Part of the 4th of July Trio

Carpet Roses at the bottom of the ramp

Garnet Penstemon rustling under the Magnolia

Dusty Pink Hydrangea, spectacular under the living room

Pink Vinca lives in a pot on the back steps

Sunflower: The first of the Season

Yellow Daylily fans out under the Magnolia tree

Yellow Four o’clock Flower re-seeded from last summer adds cheer to a shady side yard

Yellow Snapdragons, a hardy little annual

Male pumpkin flower, hopeful, even at this late date

Purple Bellflowers surround our patio

Dwarf Plumbago sits below the tall grass in a corner of the front yard

This bluish status was part of my red, white and blue display for July 4th.

English Lavender lines the bottom of the front deck and attracts lots of beneficial bees.

Sweet Alyssum completes the trio of red, white and blue 4th of July plants.

White Magnolia cradles a bee

Anemone run along the back rock wall. They’ve taken over that corner of the garden.

Wild Onion
A garden surprise this summer

Begonia always remind me of my mother

Are you curious what these blooms look like before they flower? Find out on Flower Buds: The Shape of Things to Come.
If you linked back for answers to the quiz: Who’s who or what’s what? the answers are:
a. 4 Hydrangea
b. 1 Allium Stellatum
c. 2 anemone
d. 3 Four o’clock
e. 5 Snapdragon

August 18, 2012 by Born To Organize

Sure-Close: A Gift From Howard

Sure-Close Food Scrap Collection Container

My friend and neighbor Howard stopped by last week carrying a small bucket in his hand. I was momentarily confused when he said he had something for me, and wondered what was inside. The “small bucket” turned out to be the coolest of inventions: a food scrap collection container, called a Sure-Close, to be used along with an outdoor composting bin!

I’ve been talking about composting for years, and took an amateurish stab at it once, but this charming gift was the impetus I needed to get going.

The Sure-Close food scrap collection container features:

A vented lid to allow moisture to evaporate and feet on the bottom allow for airflow.
A lid that stays open for easy filling, but stays closed if you accidentally drop it. They had me in mind when they added that feature.
A lid that completely removes for ease of cleaning. I don’t know about you, but if something is difficult to keep clean, I’ll simply avoid using it. I like this feature.
Several handles or grips. Many containers look nice but are difficult to use. The Sure-Close has three different grips, so it’s easy to lift, move and empty into your outdoor composting bin.

Why compost? From the Sure-Close website:

Most of the organic waste we produce comes from our kitchens as food scraps. A kitchen container that makes it easy for people to collect, store and transport their food scraps to the green bin goes a long way toward encouraging participation.

For Ottawa’s Green Bin program, the city wanted a kitchen container with ventilation in order to allow moisture to evaporate from organic waste. Without the moisture, contents are less likely to smell. Enter the Sure-Close kitchen container. Developed by two Ottawa-based companies, designers DW Product Development, and manufacturer Ottawa Mould Craft, this little beige beauty brings high-tech design and engineering to your counter top.

No more excuses. This will be gardeningnirvana’s year of the compost. I’m so excited.

Composting Recipes:

I jotted the following notes into a notebook two years ago so I would be ready to move from “accidental composter” to the real deal.

In half-inch thick layers:

Combine 3 parts “brown” organic material to one part “green”
3 parts brown includes dried leaves, small twigs, etc.
1 part green includes grass, cut flowers, coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags and fruit or vegetable peels
Mix into a bin approximately 3′ x 3′ x 3′
Add a small amount of moisture as needed and turn once a week.

Serves several plants.

Or, you can go with my friend Bob’s version:

Take it all, throw it in a pile, come back in a year.

August 17, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Tale of the Traveling Shoji Screen

I’m a big fan of Shoji Screens, the light-weight room dividers originating in Japan. In my alternate universe, the one without cats and boys and a clumsy gardener (that’s me) I have a house with sliding paper walls. In my real world, I almost pulled it off…

The Screen:

Damaged Shoji Screen

My son created a “technology corner” in the living room a few years back, a cozy place to hang out and to store his hand-held gaming system. It was an unsightly collection of cords and blankets, but who was I to stifle his creativity. That said, I was desperate for an attractive way to hide it from view. His upended gym mat did the job but offended my sense of aesthetics.

On the other side of town, my friend Barbara was ready to part with a paper Shoji screen. Lucky me! It was the perfect solution. For months the lovely white screen hid things from view and everyone was happy.

The Deck:

You’ve no-doubt heard that boys become young men. Sitting at a desk with a real computer suddenly has more appeal. In a flash, the Shoji screen was no longer necessary. Happy to use it elsewhere, I took it outside to use on the deck. It looked so pretty with the sun shining through, while effectively filtering the heat. Within minutes a breeze upended the screen, toppled it over the settee and tore a gaping hole in the paper-like covering. No!!!

The Dye:

Tie Dye at Laura’s

My crafty, self-described hippie friend Laura took one look at the damaged screen and suggested I re-cover it with a panel of tie-dyed silk. What a great idea! She hosts a tie-dye party in her driveway each year, setting up assorted dyes for a free-for-all. It’s great fun.

We shopped for silk, but found it pricey at $25 a yard. Instead, I bought an end-piece of cotton muslin wide enough to cover all three panels for less than $12 bucks.

The Shift:

Re-covered Garden Swing

After dying, setting and re-washing the fabric, it was ready to go. I was nervous tackling this new project, so I kept putting it off. Yesterday, as I cleaned and prepped for my book club, I had a garden epiphany. While brushing pine needles off the garden swing I remembered the extra fabric. In early May I re-covered the swing and planned on making toss cushions with the remnants. I wondered if I had enough to make a matching screen instead?

Re-covered Shoji Screen

Kismet! I had exactly enough fabric to cover the screen. The heavy-duty, sun-friendly Sunbrella fabric would be the perfect complement to the swing, while at the same time providing a sturdy panel. The leftover pink trim was just enough to cover the sideboard.

I had a similar mental shift when I realized that my tie-dyed panel would make a beautiful, one-of-a-kind, softly draping table-cloth.

Oops! Cheese-Lover

I glued and stapled my way to a paneled screen, then hauled out the iron and the pinking-shears and by days end I was able to entertain my book-loving friends in style.

Call me crazy! Then share a story of your own in the comments below.

August 17, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Books and Flowers

My book club meets once a month with each of us taking turns as host. Tonight was my turn, and the first time in a few years that it landed on a warm, August night. Awesome! I couldn’t wait to play host in the garden.

I spent part of the morning shopping for food, sweeping and washing the patio and then I went really crazy and took out the iron! I don’t know what came over me. Probably that ironing post on Boomdeeada. I ironed the cloth napkins, a fabric remnant for the sideboard, and the tablecloth.

Tie-dyed tablecloth compliments the garden flowers

The tablecloth wasn’t a tablecloth at all before today, but a piece of muslin, recently tie-dyed purple and originally intended to re-cover a folding screen. That’s a long story for another post, but now it’s a tablecloth. As my head filled with details of candles, flowers and other little niceties that make hosting fun, it occurred to me that I might have enough fabric left over from recovering my swing in early May to repair the screen. The remnants were for making swing cushion covers, but covering the screen would be more interesting. Would I have enough?

Amazingly, I had exactly what I needed with just a small square of fabric left over. I used fabric trim to cover the side board, a splashy pink against the subtle green. Really, I should have my head examined for tackling this project today. What was the rush?

Leftover pink trim makes the perfect sideboard cover

Three smashed bottles of tacky-glue later, the screen was 90% complete. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.

I rolled up the used newspaper, put away my tools, vacuumed the rug and jumped into the shower with 40 minutes to spare.

The evening came together nicely. It’s great seeing friends and discussing books. Our pick this month was The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, described as

“a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.”

Thumbs up for the book! Thumbs up for the Bookettes, too. Thumbs down for the crazy gardener who still thinks she can do it all.

The Bookettes

August 15, 2012 by Born To Organize

Yamagami’s Nursery

Purple Heliotrope

Yamagami’s Nursery, located in Cupertino California, has been around since 1948. In a town known for tech behemoth Apple, inc. the nursery is a delightful throw back to a simpler time. Taro Yamagami originally sold fruit from a stand on the same spot, gradually giving way to plants. It became a full-fledged nursery by the early 1950s and it remains today in its original location. If you ask any serious gardener in the Valley, chances are they’ve heard of and shopped at Yamagami’s.

Glazing Ball (I’m too clumsy to own one)

We actually left empty-handed on a recent trip, but not for lack of wanting. We were in search of beneficial insects and eventually resorted to the web since our request was somewhat obscure. They sell ladybugs, earthworms and Praying Mantis eggs but no Lacewings.

The nursery walkabout is always fun. It’s a spacious two acres, with interesting plants tucked in with gorgeous pots, garden ornaments and a help center. I always feels at home. When we were there in July they posted a sign alerting guests to the nesting bird in a nearby plant: “Shhh quiet please, bird nesting. This plant is temporarily not for sale.” I snapped a photo at a respectful distance. Even the neighboring birds feel at home.

Quiet Please, Bird Nesting

In addition to the nursery, Yamagami’s has a helpful website and a monthly newsletter covering soup to nuts issues around gardening. You can subscribe to their newsletter here.

If you’re planning a visit to Apple headquarters, be sure to visit the nursery as well.

In the meantime, here is a virtual tour of Apple, Inc. and a few more snapshots from Yamagami’s.

Yamagami’s Nursery Collage

August 14, 2012 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Update: Tired Vines, Happy Fruit

You’ll never guess what’s been hiding under the cosmos?

Give up?

A fully formed, lovely orange pumpkin! I love surprises.

This is an exciting time of year in the garden. Here is the pumpkin crop so far:

A. Grandaddy. This peach-colored pumpkin is a force to be reckoned with. We have three growing in this size and shape. Today we discussed stacking them to make a pumpkin “snowman.” I can’t wait to weigh them on my home scale. I’m not getting on the scale, so I may as well use it for something.
B. Baby Bear. This little fella is probably full-sized but we won’t know till the color sets. Most of our pumpkins started out a rich yellow, but this one has a bit of green to it. The leaves are smaller in scale, which tells me it won’t grow any bigger. It’s about the size of a large apple.
C. The Twins. These two pumpkins are leaning up against the house. The vines are so thick that I’ve not been able to reach them for over a month. I can’t wait to wrap my arms around them.
D. Peek-a-boo. The cosmos draped themselves over this orange lovely. Do you see that little patch of orange peeking through the flowers? I lifted the cosmos out-of-the-way and there it was, bottoms up.
E. Bottoms up. This one looks a bit like someone’s…bottom. We’ll have to think of something clever for Halloween. Suggestions are welcome and in fact encouraged in the comments section below.

There you have it. Linus would be disappointed. I’ve avoided religion and politics, but I simply can’t help myself: I love talking about great pumpkins.

“I’ve learned there are three things you don’t discuss with people: religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.”

-Linus in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles Schultz