September 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

Mexican Sage: Low Maintenence Wonder

Bees are good for the planet

Not everything in the garden takes work. As flowering plants go, Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) is a low-maintenance wonder. This glorious specimen lives at the curb. I bought it for five dollars a decade ago, planted it in a spot without any irrigation, and within a short period of time it tripled in size.

Year after year, it produces glorious purple flowers. The bees love it and so do the hummingbirds. It’s also a favorite of a few little girls on the block. I gave one of them permission several years ago to help herself to a few blooms on her walk. I appreciated her interest and her lovely manners. She asked first.

Salvia Leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage)

Of course you can’t please everyone. The water meter-reader left a grumpy note one year asking me to “clear the shrubbery” so he could do his work. The sage is so soft that you can push it aside, or snap off a few twigs. Perhaps he was just having a bad day. Early this year, I removed a few lower limbs, knowing it would fill out completely by early fall. That did the trick. The plant is full and lush, but the lower branches float above the water meter.

Water Meter, clear for the reading

Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees

Vibrant purple, soft to touch

Last year my sister dressed up for Halloween as the Corpse Bride from the Tim Burton movie of the same name. I picked several branches of sage and wrapped them into a headband for her costume. Once dried, they were a perfect addition to the headpiece. Her friend Kim designed her makeup and together we created her costume.

Corpse Bride

Why plant a Mexican Sage:

Drought tolerant
Low maintenance
Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees
Soft as velvet with vibrant color
Show-stopping beauty
Looks great on a costume

September 26, 2013 by Born To Organize

Final Score: Pumpkins, 8, Squash Bugs, 2

Things got a bit dicey in the pumpkin patch last month. Nearly a dozen pumpkins grew happily on the vine until disaster struck. A rapidly producing colony of squash bugs moved in and things turned ugly. If you have any doubt, take a look:

This pumpkin never stood a chance

Instead of leaving the orange pumpkins on the vine to harden, I harvested all but two and set them on the patio thinking I would wipe them off before bringing them indoors. The next day, the squash bugs found the harvest! Eek!

I brought the pumpkins inside one by one, wiping them down with the first thing I could get my hands on: my son’s lip balm. (Desperate times call for desperate measures). I didn’t want to bring garden pests indoors, so I figured the coating would put an end to anything I missed.

Polished pumpkins

We’re big on pumpkins around here: we grow, harvest, decorate and carve them. It’s been a family tradition for a decade. I also enjoy saving seeds for the next season. This year I gave a few starters to friends, and passed on some seeds to an adorable pair of three-year-old twins that walk by the house with their dad. They planted the seeds and grew pumpkins of their own. I’m delighted.

The pumpkins hung out in the living room for several weeks, but as October approaches, it’s time to bring them center stage. I created a display on my iron bench combining an eclectic mix of drying lavender, three pumpkins and a refurbished fairy garden. Check back next week for the fall upgrade.

DSC_0013-001

I love October. It starts with my birthday, ends with Halloween with plenty of goodness in between. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, this Boo season brings a special visit from Boooooomdee. She told me to expect her on the whisper of a dandelion, but I think she was teasing. I’ll go to the airport to fetch her just in case.

Boo season, here we come!

September 24, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Catharsis

Slinky Malinki

Today was one of those days. We all have them.

The vet called to say that my sweet Slinky Malinki needed an additional blood test. Earlier tests revealed an infection, an elevated thyroid and unexplained weight loss. She refused her pill hidden in delectable treats, and I wasn’t able to pill her without the help of my husband who’s on a business trip…in the Bahamas.

My youngest son called from school not feeling well and asked to come home early. He seems to be doing okay, but he’s only called home from school twice in three years so I worry. It’s a mom thing.

The check-engine light stubbornly refuses to budge on my aging van, much like the extra weight around my aging midriff. This is not a good week for the car to break down.

So, when the going gets tough, the tough get gardening. After dinner with the boys and a quick clean up, I headed out doors. I pruned away dead branches from the lavender shrubs, cleaned out several pots, and watered my neglected annuals. The coleus had to go, a task I’ve been putting off. White flies or mites were everywhere, so any hope of saving cuttings was finally put to rest. San Jose has a yard waste pick up each week with our trash. I didn’t want to compost the ‘buggy’ plant so on to the heap it went. I filled up my watering cans, trimmed the potted roses and swept the by-now-dark front deck.

I brought the fairy garden into the garage for some TLC and finally called it a day. Hard work, especially outdoors, is invigorating and cathartic. Problems remain, but a clear head and a tired body put it all in perspective.

What do you do when the going gets tough?

September 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frank and the Squirrels Who Loved Him

That sounds like a dime-store romance doesn’t it?

In this story we have no tragic heroine, just a sad pumpkin named Frank unable to live up to his potential after a careless gardener tossed him willy-nilly on to the walkway. Poor, poor, Frank.

There are no villains either, simply opportunistic squirrels passionate about (eating) pumpkins.

After Frank went splitsville, even a hardy set of staples couldn’t keep him together for long. The elements took their toll. Frank flat-lined. It was time to remove the staples.

Frank’s demise

After counting to three, I reached down and scooped up a mass of soggy pumpkin pulp and a handful of white seeds. The rest was up to the squirrels. They came and went for two days, but I never had my camera ready. The stars finally aligned and I took a handful of photos, below.

Passionate about pumpkin

Flying squirrel

Table manners

Plenty to go around

September 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Peduncles

It’s the hallmark of poor writing: using a fancy-pants word like ‘peduncle‘ when a simpler word like ‘stem’ would do.

Honestly though, weren’t you just a little curious when you saw the title? Would you have made it to the second paragraph if I titled this post “Pumpkin Stems?”

While you ponder that question (and thanks, by the way for reading this far) I’d like to share a pumpkin peduncle, or two. When choosing pumpkins over the years, the shape of the stem seemed integral to the process. We display our pumpkins whole for a time, then carve them the day before Halloween. Part of the carving process is the ‘lid.’ Peduncles matter. They provide character to the overall effect.

Our resident pumpkin carver extraordinaire

Ladybug in a pumpkin stem

Now that we grow our own pumpkins, we’re careful to preserve as much of the stem as possible. Some are already dried at harvest time, while others remain open and soft. I recently discovered a ladybug sheltering inside one of the stems, a welcome respite from all the squash bugs currently residing out back.

Great potential until the squash bugs moved in

I present to you this years pumpkin peduncles, along with the challenge of using this word in a sentence between now and October 31st.

A neat little cap

Hershey’s Kiss peduncle

Ladybug Hideaway

The pumpkin crew

August 29, 2013 by Born To Organize

Wouldn’t You Like to Eat This Pepper, Too?

Peculiar pepper poetry in four verses

I planted peppers side by side,
in lovely soil they do reside.
From Bonnie Plants they first did grow
Now I have them in a row.

Small at first, they slowly grew,
As often happens, summer flew.
Before I knew it, the plants were leaning,
This happy gardener, smiling, preening.

Crisp green peppers now were mine.
I sliced them open, they’d be divine.
They tasted…awful, how can this be?
Did my garden peppers turn on me?

I puzzled through with careful thought.
They looked so good, but clearly not.
I found their tag in my garden plot.
It was orange peppers I had bought!

Bonnie Plants: Peppers

August 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Harvest and a Squash Named Frank

You don’t have to hit me over the head: dying vines and abundant squash bugs spell harvest day. I plucked my ‘prize’ pumpkin a week ago, fearing the worst, then made the worst come true. My garden lovely rolled out of my arms and with an unmistakable thud, landed hard and cracked down the middle. It was a sad pumpkin day. Since the squash bugs continue to nibble unabated, I figured it was a matter of time before they moved on to the rest of the patch. Three once-viable pumpkins have since turned to mush. Generally speaking, I would have left them to grow a bit oranger, but I didn’t want to take the risk. So…here they are.

Pumpkins

I have two late-season arrivals, all shiny and yellow that I’ll leave in place for now. It’s still August, so they may be viable. One of the two is sitting out in the open, practically inviting trouble but the second one is hiding under the vine. Shhhhh.

You can’t see me!

Little yellow pumpkin, hiding under the vine

Oh and before I forget, I’d like you to meet Frank. He’s quite the character, but the way he’s been ‘running on’ I don’t expect him to hang around for very long.

Frank

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to meet Frank’s cousin Shelley.

August 26, 2013 by Born To Organize

Curb Garden

Much is made of ‘curb appeal’ when you sell a house. I often notice that a pretty garden appears, followed shortly by a realtor’s sign. It seems a shame that the homeowners wont’ be staying long enough to appreciate it. Personally, I like the idea of a beautiful curb *all* the time, hence my new and improved curb garden.

The curb garden (take two) is almost ‘done’ or as done as a garden can be. (You can read about my first attempt here). Jazzy’s day care kids are planting carrot ‘starts’ on Wednesday. A few of the sweat peas are direct sow, but I’m planting some back-ups in my kitchen window ‘just in case.’ You can’t trust those birds and squirrels. If I have enough extras, I’ll plant them in the raised beds where the pumpkins are dying back.

The snapdragons were bowing their heads on Sunday, but after a long drink they’ve returned to their perky selves.

Snapdragons

I replanted a few of the original herbs including mint and lemon thyme. They’re looking as tired as I feel, but hopefully they’ll perk up now that they have nice soil wrapped around their roots and room to grow.

The Curb Garden includes:

1 Achillea millefolium aka yarrow ‘Pink Island‘

3 Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet‘

3 Eriogonum Grande Rubescens ‘Red Buckwheat‘

3 Penstemon ‘Midnight‘

4 Lysimachia ‘Goldii‘ trailing golden plant

4 Cilantro

18 Snapdragons in assorted colors

I bought all of these plants at our local Almaden Valley Nursery. My friend Doug recommended the yarrow for repelling some insect pests while attracting beneficial ones. Yarrow attracts predatory wasps, which drink the nectar and then use insect pests as food for their larvae. It also attracts ladybugs and hoverflies.

The Mighty Yarrow

I learned further that yarrow:

is also planted for improving soil quality. Its leaves are thought to be good fertilizer, and a beneficial additive for compost.

It is also considered directly beneficial to other plants, improving the health of sick plants when grown near them. Source, Wikipedia.

What an amazing plant.

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the novelty of several new varieties. The snapdragons are the only ‘garden tried-and-true.’

Further good news: so far no one has asked if we’re moving.

Carrot Starts

Lysimachia ‘Goldii’

Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet’

August 21, 2013 by Born To Organize

Grand Theft Avocado

I carved out some time today to visit my favorite garden nursery. I caught up with my friend Doug who works there and he shared this news: someone cut through the nursery’s chain link fence in the middle of the night and made off with a prized, $250 avocado tree.

Who would steal a fruit tree? I like my avocados as much as the next Californian, but risking jail time for breaking and entering and then stealing a tree defies common sense.

Grand theft may sound like an exaggeration, but in California:

Grand theft is committed when the value of stolen property exceeds $400. Theft is also considered grand theft when more than $250 in crops or marine life-forms are stolen, “when the property is taken from the person of another,” or when the property stolen is an automobile, farm animal, or firearm. -Wikipedia

Who knew?

On the plus side, there were still plenty of plants to be had and boy did I have fun. I filled my cart with a plethora of seeds, cell packs and perennials and I’m ready to plant, plant, plant.

Check back tomorrow for show and tell. In the meantime, here’s a photo teaser:

Nursery plants

August 20, 2013 by Born To Organize

Hydrangeas in Artistic Glass

My friend invited me to the Los Altos Art and Wine Show last month and we both came home with the same bubble glass vase. Isn’t it pretty?

I’ve misplaced the artist’s card. Won’t you please stand up?

It sat on my kitchen counter for a while, but it’s now found a ‘permanent’ home in our bedroom. I use the parenthetical because I’m forever changing things around. It’s kind of a hobby of mine. When my sister and I were growing up, we liked nothing better than to rearrange the furniture. We had fun with the ‘reveal’ as the home and garden shows like to call it when our mom arrived home from work. She always seemed please.

I digress. The talented Donna Pierre painted one of our bedroom walls with a sea-blue plaster and glaze, a finish we now refer to as ‘the mermaid.’ We added a hammered metal mirror and table to the room and the vase was the perfect accent to complete the look.

Then, lo and behold, the pink hydrangeas started to turn, weathered to a soft grey-lavender patina. What timing. They are magnificent flowers, blooms I admired for years. They are far too big for apartment dwelling, but work well now that I have a house with dirt to call my own.

Dusty lavender hues

I still have to pinch myself all these years later, grateful to have a beautiful home and surrounding soil to fill with roots and flowering goodness. I think about that whenever I see these dusty blooms.

Do you have a favorite bloom?