June 3, 2014 by Born To Organize

Mystery Solved: Love-in-a-mist

Pauline noted that ‘every garden needs a bit of mystery’ but for now I’m happy to have this one solved. I posted this photo last week, and asked for help identifying it. Extensive Google searches were no help.

Mystery flower

Three cheers for my blogging community! Cathy of Words and Herbs thought it might be ‘Nigella.’ Anne of Anne Lawson suggested ‘love-in-a-mist.’ They’re both right.

These wonderful, self seeded flowers are Nigella damascena – Love-in-a-Mist. Thank you both.

Nigella damascena in bloom and going to seed

Buds and Blooms

California Avocado Cupcakes

Over the weekend I sampled a delicious avocado cupcake at Sunset Celebration Weekend. I meant to share it with you yesterday. The cupcake and the frosting both contain avocados as a healthy fat alternative. You can download the recipe at the California Avocado Commission. Please let me know if you give them a try.

May 29, 2014 by Born To Organize

Triangle Garden: Come What May

Sidewalk view

My little triangle garden is filling out nicely. It’s the end of May and the mystery seedlings finally revealed themselves. Surprisingly, only one of them turned out to be a Cosmo.

A single Cosmo

The purple flower with the dark center remains a mystery. I’ve tried a Google search by image and description, but can’t seem to get a hit. Any ideas? Just before it opens, the bud looks like a paper lantern.

Unknown

Other than the Statice which wintered over and handful of transplanted pansies, the rest of the flowers ‘volunteered’ from last year.

I scattered a packet of seed mix in the remaining open spaces, hoping it all fills in with what the garden centers like to call ‘a riot of color.’ So far, purple rules the day.

Gardening from seeds is so darn fun.

Bachelor Buttons

May 22, 2014 by Born To Organize

Sunflowers Under Cover

A few years back, I had to plant my sunflower seeds three times. The first crop, lovingly planted with my son, disappeared. I’m not naming names, but I saw this little fella in the neighborhood around the same time.

Doesn’t he look guilty?

I planted the second batch indoors, then transplanted them, but they were leggy and weak.

Refusing to be outsmarted yet again, I came up with a solution after wandering around the hardware store. I bought small screens, designed to be placed in windows for about $6 a piece. Any money I saved buying seeds instead of starter plants went out the window that year, but since then, they’ve proved to be an investment. I even loaned them to a friend off-season to rabbit-proof one of her plants. You can read my screen saver tutorial here.

This year, I simply planted the seeds and immediately covered them. Within two weeks, they’ve sprouted and grown. Once they’ve set true leaves, I’ll uncover them and off we’ll go.

Screen Savers protect this year’s crop

They’re not pretty, but they get the job done and they are only there temporarily. Mouse keeps a close eye on things.

Screening allows air and water to circulate

Budding sunflowers

I planted two varieties this year, both from Botanical Interests®: Sunflower Snacker and Sunflower Florist’s Sunny Bouquet, both Helianthus annuus (hybrid). The Snackers, planted in the back row, will grow 6′ – 8′ tall (1.8 – 2.4 m). The Florist’s Sunny Bouquet are a shorter variety, reaching 4′ – 5′ tall (1.2 – 1.5 m).

Please pop by again for updates. Meanwhile, how do you outsmart the foragers in your neighborhood?

May 21, 2014 by Born To Organize

Starter Pumpkins

Aren’t these the sweetest?

Starter Pumpkins

My friend Stephanie’s young daughter ‘M’ crafted these for seed starters . She used the base of a water bottle, then decorated each one with colorful duct tape.

Duct Tape Planting Pots

She delivered them with her dad over the weekend and I planted them today. In one of those serendipitous moments, I realized I had an open space in the center of my EarthBoxes® just waiting to be filled. So I tucked my newest pumpkin starter into the opening of the Jack ‘o-lantern box. It already looks right at home.

EarthBox Pumpkins making space for the new addition

I planted the second plant in the curb garden. It gets full sun all day, and will have a long stretch of gravel to spread out as it grows.

With some trepidation, I planted the third starter in the back. Squash bugs beware! I’ll be keeping a close on that one.

Thank you ‘M’ for your kindness and generosity. It will be such fun watching them grow.

Meanwhile, here is the progress of our deck-top pumpkins, week three. My how they’ve grown.

Healthy Pumpkin Plants Line the Deck

Fabulous tips for growing pumpkins from The Older Farmer’s Almanac.

May 13, 2014 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Renovations

Are you familiar with the old adage, “one thing leads to another?” The classic children’s book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie uses this concept with great humour.

The book is known for its playful, circular pattern. A boy gives a cookie to a mouse. The mouse asks for a glass of milk. He then requests a straw (to drink the milk), a mirror (to avoid a milk mustache), nail scissors (to trim his hair), and a broom (to sweep up). Next he wants to take a nap, to have a story read to him, to draw a picture, and to hang the drawing on the refrigerator. Looking at the refrigerator makes him thirsty, so the mouse asks for a glass of milk. The circle is complete when he wants a cookie to go with it. – Wikipedia

So, if you give a friend a craft store gift card (thank you Stephanie), she’s going to want to use it. When she goes to the crafting store, she’ll discover cute little stencils. She buys those stencils along with a few acrylic paints.

Martha Stewart Craft stencils

Since the garden nursery is *right next door* to the crafting store, she’ll pop in for a look. While there she’ll find the perfect, over-sized plant trays and the wheels begin to turn. Fairy garden renovations, here I come!

Large plant trays

She’ll rush home with the loot, but days will pass before she has time to play. She moves the project from the garage workbench to the kitchen counter, thinking she’s more likely to work on it there. She’s right! Racing the clock, she stencils one of the trays before heading off for another appointment. Family memories say lovely things, spurring her on.

Stenciled plant trays

The stenciled trays must wait to dry. Once dry, they need a sealer. Once sealed, they need some soil. Mother’s Day rolls around and she wants nothing more than an afternoon renovating the garden.

Fairy Garden on Deck

Two planter trays are the perfect size and shape for my garden bench.

Patio Fairy Garden

The perfect spot for the newly renovated fairy house.

Newly renovated fairy house flying the rainbow flag

Fairies can cozy up in a Magnolia petal hammock.

Magnolia petal hammock

A log bridge connects the house and the garden.

Log bridge to the reading garden

My son painted the ceramic plate, the focal point of the reading garden. The chair, lantern and glazing ball are gifts from Alyster the Gnome.

Reading Garden

There are already signs of visitors: a tiny deer behind the house, an open copy of Fairy News and the faintest movement from the wishing pond. Ahhhh….

Fairy Garden Activity

So if you give a friend a gift card…well, you know the rest.

May 5, 2014 by Born To Organize

Blended Edges

Early spring is all about growth. Seeds sprout, bulbs emerge, and branches fill with leaves. It’s an exciting time.

By mid-season, everyone is branching out. Creepers move across the ground at a steady pace with flowers popping up along the way. Plants seem to fluff themselves up, growing taller and fuller daily. Like guests at a party, individual plants seek the company of others. Once distinct, they’re all blending at the edges. It’s one of my favorites times in the garden.

Hydrangea and Bellflowers

Campanula, commonly known as Bellflower, hug the patio. Hydrangeas branch out just above.

Alyssum and baby tears

Sweet Alyssum joins the party, merging with baby tears growing along the path.

New Zealand Flax mixes with flowers

New Zealand Flax shades the Anemone which will be covered in white flowers by August. On the subject of white flowers, the Alyssum smells like honey as it takes over the pot. A begonia came back from the frost last year, now shadowing the tiny bulbs below.

Daphne and Bell-flowers

It’s a fun time to explore the garden, too. Here Lindy emerges from behind the wheelbarrow, her green eyes blending with the Daphne and Campanula. I think they’re all sweet.

Mighty Mouse is the garden exception. He’s not the blended edges type. Bright white fur and his stand-out personality defy convention. It’s only fitting that he’s photographed here with a bright orange geranium, craning his neck to see the hummingbird, above.

Growing up with bright red hair and freckles, I had a hard time ‘blending edges’ as well. It took some growing up to get comfortable with my ‘center.’ This wonderful cat and my blended garden are happy metaphors for healthy growth in life.

Do you like to blend at the edges or stand out in the crowd?

April 25, 2014 by Born To Organize

When You Garden You’re Never Alone

Though gardening often feels like a solitary activity, I’m never alone for long. Our mostly indoor cats can’t resist the view of me kneeling on the ground. One, two and maybe even three of them will venture out to see what I’m up to.

Thursday, as I planted and pruned, mulched and swept Lindy was on the scene. She sits on the warm stones and keeps an eye on things, moving when I move to other parts of the garden.

Lindy keeps watch

After tending to the basil and tomatoes on one side of the garden, I moved to the fence line to prune the dead growth on my fern. As I stepped down from the rock wall, I heard a loud fluttering. I’m used to the sound of bees and hummingbirds, but this was different. Within seconds of focusing on what looked like a huge moth, a hummingbird swooped down in the same direction.

Oh darn…where is my camera when I need it?

As the hummingbird flew away, the ‘moth’ settled into the clippings of my recently pruned fern. Not wanting to lose track of the visitor, I looked over my shoulder for my camera, then walked backwards to get it. Camera in hand I attempted multiple shots of the wings in flight. That thing moved fast! It zipped around the garden, plant to plant and finally disappeared behind the flax.

Hovering moth

Moth at rest

Now I’m full of questions. What was that winged visitor? Was it food for the hummingbird or prey? Was it just a coincidence that they flew at each other, before they both moved away? Where is my backyard manual when I need it?

I finally managed a few shots, then continued with my work. That’s when a squirrel in the pine tree started telling me off. It isn’t a sound you can ignore. I made my cluck-cluck-clucking sound but he wasn’t impressed. There was nothing left to do but take his picture and walk away.

Garden patrol

As I packed up my tools and readied for my appointments, I tried to imagine things from their perspective. They spend far more time in the garden than I do. Suddenly a middle-aged red-head with long green gloves and sharp tools is bobbing up and down among the plants. I am the interloper, not them.

Lindy was back inside by now, preferring the soft rug and the cooler temps. Or, maybe she took the hint. The moth and hummingbird were probably working as a team, hoping to chase me off. When that didn’t work, the squirrel started shouting from the tree tops: “Can’t you take a hint?”

Excellent team work. I wonder if they think they’re rid of me for good?

Have you ever been told off by a squirrel?

April 10, 2014 by Born To Organize

It’s all in the Timing

Great cooks make it look easy. They pull together a variety of dishes and manage to have everything on the table at the same time. It’s all in the timing.

For three years now, I’ve tried to plant the tomatoes and basil so that they’re ready to go at the same time as well. I love caprese salad, and the novelty of growing two of the three main ingredients is fun.

Here’s one of our salads from last summer.

Caprese Salad

In prior years, the basil took off, and the tomatoes took a long time to catch up. This year all the tomatoes self seeded in late winter, sending me scrambling for basil. I purchased a small plant from the nursery, and planted it near the volunteer potato. It was about the same size as the tomatoes when it went into the ground, so I patted myself on the back and figured a job well done.

Ha!

Scene of the crime

Something devoured my plant! I’m not naming names or anything, but their initials are ‘S’ and ‘S’. Those slippery, slimy garden pests noshed my lovely plant down to the nubs. Boo!

Now here we are three weeks into spring, the tomatoes are taking off and the basil is…well…gone.

Once upon a time I was a Basil plant

I was chatting with my friend Kirra today and she mentioned planting her basil by mistake too close to the tomatoes. Then it hit me. Last year I planted the basil and the tomato side by side without any problems. Since tomato leaves are poisonous, I wonder if the proximity kept the S’s away? It’s worth a try.

Just before hitting the publish key, I searched the term ‘tomato companion planting’ and you’ll never guess what came up: basil! Last summer was a happy accident. So I’ll be headed to the nursery for another small plant, and now I know exactly where it should go.

Hearty Tomatoes

Do you have a favorite summer salad?

Simple Caprese Salad

Companion Planting Tomatoes

April 9, 2014 by Born To Organize

The Fruits of My Labor

Developing Plums

Gardens, like children, need nurturing to grow. Genetics certainly plays a role. Environment is significant too. A little TLC, however, goes a long way to ensure a happy, healthy garden. Today, I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor, literally and metaphorically.

This is the break-out year for our four-in-one fruit tree. We bought the grafted, stone-fruit tree as a gift for my son’s 10th birthday. I researched the guidelines for pruning the tree, and received additional tips from my nurseryman friend, Doug. Following that advice, I pruned the branches by 40-50% every year for the first three years. It seemed drastic to my young son who was pretty upset with me even though I was able to show him the research. One of the four grafts died, and I’ve never heard the end of it.

Where was I…oh yes, the fruits of my labor. Well guess what? This is year four and the tree is now covered in fruit. There is more fruit than we’ve had in the first three years combined.

Blushing fruit in the dappled sun

Branches laden with fruit

Last year’s small bounty disappeared overnight. This year we have so much fruit that the rats and squirrels have only made a small foraging dent. We might actually be eating peaches, plums and nectarines this summer. Oh happy days!

Do you have a favorite fruit?

March 26, 2014 by Born To Organize

Daffodil Dance

Shortly after planting my daffodil bulbs, I saw signs of digging everywhere. Little pockmarks appeared in the same random pattern as the naturalized bulbs. Foiled again!

I fluffed up the soil and hoped for the best. Surely the anonymous foragers left a few behind.

All that worry was for not. (Which is almost always true, but that is for another day). Apparently daffodils (narcissus) aren’t that tasty. I’ve since learned that it’s one of the few bulbs that even bunnies will leave alone.

All fifty bulbs came up! Ten are in bloom, with several more about to bud. I’m so cheered by these flowers.

It’s easy to see the inspiration for William Wordsworth’s poem Daffodil: