July 7, 2012 by Born To Organize

Sunflower Success

Early in the season I envisioned a wall of sunflowers growing across the front of the deck. After several false starts, I configured a system of screens, designed to deter squirrels and birds from eating the seeds and seedlings. It worked! All three planters have several healthy plants. I can’t wait till they flower. I can see the plants from my kitchen window as well as on deck, and they can also been seen from the street.

The lower leaves are full of holes but no sign of the culprit…until this week when I saw a bird in the act of pecking away at the leaves. My friend Doug, also a nurseryman, thinks they are trying to get to the as-yet unavailable seeds. The leaves look tattered, but the plant remains healthy so all is well.

With warmer temperatures, the plants are shooting skyward. I can’t wait till they bloom.

Wall of Sunflowers

Broken Lantern Covers Keep the Screen Open at the Top

Lantern Cover in Place

Sunflowers: Looking Up

Bird Snack

July 6, 2012 by Born To Organize

Bonnie’s Organic Strawberry Patch

Our strawberries are popping out lush, red fruit daily. They are delicious, and as yet, untouched by garden pests. I only planted three plants and had a fourth come back from last summer. Now I wish I had planted more. Next year…

July 5, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Ladybug Diet

Water First

Weight Watchers teaches you to eat well, and South Beach helps break sugar cravings, but have you heard of the Ladybug Diet? Those red-spotted beauties consume several times their body weight, ridding your roses of numerous garden pests. I wish I could consume several times my body weight in a day and remain looking as fresh as the Coccinella septempunctata.

Ladybugs, also referred to as ladybirds, eat Aphids, Spider Mites, Thrips, White Fly and other harmful pests. They are a boon to organic gardeners and a treat for the youngsters in the house, who enjoy setting them out at dusk.

Most garden centers now sell containers of live lady bugs. I bought ours at Almaden Valley Nursery. Keep them in a cool place during the day when they’re inactive.

Tuesday night we watered the infested plant, cut open the mesh bag and offered them dinner. By morning, they had done a decent job eradicating the pests. Some years it takes two “applications” to wipe out the aphids or flies, but it’s always a treat to see hundreds of them gathered in one place so we don’t mind.

Ladybugs and Aphids

Garden Lady’s: Nature’s Pest Control

Dinner Awaits

It’s 9:00. Do you know where your ladybugs are?

Read more about these farming heroes and the origin of the ladybug rhyme at Animal Planet.

July 3, 2012 by Born To Organize

Independence Day Approaches

After the 4th of July Parade

Tomorrow we celebrate Independence Day in the States, a holiday affectionately know as the 4th of July or simply “the 4th.” We live in a family oriented community with lots of fun activities, so we have a safe and sane 4th without driving anywhere. Our neighborhood pool association hosts a parade around the park, followed by a watermelon eating contest by age group. Older kids decorate bikes and scooters, while the younger ones follow in strollers. The park is two short blocks away.

In the afternoon and well into the evening, we have a block party. One of our neighbors started this event over a decade ago. It grows bigger and more elaborate each year. We all bring side dishes and desserts to share, and a handful of neighbors set up barbecues. Most years the local fire department stops by. The kids get to climb in the truck while we all go mad with our cameras. Occasionally the fire-fighting crew opens a fire hose and things really get exciting.

I sign up for distributing name tags each year. I also maintain the neighborhood email directory. It’s a fun task as it allows me to introduce myself to new families each year, people I might otherwise miss.

Today I purchased three small annuals in red, white and almost blue to replace the pink geranium. We have a clever pot with our street number etched into the ceramic facade sitting near the curb on the concrete wall. I can’t wait to re-plant it with annuals for a fresh, celebratory color splash. If I have time, I’ll spruce up the fairy garden as well.

If you live in the US, please have a safe and sane 4th of July. Keep your animals indoors in a quiet room with lots of cool water on hand. Enjoy!

The Humane Society provides the following tips for keeping your animals safe on the 4th.

July 2, 2012 by Born To Organize

Having Fun with the Magnoliaceae

Taking a Page From Queen Elizabeth II’s Book

I like to get silly from time to time, and what better place to do that than my garden. A couple of years ago, I put a Magnolia ‘tepal’ on my noise and had my son snap a couple of pictures. When I started Gardening Nirvana I picked that photo for my Gravatar. The photo embodied my love of gardening, the beauty of the fuchsias behind me and the silliness of wearing a flowering appendage on my nose. These were qualities I also wanted to embody in my blog. Unfortunately, that photo also travels with my organizing blog. I was recently referred by a client whose friend saw the photo and voiced alarm that something was seriously wrong with my nose. I got quite the chuckle out of that, but have since replaced it with a more professional photo.

Today I learned a few things about Magnolias from a Wikipedia entry, excerpted below. My English teachers would be proud to see me correctly using my new terminology in a sentence. If you need me, I’ll be dancing on the lawn, casting tepals to the wind.

Magnolia Branch

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. To avoid damage from pollinating beetles, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are extremely tough. Fossilized specimens of Magnolia acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating to 95 million years ago. Another primitive aspect of Magnolias is their lack of distinct sepals or petals: Magnolias possess undifferentiated flower parts for which the term “tepals” was coined. – Wikipedia

The Curious Photo

July 1, 2012 by Born To Organize

Scurvy in Rats? Not in our Yard

Our orange tree produces fragrant blossoms, shelter for the squirrels and mediocre fruit. Unless of course you’re a roof rat. The last time my son climbed that tree at dusk he encountered a rat. He hasn’t been up the tree since. I’ve never actually seen them in action, but every morning I find half a dozen perfectly hollowed oranges littering the ground. The rats are probably out there as I type this, peeling an orange and getting high on vitamin C. When the party is over, they could at least have the decency to clean up after themselves!

Orange Deception

Here’s the Scoop

June 30, 2012 by Born To Organize

Ferny You Should Ask…

Flowers and fruits are the focus of many a blog, but in the cool, quiet corners of the garden, ferns flourish. Fronds unfurl curling upward as they unwrap from their coil. Sword ferns, native to North America, favor shade as they fearlessly stand guard beneath the orange tree. Asparagus ferns are fond of climbing and twining, sending out long straight shoots. Within a fortnight, feathery emerald leaves should follow.

Southern Sword Fern ‘Nephrolepis Cordifola’

Gian Chain Fern ‘Woodwardia fimbriata’

Asparagus Fern reaching for the fruit tree

Fern about to unfurl

Other Worldly

June 29, 2012 by Born To Organize

Fruit for the Picking

You may remember that while attempting to cover the four-in-one fruit cocktail tree with bird netting earlier this year, I fell. Yep, just call me Grace. One leg of the ladder sank into the dirt and down I went. I wasn’t seriously hurt, but bruised and scratched enough to abandon the job at hand. Did I mention that I broke the ladder, too?

The tree was partially covered before the fall. I left the excess netting in a pile at the base of the tree. From time to time I tucked in bits of netting around the expanding branches, hoping to confuse the foragers. Would the coverage be enough to save some fruit for my family? Last year the birds and squirrels picked the tree clean. If I hadn’t taken a photo of two beautiful plums the day before, I would have assumed I imagined the whole thing.

It worked! I’ve seen a few nibbles, but most of the fruit is still on the tree, soon to be ripe for the picking.

Netted Fruit Cocktail Tree

Plums and Nectarines

I haven’t baked in pie in a zillion years, but I think it’s time to brush up on my baking skills. The next fruit to set: peaches. Oh my, oh my, oh my!

Please let me know if you have a favorite pie recipe to share.

June 28, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Dwarfed by the Cosmos

I’d like to give a shout-out to the bird, or perhaps it was the wind, for planting the cosmos. These pink and yellow beauties are my new garden darling, the flower I didn’t know I loved. They were part of a mixed flower seed packet from last season. We had several flowers bloom over many months, but nothing as spectacular as this. Around the corner from their original home, a leafy green plant emerged. I let it grow along with the pumpkins and now this flowering lovely is taller than I am. I’m 5’10” so that is saying a lot.

Here’s a little photo journal of life among the cosmos:

Dwarfed by the Cosmos

Sisters

Ruffles

Seeds!

The flower cycle

June 26, 2012 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Vine Sprawl

Well will you look at that?! Our granddaddy of all pumpkin vines has meandered across the planting box, over the trellis, through the tomato cage and around the berries. Yesterday Big Max grew at least a foot!

I have two smaller vines growing as well, transplants from indoors. One of them set fruit last week, but they can’t keep up with the big guy. We’ve counted at least a dozen pumpkins so far, currently a pale yellow. Two of them are the size of basketballs and so far unharmed. The rats, squirrels and other mysterious visitors are helping themselves to the smaller fruit, but fortunately we have enough to go around. Fingers crossed.

A few of the fruits have rotted on the vine but the plant itself looks okay. I hope this is just part of the natural selection process and that the others continue to grow. I wish you could all stop by for an in-person tour. I guess photos will have to do.