December 11, 2013 by Born To Organize

Cyclamen: Pretty in Pink

Like dominoes, much of the garden continues to succumb to days of frost. The cyclamen, however, look terrific. The plant pictured above remained dormant all summer. As spring and summer annuals died, my trusty cyclamen bloomed again. I’ve always loved the way the flowers soft petals seem to fold in like little clam shells.

The nurseries are full of them this time of year, usually in red and white. I assumed they were all the same plant, but apparently the nursery variety are grown for indoors. Though sold as ‘house plants’, they prefer cool temps. In fact, if you keep one indoors, they suggest putting it outside for a few hours, or even overnight, to prolong the health of the plant. It seems counter-intuitive. The rest of the garden needs salvaging from the carnage of this unusual frost, but the Cyclamen crave it.

According to Garden Web:

Cyclamen [in its native habitat] is an endangered plant. Centuries of collecting from the wild have decimated populations and the Cyclamen is now protected by CITES. CITES is the Congress on International Trade in Endangered Species. It is a worldwide body set up to protect not only plants, but animals that are in danger of extinction. It is illegal to import or export Cyclamen to or from any cooperating country without a CITES permit.

I had no idea! I saw hundreds of them on display at a nursery earlier this week, so hope this bodes well for their survival. Meanwhile, this little gem is looking pretty in pink and happy in the garden. I’m inspired to plant many more.

Garden Update: Frosty and Dry

Days of unseasonal frost have left my garden looking desolate. I raced past the dying tomato plant on my way to dump kitchen scraps. I upended them into the compost bin, then raced back inside for warmth.

Tomatoes last stand

Still no rain in sight, other than one brief storm last month. The days are cold and dry.

The leaves have been off the Pistache since mid-November, but the maple is just now turning color. It’s nice that they set color at different times. It gives us a chance to enjoy each one.

View from my living room window

Japanese Maple

Somewhat comically, I won’t need to refrigerate my bulbs this year. Generally speaking, California isn’t cold enough so we have to tease the bulbs with a six-week chill. They’re getting plenty of cold in the garage and should be ready to go soon. I’m not ready, but they are.

The hyacinth bulbs are popping up, happy with the autumn chill. When they finally bloom, the smell is potent and intoxicating. I can’t wait. It evokes a happy childhood memory, so I look forward to breathing that in each year.

hyacinth

I’m off to the craft store to buy some ribbon for the finishing touches on a gift. One last seasonal trip to the post office tomorrow.

What’s happening in your corner of the world? I’m behind on my reading, but look forward to catching up with all your lovely comments, and blogs, soon.

December 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frosty San Jose

My son’s prized inflatable, pretend snowing in San Jose

Still no rain, and certainly no snow, but we did get some frost last night. This isn’t a big deal for everyone, but it’s a rare occurrence around here. It’s December 4th after all. The tomato plant had to go eventually.

I have lots of frozen peas (and I never stepped foot in the freezer aisle). They look plump and juicy and, well, frozen. Since it’s a winter crop, I’m not sure what to think. The plant doesn’t seem to mind, but it may take a few days for any damage to appear. I’ll let you know.

Frozen peas, available now in your neighborhood garden

Last week I *finally* planted some beats. I soaked the seeds at the same time I planted the peas, but originally planned to put them in the veggie garden out back. The tomato plant hung on and on in one bed, and the strawberries in the other, so I didn’t have room. I planted the beats in the curb garden with the carrots and peas. I hope they’re equally successful, and that I didn’t plant them too late.

Plump and ready

I started my broccoli seeds indoors and all was going well. Somewhat foolishly I started hardening them off, the process of acclimatizing the seeds to their new outdoor home. It would have been better to wait till the holidays were over. I simply forgot about them. They came back inside for water and a rest. Hopefully enough of them will recover so I can make a go of it.

Next up, spring bulbs. My back just hasn’t been up to the task this year, so bags of bulbs sit in the garage waiting for my next move.

I think I’ll go make myself a hot cup of tea while I give this more thought. I hope you’re enjoying your day.

Frosty paw prints

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak. Today’s blog has a few filing tips (boring) along with beautiful file folders (sweet) to inspire this mundane task.

November 22, 2013 by Born To Organize

Saucy Succulents

Succulents

I love that word. Succulent conjures up something sweet and juicy, but it also refers to a type of plant. Saucy, juicy, care-free succulents.

I met a succulent gardener last summer over a bunch of dirt. Top soil to be exact. Long story, but I ordered planting mix and received top soil instead. The vendor offered a refund but would not come pick up the soil. I offered the top soil on Freecycle, and that’s how I met Amy.

Amy grows succulents in her beautiful garden. I helped her unload the soil at her home and she gave me the nickel tour. I hope to go back and take pictures to share with all of you. Her garden is unique and perfectly suited to our semi-arid climate.

Amy sent home a few cuttings from her garden that day.

Cutting from Amy’s garden

Earlier this year, I planted Sedum in my tower of pots. I simply pressed the cuttings directly into the soil and off they grew. Amazing! They’re doing great in a couple of pots on my deck.

Tower of pots

Amy’s cutting joins the tower of pots

Coincidentally, I bought a few succulents mid-July. They came beautifully pre-planted and ready to hang. I hung them on the side of the house near the deck. They only need water about once a month.

Assorted succulents hang on the side of the house

In early October, I moved the hanging planters to make room for Halloween decorations. Turns out they look nice back-to-back on the center of the outdoor table.

Succulents relocated

Closeup, with a joyful accent from Boomdee

These saucy succulents are a welcome addition to my garden ensemble. I’m looking forward to adding more next year.

November 21, 2013 by Born To Organize

Slugs and Scales and Disgusting Tales

Magnolia covered in scale

The title didn’t scare you off?

You thought we were safely passed Halloween and all things creepy?

What’s creepy about this photo isn’t the snail but the scale…all over my struggling Magnolia. Two seasons of effort to remove it and it’s back, bigger and badder then ever. Gross.

Scale infestation

Last year, when the tree was dormant, I spent an hour literally scraping all the visible scale from the tree. I went back over the branches with warm water, wiping down any residue. I went back two days later, removing what I missed.

The tree bloomed, but the scale came right back. Over the spring and summer, it spread to the entire tree, dripping sticky honeydew all over the shrubs below.

I hate giving up on this tree, but if I don’t remedy the problem, the scale will kill the tree.

I placed a call today to a certified arborist for a professional consultation. Ian Geddes has been a great help over the years, thinning and pruning tall trees, removing tree stumps and consulting on the health of our trees. I appreciate their expert advice.

Just passing through

Now to get your mind off these creepy pictures, I’ll leave you with this: Dylan looking adorable on our hike earlier this week.

Dylan

Addendum:

After I hit the publish button, WordPress told me this was my 500th post on Gardening Nirvana. Instead of celebrating with flowers and fruit, I give you scale.

So it goes when you blog about a slice of life. Please don’t hold it against me. Alys

November 18, 2013 by Born To Organize

Plan-Free: My Mellow-Yellow Weekend

We had a mellow-yellow, no plans weekend. I loved it. That’s not to say I didn’t do anything, but that I enjoyed doing ‘whatever.’

First up, crafting a wreath:

wreath detail I’ve had an idea bouncing around in my head for a while and wanted to give it a try. I’ve been drying a few hydrangea blooms, now faded to a soft purple-gray. The sage is winding down the season, but still has plenty of purple plumage to spare. The thought was to wrap strands of the soft sage along the edges of the wreath, punctuated with three hydrangeas and a bit of ribbon. The colors are lovely, but the implementation is all wrong. Further, the more I worked with the hydrangea, the more I damaged the brittle blooms. Stay tuned for my sad little tale later this week.

Next up, seed organizing:

Oh, how I love organizing. And seeds. And my computer.

I gave my Seed Keeper an end-of-season clean out. It’s a great place to collect and store the seeds, but after a busy spring, I’d neglected the contents. When I had finished planting, I tossed empty seed packets into the box, thinking I would later use them for record-keeping.

Seed Keeper Deluxe

Head slap: I keep a blog. So, remembering the log part of blogging, I tossed the torn packets into the recycle bin. (At one point I thought I would save them to make cards, but muddied finger prints and torn edges helped me realize the error of my ways.)

The clean out left plenty of room for this season’s seed collection, my most methodical and organized to date.

Matching garden photos with the seeds I plan to store, I created a photo collage. I sized the collage to fit a sheet of name badge labels, passed it through the printer and voila, an easy way to make seed packets. Using glassine envelopes on hand from last year, I included the name and the year, added the label and seeds, and filed them in my nifty Seed Keeper.

Flowering annual seed packets ready to fill

Photo collage for identifying seeds

Looking for directions (sorry buddy, these seeds aren’t for you). The peanuts are one house over.

End of the weekend, project:

I connected with Emma at Greenhouse Starter over the weekend and made plans to ship her Craft it Forward treasure. I stayed up making a card to go with it, the perfect end to my mellow-yellow, no plans weekend.

Are you making your way through Monday or still hanging on to the weekend?

November 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

Seedy Business

Remains of the Day

It’s seedy business.

If I don’t do it though, the birds, squirrels, wind and rain will.

Gather seeds, that is.

I’m fairly new to seed-saving. I’ve always been a seed packet junkie, often buying far more seeds than I could ever hope to plant. When my son was much younger, he regularly talked me into buying every pumpkin variety to be had. Santa brought additional seeds for his Christmas stocking each year. Our seeds runneth over!

Last year I started saving my own seeds and now I’m hooked.

Planting:

I planted four o’clock seeds this summer with mixed success, but collected them again for a second try. I successfully started one plant in a pot, but thanks to ‘self-seeding’ ended up with multiple plants in the side garden.

Growing:

The compost bin produced an entire crop of pumpkins so I had left over seeds to spare. I started several plants indoors, then gave them away to friends. Reports were positive, so I definitely plan to do this next year.

Sharing:

This is the best part of my seed-saving adventures. I saved handfuls of Cosmo seeds at the end of 2012 and gave them as gifts that Christmas. I made a tri-fold card using digital software and my own Cosmo photos, then added small seed packets inside. A few of my friends kept the cards and seeds intact, but others planted them. My friend Stacie sent me a photo last month of her towering Cosmos. That was pretty cool.

Cosmo seed card front panel

Cosmos Seed Cards – Back Panel

Early this spring, I gave away pumpkin seeds to a pair of adorable three-year-old twins. I met them walking with their dad one evening while I was working in my garden. The girls showed genuine interest, so I went inside and got them seeds to take home and plant…and they did! I saw the family a few months later, and dad told me the plants took root. Good stuff.

Saving:

The annual garden is going to seed and temps are finally dropping. I knew time was of the essence. I collected a healthy sample for next year, at the same time leaving plenty of seeds on the plants for my foraging friends.

My system: I used a portable tote and plastic cups from an Easter-egg dying project. I dropped seeds into the cups, then salvaged a bloom for easy identification later.

I’m looking forward to sorting and labeling seeds this weekend, a joyful activity for someone ‘born to organize’ like me. I’ll share my progress next week.

My favorite seed pod. Tiny black seeds tumbled out when I gently tapped the pod

Happy weekend!

November 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

Looking Back at the Corner Garden

Earlier this year I removed a small patch of lawn, a corner near the sidewalk facing the house. Originally I thought I would plant annuals and perennials, but decided annuals would be more fun. Perennials, once established, require little maintenance. I wanted a bit of action in my new flower garden and it’s action I got.

Corner near the sidewalk

April:

After removing the grass and preparing the soil, I planted seeds, including Sunflowers, Bachelor Buttons, Cosmos and a Spring Mix of assorted purple plants. I covered it all with a portable green house. The goal was to keep digging critters away from the seedlings to give them a fighting chance.

It half-worked. None of the critters were able to dig, but I couldn’t keep it well-watered either.

The seeds didn’t get enough consistent moisture, and next to nothing germinated.(I did get one sunflower).

April, 2013
Seeds tucked in for warmth and safety

May:

Disappointed but not defeated, I headed to the nursery and bought a few cell packs. I picked up a dozen sunflowers as a compliment to the one that grew from seed, my signature annual Alyssum and a few flowering annuals.

May, 2013
Sunflowers, Alyssum and assorted annuals

June:

In early June, I drove up to the house in an unseasonal windstorm, and saw the fruits of my recent labor (the sunflowers) bending in the wind. I dragged a bench, a folding table and anything else I could think of and braced all the plants. I’m sure the neighbors wondered why I would move the bench to the edge of the sidewalk, but desperate times (sunflowers in peril) require desperate measures (in this case looking foolish). That said, I’ve gone out to lunch with girlfriends wearing a wig and false eyelashes so I suppose my concerns about looking foolish are moot. Ha!

June, 2013
Sunflowers staked to the bench

July/August:

The summer heat settled in and then this happened. The Bachelor Buttons, Cosmos and assorted seeds took off. Every week something new popped up. What a joyous experience. As the sunflowers died back, the annuals filled in. This also became my test garden. I bought (and forgot) about three pink zinnias and left them to suffer the heat out back. I replanted them in the sidewalk garden and they flourished.

sidewalk garden flowers

September:

The Bachelor Buttons started going to seed, testing my resolve. The orderly me wanted to deadhead the flowers and trim back dying branches. Daily visits from the birds kept me in check. It was nice to see them swoop down and grab a bite. Another plus, re-seeding. As the birds and squirrels drop seeds, they’re likely to regrow the following season. We all win!

I planted most of my garden peas in the curb garden, but since I had plenty, I planted a few among the summer annuals. As the annuals died back, the peas could take their place.

zinnias and cosmos

October:

October was all about pumpkins and Halloween. Drip irrigation and a warm sun kept things humming along.

Oh, and this visitor:

butterfly collage

November:

The peas are growing among the summer annuals and will need to be staked soon. Still lots of color but the zinnias are starting to decay. Nightly temps in the forties signal the end of summer weather, even when it does make it to 72 F by mid-day.

November, 2013
Going to seed

November, 2013
Garden peas grow among the flowers

What’s next? Time to collect seeds for next year. I’ve snagged a few here and there, but I need to make a concerted effort now before our promised Monday rain. Oh wondrous rain, how I’ve missed you.

Then on to planning for next year. Happy weekend. I’ll see you Monday.

November 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Seeing Red

Roma tomatoes and Chinese Pistache leaves

I’m seeing red.

I like it! The cherry and heirloom tomatoes died back a month ago, but our Roma tomatoes continue to grow unabated.

In November.

This is Silicon Valley after all, originally known for its rich, agricultural roots. But I’m still amazed at the prolific production of this plant. I did a bit of reading and learned that the plant will continue to produce, as long as daytime temps remain about 60F (15C). That explains it. We’ve had a mild autumn so far.

While the Roma happily churns out fruit in the back garden, the Chinese Pistache flashes red outside my kitchen window.

Pistacia chinensis (Chinese pistache)

The Pistache’s slow, beautiful descent into dormancy is under way. The colors are magnificent. I’m grateful to live in this beautiful valley with such optimal growing conditions.

Seeing red

How to Braid A Carrot

Note: I’ll have to put some thought into tagging this post. I’m not sure anyone ever did a Google search using the term “braid carrot.” Here goes:

Step one:

Purchase nursery six-packs of small, leafy carrot starters. Make the following assumption: each cell contains one carrot plant.

Step two:

Plant accordingly. Be sure to gather the neighbor’s day-care kids. Turn tiny people into future gardeners.

Step three:

Wait 50 – 70 days. Publicize your countdown in your blog sidebar. This is an important step for those of us with “menopause brain.”

Step four:

Take the sage advice of a couple of bloggers who inquire “did you thin the plants?” (Note: In my gardening defense, I know about thinning seeds. I just ASSumed they were pre-thinned before I bought them.)

Step five:

Dig up a few ‘spare carrots’, in this case, the carrots planted on the other side of the curb garden as back ups in case the tiny gardener’s crop fails. (One or two did and I was able to fill in accordingly) Realize, oh-oh…I didn’t thin the plants. Thin one or two and watch them droop. They didn’t like waking up early.

Step six:

Reset the countdown in the side-bar from 50 to 70 days and wait some more.

Step seven:

The most important step of all: Watch the tiny gardeners cute, wondrous faces as they dig up a carrot and realize what they’ve grown. Picture me smiling from ear to ear.