Sowing

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Planting the Strip: The Results are In!

Earlier this month I wrote about the pros and cons of planting the sidewalk strip.  I included a poll and asked readers to vote as well as comment on the idea.

As of today, the vote is split down the middle:

  • 42.31% said yes
  • 42.31 said no
  • 15.38 were on the fence.

The comments were incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to read, comment or vote. There were many things I hadn’t thought of. Here are a few:

Boomdeeada wrote: I voted to plant the easement but everyone here has great comments. I’d be tempted to put in a perennial of some kind more than vegetables…a bed that begins with tulips, then lilies then iris’s….I also liked the beds of Rudbeckia, alyssum and purple petunia at the Alberta Governor Generals house this summer…that would smell really nice.

I like the idea of planting flowers instead of veg.  Another reader also suggested growing a hedge first, then planting within its boundaries.

Sensiblegardening wrote: I had to vote “no” but not because I think it’s a bad idea. I think it’s a great idea. However, after living for 20 years on a rural road, at the dead-end turn around, I’ve seen too much of how disrespectful a lot of the public is of our natural spaces, let alone our own private property that butts up against it. Sorry, but that’s just the ugly truth of it at this point in time. Hopefully more people will become a little more enlightened as time goes on.

Several others also cited this.  My husband voted no, too.  :-(

Suzanne Elliot suggested a nearby alternative: Thoughts on planting the strip – Dogs and passers-by – Dogs will leave deposits – and not the bank kind – passers by will pick your flowers. In looking at your photo of your lovely front garden I notice that you have a lot of LAWN – how about converting your lawn to something else? You could plant veggies mixed with flowers closer in to your house in your current lawn area (full sun) – and thereby thwart all but the most brazen flower pickers and fruit/veggie thieves…

Planting the Strip

The Plan at Hand:

Front garden:

Leave the sidewalk strip/easement alone for now. (Subject to change without notice, void where prohibited).

Combine Suzanne and Boomdee’s idea and plant a perennial garden next to the stone walkway on the property in a curving triangle to balance the curving wall on the other side.  If that goes well, I’ll plant more perennials on the other side of the driveway. Honestly, you can never have too many flowers, don’t you think?  The bees are counting on them.

Back garden:

Transplant the blueberry bush (still very small) and the raspberry vines to another location in the yard.  This will free up 25% of the planting boxes.

Finish clearing overgrown and tired looking shrubs around fruit tree. Plant additional flowers from seed.
Meanwhile, please join me in another rain dance.

The San Jose area has received only 0.9 inches of rain so far this month, a third of the normal 2.72 inches.

In a normal year, San Jose would have received about 7.73 inches of rain by now. Instead, only 2.45 inches have fallen since July, not even a third of normal. (San Jose Mercury News)

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Garden Guffaw: Plotting Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomato Seeds

Heirloom Tomato Seeds

I walked the garden with my husband this morning as we made summer plans. We’re enjoying a warm, sunny day with highs climbing into the seventies. I wish you could be here along with me, especially those of you snowed in.

In order to maximize the planting boxes, we’ve agreed on a place to relocate the raspberry vines. I’m always angling for more planting space out back, so I’m pretty excited.

This year I’m planting all of my tomatoes in the City Pickers.  They worked great last year. The ability to move them around as other garden plants grow larger is a boon.  It feels great putting a plan in place.

My sister sent me the following funny story a few years ago, about planting tomatoes. It always makes me smile. I don’t know the origins, so I’ll extend thanks to the universe and the anonymous writer of this tongue in cheek tale. Enjoy!

Plotting Tomatoes:

An older gentleman living alone in New Jersey looked forward to planting his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work. The ground was simply too hard. His only son Vincent would usually help him but he was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son describing his predicament.

Dear Vincent,

It looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig it for me, like in the old days. I’m feeling a little sad. I hope you are well.

Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Papa,

Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where the bodies are buried.

Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Papa,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love you, Vinnie

I hope you’re smiling, too.

Growing Tomatoes

Growing Tomatoes

Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes. ~Author Unknown

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Planting the Strip: Pros and Cons

Like most gardeners with small, suburban lots, I’m always on the look out for ways to maximize my annual planting. This year I have my eye on the sidewalk strip, the space between our city sidewalk and the street.

There are several pluses (and a few minuses) to planting there. I’m going to toss out both, and you can let me know what you think.

Pros:

  1. Full sun!  (Need I say more.) We have limited full sun in the backyard. I have a pair of raised beds tucked up against the back of the house and last year added a two moveable City Pickers.  Beyond that, the yard is either landscaped or shaded by large trees, or both. The sidewalk strip is prime, vegetable and flower real estate.
  2. A long, narrow strip. It’s perfect for vegetable gardening due to the already narrow space.  It would be easy to manage the box or boxes planted there.
  3. Water. The existing sprinkler system would be easy to tap into. My handy husband could run drip irrigation directly into the boxes.
  4. The view. I can see the strip from my kitchen window, and from the front deck.  A flower and vegetable bed is infinitely more interesting than grass.
  5. Additional yields.  More dirt, equals more fruits and vegetables.  I can taste those sweet tomatoes now.

Cons:

  1. Cost.  I no longer have the back to dig out heavy sod, nor the means of easily getting rid of it.  I would need to hire someone to dig out the existing lawn.  Additional costs include the raised bed (built or purchased), soil and seeds or plants.
  2. Public access. We have great neighbors who’ve openly expressed enjoyment when we’ve grown pumpkins and tomatoes in the front yard. Not everyone that walks by, however, will  respect the garden’s sanctity.
  3. Street parking.  The space in front of our house accommodates two cars. Maintaining my good-neighbor creed means maintaining continued access to those spots.
  4. Late-season doldrums.  Not everyone appreciates the messiness of a vegetable garden going to seed.
Sidewalk Strip

Sidewalk Strip (to the right of the Chinese Pistache

Lots to think about in the next few months.  I hope you’ll weigh in on the poll below.

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The Big Chill: Out of the Crisper and into the Soil

Three's a Charm

Three’s a Charm

When you live in a warm climate like California, it helps to employ a bit of trickery with the tulips.  So when I bought three bags of tulip bulbs back in October, the first step was a cool dark rest in the crisper drawer of our fridge.  Keeping bulbs in the frigid dark, prompts their DNA into thinking they’ve been through an early chill.

Today I planted about a dozen bulbs along the rock wall near the garden fence, convinced that the racing squirrels overhead were just waiting to dig them up for lunch. I tamped the soil firmly and with determination, hoping they’ll stay planted through early spring.  I buried the rest of the bulbs in a variety of pots, and in a few random locations around the garden.

Ready to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Ready to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Squirrel in the Pittosporum

Squirrel in the Pittosporum

Squirrel in the Pine

Squirrel in the Pine

Figuring I could hedge my bets (or chance of survival) by interspersing the bulbs in heavily planted pots, I tucked them deep into the corners and under the canopy of existing plants. I hope they survive the onslaught of the squirrels. They’ll be a magnificent if they do.

Tulip Bulbs

Tulip Bulbs

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Gardening Nirvana’s Creed: Patience, Optimism and Determination

Pansy

Sweet-faced Pansy

To garden is to fail. It’s not a bad thing. You learn to flex your patience, optimism, and determination.

So it goes this week with bulbs.

This is my new gardening creed:

P – Patience
O – Optimism
D – Determination

Patience

Planting bulbs requires patience, not because they are difficult, but because you wait so long to see the results. It’s worth it. You can forget they’re there after a long, cold winter. Then spring rolls around and you see magic everywhere. Shiny green growth pushes up the soil, with a spectacular show of color to follow. It’s like a surprise party throughout the garden.

Optimism

Last month I planted a dozen pansies, interspersed with snowdrops bulbs. I liked the idea of companion planting. We would enjoy these sweet flowers now, and the stunning white flowers in the spring. With luck, I might even have a bit of crossover. Pretty exciting, right?

I added a rough-textured mulch to some of the plants. I used what I had, left over from another project, but didn’t have enough to cover them all The squirrels moved in. They dug up the bulbs, and either ate them or moved them to a secret spot.

Determination

Determined squirrels go after what they want. I needed to match that determination, and raise it a notch. So, back to the garden center for another bag of mulch, more bulbs and a positive attitude.  I doubled down, too, buying 30 bulbs this time around, instead of the 10 or so I started with. All the snow drops sold out, so instead I bought a bag of crocus mix. I’ve had good luck with them in the past, which is to say, the squirrels don’t like them or can’t find them.  I’m hedging my bets, too, planting them in a variety of undisclosed spots. If you run into a squirrel, mum’s the word.

Garden Helpers

Garden Helpers
Jazzy’s Day Care Children Lend a Hand

Busy Hands

Busy Hands

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Blooming Thursday: Squirrel Candy?

Pansy in profileWhile my tulip bulbs are having a good chill in the crisper, I planted a few snowdrops. I only had ten, so I alternated bulbs between pansies in three narrow pots along the walkway. What beautiful displays I would have come spring.

Normally I add a layer of organic mulch, but in my never-ending quest to discourage snacking squirrels, I covered at least half of the pots with rough pea-gravel. I used what I had on hand, left over from a summer project. How I wish I had gone out to buy more!

pea gravelIt was a good, though unintended experiment I suppose.Those rascally squirrels dug up all the bulbs in the soft mulch pots. There was nothing stealth about that heist. They left gaping holes, scattered dirt and a disappointed gardener. The gravel-covered bulbs, however, are still untouched.

PansyPerhaps there is something to the rough texture of the gravel or the extra weight.  Maybe it detracts from smell of the tender bulbs buried below.  For now, its working.  Who knows?  Perhaps they dug up the bulbs, so they could hide them somewhere else.  I’ll have to wait for spring before I know.  I’m pretty sure they ate them.

Squirrel in the pine treeThe tulips have been in the fridge since early October.  I’ll plant them in mid-November while the squirrels have their backs turned.  This time I’ll be sure to stock up on scratchy gravel ahead of time.  Alternatively, I’ll purchase large bags of peanuts as a peace-offering, leaving mounds of them on top of the precious bulbs.  It just might work!

Are you planting bulbs this year?

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Spring Bulbs: My Flowery Future Awaits

White Flower Farm Tulip

Photo Credit: White Flower Farm

I lovingly perused the Fall Netherlands Bulb Company catalog, then cast it aside. The pages, filled with promise and spring blooms, made my heart ache. Wouldn’t it be glorious having a spring garden filled with exotic blooms?  Nothing shouts spring, like a garden filled with crocus, daffodils and tulips. I wrote about my bulb-planting failures in August: Spring Bulbs: To Plant or not to Plant, and received the following encouragement:

Bob J. wrote:

Bulbs are so forgiving, even upside down you will get SOME to twist around and come up. I don’t even bother to refrigerate, and most of mine come up anyway. Maybe you are planting too deep, but you would have to drop them in a well for all of them to fail. My feeling is that something has dug yours up. Probably you are going to have to protect them from critters. I stick with Costco and Ace hardware cheapies and plant a few new ones each year.

So, I’m giving them a second try.  Following Bob’s advice, I stopped at our local hardware store, and picked up a few bags.  Since early frost is uncommon here, I’m popping the tulip bulbs in the fridge for good measure. Bob’s climate is a bit cooler than ours, and he occasionally sees snow.

tulip bulb assortment

Tulip Bulb Assortment
Van Zyverden

Then Boomdeeada wrote:

I’ve had mixed success with fall bulbs. My favorite was a tulip called Angelique. Shorter, blush pink, frilly. It worked well in my spring garden (Our house was Burgundy in color). I also planted a mass of yellow & pink, late bloomers on the lake front, they’d bloom along with the mauve lilac. But I was always adding more every fall. I don’t know why they fail, but sometimes there wasn’t anything to dig up. Like you, I do love the scent of Hyacinth, but even though you link indicates Zone 2, they never came back the next year. Don’t give up!

So…guess what made it into my cart?  15 Tulip Angélique.  I’m so excited! 

Recommended planting months for our zone are October through December. The tulips have a few weeks to chill before heading outdoors. I also bought Tulip Attila and Tulip Passionale as well as Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis. Next up: where to plant my assorted bulbs and how to keep them under wraps till spring.  Suggestions welcome!

Resources:

Halloween Countdown

rock paper scissors pumpkin

Rock, paper, scissors Pumpkin

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Blooming Thursday: Seeds for the Holidays

 

 

cosmos going to seed

Cosmos going to seed

The idea came to me in late July. I started collecting Cosmo seeds to give as gifts for the holidays. This prolific annual grew in abundance throughout the summer.  It was such a pleasure watching the plant bloom and bloom.  I want to share that with others.

Cosmos are easy to grow and spectacular to behold.They grow in planters or directly in the ground, and thrive with little fuss. It’s a cheerful gift for the middle of winter: the promise of spring blooms.

I’ve been mulling over design ideas, and finally hit on the perfect one.  I created a five-panel accordion card using Creative Memories software. Starting with a basic design, I added photos to the front panels, leaving a placeholder on the last panel for the packet of seeds. I included planting instructions and additional photos on the reverse side of the panels.

Cosmos Seed Cards - Front Panel

Cosmos Seed Card – Front Panel

Cosmos Seed Cards - Back Panel

Cosmos Seed Card – Back Panel

I bought a packet of 50, 3.5 inch square glassine envelopes for the seeds.  The back panel is 4 inches square. They are the perfect.size.

I can’t wait to order the sample card to be sure all the details came together. In the meantime I’m making envelopes for the cards using last year’s garden calendar.  I’m having so much fun.

Are you giving gifts from the garden this year?

Resources:

My Beloved Cosmos:

 

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Sunflowers: Better Luck Next Year?

Budding Sunflower

Budding Sunflower

I tried something a little different with my sunflowers this year. I sowed the seeds in narrow planters and lined the front of the deck.  If all went according to plan, the seeds would produce tall, healthy specimens.  The towering wall of sunflowers would face the kitchen but could also be enjoyed by passersby.   I was jazzed!

My son helped me plant the first crop, which promptly disappeared.  Squirrels made off with the seeds.  A few went undetected, but once sprouted they ate those as well.  I managed to preserve three plants.  Moving on to plan B, I purchased more seeds, and started them indoors.  I also planted a few in the side yard hoping the critters wouldn’t notice the new location.  Last summer the flowers grew as tall as the house there.  Alas, those too disappeared.  Poof.

Indoors, the seeds sprouted quickly. I needed a plan to keep them safe.  The morning of Mother’s Day, my husband helped me assemble what I now refer to as “screen savers,” a system I created with left over screening and sliding window screens from the hardware store.  They worked!

I originally planned to remove the screens from the established plants, but the stalks remained on the thin side.  The soil dried out quickly, even after I added a thick layer of mulch.  Eventually the stalks cleared the top of the screens and started their accent.  The birds arrived, pecking away at the leaves, creating patterns as they chipped away.  Every few days, the plant added leaves and the birds came back for more.

SunflowerThis week, ninety days later and right on schedule, the sunflowers are in bloom.  The original three are the hardiest of the plants and the first to bloom.  They are taller and stronger than the others.  The transplants are fairly weak, with bent stalks and smaller stems.  But they too have buds.

What have I learned for next year?

  • The planters need to be at least twice the current depth
  • Sow directly into the soil, add lots of mulch, and screen
  • Plant a lot more seeds, then thin when necessary
  • Don’t give up hope!

Row fo Sunflowers

Sunflowers in a row

Sunflowers Line the Deck

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Back to the Drawing Board: Sunflower Seed Do-Over

Sunflower Seedlings: Long Gone

Did you see the sweet little photo I posted earlier this week?  It was my celebratory shot of my emerging sunflowers.  If I hadn’t snapped a picture, I’d have thought I imagined the whole thing.  Squirrels, you are my nemesis.

I lived with my discouragement for a few days then tried again.  I transplanted the seedlings I started indoors and planted the last of the remaining seeds in the pots along the deck. I covered some of the seeds with makeshift domes.  The larger dome worked and the three remaining seedlings are okay…for now.  The other “dome” was too light: I caught the squirrel lifting it up right in front of me.  The nerve! What remains: three little stick shaped shoots (photo “unavailable”…ha!).

Happiness arrived today in the form of an email from Botanical Interests entitled Sow Successful.  What timing.  I learned about soaking seeds for faster germination and I learned about Floating Row Covers or FRC.  I’m going to wrap up this post and head to my local garden center now before it closes.  Stay tuned…

In the meantime, you many want to take a look at Botanical Interests In The Garden blog.

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