Been doing some more planting…

by angela@diggingbliss | May 30, 2007 | Uncategorized

Weeder and I went to POW, Capital (Sunrise) and Windmill on Monday. Here’s what I got:

1 5-gallon ‘Tropicanna’ canna… nice big plants right now

3 1-gallon um, um, um, oh, what the hell are they called?

3 5-gallon European white birch trees for some quick screening of the neighbor’s bathroom window that looks down into our yard.

(thanks, Weeder, for whipping out your camera)

If you’re gonna go to the trouble of putting up a sign, why block it? 😉

Sooooooooo many perennials, so little time.

This is what my one ‘Tropicanna’ canna looks like. I wish I could have bought the whole row. Lucky for y’all, I didn’t.

Wow.

Hey, that’s the plant I bought three of that I can’t remember the name of. Drought tolerant. Lavender flowers. Don’t see it a lot around here. Weeder? Anyone? Help?

Dark purple butterfly bush. Gorgeous.

We stopped at Davis Ranch on the way to lunch at El Pollo Loco (quite yum for fast food) hoping their famous sweet white corn would be ready. Not for two more weeks! Rats! We did spy this nifty hydroponic strawberry setup that appears to be new. So sci-fi looking. Growing strawberries vertically is genius. Oh, and I didn’t go home empty-handed. They had some lovely lean asparagus spears and plump garlic.

Next stop…

Capital

‘Lemon Boy’ tomato… planted it last year and it was felled as a seedling and I never re-planted.

6-pack of ‘Black Dragon’ Coleus

4″ ‘Dipt in Wine’ Coleus

Several little ‘Gold Rush’ zucchini plants… Yay! So happy to find these! My FAVE zucchini.

3 6-packs ‘Bright Lights’ chard… a little late getting it in but it never seems to quit producing so I’m not worried.

I’m late getting most of my veggies in, but that’s nothing new for me.

And finally, on the way home so how could we not…

Windmill

4″ ‘Dolce Peach Melba’ Heuchera… already have, but couldn’t resist another

4″ Ursinia anthemoides from Annie’s Annuals… this reseeds and I love it.

4″ Calceolaria Mexicana… Weeder raves, so I must try it.

You gotta get over to Windmill right now. They have a great selection of Annie’s and Blooms in 4″ and some really nice gallon perennials too.

I was hoping to find ‘Costoluto Genovese’ and a black tomato as the last… no, really, I promise this time… additions to my 2007 tomato lineup. Capital was sold out of C.G., as was Windmill. I picked up a black heirloom tomato at Capital, put it down, picked it up and thought I put it on my cart… but somehow it didn’t make it home with me. What a space cadet.

May 30 edit: I did buy a black tomato! ‘Black Prince’ was hiding behind one of the passenger seats in my van and is now planted. Not a space cadet after all… just a loser… of things.

Baby ‘Heatwave’ tomato

by angela@diggingbliss | May 28, 2007 | heatwave, tomatoes, vegetables, veggies

In a quest to find more tomato varieties suited to the hot-summer Central Valley, I’m starting to grow varieties bred for heat tolerance. Up first is ‘Heatwave’, a healthy specimen of which I picked up on impulse at Home Depot.

Our summer days often exceed 90 degrees, which is around the temperature at which tomato fruit set fails for certain tomato varieties.

From UC VRIC: “When daytime temperatures consistently exceed 90OF, fruit set failure may also be expected in many tomato varieties. Some varieties are more tolerant of high temperatures and will continue to set fruit when others fall. Under these conditions, it will be helpful to keep the plants in a healthy growing condition so that flowers which develop will have a better chance to survive. This includes the maintenance of a constant moisture supply, the elimination of damaging insects, and the control of diseases. Fruitsetting hormones are not effective in hot weather.”

My ‘Heatwave’ baby was grown by Bonnie Plants. Here’s their description:

Heatwave VFFA
Fruit size: 8 oz
Matures: 70 days

An abundant producer of bright red fruit even when the temperature is in the mid 90s, Heatwave hybrid produces early in the season on determinate vines. Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 (F), and alternaria stem canker (A).

But how does it taste? Stay tuned.

Fremont Community Garden Grand Opening

by angela@diggingbliss | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized

Fremont Community Garden website

Map of 14th St & Q St Sacramento, CA 95814, US

Phygelius

by angela@diggingbliss | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized

Here is the Phygelius I mentioned that was about to bloom in my backyard. I love the pinky coral color and contrasting creamy yellow underneath. I’d love to plant phygelius where I could look up at its nodding florets. Might have to try it in a tall container sometime.

Lilies

by angela@diggingbliss | May 27, 2007 | Uncategorized

It’s hard to believe lilies are so easy to grow. The energy and beauty stored in their bulbs makes me appear to be a more attentive gardener than I am. I just plant and water and wait for the show.

Grow-off, Show-off Kitchen Gardening Contest

by angela@diggingbliss | May 24, 2007 | Uncategorized

Check out this contest sponsored by Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI) and Mother Earth News.

How to enter
Entries must be received by 5pm Eastern, November 1, 2007. All entries must be submitted using the official entry form and submitted either by e-mail to info@kitchengardeners.org or by snailmail to Kitchen Gardeners International, 3 Powderhorn Drive, Scarborough, Maine, 04074, USA. E-mail and early entries are encouraged.

KGI will be posting entries on their website as they receive them.

Red orchid cactus

by angela@diggingbliss | May 18, 2007 | Uncategorized

From a single passalong cutting (thanks, Cheryl and Cheryl’s friend), came this obscenely beautiful epiphyllum. I don’t know its species and/or cultivar name because it was given to me as “red orchid cactus”. Who cares, though, right? It’s just… wow.

Want to see how it looked last May, and want to see the Mother Plant? Click here. Mailorder sources for epis include:

Don’s Epiphyllum World

Also check Ebay sellers.

Calandrinia grandiflora

by angela@diggingbliss | May 18, 2007 | Uncategorized

Calandrinia grandiflora, commonly known as Chilean rock purslane, is one of my new favorites in the garden. It’s new to me, anyway. Last summer or fall, I spotted it in bloom in one-gallon cans at Emigh Hardware. The fleshy, silvery-grey foliage reminds me of sedum (another fave), but you will be pleasantly surprised by its delicate, clear pink poppy-like flowers, held on nodding wiry stems up to 2 1/2 feet tall.

Despite a few frosts and freezes here in Carmichael this winter, C. grandiflora wintered over nicely up against the southern side of my stucco house. It receives bright, lightly filtered light next to my lath patio cover. According to a Dave’s Garden member, it propagates from separated “rootballs” which should callus over for a few days before re-planting. Haven’t tried that yet, but I am experimenting with tip cuttings as well. Oh, and you can buy it at Annie’s Annuals.

Today’s bloom