A Hearty Breakfast

I'm sure this isn't the biggest tomato you've ever seen, but it's probably the biggest one I've ever grown.

During my Master Gardener training a couple of years ago, our guest speaker on growing veggies suggested 'Kellogg's Breakfast' - a large, vigorous orange tomato. I tried them last year with little success, but this summer...wow!

I'm sure our constant rainfall has helped. No cracking and not much catfacing, conditions both caused by irregular watering.

The taste and texture of 'Kellogg's Breakfast' is marvelous too - sweet and firm. Yummy.

I haven't been down to the Community Garden in several weeks. The truck-sized mosquitoes scared me too much last time. I imagine my plot is a jungle by now...

Bite Me

The mosquitoes are horrible around DFW at the moment. Heavy, continuous rains have saturated the ground, thus creating the perfect environment for the little beasts.

I have been diligent in putting BT dunks in the birdbaths and emptying plant trays. I even sprinkled some BT crystals around the foundation of our house, where the skeeters really seem to congregate. But the BT takes awhile to work, and I want these bastards gone now.

I'm surprised the organic business hasn't come up with more to kill adult mosquitoes. Most are just repellents, like the awful-smelling garlic spray. I like the clove oil mixture, but it can hurt beneficial insects.

Bioganic is offering a peppermint oil-based flying insect spray at select Wal-Marts...but I imagine it is toxic to beneficials as well.

Tomato Gratin

Your tomatoes are ripening faster than you can eat 'em, right? Here's a great recipe (recently printed in The Dallas Morning News) that will help deplete your rapidly expanding crop. Be sure to use fresh basil from the herb garden too. I increased the cheese recommendation because I seem to be part mouse.

Tomato Gratin

9 or 10 tomatoes, any variety (red, green, etc.)
1/4 cup chicken-flavored stuffing mix
1/2 cup diced red onion or sliced green onions
10 leaves fresh basil, snipped with scissors
salt and pepper
1/3 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup 2% milk Kraft Italian cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Rinse and core tomatoes, then cut into medium-sized slices.
Butter or spray an 8- or 9-inch square Pyrex dish, and arrange a layer of tomatoes in the pan. Sprinkle each layer with dry stuffing mix, onions, basil, salt and pepper. Repeat layers until you've used all the tomatoes. Drizzle with melted butter and top with dry stuffing mix and cheese.
Bake about 20 minutes or until hot. If using all green tomatoes, bake about 45 minutes.
Makes 4-6 servings

Bean Soup

This is a great recipe I adapted just slightly from The Menopause Diet; it's also good for all you low-carb dieters out there. Very high in fiber and pretty high in lean protein. Substitute cubed chicken for pork, or leave the meat out entirely, and it's probably still really good.

3 cans of different beans (butter, black, kidney, etc.)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 can 14-1/2 oz. chicken broth
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup cubed cooked lean ham
2 or 3 average-sized tomatoes, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
1 tbl. fresh basil, chopped (or 1 tsp. dry basil leaves)
Black pepper, to taste

Drain and rinse the beans in a strainer. Put beans and all remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and allow to simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

Veggie Notes: I used my first harvest of fresh tomatoes for this recipe. I also had a couple of leftover leeks from my spring harvest (they keep quite a long time in the fridge) and they were excellent in this soup as an alternative to the usual onion-and-garlic combo.

Of course, you could also use your own homegrown beans, basil, and if you're really talented, celery.

Lamenting the First Generation of Indoor Children

This is just sad. And I think it's safe to assume there's a link between the facts in this story and the rising statistics of child obesity...

Getting Lost in the Great Outdoors
- Washington Post (may require registration)

Making the Cut

I am not a fan of cutting gardens. That is to say, I do not generally grow flowers for the sole purpose of cutting. Too lazy for that, you see; it's much easier to just let things bloom, watch them die on the stem and then say gosh, maybe it's time I dead-headed that thing...

The scissors come out when the gladiolus start to emerge in late May, however. They flower, they flop over...and they're just too beautiful to not be appreciated by somebody. The nature of their existence is that they're top-heavy and therefore perfect for snipping and sticking in a vase.

I've planted a few glads about my property since moving in a couple of years ago. Other strange glads have popped up in random places, though: along the alley side of our fence, behind the five-foot impassable sharp yucca...obviously, one of the former owners of our yard was a glad enthusiast, and the bulbs have lived on. I really need to dig them up and move them so they get the proper treatment for later years, out of simple respect for a past and fellow gardener.

Double Trouble

I apologize for my absence here. Job hunting has taken precedence over blogging and gardening, unfortunately. My goal is to be a paid gardening Web writer...so hey, online editors? Email me.

We are continuing to get more rain than usual here in DFW, which is keeping the mosquitoes fat and happy. I unwisely went out to the community garden unprotected after a recent rain and was mercilessly chewed. It was nearly as bad as September in Belize at dusk. And let me tell you, that's bad.

Lots of huge hummingbird moths are active at night now (think of Buffalo Bill's collection in Silence of the Lambs). However, I've only seen one actual hummingbird. A large female suddenly appeared over the patio a couple of weeks ago, alternately dive-bombing our bewildered collie and sniffing the hot pink Salvia Greggii.

The second Dracunculus Vulgaris is blooming in the backyard at present - and thankfully, it's not nearly as stinky as the first one was. Not quite as big either. The first quickly shriveled after blooming and now the entire plant is going. Someone asked if this plant dies back to the ground each year and I'm guessing the answer to that is yes. I do hope they return next season!



And here is a Double Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium 'Florepleno') that's going strong in the backyard now. Besides the gorgeous orange double flowers, this heirloom offers bulbils in the leaf axis along the stem. I'm going to try to harvest them and plant some for next year once these guys are done showing off.

Lord of the Flies

Isn't this spectacular? I don't know who's more agog, me or the flies. They are swarming around this thing, and it's no wonder. The stench is gag-inducing. Even my dogs won't go near it.

But my heavens, I've been waiting years for this. The flower itself is over 18" long.

I am squelching the urge to show it to my husband. He might get a complex.

Worshiping the Devil

Seems that the Louisiana Iris show is over for now. I expect more will bloom next spring, and I remain pleasantly surprised at how many emerged for me this year.

Pictured below is a plant I've been trying to grow for a long time without success, until now. It is Dracunculus vulgaris, commonly known as Devil's Tongue, Dragon Arum, Voodoo Lily, and a host of other colorful common names.

I estimate that the spathe is still about a week from opening. When it does unfurl, the first day's stench is supposed to be comparable to sewage...! (This flower is pollinated by flies rather than bees, so that makes sense.)

Unlike all the times I tried to grow it before, the two Dracunculus in this bed are getting complete shade and are in the richest of yummy, rich soils. And, like everything this spring, they're receiving plenty of rain.

More pics to come as the Grand Opening approachs...

More Louisianas

Are you sick of seeing these yet? :) We've still got a ways to go before all the different kinds have bloomed...stay tuned!


Louisiana Iris 'Creole Flame' (I think...or might be 'Frank Chowning')


Louisiana Iris 'Danza'


Louisiana Iris 'Festivals Acadian'


Louisiana Iris 'Fiesta Gal'


Louisiana Iris 'Sea Wisp'

Jack Attack

Louisiana Iris 'Jack Attack'

More, But Different

Thanks to everybody who wrote with photos and suggestions about the "mystery bearded iris". I'm still not positive what it is, but certainly enjoyed its huge and numerous blooms. I also enjoyed hearing from some of you readers out there. :)

The bearded irises are about finished blooming here now. I missed some of the show while vacationing in Florida for the past week. I also apparently missed more wild weather; DFW had some hellacious storms while we were gone. Evidence of hail remains in the form of ripped petals on a few things, but the damage isn't devastating, thank goodness.

I am now being rewarded with gorgeous Louisiana iris blooms. Again, I can't say enough about the fans I received from Iris City Gardens last September. A great company with good prices, great service and an incomparable selection of healthy plants.

Louisiana Iris 'Willow Mint'


Louisiana Iris 'Black Widow'


Louisiana Iris 'Our Dorothy'

Iris ID

Anybody know what the name of this iris (the big one on the left) is? It's not one I've ever ordered. At first I thought it was 'Starship Enterprise', which I do have.

The second photo below is my 'Starship Enterprise' blooming last year. However, the falls on this new one are much more burgundy than purple, the beards are more orange than yellow, and the standards are a definite peach, as opposed to white.

Thanks in advance!

A Little Birdie Told Me

I am not ashamed to admit that I'm a bigtime weather weenie. Indeed, most would consider my continual level of interest in the surrounding atmosphere to be borderline obsessive. I check temperature forecasts at least once a day. When it storms, I watch the online Doppler radar. (Although I don't think anybody anticipated the severity and duration of the hail we had a few nights ago...!)

So when I noticed recently that the Cedar Waxwings were still hanging around, making those sad peeping noises from their perch in some nearby treetops, I figured they knew something the rest of us didn't: it was gonna get cold again. And sure enough, we're looking at a slight chance of snow this weekend. That's right: snow.

I'm super-glad to have held off on planting my summer veggies, both at the house and in my Community Garden plot. Most of the tropicals on my patio are in pots and can be brought inside no problem. However, I did plant the beautiful 'Lady Margaret' passionflower (pictured here a few weeks ago) and that is a concern, although a layer of chopped leaves should protect her enough.

I guess it pays to be a weather weenie...and a birdwatcher too.

Great Timing...Sort Of

Ok, so...I got laid off from my job. Mixed feelings abound. But at least they let me go during the busiest part of the gardening season.

Truthfully, the time off has been glorious so far. I hope to really re-organize this site, but in the meantime, here are some more great pictures of what's happening around the yard.


This is Syringa 'Sensation'. I've been waiting two years for this gorgeous lilac to bloom...and it's been worth it. I wish you could smell it. Beyond divine.


Colorful Poppies


The Crossvine that I bought at last year's Texas SuperStar Plant Sale. It didn't bloom hardly at all last summer, but is covered with flowers now.


Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice'


Part of my shade garden, with various heucheras, toad lily and shredded umbrella plant.

Early Bloomers

I'll save the best for last...


This Louisiana Iris was blooming back in January, after we had a bunch of rain. I've no idea what cultivar it is - strange-looking, eh? (It may actually be a Siberian iris...if anybody can ID this, please let me know!)



This is Euphorbia 'Tasmanian Tiger' and it's been blooming for well over two weeks. Love the variegated foliage.



I mentioned in a previous post how Nature Hills Nursery accidentally sent me somebody else's order of crocus bulbs and then told me to just keep them...so I planted 'em. Not bad, although I'd probably never buy these.



Many daffodils don't naturalize here in Texas, especially the weirder kinds, but these double daffs I got from Bluestone back in late 2005 are even prettier this year.




Between the rain, a good trimming and some fertilizer, this Mexican plum tree is blooming like crazy, much more so than in previous years. The honeybees are all over it already, and the smell is divine.



Wow, wow, wow. Say hello to Passiflora 'Lady Margaret'. What a babe! I just received this plant from Zone 9 Tropicals about a month ago. Temps aren't quite high enough to put her outside yet, so she got potted up and kept in the sunroom...where she seems quite happy for the time being. Can't wait to see my back fence covered with this lovely lady later in the summer!

Speak Now, Or Forever Hold Your Trowel

I can say with relative confidence that Spring is here in North Central Texas. The forecast has us staying above freezing the next 10 nights at least, with daytime temps reaching into the 70s. Hallelujah - it's been a long winter, even for us Dallasites.

While the juncos and Cedar Waxwings are still here and busily stuffing themselves for their flights northward, the adorable little ruby-crowned kinglet and the pair of downy woodpeckers are gone. I'll miss them. Sitting by the kitchen window and birdwatching while enjoying a hot cup of coffee was a nice way to pass the colder days...when I wasn't stuck in a chilly office building, of course.

Several of my plant orders are starting to arrive. It's funny...I don't feel as giddy about gardening as I used to. In fact, I was thinking the other day that gardening has become a lot like my marriage.

Now hang on...before all of you divorce lawyers start writing to me, let me explain.

My feeling about gardening now is that, like my marriage, I'm comfortable. Content. I've been doing both for awhile. I'm familiar with them, and confident in the proven techniques that make each seem to work.

I've matured. I don't have heart palpitations when my husband calls me, or squeal like a teenager when a big box of plants arrives in the mail. (Well, ok, sometimes I still do.)

I miss both my husband and gardening when they're not around. Even during the doldrums of a regular day at work, I miss Mark, but not in stupid girlish way. It's like that with gardening too. I pined for better weather, and grumbled about the cold in polite conversation. Such complaining seems pointless anymore, though; like the warmth of my husbands arms awaiting me at the end of an arduous day, the sun always shows up before long.

Of course, over time, you also come to accept certain...shortcomings. I'll probably never be able to grow dinnerplate dahlias here in Texas, and my husband will probably never pick his clothes up off the bedroom floor without being told. But that's ok. You learn. You adapt. You grow.

Almost There...

Sorry for the long lull, everyone. We've been enduring an unusually cold and wet winter here in Dallas -- making NOAA's predictions half-right -- and I try to keep my whining to a minimum during such times, since it really isn't that bad here compared to where some of you are. I grew up in Western Pennsylvania, so believe me when I say I know what a really shitty winter is like.

It's nice that we've gotten so much rain in DFW over the past couple of months, however, as some of the reservoirs have actually rebounded to acceptable levels. The Palmer Drought Severity Index for North Central Texas is even registering at "slightly wet". Wow!

I did manage to get to the Community Garden before some really nasty weather hit in January, and was shocked to find the huge purple broccoli pictured at right. The plant tag was gone, but I'm pretty sure it was a 'Violet Queen'. Really beautiful (and delicious...ahem), and nearly a foot across. I haven't been out to the plot since. I expect everything else is dead by now.

Online winter plant shopping has been kept to a minimum this year. I've really cut down on the number of retailers I use too. Annie's, Big Dipper, Burpee, and Bluestone will all get some of my money as a repeat customer this year, but few others will. I'm trying Zone 9 Tropicals for the first time, as they have great prices on a couple of passiflora I wanted. If you have a bad experience with an online nursery, let other gardeners know by leaving your opinion over at Garden Watchdog, a great site run by the folks at Dave's Garden.

It's already time to start tomato seeds here in Texas, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet. My enthusiasm for tomatoes seems to wan a little every year. The plants at the Comm. Garden got really big and did well for the most part, but the naughty mockingbirds love toms just as they're ripening....and when you're not monitoring the fruits every day, the birds tend to have a party in your absence. Also, tomato plants shut down here around July due to the heat, (but usually rebound in September for a weak second crop), so you spend a couple of months waiting for them to wake up. I guess some bird netting will be in order, at least. I'm not trying any new tomato types this year, though. I think I've learned my lesson in the "That's Really Cool, I Wonder If It'll Grow Here..." department.

Not much else is new plant-wise at this point. I've been running two humidifiers in the house almost constantly and have not seen one single spider mite on anything.

For reader "emmat" who commented on my last post about the ZZ Plant: I know ZZ's are supposed to be really difficult to kill, unless you overwater them. They are considered a tropical houseplant, very rubber/jade-like with a water-holding tuber. Mine actually didn't put up a spath (yet) but is sprouting new leaf stems like mad. I guess it really likes its spot next to Capt. Jack...who wouldn't? :)

In closing...I can't wait until Spring. There, I said it!

No ZZZzz's Here...

The ZZ plant I have on my desk at work (guarded by my 18" talking Capt. Jack Sparrow doll) is putting up a bloom, I think. Actually, Zamioculus Zamiofolia is an aroid, so the bloom may be more like a spath. Cool!

Blooming December

I seem to get more enamored with amaryllis every year. This one opened its first flowers the day after Christmas and is still going strong. It is a 'President Johnson' hybrid.



I bring my hibiscuses inside every year with varying degrees of success. They usually get spider mites something awful and then it takes them nearly all spring to recover. Well, not so with this beauty. This is 'Hurricane Lily,' and she really seems to like it in the sunroom (next to the cool mist humidifier, natch).



Happy New Year, everyone!

Bow to the Master

The Master Gardener, that is! Hehheh...not trying to get all imperial on y'all. But I am now officially a Master Gardener for Collin County. And it feels great.

Graduation last night was wonderful. We were treated to a great meal, an interesting speaker and several nice freebies. The best part was seeing my fellow classmates again, beaming from ear to ear, knowing that a year of hard work had finally paid off. There was a lot of pride in the room.

Speaking of guest speakers and freebies, Brice Creelman of local nursery Shades of Green talked about trees and trends, mostly, but also brought some plants for all of the graduates. And you can guess what happens when you offer free plants to a room full of Master Gardeners: mayhem ensues!

We each received a Zephranthes Labuffarosa (Blogger Matt Mattus has a gorgeous picture of one on his blog here) and an apparently very rare pink Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus) called 'Pam's Pink'.

We each also got a beautiful potted poinsettia and a cute Christmas tree ornament too, along with our requisite graduation certificate.

To top it all off, I was asked to take over the Webmaster duties at the CCMG website, and I quickly agreed. There is so much that needs done there, but it could be a phenomenal site.

What a great night. And what a great year 2007 is going to be!

December...the New January

I'm not sure what Al Gore would think of my theory, but it seems to me that over the past couple of years, the weather patterns have bumped up a whole month here in North Texas.

When I moved here in 1989, January and February used to be the really crappy months. December was always pretty decent. Well, not anymore. Nowadays, November remains mild, and as soon as December hits, the bad weather comes with it. And the springs are hotter now too. The past few Junes have been almost unbearably hot...like July usually is.

So yeah, it got down to 23° the other night. Nothing in my community garden veggie plot is flat-out dead, but there was significant leaf scorching. I shudder to think what would have happened if hubby and I hadn't covered the whole thing with frost cloth before the storm came.



The Purple Orach took a beating, as you can see here:



The Savoy Cabbage still looks glorious, though!



The Front Yard Garden Project stood up admirably to the ice and cold temperatures. It was my plan, of course, to only put in stuff that could take the rough Texas weather -- on both extremes -- and I'm happy everything has lived up to expectations so far.

I'm trying not to let the onset of winter depress me too much. The cold weather does bring unique pleasures. For instance, I could sit at the kitchen table for hours and watch the half dozen or so mostly female slate-colored juncos that congregate right outside the window. It is like having a bunch of miniature gray chickens in the yard, with all the pecking and soil-scratching. Adorable. They're an ornery bunch, though, and twitter at me angrily when I go outside for the mail and temporarily break up their little hen party.

Lastly, this week sees me finally, officially becoming a Master Gardener. Our graduation banquet is Thursday. Weeee!

Unlike Any Other

Well, we're being treated to a fabulous fall here in North Texas. The temperatures have remained mostly above freezing well after our expected first frost date (generally around 11/15) and the 10-day forecast continues in the same pattern. We'll get a slight morning frost on rooftops, but it warms so quickly that none of the plants really feel it. My coleus are pristine. One of the cannas by the swimming pool is in the process of blooming.

In my 17 years here, I don't remember it staying this nice for this long. I am grateful, as I still haven't moved most of my tropicals into the house yet. Or propagated any of the annuals. Or planted all the perennials lounging in pots on the patio.

Here's how the one backyard bed looked as of November 12. Pretty incredible.


Husband and I are taking the week after Thanksgiving off work, though, and with the weather being so cooperative, I hope to get caught up on everything indoors and out...including the many pictures I've promised to produce here, but haven't yet.

Things can change dramatically and quickly here, though, as I witnessed nearly a year ago. For now, it's wonderful.

Busy Bee

Well, it's been a whole lotta gardening for me the past couple of weeks. Let's review:

* The company I work for moved into a new building Friday. Prior to the move, I was asked by management to oversee the installation of some new landscaping, which thrilled me no end. My first landscaping job (sort of)! The hard part was finding somebody to do the work in such a short time; landscape companies are generally pretty busy this time of year.

I did the actual choosing, purchasing and arranging of the plants, and the crew simply came in and did what I told them; dig there, remove that, etc. It was great.

I'll post before and after pictures soon.

* Our Community Garden hosted a Fall Festival last weekend that turned out to be a really fun time. Nobody stepped in any of the fire ant hills that were rampant throughout the pumpkin patch, so that was good. I helped out at the Make Your Own Bird Feeder booth, where we smeared pinecones with peanut butter and then rolled them in birdseed. The kids really dug it.

My plot out there is really humming along, and I'll tell you what: putting hoops and bird netting over everything has made an amazing difference. Nothing has been munched on at all. I sprayed Bt on the curcurbits a couple of weeks ago, so the cabbage worms have been staying away too. My only wish is that I had planted more of the Purple Orach. It is gorgeous, but I only have one.

Pictures of the plot coming forthwith too...

* Today I spent the day outside in the glorious 60° weather doing various chores, like:

Pulling up three dead or mostly-dead nandinas and replacing them with two Texas sage.

Planting two five-gallon ornamental grasses that I got for $16 each at Lowe's. Really big and healthy plants too - not rootbound in the pots at all.

Planting 15 crocus bulbs (which I generally hate, but got by mistake from Nature Hills Nursery so I thought what-the-heck, I'll plant 'em) and six Allium Schubertii bulbs.

Planting various perennials that were lounging on the patio in pots.

Mulching the Louisiana iris bed.

Potting up three amaryllis bulbs. (I've placed a layer of sand on top of the soil to see if that technique really works in keeping the fungus gnats away.)

And now...drum roll please...photos of the Front Yard Garden as it stands right now (top) and as of October 2005 (bottom):

Soggy

Sorry for the lull here. Have been terribly busy at my "real" job and with other projects as well. Blogging, unfortunately, takes a backseat to most other stuff...including actual gardening, which I've been doing a lot of as the weather permits. We've received over 3" of much-needed rain in the past 24 hours, though, so gardening has snitched the backseat away from blogging for the time being.

Been receiving lots of orders from various companies, with mixed results. I don't know whether I attribute it to general Old Lady Crankiness or just a higher expectation for better service, but I don't hesitate to bitch (or, at least, notify the company) now when I receive a plant order that I am less than satisfied with. Cases in point:

Annie's Annuals: The 'Ladybird' poppy and one of the sages died within days of my receiving them. I let them know, and they cheerfully replaced the plants within a matter of days. Both are now doing spectacularly. Big thumbs up for Annie's - they have SO much cool stuff, too.

Bluestone Perennials: They used a box that was MUCH too big for my recent order. The plants were just thrown in among some packing peanuts, completely unsecured. Dirt was everywhere. I had to dig one of the three spindly euphorbias out of the bottom of the box - disgraceful. I let them know, they apologized and told me to notify them if the plants didn't make it. I'm kind of down on Bluestone at the moment. They are nice people, but the plants I've received from them lately have been less than healthy-looking. They've slipped, in my opinion.

Forest Farm: As you may remember, I was all hot over the Gold Ring barberry featured recently in Garden Gate magazine, and ordered one from Forest Farm at the end of August, along with a Helmond Pillar barberry and a Golden Smoke Bush (cotinus). Well, I received my order the other day. No Gold Ring barberry, but a note on the invoice stating it was no longer available.

As you can imagine, I fired off an email to Forest Farm expressing my disappointment that they hadn't notified me about the Gold Ring, since it was the main reason I ordered from them at all.

I received a nice reply from Ray, one of Forest Farm's owners, apologizing and explaining that they were phazing out that particular berberis and thought they had called everyone who ordered one letting them know of such. (He also said Garden Gate didn't bother asking them about their available stock of the plant when the article was published.) Ray said that frankly, they didn't feel Gold Ring was all that great; the rings are hard to distinguish, apparently. And then he offered to give me a full refund for my entire order, a very nice gesture that I couldn't rightfully accept. But wow. Impressive.

Van Bourgondien (aka Dutchbulbs.com): Placed an order online for three items, as the catalog I had was advertising free shipping no matter what the merchandise total. Cool. I entered the code where applicable and away it went. A few days later, I got an email with the total...including a $10 shipping charge. I wrote to complain, and resubmitted my code. They sent an email back that the $10 shipping had been taken off. Keep an eye open when ordering from these folks...I've seen lots of complaints about them on gardenwatchdog.com.

Garden Crossings: No complaints here at all. Big, healthy plants, well-packed, at pretty good prices. They are currently running a season-end sale, plus free shipping on orders over $75. Don't miss out.

Now, my next project is to find a way to have all my plant purchases be tax deductible.

Monday Morning Aches & Pains

When is having various bruises, bites, aches and pains on a Monday morning a good thing? When you got them spending nearly the entire weekend gardening.

In anticipation of our monthly Community Garden Work Day, I had gone to my plot last Wednesday and ripped out all the vining stuff and the squash and tomato plants. What a fun chore that was...not. I did uncover a 12" zucchini, several cantaloupes and lots and lots of squash bugs. Blech.

The only stuff left in the bed now: Kakai pumpkin, Delicata squash, Burpee eggplant, Ancho pepper, and Lilac pepper. Given that our beds are each 18' x 4', it looks pretty empty.

The work day started bright and early Saturday at 7...and I showed up around 7:30. I spent the entire time removing the old mulch, killing the few remaining squash bugs with orange oil, and adding a fresh layer of compost to my plot. I also worked in 5 lbs. of "Something Special," a really nice soil blend made by the great folks at Rabbit Hill Farm in nearby Corsicana, Texas. It's primarily bunny manure, alfalfa and various rock phospates. Great stuff.

Because we were supposed to get torrential rain and hail on Saturday, I elected to hold off on planting anything. We did get some rain, but nothing monumental, so...Sunday morning I was back at my plot, planting seeds. The air was crisp, cool and quiet. It was sheer heaven.

On the way home, I was a naughty girl. Stopped at Calloway's to see if they had any of the Tiger's Eye Staghorn Sumac. Now, I've had one of these for a year now (I got it from Wayside **cough-ripoff-cough** Gardens) and love it. But Dallas Morning News gardening writer Mariana Greene wrote a great article recently about how this glorious sumac is capturing everybody's heart and well...I decided I needed another one. Plus a couple of cool-looking pumpkins.

The rest of Sunday was spent piddling around outside in the great weather. It was about 80° with a nice breeze - just perfect. I divided a few irises and heucherellas, planted the new sumac and a few other things, put the tomato cages in the attic, and neatened up my potting bench area in the garage. Oh, that every weekend could give me Monday Morning Gardener's Ache...

Letter to the Editor

Here's a letter that was published in today's Dallas Morning News (I've taken out the author's name, although the paper did print it):

Naturally, it's a gamble

Re: "Tainted spinach illnesses grow – 109 E. coli cases listed; mixed greens among more brand recalls," Monday news story.

If the food is naturally grown, it's fertilized only with manure – the prime host for E. coli. So it seems that parasitic poisoning is a risk whenever you buy foods grown organically.

Say what you will about food grown with chemical fertilizers, but they don't harbor E. coli from fertilizer.

Here's the response I just emailed in:

As a Collin County Master Gardener intern and an organic gardener, I was deeply disturbed by XX's letter criticizing the use of organic methods in light of the recent spinach-related E. coli outbreak. My first thought was "Gee, I wonder what chemical company he works for?"

First off, Mr. X is premature in blaming cow manure. On Page 6A of the very same edition in which his letter ran, investigators revealed they still had no idea what the source of the outbreak was. It could be contaminated water in the area, unsanitary harvesting practices...lots of things.

Secondly, the FDA issues guidelines for composting manure before it's used on crops. No organic gardener or farmer in their right mind uses uncomposted cow manure on food crops. Composting, when done correctly, kills dangerous pathogens in the manure.

Lastly, Mr. X's statement "If the food is naturally grown, it's fertilized only with manure" is dead wrong. There are many, many FDA-approved organic fertilizers out there that farmers use, including rock phosphates, fish emulsion, seaweed and more.

For someone so concerned about manure, Mr. X seems quite comfortable spreading it around.

I'll agree that organic farming probably needs better regulations, though. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the farms are neglecting to compost properly or whatever.

And here is an interesting study I found while doing my research. Molasses can make your compost tea grow bad pathogens all over again. Interesting. Howard Garrett's popular product Garrett Juice is a mixture of compost tea, molasses and other stuff. I wonder if he's seen this study.

Lastly, if I was a conspiracy theorist-type, I'd wonder seriously if this whole spinach/E. coli thing was cooked up by someone who wants to either bring down the organic farming industry or maybe deal a blow to Wal-Mart and their recent organic food efforts. Not that I'm a fan of Wal-Mart either.

But it kind of makes you think. Maybe because these organic farms are struggling to keep up with demand, they're not composting properly, workers aren't washing their hands, etc. Who knows? I'd hate to see organic food standards lowered as much as I'd hate to see the organic "trend" stymied.

I just started some spinach seeds the other day. When in doubt...grow your own.

Rainy Days with Annie

Labor Day has been all wet here in DFW...not that I'm complaining. It's been an expensive day, though, as I've been spending this rainy afternoon placing fall plants orders over the Internets like an addictive fool.

Here's my first-ever order from Annie's Annuals:
Verbascum chiaxii 'Album Wedding Candles'
Verbascum 'Southern Charm'
Uncinia uncinata 'Red'
Trifolium rubens
Salvia munzii "San Diego Sage"
Salvia mexicana 'Limelight'
Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard'
Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird'
Kniphofia citrina
Delphinium belladonna 'Cliveden Beauty'
Carex testacea "Orange New Zealand Sedge"
Carex comans 'Bronze'
Asclepias speciosa "Showy Milkweed"
Artemisia filifolia "Sand Sage"

Shipping was $42, which is a little high, but I do appreciate the fact they're using 2-day air. It still works out to about $10 per plant overall, and that's not bad.

Annie's has an excellent feedback rating over at Gardenwatchdog, in case you're curious. Will let you know how the plants look when they arrive in a week or so.

What's That Stuff Falling From the Sky?

Well, all I had to do to bring heavy rains to the DFW area was throw a pool party, it seems. (Somebody remind me of that next August when I'm bitching about the continual drought and triple-digit heat, ok?)

We did manage to get in some water volleyball before the clouds rolled in. Everyone oo'd and ahh'd over my mostly-Texas SuperStar garden, which still looks pretty fab. It even shrugged off a few boinks of the volleyball.

Once the rain came, we all crammed under the awning and watched the hummers fight. Great stuff.

The 10-day forecast for our area sounds pretty darned reasonable, with temps dropping into the unheard-of 60s at night.

Speaking of cold weather (just kidding), be sure to go over to Kathy Purdy's Cold Climate Gardening site. Kathy rounded up several seasoned garden bloggers -- myself included -- and posed questions to us about the state of garden blogging, how we got started, etc.

The responses are very interesting, and I feel really honored to be a part of it. Kathy is posting the responses in a continuing series all this week. Check it out.

Another Shrubbery!

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It's been only two days since my last plant order and I find myself yet again tempted by the horti-porn that regularly appears in my mailbox.

Yes, I succumbed to the wares of Forest Farm. The latest issue of Garden Gate magazine (a mag which I love, btw) had an article about a barberry bush called 'Golden Ring' and well, I just had to have one. Forest Farm was referenced in the mag as the only nursery that carries it.

And, of course, with the cost of shipping, it's never prudent to order just one plant from FF. So I got another barberry ('Helmond Pillar') and a small smoke bush (the lovely Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit') while I was at it.

My penance? To flog myself repeatedly with the Bible-thick Spring '06 Forest Farm catalog. Out, you demons, out!

Break the Bank

Here's a nice announcement from Bank of America: for every customer who stops their monthly paper checking, savings or money market account statement before December 31, Bank of America will donate $1 to The Nature Conservancy's reforestation programs.

Here's the story - a little old, but I just noticed it and wanted to pass it along.

Lovely Louisianas

Just a reminder that time is running out to order Louisiana irises from many of the online vendors. Two very reputable sellers, Zydeco Irises and Iris City Gardens, both have order deadlines of September 1.

Although several varieties have sold out, there are many beauties left over at Iris City Gardens...at least, there will be until they pull my order. I went a little overboard. Click on the image below to see a full-size summary of what I indulged in.

Of Hummers and Hares

This is a common sight just outside of our kitchen window. He looks pretty darned relaxed, doesn'the?

There are actually two rabbits that like hanging out together and lounging in my flower beds. Not that I mind - they generally stick to munching on things other than my flowers. (The plant in the photo next to the bunny is the now-infamous and somewhat crispy Black Snakeroot.)

I have at least two female hummingbirds coming to my backyard feeders on a regular basis. They also engage in frequent, chatter-filled midair battles with each other. I was hoping that separating the feeders by 30' or so would give them adequate territory, but the larger female is a real piece of work. Miss Thang likes to sit on the very top of the crossvine trellis and watch for the other female to come along, so she can ambush her at one of the feeders. It's quite entertaining.

I don't know if the unusual heat is a factor, but the dragonfly population seems to be at an all-time high around here. There are always at least two patrolling our backyard, especially the zone directly above the swimming pool. They've done a great job of keeping the mosquitoes at bay; I've barely been bitten this year at all. Of course, the extremely dry conditions help in that regard, as does an ongoing organic program.

I am grateful for all of the creatures that feel comfortable in my yard. Heaven knows they're about the only things still thriving; my plants look like hell.

Meet the Prickly Gardener

I am sick, on several different levels.

First of all, I've been struggling with a cold/flu for the past week which has turned horrendous over these last three days. Spending the weekend curled up with a box of tissues is not my idea of fun. None of the OTC drugs is helping me sleep, and when you don't sleep, you don't get better.

Second, I am totally sick of this triple-digit heat. You can't spend any amount of time doing stuff outside, even in the early morning. It's despicable.

Third, and related to #2 above, I am sick over the plants I've lost over the last month. Stuff that shouldn't be dying, is. Apart from our once-a-week allowed automatic irrigation, I hand-water everything once or twice. I don't know what's happening, except to blame the heat.

A silver lavender that I nursed back to robust health a couple of years ago is suddenly turning brown from the ground up. That great-looking ligularia I was bragging on from Garden Crossings? I think it's dead, despite the fact I poured water on it every other day (and it shouldn't get root rot from such treatment; it's a bog plant, for pity's sake).

Heucheras and tiarellas have turned to crisps. Even several of my young echinaceas have died. Satsuma mandarin? Dead. Dragons blood Sedum? Dead. A small stevia and an artemesia I recently bought shrivelled and died within a week of being brought home.

Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on???

Hot for Heirlooms

Needless to say, staying inside and ordering fall seeds is the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon at this stage of the summer.

I found a lot of what I wanted at Rareseeds.com (also known as Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.). I've not ordered from them before - prices seemed more than reasonable.

Here's what I got:

Broccoli - Early Purple Sprouting
Broccoli - Romanesco Italia
Broccoli - Waltham
Beetroot - Golden Beet
Beetroot - Chioggia (Bassano)
Cauliflower - Giant of Naples
Parsley - Giant of Italy
Leek - Giant Musselburgh
Orach - Purple Passion
Swiss Chard - Fordhook Giant Chard
Spinach - Bloomsdale Long Standing

Sense any trends among these? Several "giants" and several purple-hued cultivars. Hmm.

Anyway, the 2006 Fall Seed List, regularly found in the righthand column, has been updated too, including pictures.

Stay Cool

I know I complain about the Texas heat in this space pretty often, but I'm not going to do that today. After all, I go from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned Jeep to my air-conditioned office each day. Occasionally I swim in my unheated pool. Life is pretty good.

But I know a lot of you suffering in this heat don't have A/C in either your car or home. My mother in Pennsylvania usually retreats to her cool, damp basement, but even this latest wave is getting to her.

Be safe. Drink lots of water. Move your container plants into the shade.

Think "autumn".

A Gardener's Rationale

Well, I caved and bought the $50 phormium. Actually, I bought two.

I know, I know...but those of you reading this who don't suffer from plant fetishes (and honestly, I don't know why you're here, in that case), let me give you some reasons why I plunked down that much moolah for two plants:

1. I didn't actually pay $50 each. The Calloway's down the street now has "Happy Hour" every Friday from 5-7 p.m. whereby you get 20% off your entire purchase. So that, my friends, means I "only" paid $40 for each phormium...

2. ...which is still a helluva lot, in my book. But to further rationalize, both of these plants are huge and ready to be divided. So I figure that I might actually get three additional plants from each one. Now we're down to $10 per plant.

3. Dutch Gardens recently refunded about $45 to one of my credit cards for some dead plants I reported. Using that credit means we're down to under $5 for each plant. Excellent!

See how easy that was? You too can rationalize your way into overpaying for plants you're obsessed with.

By the way, the two phormium cultivars I got were 'Jester' and 'Pink Panther' - both gorgeous. I just couldn't choose between the two of 'em. *wink

Gardening on MySpace.com

Just a little plug for my favorite local nursery, Northhaven Gardens...they now have their own MySpace page.

High On Dry

The new issue of Horticulture Magazine has an interesting article about a lady in Washington state who turned her front yard into plant-land. What was really fascinating was the true point of the article: plantings for dry climates.

I was like "WTF? Washington state is dry?" But apparently, outside of Seattle, they get less than 1" of rain during the summer. That's a head-scratcher, isn't it?

There are some truly drool-worthy pictures too, the kind that send me off to the nursery in a plant-buying frenzy...which is what I did today at lunch. I loaded up on perennial herbs, sedums, an Achillea 'Paprika', a Penstemon 'Huskers Red', a 'Mordens Pink' loosestrife, a couple of ornamental grasses, a couple of artemesia, and a really cool-looking green santolina.

Lastly, I am suffering with "phormium phetish" at the moment. Unfortunately, few of the nurseries around here carry phormiums (i.e. New Zealand flax), and when they do, they're $50. The best online source seems to be Heronswood.

A guy at the nursery talked me into a Dianella tasmanica, which he called Tasmanian flax or a Variegated Flax Lily. The foliage was nice, and a bit softer than some phormiums, so I took it.

Ain't Nothin' Goin' On...

...but the heat, to paraphase the old Gwen Guthrie song.

I refuse to garden when it's 103° outside. Spot watering is about all I'm doing at the moment. I spent Saturday afternoon in our swimming pool scrubbing at spots with a steel brush. If I have to be outside doing physical labor in this heat, I'd better be boob-deep in cool water, that's a fo' sho'.

My community garden plot looks pretty good - lots of tomatoes, a couple of cantaloupes, a couple of eggplants, and a watermelon are all developing nicely. I've started seeds of Kaika pumpkin, Delicata squash and some Bright Lights Swiss chard, just for kicks.

I've noticed that the Lemon Cucumber in my plot is starting to kick into gear and that it is pretty much the only cuke doing well for anybody; I'm glad I handed out some of those transplants. Rust or some kind of virus has overtaken the other cultivars, and rust ruined everybody's beans too. While I don't have it in my space, the okra is getting big and beautiful in other plots.

I took several pictures while there on Saturday morning and will post them soon.

The Old Man is Snoring...

...as in, "It's raining, it's pouring" etc.

Actually, it's rained on and off for the past two days. July Fourth BBQs be damned. I (and that black snakeroot I just planted) couldn't be happier.



Hubby and I had pizza last night and watched Mother Nature's fireworks: a full-fledged supercell thunderstorm to our north around 9:45, while somebody's lame holiday display fizzled out to the south.

Speaking of the snakeroot, my order from Garden Crossings arrived in absolutely outstanding shape. Huge, huge plants. And who knew Ligularia was so cool? I sure didn't. Mine came out of the box a full 1-1/2 ft. tall. It too is loving all this rain.

Also included in my order was Echinacea 'Hope', a new pale pink coneflower cultivar developed to honor breast cancer survivors. What's nice is that a portion of all proceeds from Garden Crossings' suppliers has been donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for each plant sold.

I left a review on Garden Watchdog if anyone's interested. Somebody just left a bad review for GC, though, which is a shame. My experience with them has been exceptional.

Recycling Fanatics Unite!

Shades of Belize

My new spider lily plants are blooming. These were just planted in the spring and have come on like gangbusters. This is the 'maximillianii' cultivar, and was purchased from YuccaDo.




I purchased these after being inspired and impressed with the gargantuan (5' +) hymenocallis that grow wild all over Belize. Hard to believe it's been nearly a year since we were there.

I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, Snakeroot...

Every year, I order Cimicifuga ramosa (aka Actea, Bugbane, Black Cohosh or Black Snakeroot). Every year, it dies. I try different locations, different light exposures, different soil blends. No dice. This has been going on for about three years.

Well, make that four...I just ordered another one, this time from Garden Crossings, a company with an excellent feedback rating on Garden Watchdog. Maybe this one will take - many times, Cimicifuga is listed as only enduring temperatures into Zone 7, but Garden Crossings shows this particular cultivar - 'Hillside Black Beauty' - as hardy in zones 4-8. I am determined to grow this plant, dammit!

Incidentally, Garden Crossings is offering free shipping on orders of $50 or more through 6/26. You can also get 10% off if you order $150 or more, in addition to free shipping.

Maybe It's Zombie Grass...

...in that it will eventually come back from the dead...



Obviously our yard just screams of the fact that a Master Gardener lives there. Not.

You can see the new oval bed I created yesterday to cover the biggest and worst dead patch. I laid down newspaper first (not sure why, since the grass was already dead), then 15 bags of Plano Pure Soil Blend. This made a nice 9' x 4' berm to plant in. I put in a Zebra Grass (which gets quite large), four cannas of varying types and sizes, a hesperaloe, two coreopsis, two verbenas, a white echinacae, a dwarf daylily, and a gorgeous Achillea 'Terra Cotta', then topped it all off with two bags of mulch. Looks pretty good, I think.

The OTHER Front Yard Project

While the now mulched-over Front Yard Garden project has gone pretty well (new pictures coming soon), the other half of the front yard that actually still has grass on it is, well, not so good.

The problems started last summer when, in keeping with his "if I screw this up enough, she'll stop asking me to do it" philosophy, my darling husband ran over one of the sprinkler heads with the lawn mower. Subsequently, we had a really hard time finding a similar replacement head. I tried two different ones, but certain areas of the lawn were getting missed during watering. Full sun for most of the day on that corner of the yard didn't help.

Well, you can guess what happened. The previously lush St. Augustine turned to straw. In big brown patches.

Speaking of brown patches, we learned about Brown Patch and Take-All Root Rot in my Master Gardener class, but to be honest, I must have some kind of blind eye for diagnosing grass problems. I just stare at those brown blotches in my lawn, pull up a few stolons to examine them and then go "WTF?"

Well, we had a company called Organic Systems Lawn Care out a couple of weeks ago to look at it, and he said it was brown patch. I still tend to disagree, but scheduled an aeration, which they performed yesterday. We'll see if it greens up. But since we're entering the dregs of summer, I doubt much will happen. It's much easier for me to believe that it's drought rather than a fungus.

Which is why I'm planning on digging up a big six-foot kidney-shaped blob in the worst area and making an island bed out of it. I already have threes cannas (sorry Amy...I know you hate them), a hesperaloe, a pink lavender and some sedum poised to go. It's all about having more plants, you know?

Urban L.A. Garden Gets Testy

This is an unfortunate situation, for sure. But it certainly doesn't help for people to get violent. And since it's privately owned land, there isn't much debate about who has the say in what happens to it.

Maybe the City should step in and donate some government-owned land for the garden the way my town did.

There's No Such Thing...

...as global warming, eh? Triple digits and drought are already present here in North Texas. My city has started enforcing its mandatory water restrictions. We don't usually see this kind of heat and dryness until July or August.

But it's all just an evil liberal plot to get more grant money for atmospheric studies, right? Sheesh. Ok, end of tree-hugging rant.

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Sorry for the lull here lately. Between the Dallas Mavericks advancing through the playoffs (which is the only time I enjoy watching the NBA), taking up tennis again (which I really enjoy when it's not 100°) and various other social engagements and commitments, blogging has taken a backseat.

I'm still taking pictures around the garden, though, so be sure to check out the latest Flickr additions in the slideshow to the right. My daylilies are really lovely right now, and I had some gorgeous gladiolas come up recently too.

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We had a bout with some honeybees recently. They were buzzing around our kitchen windows and some were even getting into the house. We spotted them entering the outside wall and quickly called our favorite organic exterminator, who said it was his third "bee call" that week. We were only seeing about 20 or so hanging around, so we figure they must have just been getting started in setting up house for their queen. All are now completely gone.

I really hated killing them, since honeybees are good creatures and becoming more scarce all the time. But even beekeepers who are called out to deal with bees in a wall will generally kill them since they can't adequately get at the hive, so I didn't see much point in messing with that avenue.

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The community garden is humming along. Everyone's tomatoes and squash look really good, and I think we're close to our first harvest. My 'Butterscotch' cantaloupe has four or five melons on it too. I try to get out there at least twice a week to water, especially with the recent hot temperatures.

We are losing one of our hardest workers on the project, though. Cliff is moving his family to Oregon shortly. He happened to come by the garden when I was there watering Tuesday afternoon and was amazed at the progress of everything. It was nice to chat with him one last time. He is a great guy and (*sexist comment alert*) one of the most gorgeous men I think I've ever laid eyes on. Plus, his enthusiasm for gardening is infectious. I wish him the best, with hopes that our paths will cross again someday.

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Starting this Saturday, I will be without my husband. It's World Cup time, you see. As an Englishman, he is predisposed to being obsessed with soccer football, and is literally glued to the television during the World Cup.

This allows me to spend more time on my little projects, of course, but I do miss him after awhile.

For example, during the England game this Saturday, I'll be remulching the entire Front Yard Garden, which is starting to look sort of ratty with three different colors of mulch presently on it. Should be fun in 101° heat. Maybe I'll stay in and watch soccer football after all.

Rosy Relaxation

Dutch Gardens delivered my replacement Ebb Tide rose on Friday. It looked much, much better than the one I received initially.

I stuck the rose in the ground right away and already, it is sending up shoots.

Apparently, it is also being guarded by a not-so killer rabbit. I was watching this bunny just a few minutes ago as he lounged and snoozed right next to the Ebb Tide and among the dahlia sprouts.

Note how his back leg is hanging over the metal edging...that is one relaxed rabbit.

More Photos...

I had a really nice email from author Jeff Gillman about the review of his book I posted here the other day. Jeff, thanks for writing and keep up the great work!

Now, without further ado, more garden photos taken yesterday:


Clematis (not sure what kind)


Echinacae 'Orange Meadowbrite'


Variegated Sweet Flag Iris


Sprekelia formosissima aka Aztec Lily

Isn't that Sprekelia cool? That thing went from bulb to bloom in about two weeks...spectacular!