Category Archives: garden

mid may 2012 garden pretties

Posted on by Chris
3

I took a little tour of the “garden” yesterday. The Geek has been ON FIRE with cleaning up the front!

We’ve had some wacky weather of late – cold, a few days of really hot, and back to coldish. I am sure the plants have no idea what to make of it. I played around a little with the photos…

Trillium bought last year at the NW Perennial Alliance Sale

One two baby blue spruces for the backyard

Strawberry – maybe the birds won’t get them all this year!

“White Shooting Star” – dodecatheon dentatum

“Golden Alexandria” – fragaria vesca

raspberries!

Redtwig dogwood for the backyard

white columbine – the only good kind

Fingers crossed the tomatoes I planted somehow manage to survive this crazy May weather…

2012 planty goodness

Posted on by Chris
1

Yep, that time of year again, the current view out my window of torrential rain notwithstanding.  Here’s the Spring 2012 Plant Sale Roundup.

Early Bloomers

April 14

This is a smaller sale in the Arboretum with lots of interesting things.  Recommended.

Seattle Tilth Early Edibles

March 17

For those of you who are actually ready to put things in the ground and don’t plan to spend the day eating corned beef and drinking green beer, check this out.  The later sale is May 5 & 6, if you aren’t quite ready.

Northwest Perennial Alliance Sale

April 22

Lots of selection and unusual things here. I like. Not usually any edibles.

FlorAbundance

April 28 & 29

This one benefits the Arboretum, always a good cause.  In years past, it’s been held in a hangar at Magnuson Park. This year it will be at the Visitors’ Center in the Arboretum.  Hmm. I’ve been to the Early Bloomers sale there, which seems to attract a much smaller crowd, and it’s kind of a madhouse for parking. Be warned.

Master Gardener Foundation Sale

May 5 & 6

Yep, the king daddy.  This will be the 3rd year Carolyn and I (and now The Geek) have gone to the Preview Party they hold on Friday night (Assuming that is how she chooses to celebrate her birthday) – wine! appetizers! no crowds! best selection!  Highly recommend.  Tickets required for the Preview Party – usually through Brown Paper tickets online. Costs about $35 and worth every penny.

NOW.  To be honest, I’m not sure how many plants I will be buying. The front yard is chock a block with things I bought last year and just stuck in the ground.  The back yard is STILL a mess and a project in the making. We still haven’t put our shiny new conifers in the ground. I meant to go to Swanson’s sale and get a cherry espalier for against the back wall but I didn’t make it.

Pfft. Who am I kidding. I’ve got two beds and trough to fill at least!

pinteresting

Posted on by Chris
2

It’s sweeping the nation, nay, the world, you know. This Pinterest thing. I know some of you already are on board. “On board” – ha, that’s funny.

It’s basically a visual way to collect your favorite things online – a virtual bulletin board. Any time you see a photo of something, you “pin” it to the board of your choice.  I currently have 1,441 pins on 18 boards.  You can find things in your own internet travels, or on the boards of someone else – that’s called “repinning”. You can even “follow” the boards of friends or people who seem to have similar taste.

The problem is I’ve been spending too much time “pinning” and not enough time going back to try the stuff I’ve pinned!  What good is collecting it if you never use it!  So tonight I’ll be making this off my Yummy board -

Chicken and dumplings

In crafty land, there are MANY, MANY things I would like to do off my Craft board. One hardly knows where to begin.  Maybe this -

DIY Atomic Starburst Mirror

Or this -

Pleated Bag

The beauty of Pinterest is when you pin something, the original URL to the item is preserved, so you can go back to the recipe or pattern or whatever the source is. And it’s so FUN to see everything collaged in one place.

I’ve got a Garden board to help with outdoor inspiration. Scenes like this move me to get going on the backyard -

Now that's a garden

Or this paver patio I love -

Paver Patio

If there is a photo, you can pin it. Some of my favorites are my Little Bits of Awesome board.

B -I-N-G-O

Zombie Survival

To start pinning, you need to request an “invite”, which can several days or even a couple weeks. Once you’re accepted, prepare to lose hours of your life. Even the Geek pins! Mostly guns and robots, but still.

Happy weekend! I’ve got things to make and cook, zombies to survive…

finally

Posted on by Chris
2

When we bought our house 4 years ago, there was a funny little section right in front of the living room window. It looked like this:

April 2007

It seemed like a real waste of space.  I always pictured it being a nice place to sit since it faces west and gets some good sun.  It has been a work in progress.  I pulled out those junipers pretty early on,  added a flower box to the wooden railing, and planted some brass buttons, irish moss and blue star creeper to fill in so that one day, it could be a nice little patio area.  And those $&!$ bluebells – I think I have FINALLY pulled most of those.  This is what it looked like this morning.

April 2011

I almost bought a little wicker patio set off Craigslist, but then saw some cushions at Home Depot that could work on our existing chairs. So I got with the program, bought some new plants to replace the tulips and daffodils in those boxes AND WENT TO TOWN.  Keeping it real, there was this.

crap

And THEN there was THIS.

ta dah!

In the railing flower box, there are some herbs.

herbage

Behind the chairs are a mix of things, but I especially love the pink of the geraniums.

love

And here we are enjoying the fruits of our labor with a little Mexican coke and the last of Mike’s brown liquor.  Finally.

not too shabby

Looking forward to weekend morning coffee and evening cocktails in our new cozy little spot.

better late than never

Posted on by Chris
3

Ah, my poppets, I have been a bit out of pocket the last week, fighting some bug.  Got some good drugs now so I’m on the mend.  In between my getting sick and well, it seems spring has finally arrived in these parts!  So half the peas got their trellis today and the strawberries now live in their own pot. The 3-foot-tall grass got mowed. And then we have this…

almost-popped poppy

soon-to-be blueberries

spirea

euphorbia

getting-ready-to-bloom prehistoric 20 foot tall rhodie tree

forget-me-not, a weed I don't mind

wish this was scratch and sniff

viburnum

my camera couldn't handle the RED of this!

favorite of this batch

Today’s 70 degrees just leaves us wanting more and dreaming of summer nights and happy hour…Seattle in the summer is the best!

baby spring

Posted on by Chris
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Better weather is creeping in slowly this year.  We are way behind the garden progress of this year.  Oddly, the weeds seem to be right on schedule.

golden spirea

Crandall currant bought last year at Tilth's Early Edible sale. Still alive!

future apple

Fragaria vesca bought last year from Annie's Annuals.

future raspberry

Farmer Fels graciously gave me some Marshall strawberries he rescued from the Herbfarm farm he works at.  They are hard to come by now.  Hoping I don’t kill them!  No pressure!

Marshall strawberry

extremely large euphorbia

This is my partner in crime in the yard.

lawn boy

ready for his close up

This morning we’re taking the Lawn Boy to Magnuson Park for some off-leash time, which happens to coincide with the Arboretum’s Florabundance Sale.  Plant sales are like crack, I tell you!  Is there Plants Anonymous? I can’t say NO, NO, NO…

Happy weekend to you all.

early bloomers

Posted on by Chris
3

Yesterday we visited our second plant sale of the season, the Arboretum’s Early Bloomers sale.  Members donate starts from their own garden and the proceeds go to support the Arboretum.  But first – check this out.  Not raining Friday night, yet this appeared over our house.

spooky

Anyhoo.  We picked up The Lovely Miss Z to whisk her away to the sale.  This sale is the  mellowest of any we go to, which is kinda refreshing.

mellow

more

sunny perennials. wishful thinking, currently

They also have smaller starts down in the green house.  I was tempted by this one, just for the name.  But I restrained myself.  Barely.

loving this name

booty

We came home with some good stuff:  Yellow Lady Bank’s Rose (a fragrant climber for the deck post), sweet box, a yellow lily, an interesting Nepal Willow, “Pleasant White” azalea, a white forsythia, and a satuki azalea.  And in news on the home front,  my peas have sprouted! The beasts did not eat them all!

pea babies

Elsewhere around the yard -

my spring favorite - smells like heaven

flowering quince - this one is practically pre-historic

kerria

And in the “best save” department, a red contorted filbert that I bought *ahem* last year and never planted is evidently still alive.  We shall see.

breathe, dammit, breathe!

Next up in the sale arena – the NW Perennial Alliance sale next Sunday. It was really excellent last year.  I need to get a wagon for this one!

looking forward

Posted on by Chris
2

It seems to me that by this time last year, much fun had already been had in the sun.  I distinctly remember sitting in the sun with Miss Z and drinking Prosecco pre-plant sale in mid-March, fer crying out loud.  And the weather being so nice, I already had lots of yard chores done and plant babies in.  So far, 2011 has been a bust.  I am left to planning what I WILL do in the sun, should it ever actually make more than a 5 minute, filtered appearance.  Such as:

  • Busting out the spring clothes.  I am most displeased that I am still having to wear winter’s wardrobe.  It was 38 degrees here when I came to work yesterday, and it snowed the day before that!  My skirts and sandals are dying to come out and play.
  • Getting yard work done!  Seriously, it disgusts me.  Not only the regular maintenance stuff in the front, but the whole back yard needs to be gutted.  Which I am actually kind of excited about.  Pressure washing, concrete staining, junk hauling – all that needs to happen first.  Then the rebuilding of the landscaping.  And plant buying.  Maybe less viewing of 4 neighbors yards.  Also, I would super appreciate it if the “lawn” would  dry out enough for me to mow it before it’s 3 feet high.
  • Happy hours al fresco!  Yes!  Fancy cocktails, food and good people on Fridays!  Hoping it becomes a regular thing this summer.
  • Picnics.  In the park, with The Sandwich.  Our go-to is salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil on rosemary or olive bread, with dijon, olive oil and salt and pepper.
  • Don’t even get me started on BBQ’s.  Ribs, foolproof grilled chicken, cornbread salad, potato salad, grilled asparagus, grilled haloumi.  PIEEEEE.
  • Camping.  It’s true, I may well be the only member of my family that actually enjoys camping – the others endure it.  First trip out this year – Steamboat Rock in June.
  • Farmers markets.  I will try to grow some things, but I LOVE the cornucopia of stuff you can get at the markets.  Goal this year:  go to the University Farmers market and get everything for the entire meal.
  • Summer schedule.  On Wednesdays-Fridays, I get home at 2:30 pm.  Which makes the summer days seem twice as long.  Kids are home, we can head out to swim, picnic, take Jack to the park…
  • Big goal this year!  CLEAN OUT THE FREAKING GARAGE.  Our house is 980 SF.  The garage is another 500 SF of unfinished, packed-to-the-gills, space.   Need to gut it so we can one day convert part of it at least to living space.  It will be done!

I hope I get to do some of these things soon. Otherwise, the consequences may be dire.  I’m used to this weather, having lived here since the 70′s but jesus, this is too much!

What about you – what are you looking forward to when the sun comes out?

spring is sprung

Posted on by Chris
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Yesterday the sun came out briefly for the first real day of spring, so I put some of the plants I got from Tilth’s early edible sale in the ground. Lettuces, arugula, spinach.  Also picked up some herbs for the window boxes.

Tom Thumb butter lettuce

Red sage

In mini-makeover news, this little spot in the front of our driveway by the mailbox needs some help.  There used to be a big lilac here, but in the big snow storm two years ago, some guy spun out into our mailbox and took it out, along with the lilac.  Our neighbor got money from the insurance company for a new tree, but it has yet to be planted.  So me and the Boy Child plucked out these weeds and moved a big hunk of grass from the front bed.  Before…

yikes

after

Not perfect, but it killed two birds with one stone – a new home for the grass ( and some new lavender scored from the Tilth sale) and this section is a wee bit less ugly.  I’ll pop some annuals in there for color later.  Most of the weeds we pulled were stinky bob babies, the bane of my existence.  They are much easier to pull early in the spring and far less stinky.  We have them EVERYWHERE.

Elsewhere in the yard, more signs of spring…

i forget what this is called - some type of euphorbia?

flowering quince (i think) - it's huge and here long before us

some sort of viburnum

I planted this last year - you'd think I'd remember the name. Spirea?

 

star magnolia – smells so good when it blooms!

Maybe my favorite plant in my garden is Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick. I have two.  In the spring they get gnarly green leaves, but they look cool in the winter too when you can see their crazy branches and their yellow catkins.

harry

A few weeks ago I planted a few bulbs and ranunculus by the front door.  Check out the colors on these babies!  So vivid!

 

hyacinth from heaven

redonculous!

cycalmen

Baby steps so far in the yard.  But there are plans afoot for a trip to Flower World and starts from Farmer Fels to go along with all the work that needs to happen in the backyard.  Now if only the sun would come and stay for awhile.  It makes margaritas in the yard so much more pleasant.

spring is springing (nearly)

Posted on by Chris
6

Still a few weeks away from official Spring, but out in my hot mess of a yard, I see evidence of its imminent arrival.  There is much work to be done, for sure.  Don’t even get me started on the back yard – “hot mess” is generous – but we do have plans for it.  Sort of. Until spring (and sun!) actually arrive, these will have to tide me over.

Crocus

Crandall Black Currant - bought last year at Tilth's Early Edible Sale

Patty's Plum poppy - from Annie's Annuals last year - and check out my phat labels!

Hyacinth

Lady bird yellow poppy - not sure this bloomed last year so I'm keeping an eye on it

Raspberry! I actually got fruit off these last year! From Swansons bare root sale

I can’t WAIT for it to warm up and dry out so we can get going on cleaning up, transplanting and putting new things in the ground.  BIG plans for the backyard and some rearranging in the front too.  Time to show no mercy!