Daniel's Pacific NW Garden: July 2020

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Sempervivum and Sedum. 7.28.2020

This Spring I stuck a lot of cuttings from Sedums I had around the yard, into this planter by the mailbox. I also planted a start from the Sempervivum from my parents (grandparents before them). I think this is one of my favorite garden details now. The sedum cuttings take almost no effort - just cut pieces from the old plants, use a stick to make holes and stick the cuttings into the holes. I barely even watered them.

This spring I stuck cuttings of sedums, and a start of sempervivum, into this planter by the mailbox. 7.28.2020

Chestnut Graft. 7.28.2020

Late last winter I grafted chestnut varieties onto branches of the Marissard seedling chestnut tree. The reason is that tree is about 15 feet tall and still not blooming. They all appeared to take, but when I unwrapped one of the Marigoule grafts, it fell off. So that one appeared noncompatible. This Marivale graft looked OK and continues to look good. These were all whip and tongue grafts.

This tree is upwind of the others. I want it to at least produce some pollen for those trees. Marissard is not considered a pollen producer, although it's hard to know what a seedling would do. If I had it to do over again, I would not have used that variety or a seedling, but I don't have it to do over again. So attempting grafts is the next best thing to try.

Maravale Graft on Marissard Seedling Chestnut Tree. 7.28.2020

Saving Seeds. Taiwan Sugar Snow Pea. 7.28.2020

This Spring I planted some old Taiwan Sugar snow pea seeds that I saved about 6 or so years ago. About 2/3 of them germinated and grew. They were earlier and the plants were smaller, about 4 to 5 feet, compared to the Oregon Spring ones that I grew, about 6 to 7 feet tall. It was hard to find new seeds of these online, so I saved seeds again. Some are brown with crispy shells, which I think is how they should be. Some are green and larger pea, but the shell is brown. I think those need a longer drying time.

These are the dried and drying snowpea pods. I think the ones that are not fully dry will be OK once they are dried out. 7.28.2020

These are the shelled snowpea seeds. I will let them dry some more then store them in an envelope. 7.28.2020

Flowers and Some Honeybees. 7.28.2020

This is kind of prime season for a lot of summer flowers. Some are volunteers or perennials, some are grown from seeds and a couple from transplants.

Volunteer Cosmos. Very pretty white. 7.28.2020

Tigridia, survived the winter and now blooming. m 7.28.2020

Dahlia. I think this was a tuber in a box at Winco this winter. 7.28.2020

Shirley Poppies. These seeds were a couple of years old. First time growing them. Honeybees love them. 7.28.2020

I grew these Echinacea from seeds a few years ago. I didn't know if they would survive. They did. 7.28.2020

I grew this rose from a cutting about 15 years ago. I forget the name. 7.20.2020

These gladiolus were from a box at Winco. They should survive the winter, so I"ll leave them there. 7.28.2020

Yellow Cosmos, a volunteer among the squashes. 7.28.2020

Another Dahlia from a grocery store box. 7.28.2020

Zinnia from a 6-pack. I had trouble getting the seedlings to grow this year and something ate them. 6.28.2020

Another zinnia from that six pack. 6.28.2020

Another Shirley poppy full of honeybees. 6.28.2020

French marigolds from an old seed packet. 7.28.2020

African Marigolds from an old seed packet. So far they don't look great. 7.28.2020

Another rose I grew from a cutting about 15 years ago. 7.28.2020

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Better Bud Patch Graft. 7.21.2020

These are the bud patch grafts that I did, "Sunny Day" peach leaf curl resistant peach on Lovell rootstock, about 4 weeks. Today I was able to get out into the garden with my better camera. Still recuperating but each day is a bit better. I think it's time to cut off the top of the tree, to encourage the bud to grow. I can keep these out of the worst of the winter, so I'm not too worried about the growth needing to be too cold resistant.

Bud Graft, Peach "Sunny Day" on Lovell. About 4 weeks. 7.21.2020

Better Flower Photos. 7.21.2020

These are some better flower photos this morning. I took them with the Nikon ESLR instead of cellphone. Mostly poppies. I think the artichoke flower falls somewhere in the "stunning" category.

Shirley Poppy. 7.21.2020

Artichoke Flower. 7.21.2020

Dahlia. 7.21.2020

Shirley Poppy. 7..21.2020

Flower Border. Deer avoid these. 7.21.2020

Echinacea. 7.21.2020

Shirley Poppy. 7.21.2020

Monday, July 20, 2020

Flowers and Some Honeybees. 7.20.2020

A lot of flowers bloomed while I was in the hospital. I had decided to leave the artichokes, because I don't know how to cook them anyway and they have cool but weird looking flowers. It turned out that the honeybees like them, some had 6 or more bees per flower. It was like a honeybee party among strange blue trees.

Artichoke with honeybees. 7.20.2020

Artichoke with Honeybees. 7.20.2020

Dahlia. 7.20.2020

Mixed flowers. 7.20.2020

Home Made Daylily Hybrid. 7.20.2020

Petunia, Grown From Seeds. 7.20.2020

Peach Bud Grafts. 7.20.2020

I was hospitalized and had abdominal surgery last week. Last night was the first time I was able to get into the garden for a look and not much else. Here are the "Sunny Day" leaf curl resistant Peach grafts on Lovell rootstock. They took. I unwrapped them. It was a little late, and my wrapping technique might have been a bit tight or uneven but they might be OK. I can't believe I was able to graft peaches. Its hot and dry outside so they will need good watering.

Peach Bud Graft, about 4 weeks later. 7.20.2020

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Babycakes Blackberry. 7.12.2020

Here is how Babycakes Blackberry is doing for me. I bought the plant last Spring at Tsugawa. It already had blossoms at the time. Those fruits did not fill in well. If I remember correctly, the later fruits, on new floricanes, filled in better.

This year, the floricanes again seem to have less than complete pollination on at least the earliest fruit. The earliest fruits, again, are not well filled in at all. This may be due to chill and rain when they were first blooming. The seller claims they don't need a pollinator, but did they really test that? If they do need one, then that could be a factor. This Babycakes bloomed long before any of my other blackberries did.

It looks like the later berries will be better filled in. We will see. Plus, there are new primocanes growing. I want this one to work out. It is small enough to have in my miniature tree garden, which is nice.

Babycakes Blackberry. 7.12.2020

Flowers. 7.12.2020

Lots of flowers blooming now. It's turning out that a lot of them are from seeds I saved myself, but also seeds I bought, and plants that I've grown over the years.