Cactus, Zinnias, Marigolds, Echinacea, Crocosmia flowers. 7.12.18

 Crocosmia does great in this region.  I see bunches in a lot of yards.  Mine need dividing every few years, which gets me even more plants.  Hummingbirds love them.

 I don't know the species of cactus.  Maybe, Opuntia humifusa?  It's prostrate.  Two years ago, I planted it in this pot of lilies.  It's had no special treatment at all.  During the winter, when the lily is dormant, I place the pot under a spruce tree where there might be less rain.    These are the first flowers.  This is the first time it's bloomed.  Very pretty.  Flowers last one day, like daylilies, but there are many buds.

 I  grew the Echinacea from seed, planted Aug, 2016.  I transplanted the plants into the ground May, 2017.  There were flowers last year, but much nicer now.  These are basically no-care perennials.  I read they might not do well in our wet winters, but so far, looking great!

The zinnias are starting to bloom.  I grow them in rows, like vegetables.  Same for marigolds.  These zinnias have a little rust on the leaves, but not affecting much.

Update. 9.21.16

Buffalo Grape.  9.21.16

Rock Garden Perennial Border.  9.21.16

 I've been trying to work through some hardware issues, which resulted in decreased posting.  I don't usually carry my good camera around while working in the garden, because I tend to damage delicate equipment.  The Apple equipment is a few years old (I-phone and I-pad) and I've found that Apple equipment does not age well.  In addition, back-compatibility of program updates is poor, and Apple inc is too overbearing with their treatment of users, so I've been de-appling my computer life. 

Things are starting to come together again, on my old Windows-based laptop.  Meanwhile, I've been removing hardscaping from the old place in prep for eventual sale, mainly a koi pond that presented a child hazard.  I'm not a young man any more, so hauling wheel barrows of rocks has taken a month, and it's not done yet.

With cooler weather, I renovated the worst of the house perennial borders at the Battleground house.

Border, with labels.  9.21.16

 That renovation involved - removal of thistles and wild mustard, both of which have been tenacious and invasive.  I laid down newspaper or cardboard, torn such that water can seep through, but hoping that weeds and grasses will mostly be smothered.  I removed most of the bearded irises  - ugly about 90% of the year, and too welcoming to grass weeds.  I planted divided sedums, sempervivums that I had been growing in old iris beds as a ground cover, kept daylilies and divided some, kept helleborus and some sedum in place, planted crocosmia that I divided from the old place, moved poppy roots, with dormant top, and added lambs ears - Stachys byzantina, and echinacea varieties, both of which were on the almost-dead table at Fred Meyer and Home depot, on deep sale.  These were root bound, so I cut off the winding roots, cut slits into the root ball, planted and watered in.  They perked up and look much better now.  I deep-mulched with tree arborist chips.   The border still needs some river-rock for the edge / pathway, but is almost done.

The goal is a bed with very reduced maintenance, mostly drought tolerant plants but that respond to some care, mostly deer and rabbit tolerant plants, at a very low cost.  The only new plants were deep sale with some need for TLC.

Sourdough Pizza with peppers, cayennes, and onions.  9.21.16

Meanwhile, with so many tomatoes and peppers, I've been trying to find ways to eat them.  This sourdough pizza came out pretty good.   The sourdough crust used my usual starter, with just flour, water, and salt, no other additives.  These are Nikita peppers (green) and cayennes (red) - really tasty.

What's Blooming. 6.28.16

Marigods

Crocosmia

Milkweed

Potato Onion

Roses

Classic Red Rose

Potato Onion

Chinese Chives

Overwintered Pelargoniums from Cuttings

New flowers in bloom. 7.5.14

Daylily I moved to the Battleground place, 2 months ago.  7.5.14

Crocosmia in bloom.  7.5.14

Four O'clock "Marvel of Peru".  7.5.14

 Some flowers in bloom around the Battleground 2 acres.  These are the first flowers here for the daylilies, Buddliea "Honeycomb", and the Four O'clocks.  The latter have barely begun.  The container plants are ahead of the in-ground plants.

Buddleia X weyeriana  "Honeycomb" 

Hummingbird on crocosmia "Lucifer".  7.5.14.  Photo by Ning Wang.

Bees forage the clover lawn. Hummingbirds in the Crocosmia. 7.4.14

I've been planting clover seeds in the lawn, for the past 2 years.  This is a chemical-free, fertilizer-free lawn.    Now, as the hot days of sumer are here, the grass stops growing.  The clover is in full bloom.  When white clover is intermixed with grasses, the clover supports nitrogen-fixing bacteria, pulling nitrogen out of the air and into the soil in forms plants can use.  The grass grows better, and so does the clover.  White clover is also one of the best bee forages.  They are actively foraging the clover lawn now.  Walking through the lawn, I can hear them hum.  It looks prettier in person than in the photo.  The clover lawn benefits the grass, the soil, the bees, and the environment.

Clover lawn.  7.2.14

Humingbird on Crocosmia.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14  

I

Hummingbird on Crocosmia.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Hummingbird.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Honeybee on Clover.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Honeybee on Clover.  Photo by Ning Wang.  7.4.14

Volunteer

It doesn't look like the freesias that were planted here last year, although the leaves are similar. I could be a cmall crocosmia - similar leaf shape and flower structure, but much smaller that the other in the yard, and they are red. Came in with the compost?