Summer Ornamentals.

Ning's lilies, with lavender in the foreground, and a lupine in the background.Triteleia "Queen fabiola". These grow from little bulbs. Last year I thought that the grass-like leaves were weeds and cut them all off. They bloomed anyway. This year I was more careful.
Farfugium japonicum "Crested Leopard". What a great name - "farfugium". I'd want it even if the plant wasnt very cool. It likes the northern exposure. slugs love it too, but the "garden safe" slug bait (ferrous phosphate) is a nice organic way to handle the little pests.

Garden Log. Mar 19 2007.

More accurately, continued from Sunday (Mar 17).

- Pruned Meyer lemon to 3 main branches, more upright. It has new gropwth on each branch tip. It has been outside for 3 days, but brought in tonight due to expected chill.

- Sprayed neem oil (again) on peaches, roses, meyer lemon, strawberries. Neem oil has been my fungicide / insecticide of choice for 3 years. On the roses, it stops black spot and mildew. Same on the grapes. I am not sure if it helps with peach leaf curl, but it seems to reduce the number of affected leaves. It is marketed as not only nontoxic, but actually used in botanical products for arthritis, cold sores, and other topical applications on skin. There is a nice article on neem oil in Wikipedia. Neem oil, sprayed on leaves of roses and strawberreis, also imparts a nice shine to the leaves. My main concern is that I may have overdone it, mixing it up 4 tablespoons per gallon and I sprayed twice. I should have shown more restraint. It rained today, so the oil portion on the surface may be washed off, but maybe some of the Azadirachtin already had a benefit (azadarachtin being at least one of the active agents - again, as explained in wikipedia, azadarachtin is an antifeedant (I suppose that means reduces feeding activity) and growth disruptor for many insects. This site states that neem should be sprayed on a 7-14 day schedule as a preventive (that would make some $$$ to the folks who sell it, but then again, better going to them than to toxic chemical manufacturers). http://www.biconet.com/botanicals/70NeemOil.htmlstates that it has been used to treat head lice, but does not harm bees, butterfles, or earthworms.

-Lilies are coming up. Asiatic lilies are 2 inches tall, nice stout stems.

- Ornamental alliums are 6 inches tall.

- Lilac leaves are about the size of a squirrels ear (I guess).

- I also sprayed the anigozanthos with neem oil. I'm frustrated that the one from Lowes has inky black leaf disease.

-It's supposed to be cold tonight. I brought the Meyer lemon, anigozanthos, and most of the geraniums back inside.

Early Spring. No Daffodil blossoms yet.

Today was beatiful, into the 50s. The bathroom remodel took most of my "spare" time. Can't soak into the tub until there is a fully installed to soak in. Today I framed the new wall, with the exception of the supports for the pedestal sink.

In the yard -

No fruit or bulb blossoms yet. The lilac buds are swelling. The daffodils had nice fat buds, just not in bloom yet.

I planted a lily bulb the size of an artichoke. It was purchased last week at the yard and garden show. I forgot to record the variety - an "orienpet" which was listed as being very fragrant.

Hedychiums were planted in potting soil and will be kept in a cool room until they start to grow.

Some Zantedeschias were added to the borders.

That's about all for today.

More Fig Cuttings. Bulbs & seeds.

On the gardenweb fig forum, there are a couple of postings (and here)about starting fig cuttings by wrapping them in moist paper towels and placing them into a zip-lock bag. So I decided to try that, starting now, with the remaining Desert King cuttings.
After my "eloquent" discussion earlier today about the joys of "non-consumerist gardening", and how wonderful it is to grow plants from starts rather than purchasing them... Here are some purchases today from Portland Nursery. :) At least I don't claim to be "environmentalist fundamentalist" here.

Just for Show. Worked from home today.

Rose of Sharon (Althea or Hibiscus syriacus) has been grown since Biblical times; there is mention in the Songs of Solomon. This shrub is tolerant of dry conditions, so I rarely water it. It blooms from mid summer to fall. There are self-sown seedling near the original shrub - will they have similar blossoms? If there is room for them, we'll know in a year or two.


Lilium Speciosum rubrum, nonhybrid oriental lilies. Nice fragrance, bloom later than all of the other lilies in the garden. These too seem fairly dry tolerant, now that they are established.

I worked via computer hookup from home, so no bike ride but no drive either. That seems like a fairly earth-friendly way to work, I suppose.