Planting Bulbs. 10.18.14

Bulbs to plant.  10.18.14

Before cleanup 10.18.14

 Bought some bulbs.  Except for the tulips, all are regarded as deer and rabbit resistant.  Daffodils and the Fritillaria Crown Imperial were not touched last year.  The Fritillaria has a smell a bit like sewer gas, which may be why.   Alliums were also untouched.  So now for this bed -

Some clumps of narcissus, remaining Jetfire from some that were still not planted, and Red Devon. 

Nectaroscordum siculum.

Camassia quamash.

One Fritillaria persica.  I do't know if it will grow, so just trying one.

One red Crown Imperial Fritillaria rubra.  The ones I planted last year grew well, so I hope this one does too.

A package of Allium karataviense "Ivory Queen".  I haven't tried this one yet

The last package of Anemone blanda went around a replanted Japanese maple.

Layout.  10.18.14

Front bed planted.  10.18.14

I dug up and divided some Chinese chives for this bed too.  They are delicious, beautiful, and the bees love them.

I didn't label where each bulb or group of bulbs was planted.  That will be to discover when they come up in the Spring.

The tulips will need to be planted in containers.  Keep them away from deer.

When these bulbs start coming up, they will be a very welcome sight.  This is one of the first signs of Spring, and they renew my spirit.

The edging needs to be completed.  Winter project.  Also a walkway.

I added a layer of cardboard mulch.  The cardboard was wet.  It's fragile when wet, tears very easily.  So I think the bulbs should grow through it easily.  Plus, I tore the cardboard into irregular pieces about 1 foot diameter.  That allows water to soak through, and bulb growth.  But weed seedlings should not grow.


Planted, mulched with pine needles.  10.19.14

The cardboard is unsightly.  So I raked up pine needles from the driveway and mulched with those, on top of the cardboard.  That looks pretty nice.  The bulbs should grow easily through the pine needles, too.

Smith Fig. 1.16.14

Smith Fig Tree.  10.16.14

 The containerized Smith Fig has been ripening a fig every few days.  They are small.  The flavor is in the "excellent" range.  I also have one in-ground.  It was killed to ground last winter in the historic freeze.  I should keep this one in container for another year.

The figs might be smaller or later due to the young age of the tree.  It is in it 2nd year.  Or because of container.  Or climate.  Or maybe they are small figs.  But they have been delicious.


Smith Fig.  10.16.14



Smith Fig.  10.16.14

October Tomatoes & Okra. 10.12.14

Tomatoes, Okra, and a Fig.  10.12.14

Not bad for almost mid October.

The tomatoes are Better Boy. 

The Okra is Burgundy, Dwarf Green Long Pod, and Baby Bubba.

The fig is a lone fig from Brunswick.

There may be a few more.  We had vegetarian BLT today.

Back from Vacation. 10.11.14

At the Acropolis.  Oct 2014

Mosques, Istanbul.  Oct 2014.

 Ning and I went on a cruise vacation for 2 weeks.  Now returned safely.

I almost canceled - recovering from pneumonia and bronchitis, and side effects of work and Gleevec.  I thought the cruise would be healing, and it was.  Very worthwhile.

There were a lot of places - Venice, Athens, Ephesus, Istanbul, Naples/Pompeii, Rome, Florence, Toulon/Marseilles, and Barcelona.

I took more than 1,000 pics - easy to to with electronic camera with good memory card.  Very selective with pics to post - respecting the volume of memory needed, and this blog is really my gardening log.

When I was late teens / early 20s, I was a young soldier stationed in Turkey.  Getting to visit again was a bit of a bucket-list item.  That and Ephesus, and Rome, and Pompeii, and Barcelona.  I could not ask for more.

Four O'clocks, Ephesus Turkey, Oct 2014

In front if Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Oct 2014

 Since this was my year of the 4:00's, I liked seeing some in Ephesus.  Similar to some I grew here.

I tasted figs in Athens - larger but not as flavorful as the ones I grow.  I imagine that is because they need to travel from the countryside, so are not fully ripe.

Observing city and countryside trees and plants, there were lots of Sycamores, lots of olive trees, scattered fig trees, vineyards.

I-pad panorama views are pretty interesting.  They pull a lot into the photo.

As an autodidact student of religion and social history, I loved some of the places.  Example, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, built in the Christian Roman Empire, started in the year 537 possibly on older Christian and possible prior Roman or Greek Polytheistic temple site, some of the materials taken from the Ephesus temple of Artemis; with mosaics of religious figures, destroyed in the iconoclast period, sacked by the crusaders sent by the Catholic pope, rebuilt, then remade into a mosque by Ottoman Turks, victorious over Constantinople, becoming Istanbul, and finally, Ataturk, fed up with the intrigues and politics of the Caliphate, expelled the Caliphate and secularized the Mosque.  There has been some restoration, while still respecting the interplay of Christian and Muslim aspects.

Palms, Toulon France.  Oct 2014.

Sycamore, Topkapi Palace Compound.  Istanbul, Oct, 2014

 I am probably unusual in spending as much time admiring an ancient sycamore, as admiring paintings or sculptures, but that's how it is.

The Vatican / San Pietro piazza looks to me a lot like ancient Greek and Roman temples.

The Pantheon of Rome, built close to 2000 years ago and in continuous use, first polytheistic, then Roman Catholic, beautiful stone work, soaring spaces, and natural light via ostium at the summit.  Amazing place.

Inside Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Oct 2014

Pompei, with Vesuvius.  Oct, 2014.

Panarama inside Pantheon.  Rome, Oct, 2014

Panarama, St. Peter's Square, Oct 2014.

Today's Kitchen Garden Yield. 9.21.14

Kitchen Garden Yield.  9.21.14

Fingerling potatoes, Asian Pears, more Tomatoes, various winter squash, a yellow summer squash, okra, various peppers, containerized Thai and Tabasco peppers, and probably some things I forgot.

This is one of our best garden yields ever, for this time of year.  Very happy with the result.