October. Bulbs, new plant room, late harvests

As noted earlier, it's been difficult doing gardening, keeping up with the house, working working working, and looking after others. So here we are.

Currently, figs are ripening. During September, Hardy Chicago was very productive, with a few dozen figs. Now it's Petite Negri. Vancouver has a few, but they are getting moldy before they ripen. That did not happen before. Lattarula has a few - the first year ever! They are sweet, also seem to mold slightly on the outside when ripe, but not enough to matter.

I dried some figs, as well as some grapes. They taste so much better when grown at home and dried in a food dehydrator! I had no idea.

Many grapes remain, after eating many pounds of grapes. This has been a productive year for grapes as well.

Lots of apples now. They are pretty much all ripening.

A bedroom (actually junk-room) on the southwest corner of the house will become my home office and plant room. And guest bedroom. It will have a futon/sofa, a desk, and some plant stands in the windows. I added a western window; there is already a large south facing window. I took some photos but the current computer room is too cluttered for me work with them, so they'll have to be added later. I tore out the carpet last year. The floor was badly damaged and had a large plywood patch. I replaced the patch with oak flooring taken from a closet (that is being cannabilized for a bathroom), so it is authentic to the house. I sanded off the remaining finish from the floor, and now have given it 2 coats of polyurethane. It may need a third coat. Then new baseboard, paint the walls. It has a new light fixture already.

Then I can have the cacti and other plants in the south window. I'm trying some orchids, they can go in the shaded west window.

I planted about 100 daffodils and about 100 tulips. They'll help cheer up the winter, when they start poking through the ground in Feb and March.

Most of the tulips were an unspecified tulip mix, but one package, planted under an old cherry tree, looks like this.

Daffodils included:
Bella Estrella (Biltmore collection)

Vanilla Peach (Dutchbulbs.com)

Sunnyside Up (Dutchbulbs.com)

Replete (Dutchbulbs.com) - How did I end up with this one? I don't like "pink" daffodils!

Ice Follies (Dutchbulbs.com)

Ice King (Biltmore Estates)



I also decided to try, once again, to grow some Lycoris.
Lycoris squamigera, photo from wikipedia. In the past, I've made several tries to grow Lycoris squamigera. These were traditional in my family, passed down through generations in the midwest. There, they were called "surprise lilies", and since I've heard them called "naked ladies" and "resurrection lilies". The leaaves grow in the Spring, then die off. In late Summer, the flower stems grow and bloom within a few days. I would love to have some. I've tried growing them here in the Northwest, without success. Internet research suggests that I'm planting them too deep. Most instructions state they should be 6 inches deep, but those seem to be based on the 'generic' bulb size. I found other instructions stating that they should only be covered up to their shoulders. So I'll give it a try. I also added a red variety, not the traditional family variety, Lycoris radiata, and a yellow one, Lycoris aurea.

Lycoris aurea, photo from wikipedia.

These have a different growth pattern, I think but the labels are contradictory.
Lycoris Radiata, photo from wikipedia. The L. radiata already has small leaves. We'll see what they do this fall and winter.

That's about all for now. I hope to get this blog going better once the home office is completed.

Kitchen Garden Log

Fresh tomatoes, peaches, peppers, and eggplant. I also picked 2-dozen pears yesterday - at the stage where they come loose from the tree when barely nudged.

Last weekend, we picked 1 dozen peaches from Honey Babe. Summer Gold isn't even close to ripe.

We have beans sprouting from last week's planting. Chinese pole beans and Romano.

August Iris Care

The clumps of bearded irises are becoming crowded and messy. I didn't weed or water them this summer. They are not hurt much, if at all, by the lack of watering. The weeds didn't grow much due to the same factor, but there were still enough to need maintenance.

August is the perfect time to dig up and replant irises in this area. It's dry enough that they shouldn't rot when replanted, while they become established and the ground settles again.

This group is in a very raised-bed, with a loosely built retaining wall. The bed is about 2 ft high, constructed due to a slope. It is filled with yard soil (clay/sand) mixed with compost.

"Before" - This is the "found" variety, yellow standards with auburn falls. The ground was dry and loose, so they were fairly easy to dig.

I pulled out the weeds. That is much easier to do after digging the irises up. The leaves were trimmed, the oldest, deteriorating rhizomes cut off, and woven-together rhizomes were separated. In most cases, I separated down to 2 or 3 'fans' of leaves per new division.

Soil was supplemented with generous amounts of chicken compost and crushed eggshells (for the calcium). Some additional soil was taken from the garden, to raise the level back near the top of the wall. The dark-leaf tree in the center is the Hollywood Plum, planted in February 2009. It's grown nicely.

"You paid HOW MUCH for that puny thing? Yes, I did. Yes, it's puny. Impulse buy at local store. I added this one for variety. It looks too small to bloom next spring - we'll see!

Figs: Summer crop harvest

Over the past 2 weeks, all of the breba figs ripened. These are the "Summer crop". The number was very limited, although the trees are loaded for fall (main) crop.

Not pictured, I tasted the first 'ever' figs from the Lattarula and King trees. Each had a different flavor, both sweet, juicy, 'bright' flavors. Lattarula was yellow-ish with a tan center, and King was green with a red center.

Petite Negri, Black with dark red center, sweet and rich flavor.

The Petite negri tree is kept to 7 feet tall by pruning, although it is marketed as 'dwarf'.

"Vancouver", which was grown from a cutting from an unidentified tree, likely "Brunswick", bore 5 large juicy figs. Brown color, inside is golden.

Yum!

Annual flowering of the Tan Hua, or Bunga Bakawali

More accurately, it is an Epiphyllum oxypetallum, jungle-dwelling cacti that live on tree branches and rocky outcrops far above the forest floor.

This cactus was started from a cutting, given to me by a friend. Her mother brought it to the US from Hong Kong when she emigrated. The only name that she knew was "Chinese cactus", although in reality, it's not Chinese. They originate in Mexico, central America, and Brazil. The exact origin is uncertain. They have naturalized in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This species blooms once annually. The flowers open once, during the night, then whither in the early morning and die. Their extravagant, sensual appearance, and ephemeral character, are symbolic of how beautiful, and brief, life can be.

They are grown in southern China, where they are known as Tuan Hua. Here is an article about a neighborhood in Taipei, gathering to watch one open. There it is known as "Tan Hua Yi Xian" (A Flower That Vanishes as Soon as It Appears)

I've brought it inside each winter, and leave in on the North side of the house each summer. Last year it had only 2 blossoms. The year before, it hnad a fungal infection and most of it died. This Spring I transferred it to a larger pot. The growth medium is Miracle Grow potting soil. It's growing nicely. Not a compact plant, it takes a lot of room. Fortunately, we have the space. It's easy to grow from cuttings. One small section broke off this summer. I kept walking past it thinking, "Maybe I should pot that up". Finally, feeling sorry for it after 2 or 3 weeks, I did. After 3 weeks, that section is now growing and has added a new leaf-pad, larger than the original cutting.

In South Asia and Malasia this flower is known as the Bunga Bakawali. The blossom is supposedly controlled by a night spirit, but this must be a fairly obscure legend, I could only find hints of it in a google search. I a reader of this blog knows more, I would love to hear the story.

For members of the diaspora from Southern China and Southeast Asia, the Bunga Bakawali can be a living reminder of their origin. "It was when she said that I understood everything. This flower reminded her of that distant childhood she once had, the innocent little child she once was, and most importantly, the people she truly misses, her mother, her sisters"


At 5pm, the "Dutchman's pipe" stage. The buds are starting to swell.

At 830pm. Even at this stage, they are quite beautiful.

Fully open at 10pm. This year the fragrance fills the night sky. It's raining, but this plant is in a sheltered location away from the rain.

Also at 10pm. This doesn't quite match the legend of opening exactly at midnight, but it will be open then as well. It may be confused by the time zone, of course.

8am. Having had their moment in the night, the blossoms close again. Three did not open last night, so will be expected to open tonight. That doesn't quite match the one-night-per-year legend either, but close enough.