Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Bathroom Project




Bath-tub to be redone on Friday, then all that remains is paint the doorframe and replace the door. I'll check the used house parts store for a 'classic door' before going to Lowes or Home Depot. Then..... Bathroom #2?Posted by Picasa

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Peaches. Bulb Planting. Puttering.

Wednesday I noted that some peaches had fallen from this miniature tree. I picked them up, and more fell off. There were about 30 peaches. This is Garden Gold miniature peach. The tree is 3 years old. Unlike Honey Babe, it didn't have much problem this year with leaf curl.

These were very tasty. They have prominant fuzz, which is something that I like about them.

I got inspired, and a Raintree Nursery catalog came at the same time. I reserved another genetic dwarf peach, this time El Dorado.

Site for peaches at Raintree Nursery is here.

I also saw the Tri Lite peach/plum hybrid. It will replace a nonproductive apple (golden delicious) in the yard. Not a genetic dwarf. Site for tri-lite is here. Dave Wilson Nursery's photo of Tri Lite is here. After enjoying the Flavor Delight Aprium and various pluots, I feel inspired to try another Zaiger tree. Dave Wilson Nursery's description of the interspecific hybridization ast Zaiger genetics is very interesting and can be found here. They also devoped a 3-way hybrid, peach, plum, apricot, that they have called a "Peacotum™", which apparently is not on the market yet. They report this one as having a 'fruit coctail' flavor. I think that when this one comes onto the market, an existing ornamental or fruit in my yard wil have to give way to it (unless it costs a fortune, which it might).

Today I also planted 64 "Fortune" Daffodils (photo examples from google search here) , One globemaster allium (google search result here), and 6 each "City of Haarlem and Gipsy Queen Hyacinths (here and here). Oh, plus I finished off a 35-bulb bag of "Tete-a-Tete" Narcissus (here).

Bulb planting is an act of faith, suggesting hope that the upcoming Winter will pass and I'll still be here. Also an investment in the future, knowing that when they do come up I'll be watching closely, hoping for releif from the darkness of winter.



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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Crinodonna. Anigozanthos

This Anigozanthos did well this year, blooming most of the summer, and proved to be tolerant of sporadic watering. The yellow variety (not pictured) has green leaves but didn't produce a single flower this summer. Does that mean it will be a winter bloomer?

Having seen these outside in Las Vegas, I suspect that they just aren't Pacific Northwest material, but will continue to try.
Posted by PicasaThis Crinodonna has bloomed reliably in this location for 4 summers in a row. This is the first year for a pair of flower stems. The photo does not catch the subtle apricot hue of the blossom. It's quite striking.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Charlie "Sit!"

Not much of a plot but it captures some of Charlie's 'spirit'.