Some lovely pics from Mike in Oly:
Last week I took a trip down to Union City , CA, to see the irises blooming at Dry Creek Garden. A good friend is one of the gardeners there and invited me to see the collection he has accumulated, mainly featuring California iris hybridizers. The irises were lovely, but there were a lot of other plants to see there, and that is what this set is focused on.
At top: 14- Irises and poppies, with a geranium in the back. There were several of these planted about, with some reaching four feet tall and covering an ample amount of ground. All profusely blooming.
A view across the garden showing the breadth of floral abundance to explore. The grassy hillside behind made a nice backdrop to the garden.
I had heard of echium before, but as it won’t grow in my climate i had not seen it in person. Tower of jewels is an apt common name for them. Towering spikes covered in small flowers from top to bottom. I saw hummingbirds, bees and butterflies enjoying them. This rose-colored one was especially pretty.
A small grouping of plants featuring heuchera and violas.
Asclepias showing off in a bright red and orange combo. I forgot the variety, but it is a non-native one. It is kept because it is the one the monarchs prefer for their caterpillars.
Monarch caterpillar enjoying breakfast.
A resident barn swallow sitting above their nesting box. They were quite displeased at our proximity and dive bombed us for several minutes in an attempt to get us to move along.
Another echium, this time in lavender. The sheer size of the plants was so impressive. I was told they are just let to go to seed and removed from anyplace where they are in the way and left where they are not. The color palette changes from year to year as the pollinators mix the genes.
A vibrant alstromeria. I really need to get this for my garden. Very beautiful and they make great cut flowers to bring indoors.
Blooms on an aloe. I love the structure of these scapes. The hummingbirds enjoyed them as well.
***********
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
WereBear
My garden news is that the three Canadian roses I ordered THREE YEARS AGO finally came. Climate issues hits rosebushes, as they weren’t getting their usual sunshine, and then I postponed a year because I was having some kind of crisis but now we plant!
Downstairs neighbor will lend me his shovel, and that’s what I will do today, in what is a deer safe area. Across the road they know not to cross, and people go 30 MPH in any case.
But having a rare deer-proof spot* in the ‘Dacks is amazing and makes me want to do things in that spot, since my neighbor is also enthused about helping, but these rose babies are so small that I don’t need the usual trench.
All three have greened up leaves and are ready to go. They must be hardly though; still going through a silly long shipping process (thank you, Convincted Felon!) and then weather that was really too cold.
*There is a traffic island near here taken over by the Garden Club. I would have donated them to their people instead of planting myself, but I had the opportunity to hold these over — own root, so they should do okay.
Especially since they will need fussing and I don’t want to put that on anyone else.
eclare
I’ve never heard of echium, what an interesting plant. All the photos are gorgeous, thanks!
Jeffg166
@WereBear: A three year wait! I hope they do well.
raven
Awesome!
Lapassionara
Thanks so much. These are lovely.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
Thank you, Mike and AL. These are such lovely photos! I especially love the riot of color in the second one (the one with the grassy hill-like thing in the back).
satby
Beautiful pictures Mike! I also have never heard of echium, so I looked it up. Lots of variety but a few are toxic to some grazing animals and they’re considered invasive in some countries. Off my list anyway, wrong zone.
It’s been alternating between rain and nice spring weather here. I’m slowly finishing up the last of the planting for this year with the cannas and hardy gladiolus. And I have the mosquito bites to prove it. I decided to hire a lawn service to clean out (again) the invasive sweet autumn clematis, this time using brush killer on the remains rather than just pulling and cutting back, which only encourages it.
Rachel Bakes
Continuing our various projects to make our house, inside and out, look deliberate. Like we’re doing things with some purpose instead of letting entropy take over.
as such, I’m ripping out the violets, wild grasses, etc that cover our back garden and will sow wildflower seeds and try for some color and bringing in some pollinators.
satby
@WereBear: I gotta ask, what company took 3 years to deliver an order??
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@satby: The Pony Express would’ve been faster.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
I wish I didn’t have a black thumb. I would love to be able to grow plants, indoors or outdoors.
Central Jersey is my current landing spot, and I hope I’m able to stay here long-term. Housing is my biggest issue but that would be true anywhere. I pray that I get approved for Social Security disability soon so that I actually have income again. The weather has been perfect the past couple of days. Yesterday was 81° with 24% humidity. I threw a blanket on the grass, got some snacks, and spent the afternoon under a big leafy maple tree that provided the perfect blend of shade and sun. I had my headphones with me and it was nice to just sit there quietly, listening to music and watching birds fly overhead.
Happy Pride Month to my fellow LGBTQIA jackals!
Mousebumples
Great photos, Mike! Thanks for sharing.
I’m about to give up on a transplanted rhubarb bush from about 3 years ago. It didn’t get wider than the width of a 5 gallon pail and just isn’t doing much of anything.
I might just buy fresh from my local gardening shop. Any suggestions for shade/sun or soil mix? I’m wondering if our clay soil is an issue.
We have asparagus (loving the frequent rains), the beginning of strawberries, and the first budding of raspberries and blackberries. The cherry tree has very green cherries that the birds will enjoy. And chives are going crazy, but that’s just standard, lol.
MomSense
Heavenly blooms.
kalakal
Great photographs!
Love those echiums – never seen one in real life. Here, half way down on the west of Fl the drought continues, a lot of very crispy looking stuff, desperate for some rain
Dorothy A. Winsor
What a gorgeous place.
SiubhanDuinne
These are all lovely pictures, but today I’m taking particular delight in the monarch caterpillar. They are so beautiful at every stage of their development!
delphinium
Great photos-that alstroemeria is stunning!
Spring flowering is almost done here. Got my annuals planted and just have a few more perennials to plant to finish up my gardens for this year.
martha
Love these photos! And what a perfect time of year to go and see everything in bloom…
Kay
Just gorgeous. Thank you. We often vacation in California and one of my favorite parts of those trips is identifying plants I don’t know.
I love California poppies and tried to naturalize them in a south facing dry area of the garden but they don’t come back, so I didn’t reseed after two growing seasons. Probably don’t belong in NW Ohio.
OzarkHillbilly
My first thought: “Bet they don’t have to worry about ticks.”
Thanx for the pics, Mike. Beautiful.
BenInNM
Great photos – thanks! I too haven’t heard of echium but it looks like it’s zone 9-10 which is too warm for me.
Otherwise not much going on in the garden for me today. Maybe just a little weeding and cleanup. My violas and pansies have pretty much reached their limit of the heat they can handle so maybe a trip to Big Flower to get some replacements
WaterGirl
Wow, Mike. Just wow.
narya
Those are gorgeous pics!
My nasturtiums and flax are coming up (that’s what’s in the boxes that hang over the rail) and the other shade-tolerant things seem to be coming up a little less vigorously, but coming up nonetheless. I’ve taken to planting a bean from every (Rancho Gordo bean club) bag of beans I make, and I am amazed at how quickly they sprout! I’ve even harvested 25 beans or so from the beans I grew on the windowsill over the winter. I’ve kept most of my indoor plants indoors–I am too lazy to schlep them out and then back in, and some of them (rosemary, I’m looking at you) are so finicky I don’t know if they want to be outside.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: oh god , ticks 😵💫
Left a comment for you here and the next, hope Mrs. Ozark is better and home soon.
Quinerly
Gorgeous pics!
Yesterday was fish fertilizer day. It’s one of JoJo’s favorite garden days. He wishes he could do shots of the stuff. And speaking of fish, I really must clean this koi pond. Keith, Mick, Charlie, and Ronnie are not in the best environment. I think Keith has koi pox.
Pruned all the catmint back so we will get a second round of blooms. Need to do the same for the Autumn sages.
Been researching cordless/battery operated chain saws to have for brush/pruning. Then a light bulb went on. Have ordered 2 cordless reciprocating saws. Will choose between the Dewalt and Makita and send one back. I feel more comfortable with the saw. Have worked with the old corded Sawzalls. Since I am not taking down trees or cutting logs, I think the reciprocating saw with some good quality blades for wood will be a better fit.
Have a great day!
satby
@narya: rosemary, like lavender, does well outside and can be a perennial depending on your zone.
Quinerly
@OzarkHillbilly:
I am way behind on threads. Hope your wife is doing better.
lowtechcyclist
Let’s have no tick talk, motherfuckers.
(I’ll show myself out now.)
eclare
@satby:
When I had rosemary in my backyard, it grew like crazy. I never did anything to it, it came back year after year. Unfortunately, of all spices, the one I really don’t care for is rosemary.
narya
@satby: I’m in Chicago, so . . . no to outside year-round. I do take the lavender out sometimes for the summer. I might take that and one of the rosemary plants outside after we get back from Road America. At least this time, when I planted the rosemary I sprouted, I used very large pots; I’ve found that they do not like to be repotted. It’s not a 100% fatality rate, but it is definitely the thing that seems most likely to kill them. The other thing about keeping them indoors is that they get more sun on the south-facing windowsill than they likely would get on the north-facing porch. Honestly, though, I’m a pretty negligent plant parent.
OzarkHillbilly
My tiller shot craps the other day. Not sure what the problem is but I suspect I need a new float in the carburetor or maybe I need to rebuild it. Pbthththththththth.…
Sucks to be me, because now I have to hand till the veggie garden. Not so bad as far as that goes as my ambitions for the veggie garden are far more reasonable than they were 5 years ago, but I had planned to grow some Strawberry Popcorn just for fun and now…. Well, that’s a lot of hoeing. We’ll see.
After today we have rain in the forecast thru Wednesday so that will give me time to work on the tiller.
OzarkHillbilly
@lowtechcyclist: Ouch
@satby: Yeah, we need to do that.
@Quinerly: Thanx.
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: the hospital will have forms, and maybe even at the nurses station. One of the nurses can witness.
BenInNM
@Quinerly: I have a pruning blade for my reciprocating saw and it works great. I haven’t cut anything more than a few inches thick, but that’s just due to need and not ability.
Quinerly
@OzarkHillbilly:
Have now gone back and found your posts and comments. Don’t think I had looked at BJ since Thurs. It was great of Steeplejach to provide a link on a thread yesterday. Hope you get some info today. Hang in there. Hugs.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
rikyrah
@OzarkHillbilly:
Sending positive thoughts🙏🏽
MomSense
I have to plant those fruit trees today – but I’m so tired from packing and unpacking. I discovered I have five peonies in front of the house surrounded by TALL grass and weeds. Should also deal with that today but I also have a ton of stuff to do inside.
I would like to have my 25 year old body and energy levels back please. I can’t believe what I used to be able to do in a day – and be able to do the same the next day. Yesterday I went all out and today I don’t have the juice to do what needs to be done.
Nukular Biskits
@OzarkHillbilly:
That must not be a B&S on that tiller if the carb has a float.
FWIW, I stopped trying to rebuild small engine carbs years ago. It’s easier, less frustrating to just order a replacement from a third-party (non-OEM, meaning it’ll probably be made in China).
Quinerly
@BenInNM: I think it’s just the way to go for my needs. I was deep in research re these cordless chainsaws, reading reviews. Actually ordered one and then canceled it after reading about oil leaking with these new Dewalts. I just need something for all this dead brush and pruning. I was getting nowhere with recommendations from personal friends…everyone in St. Louis and NC was in the gas powered chainsaw camp. Just overkill, imo. My needs here in NM are just so different. Posted in a NM Gardening Group and immediately got some great suggestions…..the best being from an arborist that uses a cordless Sawzall. Since I gave away my ancient one when I moved here, it will be a better…and versatile investment. Thanks for weighing in.
Barbara
@Quinerly: I am not sure how I missed this. Sending Mrs. Ozark Hillbilly very best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Hang in there.
MomSense
@eclare:
Ever try putting a sprig of rosemary in lemonade made with honey? You might change your mind.
I also like using it in a marinade that I make. I slowly heat fresh lemon juice with a big strip of peel, a sprig of rosemary, garlic, white wine, soy sauce, and honey. When I used to make pork roast this marinade made it delicious.
Denali5
What lovely flowers! I am just now getting time to work on weeding, planting etc. Your flowers are an inspiration.
Kay
@Quinerly:
I’ve used a (corded) Sawzall for pruning and brush for 20 years and it’s the perfect tool for it IMO. You can get pruning blades but when those break you can also use the ordinary blades -the ordinary blades with the even, shallow teeth actually jump around less so are probably less dangerous.
eclare
@MomSense:
I should confess that one big reason that I don’t care for it is that my mother used it for seemingly everything. No other spice, just rosemary.
But the marinade does sound good.
Quinerly
@Kay: thanks!
I really don’t know why I didn’t think of a reciprocating saw originally. Just something I am more comfortable with. There are a lot of cheap ones out there but like I mentioned I am going to try out a Makita one designed for one hand use and a regular Dewalt. If I go with the Makita one, with the batteries and charger, spending about $70 more than I had hoped. But know I am getting quality. I am tired of stuff breaking in a year.
Just looked at pruning blades (I hadn’t even thought about these saws actually having special pruning blades, duh). Do you have a favorite for dead wood and for green wood? Will just order packs of 9″ and 6.”
Nukular Biskits
I have to admit that I didn’t realize there were specific reciprocating saw blades for pruning.
I’ve normally just used whatever “demolition” blade I had in the case.
Also have a corded electric chainsaw for bigger stuff. After owning probably three gas-powered chainsaws over the years, I simply got tired of having to work on them (was either a bad carb or bad spark plug) and mixing gas/oil. Haven’t regretted that move.
Quinerly
@Nukular Biskits:
Well, I have fallen down the rabbit hole of looking at pruning blades for reciprocating saws this AM, thanks to Kay! I had just figured I would just use a regular wood blade. I totally get the design on the special pruning ones. I am actually getting exciting about my new toys arriving Tues. (Pretty sure I will keep the Makita one). But, boy, the batteries/charger are expensive. Most of my stuff is old Dewalt. I had a very uneasy feeling about those battery chainsaws…actually uneasy feeling about anything chainsaw. I had a close call with a baby rattler the other day. Made me a little jumpy. My Bullies are everywhere. I was getting too complacent thinking every snake was a Bullsnake.
JAM
@Rachel Bakes: You might want to leave a patch of the violets somewhere because they’re the host plants for fritillary butterflies. I let them grow like groundcover around some of the big natives in my beds.
J.
Wow! What a gorgeous garden! And great photos too. :-)
No One You Know
THESE ARE GORGEOUS!
Doc Sardonic
@Quinerly: I have several of the Makita battery operated tools. Love that they all use the same batteries, 2 in the case of the circular saw. Plenty of power, batteries charge fairly quickly and they seem to be durable so far. Really like the blower, very light and well balanced.
Kristine
Gorgeous photos!
Made a dent in organizing the shade garden over the last week and a half. Most of the time was spent pulling up wild violet—they’re too tall to make good ground cover, at least for my purposes, and they crowd out other plants. Still more weeding to do before I start rearranging heuchera and neatening up the hydrangeas.
(Dear WP—I am spelling heuchera correctly. Stuff your red line)
Another inch of rain fell yesterday here in far NE Illinois to add to the 2 inches that fell on Tuesday. More is expected in the early part of the week, though I really hope they’re wrong. I’d love a break of a week or two in order to make a dent in the organized chaos that is my yard. Everything is green and growing, but the ground is soggy in spots and have I mentioned the mosquitoes?
Nukular Biskits
@Kristine:
It’s been raining on and off here all weekend. While we did badly need the rain, I wish it would have waited until Monday.
Glad I got the grass cut and everything trimmed Friday.
Dan B
Mike;
I’ve got five different Alstroemerias that need to be thinned. One is similar, more pastel, than the one in your picture: Princess Fredericka. There’s a vivid red sport of that one. There’s plenty of a bright clear yellow with striping called Aztec Gold, and the species A. psittacina. Watergirl. Tamara, and Anne Laurie have my email. We’re in South Seattle – Beacon Hill
Dan
P.S. Most of the currently available varieties are dwarf forms. I’ve also got one of those. They are nice but not for cut flowers.
Quinerly
@Doc Sardonic: I have heard complaints from construction friends that have been in the trades 40 plus years, that Dewalt just isn’t what it once was.
I even considered testing out a third option. The more powerful Makita reciprocating saw that uses 2 batteries. Think it would be overkill here. Plus, the weight of it. I read online that the Makita branded batteries are heavier than everyone else’s. There are some aftermarket batteries and chargers that are compatible with Makita products. Mostly good reviews. Wonder if truly any good? Substantially cheaper.
Nukular Biskits
@Quinerly:
I have a full set of cordless Ryobi tools. I have had no complaints but I’ve used them only for around-the-house projects.
Mike in Oly
@Dan B:
A very kind offer, Dan. Thank you! I’ll be in touch.
Glad everyone enjoyed the photos.
Dan B
@Mousebumples: Rhubarb loves dense soils but not with too much clay. Add aged bark to open it up. Don’t add sand unless you want to add a pick to your tool collection. Clay + sand = concrete. Aged bark plus a somewhat chunky mulch and a bit of fertilizer for the first couple years does the trick. You can even simply make a bug mound on top of the soil, add fertilizer, and plant in it. It’s what I did to my garden built on subsoil from aa deep as three feet down. The organic matter slowly perks down into the soil and aggregates the clay particles so they don’t stick together in a stygian glue.
Rhubarb loves sun but will put up with half a day of full sun and a half day of shade.
Dan B
@satby: I was in a garden in San Francisco forty years ago. It was at least half an acre! They’d brought in the tall Echium. It had taken over a third of the garden. They were getting nervous. It was dramatic, and since it was a bit foggy, gave off Day of the Triffids – menacing – vibes.
Quinerly
@Nukular Biskits: I like Ryobi. I guess it’s solely a Lowe’s brand And, I am mostly a Lowe’s chick. I just went down the Amazon path for convenience and price. Lowe’s doesn’t carry Makita but HD does. Substantially cheaper on Amazon.
Doc Sardonic
@Quinerly: It seems to me that over the years Dewalt tools have had an inverse relationship with quality/price. Price goes up quality decreases, that being said planned obsolescence is baked into everything these days. I have always liked the Makita tools, had one of the old 9 volt cordless Makita drills for a long time. They seem to be built well still.
i do agree though the batteries are heavy. The Makita circular saw I have uses 2 batteries and is about the same weight as the corded one it replaced, but no cord. I do find that the tools are well balanced though.
Not sure about the aftermarket batteries, but watch Home Depot, they tend to run sales on the batteries from time to time.
MomSense
@eclare:
Ahhh, I can’t eat pumpkin bread for similar reasons. First grade trip to Florida for 3 weeks with grandparents. She had a bumper crop of punkins – breakfast lunch and dinner for three weeks was tooooo much for 6 year old me.
Quinerly
@Doc Sardonic: 💚
Nukular Biskits
@Quinerly @Doc Sardonic
This is anecdotal, to be sure, but my brother has worked in the construction trades for over 30 years and would agree with your assessment about the drop in Dewalt quality.
Doc Sardonic
@Nukular Biskits: I have used Ryobi tools as well, they are good tools. They get sneered at a lot on job sites, from the Dewalt and Milwaukee folks, but I cried a lot less when my $60 Ryobi slid off a roof and hit the concrete than they did when their expensive tools did the gravity experiments.
Dan B
I’m surprised that the Iris in your first picture aren’t the native California Pacific Coast Iris. But Union City is on the Bay, not in the foggiest coastal zone. I’ve got several P.C. Iris (6 – 3 of them need division!) and a few miles away is a gay guy who’s got hundreds of hybrids in his tiny garden. He’s had a business selling them.
Glidwrith
The mulberry tree is in its third year and actually has multiple handfuls of berries to harvest. Thanks to the Juicer that mentioned My Little Fruit Tree on how to keep it tamed.
Ethium is all over the place down here. The bees LOVE them. They also love the sage planted in the front yard, the elephant garlic is up and the thyme is taking its time as ground cover for the upper tier of my yard.
The backyard is getting some desperately needed attention today. The weeds think they are trees.
Quinerly
@Nukular Biskits: I think Dewalt and Black and Decker are owned by same company…or under the same umbrella…..and/or consolidated a few years back. My dad was a general contractor post WW2 then a roofing contractor thru the mid 1980’s to 2001 until he fell from a roof that he was looking at for a favor at age 79. (Head injury). So I grew up around all of it and would have been much happier if I had been a contractor than being an atty. These were the days that Craftsman had lifetime warranties. And if it wasn’t Craftsman it was Milwaukee. I think Craftsman is now out of business….Covid Times.
Nukular Biskits
@Doc Sardonic:
I have two Milwaukee corded tools: The venerable SawzAll and a construction-grade circular saw. I have no complaints about them but they’re both over 10 years old.
Nukular Biskits
@Quinerly:
The Craftsman name was acquired by Lowes. My ex-FIL used to work for Sears so for many a year, nearly all my power tools were Craftsman. Used to be good stuff. I don’t know what the quality is now.
Quinerly
@Nukular Biskits: https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/will-lowes-honor-craftsman-lifetime-warranties
And, I was misremembering re Craftsman. It was just a factory closing.
https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-hand-tools-factory-texas-closing-2023/
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
I love Astromeria ❤️ too. I have been buying stems from the local supermarket since COVID for a house bouquet. The buds always open and the flowers last two weeks. Plus they are grown in CA and not imported from S. America like a lot of the cut flowers. We also have some growing in our garden. They come in a great variety of colors too. Plus they are not toxic to cats. Pretty much perfect cut flowers. Thanks for the great pics.
trappingcampus
I’m unsure if this has been pointed out already since I didn’t look at every comment, but your “barn swallow” is a Western Bluebird. While similar in color, there are a few key features to separate them even when perched. First, the tail is flat and square in the bluebird, whereas a barn swallow has a long forked tail (fork can be hard to see when perched). Second is the use of a bird box. Barn swallows build mud nests on the side of buildings, bridges, and natural vertical structures and don’t use boxes.