Fertilizer Friday -- Peony, Hardy Geranium, Dianthus and Others

I have some flowers to flaunt that I haven't already shown on my blog. Just a few.

OK, more than a few.

Pink Peony (I've lost the tag, unfortunately)

 

Dianthus barbatus 'Sooty' with Nepeta 'Walker's Low'

 

Allium cernuum/Nodding Onion

Dichelostemma congestum

Veronica 'Pink Goblin' with two different Salvias  -- Blue Queen and Merleau Blue

'Pink Goblin'

Geranium 'Rozanne'

Dianthus 'Arctic Fire'

Verbascum 'Southern Charm'

Clarkia concinna

Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue' (not looking very blue this year, more like lavender)

Centaurea dealbata with Nepeta 'Walker's Low'

 

Fertilizer Friday is a blogger's meme hosted every Friday by Glenda at Tootsie Time. Check it out to see what else is blooming all around the world.

Hopes (and Fears) for July 2011

My June 2011 Hope Grows post gave voice to my hope that my direct-sown California wildflowers would grow.

Gilia tricolor and Gilia capitata

Well, they did! They're not blooming yet, but they've sprouted, and I hope by August they'll be blooming.

Collinsia heterophylla

Clarkia elegans

The ones sown under cloches are blooming profusely.

Five-Spot and Penny Black

Some of the leggy seedlings from last month's post are also blooming.

Five-Spot

 

 

Penny Black

Phacelia campanularifolia

Gilia tricolor

 

 

 

Fried-egg plant/Limnanthes douglasii

I have a number of hopes and fears for July 2011.

I hope that whatever is eating my honeysuckle stops. Just in case it's slugs, I sprinkled Sluggo under it.

 

I hope that the barley straw that I bought to prevent the growth of string algae in my stream works.

Barley Straw bale in the left corner

I've already pulled a lot of string algae out of the stream this year. I've cleaned it out thoroughly three times already, and it keeps growing back. I've dumped hydrogen peroxide into it. Finally, it does seem to be turning brown, and dying.

Maybe the water hyacinths that I bought to put in the waterfall will help by stealing nutrients from the algae as well. They don't seem to be thriving, though. They like heat, which is in short supply here in the PNW.

Finally, my biggest hope (and fear): I hope the raccoons that left these footprints on my new fence...

...Don't discover this on the other side of the garden.

 

They've sampled several other items. They pulled iris seedpods off.

They only took one bite, so I guess they weren't as delicious as they'd hoped.

They've also been eating the water hyacinths.

One more reason why they might not be thriving.

I sympathize, I really do.  I garden for wildlife, I love the birds and the butterflies, and I even like the squirrels. We've actually seen the raccoons out in the daytime, which according to research on the web, does not necessarily indicate rabies. Apparently, raccoons are known to come out in the daytime if they are starving, to hunt for food.

Well, I hope they don't find my food.

You can read what lots of other bloggers are hoping for in July at Sweet Bean Gardening.

I Have Monkeys, Leopards and Butterflies in My Garden!

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I was really looking forward to the Mariposa Lilies blooming.

Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly. There were twisty unopened buds for the longest time.

 

Finally, last week they started to open.

Then, suddenly, this past weekend, they all opened at once.

 

 

 

Someone thought the markings on the petals looked like butterfly wings. Native Americans collected the corms of these plants (Latin name: Calochortus venustus) for cooking and eating. They are a West Coast native, very well suited to our wet winters and dry summers.

My Leopard lily (Lilium pardalinum) has also started blooming. At first it was just one bud.

Then several more.

Looks like there are plenty more to come. Leopard lilies are another West Coast native that thrives on our wet winters and dry summers.

My monkey flowers (Mimulus cardinalis and Mimulus lewisii x cardinalis) also just started blooming.

Mimulus cardinalis/scarlet monkey flower

I started scarlet monkey flower from seed. Last year it was just a few small clumps of leaves. Now I have three large plants. This plant likes moisture, so I'm going to have to see what I can do this summer about keeping it wet. It is another West Coast native, with a reputation as a hummingbird magnet. In fact, hummingbirds are its exclusive pollinators.

Apparently someone thought this flower looked like a monkey's face. I don't know.

 Mimulus lewisii x cardinalis (bought from Annie's Annuals)

I think it looks like a singing mouth. I can picture Disney animating it.

Monkeys and Leopards and Butterflies, Oh My!

I Have Tomatoes!

OK, they're still green.

Red Siberian (62 days to harvest)

And they're tiny....

Glacier (65 days to harvest)

But....I have tomatoes! Now it just remains to be seen which one tastes the best. And which one ripens first.

Interestingly, the two tomatoes are on two of my determinate plants in pots, with wall-o-waters.

 

I just discovered the tomatoes today, when I finally turned the WOWs down and spilled some of the water out of them so I could trim the lower leaves.

The others are looking good, they have plenty of flowers.

 

I really thought the first fruit would be on one of these determinates that is at the South end of the house in good sun, with lots of reflected heat from the river rock they're sitting on.

Or from the indeterminates in the hoophouse, where they are certainly getting tall and flowering, but no fruit set yet.

If I can just avoid the late blight that plagued all my tomatoes last year, I will be sooooo happy.