95 Degrees today!  Seattle is hot and dry and it is stressing out the plants.  I’ve watered every day that I can and I’m trying to carry the plants through the worst of it, but it is touch and go.  For sure, the shrubs I planted in the Douglas fir bed are looking pretty wilted, but a few minutes of sprinkling brings them back a bit.  Similarly, the pumpkin vines, which I always thought loved heat, have been collapsing in the heat of the day, so I’ve sprinkled them to bring them back.

Amidst all the heat-caused chaos, some treasures are blooming.  My favorite right now is  the clematis Roguchi:

In the greenhouse, the little amaryllis relative, Griffinia liboniana has quickly thrown a flower spike:

And even more quickly, it bloomed!

Lastly, the Eucomis hybrids that I grew from seed about six years ago are blooming.  Here is one impressive spike:

I harvested my fava beans yesterday and cooked them up–will eat them for lunch tomorrow.  I ripped the plants out of the bed and fertilized it with Happy Frog before planting seedlings of the Wonderberry there I had started in the greenhouse.  Apparently, these are Solanum retroflexum (formerly Solanum x burbankii, a hybrid originating from the great Luther Burbank).  See more info here.

It is too hot to do much other garden work, but cooler weather is coming next week.  I’ll look to get some chores done (and document them) next week.

After weeding the Douglas fir bed last week, I realized there was a lot of room for new plants in there.  I impulsively went online and ordered some plants I thought would do well.  They landed yesterday and I planted them tonight–all smallish starter plants, but strong and healthy and I got them all for less than $100.  First I watered and planted, then I watered more after just to make sure the poor starts have a chance!  Our dry Seattle summers are not ideal for starting a planting, but I will watch and water and hope that they all make it.  Here’s what I planted:

Towards the edge of the circle, I planted:

3 Aster oblongifolius “October Skies”–I love asters as much for their color as for the timing of their bloom–and I love the way they spread!  This bed gets enough sun that I think these will do great if they survive the summer.

1 Clethra “Hummingbird”–as soon as this cultivar was released, I wanted it.  The start I received is already blooming and should make a great addition to the bed.

A bit farther back, I added:

1 Azalea “Fragrant Star”–fragrance is always appealing to me, and this looks like a graceful cultivar.  Keeping it moist enough through the summer will be critical, as it was in a very small starter pot, so the rootball is very small and will dry out easily.

1 Azalea “Weston’s Lemon Drop”–I’m not usually a big fan of yellow flowers, but the lighter, less bright yellows appeal to me, especially in spring.

The back row includes:

1 Kerria japonica “Golden Guinea”–I planted this in front of a big Aucuba and I think it will shine there.  These bigger single flowers are much more graceful and more in keeping with the woodland nature of the bed than the more common double form.

1 Hydrangea aspera  “Villosa”–this is a spectacular species hydrangea.  It may outgrow the space I provided, but that will be a few years away.  The start was pretty small, but healthy.

1 Hydrangea macrophylla “Izu No Hana”–graceful flowers and healthy looking foliage, the start of this plant I received was already blooming at one foot tall!

1 Hydrangea “Next Generation Pistachio”–not usually a big fan of the mop head types, I was impressed with the very different coloration of this cultivar.

Around the same depth in the bed, I planted two plants that I had grown from seed:

Daphniphyllum macropodum–actually three seedlings in a gallon pot that I planted out together.  I have seen a big full grown specimen in the arboretum (and that’s where my seeds came from about five years ago), and these are beautify shrubs/small trees.

Sinocalycanthus chinensis–I am not absolutely sure of the species, but I believe this is right.  Impressive leaves and I look forward to some of the lovely flowers in a few years.  This seedling is about two feet tall and five years old, growing strongly in a gallon pot.

And lastly, right next to the giant Douglas fir itself, in a sheltered spot, I pulled away the ivy and planted this beauty to hopefully climb the trunk:

Hydrangea anomala “Petiolaris Firefly”–I know these can be fragile and hard to establish, but I do think the environment I am asking this vine to grow in is close to ideal, assuming I can keep it moist enough to establish itself this summer.

 

 

 

 

Leon found a baby warbler in the pond this morning.   He scooped it up in the skimmer and dried it off.  The tame little guy was incredibly beautiful and curious.

Once dry, the little chick flew away into the shrubbery.

We’ve seen warblers bathing in the waterfall, but didn’t realize they obviously were nesting very close by.

Below are some pictures of plants in bloom right now:

Feverfew is a volunteer that I love–I move them around and make sure they have a home somewhere I can enjoy them.  They are easy to grow, smell good and bloom like crazy!

Crocosmia “Lucifer” is almost trite at this point, it is so heavily planted and does so well here in Seattle.  But it is one of those clichés that you can totally enjoy yourself even though you know all the neighbors have it, too.

Not sure if this was a hover fly, but it acted like one…next to the Orchard Garden buzzing around the weeds, mostly.  How generous of me to leave so many weeds for insects to enjoy.

Daylily pics from the perennial bed next to the Orchard Garden.

I’m not sure which salvia this is, but it is a volunteer with me and never disappoints.  It has big, handsome leaves and these intricate stems of flowers.

I don’t have any of the big-flowered clematis, but I have some smaller flowered summer bloomers, including this purple one on the trellis outside the front door.

Voodoo lilies always impress me with their exotic, giant blooms.  The smell is dead meat, but not super strong, and the plants are fascinating.  They love the climate here in Seattle and they spread.  Also, they set seeds and the seeds will come up pretty easily, too.

Aruncus (Goat’s Beard) blooming in the Douglas Fir Bed.  These are excellent, hardy perennials that get about four feet tall and bloom wonderfully in summer.

I’ve posted pics of these Cheddar pinks before, but they continue to bloom, smell spicy and look great.

Some roses in the bed in front of the greenhouse.  Top in Bonica, bottom is Collette, and I’m not sure about the one in the middle, but it is a lovely, unusual shade.

The giant Echinops ritro in the bed in front of the greenhouse is setting buds.  This big perennial will reach four feet or more with metallic blue thistly flowers.  I grew this from seed about seven years ago and now it seeds itself around the veggie gardens, so I pot them up or move them around.

A white mullein (Verbascum hyb.) that seeded itself in the greenhouse bed.

You can see feverfew, rose campion and the big echinoops behind, with Bonica blooming inside the echinops.

Lathyrus sativus is one of the seedlings from the lathyrus mix that I started in winter.  The plant isn’t much to look at, but the flowers are stunning.

The Buddleia on the neighbor line next to the Orchard Garden.  I have three colors of butterfly bush there, including this one that blooms first.

Honestly, there hasn’t been much gardening this June, as I’ve been out of town or busy.  But I do what I can and the garden grows whether I’m home or not.

The best project that I’ve completed, thanks to Leon’s purchase of 5 yards of bark, is that I’ve put down landscape cloth and completely barked the orchard garden:

I really loved this garden before and love it even more now.  Here are some of the fruits and berries I’ve been harvesting:

Some of my favorite berries–these are tayberries.  They ripen first, along with the Wild Treasure blackberries.  They have a mild flavor and the plant is wonderfully healthy and prolific.

 My Glacier sweet cherry, which is on a very dwarf rootstock, dropped so many cherries in June (called “June drop”, this is supposedly normal) that I feared none would be left.  However, ended up with some beautiful cherries and they tasted great.

 Here are some goumis.  I haven’t figured out how to use all  of these, but I eat them fresh (large pit) and they have a nice, tart flavor.  The shrub is hardy and productive.

These blackberries are ripening fast in the warm weather.  This is Apache and it has vigorous canes and hundreds of berries.

Aronia berries are not yet ripe, but they are coming along.  This is a lovely little shrub that is growing leaps and bounds–should give me twice as many berries next year.  I love the berries in smoothies and eaten fresh.

Here are some black raspberries–a native rubus with delightful berries.  The canes loop over and root in the fall, so I get several new plants to share with friends every year.  The berries are beautiful and delicious.

Despite all the warm weather, or maybe because of it, the greenhouse is full of colorful surprises.

I’ve had this Sinningia leucothrica for many years.  This is the first year it has had two bloom spikes.  It has an interesting growth habit, with the large felted leaves and lovely orange blooms.

I’ve also had this begonia for many years and it has cheerful flowers.

This seedling geranium has brilliant flowers.  While the form isn’t the greatest, you can’t argue with the flower power.  If I had it outside, it likely could be spotted from the moon!

The most consistent amaryllis that I own–this beauty blooms reliably every year.

Hippeastrelia bloom–this clump ended up having three gorgeous blooms.  The shape and color are everything, as they are not fragrant, but you can’t have everything and I can’t get enough of this hybrid.

Probably my biggest weakness in gardening is labeling.  I ordered 13 streptocarpus leaves off Ebay years ago and they came labeled.  I never believed that the leaves would root, so didn’t bother to label them carefully.  And, amazingly, they rooted and produced beautiful plants with stunning flowers.  Streptocarpus grow perfectly in my cool greenhouse–I just keep them pretty dry in the winter and either top dress or repot them each year.  I water from below and fertilize with compost tea.  I will be taking some leaf cuttings to increase my stock this year.

This flowering maple, grown from seeds (Bella mixed) five or six years ago, blooms reliably with papery pink flowers.  I only noticed the aphids on this plant after I looked at the last photo–another benefit of blogging!  I’ll spray those off.

Here are a bunch of pics and quick notes on pictures taken on our recent trip to the Tonasket cabin:

Here is the meadow view from the cabin.   After 9+ years, each visit still brings a different scene and it amazes me every time.

Blue-eyed grass blooming in the meadow–they were everywhere this time and spectacular.

Another blue-eyed grass flower.

The real reason to go to the cabin!  Rest and quality time with ourselves and our pooches.

Here is a wildflower I have yet to identify.  I bought a new field guide, so it is only a matter of time!

Butterfly on yarrow.  There were so many butterflies this trip and so many flowers for them to feast upon!

Another one.

I got close enough to this beauty to capture its green eye.

The scarlet gilias (Ipomopsis) were brilliant this year and the swallowtails rejoiced.

The gaillardias attract butterflies, as well.

Another shot of a butterfly on a blanket flower.

Indian Paintbrush blooming above the meadow.

Wild delphiniums always catch my eye.  The camera captured the blue pretty well here–it is startling.

Another pic where you can really see the blue.

My first contact with Phacelia linearis–a striking, delicate wildflower.  Notice that it was tough to get a flower picture without a natural pollinator.

Wild roses were bursting out all over!  The fragrance near the shrub in the last picture was overwhelming–you forget what a real rose smells like!

Here is an alien that I identified on this trip–Cynoglossum offinale, the common houndstonuge.  It is only found a few places along the roads on Bench Creek Ranch, and apparently is considered invasive.  It has a coarse attractiveness and the seeds, especially, were pretty and interesting.

Another alien invader–henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) is found more and more along the Bench Creek roads.  This poisonous, shrubby perennial has interesting flowers and attractive seed pods.  You can gauge the size based on Bodhi Llasa in the second picture.  Someone had used herbicide on a stand of this plant on a nearby road, but they had missed one plant, so it seemed futile!

There are cattle on the ranch and they wander onto the meadow.  These are two of my favorites.

Bodhi found this adorable fawn behind a rock on one of our long hikes.  The fawn could barely stand and walk and could not run away.  I grabbed the dogs (not easy, as they wanted to play with it!)and left it there.

While trying to get a close-up of the Say’s Phoebe (below), this chipmunk came into view and I couldn’t resist.  There were lots of them around the cabin driving Bodhi crazy!  Click on the link below to see how crazy:

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A pair of Say’s Phoebes were all over the property…and were nesting on a beam under the eaves.  They have a constant loud whistle that is at first charming and at last annoying!

After nine years of visits, I had never seen a snake near the cabin before this trip when I actually saw two.  Beautiful creatures.

I found this duckling in a small pond beyond the meadow…no parents in sight and  it ducked into a pipe when the dogs got too close.

 

I’ve gotten so behind in gardening that I have to keep telling myself there is still time.  Thankfully, my brother came by on Saturday and helped me catch up on a few things.

One of the main things I hadn’t done yet was to uncover one of the veggie raised beds and plant it.  Brother Tim helped me with that, and Leon helped screw the rotting boards back together to last one more season.  We pulled the leaves off it that had been there all winter/spring and then I added some organic fertilizer and we planted some seeds.

Sorry for the overexposed photo, but the sun was out–SHOCKING!  We planted beans, pumpkins, crookneck, and round zucchini squash, along with calendula and endive in the small bed.  Granted, it is late to get things started, but I am hopeful that the warm soil and great weather will move the plants along quickly and we’ll get some surprises late in the season.  This is the first year I haven’t started or grown tomatoes at all–such a tragic addiction…

We have clouds today, but no real rain.  I’m having to water everything already–pots at least twice a week and garden once a week.  With the declared WA draught, I’m unsure how long I’ll be allowed to water things, but I’m trying to keep everything going…

I planted about two dozen kinds of seed, as well, with Tim’s help.  Most are perennials destined for the orchard garden.  I transplanted the red alpine strawberries, too–had about 15 of them.

Below are a bunch of photos just to show what’s going on in the `garden–not much narrative here and lots of pictures, but I’ll add what I can at a later date.

This is one of the Oriental Poppy “Pizzicato” series that I grew from seed close to 20  years ago.  I neglect these and they are surrounded by the thuggish Dracocephalum (unknown species), and yet they bloom every year.  And there are some great colors.  These are some of the seeds I started Saturday, just to get some new Pizzicatos going for other areas of the garden.

    You can see how the dracocephalum is crowding around the poppy.  But they have fresh, bright foliage and sprightly, cute, blue flowers.

Here is a close-up of the Dracocephalum:

Another color in Pizzicato:

A bee visiting the polemonium.

Another poppy–I believe this is Papaver atlanticum.  This is a happy reseeder and is  always welcomed in my spring garden.

Campanula persicifolia–goes great with the poppy above.

Below is a surprise!  It is Nicotiana langsdorfii.  I grew these from seed maybe 15 years ago and they persisted for a few years and then died out.  Somehow, one started up in a pot in the greenhouse randomly last year, and I potted it on thinking it was N. alata, which I have had in the greenhouse for several years.  I was very surprised when the plant I set out in the orchard garden bloomed with these beautiful chartreuse flowers!

Below is the inside-out flower, Vancouveria, which I have planted in the Douglas fir bed.  It is thriving now that the meddling hardy geranium has been rooted out of that bed.

Another great campanula–poscharskyana.  I have this one in several places.

Here is a close-up of the Cheddar pink, Dianthus gratianopolitanus.  The flowers are lovely, but the spicy fragrance is what keeps me coming back.

Another fragrant beauty–Hesperis matronalis Alba–this one reseeds, as well, and I’ve kept it going for about five years.

Yet another reseeder–Lychnis coronaria.  I’m a sucker for these incredibly generous plants–bright and boisterous and so very easy.

I often think herbs are wasted on us, as we don’t cook often and forget that we even have them!  But I am a sucker for salvias, and the classic herb sage is in that tribe, and is lovely in bloom, which no one ever tells you!

Here is a fun plant–Chinese Golden Podded Peas!  These are especially easy to harvest, as the pods are so easy to see, and they taste great.  Our dogs are huge fans, which means we only get about 1 in 10 of the peas!

A lovely rhody in the woodland garden.  Many people feel rhodies are overused in our area, but it is tough to argue against them in May when they are in their glory!

A pair of this lavender rhody resides under our living room picture window.  Unfortunately, they are much too large to live there comfortably and we prune them within an inch of their lives every year.  I have big plans to move them when I redo the front yard and get them out away from the house where they can grow to their hearts content.  After last year’s pruning, we only got two blooms!

I’m not a huge fan of hybrid roses, but we have a few around the yard.  This is the floribunda “Europeana”, and it is a lovely, pure red.

Below is the delicate flower of one of my favorite hardy geraniums–G. nodosum.  The leaves of this variety are shiny, unlike any other leaf in the garden, and they really shine in part shade.  Beware, though, that this delicate beauty has a hidden agenda:  territory expansion.  And given the right conditions, it will seed rampantly.  It is not difficult to weed out, and I have not found it to be invasive in my garden, but a friend’s garden to whom I “gifted” this plant was quickly overrun.

Leon’s labor of love–the pond in the woodland garden.  He has struggled mightily to get the water to be clear.  I’m embarrassed that I am the gardener and yet the prettiest place in the yard is the woodland garden and pond that he manages!

 

Today was a perfect spring day for transplanting.  Unfortunately, I found the time for this project much later than was ideal.  I suspect the plants will recover and grow on nicely, anyway–I could almost hear them sighing with relief as I moved them to better potting mix and bigger pots.

Here is a list of what I ended up potting on today:

Polemonium “Purple Rain”–I ended up potting on a dozen of these, and they will go nicely in the orchard garden in the fall when I plant it.

Mixed Campanulas–there are about a dozen or more of these, too.  They appear to be smaller, trailing types, as opposed to the tall uprights, like lactiflora and persicifolia.  It will be fun to see what they are–these will end up in the orchard garden, as well.

Abutilon vitifolium “Suntense” —these germinated sporadically over time, and in fact several seedlings have just come up, so I left them in the seed pot.  I was able to transplant a dozen of the larger seedlings.  I’ll keep a few in pots, likely, and sell the others at the plant sale here in September.

Myosotis scorpioides–I think the starting mix was too sandy for these seeds, but they did come up over time and I ended up with about 15 tiny seedlings to pot on.  I put them in a more moisture retentive mix, so hopefully they’ll gain some ground before being set out in the orchard garden.

Alpine strawberries–Interestingly, many more of the yellow type came up than the red.  I potted on over 20 of the yellow, but left the red in their seed pot to grow on a bit more.  I counted about a dozen of the red.  These will go in the orchard garden, too.

Mixed dianthus–I transplanted nine of these–they are destined for the orchard garden, too.  I may need to get more seeds, though, as nine won’t do the job considering how much ground I need to cover!

Argemone albiflora–three of these appear to have survived my tray-dropping accident from a while back.  They looks so much like California poppies that I’m a bit suspicious;  we’ll see what they end up being.

Oenothera pallida–I transplanted at least two dozen of these.  They were smallish, but seem fine and had good roots.  Some will go in the orchard garden, some will be sold and some are destined for our friend Mike, who winters in Arizona where I discovered these beautiful plants growing wild and blooming in the dessert.

Mixed lathyrus–there were 14 of these seedlings that I potted on, and their roots were pretty tangled.  Hopefully, they will recover and grow well.  Only two of them appear to be vines and the rest appear to be bushy perennials.

Some of the transplants above.  The abutilons are to the right, the myositis are in the middle, with campanulas in the back and the red strawberries to the left crowded a bit in the six-pack.

 

 

Spring is almost over and I’ve had no chance to blog!  First, I went to Europe on vacation and upon my return, it seemed more important to try and catch up with the gardening than to write about it!

I feel the need to share some flower pictures, without much rhyme or reason.  So many wonderful plants have been blooming!

Here is the pitcher plant in full bloom from the greenhouse.  It has the strangest flowers!

Another amazing flower from the greenhouse–the butterfly amaryllis:

Below is Freesia laxa blooming over some cacti.  I moved a bunch of seedlings of these plants to the garden this spring, as I’ve read that they are hardy in England, so suspect they might be hardy here.

Another all-time favorite–the Pelargonium papilionaceum–the flowers are delicate and showy at the same time.

Now, heading outside the greenhouse and into the garden, here are some fiddleheads–not flowers, but just as beautiful!

And below are flowers from Geranium phaeum.  I love this plant, which is surrounded by the mildly thuggish Geranium macrorrhizum and still manages to hold its own and bloom beautifully.

I do have one plant of Biokovo, the white/very light pink G. macrorrhizum cultivar.  It is not as invasive as I’d like, so I’m going to tackle some propagation attempts this year to increase my stock.

Below is Polemonium Apricot Delight, grown from seed over ten years ago.  This beauty impresses every year with its subtle color and graceful form.  It starts pretty easily by natural layers, so I’m spreading it around the garden.

I have so many bearded iris that never bloom (due to lack of sun and possibly a bit of neglect; I never clean the grass away from the rhizomes as I should).  But the below old-fashioned beauty always comes through.  This is one my mother grew 50 years ago and while it isn’t as showy as some of the modern hybrids, it has a wonderful delicate scent to complement its iron constitution.

Below is the diminutive lilac “Miss Kim”.  This is a darling little shrub and the fragrance is more subtle than in the bigger lilacs (lower pic) I have, but it is there if you get close enough.

Sometimes the most common flowers still provide a bright spot and a smile.  This lovely violet has perfectly colored leaves and lots of gorgeous lavender purple flowers.

I grew the below columbines from seed and they are a mix of doubles and singles.  The singles have grace…

But the doubles are impressive and showy…

You don’t think of blackberries as a garden flower, normally, and I’m not sure if I am biased by the promise of sweet berries that these flowers hold.  Truthfully, though, I think these are as pretty as a climbing rose.

 Nectaroscordum siculum is closely allied to Alliums.  This one is super hardy and shines in the spring garden, even when brighter blooms are shining all around.

I grew Papaver bracteatum plants from seed close to 20 years ago.  They never fail to impress with their size (stems to 5 feet and 8″ blooms) and their amazing color.  Photos never capture this electric hue, but you can see the bluish pollen here, which provides a wonderful contrast.

Another strange place to find beauty–fava beans!  I grew these over the winter and they are now close to four feet tall with lots of these amazing flowers.  These are handsome plants and I can’t wait to see how the beans form and grow.

The early spring clematis bloomed pretty well, considering they were mauled a lot last year when we redid the patio and painted the fence.

Some of the berries in bloom–goumi and aronia.

Below are the Solomon Seals that I have all over the garden.  The flowers are charming flared bells with green tips, and they are delightfully fragrant on a still evening.