Ramblings from Rabbitbrush Ranch

Book review: The New Sunset Western Garden Book

2012-02-08T22:57:38Z

I consult the Sunset Western Garden Book whenever I choose a new plant for my garden, but I don’t buy it every time it’s updated. Plants don’t change that much over the years, do they?

However, I was curious about the new (ninth) edition, released this month just in time to plan this year’s gardening. I don’t know whether recent editions have addressed climate change before, but I was curious to see what the new guide would have to say about it. After all, Northern Nevada’s first and last frost dates have changed in recent years, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen 20 degrees below zero here.

So the first thing I looked at in The New Sunset Western Garden Book was the climate zone section and found that it still shows our minimum temperature as 20 below. The editors do discuss “Climate Change and Gardening”: They say average temperatures in the West have risen a degree or two in the past 30 years but that does not change the zones.

Northern Nevada, by the way, is in Sunset garden zone 2B. Both Reno and Carson City are actually on the edge between 2B and 1A, “the coldest zone west of the Rockies.” (Sunset climates zones are different from USDA zones, which are used by many seed and plant catalogs.)

The Sunset guide has always been a complete package of gardening knowledge for Western gardeners, and the editors seem to have added even more to the new edition.

A section I used a lot when I had to landscape a bare half acre in the 1980s was the Plant Finder. That section seems to have grown. Now it has 11 lists of plants to solve problems such as wind or hungry deer and nine lists of “earth-friendly” plants adapted for certain growing conditions or attractive to birds, bees and so on.

It also has seven lists of plants for “special effects.” Do you know what a moon garden is? No, it’s not round, and no, it’s not rocky and pitted. It’s a garden filled with plants that are attractive at night.

Can’t wait to buy the book? The Sunset site has a searchable Plant Finder.

The Gardening, Start to Finish section of the book probably will allow you to get rid of all your other gardening books. It provides everything you need to know, including planning, soil preparation, planting, growing various types of plants, watering, fertilizing, staking/training, protection and managing pests, diseases and weeds. All of the advice is based on years of experience in the western states.

The heart of the book, of course, is the encyclopedia of 9,000 plants (compared with 8,000 in the previous edition). Each entry gives a plant description, the zones the plant will survive in, sun and water needs and potential size. The encyclopedia includes color photos for the first time.

The plants are listed by their botanical names, but the Sunset editors have thought of everything. If all you know is a common name, you can find it in the index. They even provide an explanation of botanical names and a pronunciation guide.

Sunset is publishing the “paperback” version of the new edition with what it calls “flexible” binding. It’s sturdy paper with a glossy finish, and it overlaps the pages like a “hard” cover. It’s supposed to be more durable than a regular paperback cover. It will be interesting to see how it holds up with the heavy use I will be giving it.

The New Sunset Western Garden Book has a cover price of $34.95 for the flexible binding and $44.95 for the hardcover, but I’ve already seen it for less at Amazon.com. If you would like to try to win a free copy, you have until 9 a.m. Feb. 12 to submit up to 75 words about what makes a great western garden.

Also posted on ThisIsReno.com.

'Tis the season . . . for gardening classes

2012-02-01T04:31:27Z

Northern Nevadans know we can't start gardening in February no matter how sunny it is. This is a great time, though, for gardening classes.

Moana Nursery has four gardening seminars scheduled for February (from a news release):

Feb. 4—Ornamental and Fruit Tree Pruning — Hands-on workshop with Moana Nursery Plant Doctor and Certified Arborist Jon Bryn. Wear appropriate clothing for outside and bring your pruners and gloves. Class will last 1-1/2 hours.

Feb. 11—Shrub, Vines, Grape & Berry Pruning — Hands-on workshop with Moana Nursery Plant Doctor and Certified Arborist Jon Bryn. Wear appropriate clothing for outside and bring your pruners and gloves. Class will last 1-1/2 hours.

Feb. 18: High Desert Gardening 101 — Moana Nursery Plant Doctor and longtime high desert gardener Steve Packer will teach you the basics. If you’re new to gardening or new to the area, this course is a must to ensure your gardening success!

Feb. 25: It’s All About the Soil! — Moana Nursery Plant Doctor and longtime high desert gardener Lisa Braginton will show you why the key to gardening success begins with the soil and why the soil in Northern Nevada needs to be amended and fed.

All seminars are free and held at Moana Nursery, 1190 W. Moana Lane, in the Landscape and Design Center. Seminars begin promptly at 10 a.m. and last an hour unless otherwise noted. The nursery recommends arriving 15 minutes early as seating is limited to 60 and is first come, first served. Visit Moana's website or call (775) 825-0600 for more information.

First crocus/crocuses/croci of 2012

2012-01-31T23:41:09Z

These tiny beauties appeared along my front walk yesterday. They caught me by surprise because, as you can see, hardly any foliage has poked up.

Yes, these are the cheap crocus bulbs I bought at WinCo and planted in the fall of 2010. I complained a couple of times last year because they just sent up foliage and never bloomed. I'm sorry, WinCo.Well, kind of. They really should have bloomed the first year.

As I wrote the headline for this post, I wasn't sure about the plural of "crocus." I first checked my gardening bible, the Sunset Western Garden Book. It seemed to use "crocus" as the plural.

To be sure, I checked the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Its first choice is "crocuses," but it also gives "crocus" and "croci" as plural. That means I'm covered no matter what I do. I still don't think I'll ever use the word "croci."

Speaking of the Sunset guide, I recently found out they're publishing an updated edition! I can't wait to check it out and review it here.

Thinking about growing your own food?

2012-01-27T06:29:40Z

Although I've been growing flowers longer than I'll admit, I started trying to grow food just a few years ago. Where did I turn to get up to speed on fruit and veggie growing? The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.

The Cooperative Extension is Information Central for all aspects of Northern Nevada gardening, which is why I've had a link to it here forever and why you should consider signing up for its "Grow Your Own!" classes if you've been thinking about growing your own food.

From a UNCE news release:

The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has eight new “Grow Your Own!” classes to help you get on the path to sustainable, local, healthy living.

Beginning in February and ending in late March, UNCE offices in Carson City, Duck Valley, Elko, Ely, Eureka, Fallon, Hawthorne, Logandale, Reno, Winnemucca and Yerington will return with the ever-popular “Grow Your Own!” series, providing gardeners and health buffs in the Silver State with a “back-to-the-basics guide to great harvests in Nevada.”

Schedule

Feb. 8: What to do with all those seed catalogs
Feb. 15: Greenhouse growing
Feb. 22: Raised-bed gardening
Feb. 29: Edible landscaping
March 7: Training and pruning fruit trees
March 14: From anise to yarrow: growing herbs
March 21: Saving seeds from your garden
March 28: Preserving your harvest

“Anyone can become a better gardener by attending these classes,” said Horticulture Specialist Heidi Kratsch. “From the beginner to the advanced gardener, everyone can benefit from a Grow Your Own class.”

Extension experts will touch on seed storing, raised-flower-bed construction, best practices for growing delicious herbs and vegetables, and the benefits of low-cost, high-yield greenhouses and hoop houses.

“Hoop houses are really taking off here,” Kratsch said. “Some Nevadans who built hoop houses last season are reaping the benefits of this warm, dry winter by growing some of their foods year-round.”

To register for any and all of the upcoming “Grow Your Own!” classes, contact Ashley Andrews at the Washoe County Cooperative Extension Office at (775) 784-4848.

The class fee for Reno residents is $15, or $60 to register for all eight classes.

Class fees in other locations may vary. Carson City, Duck Valley, Elko, Ely, Eureka, Fallon, Lovelock, Pahrump, Winnemucca, Tonopah and Yerington residents should contact their local Cooperative Extension office for information on attending the series in those locations.

See and learn about orchids this weekend

2012-01-25T03:48:27Z

This is an orchid I bought at Trader Joe's for $7.99 two years ago. It's living proof that orchids are easy to grow, because I still have the plant. (I know, it's hard for me to believe myself!) Getting it to bloom again might be another story, but it did bloom for months after I bought it.

Before I took a chance on this plant, I thought orchids were just for prom corsages and eccentric people who obsessed about them. Now I know their beauty is within the reach of even a black-thumbed person like me.

I'm telling you all this as a way of introducing the rest of this post, which is based on a news release I got from Moana Nursery today.

The nursery will be hosting the Northern Nevada Orchid Show Friday through Sunday (Jan. 27– 29). The show will include the Easy Orchid Seminar Saturday.

A selection of several varieties of unusual orchids–including funky masdevallias, foliage jewel orchids, dendrobiums, phaleonopsis, lady slippers, and cattleyas–plus orchid supplies will be available for purchase. Ten percent of orchid purchases made during the show will be donated by Moana Nursery to the Orchid Society.

Schedule

Orchid Society of Northern Nevada Show - Moana Lane Garden Center

Friday, Jan. 27—Noon to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 28—11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 29—11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Members of the society will be exhibiting some of their rare plants at the show and will be available to answer questions about orchids and the society throughout the show.

Easy Orchids Seminar with Sean Abbott of Moana Landscape & Design Center

Saturday, Jan. 28—10 a.m.

Learn how easy it is to have gorgeous blooming orchids. With a few simple tips, you will be able to grow orchids that bloom for months. According to Moana Nursery, the hardest thing about orchids is choosing a color!

You can help with the Great Backyard Bird Count

2012-01-24T05:04:16Z

The following post is based on a Moana Nursery news release:

The 15^th annual Great Backyard Bird Count takes place Feb. 17 – 20. It is the perfect opportunity to enjoy nature and be a citizen-scientist. This study helps scientists better define bird ranges, populations, migration pathways, and habitat needs.

Wild Birds Unlimited is the major sponsor of this joint project between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Studies Canada, and the National Audubon Society. Individuals, families, schools, and organizations are encouraged to count birds at bird feeders and in backyards, local parks, or other locations. Those tallies are then reported online through the BirdSource website at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

The BirdSource website is a revolutionary partnership between citizens and scientists. It gives participants almost instantaneous feedback through graphics, animated maps, and other regularly updated information.

The GBBC is a fun and educational way to get kids excited about birds and nature. Kids are encouraged to participate in the count. To learn more and get additional activities for kids, visit the GBBCWebsite. Additional kids' activities can be found on the Wild Birds Unlimited Pathwaysto Nature for Kids Website.

Results from the 2011 Count

More than 92,000 checklists were submitted. 2011 was the third year in a row for which checklists have topped 90,000.
11,471,951 individual birds were counted. The northern cardinal was reported on the most checklists, followed by the mourning dove.
The counts for the American crow were up, the first time in eight years. Crows were hit hard by the West Nile virus starting in 1999.

For more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count, call or stop by the Wild Birds Unlimited store located within each Moana Nursery location: 1100 W. Moana Lane (825-0600); 11301 S. Virginia Street (853-1319); or 7655 Pyramid Highway (425-4300); or visit www.reno.wbu.com.

Wild Birds Unlimited, located in Reno and Sparks, is part of the original and largest franchise system of backyard bird feeding and nature specialty stores with more than 275 locations throughout the United States and Canada. Wild Birds Unlimited specializes in bringing people and nature together with bird feeding and nature products, expert advice, and educational events.

I promised you a rose garden report

2011-11-05T22:11:57Z

I so hoped I'd have a pretty rose garden to show my readers by now, but reality prevailed.

Early this year we moved more than a dozen rose bushes from the front yard to the back because they were all in the wrong places--scratching people coming up our front walk, getting in the way of the faucet, growing where they're hard to water, etc.

We moved them while they were dormant and arranged them in an area of the yard separated by concrete curb and covered with shredded bark. The soil seemed decent, and I added my homemade compost. Like magic, all but one eventually put out leaves and several even bloomed this summer.

I use the word "magic:" because I have never had much luck growing roses with the exception of pioneer roses, miniature roses, and my son's Chrysler Imperial rose. In fact, I never would have been foolish enough to try a rose garden if I hadn't needed a place to put all the bushes that were already here. I hate to discard living plants.

I meant to fertilize them all summer but just never got around to it, which is normal for me. I did manage to keep them watered, even without an irrigation system installed yet.

Results

Only a few of them bloomed. At least one is a miniature rose, so it will be out of place. The worst thing is I suspect many of them are rootstock roses--that is, the hybrid roses of various colors that were grafted onto rootstock have died and the branches coming up from the roots are plain red ones.

Here's one that bloomed and not from the rootstock. Yellow is not my favorite color, but I'll take it!

Excuses

Once I got all the weeds pulled this summer, I spent my gardening time on the rose garden and pond/waterfall area. I have a huge time-sucking project along the fence there: pulling the dirt away from the fence. Attention previous owners: Rickety old fences do not make long-term retaining walls!

I've managed to kill most of the whitetop that was flourishing there. I've thoroughly sprayed the salt grass two and a half times (half the grass the third time in case you're wondering), but it's not giving up yet. When it's dead I'm going to have to pull it out by hand.

Then there's all the weed cloth that (see previous paragraph) doesn't keep weeds from growing. I'm pulling out as much of it as I can and resigning myself to the fact that I'll be finding pieces of it as long as I'm gardening here.

And now that we've had a hard freeze, the roses will be on their own until next April. Maybe, just maybe, I'll manage to get them fertilized then.

New tool I have to have (and one I couldn't wait for)

2011-11-04T22:03:48Z

I saw these leaf scoops in a magazine this week and instantly knew I had to have them.

OK, in this little picture they look hair combs. However, have you ever raked up a pile of leaves or debris and then looked around for something you could use to pick up as much of it as possible to put in a garbage can or bag? These are the size and shape you need, and they have handy handles and teeth.

Maybe they're in local stores, but I've never seen them.

Another tool I've been meaning to recommend is the Keter Easy Go cart. It's like a lidless plastic garbage can with wheels and a high back with a hole at the top to use as a handle. I can fill it with gravel, rocks, soil, leaves, compost, etc. and drag it around the yard easily. I bought one early in the summer because I was afraid they would all disappear if I waited. I'm glad I did, because I've used it a lot.

Fall decorations from the garden

2011-10-21T05:39:27Z

I wanted to show you how easy it is to make seasonal decorations with Northern Nevada plants. I'm as far as you can get from a designer, but I like what I've done this fall.

Above, I've tied rabbirbrush and chaste tree blooms to a purchased wreath. I confess that the chaste tree blooms wilted quickly. I originally planned to use lavender on this, but the flowers on that were long gone. I think I'll try Russian sage with rabbitbrush next time because I like the purple-gold combination.

Below is an idea I got from Better Homes and Gardens. I just put showy milkweed seedpods in a vase.

It's been fun for me to look around outside for things I can turn into decorations. If I can come up with these, imagine what you could do!

Gardening should relieve stress, not cause it

2011-09-29T19:55:05Z

I've just finished reading Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older by Sydney Eddison.

As the title implies, it gives advice to aging gardeners who don't want to give up their gardens. It appealed to me because I've realized in the last few years I probably will be alive longer than I'll be able to do the yard work I do now. I even made a conscious effort at our old house to start replacing high maintenance areas with lower maintenance landscaping.

Here are the tips from the author that I'm planning to keep in mind as I plan the new landscape here. I think they are just as valuable for young, busy gardeners as they are for older gardeners:

English-style perennial borders are very high maintenance. You don't have to plant perennials every year, but you do have to remove dead leaves, deadhead the flowers, divide them every few years, stake some of them, and so on.
Keep the perennials that need the least work and give you the most pleasure.
Use shrubs instead of perennials, even though some do require annual pruning. Research them before you buy.
Work with the existing environment. Eddison wrote at great length about gardening next to and in Connecticut woodland. Here, I let rabbitbrush grow wherever it pops up in the rear part of the back yard.
Use mulch to control weeds and enrich the soil.
Plant in containers. Yes! It took me a long time to realize how much easier it is to take care of plants in pots. One of the best things is no weeds. I also like being able to rearrange them.
In a new garden, use lots of bulbs, ground covers, and shrubs and plant fewer perennials.

I'm ignoring some of her advice:

Hire help or recruit volunteers. The main reason I garden is I enjoy being outdoors when the weather is nice. Having other people do the work defeats the purpose. With that said, I do need and get help for the physically demanding tasks.
Don't be a perfectionist. Are you kidding? If I were a perfectionist in the garden I'd have given up soon after I started. Again, I just enjoy spending time with my flowers. The only time I realize how imperfect (sloppy) everything looks is when someone visits.
Turn your lawn into a meadow. Sorry, but meadows sound like a lot of work if you still want to keep weeds out of them.
Be willing to give up high maintenance mature plants such as overgrown hedges or old trees. I think I'm pretty practical when it comes to these. I'm hoping to get rid of a couple of cottonwood trees and and all the juniper bushes this fall or winter. (Did you know junipers are called "gasoline plants" because they burn so quickly?)

I would add one more piece of advice of my own:

Embrace tools, especially power tools. When I finally got around to buying a lightweight electric chainsaw, I was amazed at how much time and energy it saved me. I use an electric hedge trimmer to mow last year's ornamental grass and some perennials and weeds. I've tried a couple of different kinds of garden carts that have made yard work easier, too.

I found an ongoing theme of the book pretty amusing. Both the author and I love daylilies. I love them because they have pretty flowers, they bloom for a long time, their foliage looks good most of the time with little work, and they'll tolerate poor soil and irregular watering. She loves them as unique cultivars (and she has a hundred or so unique ones). She says they take all her time for the month of July and she spends 2 hours each evening snapping off all the day's blossoms (while they're still fresh) instead of waiting and deadheading them in the morning.

Whoa. One of the things I've always liked about daylilies is you don't have to deadhead them. I just cut off the stalks after all the flowers have bloomed. Clearly I'm way ahead of the author in the area of giving up perfectionism!

Good Garden Award: Renown

2011-09-06T22:02:05Z

The intent of my Good Garden Award series is to call attention to outstanding gardens that my readers can easily find and see from the street. This one goes to Renown Regional Medical Center for the landscaping around its Mill Street entrance.

It took me a while to catch on, but the Russian sage matches the Renown logo and color. I wish I'd had my camera handy when I saw an employee wearing purple scrubs walk down that sidewalk. The choice of Russian sage must have been intentional, but I don't know. Purple is one of my favorite colors, so I just enjoy it.

What were they thinking?

2011-09-02T04:57:14Z

We were driving down the street a few weeks ago and saw a landscaper pruning the flowers off some Russian sages. That's right, cutting all the purple sprays off them. Every time I go by them now, I wonder why.

Sure, you need to cut the dead branches off in the spring, but why would anyone want to cut the flowers off now and leave them like this?

Then there's this tree. Every time I drive by it I wonder, What were they thinking????

It's been like this for more than a year; it's not going to grow back. The more I look at it, the more It looks as if the tree is holding up its hands in supplication, asking, Why? Why? Did someone decide it was yard art after they pruned it to death? It just makes me sad.

If you do the work and no one sees it, have you accomplished anything?

2011-08-26T20:59:31Z

"Oh! You haven't done anything in the back yet," our visitor exclaimed last weekend as she looked out the window at this:

Ouch. We rushed to defend ourselves.

This year in back I've--

Planted potatoes.
Killed the whitetop.
Hand-pulled all the flixweed.
Hand-pulled the prickly lettuce and cheat grass in the rear area.
"Mowed" the weeds in the former lawn several times, using the hedge trimmer when the string on the Weedeater kept jamming.
Hand-pulled the weeds on the concrete deck.
Smothered more weeds with carpet pad.
Sprayed the salt grass in the "rose garden" with Roundup (took a full 2.25-gallon tank).
Moved plants out of the corner planters on the concrete deck to the garden.
Planted a few more perennials in the garden.
Kept flowers and veggies alive in pots on the patio.
Started to dig out the dirt and bark piled up against the back fences.

Together we've--

Cut down several dead fruit trees and hauled them to the dump.
Cut a large, dying branch off this cottonwood tree and cut it into firewood.
Moved 14 rosebushes from the front yard to the back.
Pruned the trees.
Pulled a lot of the rocks out of the pond we're going to get rid of (we'll need a backhoe for the rest).

I shouldn't blame our visitor for not noticing the absence of a 4-foot-high weed jungle. But still--she didn't give us credit for doing anything at all. Ouch.

Finally, progress to report

2011-08-06T22:34:05Z

Some readers may remember we bought the house behind us last fall with plans to rescue it and the yard. Whether I should or not, I feel the pressure of people wondering why I haven't written much about all my gardening accomplishments since then. Big sigh.

We spent all fall working on the inside of the house and moved in the first of the year. It killed me to ignore the weeds going to seed. I did spray the whitetop in front with Roundup and spread some Preen.

I took the picture below the day after escrow closed.

One of the first things I'd done when escrow closed was tear down the Virginia creeper growing across the front of the house, and I was almost finished by the time I thought about taking this picture. I also had to plant some crocus bulbs I bought at WinCo. I wanted to be sure something would come up this spring. (Ironically, the crocuses came up but never bloomed.)

As you know, we had no spring in Northern Nevada this year. Worse than that, an illness in the family hijacked all our time, energy, and money. Besides having little time for gardening until recently, my landscaping budget went from small to none.

Still, nothing can keep me from doing something in the yard!

The roses in the planter shown above were growing out onto the sidewalk and snagged us and anyone who came to visit or work on the house. Early this spring we moved them and a dozen other rosebushes from the front yard to the back, where I decided to try to make a rose garden for the first time ever. I've never had much luck with roses (other than "pioneer" types), but these were all in the wrong places in front and I couldn't just dig them up and throw them away. I'll report on those later.

Phil also dug out the pyracantha bush (far right) for me.

As soon as we had warm weather this year, I started pulling weeds. My first priority was the county right-of-way between our front fence and the street. We have lots of dog walkers, joggers, and bicyclists, and I have pride. Unfortunately, all the cheat grass, etc. went to seed long before I finished. From there I moved to the back yard, where I'm still not finished.

At the same time, I started working on the front planter where the roses had been. First I had to remove all the sparkly white gravel (ugh) and weed blocker. I also pulled out the brick edging; it seemed like overkill since the sidewalk provided an edge already. (I'll use the bricks somewhere else.) Then I dug in a couple of bags of compost left over from the raised bed planters at our old house.

The Mexican primroses that were already here started blooming early, and it was really encouraging to have some non-weed green and some pretty flowers. A lone chrysanthemum plant growing under a rosebush survived the bush's removal, and I moved it down the row.

For now I've placed a big pot with a Russian sage (from our old yard) where the pyracantha was. I planted baboon flowers around it; I got foliage but no blooms this year. I spent a few bucks in May on some petunias, violas, pansies, and lobelia. (The pansies and violas died when the summer sun hit them, and the lobelia, which I'd planted around the Russian sage planter, were buried by the muskmelon vine that sprang up from a seed in the homemade compost I used there.)

I checked my Sunset guide for plants that could tolerate both sun and shade and didn't need a lot of water, and I decided to use irises and lilies of the Nile. (Lilies of the Nile are not guaranteed to survive our winters, but this is a sheltered spot. I also considered day lilies, but I'm trying to plant in groups here (rather than the one-of-each plantings I've done before). I've added grape hyacinth bulbs all along the front edge. All of these plants came from our old yard.

I have to explain about the plants in the center, between the stepping stones. That's where I planted the lilies of the Nile, but a bunch of four o'clock seeds came along with them from my old garden. I don't really want four o'clocks there; they're pretty and they're vigorous, two valuable features for someone like me, but they drop millions of seeds. I'm just letting these grow there until I can find another place for them. (They tolerate poor soil but need regular water and a little protection from cold.)

The covered porch is an awesome place for tender houseplants. Right now I have a fuchsia and a heliotrope there, and I'm looking forward to a time when I can sit on the porch surrounded by all kinds of lush, sweet-smelling flowers.

Not really. I'd be bored.

Mystery plants

2011-07-23T06:11:18Z

Maybe I'm weird. OK, I admit I'm compulsive. I hate to pull out plants if I don't know what they are. What if they're beautiful flowers? Sometimes they're weeds, but sometimes they're not and I'm glad I've spared them.

How about you? Do you recognize these plants?

Mystery plant 1

This is a plant we found when we bought our house last fall. Not knowing what the flowers looked like made it difficult to find in Weeds of the West, and I tentatively identified as a nasty weed called leafy spurge. Leafy spurge is very difficult to kill, so I put off doing anything about it until this year.

Mystery plant 2

This plant sprouted next to our sidewalk among the Mexican primroses this spring. I wasn't aware of anything like that in that planter last summer and fall when we bought the house, but I didn't want to take the chance of pulling it out if it was a nice flower. (And as it kept growing, I started wondering if it was a shrub.)

Mystery plant 3

This spring I dug compost into the planter along the front sidewalk and planted baboon flower bulbs. These plants with the fat leaves appeared with the narrow, spiky leaves of the baboon flowers. I came very close to pulling them, but they looked familiar and not like any weed I could remember.What would have grown there before or blown in on the wind?

Eventually I realized they looked like melon plants. Again, how the heck would melon seeds have gotten there? Oh, wait--the compost! I gave them more time to see what they turned into.

Mystery plant 4

You might have to look closely, but see those huge leaves among the dame's rocket, flax, and lamb's ears?They're maybe a foot long and 6 inches across, and they have spikes at the tips of the points.

This appeared at our old house this year. We had lived in that house for 25 years, and I had never seen anything like it.

Ready for the answers?

Plant 1

Ta da! This is no leafy spurge--it's a showy milkweed. Some people consider it a weed--I consider it a wildflower and plan to keep it. I'm glad I never got around to hitting it with the Roundup.

Plant 2

I went through my weed book over and over trying to find this plant. It kept growing but didn't get any buds. It was really out of place in that flowerbed, but I just couldn't bear getting rid of it in case it was a good plant.

Finally I recognized the purple spots on the stems in the weed book. What was it? A common cocklebur. I say "was" because I pulled it out as soon as I knew what it was.

Plant 3

I'm sure this is a cantaloupe vine. It's loaded with yellow flowers, and it's doing a lot better than the melons did in the fancy raised planters we built at our old house! I just hope no one trips over them.

Oh, the baboon flowers? They were supposed to bloom between March and June but never did. Thanks, WinCo, I'll remember that when you put your cheap bulbs out for sale next spring.

Plant 4

I'm sad to report I don't have another picture of this plant.

When I last saw it, a few weeks ago, it was about 6 feet tall and looked menacing with those huge leaves with long thorns all around them and thorns all along the main stem. On top of it were several flower buds--thistle flower buds. They appeared to be yellow. Of course I didn't have my camera with me.

I couldn't find anything like it in my weed book. The closest, with purple flowers, is Scotch thistle, but the leaves on that aren't nearly as large.

I went back 2 days later with my camera. Our sons, who are living in our old house now, informed me they had dug it up. I was stunned.

They reminded me I'd been nagging them about the weeds and had warned them about that one especially. I probably had, but being a realistically cynical mom it had never occurred to me that the plant was in any more danger from them than the prickly lettuce they'd been ignoring.

I probably missed the opportunity of a lifetime. It must be a very rare plant. Heck, maybe I could have had it named after me. Do you think laurel busch thistle would confuse anyone?

Orphan houseplants

2011-07-14T05:33:04Z

Have you ever adopted someone else's houseplants?

I try to avoid it because I neglect houseplants so badly and I don't want to be responsible for killing someone else's. However, a couple of times it's been a choice between leaving them to die or bringing them home with me.

That's how I ended up with some of my mother-in-law's plants when she passed away in 2003. She had an unbelievable green thumb, so the responsibility was awesome. Surprisingly, most of her plants have survived my clumsy care quite well. My only explanation is they have to grow well because Rose planted them. She was that good.

This Easter cactus of hers even bloomed for me for the first time this spring; it must like the bathroom in our "new" house.

It's been nearly a year since I brought home a couple of my Aunt Alice's plants from Oregon when she had to move into assisted living. She had one of those huge Christmas or Easter cactuses, and another aunt told me it was possible it had originally been my grandmother's. How could I say no?

As you can see, it seems to be doing well here. It even bloomed (lightly) early this year!

Aunt Al's mother-in-law's tongue, on the other hand, is struggling. That's the small one on the floor behind the cactus. It was damaged by the sun on the way here, and when I repotted it I discovered it had no roots. I haven't given up on it yet.

I really don't want to tell my aunts. cousins, and siblings I killed it.

Weed battles and a miracle

2011-06-09T18:57:39Z

Weeds might not be as interesting as flowers or food to some. I happen to enjoy the challenge of identifying them and (occasionally) defeating them. I even find pulling them relaxing.

Maybe this "bouquet" of pulled flixweed plants couild be considered a battle trophy. (Don't worry, I bagged them up as soon as I took the picture.)

Now that it's finally sunny and calm, I have quite a backlog. As you know, we moved into this house last fall and it had been totally neglected for at least a couple of years. My current battlefield is below:

I'm trying to pull all the flixweed while the ground is still moist from the recent rains and before it goes to seed.

Whitetop, on the other hand, can't be removed by pulling or digging. About the only cure for that is Roundup.

Whitetop is considered a noxious weed by the state of Nevada, but unfortunately it got way out of control here. I need a lot of Roundup, but I will be relentless.

Remember my great carpet pad experiment? I concluded in March that carpet pad was useless for anything but sprouting seeds. I intended to roll up all the pads, but thank goodness I've been too busy (or lazy) to do that because a miracle has occurred since then! All those weed seedlings and everything else underneath it died.

I can see I'll be fighting this battle for a while, so I have to enjoy the small victories! (You can see my current effort on the right: cardboard covered with grass clippings.)

Microclimate?

2011-05-31T22:24:22Z

This spring just gets crazier. Look at this ash tree at our old house today.

The lower branches have small, black, crunchy leaves.

I've considered three possibilities: fire, disease, and frost. There's no other evidence of fire (or any reason to think our sons built a bonfire under it), so I gave more thought to disease and frost.

I can imagine a disease that might start at the trunk and not kill the ends of the branches right away, but there are no green leaves on the ends of the lower branches.

That leaves frost. But I'm surprised to see such a sharp dividing line, and I'm surprised the damage isn't reversed. In other words, I would expect the lower branches to be OK and the upper branches to be damaged. Isn't the air warmer next to the ground?

Another possibility is cold, heavy air sinking, but this tree is out in the open and not in a low spot.

One more clue: the ash tree at our "new" house has no leaves. I checked today, and the buds on it are black and crunchy. It has no green on it all.

Normally new leaves will come out if the early ones freeze, so I still expect the trees to be OK. But as I said, this is crazy. I'm used to waiting for May for trees to leaf out, but not June!

Spammer likes old snail-eating entry

2011-04-12T15:01:00Z

Spammers have been hammering this blog recently. Of course they're wasting their time since I screen comments now, and it's been kind of amusing reading them.

Some have stock comments they can cut and paste on any blog ("Write more often."), some flatter ("This is a very interesting site. The content is very informative and I am so glad that I dropped by. Thanks! "), some try to elicit a response ("Could you comment on which theme you are using or was it custom designed?"), some are clearly bored with their spamming jobs ("Tomorrow I finish university!"), some are lazy ("Unbelievable!"), and some just seem to put words together ("Who are the coupons?") .

I had to laugh at one I received this morning: "These kind of post are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post, writing is simply great, thank you for the post."

It was almost as long as the 2-year-old entry the spammer was trying to comment on--three lines about a woman who eats the snails she finds in her garden. Inspiring? Many good point(s)?

The great carpet pad experiment

2011-03-10T17:21:00Z

I thought it was a great idea--use the old carpet pad we were taking out of our "new" house to smother weeds. I thought the half inch of foam would keep out light and air, and I counted on its soaking up rain and snow and becoming too heavy to blow around. I spread it out and put rocks and pavers on the corners.

Lessons learned

1. Carpet pad does not get heavy with moisture and stay in place. The wind will lift it and move it.

2. Weeds grow better underneath the carpet pad.

In this picture, I'm lifting the carpet pad. The bright green tansymustard seedlings were underneath it; the dark green seedlings just to the right were not covered and were exposed to the cold.

I'm guessing the moisture goes right through along with air and enough light. While letting the necessities of life come through, the pad apparently provides a warm and cozy place to germinate and thrive.

I should leave some padding in place to see if the seedlings grow tall enough to push it off.

Using leaves as mulch
You'd think I'd have learned this by now, but leaves blow away.

The tansymustard is doing well here, too. I had piled leaves around this tree and had even tried to be sure they were moist enough to stay in place.

Plan B

I discovered something that gave me an idea.

It's kind of hard to tell in this photo, but when I pulled back the carpet pad here I didn't see many seedlings underneath it. I think it's because of the leaves that were trapped under the pad.

So--the pad traps the leaves in place. Rain and snow come through the pad and wet the leaves. The wet leaves weighted down by the pad smother the seedlings.

Next I am going to try spreading leaves and weighing them down with carpet pads (weighed down with more rocks, pavers, and anything other heavy item that's handy). I might have to wait until next fall to try that.

Serendipity

When I saw the lush green seedlings under the carpet pads, I thought it was unfair because I have such horrible luck when I deliberately plant seeds. But if the carpet pad works so well with weed seeds, shouldn't it work as well with flower and vegetable seeds? I'll be trying it this year.