My propagation success has never been very good, but I admit, I am the queen of short-cuts. Usually, the sequence goes like this: 1. Oops, I broke off a branch. 2. Where’s a pot with some dirt in it? 3. Let me shove this broken branch into that pot. 4. Usually failure.
On Sunday, the Union-Tribune’s HOME section had an article about Evelyn Weidner of Weidner’s Gardens and her propagation techniques. It’s not rocket science, but I learned some interesting tips about propagating. Now I have no excuse to have such a high failure rate!
I keep finding interesting tidbits that I want to pass on, so they all got piled up in this post.
I love these posters! They should be hanging these in schools.
Victory Garden of Tomorrow
I thought this was a good overview of an irrigation system. This whole subject overwhelms me, so I’m taking it in baby steps.
Setting Up an Irrigation System
I’m “Guerrilla Gardening” a little plot in town with a friend. Mainly, we were tired of driving past an area that looked terrible because of neglect, but partly because we need bigger yards! This is an interesting article about the beginnings.
Guerrilla Gardening – A history
Community Gardens are starting to be a regular topic of conversation. Let’s get rid of the grass and put in some community gardens! Here’s an article about what’s going on up in Los Angeles. Gee, if they can do, why can’t we?
And, last but not least……
This was blooming at a nursery I visited - so beautiful!
Okay, now get back to work!
I like Botanical Interests seeds. Their seed packages are little works of art and even list the artist on the backside! The packages tell me if it’s a cool season or a warm season plant, gives a fun description and good practical growing info. I discovered some You-Tube videos about the company that I thought were fun to share.
There is a Tour of the facility, and another video showing how the seeds are packaged. There is also a fun article from California Gardener magazine with pictures.
I bought three different kinds of Rudbeckia seeds: Goldsturm, Cherry Brandy, and Irish Eyes. Hmmm, where should I plant these?….
I was driving on Toll Road 125 in Eastlake, near the Olympic training center today, and saw wild lupine, California poppies and gazania growing everywhere. Stunning color all along the highway, and right in our back yard. Unfortunately, I was driving and couldn’t pull over but I was dying to take a picture. I might have to go for another drive! It was beautiful.
I did get a picture yesterday of a hillside in Balboa Park, just above Florida Canyon. This is the result of the good rain we’ve had this year. Isn’t this pretty?
My car is always a bit disheveled, and it’s no wonder. These beauties were in the alley and, of course, I had to pick them up. SCORE!!! I will put them to good use.
Mi Esposo stepped up and put in another couple of hours for me in the yard on Sunday. First, he weeded in the backyard, which is awful work because the weeds poke up between the bricks, and it is very labor intensive. If it was left up to me, we’d have a sort-of faux lawn back there because I would never get around to weeding. I have other things to do, such as wandering around the front yard with my coffee, talking to fellow gardeners, looking at seed catalogs, watching the birds at the bird feeder, wondering what I could plant if I had an acre, wondering what else I could plant vertically, wonder if I should move this plant over there, or that plant over here – well, the list never ends, but it IS important stuff to think about….if you are me!
Mi Esposo, on the other hand, is a man of action. “Let’s get the job done”, “We’re burning daylight”, and “Earth to Lessy” are some of his classic lines because usually I’m multi-tasking badly (for a sampling, read above!) and he’s standing around waiting for me to stop coming up with new ideas for garden projects. Anyway, he accomplished some big projects on Sunday, my favorite being the Strawberry Wall.
Basically he created a terraced wall on top of a raised bed that, historically, hasn’t been a very productive plot. I HAVE been having good luck with the few strawberries I had planted there already, so I decided to go with success and add to the strawberry crop. The strawberry pots I had in another part of the garden weren’t growing well, I think because the terra cotta gets too hot, so I moved those plants into the new section.
Voila! Project completed.
We’re off to a good start thanks to Mi Esposo!
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