I want to sincerely thank all the folks who have come by and announced that they are planting ornamental and blueberry gardens now and throughout this fall. Why? Because fall is the best time to plant, (in my gardening opinion) and they are volunteering to do it without me forcing my way on them. Late summer and autumn are great times to plant because it allows the plant to go in the ground just as the rains begin (today) and the roots have a chance to reach down and establish the plant during the winter. As the spring sun returns the fall planted plants are off and running rather that just starting out. If you are skeptical or have never done it that way give it a try and see how it goes for you. I planted a friends lavender garden in the fall and it looked like dots on a mulched landscape yet by March everything was pushing growth and she was so happy the job was done and the lavender well on its way. Another reason to plant now is that Pleasant Hill Nursery has a wide selection of very full, very healthy, high quality plants. Visit us and see.
Last evening after dinner and as dusk was setting in, earlier than usual I might add, I went for a walk along our country road. I needed a quiet moment to clear my mind. Wandering along, I noticed the Queen Ann's Lace growing, thriving, and so extremely beautiful. This delicate plant exists and is glorious in what would seem to be the most adverse conditions, gravel against asphalt, with cars and trucks passing regularly and no water or fertilizer except what drops out of the tall boy beer and coke cans. Yet thrive it does and bloom with flowers that look like the finest lace from the north of France.
Posted by: Ashley in summer, plants, flowers on
Jul 9, 2009
Go out into your yard today and clip a little of this and a little of that, you might be surprised at your own creativity and with the beautiful arrangement you produce. That’s exactly the kind of arrangement you see pictured here. Many of the plants you see here are common landscape plants, like wax leaf privet, pieris and lavender. Throw in some Spirea japonica ‘Shirobana’, Hemerocallis ‘Siloam Fairy Tale’, Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, and an Italian sunflower and viola! A fabulous arrangement without the trip to the florist’s shop!
Go to your local farmer’s market for no other reason than because it is just fun. For me it is pure pleasure with tasty treats added on top. My local market is in Creswell behind the library off the main street, Oregon Street. It is on my way home and conveniently open from 4 – 7 p.m. I can’t wait to get there and see who is selling what and have a chat with my ‘market friends’. This is a very small market, maybe twenty vendors. This is the second year it’s been going on and some of the same folks have come every time to sell their goods and come they do, whether they make much money or not. The showing up every time is what eventually will make them ‘successful’. Success at the farmer’s market comes in many forms. One is not there to ‘get rich’ so there has to be some other benefits. One of the most successful vendors is the cute old guy, Jim, who makes bird houses, ‘guaranteed to house birds’. He also started making boxes and shelves, items that the other vendors buy to display their wares. I noticed he is now making cash boxes. I don’t think he had a grand plan for this is just worked out like that and he has enough money to go fishing with his buddy. Michelle, my co-worker, meets me at the market and sometimes some other friends stop by. One has to look carefully and ask questions and enjoy the process, find out about the sellers, what they like to grow or make, what is the best thing they have today. I found some Meyer lemons, brought up from California, no not locally grown, which is difficult at best, and I bought all three of them for 75 cents each. What Michelle and I like to do is buy a little from each booth or at least say hello and admire their wares.
I haven't had much time at home. Yesterday I was preparing our home for out-of-town company. I planned to serve dinner on our back deck so needed to get out there to clean things up. I realized that I had sorely neglected my beautiful patio containers. Lack of water and attention had left those plants droopy and looking out of sorts from the heat. I drenched them good and they quickly started to look better. By this morning, they had perked back up - nearly back to how they looked before.
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