April 2011
30 posts
Monthly Garden Report for March
It can’t be the end of March already. That went by faster than February! I’m not even sure what to do with myself now. There’s so much work to be done it’s overwhelming. Take a deep breath and get ready, for spring is upon us, even at the doors.
The garden has been completely torn up with projects snowballing one into another with no end in sight. I’ve learned that...
March 2011
18 posts
Local Belles
Given how well flowering bulbs do here, you think we would have more native options for gardens. From what few bulbs we have, there are some very beautiful ones, like Zigadenus paniculatus. It grows 18 to 20 inches high and puts out a beautiful spray of creamy flowers with orange anthers from gray-green basal foliage resembling wild onion. Of course, a person or animal that tries to eat the plant...
Sunburned in Seattle
I’ve returned from the Pacific Northwest in body only. I went for a long weekend with my husband without children, and after all weekends of this sort, I’ve returned home obligingly, but reluctantly.
Seattle is a conifer lover’s paradise. It is absolutely ridiculous how verdurous it is everywhere. Even in the heart of the city, you are left with the distinct impression that...
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Scrappy Seed Starting
It’s the first time I’ve gone all out with the indoor growing scene. No more sunny south-facing windows. This time I got a grow light, heating mat, capillary mats, and a fan to keep air circulating. I even covered the sides of the shelves with aluminum foil to reflect light back onto the plants.
I put my own homemade soil blocker to the test and can report on the results. It’s...
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Inception
Husband: I had a kinda weird dream last night. I was on a sandy beach and there were all these pine trees...
Me: What kind of pine trees?
Husband: Huh? I don't know...
Me: You're sure they were evergreen?
Husband: I guess so. I didn't really notice.
Me: Were they big? Maybe you were in the Pacific Northwest?
Husband: Well, they weren't huge like coastal redwoods. I don't know where I was. It was just a beach.
Me: Did they look like they had flat tops? Maybe they were Cypresseses.
Husband: No, they weren't Cypresses. Look, I don't know—they were, you know, just trees.
Me: But you said they were pine. Did they have long needles or short?
Husband: I didn't notice. They were these green, piney kind of trees!
Me: But I'm just curious about what kind! You're sure they were evergreen....Ah! Wait! Were they pointy? Like Christmas trees? Maybe they were fir...maybe it was British Columbia?
Husband: I don't remember! There was a beach and there were these evergreen trees. I don't know what kind they were. It was a dream!
Me: Well, if you have the same dream again, go check and see what kind they are.
Husband: Fine. Whatever.
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A Few Rants for the Old-School
A physical book will always be better than a digital one.
A physical photograph will always be better than a digital one.
These words on this blog will be lost and forgotten long before my great-great-great grandchildren read my hard-bound journals in my desk drawer.
Christmas/Birthday/Moving Notice/Thank You cards are always going to mean more than a line on your Facebook wall. And, since most...
WatchScenery for those who’ve never been to the southern Utah, been dwarfed by geography, or put to sleep by new age music.
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The Problem with Professionals
The patio just got out of hand. Working under two mature trees and dogged by our hardscaping inexperience, I finally caved in and called in some professional help.
I’ve been loathe to take this step. For me, calling in a garden designer or a landscape architect is a cop-out, a surrendering of some part of your garden to someone else. It’s like when you’re a beginning art...
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These Blogs Are A Lot Better Than Mine
Really. You should be reading these blogs. They’re on a whole other level.
— Growing With Plants, by Matt Mattus
He throws his own flower pots on a pottery wheel. Enough said.
— The Gardener’s Eden, by Michaela Medina
Yankee elegance. Dry-stack stone walls never looked more appropriate.
— Hazel Tree, by Mike Thompson
Mike writes from the perspective of a head gardener on an...
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To the Monkey Wrenchers
My hat’s off for Tim DeChristopher right now.
For those who don’t know his story, in the twilight of George W. Bush’s Presidency, the oil and gas industry knew that tougher regulations would be coming with the Obama administration. That being said, for some reason, the Bush administration pushed through an auction for some controversial parcels of land for gas and oil...
Gingko biloba, Leafstalk, 16x by Tatcher a Hainu, on Flickr
