Showing posts with label Digitalis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digitalis. Show all posts

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Rosie Is Pissed. But Then She Zenned Out.

Rosie has a pet peeve. Imagine that. It's about people that can't back up a damn car. To wit #1: I have a dog-leg driveway. On either side I have rose bushes in berms. Too many people backing out of my driveway like to straighten that dog-leg out. That means they go over a small 1-foot tall step-stone wall and then go over the roses in that little berm. I have watched people back out of my driveway and do this. Time and time again. I know they must feel it when their tires crunch over rock and they must know something is awry, but they never stop. They just keep going. Rosie's blood pressure rises. NOTE TO GARDENERS: You CAN repair rose bushes with duct tape. Another Trust-Rosie-Moment. To wit #2: This is what sent me over the edge this afternoon. Do you remember this post? It was about proudly picking our first tomato the other day from a plant that was a volunteer. In the mulch. At the end of my driveway. Next to the driveway of an absentee neighbor who occasionally has renters. Who did indeed have renters moving in today (Saturday). And said renters could not back the damn car into the driveway. This absolutely frosts my butt. They kept maneuvering the car in and out for the first ten feet. And they ran over my cherry tomato bush. The first bush that produced a ripe tomato. A volunteer that had absolutely no water until the rain a few nights ago, but was still about the healthiest tomato plant you've ever seen. How much abuse can one woman take, I ask you? Rosie, take deep breaths. Let the good air in. Let the bad air out. Rosie's trying hard here, but she has a breaking point. Straw? Meet camel's back. Rosie had to take action.
Rosie wrote a note to the offender. This was my first draft.
Rosie edits herself constantly. She needed to be more forceful. One doesn't mess with Rosie. Without repercussions. I spell out my boundaries pretty much exactly.
I strode next door and put the notice on the window. One can only hope to catch a glimpse of Rosie in full stride.
Nice tape job. What else can Rosie do, I ASK YOU? Well, I'll just tell you.
Rosie took her broken chair and placed it at the end of her property. Next to the miscreant renter's driveway. Protecting my two volunteer tomato plants.
Get a clue!
Here's a visual for you. I have two tomato plant volunteers here. They ran over half of one plant. I'll probably lose that half. The other half seems OK. I dare you to touch that chair. I DOUBLE-DOG dare you.
Here's MY space on the left of the concrete drive and that's YOUR space on the concrete. Respect the CHAIR. Respect my SPACE. Respect my TOMATOES. At this point, Rosie nose-dived into a funk. I may have nose-dove. Rosie's not sure which. But she had to stop, back off, and take a walk through the garden. That always helps.
Five-six-foot tall coral gladioli. Black-eyed Susan- Rudbeckia. Sunflowers in the back. Coneflower or echinacea there too. Way back.
My roses here are resting after blooming furiously two months ago. I will give them a good dose of Miracle-Gro tomorrow. Hopefully I'll do all the roses, three times a week with the Miracle-Gro. At least that's the plan. I've done it before with freaking stellar results. Unfortunately it wasn't in my own garden. It was in the garden of neighbors down the street. And their roses ROCKED!
All the larkspur and bachelors buttons have given away to spent foxglove (digitalis), coneflower (echinacea), and black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia). A garden is always a work in progress. There's no such thing as being done. There's always something to be done. You can trust Rosie on that. It's a fact.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Rosie's Garden. April 30.

Welcome to my garden. The pink is a primrose, oenothera speciosa, and is also known as evening primrose. As the name implies, most of the species open its blooms at night, closing them in the morning. Mine open in the morning and stay open all day. They also spread, forming extensive colonies. There are also three Gerbera daisies in there. You can easily see the bright orange at the bottom. There's a pink one to the right and a yellow one partially hidden on the left. Wiki says that the Gerbera is an annual, but mine are perennials. I also read that Gerbera daisies are the fifth most used cut flower in the world. Care to guess which four flowers beat out the Gerbera? Answer at end of post.* The red in the background is a rose that Maxine gave me many many years ago. It has thrived here.
My foxglove, or digitalis, is also a perennial here and it self-seeds voraciously.
OK, Mar, of Foodies Untie blogdom, my friend and Master Gardener, I'll take some better pictures of this one and send them to you for identification.
Here it is again. ETA: As usual, Mar came up with the answer. It's Collinsia heterophylla "Chinese Houses."
My wild orchids.
Primrose again.
Mar?
Ligularia, or Leopard Plant.
Allium.
My herb garden. The three mounds on the left are German, English, and Variagated Lemon Thymes. There's a basil plant next. Sage in bloom. Oreganos. Rosemaries. Fennel Sorrel. Some parsley and cilantro. There're also a rose and two blueberry bushes in there and my pink-flowering tamarix.
* Which four flowers beat out the Gerbera daisy for most popular cut flowers? Rose Carnation Chrysanthemum Tulip

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A Walk Through My Garden.

After the rain Sunday, I took a stroll through my garden and shot some more pictures. Please enjoy. And remember to stop and smell the roses.

Bachelor's button, or corn flower. I love the brilliant blue of this flower. And it self seeds every year so I never have to plant it. It's all over the garden.


My foxgloves, or digitalis.
Blue salvia in foreground, with dianthus in background.

Sage blooming.
Cilantro.
Delicate blooms of cilantro.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Another Walk Through My Garden.

Enjoy another walk through my garden. Please take time to stop and smell the roses.
Bachelor's button.
Digitalis, or foxglove.
My orchids.
Many thanks to Xmaskatie for taking this flattering picture of my better side.
Just to show you the size of this rose.