OK, since I gave an MVP award a few weeks ago, I thought it good to give an MVA to the Most Valuable Annual flower in my garden this year. I’ve been growing Rudbeckias for a long time, and they seldom disappoint. There is a perennial variety (Rudbeckia fulgida), but it’s too orange for my…
I checked my gaillardia (Blanket flower) and oenothera (Missouri evening primrose) cuttings today for roots. I planted them in clear plastic cups so it would be easy to see the roots when they develop. One of the gaillardias has already produced extensive roots, starting to wrap around the bottom of the cup! Another has one…
Today, I noticed that two of my fall-blooming plants are just beginning to blossom. One is Japanese Anemone (Honorine Jobert variety), a tall plant with large leaves and large white simple poppy-like flowers. Here’s a photo from a few years back when they were in full bloom. I also noticed the first blooms a…
This Saturday, I’m going to make nectarine cobbler, and this is the recipe I used last year. I found it with epicurious.com, and it’s originally from Bon Apetit magazine:
I found a useful website from Washington State University describing when to pick nectarines and apples and how to store them. Here’s the link: Fruit Harvest & Storage.
I haven’t had much time to post lately, but my nectarines started coming ripe within the past week. I still have a bunch on the tree, and some are getting a little overdone, because I haven’t had time to pick them. But I’m going to pick them all tonight, unless there are still some green…
This summer, I have been extremely impressed with Lavatera tauricensis. This plant was not supposed to be hardy in my Zone 6 garden. I think it’s listed as a Zone 7 minimum. I had grown some in California, from seeds bought from Thompson & Morgan. The ones in California produced some seed, which I brought…
So, like I posted earlier today, I went and got some clear plastic cups for planting some cuttings. I drilled a hole in the bottom of each one for drainage and filled each halfway with peat moss and perlite. Probably about 30% perlite. I took cuttings from a very nice looking yellow specimen of Gaillardia…