Friday, May 28, 2010

oh happy day


Well it’s happened; my hollyhocks have begun to bloom. This is a momentous occasion. Just think, twenty one months ago I was harvesting Hollyhock seed from the stand of flowers outside of THE Hollyhock house, and now I have my own stand of blooming Hollyhock flowers!

These flowers are descendents of the very flowers that Frank Lloyd Wright himself may have planted but certainly planned for and gazed upon. I feel like I have a small piece of exquisite American architectural history growing right here in my Nashville garden. It has been a long journey but totally worth it.

Right now, there are only two white flowers blooming, but I’m hoping that some other colors will show up soon. The flowers at the Hollyhock House ranged from pale pink to rosy-pink. I guess now I’ll research how they are pollinated so that I can have some more seeds to plant for next year.

I think packaging and selling seeds from the flowers at the Hollyhock House would be an amazing fund-raising opportunity for the Hollyhock House. If you’ve been there, you know they need every dollar they can get for restoration and maintenance. I think I’ll send them a note right now!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

got water?


Ironically, since the great flood of 2010, the city of Nashville has been short on water. One of our two water treatment facilities was badly damaged during the flood. In addition to our reservoirs being wiped out, our treatment capacity was down 50%. Since then, we have been on various levels of water restriction.

It rained last night for about 30 minutes, thank goodness. We are still under water restrictions and unable to water landscape plants. However, since my boyfriend ‘outed’ my illicit water usage to a neighbor at a cook-out last night, I will freely admit here that I have watered a few plants with tap water in recent weeks.

The plants I’m illegally watering happen to be my (4) tomato and (3) pepper plants which I’m hoping will be excused since they are ‘crops’ that we will draw nourishment from. Besides, I’m merely using a Yazoo growler which I carry by hand from the kitchen to the garden. There are no hoses involved!

I still remain vigilant in all other realms of water conservation and plan to use any water caught in outdoor containers to water the garden. I wasn’t even going to mention the time someone I live with forgot about the water restrictions and cleaned out his cooler with the hose in the driveway…

But in all seriousness, this water restriction has had a huge impact on our local community. This week, car washes in Davidson County were allowed to re-open for a few hours each day. Along with car washes, many other businesses have been hit hard by the water restrictions. If you own or work for a pressure washing company, pool company, irrigation company, or landscape company, your livelihood is probably in jeopardy.

I was talking to a neighbor from Australia last weekend about the water restrictions. She said that water restrictions like the ones we’ve been living with for a few weeks are a way of life in parts of Australia. In fact, the local government tests the amount of water in your soil and will fine you if the water content is too high!

Our water reservoirs have stabilized to 85%, and they say the other water treatment facility will be operational within the next week. I sure hope it is. But in the meantime the water restrictions have been a good reminder of what we should be doing anyways, conserving water.

bugs are gone!



The ant/aphid infestation on my Rose of Sharon is completely gone. And since spraying my hollyhocks with Sevin I haven’t seen any more hollyhock sawfly larvae chomping away. They still haven’t bloomed, but I’m hopefully every day when I come home from work to catch a glimpse of color.

Last weekend I removed a portion of my Black-eyed Susan’s in the west side planting bed to make room for two more pepper plants and give my rosemary some more space. In addition to the new red and green bell peppers, I also planted an heirloom tomato in the driveway planting bed. I’m hoping it will get enough sun there, because I’m running out of space elsewhere.

Mr. Stripey, as he’s called, is an old-fashioned beefsteak that will have yellow and red stripes outside and mostly yellow coloring inside the fruit. It has tiny leaves and the flavor is supposed to be sweet and mild. We’ll see in approximately 56 days!

I think I initially underestimated the support my tomatoes would require. But now I regret skimping on the stake size, because my ‘big boy’ and ‘black cherry’ tomatoes have already grown almost to the top of their stakes. So, I will have to purchase taller/stronger stakes to support these veggies and re-tie all of the tomatoes. Bummer.

I also (finally) replaced the pansies in my pots by the front steps with a ‘lemon chiffon’ million bells (Calibrachoa) in each pot. I’m not usually one for monochromatic pot plantings, but my front door is hardly used and there’s enough going on in the nearby planting beds to warrant simple pots.

My oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) have started blooming on both sides of the front door and look really great behind my patch of catmint (Nepeta) to the right of the front door. To balance that, the Nepalese columbines I planted on the left side of the front door bloomed well and are slowly taking over one side of that planting bed.

The Hellebores are still blooming and look great next to the sensitive ferns (Onoclea sensiblis) out front. My Iris have finished blooming and I need to weed the bed by the mailbox to get it ready for the daylilies which will start to bloom soon.

The only other annual I have added this season is a ‘Mini Blue-Veined’ Supertunia. I added this to my blue pot with the Salvia and Spirea. The salvia has already started blooming and the Spirea will soon follow.

My herb pot is not looking so good. The cilantro started to bolt last week, so I cut off some of the flower buds. The basil, which has been looking ill ever since the floods, now looks awful. My parsley and thyme are the only things doing well. They seem to have had good drainage and decent sun where they are. I may have to start over with new cilantro and basil, maybe even from seed.

Monday, May 24, 2010

surprise!



Look what popped up in my secret garden: a surprise foxglove! I have no idea how it ended up here, the last time I grew foxgloves was over 3 years ago at my old condo. And while I have a few plants that I transplanted from there, I am really miffed about the origins of this welcome garden guest.

Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) have beautifully colored tubular flowers born on tall spikes. The really beauty of this flower is in the intricate patterns revealed inside the flower ‘tubes’; it’s definitely a flower that merits a closer look. Flowers can be pink, purple, or yellow with detailed patterns of darker stippling in the flower’s throat.

A native of Europe, Asia, and Africa, this plant has medicinal as well as ornamental uses. Medicines derived from foxgloves are called ‘digitalins’ and have been used to treat heart conditions since the late eighteenth century.

Foxgloves have worked their way into modern pharmacology and now their derivatives treat patients in atrial fibrillation, especially if they have been diagnosed with heart failure. But some foxgloves can be toxic, so it’s best not self-medicate.

Even more surprising to me is how well it is blooming in deep shade. Previously, I would have recommended planting this biennial in sun to partial shade. Because it’s a biennial, I’m not counting on seeing this beauty next year. But here’s to an adaptable garden guest that I will enjoy in the meantime!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

anticipation


When I got back from vacation I noticed that the leaves of my hollyhocks were looking more like lace doilies than foliage. (aka something had been eating them) But my disappointment over the leaves quickly turned to eager anticipation once I noticed several flower buds! The largest of my Hollyhock plants are now almost 4’ tall and it will only be a matter of days before I see the fruits (in this case flowers) of my labor.

The Hollyhock Sawfly (in larval form) is the culprit of the leaf damage, I’ve since learned. There are probably hundreds of these tiny green worms munching away on my precious plants. I’ve read that they are fairly easy to control, especially when treated early. I plan on using Sevin to combat this pest. I hate to use chemicals, but I will not lose my hollyhocks!

Everything else in the garden in doing great. The peonies are done blooming; the tiger lilies are about to start. The sedum ground cover is blooming a carpet of yellow. The tomatoes are growing fast! My herb garden is doing well, except for the basil which seems to be in decline. We’ve had A LOT of rain in Nashville these past few weeks which has kept everything green and lush.

Monday, May 10, 2010

the flood of 2010


My city, Nashville, is recovering. Last week, 15 inches of rain fell in less than two days, leaving much of the city underwater and without electricity or phone service. I’m told that Bellevue and Antioch got the worst of it; but directly across the street from me, my neighbor’s home became engulfed by a raging river of flood water.

I am one of the lucky ones with little to no damage. Some of my neighbors have spent a week cleaning up the debris and destruction. A lot of people are living in temporary housing while they work on their homes. Most people have electricity restored and they are making strides toward re-opening one of our city’s two water treatment plants.

Eight families in my immediate area lost all they have. When you drive down the streets, it looks like a war zone. The streets and cars are covered with a layer of mud. There are spray-painted X’s on windows. Waterlines come up halfway on some of the homes. Peoples’ whole lives are piled up at the curb, ruined. Fallen trees and debris are scattered everywhere you look.

In light of this, I’m taking some time off from blogging about my garden and would like to remind people of ways they can help Nashvillians. In the photo, you can see Anderson Cooper wearing the ‘We Are Nashville’ t-shirt by CoolPeopleCare. You can purchase these to directly support flood relief in our area. Find out more on their website.