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A crop of mixed lettuce and spinach

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:30:46 +0000

I sowed a crop of mixed greens and spinach in my new raised bed back at the beginning of December. The raised bed includes uprights at each corner to help support a floating row cover, so important in winter. The row cover keeps the tender seedlings protected from drying winds and frost and keeps the gold crown sparrows from picking. I set out onions in the next bed over. They won’t need any special protection, only the long deep rains of winter to build strong roots and thick bulbs.

Azaleas blooms next to this edible garden at the Wichita Garden Show.

Fire Safe Favorites: Fire Safe Summer Combo

Firefox — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:03:44 +0000

I just took this photo in the East Border. It shows a great combo of fire safe plants for summer color.

Gaillardia shines in the center of this fire safe combo

The combo features Aloe x nobilis with red blooms, purple flowers from Teuchrium, Scarlet Flower Carpet rose, Gaillardia Goblin, Gold strap leaves of Phormium, plus blue Perovskia Longin, and the purple leaves of Prunus cistiana, the native Sand Cherry.

A low carpet of purple flowered hardy iceplant, Delosperma cooperi, and Santa Cruz oregano fill out the edge.

The combo provides nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds, while being very drought tolerant for sunny spots. There is lots of interesting foliage to keep the look strong all year.

Learn more about Fire safe plants by picking up Douglas Kent’s excellent book, Firescaping.

Preview the book online by clicking the bookcover:

New Garden in Monterey

Firefox — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:19:22 +0000

I wanted to share the first view of the new garden I am planting in Monterey. It features an enclosed back patio shaded by tall cypress and eucalyptus.

Tall red and yellow Kangaroo Paw accent the narrow bed.

I chose a mix of semi-shade tolerant plants including Kangaroo Paw, Diascia, Boronia, Cordyline, Richmond Begonia and species Fuchsia
to provide a variety of blooms and textures all year long

Botanist: sustainable, fire-safe outdoor living

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:48:14 +0000

Ultra modern Chic Botanist series by Orange 22 Design Lab, Click on photo for link

Botanist benches and tables are fully recyclable and fire resistant

save 10%with Offer Code BOT_AF_DE

Wichita

Firefox — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:47:12 +0000

Just so you don’t think early spring in Wichita can be a bit dreary and boring, I walked about 2 miles to check out early spring bulbs braving the dry cold winds. Inside Botanica, the Wichita Garden, I found masses of Reticulata Iris in bloom.

Tiny reticulatas push through the leaf duff in Wichita

This tiny iris only stands about 6 inches high and they can flower in blue, purple, pink or yellow. Reticulata iris are some of the first bulbs to bloom, pushing up through a low groundcover.

www.botanica.org

Roses: Not too late to prune!

Firefox — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:47:31 +0000

This could be a question of the week for sure! We have had a few weeks of wet weather, so not many folks have made it out into the garden. But even though it is already Mid March, you can still prune your roses.

Remember that the idea of pruning is to encourage strong new growth, remove old weak stems, and clean away any old foliage and debris. So in mild winter climates, this sort of action can happen at any time. Just remember that the longer you wait to prune, the later in spring the first flush of blooms will be.

Not all roses need the heavy duty, down to 5 canes pruning we are used to with hybrid teas. Some, like the David Austin English roses do best with more selective thinning to encourage strong arching canes. With them, removing the skinny weak twigs is often enough. With groundcover roses, like Flower Carpet, an overall shearing to clean off last year’s hips is all that is needed.

At this point, follow up your pruning with a good dose of balanced organic rose food. And in a few weeks the first roses will be bursting forth into the April sun!

Lady Banks rose needs very little pruning to keep it blooming.