June 2007

Favorite Plant Combinations: June

– Posted in: Miscellaneous

Griffith Buck rose 'Wanderin' Wind' with catmintYikes! The last day of June! So many things I wanted to share with you, and the month just flew by. If I want to share my favorite plant combinations of June while it is still June, I'd better get started. This is the same rose I mentioned in [...]

Saudi Arabia: the next cold climate?

– Posted in: Miscellaneous

I found this blog because it links to me in its sidebar, and I have been getting a few visits a week from this site. I noticed today there is a series of photos that appear to be snow on desert-like regions. I say "appear" because the blog is written in a language I don't [...]

Canada thistle, the plague of my peonies

– Posted in: Pests, Plagues, and Varmints

Canada thistle weaves throughout the peony bedObservant readers may have noticed the prickly-leaved weed sidling up to 'Rozella' in my last post. That dastardly villain is Canada thistle, aka Cirsium arvense, and it is one nasty customer. According to the University of California Cooperative Extension, Once established, Canada thistle spreads rapidly by horizontal roots, up [...]

Peonies: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

– Posted in: Peonies

'Bev' was planted in fall 2002 and has filled out substantiallyPeonies remind me of my paternal grandmother. Whether it was an evening with her bridge group, Sunday Mass, or a family cookout, she always dressed fashionably, including fully applied makeup and perfume. To be called glamorous was a compliment she always appreciated. She also grew [...]

I live in a cold climate

– Posted in: Miscellaneous

What I saw this morning [Photographer: Kathy Purdy]Just in case there's anyone reading this who doesn't yet understand what a cold climate is (I've had Australian searchers looking for "hardy plants" arrive at this site), I thought I'd give an illustration. When I got up about an hour earlier, the outdoor temperature was 36 degrees [...]