Sunday, June 28, 2009

DEW EVAPORATES

we finally have some sun today and it is warm. however, last week, the grasses bore more crystal chandeliers...joe joe in front of salvia 'hot lips.' in an earlier post i noted that the flower variegation was not in evidence - but it has now appeared as the plant has matured! who knew?
here you can see why it's called 'hot lips.'
clematis viticella 'pupurea plena.' can you see all the miniscule dew drops?
here it is on the fence...
now to the potager, where the nasturtiums are having the run of the place...
i have just replanted a few things to replace the carrots and lettuce...
a view through the gate and fence...
i have harvested many carrots so far. the purple carrots are 'dragon' carrots, but i think the plain old st. valery carrots have a better flavor.
clematis viticella 'julia correvon,' growing up the deer fence.
the big leaf magnolia is so happy this year, i do hope it will bloom next spring.
first daylily of the season... the deer have allowed me some buds this year, as greenery is plentiful in the woods...
the alliums are just putting a toe out to see if it's warm enough to bloom...

Saturday, June 27, 2009

SLEEPY VILLAGE TRANSFORMS

last night, our little sleepy ny village was transformed into santa barbara (!!!) for an unamed film to star meryl streep, alec baldwin and steve martin. facades, lights, and plants were added to give our zone 6 environs a more zone 10 feel. there was a also spectacular sunset...
this crane hovered above with sprinklers to add a rain-effect (not that necessary this June, with our record 9 inches of rain so far.)
the building at right is a dentist's office, transformed into a restaurant, it's drab brick facade covered with tiles. the restaurant at left was kept somewhat as is, but the plants really class it up.
here is the "restaurant" with the rain effect being tested. does it feel like santa barbara?
here is everlasting proof that our "slices" pizza place is actually in santa barbara!!!
here's what the sky looked like... they shoot was scheduled to start at 11pm, with just merly streep. i didn't stick around to watch. who says our town isn't exciting?

Sunday, June 21, 2009

STORMY WEATHER

i'm continuing with the song title theme here, from the "towels-won't-dry" 7th rainiest june ever in ny. and, another half inch of rain fell last night, so it's not over yet. marigolds brighten the day...
the potager, which is being taken over by nasturtiums...
arisaema fargesii has 3 flowers this year...
a weed...
echinacea 'sunset'... thank goodness it has more buds, since this flower has been repeatedly tasted...
the japanese stewartia is blooming...
i really planted this viticella clematis 'venosa violacea' in the wrong place... but it persists...
the wind garden at the entrance to the potager...
joe joe parts the new mosquito curtains i made for my office...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD

we've no lack for water this june! it's also cool, but i'm not complaining. just let me know when you get tired of the droplet photos... like this one... if you make this photo bigger, you can see the tiny droplets on the grass flowers like crystals on a chandelier...
im excited that echinacea 'sundown' is just starting to bloom in the potager. the bugs are not helping.
arisaema fargesii is just blooming in the woodland garden...
clematis 'roguchi' dots the fenceline...
viticella clematis 'etoile violet' drapes on the fence not far from 'roguchi'
woo hoo, i have a fox glove blooming in the messy north garden! what a surprise!
this pot has been a disappointment - i ordered salvia 'hot lips' but little of the white variegation is present in these 3 plants. colocasia 'black magic' is behind the salvia, but not tall enough to show yet.
again, lantana 'patriot dsert sunset'
another container i put together recently. snoopy loves the grasses.

POTAGER UPDATE

we are all happy with the potager. we have more lettuce, kale and chard than we need, the sugar snap peas are starting to be ready in dribs and drabs... the carrots and beets have both required thinning (a.k.a. "eating.") the purplish carrots are 'dragon' carrots, which taste exactly like the regular carrots.
the beets are small so far, but tasty!
the usual view of the potager:

Sunday, June 07, 2009

POTAGER UPDATE

i went out in the rain to take this shot, and was happy to capture the teensy droplets heading into the major drop. i hope you can see them.
the potager on saturday; i swept the paths later that evening.
rainbow chard harvested and eaten on saturday. quite tasty!
sugar snap peas growing up the trellis... the lettuce is just about to bolt and will have to be replanted.

JOON BLOOMERS

actual bloomers!  hubs did an artistic job hanging the laundry yesterday.
alpine strawberries are just ready to eat...
snap dragons
clematis roguchi is in bud...
centaurea with an ant...
campanula, actually bluer than the photo...