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Garden, Home & Party

Tag Archives: Garden

Morning Glory in the Garden

08 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Flowers, Gardening

≈ 2 Comments

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Garden, Morning Glory, vine

I live in Southern California and during the summer months we are lucky enough to enjoy morning glory (‘ipomoea’) in all of its blue, pink, white  or violet finery.  I have grown the flowering vine every year that we have lived in our current home—28 summers of morning glory!

My morning glories are more violet than blue---I really prefer the blue ones so I'll need to make sure I plant new "blue" seeds.

I was first introduced to the ease of growing these flowers years ago (before marriage) while visiting my dear friend, Linda.  She was living with her parents at the time and her father grew morning glory in their back yard in Corona Del Mar.  When I admired his vine filled with vibrant blue flowers, he explained that they were easy to grow and promptly gave me a 1 gallon container with seeds already planted.

Mine is just getting going and as you can see, I have an insect already nibbling on the leaves. I don't mind sharing but I wish they would eat the less noticeable leaves.

My husband and I bought our first home in Tustin and I was able to grow the morning glories from a pot, the vine grew around the patio post.  In this Irvine house I grow them in the only sunny spot in my yard and they twine their way around the fence posts.  They are listed in a popular book by retired L.A. Times Garden Editor, Robert Smaus, as a “pest plant” in his popular book, “52 Weeks in the California Garden”—but I still love them!  When the little ‘starts’ pop up in the wrong spot in the yard they are very easy to pull up by the roots and eventually they stop coming around.

I've asked this angel to keep the bugs dining to a minimum!

There comes a time in the year when they start looking kind of sad and I simply pull them out, roots and all, when that happens (usually in late September).

Here is a sample of colors that I've seen---I believe they come in a variety of colors, including white.

Isn't this a beautiful shade of blue?

To plant:  Buy seed from your local nursery or big box home improvement store.  Soak the seed overnight.  Sow the seed in a sunny location after danger of frost (spring).  Sow them 2-3″ apart and cover with 1/2″ of fine soil.  Once the seedlings pop their little heads out of the ground, thin to space them 1′ apart.  Don’t over fertilize—this encourages growth of the vine and fewer flowers.  I believe you will have fun with this easy to grow plant.

Summer Herb Garden

21 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Gardening

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Tags

Garden, herbs

I’ve talked about the ease of growing your own herbs before .  If you like to cook and/or just like the look of herbs (there are some really pretty herbs available in the nursery and home improvement garden centers) then you should plant now for a summer full of fragrant and delicious parsley, basil, thyme, mint, chives and rosemary, to name a few.

Most herbs get along nicely with the flowers and shrubs growing in the garden.

My friend Carla gave me a wine crate the other day—her friend had gotten them from someone.  Anyway, she suggested I plant herbs in it and since she is an extraordinary gardener, I listened.

I planted this with chives, parsley, basil and strawberries, what a combo!

I put some strawberry plants in for good measure—they looked so cute in the nursery!  They may take over the box but maybe the bonus will be some yummy strawberries to eat!

Maybe I should plant some herbs in the 'secret garden'?

To plant the herbs in this wooden box I lined the bottom of the box with a single layer of cheesecloth (I don’t even think this is necessary but I didn’t want the soil to seep out of the bottom).  The I threw in some Kellogg’s Patio Blend soil—this is a nice loamy soil that works well for container gardening.  Easy, peasy.

You can grow herbs in the ground but if you don’t have a sunny location in the garden you can easily grow herbs in containers and spot them werever your yard gets full sun (at least 6 hours of sunlight a day).

Curly parsley---I usually plant both curly and flat leaf---I like the flavor of both.

If you live in a castle like this you can just have your staff plant herbs for you! 🙂

Chateau Villandry---pretty nice herb garden, it would supply herbs to all free countries, don't you think?

Work in the garden

30 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Flowers, Gardening, Maintenance

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Garden, Gardening

It’s Memorial Day weekend and I have big plans to work in the garden.  My front yard needs some work since the roses are finished with their first bloom.  I need to fertilize them and cut off the dead blossoms.

Iceberg and freshly planted impatiens

I redesigned the bedding area as you walk up to my front door earlier this Spring.  I had my gardener remove some plants that weren’t holding up their end of the bargain (to thrive and bloom).  We planted 3 white iceberg roses and I will be planting impatiens and lobelia in and around the boxwood bordered bed.

Lobelia & Impatiens - with any luck these will double in size over the next 6-8 weeks.

I’ve said it before, impatiens are simple to grow and perform without much work and that’s what I love about them.  With a busy schedule that is what I’m looking for!

I'm counting on this little guy to keep an eye on my newly planted flowers.

I hope to get to the side and back yard for some maintenance chores but I’m taking it easy—something I have a difficult time doing so if I don’t get those areas finished this weekend I’ve been told the work will be there waiting for me next weekend!

Antique metal planter - planted with mother fern

What chores are you taking care of this long 3-day weekend, or are you relaxing the entire time?  Good for you!

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