Gardening into Thin Air

Summer

2009-07-25T09:14:00.004-06:00

Well, I've been out of town for several weeks and I'm just now getting back to the gardening, or rather the extensive weeding. The year that I choose to leave in early summer is the year that has the most rainfall (ever?). The chicory is 5 feet high, the hollyhock finally bloomed, the grape actually has a few little balls of fruit, the scrub oak added a couple of feet of branches.

We have a nightly deer visitor who is sporting a line of christmas tree lights in his antlers and I fear he has a broken leg. But he seems fine otherwise, munching on the greenery. The baby goat up the street has grown and has a pal to play with. Hummingbirds abound.

After the Boulder County Fire

2009-03-28T08:40:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos of the area north of town that was burned a couple of months ago. It's really greening up, even with the dryish winter we had. After this 2 feet of snow melts, it's going to grow like crazy!

Everybody's Hungry!

2009-03-14T16:01:00.001-06:00

Go for it. I put it there for you anyway. Just leave the seeds alone, ok?

January Thaw in Boulder

2009-01-19T15:43:00.003-07:00

Neither one of us can wait for warmer weather to start digging into the dirt.

Placeholder

2009-01-05T11:32:00.004-07:00

I don't have any outside photos because nothing is going on in the yard except for occasional finds of bags of leaves that we haul home to compost. Our neighbor down the street is doing a number with leaves - he solicited with a sign and must have had 100 bags in his driveway for a couple of months. They appear to be forming new garden beds now. I think we got about 30 this year which suffices for us.

Snowy Yarrow

2008-12-18T09:22:00.002-07:00

Yarrow is good in just about any season. The flowers stand out and last a long time. Some people can predict the future with them. If I fall down on the sidewalk on the way to the mailbox and start bleeding, I can just grab a bunch of the leaves and it'll stop the hemorrhage.

Record Cold Denver

2008-12-15T08:53:00.005-07:00

Not much time for gardening lately, just composting and responding to the zoning complaint about our at-home business. I think digging up half of our front yard for gardening was just more than one of our new neighbors could handle. No matter, we had a good run for 15 years and it's just a matter of moving up the street.

Plus my yard man and I have a been busy with new members of our pack! One of the sons is preparing a lady to be his wife and in the process, they took on a puppy named Honey. My grandpuppy.

Oh, and it is cold out there. -15º in Denver last night!

Gettin' Close to Winter in Boulder

2008-12-10T07:58:00.003-07:00

We took a one gas tank trip up I-70 for a dip in the Glenwood Springs pool. That stretch of the I-70 is gorgeous and it was pretty clear, even over snowy Vail Pass. The pool's mineral water never fails to satisfy.
On the way back, we stopped at the Butterhorn Bakery in Frisco on the way back for some yummy soups.

The next day, we were dumped on as you can see with the Sultan of Barbeque picture.

1st Snow in Boulder

2008-11-30T08:09:00.002-07:00

The balmy fall days are gone for a while. We woke up to some snow on the ground that melted right away. The mountains are being dumped on, though which is great for the water supply. Most of the systems are going south of us.

I remembered some greens I had planted in September - kale and turnip greens, I think. Those are covered now with a plastic cloche.

My Yard Man and I did get the new garden area roughly dug before the moisture hit. The plan is to let the water seep down into the deeper soil and break it up with freezes and thaws. I still haven't gotten used to the look of the fence but the dogs are loving the extra area to run around.

Some time after that 6' high fence went in, our Scottie went tearing out the open door into the back yard. There was a full grown buck, something I haven't seen since the fence went up. He could have gored her with one of his antlers but she is such a fierce little presence and that sent him running off to the front yard. She tried to go after him down the side yard but I stopped her so she settled for scolding him through the front window.

Front Yard Gardening

2008-11-21T08:55:00.003-07:00

I started my yard man on a project that I have mixed feelings about. I've been wanting to grow more vegetables and flowers in the the sunny front yard but the deer have the final say on what stays and what is eaten. In order to keep the deer out, we decided to take drastic measures in terms of fencing.

This side yard is a perfect area spatially, but the fencing is so big and obvious. The yard man wasn't willing to dig a bunch of holes for wooden fence posts (he's still a little pooped from painting the house this summer) so here we are. Next Spring I can install some plants around the fencing to de-uglify it but will just have to grow love it throughout the winter.

This is Where Your Bags of Leaves Ended Up

2008-11-08T15:03:00.003-07:00

I've been collecting leaves from all over town and filling the front yard and the new back yard compost heaps. They are so light and fluffy now before the snow weighs them down. Can't beat leaf mold.

Teller Lake, Boulder County

2008-10-26T11:25:00.002-06:00

My yard man and I went for a ride in the county to Teller Lake.

Gorgeous day.

More gorgeosity.

Coming back on Valmont we saw a farmer getting his hay in. There's some snow way up there on the mountain tops.

We ended up at KT's on Arapahoe for some yummies.

It's Orange Outside

2008-10-19T18:02:00.001-06:00

Munsons on Valmont and 75th

Red Oak near the Red Cross HQ in Denver

Cherryvale Road

Burning near Boulder

2008-10-16T08:43:00.001-06:00

If you see or smell smoke north of town, the city says:

Prescribed burn at Heil Valley Ranch scheduled to occur during second half of October

The Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department will ignite prescribed burns at Heil Valley Ranch on several occasions between the dates of October 17 and October 31. The open space is located north of Boulder, off Lefthand Canyon Road.

Heil Valley Ranch Open Space picnic area and trails will not be closed during the prescribed burn, but due to safety concerns, no visitors will be permitted in the controlled burn area.

There may be heavy smoke in the air during the prescribed burn. Visibility may be impaired for short periods of time. If your home is in the area, you may want to leave your windows closed during the prescribed burn and leave your pets indoors. If you’re a frequent visitor to Heil Valley Ranch, check the department’s website at www@BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org for updated information before you leave home. Due to smoky conditions, you may want to go to an alternate open space property to hike or ride that day.

Road Trip

2008-10-12T12:27:00.004-06:00

My Yard Man and I made a little delivery north and east of town the other day and saw some spectacular scenery. There's a lot of land devoted to agriculture in Boulder County so birds are stopping in to graze the fields on their way down south.

We stumbled onto this old cemetery that was built in the late 1800's.

More Fall in Boulder

2008-10-10T09:39:00.003-06:00

The solitary bee condos and Maximilian's Daisies are new additions to the yard. I got daisy seeds from Plants of the Southwest and the Sunflower project but none of them sprouted so I bought these potted up plants that did not disappoint.

Surprise Potatoes

2008-09-20T13:21:00.002-06:00

Probably the most successful thing I do in the garden is compost. Nothing fancy - I just pile it on and let it sit. The other day I stuck my hand into the back of the heap to see what the volunteer potatoes had to offer and my hand just kept going down, down, down into the cool rich darkness of the new soil. Growing potatoes is so easy, just dump some peelings on the heap and ignore. Next year I intend to actually grow a crop. Oh, and they were yummy.

Nearly Fall Color in Boulder

2008-09-17T08:29:00.002-06:00

Here's the color from my back yard these days. The impatiens won the 'Amazingly Steady Prolific Bloomer' award for 2008. I found them at an evil gigantic discounter in June, full of color and put them right into the ground. They have maintained the color through the whole droughty summer, including 2 weeks of high 90's.

The rose is one of 3 that I got for Mother's Day from a big grocery corporation. They bloomed well, then rested and now, they are blooming again. The smell is heavenly.

The Fruit Dilemma

2008-09-05T14:18:00.002-06:00

Ok, I love the idea of fruit trees in the yard. I love the sour cherry that is on the edge of the lot that the birds and deer decimate every year. I loved my plum tree before the frost and wind sapped the life out of it. But the apple tree and the peach tree in front are testing me this year.

Remember the peach tree I was so proud of earlier this year? The volunteer that rarely blooms did so abundantly this year and the peach crop was so huge that we had to pull hundreds off last weekend so that the branches wouldn't break. The bad thing is that the peaches have no flavor. It's a cruel joke for this peach loving lady.

The apple tree normally blooms and fruits but the crop this year was also plentiful so for the last month I have been dealing with apples on the sidewalk outside the front door. This picture was taken a couple of minutes after I cleaned them all out. The squirrels are still taking one bite out and then throwing them on the ground. It's hard to beat the taste, though, of a warm apple just fallen from the tree.

Deers and Apples

2008-08-21T17:38:00.003-06:00

The apple tree near my computer is dropping a lot of fruit this year. The squirrels act like it's a Whitman's Sampler, taking a bite out of one then dropping it and going to the next.

The Deer Mom and her fawns were just having an early supper on the grasses and apples. I noticed the little one was having a hard time getting hold of the apples which aren't that big. He got it into his mouth but couldn't grab onto it so it would roll out onto the ground. Finally he got a good grip on it and smashed it up and gulped it down. No incisors, apparently.

Photo from michigan.gov

Zinnias

2008-08-19T18:19:00.002-06:00

I get excited about zinnias like I used to get excited about candy shops. I have all these great perennial flowers that I've been stuffing into the yard and the ones that the deer don't eat are great to see every year. But the one annual that I'll go to the trouble of seeding the ground with are zinnias. I love 'em, love 'em, love 'em. I want a huge field of them next year.

Highly Unusual Boulder Rain

2008-08-17T10:18:00.003-06:00

This highly unusual puddle maker is winding down. We had steady rain and rain showers for the last 2 days. The monsoon was a little out of whack this year with that 2 week + dry heat wave we had. I think we're catching up on our deficit now, though Denver's pretty far behind.

My Computer Garden

2008-08-14T13:43:00.003-06:00

I don't think there are any documents that will expose me in this photo. The concrete wall in the window is my neighbors' house. I put some brown nylon screen up to shade against the summer sun. I had the little Reverewear pot when I was a little girl and somehow it followed me here. That hoya plant - I can't remember where I got it but it has to be 25 years old. A good bloomer. The boots belong to my Yard Man - his mom took the trouble to bronze them for him. The meditating elephant I got near Cambria, CA (made by www.dsgardenshop.com); the Santa type face I made in a pottery class with my then-toddler; the Mardi Gras beads came from Whole Foods; the gargoyle from West End Gardener was in my son's garden when he had one; and the robin came from a Hobby Lobby sale. There, I think you know all about me now.

More Fawns in Boulder

2008-08-13T18:00:00.001-06:00

There seem to be so many this year! This little one came by with his mom this afternoon.

Tomato Trials

2008-08-04T11:18:00.003-06:00

This year I decided to grow some 'maters once I realized that I could if I planted them in the back yard out of the deer's reach.

I bought seeds and nursed them along, potting them up as they grew, then I struck out in a new direction, trying different locations.

Most of the plants are so unimpressive that they don't show up in the picture. One was totally swallowed by the Rugosa Roses that are having a banner year; another one grew tall and spindly and begged to be eaten by buggies (and they complied); one is doing O.K. in full sun but just has one fruit.

The star of the show is this one that I put in a pot and moved from the east side of the porch to the west side of the porch every day. It's filled with little green tomatoes. It was little effort for the reward that's coming and I understand now where my future lies with tomato crops.

Xcel "Smart Grid" Comes to Town

2008-07-31T19:08:00.003-06:00

Our power company is in the process of installing a new energy tracking system that is going to allow us to notice our energy usage as we go throughout the month and adjust it.
I think that's the plan, at least.

To do that, they had to make sure all the utility lines are clear of tree branches that have invaded the right of way over the years. Tree trimmers from all over the company are in town chopping and sawing and chipping the mulch to make way for the new system. Asplundh trimmed ours and did a good job.

Just up the street, these people weren't so lucky with the contractors. I actually did a double take when I saw this and had to turn around to get a picture. This heart of this tree is gone! There used to be a trunk right about where that telephone pole it. Wouldn't it have been better to just chop it down? With our hurricane-force winter winds, this poor thing doesn't have a chance. Arggh.

It's all Green

2008-07-30T14:23:00.003-06:00

Hmmmm....seems like there is a lot of green going on in the yard. This big healthy plant is horseradish that comes back every year. It's most prolific in the shade of my apple tree.

Bold Colors

2008-07-28T10:12:00.000-06:00

I read that morning is a good time to photograph the garden.

Backyard Corn in Boulder

2008-07-25T15:09:00.002-06:00

This is where it all started for me this year. I wanted to plant a natural screen for my yard and thought corn might be a fun project. When I got to work, I realized the location I had in mind was too shady so I found a sunny spot along the fence. Choosing some corn seed inspired me to get some other food to grow and I was off! Then I discovered that we are all growing food now! Everywhere I look, someone is writing about it, talking about it, doing it.
Anyway, the corn is waist-high now and I'm watering it much more than I anticipated. I don't expect to beat the raccoons out of the ripe ears, but I'm enjoying the sight.

Mid Summer Meadow

2008-07-14T07:05:00.003-06:00

Here's my front yard with the defiantly unmowed meadow. I was anticipating some pushback from the neighbors but I forgot that we're all pretty congenial. I like the idea of growing grass seed for the birds and the deer seem to like having it there. Some yarrow, sweet peas and rabbit ears are maturing there.

In another bold move, I stopped mowing half of the strip of land in front of my yard that is owned by the HOA across the street. We only use it to access the mailbox but we've mown it for years. After the HOA president mentioned that they want to reassert ownership (in light of all the adverse possession cases in Boulder recently) I realized that they can take care of it. I think getting our mail 6 days/week for the last 22 years established our right of way to the box. It's still a conversation waiting to be had.

Perfect Job

2008-07-06T09:18:00.002-06:00

You know, great pleasure comes to me from sights like this. I got a watermelon that was too big and not sweet enough so half of it went to be composted. I know the critters like watermelon so I left it an accessible spot. Look at the job they did of cleaning it out, leaving the thin rind perfectly intact. It must have been sweet enough for them.

Watery Mistake

2008-07-01T15:19:00.003-06:00

This started out as a lovely little water feature to fill a need until I could take the subject seriously enough to make a larger one. A simple pan, a simple pump and some rocks. Then I had to have a spitting frog and that is when the trouble started.

I noticed that the pan was half drained in the morning and attributed that to a thirsty raccoon or deer.

Ok, simple enough to turn the motor off at night and refill it in the morning. Then the motor wouldn't start the next day.

Ok, I'll use the back-up pump. Oh wait, two days later, it's not pumping.

Ok, fine, I really like the sound of the water so I'll go get another pump. Luckily I run into a water gardener at McGuckin's who gently explains to me that the pumps need to be cleaned out.

Oh.

Well, the new feature hasn't been installed yet because the Yard Man is busy working at his real job, so right now, what I have is this algae pondlet. I know it's up to me to change the water and clean it out, but I get busy, all right?

I hope the children don't find out how I'm wasting their inheritance in the garden.

Garden Colors

2008-06-17T18:36:00.003-06:00

Don't use a flash with poppies.
I like this borage. It's really an electric blue that didn't translate digitally.

Problems, Problems, Problems

2008-06-10T09:21:00.005-06:00

A couple of issues to grind over:

The area I dug for the corn bed used to be sunny all day but is not achieving the 6 hr minimum that I expected. We used to literally stretch out under bushes for shade when we were building the house but now, most of the back yard is in shade. There are puddles of sunny areas, but that's all.

The area I dug for the corn bed is near a Siberian (I think) Elm tree that decided to scatter seeds All Over the Place this year. I'm happy that it felt healthy enough to do that, but I'm faced with the slaughter of hundreds of tiny elm trees if I want to have veggies in that bed.

My little froggy fountain is being messed with somehow at night. For a couple of months I had a little garden feature, then somehow the water disappeared while we were sleeping. OK, so the solution is to turn the fountain off at night. Now the thing isn't pumping.

A little sparrow is chewing off my Snow in Summer for her nest. Flower by flower. She's in there, over to the right.

The Blue Period

2008-06-09T15:43:00.002-06:00

Like Picasso, my garden is in its blue phase these days. The sage and chives (actually sort of purply) meet me when I come through the back gate. Blue iris nod as I go out the front walk for the mail. There is a peony next to those that are a screaming crimson, but they come and go so fast that I probably won't get to them with a camera in time. And a bird flew into our house.

Hail Yeah!

2008-06-05T08:14:00.002-06:00

We had an incredible and rare downpour yesterday that totally overwhelmed my poor cisterns. The blue one just overflowed but the brown one (that my Yard Man never got around to stabilizing) filled up and bit the dust. For and area that averages a foot of precipitation/year, this was a doozie. Oh, and a little bit of hail came with that.

I have to wonder if we're in for a cool summer. We've had a couple of warm (high 80's) days but it's back in the 60's now.

Last Weekend

2008-06-03T19:46:00.003-06:00

I got to the National Wildlife Federation's native plants sale on Saturday and picked up a Maximillian Daisy and was inspired by their Mahonia garden so I got one of those, too.

I'm enjoying all the white flowers in my garden this year, especially the Snow in Summer and Potentilla. The white geraniums look downright elegant. My neighbor has some opulent white irises that I see every time I leave my driveway. And the white cosmos I seeded are coming up for later oh, and the white rose is in bud...........

The problem with Compost

2008-05-30T15:14:00.005-06:00

I'm gardening big time this year so I got my Yard Man to unearth the bottom of a years old compost heap for my corn patch. He's such a dear and did it without any nagging from me.

I got out there in plenty of time before the rains and planted some corn, some beans and even some okra. When I saw the sprouts, there were locust trees germinating from beans that were composted years ago. ?!? The little plant in the top photo growing tall and true? Yep, that's a tree.

There are lots of other things sprouting that I don't remember planting. I am not a bookkeeper. I am a digger and composter and waterer.

We'll see. The corn was a gamble, what with raccoons and partial shade. Primarily, I wanted to make a statement about growing food or to prove I could do it. I'm really crossing my fingers for the okra since I love the flowers (think Hibiscus) and the beans, well, beans aren't hard to find in the summer. Updates to follow.

I'm Liking the Meadow

2008-05-28T16:15:00.004-06:00

The swathes of grass that I left to grow are satisfying to watch. This one includes some Clary Sage, some Sweet peas and some other irregulars that show up normally to be mowed down. So far no complaints from the neighbors.
I love the different grass flower heads. I tried to capture them with the camera it's not quite expert enough to get the detail.
The deer seem to like it too, some stopping there to graze before they get to the roses.

Colorado Weather for May

2008-05-22T14:46:00.004-06:00

It's beautiful outside with blue skies and singing birds but across the state, a large tornado just touched down, thunderstorms with baseball-sized hail pounded the eastern plains, fire-weather conditions exist in from C Springs & up north a bit, it's raining in the northwest, and there's a winter weather warning in the mountains. Just a gentle breeze outside my window.
image from http://www.wunderground.com/severe.asp

Winter vs Spring

2008-05-20T09:54:00.002-06:00

Spring wins, hands down.

Southern vs Western

2008-05-19T11:46:00.004-06:00

I have needs. I must go back to the Deep South on an annual basis, not just to see family, but to breathe and feel the air, listen to the nighttime sounds, see the birds and smell the trees. Then I'm fine to come back home to my oasis in the dryness. My other eco-system includes tall loblolly pines and old oaks and sandy soil. I love them both but home is here.

Sculpting Grass

2008-05-18T09:59:00.004-06:00

Ok, I thought about creating a maze in the front yard but settled with just sculpting the grass this year. We have a boundary between our front yard and the street that is technically owned by the HOA across from us, though with the adverse possession law, who knows? This year I left a swathe of grass unmowed at the bottom of our property to act as a natural fence. Just for fun, I'm leaving an unmowed circle in the middle of the front area. The grass is about to bloom so the pollen will be tough for a few weeks, but it's tough for me anyway.
If the neighbors complain, I can say aliens created a reverse crop circle in our yard.

Time out for Graduation

2008-05-14T08:55:00.004-06:00

I took a few hours off from gardening last week to attend my son's graduation and here are some turtles from a pond on campus.

I was going to mention a tree tour that the University offers in the fall but can't find any evidence of it online. I did find the Colorado Tree Coalition's Notable Tree Tour which includes Andrews Arboretum (pdf file), a sweet slice of acreage in Boulder.

So much wonderful life to explore.

Home Again

2008-05-12T20:57:00.003-06:00

I'm back and so happy to be west of the Mississippi again. Maybe it was the long layovers in Chicago - I just could not get involved with the look and feel of the East and South like I normally do. I'm happy to be with just-blossoming lilacs, the sound of the first hummingbirds, the smell of those long white hanging blossoms, the wide open spaces of the Colorado plains and all the finches that are vacuuming out my feeders twice a day. Colorado smells good to me.

Gimme Shelter (toad version)

2008-04-24T11:59:00.004-06:00

I'll leave you all with this photo from the National Wildlife Federation and hope that some will be encouraged to help increase our diminishing amphibian population. They don't ask for much, do they?

I'm about to board a train that will lead me toward the Gulf Coast for a few days of sun & fun and hopefully loads of azaleas. Back after May Day.

Dem Bones

2008-04-21T16:37:00.002-06:00

I found this in the front yard. It looks to be about the size of a cow's joint, maybe from the time that the property was pasture. Mountain lions come down to town even with all the fill-in we've had over the years, so I wouldn't doubt that one could get a cow for a meal.

Spring in the Boulder Foothills

2008-04-19T12:31:00.004-06:00

My Yard Man and I went up about 5 miles up into the mountains west of town to do an estimate. Their Spring is a little different up there. We got a light dusting of snow when we were there, but came back down to 60º in town. Today we are into the 70ºs.

I decided to stop chatting about gardening so much and get to work outside. I've been opening up a garden bed along the north 75' fence line with plans to truly garden this year (as in 'grow food'). Part of that project is moving a lot of plants from the wildlife area in the front to the back where we'll actually be able to see the blooms. Who knew I had 30+ day lilies in the front? Looking forward to some orange and yellow later this year.

Red Flag Warnings

2008-04-15T11:40:00.002-06:00

The National Weather Service has posted a Red Flag Warning for most of Colorado in advance of a rain/snow event that arrives tomorrow:

SOUTHWEST WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BLOW AT 20 TO 30 MPH WITH
GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THESE GUSTY WINDS COMBINED WITH TEMPERATURES IN
THE MID 70S TO LOWER 80S AND RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FROM 7 TO 15 PERCENT WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR
THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.

Aye Yi Yi! 7% humidity! I've been making sure to have plenty of water around the yard for all the Spring visitors we're having and today the fountains were set up. Don't get all excited...these are for the sounds and for the birds, not for the looks. The one in the picture is my favorite because it's a solar fountain. The photo was taken early morning with a spray about 3 inches high but now at mid-day, it's more like 6-8 inches high. It came with different nozzles but this is the one I can hear from my window. Plow and Hearth (on sale) was the source, but I don't think they carry them anymore.

Another fountain hidden behind the sage bush is simply a big stainless steel bowl that I had for kids' crafts. The smallest pump and some plastic hose stabilized with some decorative rock does the trick. Come to think of it, I got a cheap and tacky fountain deeply discounted at a grocery store one year, took it apart and used the pump that came with it for my first homemade fountain. It was cheaper than buying a pump at the hardware store.

Harumpf! Gardening Experts.

2008-04-12T09:35:00.003-06:00

I went to a presentation on landscaping for conservation that I totally mis-read, thinking it was going to be about plants. After an endless section on sprinkler systems, I left. I don't have one! I went there to kick start my Real Life Gardening Community phase and what I got were the Experts (on city salaries with city funding that had to be spent).

I have a problem with presentations where text is shown on an overhead screen and the speaker is reading the text for me. Please, just post it on your website and I'll read it there.

I also have a problem with Experts taking jobs that community used to do. The industry of Experts grew wildly when my kids were younger and parents were turning to psychologists where their parents would have turned to friends and family.

The talk served to remind me to just get into the garden and pull the invasive grass and weeds; dig the holes and put in the seeds and plants; go get those kitchen scraps off the counter and put them into the compost - and while you're there - hey, why not stir the pile!

Take care. Cultivate. Pay attention. Foster. Learn to live with Life.

If You Put it Out, They Will Come

2008-04-11T14:04:00.003-06:00

My herd of deer has been replaced by a herd of finches -goldies and those little red-breasted ones. This year, I dumped some old bird food along the ditch fence so hopefully some millet and sunflowers will keep them fat and happy. Speaking of fat and happy, the robins are waddling around here! Big fat bellies.

And the squirrels, well, don't bother them, they're eating. Holy Cow! It's snowing again! or maybe it's sleet - it looks like vanilla dippin' dots.

Die, comfrey, die!

2008-04-07T15:50:00.005-06:00

This is the last (I hope) of the comfrey invasion that I've been battling for several years. Yes, I welcomed comfrey - nay - asked for comfrey to join my plants, scoffing at my friend's warning that comfrey is a guest that will not willingly leave.

The plant is big and beautiful and perhaps the greediest water hog that has ever lived in my yard. Not only that, when there isn't enough water in this arid climate, Her Hugeness wilts as if to announce to passers-by what an awful garden-tender I am.

I have dug up the big black roots again and again. I've covered them with weed barrier and inches of mulch. I've even put pavers on top of them to try to get them to go away. Now all I have left are these little shoots and I'll stay after them until they are gone. Maybe I'll go so far as to eat them!

Bees!

2008-04-02T15:06:00.002-06:00

As I was walking up the back steps I heard a familiar sound - multiple bees buzzing on the peach tree that's budding out. Earlier, I had to decide if I should dig up some dandelions by the front walk or let the bees have the flowers first. And walking in the front grass I had to make sure I didn't step on any bees. Such decisions haven't been on my mind for months but it feels like longer.

Already there is a lot to do in the yard, even with the possibility of killing frosts ahead. April is the 2nd snowiest month in Colorado. I hope it all stays in the mountains and we just get rain down here.

And the kalamata olive cistern is working nicely, thank you. The last light snow melt filled it up and we drained it off with a hose to the far corner of the yard.

Maybe a Maze?

2008-03-31T14:04:00.004-06:00

I'm really considering doing some kind of grass sculpturing in my front yard this year.

We never put sod down in the front yard which is about half of our 1/4 acre lot. We just water and mow the field grass that was there when we started building. One year we let it grow a little too long for some neighbor who reported us. Apparently the idea of a meadow wasn't their vision for the 'hood.

But this year, I'd decided to leave some patches of grass to grow to provide a natural 'fence' to the south and to leave some seed heads for over-wintering birds. Serendipity called and left me a message about Rick Darke who is speaking at the Denver Botanical Gardens tomorrow. "Sure, I know you won't make the drive, but at least check out his books," she said. So I found this one. I'm inspired now to let a lot of the yard grow and just leave some paths to get to the planting areas and compost. It just looks so sensuous.

My 'before' pictures are in the camera. Once the mowing starts, I'll post something on whether this is an event worth tracking or just a reason for that neighbor to call the city again.

photo from rickdarke.com

Saving Water

2008-03-28T09:56:00.004-06:00

Here's our new cistern for the front yard. I wanted to find something that wasn't so obtrusive as our big bright blue bargain one in the back. This one was in the back lot of Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply in Longmont.

We probably got hosed by the cost: $40 (cf $12 for the big bright blue bargain one - but we had to install a tap in that one). This one came with a lid. It has some nice Greek writing on it. No matter about the Kalamata olive smell inside. That will wash away.

What Garden Blogging is Doing for Me

2008-03-25T13:00:00.003-06:00

It's getting me into the garden/yard more, for one thing. My neighbors (except one) hire other people to do their gardening for them so it's not really something that brings me together with others. Reading all these garden blogs over the winter has reminded me of all the other kindred spirits out there with virtual backyard fences to talk over.

One day, I took a gigantic leap over to a local gardening list I unearthed in a deep search through layers of links and who knows, maybe I'll show up for some local classes.

Mostly, garden blogging has made me more mindful about what my garden needs and has taken away my excuses for not getting out there to clear out the early weeds.

East Boulder County

2008-03-22T16:50:00.000-06:00

Some cows on this day before Easter.

2008-03-20T09:37:00.004-06:00

Pretty little curls of rhubarb leaves getting ready to unfurl, just discovered yesterday as I was cleaning out a bushy patch. While I was doing that, a Big! bee buzzed by the side of my head and I let the Great Sunflower Pjt know. The project info and free seeds are on the way but the bees around here get out when they see a good warm day. They know the croci are up and blooming so the daffodils won't be far behind.

2008-03-19T17:50:00.002-06:00

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! It's Spring tonight but there will be less than 12 hours of dark!

Larry from Earthsky.org says: "If you use the Naval Observatory website or some other reference, you will find that basically no matter where you live, the date that had the nearest to exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark was several days ago."
Go here to see what he's talking about: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/

2008-03-19T12:03:00.004-06:00

Here's some of what's growing in the greenhouse: the turnips and radishes are knee high while the carrots are only up to the ankles.

I need to clear off that pile of brush over there.

More Snow

2008-03-17T09:34:00.004-06:00

Good thing I moved some of the day lilies to the back yard yesterday because we got several inches of snow. Enough to make a winter wonderland but not so much as to break branches, so I'm leaving it on to keep the buds warm. Lilacs are budding.
But looking ahead, I re-discovered Plants of the Southwest and will be ordering some flower seeds to fill up the patch by the front fence: some Showy Milkweed, some NM Sunflower, some Gailliardia aristata, and some Black Eyed Susan.

Lavender and Sage

2008-03-14T16:00:00.003-06:00

Today we have another gloomy-ish cool day, though not as wintery as in the mountains, from what I hear. I wandered around the yard noting the pansies in the ground, the new sprouts of turnips, carrots, radishes and peas that are up & dreaming up projects for the Yard Man to do before the our seasonal rush hits. Then I remembered: "Trim back the sage and lavender!" Yes, during one of my extended link-clicking adventures throughout the garden world online, I ran into a post about cutting back lavender and yes, I think sage was mentioned.

Just what I needed, a short project that will help some plants and wouldn't keep me out in the the cold too long. I appreciated the person who wrote the article (and would have credited him if I remembered who he was) and had the realization that I need to cultivate my plants more. The realization changed my viewpoint a bit from 'gardening when I feel like it' to gardening as if it really made a difference to the plants. I understood conceptually the word 'cultivate' more, as in 'fostering, caring for, being devoted to something'.

So thanks to whoever inspired me into my woody bushes got me to clear out the underbrush.

2008-03-12T15:34:00.002-06:00

It's been hectic lately with all the recent visitors. The deer are traveling in a group of 6 for now. You may have to biggenate the photo with a click to see all of them. They dined on the new growth in the front, including the scrub oak, grass and emerging day lilies. The next day they had the audacity to munch in the ditch along my Scottie's fence. She made short shrift of scattering all 6 of them in minutes.

This robin was the first one of the season that I've seen in our yard. He followed us on a walk around the neighborhood.

Ahh...petrichor

2008-03-10T09:28:00.003-06:00

Hanna at This Garden is Illegal.com wrote about garden aromatherapy.:

It might interest you to learn that the smell of dirt is not in fact the smell of dirt. It is a bacteria called Streptomyces coelicolor which produces a chemical called geosmin which in turn is what we think of as the smells like dirt. Actually, the bacteria produces that smell when it is dying.

Another smell I like is petrichor:

More specifically, it’s the pleasant smell that often accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions. Didn’t you always want a word for it? It was named by two Australian researchers in an article in Nature in 1964, who discovered that the smell is an oily essence that comes from rocks or soil that are often (but not always) clay-based. The oil is a complicated set of at least fifty different compounds, rather like a perfume. It turned out that the oils are given off by vegetation during dry spells and are adsorbed on to the surface of rocks and soil particles, to be released into the air again by the next rains. ... The word comes from Greek petros, a stone, plus ichor, from the Greek word for the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods. So the word means something like “essence of rock”. Alas, it is rarely encountered.

The definitions came from worldwidewords.org which I found on onelook.com. Image from sugarmtnfarm.com. I love the internet.

2008-03-09T11:08:00.005-06:00

The leaves aren't quite this big yet, but we're having some nice spring-like weather along the Front Range.

2008-03-06T12:15:00.004-07:00

I have this cloche that I bought a long time ago that I really like. It's light weight and folds flat for the off season. It's basically a few pieces of double-paned plastic
with some holes punched into the corners and a little vent cut into the lid. Fasteners came with it, but now I just use old bread ties to hold the pieces together.

I looked around for rigid plastic like this to make some more and couldn't find any till I took a short cut through the art department at McGuckin's and voila!
There were sheets of the plastic the size of poster board. Can't imagine what kind of art project would require the material.

I don't need another cloche anymore, but I thought I would pass the idea along. When it's time to replace the heavy rigid plastic on the permanent cold frame, I'll get some of this stuff.

Compost Showering

2008-03-04T08:46:00.005-07:00

Anthony at the Compost Bin has posted a video about heating water with your compost heap. It seems to work well - about 10 minutes to recharge a 5 minute shower at 90º. Not bad.

We have some passive solar in our house: the solar clothes dryer, the solar food defroster, and the solar dog warmer all work well for us.

Powerful Pansies

2008-03-03T07:39:00.006-07:00

The power pansy is the little blue one I found buried beneath the snow and hose during last week's warm spell. This one here is looking forward to getting off the window sill and joining that one.

I've been enjoying this local blog called Peak Soil.
The story about the fella working his CSAs in local yards is pretty amazing to me!

Hello March

2008-03-02T07:14:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I had to open the cold frame so the new turnip sprouts wouldn't fry and today there is a winter storm watch for the Front Range. Snow and blowing snow and I get to drive to DIA to see the scary blue horse with the red eyes.
March is the snowiest month for the Denver metro area. NOAA says we can expect:

THE WEATHER IN DENVER DURING MARCH FEATURES FREQUENT AND RAPID CHANGES.
LONGER DAYS ALLOW FOR MORE SUNSHINE MAKES FOR SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER.
HOWEVER...OCCASIONAL ARCTIC AIR MASSES CAN STILL PLUNGE SOUTHWARD ACROSS
COLORADO RAPIDLY DROPPING TEMPERATURES WITH SOME READINGS FALLING TO NEAR
ZERO DEGREES.

THE CHANGEABLE WEATHER IS DUE TO WEATHER ELEMENTS COMMON TO BOTH WINTER AND
SPRING.  IN ADDITION TO THE ARCTIC FRONTS...PACIFIC STORMS STILL FREQUENTLY
MOVE IN FROM THE WEST AND WARM MOIST AIR STREAMS IN FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO
NORTHWESTWARD INTO COLORADO.  WHEN ANY OF THE COLD FRONTS COLLIDE OVER
COLORADO WITH THE WARMER AIR MASSES...THE RESULTING WEATHER CAN BE WILD AND
CRAZY FOR AREAS SURROUNDING DENVER.

A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE CHANGEABLE MARCH WEATHER IN DENVER OCCURRED ON MARCH
8TH, 1992.  THE SKY WAS SUNNY OVER DENVER DURING THE MORNING HOURS ALLOWING
THE TEMPERATURE TO REACH 52 DEGREES BY MIDDAY.  DURING THE AFTERNOON...
TORNADOES AND THUNDERSTORMS...CONTAINING HAIL...DEVELOPED ACROSS THE
NORTHEAST PLAINS INCLUDING THE DENVER METRO AREA. A CANADIAN COLD FRONT
ZIPPED ACROSS THE EAST DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON DROPPING TEMPERATURES
SHARPLY AND CREATING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ALONG THE FRONT RANGE.  THE STORM
DUMPED 12.4 INCHES OF SNOW AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WITH GREATER
AMOUNTS REPORTED ACROSS THE METRO AREA.

2008-02-28T11:27:00.003-07:00

Something sleeps next to the compost.
You can click on the photo to get a gigantic view of it. I think it's deer, but they usually come in groups and this looks just big enough for one.

Yeah, the compost is in the front yard by the street but I'm going to move it later this year.

Summer Pics from My Window

2008-02-26T12:56:00.004-07:00

Snake in the bush.

Baby deer.

Yard vs Garden

2008-02-25T08:29:00.003-07:00

from etymonline.com:

garden: c.1300, from O.N.Fr. gardin, from V.L. hortus gardinus "enclosed garden," via Frank. *gardo, from P.Gmc. *gardon (cf. O.Fris. garda, O.H.G. garto, Ger. Garten "garden," O.E. geard "enclosure," see yard (1)). The verb is first attested in 1577. Garden variety in figurative sense first recorded 1928.

I was going to wax philosophic about whether I have a yard or a garden but it turns out it's the same thing: a geard.

Volunteers

2008-02-23T14:55:00.004-07:00

This is an apricot that grew up unexpectedly from some sheet composting or maybe one of the boys spit out the pit when they were little. Now it's about 15' tall.

The part that I wanted to focus on is of course the blurry part but if you can imagine, buds are about ready to open. The only problem is the apricots aren't native and they think the first warm snap means 'time to flower.' Then more snow comes. Over the years, I've had maybe 5 apricots from this tree but they are apricots that stopped time.

This gives you an idea of the life force in this beast. If you look closely at the bottom you can see the old concrete block that it sprang out of. The Yard Man and I went back and forth about this tree so no decision was ever made to move it. The Yard Man wants to cut it down but I tell him that I don't mess with his junky shed so he can't touch my hearty volunteers.

It looks like a shackled elephant doesn't it? Sort of like Dumbo?

Collections

2008-02-22T09:30:00.001-07:00

I've grown echinacea from seed before but never from a bag. I saw this at Costco the other day, 24 plants for $14 and thought, what the hay, I'll try it.
Last year I bought a collection of plants from the Ctr for Resource Conservation, their water-wise sunrise group. My favorite plant was the Vermillion Bluffs Mexican Sage. They all grew fast and tall and fed the hummingbirds for months, so much that I never filled my feeder last year.

This year, I'm eyeing a collection from High Country Gardens, the Jumbo Waterwise Garden, hoping the plants will be huge. I'm normally a cheap end-of-the-season plant buyer but sometimes you have to pay full early prices so there will be the end-of-the-season sales year after year.

Upslope Weather

2008-02-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's definitely still winter here in Colorado but change is in the air. One notable difference is the smell when we have upslope conditions. Most of the winter weather tracks from the NW - whatever Seattle gets, we get. Sometimes it tracks at a lower latitude and we get LA's weather. It comes up from the south and turns back east to west in an upslope condition. You can tell because you can smell the manure from the farms in Eastern Colorado! The air is heavier and moist. Snowflakes are fatter and bigger, not the dry little ones. You could almost say "Big Smell, Little Snow".

2008-02-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

I saw these fellas when I was coming out of Vitamin Cottage. I've noticed that the birds are singing and chirping a lot more, even with the recent snows. The geese are all over the place, flying back and forth, east and west. Signs of Spring!

My yard honestly

2008-02-18T11:58:00.001-07:00

Yes, this looks like coffee beans spilled on the ground but it's deer scat, something that I get a lot of in my yard. I like the deer but they eat my garden. I'll post some fawn pics soon.

We built our house, as in: every afternoon after work and weekends over a 2 year period. Only after it was done did we realize we had a yard to build and that has taken the last 20 years. Here are some broken concrete pieces we found and put to use - you can see the planter in the background against the house. Some leftover ones are lining the future garden bed. Those are white chicory stalks in the frame.

2008-02-18T11:54:00.001-07:00

Same barn that I posted the other day but from a slightly different vantage point.

2008-02-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Our vote for warmer sunny days was overridden by the grey gloomers. The extent of gardening today will be a trip to the compost pile. We are in the yo-yo season of the year, warm for a few days, snow the next. Daylight Savings Time is just 4 weeks away.

Boulder County

2008-02-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

When most people think of Boulder, they think of money shots like this one on the rap.ucar.edu/ website. Mountains, snow and lots of coniferous trees.

The other side of the county is like this barn that I saw yesterday. There is a lot of farm land out there watered by ditches that fill up with snow melt in the Spring and dry up in the Fall. I don't know how the farmers do it. Half the year my yard is brown like this dirt but the big blue skies help break up the monotony.

Welcome

2008-02-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is the year that I wean myself off of CSAs in the area! I've raised a little food at home before and I can do it again , if I can just keep the deer away from my plots.

Here my Yard Man is digging into the cold frame that has been unused for years. You'll be seeing more of him in the future.

The first project for the year was putting green peas out. I did that against the back fence where I found some leftover spinach from last year! The spinach and peas are undercover of an old plastic cold frame I bought from an ad in Mother Earth News
years ago. We shall see if covering it encourages growth or not.