June's Tune

Today marks the end of June plantings. I wanted to share the bountiful blessings of having a garden. Some of the plants growing in my garden now are Strawberries, Tomatoes, Sweet Peas, Morning Glories, Marigolds, Trombochini Squash, and one Zucchini. The herbs are Lavender, Parsley, (Italian and Curly), Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Sage, Dill and Chives. I am disappointed that the Moon Flower seeds did not survive the cold evenings but everything else has flourished! Some highlights are the Blue Storm Petunias, red Fibrous Begonias, violet and pink Impatiens, purple and red Snapdragons, and white, pink and lavender Dianthus from six-packs. The native Iris are done blooming but were so spectacular. My daughter Aurora gave me two Tuberous Begonias and my other daughter, Colleen, gave me some Sages. I can't wait until the three-day week-end to garden! What is growing in your garden?

Mighty Bee's Great Escape

Mighty Bee, the tiniest of baby bees, flew into the Big House and landed on the window screen. The window was open and the Jasmine vine was full of lovely scented flowers, wafting into the room. Mighty buzzed around trying to make his escape but alas! little Mighty was stuck and scared. He tried to make a Big Buzz but quiet baby bee buzzing is all he could muster.Trace heard the soft buzzing and came over to the window to investigate. There was Mighty, trying to be brave but starting to lose his courage. Trace understood his plight, put out his finger, and little Mighty Bee crawled to safety. Steady Mighty Bee soon you'll be free and sure enough Trace opened the door and gingerly set Mighty down. He scampered onto the flower and felt the soft velvet petunia blossum underneath his baby bee feet. Soon he was sipping the sweet nectar and the dark memory of the Big House dimmed. Mighty Bee was finally safe!

Magical Midsummer's Eve

Midsummer Day was celebrated on June 24th in honor of St. John the Baptist who baptized our dear Lord Jesus Christ. Festivals were held to enjoy the warmer days and nights. Some whispered that if women plucked seven different varieties of wildflowers and tucked them under their soft pillows, visions of future loves would color their dreams. Young people would dress up in folk costumes and go out dancing, drinking, and singing until the wee hours of the evening. It was a night when water was turned into wine and the angels watched over the faithful. Religious folks might visit a holy spring to give praise to St. John the Baptist. Many considered Midsummer's Day Eve an auspicious time to wed. Do you have plans to acknowledge this special day?

Bee Basic

Disease, bad weather and chemicals have lead to the bee die-off in California. Natural remedies include creating a bee habitat that encourages our little native hummers. Plant a wide variety of flowers that entice bees such as native wildflowers and flowering trees. Bees need cool water just like us so put out a pan of water, fill up your birdbaths or design a pond. Provide some bare ground and the native bees will make a home in the soil and set up housekeeing. Before you know it the native bees will be pollinating your strawberries, zucchini and tomatoes. This is a picture of the Cottingley angels and looks like a nice place for our native bees to visit.

Gardenicide: a response

Yeah, I admit it. I’m the dirt killer. It was greed, I tell ya. Greed and maybe a pinch of pride led me down the dark path to gardenicide. The desire to have bigger plants with bigger yields, so I could crow about my superior garden growing prowess drove me over the edge of reason.

It took months of mixing rich redwood compost with chicken manure, sand, wood ashes, the finest coffee grounds Starbucks had to offer, and egg shells to create the perfect mulch milieu. Any organic gardener will tell you that we really don’t feed plants with fertilizer. Rather, we feed the living soil with material that the worms and microbes love to munch. The product of our earthy partners is water soluble food that can be immediately absorbed by plant roots. All the nutrients necessary for plant life are available, in the soil, in the correct amounts, and are carried to the plant, above ground. The sun magically combines them with chlorophyll in the process of photosynthesis to create the plant structure and the fruit. So wonderful, so simple, such a gift from God! Why would anyone, in their right mind, tamper with such a perfect process??

I couldn’t leave well enough alone, though. Noooohoho, not me. I had to try to goose the plant growth and production, with some man made concoction to satisfy evil urges of greed and pride. I mistook the “Weed and Feed” lawn fertilizer for high-nitrogen lawn food and fed the poison to my beautiful, trusting plants. Watching them wilt and slowly starve to death was unbearable. I tried everything to thwart the poison but to no avail.

It was a painful lesson. I’ve been properly chastened and I’ve resolved to repent from my foolish ways. I’m naming my garden, “East of Eden” as a reminder to avoid any more deadly sins. Most of them, anyway…
submitted by a gardener under the pseudonym of " Gardenicide"

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Blue Native Flowers

Have you ever seen the Phlox divaricata "London Grove Blue?' The lovely, violet-blue, sweet smelling flowers beckon the bees and butterflies to 'have a little nip" and enjoy their nectar. Remember the gorgeous Tiger Swallowtail butterflies that flew around you as you lay on the cool grass on a broiling hot summer's day? Butterflies love this native plants flowers! Hummingbirds and Bees are also drawn to this wildland native. Sometimes called Wild Sweet William think about adding this spreading groundcover in semi-shady areas of your garden and plant it in rich humus. Lay back and dream on a sunny day and delight in God's handiwork.