Arbor Day and the Dogwood

Arbor Day is April 24th this year and what a great time to plant a dream tree from your garden wishes list. There are a few I would love but number one is a Dogwood. These trees are dressed up with elegant pink or white blooms covering the entire tree. In front of St. Michael's Parish in Boulder Creek is an amazing Dogwood that blooms with both colors and seems to be in bloom right around Easter time.
According to Wikipedia, "there is a Christian legend of unknown origin that proclaims that the cross used to crucify Jesus was constructed of dogwood. As the story goes, during the time of Jesus, the dogwood was larger and stronger than it is today and was the largest tree in the area of Jerusalem. After his crucifixion, Jesus changed the plant to its current form: he shortened it and twisted its branches to assure an end to its use for the construction of crosses. He also transformed its inflorescence into a representation of the crucifixion itself, with the four white bracts cross-shaped, which represent the four corners of the cross, each bearing a rusty indentation as of a nail and the red stamens of the flower, represents Jesus' crown of thorns, and the clustered red fruit represent his blood ."

Snow Peas Germinated

Great gardening news. The snow peas planted LAST MONTH germinated and poked their heads throught the soil on Sat. Feb. 28th. I was afraid they had drowned with the over 17 inches of rain that fell during Feb. Looking forward to see how this cultivar grows. Have you planted any seed yet?

Bareroot Planting

Last Saturday was unusually warm for January. The thermometer registered about 68 in the sun.The sky was a cerulean blue and my hands started itching to plant something in the moist earth. "How about we get a bareroot peach I asked my husband?" Trouble is we would have to travel about ten miles to get to the nearest garden center and neither of us was into driving. After all it was Saturday and we were feeling lazy. Trace had an idea! "I'll call Richard in San Jose and ask him to pick up a bareroot peach for us at Home Depot." Richard answered the phone from Starbucks and said he'd take a look for us. The next thing I know, Richard had bought us a tree and a bag of good manure and driven all the way up to the mountains to deliver it to us! What a guy. He refused to take any money and all we could do was marvel at his kindness. Now that's a good friend with a great heart. The bareroot peach is called a "Red Haven Peach" It should have medium sized fruit and is considered one of the best tasting peaches. We planted it Sunday and I can see it from my bedroom. It should be very lovely when it's larger and in bloom.I discovered a cool website: Trees of Antiquity that sells heirloom trees and berries.

Saving Seeds

Have you ever noticed that seeds are fascinating! You hold a tiny seed in your hand that may grow into a fabulous flower or a delicious vegetable. The seed already "knows" that it is a marigold or a squash. The gardener nurtures the seed and provides all the essentials for growth. One day the seed has grown into a two foot marigold complete with yellow flowers and the squash is curling delicately up your trellis, blooming large and orange, begging the bees to enter. What magic we hold in our hands when we plant our seeds! Faith grows like that tiny seed ... as we feed our longing for Jesus with prayer and reflection. Faith, hope , charity and love are the nutrients to nourish our souls. Sometimes our tears are the water that nurtures us and other times our sunny joy lightens up the darkness. Spend some time today in quiet contemplation of the power contained in a tiny seed.

Green Beans and Lettuce

I just couldn't resist planting more green beans in the garden. My grandson Blake just loves to eat the tender baby beans. He tells me, " Nona, I am really, really hungry!" I offer him choices but the only treat that will do is to pick a tiny bean and than pick another...and another. Lettuce is another crop that can be planted now. I found lettuce seeds for five cents apiece and planted some in containers. They have already popped out of the ground after five days! What vegetables do you like to plant in July?

Weed and Feed

Have you ever done something and been amazed by your result? It may sound simplistic but reading the instructions are crucial before applying any fertilizer. I have a good friend who spent hours creating organic soil for his vegetables. He gathered coffeegrinds and ashes and mixed them with some fine humus. The vegetable seeds were carefully selected and an array of wonderful seedlings established. In one of those moments we all like to forget, he decided

to add some commercial fertilizer. He did not plan on adding "Weed and Feed" a fertilizer for lawns that includes a weed killer. Ooops! Let us just quietly pray that the vegetables will overcome this setback because my friend is feeling pretty low today about this unintentional blooper. A gentle reminder to all of us:

" read the instructions and fine print before adding fertilizer to the garden! "

Herbs and Blurbs

Heres my "little froggy "grandson, Blake, getting ready to hop into bed. Last weekend he visited and he helped his Nona plant tomatoes and water the Lavenders. We had so much fun working in the garden and playing outside! Just wait until he see the herbs I planted....

Planting herbs in the Spring garden such as Dill, Cilantro, and Basil and my mouth waters for some of the yummy foods we create from their bounty. Think Salmon and Dill lends its flavor to the sweet taste, Cilantro and spicy Salsas, Basil and the old stand by-Pesto. What's your favorite herb to grow in your garden and do you have a favorite recipe that incorporates its flavor?

Seeds to Sprouts

Great news! Last night I noticed that the marigold seeds I planted a week ago have germinated. My new trick is to place the newly planted seeds in a potting soil/sand mix on top of my fireplace hearth. The extra heat seems to cause earlier seed germination. This reminds me of an experiment I did when I took Ornamental Horticulture at Foothill College. The class was called "Nursery Practices" (or something very close) and I experimented with using different temperatures of water to water my seedlings. What do you think was the optimum temperature for rapid growth? I'll answer this next posting.

This is a picture of my grandson, Blake, getting ready to help his Nona and Popo sweep the deck