New Garden Art

This evening I finally found the time to set up my new garden art. I had received some bonus money from work and had some Easter money saved as well. I decided to purchase this lovely leaf wind catcher I had admired at  Down to Earth. It has three different wheels that all spin independently. For now I have it sitting in the kitchen garden, where we can all easily watch it.

Avid Gardeners Plant Sale

Today was the annual Oregon Plant Fair at Alton Baker Park. This year, for the first time in many years, I didn't have to work the LCDS booth, so I could shop the Fair with Mom and Beth. While rain was predicted, the weather behaved for the most part. Partly sunny skies only gave way to only one, fairly short rainstorm the whole day. After we made our many purchases at the Plant Fair, we headed over to the Fairgrounds for the Hardy Plant Sale. At the end of the day, I came home with the following purchases:

• Tomato "Indigo" Amethyst Jewel - from Log House Plants. Indeterminate. Slicer, Gorgeous pink w/purple amethyst splashes. Large trusses load up with great tasting exotic looking 1-3 oz fruit. Large production, hang on the vine ability with real tomato flavor. wild Boar Farm Hybrid. Mid-Season
• Tomato "Bumblebee" Sunrise Cherry - from Log House Plants. Indeterminate. Yellow, round cherry tomato with red stripes and a pink interior marbling. Excellent, sweet and tangy flavor. Great in mixes with other colorful artisan varieties.
• Tomato "Moonglow" Heirloom (OP) Grafter from Log House Plants. Intermediate. Gorgeous, brilliant orange globe shaped 6-8 oz fruits have a fantastic sweet-tart flavor and smooth texture, perfect for fresh eating or making a beautiful, unusual sauce. Heavy yields, good keeper. 80 days from transplant.
• Kale "Red Russian" from Log House Plants.(OP) Silvery, blue-green leaves with rose colored ribs & veins. Thick, chewy leaves are great in winter soups and stews or with grilled meat. 50 days from Transplant.
• Pepper "Lunchbox Yellow"  Sweet Pepper from Log House Plants. New mini "snack peppers" have a delicious sweet flavor for fresh eating but are also good for cooking. Tons of the 2-3" fruits mature to golden yellow on tall, strong plants. 55 days to green, 75 to yellow.
• Berben's Thunbergi "Golden Pillar" from the Secret Garden Growers, Canby OR. Golden Pillar Barberry 3-4' multi-stemmed deciduous shrub, upright form, with dramatic bright yellow/gold foliage. Full sun to part shade, won't burn. most soils, deer resistant, average water, easy, USDA Zone 24
• Coreopsis "Red Satin" 15-18" H X 18-22 " W. Full sun, zone 5-9 Blooms summer thru late summer. This hardy coreopsis produces deep wine red to ruby red flowers all summer long. If cut back, it can rebloom until frost. The deep green, threadleaf foliage forms a tight mound.

I also picked up these three metal birds are the Plant Fair. A couple was selling dozens of different designs so it was very hard to choose. I finally selected a Nuthatch, a Chickadee, and a Cedar Waxwing. Now I only need to decide where to place them.

After visiting both plant sales, we made a stop at Down to Earth. I picked up 2 bags of potting soil and the following seed packets:

• Cosmo "Kneehigh Sonata Mix" from Renee's Garden.Sonata Cosmos compact feathery two foot plants are soon covered with spays of buds that open and bloom non-stop all summer long. The blossoms satiny 2" petals in shades of magenta, clear white, soft pastel pink and pure rose, surround cheerful yellow centers. Reliable and long-lasting, with stems long enough for cutting lots of bouquets, free blooming sonatas are perfect for containers, beds or borders and fill the garden with dainty gaiety all summer long. 2' tall.
• Melon "Minnesota Miget" (OP) 65-70 days. This exquisite heirloom produces a bounty of early and true to its name, mini cantaloupes. Fruit measure 4-6" across and have deep orange flesh that is succulent, sweet, and delicious down to the rind. The ultimate melon for short season areas, and the compact plants are ideal for mall spaces or container gardens.
• Cucumber "Marketmore 97"(OP) 55 days. Developed at Cornel University, Marketmore 97 is a great slicing cucumber, and is one of the most disease resistant varieties that we offer. Bitter free and burpless to boot. with vines up to 6 feet long, this northern cultivar bears loads of 9-11", strait, white spined cukes. A first rate addition to anyone's garden. 

A Special Christmas Present

For Christmas this year I was spoiled with many lovely presents. However, one really stood out. My Sister-in-law Cathy commissioned our family friend John Pelliter to do a pastel drawing of my garden. Back in October, when we were all gone at a Duck football game, John came over to the house. He went down to the garden and created this one of a kind drawing for me. The dahlias were still in bloom and John captured everything perfectly. Below, the "live" view today. Thanks to John and to the Cookson family for my special gift!

The First Tilling of the Year!

Today we hit a milestone in the garden...the first tilling of the year! I think June 15th is a record for the latest that we have ever had to wait to do the first tilling. But tonight after work we went down and gave it a go. As usual, there were varying "conditions" to be found. Both ends of the garden had spots that were still horribly wet, while part of the middle had dried enough that a bit of dust rose up behind the tractor. Now at least all of the weeds have been turned under and a new level of drying can begin. The 10 day forecast looks promising, with just a few chances of showers ahead and some very warm days predicted for early next week.

The air was filled with the unique smell of damp earth being turned over.

The finished garden. You can see the damp area in the grass were the tractor left tracks. The garden is quite wet directly below that area. Come on sunny weather!

When I got home I was surprised with a gift of a new metal chicken for my garden. For now he is in the vegetable bed being a good rooster!

I also was given the two "Heavenly Blue" morning glory plants that I needed for the leaf trellis in the vegetable bed. I got them planted tonight and watered in well. They are very healthy plants and should grab onto the pole in no time at all.

While I worked in the vegetable bed, Parvati found the house vent were the dryer heat was escaping, just outside of the laundry room. She cleverly curled up on the vent and took a cap nap. When I picked her up to come inside for the night, her stomach was as warm as if she had been sleeping on an electric blanket. Leave it to a cat to find the best place to stay warm on a cool Spring evening.

Some New Garden Art

One of the things that I love about gardens, as much as the plants that reside in them, is the garden art. Garden artwork can be just as varied and individualistic as the gardeners who purchase them. I have been fortunate this Spring to have added a few special pieces of art to my garden. I found the new trellis, pictured left, on sale at Down to Earth. I wish it was just a bit taller, but I think it will be great covered in Morning Glories this Summer. And even in its bare state, it is pleasing to the eye.

Last Christmas, I was instructed that my last gift was to be found out in the shop. When I opened the door to the electrical room, I found this wonderful concrete chicken. I had admired the concrete chickens all Summer at Down to Earth and was so excited to have one of my own. Because we have so many raccoons, I am afraid this is as close to chicken ownership as I am getting.  I am not quite sure exactly where to place it. Maybe in the vegetable bed.

This weekend I made my most recent purchase - again at Down to Earth! They carry some great stuff. I fell in love with this Purple bench a few weeks ago. After thinking about it, and getting both my tax return and a 20% off coupon in the mail, I brought it home on Saturday. It is going to go down in the big garden, where the purple tone will play off perfectly against the blue tone of the garden gate. Until then , it pairs beautifully with the wild iris.

The Yearly Cleaning

Today I got around to cleaning the garden gate. Once a year, after everything in the garden finally gets planted, I have the time to give the front gate a good scrubbing with a biodegradable soap and water. Over the coarse of a year it gets coated with dust, pollen, and dried grass from mowing. I never notice quit how dirty it gets until I clean it. Then its "mystical blue" paint from Home Depot just glows! And on the inside, my treasured glass dragonfly got a good cleaning too.

If you can't grow it....

Today Beth and I took at trip to Bloomer's Nursery. As we arrived separately at the check-out area, we both were drawn to these beautiful mosaic fruits & vegetables. The funny thing was, after I picked out my 2 favorites to show her, she pulled out the two she had already picked up - completely different!

I chose the Heirloom Tomato and the Pear.

Beth had grabbed an Eggplant and a green Bell Pepper. How Pretty!