May is one of my favorite months in the garden in spite of the fact that watering tasks typically begin at some point in the month. Sometimes we get lucky and are gifted with some measurable precipitation but the paltry 1/10th of an inch so far did not prove helpful. Hose dragging has commenced . The spring bulbs are all done for the year but the spring annuals are still pumping out blooms -I've pulled about half of the pansies up to make room for all the summer color I started from seed. By far the most impactful flowers of the last several weeks have been the Foxglove. Mostly in the Camelot series from Johnnys Seeds and started indoors in late September and planted out in late November. I started a total of 24 and shoehorned them in among the dozen or so I planted last spring. There are 2 more clumps besides the two I've shown here. I haven't grown Digitalis in at least a decade and this is the first time I've ever grown them from seed . Ach...
I am in the habit of taking time off in October ; usually a trip to the coast combined with a few days of fall clean-up at home. This year I headed to the Sierra for a 3 day photography workshop in Yosemite National Park -thankfully Uncle Sam came to his senses (such as they are) in time to avert possible cancellation. I signed up for this class on a whim , after receiving a brochure during a morning members-only photo walk at the Ruth Bancroft Garden with photographer John Ricca in August. Read about that here . John was the right hand man for our instructor Keith Walklet of Quietworks Photography . Keith lived and photographed in Yosemite for many years before moving to Boise and his intimate knowledge of the park , it's sunlight patterns and shooting conditions made for a wonderful 3 days --in the end I was happily shocked to realize how much I had learned . Mornings began before sunrise as we met for breakfast and set out to our first shooting location.We w...
The possibility of rain is on the agenda in the next few days , so it was good to get some photos of the roses while they still look good. I welcome the rain even if it turns some roses into blobs. Hopefully it's enough precip to allow me to skip watering chores on the upcoming weekend, and the forecast is promising in that regard. Whatever the rainfall numbers this could easily be the end of it until fall. Of course it means more weeds-always a trade-off. Bloomday is hosted by Carol over yonder at May Dreams Gardens ; be sure to visit to seek out more floral action . Passiflora 'Blue Horizon' has exceeded expectations after failing to die back over winter. It's moving steadily into this NOID bush Fuchsia (that also stayed green all winter) and might be headed for the Birch adjacent to my front porch. Diligent observation and and possible intervention is called for. This has been the very best year ever for Madame Isaac Pei...
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