Saturday gardening

Eric and I moved compost around the roses,

I sprayed the roses, and cut off the leaves with black spot and watered them with a soaker hose

Eric moved compost over the asparagus

I moved water hoses around

Eric changed the oil in the rototiller and put new gas in the engine

I cut 1/3 rd off the top of the lilac bushes, they have already past their bloom

Then dragged the branches to the black garbage trailer

Eric is rototilling around the pump house

I raked pine cones and needles into piles by the black garbage trailer

Eric and I moved the white bench down by the pump house

I found the wildflower seed and hauled the peat moss bag to the pump house area

Still moving watering hoses

Weeded along the black Iron fence

Watered some container plants

trimmed the dead flowers off the purple iris

transplanted some chrysanthemum plants into a large pot

I raked the dead leaves around the magnolia and put in compost pile

put fertilizer on flowers

Keep moving hoses

I raked the rocks where Eric rototilled

Then spread wild flower garden seeds around the area and we both spread compost and peat moss over the seed

I found two sprinkler heads and a water timer in the green house and a 9 volt battery in the house for the timer.

Eric hooked the hoses and the timer up so I only have to spray the outside edges where the other two hoses don't reach.

It's old seed so we will see how it goes.

It's 6:00 p m and it's time to quit and clean up and make dinner.

A good day in the garden

Tomorrow we clean the boat tent and hook the boat to the truck to take down to get de winterized.

Maybe we can put up the new boat tent up this week.

We decided that this time we would put the new boat tent down by the pump house so it's easier to put the boat in and out of the tent.

Also that creates parking closer to the house for company.

Cecil Brunner Climbing Roses

Polyanthas - Cecile Brunner

1881

Perfectly shaped, little pink buds earned ‘Cécile Brünner’ its nickname, ‘The Sweetheart Rose’. It is a treasure and should be in every garden. Where it will bloom from mid-Spring until frost. The bush form remains compact, putting up sprays of lightly fragrant flowers that look like tiny, high-centered Hybrid Teas. Long lived and healthy, ‘Cécile Brünner’ tolerates everything from poor soil to partial shade.
 

My Dad has this rose in his garden, I believe he got a start from the Lilly house across the street before they move the house. 

I thought it would be nice to plant this rose in our garden at the garden entrance. I ordered two of them for our garden @ $8 apiece from a place in Tennessee. My guess it that they won't be very big. 

The roses I have planted by the garden gate are shrub roses not climbers. So I will move those to the front yard. The bush roses I planted by the garden gate are actually roses I started from seeds from Germany. I have no idea what they are. Some day we might figure it out. 

I heard that if you put a cup of epson salts around your roses in the spring it makes the leaves nice and shiny. I'll have to try this and see if it really works. 

Eric and I planted the ceil brunner roses yesterday around the garden gate, I watered them well today and fertilized.

We will see what happens

Paw Paw Tree

I planted our new Paw Paw tree not far from out other Paw Paw tree so in a few years we may have fruit. This tree is only 2 feet tall. A tree has to be 3 to 5 years old before it produces fruit.

Tea Plant

This is our new Tea plant, I planted it in a pot so I can bring it in during the cold winter month. I will love to dry the leaves and make my own tea. 

French Tarragon

I started French Tarragon by seed and it's growing well in the Solarium. I've given a hair cut twice now. 

The first time I chopped it up fine and put it in an omelet it was tasty. 

The second time I'm drying the leaves for later use. 

It's a plant like Basil, Cilantro that you have to plant over and over because of their delicacy.

Growing Herbs is so much fun a huge money saver in cooking.

When you buy a spice jar at the store the prices are crazy high, better if you buy them in bulk. But the freshness isn't there. 

Growing them yourself you have freshness, and you have future gifts to give to friends and family. By giving herbs dried in a bag, or giving a divided plant. 

I decided to put my herbs in pots so I can move them around the yard and contain them from getting out of control. Also I don't have to bend down so much to harvest them.

 

Artichoke plant

A purple Artichoke plant

Our family likes to eat artichokes, so we decided to grow one and see how it goes. 

Lemon Grass

Our new Lemon Grass Plant

I bought a Lemon Grass plant last year and it did well until old man winter came and it died. 

So I've learned my lesson bring the Lemon grass in the house for winter or green house. 

I'm planting it in a pot for easy movability. 

Lemon Grass is used in Thai cooking. 

Paw Paw, Lemon Grass, Tea, and Artichokes

As a gardener you might find yourself searching for certain plants, it can be a challenge when you live in a small town.

I've tried mail order catalogs, but they run out quickly if you don't order soon enough, this happened this year.

Well I was pleased to find that in the big city of Portland I wasn't let down.

My search for a Paw Paw tree, Lemon Grass, Tea plant and Artichoke has come to an end.

We found Lemon Grass and Artichoke plant at the Garden Fever Nursery in Portland.

We found the Paw Paw and the Tea Plant at the Portland Nursery in the airport area.

We have a Paw Paw tree in the front yard and discovered that it needs another Paw Paw of a different variety in order to constantly produce the Paw Paw fruit.

I don't know the variety of the Paw Paw tree I have so I'm hoping what I choose was a good guess.

It's take 3 to 5 years for a little Paw Paw to produce fruit.

We will plant it and see what happens.

Lemon Grass I bought some last year and forgot to bring it in for the winter so it died.

The mail order catalogs ran out of the Lemon grass plants and the tea plants.

The local nurseries didn't have them.

So I was pleased when I found both.

Lemon Grass is used in Asian cooking and has a lemon flavor and smell hence the name.

I will plant them both in large pots and bring the Lemon grass in for the winter so it doesn't freeze.

The tea plant I will have to find the right location and I'm putting in a pot so if I need to move it to a different location it won't be a problem.

I would love to grow my own tea.

The Artichoke I will have to decide where the best place to put it so I won't need to move it.

Shannard's in Corvallis is where we were able to find Asparagus Crowns in packages of 6

and Rhubarb crowns. We recommend this nursery if you don't want large volume.

A nursery on Peoria Road is where we were able to find Kiwi, and blueberry plants very reasonably priced. We recommend this nursery for price and quality of plants. They just don't have everything.