urban garden festival, may 18, 2013

 after a frantic couple of months of planning, planting and just about anything you can think of as related to maintaining a garden, we finally had our chance to show it all off.  thankfully, the rain held off and we had some sun, especially nice since we set it all up in the rain on friday!    as you came in from the parking area, these electric pink azalea bushes greeted you.

the rose society had a lovely selection of roses for sale.

our own plant sale featuring plants from our home gardens.

the new kid on the block, the keyhole garden.  to see how we built it, be sure to look at the keyhole garden page by clicking the tab above.

 all around the outer edge are herbs and beneficial plants that will attract beneficial insects to help us control the damaging ones.

 henny penny abandoned her nest but we left it up in the arbor for another bird to use.

 the herb garden has exploded with all of the rain that has fallen.  the large plant in the left/back is a comfrey that is putting on quite a display with all of its blooms.

 beautiful iris in the herb garden

this orange thyme has become one of my favorite plants.

 so many people were intrigued by the pallet garden.  i answered many questions about building one.

 a new feature for the show, a wildlife garden.  it is easy to get your yard certified as a wildlife habitat.

 cute statue and a lovely weigela in a pot

 the coreopsis in the rain garden is showing off its color

 the rain garden had a real workout the last few weeks and it shows in the lush new growth of all of the plants.

 the square foot garden, a great way to produce large amounts of vegetables in a small space.

 the zombie garden looks a little sparse but that will change as we add more dead bodies...

 the shade garden is always one of my favorite places to be.  

 our sedum garden is filling in nicely.

sedums have become one of my favorite plant groups.  they are hardy, versatile and the number of varieties is so great that you can always find one more...

all in all, the show was a success.  we had two food trucks join us, your dish is our command  and the yum cupcake truck, the food was great!  we hope you come out again next year!

what a difference a little rain makes!

okay, it was more than a little, it was 5.5 inches of rain.  we needed it and we need even more but i am also happy to see the week or so of gloomy weather leave for a bit.  the garden exploded a bit this week  with all of the rain.

tiny and delicate but a big plus in the garden; buckwheat blooms attract beneficial insects and it is a great green manure.

some day, we hope to figure out where this cleome came from and how it ended up in the zombie garden bed.   

 remember the pineapples in the zombie garden?  they are loving the weather and have more than doubled in size.

 i planted 3 taro root tubers in the zombie garden, so far only one has taken to the new digs.

 over in the grape arbor, these are pretty tasty!  3 years ago, I harvested some grapes and made a starter, it is still living in my fridge.  every now and then, i take it out and feed it and then make some bread.

 kabocha squash-or the vine that ate the ag center...

 the bronze fennel was where all of the action was-it was teeming with all sorts of insects.

 the other part of rain-fungus!  these sprouted out of the logs in the herb garden walls.

 what they look like when mature

 wood ears-popular in chinese cuisine, they are edible.

 mushrooms are fascinating organisms.  the current trend of hunting and foraging for local foods has many locavores searching for prized edibles.  properly identifying them is crucial since they can be deadly.  unfortunately, it takes more than just looking at the top.  this guy might mislead a newbie-the blazing hot sun completely changed it's appearance; when i arrived 3 hours earlier, it was a creamy white color without that brown ring around the edge.

 looking at the bottom is just as important as the top-there are so many important clues here; veil, stem, gills, color and spores are all important factors to proper identification.  always get an expert to help you identify your finds before you eat them!

 fungus is everywhere.  this white, webby substance is actually the mycelium, the actual organism and each species has a "web" and they can be very large.  the crazy part, the mushrooms are actually the fruit of the mycelium.  below are some close up shots of the mycelium.

lichens aren't plants, they are symbiotic organisms comprised of fungus and algae.  for more a detailed explanation, visit this website.

a visitor to the garden taking a rest on the arbor.  it was hot, humid and sunny-typical summer but shirley and i managed to remove two big baskets of bermuda grass.  come on out and join us!

baby, it's hot out there! 6/24 update

somebody please make it rain.  the grass is crunchy underfoot.  the garden is droopy and the gardeners are melting.  luckily, we have a few dedicated volunteers who make the trip out to the garden to water the plants.   here is a current view from the demo garden:

grapes in the arbor

 we have green grapes and red grapes.  these red grapes are coming along nicely-just don't eat them yet, they bring sour to a whole new level...

 many of the plants have a fungal infection, called black rot and we cannot eat them.

 i like to look at the leaves and see just who has been visiting.  any ideas who may have left these?

 looks like a leaf miner was here too

 cleome in full bloom in the zombie garden.  

 red noodle beans in the vertical garden

 missouri wonder pole beans also in the vertical garden

 mexican petunia in full bloom

 texas star hibiscus-love this one!  when fully opened, it is a bright red star shaped blossom.

 artichokes have wonderful foliage

 the herb garden, or perhaps i should say herb jungle

 the cannas would like to thank michael for their lovely new home and all of the room they now have to spread and grow.

 grasses have the most unusual blooms and are so tiny.  this is switch grass, cultivar heavy metal, in full bloom.

summer savory in full bloom.  how do i know it is summer savory and not winter savory?  summer savory has lavender blooms (the photo doesn't show that very well) and winter savory.has white blooms.  either way, the plant is under utilized in the kitchen.  the flavor is very similar to thyme but a little more earthy.   whatever you think of it, it is a great plant to use in your landscape since it needs little care and spreads nicely.

and speaking of summer savory, today's cake was an orange poundcake with summer savory leaves and blossoms in it.  it was rather tasty!