What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.
-Will Rogers
In 1992 'Brigadoon' was one of 2 roses William Warriner developed for Jackson &Perkins to be selected an AARS All-American. A nice ending to an 18 award winning career.
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| Bouquets are Natural Air fresheners |
Don't let the hybrid tea designation fool you. The luminous tricolor blend of pink rimmed fading to white furling around a light yellow center flowers are in a word, robust. Plunked as tight buds from whacking the mother bush to a reasonable height, they joined purple wands of Cleveland Sage in the glass where the 'African Blue Sage' is rooting.
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| Hibiscus 'La France' anchors the arrangement near gate |
The 'salad bar' has been moved. The old location was over-run with riff raff. When critters designate your garden the all-you-can-eat buffet- they are not nearly so cute as they are frolicking on the golf course. So I relocated pots gathered from various parts of the garden to see if raising the salad fixings up off the ground beneath a movement- activated light might not leave some goodies for the people population.
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| Begonia 'Richmondensis' cheers up flat leaved parsley |
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| Miniature Rosa 'Renny' adds drama to pot of Bibb lettuce and ornamental kale |
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| Lemon Verbena's lush scented foliage pushes through obelisk structure |
Part of this grand experiment is to custom blend a soiless mix. For every 3 handfuls of cinnamon colored Cana Coco planting medium, a handful of Vermiblend premium organic soil amendment. Dark as espresso, blended together the result is as light as deep chocolate souffle.
To help the roots reach out, I've spiked the water can with a splash of Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow and a drop of Superthrive vitamins. 
Now comes the fun part. The freedom to fail or to succeed. To have a garden is to learn the goodness of accepting the challenges of life. Facing them as best we can. Learning as we go along. Both from our successes and from our failures. Letting go. At the end of the season, the enjoyment is truly eating the fruits- and vegetables- of our labors.
Rosa 'Renny' and her more traditional vegetable garden companions were purchased at Rainbow Garden Center in Glendora.
Planting medium and nourishment purchased at Bonafide Hydorponics in Brea.
I love the way you pair your plants and eatables.
ReplyDeleteLovely. xo
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteBy golly that IS a salad bar! I thought you were joking or at least referring to what the critters like to eat. What a wonderful idea to mix the produce in the with pretty flowers! Is that regularly done or are you experimenting?
Beeeutiful!!
Oh and I love the quote under the first picture!
Hugs, Trisha
p.s. Thank you for allowing me to read the book first! :)
Hi Trish. The French are known for mixing ornamentals with food crops. I have used herbs with perennials for years. This is the first time the food crop is the star of the show and the flowers the bonus feature.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to hear how your edibles do in the coco mix.
ReplyDeleteMy first foray into coir was a few months ago -- I rooted some cuttings of pelargonium, plectranthus and begonia in a block of coir. Every piece rooted amazingly well. For rooting, at least, I'm never going back to potting soil!
PS: loved the mental image of the critters cavorting on the golf course.
Oooh, that Brigadoon is gorgeous. Blends are my mom's favorites. I know just what you mean about salad buffets for critters. I, too, learned the hard way about planting greens in the ground.
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