6/26/09

Friday Freedom Garden

You can't read the temperature, but it says 85°F.

2009-06-26

It's time to deadhead the dahlias. They started blooming right after Bloom Day while I was on jury duty. Meet 'Prince Noir'. Generally, I like the single types, but these decorative ones are okay too.

2009-06-26

This poppy, on the other hand, is awful. I would pull it but I grew it from seed and I feel kind of sentimental. But mostly I'm keeping it because I like the seedheads.

2009-06-26; awful poppy!

The nursery is a mess and I'm going to clean up down here after I publish this blog post.

2009-06-26; the nursery needs a clean-up.

So much clutter! Plants dead and alive...half-forgotten projects. I need to sort it all out.

2009-06-26

I never found a spot in the ground to plant the lovage, but it seems happy in that pot.

2009-06-26

We've had a cool summer, but things are warming up. I've picked only a few squash so far this year, and no beans (on the left) or tomatoes. The cucumbers are really lagging.

2009-06-26

The buckeye is still green... Once the leaves go dormant for the summer drought, I'm going to snip off every single leaf.

2009-06-26

I guess I should at least try to make home-made chamomile tea, huh?

2009-06-26

The Native Americans ate tarweed seeds, but I wonder if you can do anything with the flowers.

2009-06-26

The same thing in the other direction...

2009-06-26

The water in the bird bath turns green quickly this time of year with all the sun. Seems like a bad thing for the birds..? Birds must get used to drinking some really crappy water, when you think about it. Lately, I'm feeling like there's too much Salvia spathacea. Maybe when it flowers, I'll feel differently.

2009-06-26

I continue to keep my lettuces under netting to keep the birds out.

2009-06-26

And this is still my favorite place to sit.

2009-06-26

The raspberries and Tithonia diversifolia have begun to fill in this corner...it's getting a little jungly.

2009-06-26

And still, just occasional passionflowers. Now, I know you think it's normal to have just a few at a time, but other passionflowers around San Francisco usually have hundreds of flowers blooming at any given time. Maybe it depends on the variety or something.

2009-06-26

I think this little Clematis is named 'Pistachio'. I bought it on sale somewhere. It's runty, but cute.

2009-06-26

Okay, that's enough for now. Ta-ta.

2009-06-26

15 comments:

Les said...

Would the "freedom" be freedom for jury duty? I have served 4 times, but thankfully not so long as you had to. What an interuption to your life.

Jenn said...

Yay! A shadow portrait.

chuck b. said...

Four times!

LostRoses said...

Your garden is cool as usual, Chuck, nice to see it again. What's up with that poppy? I didn't know they came in that color and, er, shape. Glad you have your freedom back!

Ann Atkinson said...

Ahhh, that looks like a poppy from Annies?? ;-) Just think, you'll have millions of seeds! 'Lauren's Grape'? Liked your Ta Ta photo.
Any suggestions for a must-see tomorrow in SF? I have 8-10 hrs to kill...garden-oriented, preferred.

Phytophthora said...

Welcome back Chuck. I missed you while you where on jury duty. BTW excellent post on that. I have thought that I always wanted to get picked but never have.

chuck b. said...

Cloverann--check out the Garden for the Environment, at 7th Avenue and Lawton. http://www.gardenfortheenvironment.org/

chuck b. said...

So nice to see you all again!

anna maria said...

Every time you post a bunch of photos of your garden I am GREEN with envy!
Some of it has to do with Bernal Hieghts versus Central Richmond, but I'm sure a lot of it is knowledge and experience. I also rent and have cement I can't very well remove...

Frances said...

Welcome back, Chuck. The garden looks great in spite of your absence, but of course you will spiff it right up to perfection.

Frances

Ann Atkinson said...

Thanks, Chuck - I ended up at Flora Grubb - been meaning to visit. Wow. Loved it. Then meandered around. At least it was much cooler than home..

Anonymous said...

Wow, that poppy does look rather horrible.

I liked my Salvia spathacea while it was blooming, but the moment it stopped blooming, it started turning brown and shriveled. Now it looks like it's on the brink of death. I thought it might be getting too much sun (though I'd tried to find a partly shady spot for it), so I transplanted it to an even shadier spot, but now it just looks even nearer to death than before.

chuck b. said...

Salvia spathacea has an ugly phase every year. Cut it to the ground when it gets ugly, put a pile of mulch on top, and let it be. It'll come back with winter rains.

Adriana said...

Lovely lovely lovely... Your garden seems to get better everytime I visit.

Unknown said...

Jungly is good. :) And lovage makes a lovely stir-stick for bloody Marys, if you get desperate to cut yours back...