2020-02-21

Spa!

Earlier this year we took delivery of a pre-owned spa. I built a pad of crushed rock (roadbed) for it to sit on at one end of the garden. I spent a lot of time using a compactor (both a rented "hopper" from the local big box and a hand-driven plate compactor.

This hard-working crew brought it into the yard.  The guy with his back to us was the lead and he had three helpers.  It came in on a plastic sled in order to clear the edge of the eave.

2020-02-10

0.16" rain; 9.42" rain for the seaon, so far

Sunday brought 0.16" rain split between the AM and Sunday night / Monday morning.

Date     Amount(in.) Cumulative
11/20/2019 0.53 0.53
11/21/2019 0.03 0.56
11/29/2019 1.88 2.44
12/1/2019 0.35 2.79
12/4/2019 1.02 3.81
12/7/2019 0.15 3.96
12/23/2019 3.29 7.25
12/24/2019 0.04 7.29
12/26/2019 1.69 8.98
1/17/2020 0.28 9.26
2/9/2020 0.13 9.39
2/10/2020 0.03 9.42

2020-02-08

Garden engineering: Trellis and gate

I label garden projects and thoughts about garden projects as "garden design".

Sometimes, it's enough to take a picture to visualize how experienced gardeners implement projects.
These are Tayberry bushes (growth habit looks like a blackberry) in England.

Of note is the wire (appears to be a medium gauge of galvanized), staple securing the wire and their method of keeping the uprights from bending inward. The garden timbers appear to be larger and longer than the commonly available 8' lengths in the US.

2020-02-03

wild Gladiolus? No.

When we asked we were told this beautiful plant was a "wild Gladiolus". Perhaps they have naturalized in Sissinghurst, which is where this photo was taken. Web searches on "wild Gladiolus" don't immediately come back with an unambiguous identity, so I emailed Sissinghurst, who, everhelpful, corrected us.


Hi Brent,

The plant you saw was Dierama pulcherrimum, Hopefully, when you google it now, you will be able to see it. It’s a lovely plant and easy to grow too.

Kind regards,

Helen Champion

What a rewarding email to read.  Indeed, Helen has it exactly right.  It's also known as a Fairy Wand or Wand Plant according to Native Sons Nursery who seem to occasionally stock it.

See also Pacific Bulb Society.

It turns out to be a hard plant to find in my area.  I have ordered one bare root plant and 20 seeds from out of state.  We'll see how it goes.