The Gardeners Anonymous Blog

Can you say climate change?

I’ve been through heat waves during the summer before.

Last year, we had a record-setting ten days of over-100-degree temperatures. I can understand heat during the summer. But last night, and today, it rained.

It rained.

It’s July. It doesn’t rain here in July. It was an extremely light rain. But it was wet, and made of 2 hydrogens and 1 oxygen. I know rain when I see it.

I’m not complaining. I liked the change. It is still unseasonably cool. I like it cool because even though I can understand heat, I don’t like it much.

My garden likes it too. My flowers bloom longer. Everything seems to be greener and happier.

So right now I’m sitting on my porch all bundled up with my jacket on enjoying the cool air and my snoring dog and the loud crickets and frogs and the distant hum of an occasional car.

It feels like spring, but it’s the middle of July.

My New Office.

My husband gave me his old laptop.

That is one of the perks of being married to a writer.

He gets a new computer at least every three years.

So I get the old one.

I am so excited to have a laptop.

Now I can write anywhere I want.

I had thoughts of looking cool in the coffee shop with my new computer.

Or working in the car while my husband drove.

Or at the pool while my children swam.

But my favorite place of all to sit and write is my front porch.

I get inspired looking up from my laptop out at my garden.

My porch is shaded and spacious and surrounded with some of my favorite things:

Plants.

My Tomato Collection

I haven’t really reported anything about my tomatoes this year.
I’ve only harvested a couple of cherry tomatoes—the rest aren’t ripe yet.

I have 2 or 3 early girls.
I have 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes

I have a green zebra

A Brandywine

A black plum

A Roma

Some weird heirloom called a strawberry orange.

And a lot of volunteer currant tomatoes from last year.
My tomatoes are quite large this year.
I can’t wait until they’re ready to eat.

I also have four tomatillo plants.
So there they are.

Green Thumb Sunday

These are some orchids my my hottie glam pal Kim gave me.

They were from a great James Bond party she threw last night, because yesterday was 07-07-07.

Kim thinks like that. She’s very clever, and puts a lot of thought into her parties. When I, on the other hand, decide to throw a party, I pick a date, send out the invite a week or two in advance, and tell everybody to bring something.

I might post some pictures of Kim’s party, but I must get permission first.

How to grow lavender.

My friend Kathleen wants to grow lavender. She wants to know the best place to plant it, what care it requires and what kind is right for her.

Well Kathleen you’re in luck. First off, lavender is a wonderfully tough plant native to the Mediterranean and to North Africa. Lavender thrives under warm, dry, sunny, rocky conditions.

Lavender is part of the mint family. It comes in many shapes and sizes, leaf and flower variations.

Now, I know where Kathleen lives, and this is more good news for her. She lives near me in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and we have a somewhat Mediterranean climate here that is pretty perfect for lavender. She could probably grow any kind of lavender she wants, with relatively little effort.

For those of you who don’t have the perfect climate for lavender, I will say it again. Lavender is tough. There are some types of lavender that can survive to below 0 degrees. If you live in a place that freezes, make sure you mulch your lavender plants. If your plant dies back, make sure you see green sprouts before you cut it back or it will die—for sure.

One thing that lavender definitely does not like is dampness. Wet soil and humidity will kill lavender faster than anything. If you live in a humid area make sure you plant your lavender with plenty of room between plants so the air can circulate.

Purchase lavender plants in the spring or summer. Pick planta that are healthy and suited for your needs. They come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and leaf textures. Read the label on the plant or ask for assistance.

Plant your lavender where you can take advantage of its perfume, next to a path or a driveway or under a window.

When you plant lavender, throw some organic compost in with your new plant to give it a head start. You will want to keep them regularly watered through the first growing season. Don’t plant them any deeper than they were in the container. If you mulch them, mulch around them—not on top of them.

Once your lavender plant is established, it will probably do fine without any special care. To keep your plants really happy, feed in the spring with a general-purpose fertilizer. You will want to cut your plants back by 1/3 and mulch. When your lavender is ready to harvest, usually in early summer, cut the flowers back all the way below the stalks, and then shape the plant.

After the first year you may not have to water it at all.

Harvest your lavender when the flowers are just beginning to open. Harvest early in the morning when the oils are at their strongest.

Lavenders tend to last around ten years before they start to decline. But lavender is inexpensive and easy to replace. It reaches its mature size quickly. So it’s easy and economical to just start over.

And in the meantime, it smells wonderful.

Happy Independence Day From Gardeners Anonymous

This is our house six hours before our annual fourth of July party.
The calm before the storm.