The Green Rose

This is a bloom from a Rosa chinensis var. viridiflora. Ours is still young yet, but it is by far one of my favorite garden plants. Registered in 1830, it is an unusual China rose, with no petals, just a lot of sepal. The blooms are often hard to notice at first, but then you can see them all over. What makes it even more exciting is that it smells of black pepper.

The Cats vs. The Birds

Most gardeners are lovers of animals, and for some reason, the two almost always seem to go together. I have heard that in Great Britain, it is most frequently the moggie cat that is much beloved, but here in the US, it seems that we may have just as many dogs digging in the dirt with their owners. Here at our home, we have three black cats, but in addition to Macavity, Maurice and Mona, we also have another black cat neighbor named Meng. There are tons of other cats that come and go too, but our hearts, and garden, belong to the first four, and for the most part, these four seem to tolerate one another.
Like other soil toilers, I also adore birds. This can be a bit difficult though if you also care for cats. Every year we try to make their collars louder, but I still worry about my feathered guests. In general, I have tried to design a garden which encourages bird-watching, and not bird killing. During the last four years, only one bird has been killed–as far as I know... This may have something to do with my pets' penchant for napping on the job. (See Above: Mona on an average day.)

Beautiful Days Ahead

After an 1,800-mile car trip to California and back, there just isn't a lot of energy left in me. We arrived home almost 4 days ago, and yet, I just cannot recover. Sitting in the car is difficult enough for me, but taking two teenaged girls was a whole other issue. (One was a niece, the other is like a niece.) At least I was able to see some amazing landscapes, and my husband was dropped-off in Lake County so that he could help in the annual wine-making process at his dad's. The smoke from the wildfires was giving us all headaches, but the trip back with the girls along the coast was very pleasant. I just worry about the drought now. The grapes looked great, but they did need to be pruned, and I think they took care of that after we left. I wish I could have helped, but again, I just don't have that kind of stamina or the speed either.
Today I have been in a great deal of pain. It is centered around my limbs but I am feeling better bit by bit. For the last few days I have been shaky but that seems to have improved too. I just wish that I could get outside to arrange, plant, and sell the plants that need to be sold right now. My "inventory" is a bit out of control. At least if things died while we were away they can be composted. That always makes me feel better. Maybe tomorrow I will feel stronger.

Anybody buying plants on Craigslist?

Fuchsia boliviana.

The economy must be doing badly this summer. That's obvious, right? Last year I was able to post all kinds of plants on CL but this summer nobody seems to have any extra cash. It is sad that others' seed money is all tied up in fuel costs, but it seems that is the case right now. Tomorrow I intend to post something for sale since it has been at least a month or so since I last had an item up for grabs, but if I don't sell something soon, I guess that I will simply have to pot them all up for next year and hope for the best. (Would love to sell my Bolivian fushias I've grown from seed but none of them has flowered just yet. They were started from seed in 2006, and still haven't bloomed! I refuse to give up on them though. Wish me luck.) UPDATE: JUST SOLD 3 COMMON VALERIAN PLANTS. YA!