Plant Care:
Remember that plants need and use various insects to pollinate the flowers. Birds, frogs, lizards and other critters eat insects. If you use chemical poisons in the garden the poisons will and do move up the food chain. If you feel that you must use a chemical poison it would be wise to try to localize your application.
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Chunky Tomato Salsa
What you'll Need: 1-1/2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes 2 tablespoons minced onion 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon water 1 teaspoon olive oil ½ teaspoon whole tarragon ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper (optional)
Step by Step:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Yield: 2 cups
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If planned and placed correctly, there is no better way to produce a calm & serene influence in your life than a Japanese garden. The basic elements include 3 points: plants, stone and water.
These gardens look beautiful all of the year with only regular pruning and weeding and of course, water and fertilizer.
They can be planned and implemented in small or large spaces from a balcony to a corner mound to a large plot. Here are some basic principals to help you create your own serenity garden:
1. Select focal points- Flowering plums, Japanese Maples, Pine Bonsai, Eugenia Bonsais, Sago Palms, Nandina Domestica, or Ferns. Use one, three, or five depending on your space. If hedging or screening is needed select: Bamboo, Podocarpus or Eugenia.
2. Create a meandering stone path with natural stone or stepping stones. Use cement posts mixed with small or large boulders to define planting areas.
3. Select and place small to medium support plants in groupings near your focal points, or between focal points. Use pleasing combinations of leaf color, size, & texture. Suggestions include Dwarf Pittosporum in green or variegated forms, Azaleas, Liriope, Juniper Procumbens Nana, Boxwood, and clumping grasses such as Mondo,
Acorus , Sedge or Bloodgrass. For color, use Japanese Iris or Anemones. Plant ground cover between stones and plants such as Korean Grass, Baby tears, Dymondia, Isotoma, Scotch or Irish Moss, Igotema, or Seotah or Irish moss.
4. Add water features such as a small stone basin, a false meandering "river" bordered by posts, boulders & plants & filled with well-placed river pebbles to create the illusion of water, or explore the possibility of building a waterfall or Koi pond. You can also add stone lanterns, bridges or statues.
5. Finally- here's a few rules to live by when planning your garden:
Be asymmetrical- no formal or even arrangements
plant sparsely -don't crowd plants.
Use limited varieties of plants; 3-4 varietiesartistically placed will have a better effect then 7 or 8 varieties scattered thoughout.
create harmony !
Suzanne Says…”tips on gardening”
Crape Myrtle; Lagerstroemia sp
Sunny and warm is likely to be forecast during the next several months. While some plants grow wary and stressed when high temperatures persist, Crape Myrtles (yes, this is the correct spelling) thrive under these conditions making them valuable landscape plants!
Whether trained as standard or multi-trunked, crape myrtles make beautiful specimens or accents in the garden. Showy, crinkled flowers begin in late June to early July and last throughout the summer. Deadhead to prolong bloom. This spectacular display ranges from reds, pinks, purples, and white.
Crape Myrtles are lovely in any sunny spot where summer color is needed. For desired size and shape prune in early spring before leafing out; they bloom on new growth. In addition to the lovely bloom, Crape Myrtles also put on quite a display of fall color. Then in the winter, handsome light gray bark offers a stunning silhouette against a darkened sky.
Crape Myrtles are long-lived, drought tolerant, and relatively pest free. Powdery mildew can be a problem if too much overhead moisture and not enough sunlight are provided.
We recommend the Lagerstroemia "hybrid" or indian series: Muskogee, Natchez and Tuscarora. These varieties were introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum and have been selected for hardiness and mildew resistance in Southern California.
Plant a Crape Myrtle and ENJOY THE SHOW!
Summer is "Vine Time"
Warm summer temperatures bring on the peak blooming season for vines from showy morning Roses to fragrant star Jasmine and honeysuckle.
It's the perfect time to search your garden for a great spot to plant a vine or wall covering, "roof" or fence.
Use them to cover plain, unsightly cinder block or wooden fences. Simply attach plastic coated wire to the surface and plant vines 6 to 10 feet apart and use stretchy green plastic tape to attach the vines to the wire support.
You can also use Trellises against empty spaces on walls and buildings and "espalier" (attach & spread the vine against the trellis) vines against them. Or plant a vine in a container with trellis and "espalier" it to form a great "movable" wall or decorative piece for porches, and patios. Add trailing perennials around the vine for even more impact.
Vines make beautiful and dramatic coverings on latticed overhangs, arches, and arbors. They can be planted in deep pots and placed against support posts if no ground space is available for planting. Combine 2-3 different vines for blooms year round.
Here is a list of vines that bloom well into the fall:
Roses
Morning Glory
Star Jasmine
Lady Banks Rose
Bower Vine
BougaInvilleA
Royal Trumpet Vine
Passion View
Blood Red Trumpet Vine
Clematis
Lavendar Trumpet Vine
Guinea Gold Vine
Orange Clock Vine
Potato Vine
Stephanotis
Hall's Honeysuckle
Cape Honeysuckle
Red Riding Hood (Dipladenia)
Go Vine Crazy!- It's an inexpensive way to bring color and drama to your garden on a whole different level.
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1-1/2 cups chopped, seeded tomatoes
