Gordon's Garden Diary

22 Apr '07 1:55 pm

I like it more and more all the time. Thanks for the map. Now that I think of it I suppose I could have mapquested Campbell River. I am ever so slowly catching up to the internet but it is definitely foreign territory.

Blue heelers sure do maintain character well. If the ones I've known were really pussycats like your Joey you'd never guess it. My Fletcher is the same way. A total pacifist who has never been coaxed into a fight and has avoided some provocation. (If I go on too long with Fletcher stories you can just skip ahead.)

We have a wonderful dog park along San Francisco bay called Pt. Isabell. You'll find every breed of dog there, and lots of them. One of the ways Fletcher messes with other dogs heads is to come between them and their humans. He'll walk up to the dog first for a butt sniff and then slide on up to the person, turn around and lean in to them. Invariably they'll start patting him and all the while he stares at the other dog with a look of satisfaction. He did this one day with a female border collie who became impatient waiting for the ball she was staring at to be thrown. She lit into Fletch like a lightening streak. No bark, no messing around. Fletcher sprung backwards into the air about four feet and the two of them seemed to have a sword fight with their muzzles, like a couple of brown bears. Fletch landed barking in her face and the instant she slowed down he looked down to smell some grass and ambled away.

Fletcher weighs almost 50 pounds but fancies himself a lap dog. At home our other dog Sophie (whose face I just put on my avatar) totally dominates him. I don't know why but he never challenges her. She can and often does go off on him, walking away with a mouth full of his fur. But he never does more than yelp like a puppy and wait for it to end. (At 12 Sophie probably could use some prozac.) Another time at the dog park he and a young Rottweiller male froze eye to eye for the longest time. Then Fletcher slid forward until his right eye was directly next to the other dog's right eye, all the while looking into and through him. At that point the other dog, looking a little disturbed, ran off and Fletcher panted happily.

I look forward to seeing your gentians open. They're amazing flowers. I had one once but couldn't make it happy. I'll bet you can also grow the incredible blue Mecanopsis poppies where you are. I kept one of those alive for most of two seasons but gave up on it when it was so diminished in size, vigor and productivity the second year.

Take care.

26 Apr '07 7:34 pm

Hi, Mark!

Well, I got a good laugh from your tales of Fletch! Joey is a bit more aggressive (I think he suffers from "small dog syndrome"), especially to large, fast-moving dogs and to Rottweilers in particular. The other day while I was at work, a friend came to the house and took Joey and her dog for a walk in one of the more wild local parks. Well, at some point, Joey decided to cross a little stream and, rather than wade through the water, he decided to jump, but he landed short and ended up completely submerged in the only deep spot! He became so flustered that he managed to dunk himself twice more before he made it back to terra firma! When I finally picked him up, he was just overflowing with excitement!!

That pesky gentian is still teasing me with its deep blue buds that refuse to open! And, no, I can't easily grow Meconopsis plants here. I've managed to kill 2 so far, and my third doesn't look too happy. I won't give up, though, as I know that they are supposed to like it here. I guess I just need to find the right spot or maybe the right soil. Another plant that I have trouble with is Lewisia. I have one on my roof garden that seems to be managing all right, but I've killed 3 others! In Victoria they grow all over the rock walls and make me green with envy!! But then, Victoria is much dryer than here, even though it's only about 3 hours south.

Keep checking back, as I'll be posting some more pix here soon!

And say, "Hello" to Fletch for me!

gordonf
"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

27 Apr '07 1:53 am

Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed your exchanges about your four legged buddies. They are all beautiful; and very entertaining characters to boot.

27 Apr '07 3:04 am

I think the arrival of spring must be so dramatic for those who deal with harsher seasonal changes and climates. I had been wondering if you got snow living so close to the sea and at such a low altitude, but found out for myself that you do by reading through your forum from the start during another too-early awakening. With all the plants you have ready in the cold frame the transformation in your garden should be especially dramatic. (I don't know anyone else who has their Cannas in for dinner.)

Fletch says hello. I may have painted an overly rosy picture of him owing to my great affection, but he has several flaws. For some reason he is very hard on male puppies and submissive dogs generally. If a toy breed goes psycho on him he'll give it a wide berth, but let a bull mastiff tuck its tail ever so slightly and he will be quick to bully it. A few years ago, we were on a trail when a big, young male yellow lab came bounding past me to Fletcher. By the time I caught up to them, this dog that had to weigh more than a hundred pounds was on its back peeing in the air while Fletcher leaned into him growling so fiecely you'd think he was fighting mightily with an urge to rip out the poor dog's throat. That is clearly what the pup thought. For Fletcher it was just a lark and he was panting happily the minute I pulled him off.

27 Apr '07 4:51 am

Hi, again, Mark!

Your Fletcher sounds more and more like my Joey! I got a good laugh from your description of the encounter between him and the 100-pound puppy!

As for Joey, his greatest pleasure occurs when he, fairly rarely, encounters another Blue Heeler. Then the two of them go tearing around after each other, taking turns chasing and leaping over one another. I just have to stand back and get out of the way until they slow down!

And about the cannas: the boys have bulked up considerably since I posted their picture. I'll have to post a more recent one in the next few days. I got a new, pink-flowering dwarf one this year to plant in front of the others, but I just potted it up so the shoots aren't above the soil yet. I must admit that I really am becoming a bit tired of all those big pots on the table, though! Oh, well, three more weeks and it will be warm enough for them to go into the ground outside.

Today I hope to FINALLY get around to separating my many ornamental oregano seedlings into separate pots. I also have oodles of Echinacea seedlings of 2 different varieties that will need the same treatment by next week, so I guess I'd better get off of the computer and down to the store to buy more potting soil, since today it payday!

Keep in touch!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs!"

27 Apr '07 6:48 pm

Hi, everyone!

I finally got my camera batteries charged enough to get the pictures downloaded into the computer and here they are! I took these this afternoon between rain showers and wind storms.

First, there are 2 pictures of the main, raised part of my garden (built over an unused septic tank), showing the still-bare stems of the potted Tuscany Superb rose backed by a "Mountain Gold" Alyssum that I grew from seed several years ago. Behind that is my fake "stump" made of driftwood and rope and holding a Corylopsis spicata tree carpeted with Lamium "Pink Pewter". There are also assorted dwarf bearded iris, Japanese anemones (due to be moved) and a wonderful Heather with coloured branch tips. Later in the summer you'll also be able to see the Aster lateriflorus "Lady in Black" that I moved there last fall. Finally, in the background is the Euphorbium mirsynites (spelling? Rolling Eyes

) with its acid-green flowers backed by Muscari "Valerie Finnis" which is currently hiding all my miniature roses (3 or 4 of them).

Then there are some pictures of a few of the primulas that I have grown from seed over the last 3 years. There's a Primula polyanthus "Dark Shades" (the only survivor of a mixture I got from a place called "The Weird & Wonderful Plant Farm" in Scotland) and a sulphur yellow Primula auricula from last year's seeding and a lovely faded purple auricula from the previous year's seeding. Next comes a couple of Primula elatior plants (yellow and red) along with an updated image of my only surviving Primula polyanthus "Striped Victorians".

Now, we move to the rear of the garden, and see a bit of the vegetable garden fence fronted by Apricot Parrot Tulips surrounding what will later become a stately, blue Monkshood (Aconitus) beside a tall, pink Astilbe on one side and an even taller mauve Delphinium on the other, all backed by the Lonicera (Honeysuckle) vine that climbs up one side of the garden gate. I cut it down this winter as it was becoming leggy, so it will have to regrow this year.

Now, across the little path, is a view of my emerging Thalictrum flavum, with yellow-green leaves that will become blue in time, bordered in front by a new, 3-foot-tall (1 m) white Astilbe and a lovely blue Corydalis lutea. Somewhere there, also, is a Hart's Tongue fern for winter colour.

Now, we're heading back into my "secret" garden, with a view of my rapidly-aging Trilliums, now mostly turned to pink behind the fake "tree fern" which I still have to paint.

Next is an updated view of the Tellimas and Geranium phaeum "Samovar" that I posted a couple of weeks ago. They've nearly doubled in height and are all now showing buds!

And last, but not least (there'll be more to come tomorrow), here is a picture of my Polygonatums (Solomon's Seals) in my "Natives Garden". They've shot up to over 2 feet (60 cm) in height in a very short time, and will become at least another foot or 30 cm high before they've finished growing. If you look closely, you can see the flower buds beginning to form all along the undersides of the stems. Later, very tall Thalictrum rochebruneanum plants will loom even higher from among them!

Well, that is all I can think of for now, but I'm sure that I have overlooked a couple of pictures. I'll post them along with those that I take tomorrow of other parts of the garden.

For a very small plot of land, I sure know how to pack them in, don't I? Very Happy

Oh, yes - that dratted gentian STILL has not opened!!!

Cheers, all!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, watch for the signs!"

28 Apr '07 2:16 am

I'll say, you do know how to pack them in. You have some beautiful plants that I can't grow here. Thanks for sharing them with us. I will look forward to the new pictures.

28 Apr '07 3:56 am

Hi Gordon! I'm also wondering how come I've missed so much in this wonderful thread of yours! Rolling Eyes

You won't believe it, but catching up from my last post at page 3 until the current page took me almost 2 hours, but I've enjoyed every minute reading through them all and delighting in all the fantastic pictures you've posted. Thank you so much for sharing all those much appreciated wilderness shots of rivers, wildflowers and countryside! I miss these terribly staying in the city! Wink

Your garden pics with such fabulous plants and flowers of which many are new to me, are absolutely a fascination too! Very Happy

I'm also very impressed with your creation of the 'stump' for your pink Lamium! Hehe...I thought I did quite a good job packing my small garden, but you sure do a better job! Laughing

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention - that striped victorian primula is really stunning and my winner! Looking forward to see more.... Smile

28 Apr '07 7:35 am

Thanks for the replies and kind words, Faith and Jacqueline! I'm still planning to post some more pictures today, but it's raining again, so I'll have to take them during the sunny breaks.

One thing to be remembered when looking at my pictures is that all of the trees and shrubs (except for the huge evergreen) are less than 5 years old, so they aren't as spectacular as older, larger ones would be. But with luck, they will grow!!

Have a good day!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

28 Apr '07 5:09 pm

Hi, all;

Well, as expected, among the gloom today there arrived a spot or two of sunshine, so I rushed out with the camera because, lo and behold, my gentian bloomed!! Yippee!! Very Happy

And here it is, first just as it was opening and then an hour or so later, fully open!

Also, I took a follow-up picture of the Canna babies on the table so you can see how they've grown.

There are also a couple of extras that I forgot to post yesterday.

Enjoy!!

gordonf

"Stay calm, be brave, wait for the signs!"

Gordon's Garden Diary

Yep, this is a good forum.

Of Heelers and Meconopsi

Proud Papas

Looking forward to your spring, Gordon

More about Dogs

April 26 in the Garden

Packing them in.

Thanks!

A Bit of Sunshine Passed My Way . . .