Projo Garden Blog

September 2009 Archives


The whirling butterfly, Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink'

9-27-gaura.jpg 5:36 PM Tue, Sep 29, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

"I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free." ... Charles Dickens. I love butterflies -- 10.2.02 and all things 'butterfly-related'. The whirling butterfly flowers are smaller than the smallest of butterflies seen in my garden, but they......

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Gladiolus -- easy, abundant

gladiolus 9 30.jpg 6:10 PM Fri, Sep 25, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

"Strength of character, sincerity, generosity, natural grace" are the meanings of gladiolus. Gladiolus (plural is gladioli, gladioluses or sometime gladiolas, according to Wikipedia) belongs in the iris family (Iridaceae), with more than 250 species in the genus. Gladiolus is one......

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Burnet, sanguisorba

9-24-burnet.jpg 4:46 PM Thu, Sep 24, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

The first time I saw burnet at the local nursery -- three years ago, I just knew that I had to have it. My burnet is alive and well, getting taller each year at the same spot in my front......

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Autumn crocus or 'naked ladies'

9-15-crocus.jpg 3:22 PM Tue, Sep 22, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

Autumn will arrive at 5.18 pm today, but my autumn crocuses ( plural also crocus or croci ) made their entrance more than 2 weeks ago. Some years they bloom a few weeks later. 10.8.08 They are called naked ladies......

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Climbing sweet peas

9-20-sweet-pea.jpg 6:29 PM Mon, Sep 21, 2009 | | Comments (1)
By Pat Feinstein    Email

Sweet pea is not edible, even though the pea pod looks similar to regular pea pods. 7.29.08 It is an ornamental, climbing annual plant with fragrant, delicate-looking flowers. 7.15.08 This year the sweet peas in my front garden were......

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Jupiter's beard, Centranthus ruber

9-10-jupiter.jpg 1:47 PM Fri, Sep 18, 2009 | | Comments (3)
By Pat Feinstein    Email

I planted two red valerian plants, also called Jupiter's beard, back in early June and paid very little attention to them. I should have cut down some sprawling branches and flower stems after the initial flowering to promote continuous blooming.......

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The smell of lemongrass

9-10-lemon-grass.jpg 5:15 PM Wed, Sep 16, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

Have you ever smelled lemongrass? Try it and you will love it. The smell of lemongrass is unique -- fresh, clean and lemony. I like to break off some leaves (long blades ) just to inhale its citrus scent, so......

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Varieties of hydrangea

11-1-08-oak-l-hy.jpg 10:04 AM Sun, Sep 13, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

Hydrangea has to be one of the most popular shrubs in any landscapes, as well as potted plants found and sold in any flower shops. I planted 4 hydrangeas back in the late 1980's - one was a peegee......

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Alstromeria, Peruvian lily

9-8-alstro-2.jpg 6:24 PM Thu, Sep 10, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

Alstromeria became known to me years ago as cut flowers. I remember frequently seeing them in small vases in restaurants and also in the flower shops, being sold in bouquets with other flowers or by themselves. They are one of......

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Princess flower, Tibouchina urvilleana

8-29-princess-2.jpg 5:12 PM Tue, Sep 08, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

This is my first experience with princess flower (Tibouchina urvilleana), in the Malastomatacea family, native of South America and West Indies. On my last trip to the nursery in July, I saw beautiful, unfamiliar purple flowers being grown along with......

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Basil, the king of herbs

9-1-four-basils-3.jpg 7:32 PM Thu, Sep 03, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

I grew up with basils, native plants of Asia and Africa where basil leaves are featured in many Thai dishes and Asian cuisines. Yet, it took many years of gardening before basils started to grow on me. It is just......

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Getting to know my beet

9-1-beet-leaves.jpg 12:10 PM Tue, Sep 01, 2009 | | Write a comment
By Pat Feinstein    Email

"Beet will be part of my garden from now on" was the decision made last year after I started growing beets for the first time. I initially wanted to have some red leaves in my garden for a decorative, ornamental......

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