Memorial Day Lilies

Easter Lily Lilium Longiflorum  These flowers are sold as Easter Lilies.  I always thought they were called that because they bloomed at Easter time.  Mine were blooming today, Memorial Day, so I have decided to rename them Memorial Day Lilies.

However, when I was looking up their botanical name I discovered they ones sold in stores are forced to bloom at Easter!  Their usual blooming time is in mid-summer and they may even rebloom in fall.  No wonder my Easter Lilies haven't bloomed "on time!"

The Sunset book also says not to plant the forced bloom flowers near other lilies because they may carry a virus.

Leaf Variety

Canna

 

Baby Tears Soleiroliea soleirolii

I like to select plants for their foliage as much as for the flowers.  After all, you'll have leaves for most plants all year and the flowers for a few months if you're lucky.  I discussed this a little here.

Pittosporum

Pittosporum

Pittosporum

  

Roses

Lamb's Ears Stachys olympica

Don't know what this plant is.  The pond guy put it in, but I love the colored leaves!

Nandina

Nandina Nana

Pelargonium

 

Nandina

Breath of Heaven Coleonema pulchrum

 

Bird of Paradise

Managing the Creeping Fig

 Creeping Fig Ficus pumila  I love the delicate vine as is grows, hugging the fence.  It was there when we moved in.  It covers the fence across the entire back of the yard.  The leaves are only an inch or so. 








But make no mistake.  This plant is not delicate at all. It looks like an entirely different plant when it grows away from the fence.  The leaves get much larger (up to 2"-4" long)  as do the branches.  The Sunset book says there is almost no limit to the size of this vine and the area it will cover. 

It's a very common landscaping plant, but I suspect most gardeners hate it. Instead, it is almost always cut back with a hedge trimmer.  This creates something that looks like a wall-hugging hedge. 

If you want to keep it delicate and clinging to the fence you have to clip anything that grows away from the fence.  I think of it as a labor of love.  This does not make it a low-maintenance plant, but it is manageable.  If you cut it back severely it will  only need this every 6-12 months.   

If you let it grow it just might take over the world!  I discovered that ours had grown over the fence and up the neighbor's tree. I don't know if you can see it climbing up its cousin, a Ficus tree Ficus benjamina.

 

May Day - May Gray

Welcome to May!  I remember when I was little I would make a little flower bundle for my Mom and maybe a neighbor or two.  Today, here in Camarillo, CA we are having our typical "May Gray" weather.  The sky is overcast and there is enough moisture to keep everything just a little wet.  It's not raining though.  Just a light mist every now and then.  It's not too hot or too wet to garden.  It's also great weather for adding soil supplements, so out I went. 

Baby's Tears.  Soleirolia soleirolii
Cyclamen

To the left of our front sidewalk, we have a bed with just a few flowers and lots of Baby's Tears.  Baby's Tears love shade and moisture.  Obviously it gets what it needs here.  It has totally overwhelmed the flowers!  Luckily it's easy to pull up to give the flowers a chance.  I'll need to repeat often.





Phew!  This poor Cyclamen can get a little sun and air!  The snails and slugs love the shade and moisture too.  I saw a little damage to the leaves, so I put out some Sluggo.  Sluggo breaks down to organic fertilizer and is supposed to be safe for pets.  Some slug and snail bait is very attractive to pets and very poisonous.  Just to be sure, I only use it in the front yard.

Now you see it, now you don't.  Just a week or two ago the Raunculus looked full and healthy.  The other day I saw that most of them are almost gone.










I don't know if you can even see the one in the foreground.  It just has a few stems and very little else.  The red one in the back is doing a little better, but it's only because the slugs haven't gotten to it yet.  The whole plant may be gone tomorrow. With weather like this, the slugs will be out  munching all day.  With any luck, the slugs will be distracted with the yummy Sluggo and my Ranunculus will be spared.

I finally put out the Soil Acidifier today.  I scattered it all around the base of the Hydrangeas and Camellias.  I'll repeat in a couple of months.  Home Depot has a video about adding acidifier.  In the video, Rick Feldman uses an electronic PH reader.  I can tell by looking at these plants that they are very needy.  He says the goal is to have a reading around 6.  I may need to get the gadget so my plants don't need to get so needy. He says the blue hydrangeas will only be blue the first year unless you add a special bluing agent.  I didn't know that!  I have heard they need copper and to add pennies to the soils as well as the acidifier.

I wanted to also show you my new little spreading rose.  My friend Kristen gave me this one and a light purple one.  She said they are suppose to spread out several feet.  This one is still small, just about 8" tall.  But it got its first yellow blossom.  You can see I've sprinkle some fertilizer today as well.






Yep!  May Gray is perfect weather for spreading fertilzer, Sluggo, and soil acidifier.  Perhaps I'll take a few flowers next door.  Happy May Day!