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More Blooms



More blooms from my west facing rock garden. This is Navajo sage, which blooms spring and fall, and Moonlight yarrow, which blooms continually from February through to fall if deadheaded. I will leave the current flowerheads in place while it takes a winter break. The sage is very slow growing, but is now beginning to catch up with the yarrow.

And . . . Even More Blooms



This is also my west side rock garden. That's a blue fescue clump in front. Behind it a cherry sage, which blooms spring and fall here. Between the two cherry sage bushes, there's a struggling blanketflower, which hasn't been very happy in this bed, but it's still blooming. I've also had hollyhocks, but they weren't very happy either in this bed. Just tooo hot and dry.

I only water my rock gardens once a week even in the hottest, driest weather, and not very much water at that.

I think I'll take a break now. It's been fun distracting myself from having the flu, but now it's time to deal with some hard realities. The TV decided to quit just as the whole household came down with the flu, so no zoning out on the couch watching TV to distract from the misery. And my car has a flat tire, so that needs to be addressed before I can go anywhere. See you all later. Hope to find some interesting posts when I get back.

Alberta Clipper



There's a weather phenomenon called an Alberta Clipper, which I first learned about growing up in Ohio. An occasional one would even hit me in FL when I lived there. Now I'm in the middle of one of those kind of storms here in NM. It is a very strong cold storm that comes down out of the northern parts (Alberta) and drops temperatures dramatically in its wake.

When I heard one of those was coming in Ohio, it was time to get out the electric dipstick for the car, so I'd be sure to be able to get started in the morning. In FL it meant time to crank up the furnace and prepare for a freeze, not to mention covering the veggie garden. Here in NM likewise.

Fall through winter is often the best time to garden in southern climates, but there is the occasional Alberta Clipper, which can wipe out everything you've accomplished if you fail to prepare.

As you can see from my photo of my garden this morning, it works to cover with whatever you have available--old sheets, towels, blankets, throw rugs, etc. but not sheets of plastic. I use double stacked tomato cages for anything that climbs in my garden. I use clothespins to clip towels to the cages. I keep a stash of rocks in the corner for just this occasion, and will use brooms, rakes, hoes, anything else with a long handle to hold sheets, blankets and bedspreads in place.

It is well worth the effort to keep the veggie garden going for the milder days ahead.

I've heard of other methods of keeping the garden going, but haven't seen them. What do you do?

Do you think it's worth the effort, or do you just quit when one of these comes through?

Autumn Joy

My east facing rock garden is still going strong, with stonecrop, yarrow, cherry sage and hollyhocks. The Mexican evening primrose on right front is just about done for the season. It blooms at night.

There's an Australian bugle bush just down on the next level that is covered with buds. I can't wait for it to bloom. I had never heard of it until I found one at Home Depot last spring.

Most of my flowers survived the recent freeze, as well as all the more cold tolerant veggies.

Sunnyside, I hope everyone in your household has recovered from the flu. I've enjoyed seeing your garden and reading all your interesting posts. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate all your contributions. I especially like your cherry sage. Such a beautiful color! I'm still trying to get settled in this new house. It's been slow going since this house is smaller with less storage. I've put things away only to move them again...and again. I think we're in the home stretch now though. As a result of all the settling in I haven't taken any time to garden at all. I really want to go to our local nursery and see what's in stock right now but I just haven't had the time. So since I haven't done any gardening myself I've enjoyed your posts that much more. I hope you keep up the good work! Take care and thank you again.

Dusty Miller

This is one of the flowers that is still blooming here. I cut this thing back by at least half or more recently because it was taking over. If anything it is doing better now. They are perennial here, and seem to be tough as nails. When I planted it, I had no idea how big it would get. I think I actually need to move it, because there isn't enough room where it is. It's a good contrast plant because of the color of the leaves.

CADeb, thanks for your comments, and hope you can get into gardening soon. I would love to hear what you're doing.

Hidden Treasures

This purple pincushion flower and mum spent most of the summer buried under the dusty miller and crowded from the other side by a daisy, both of which exceeded my expectations for size. They are finally getting their chance to bloom.

Rainbow Chard

This stuff is so decorative that you could easily grow it in a flower bed, and it would fit right in. It is also highly edible. I'm about to make cream of chard soup. I have a couple of turnips already pulled to put in it too. My turnip patch isn't half as decorative. I love to put this kind of chard in a big salad, the kind where I put in a little of everything edible raw in my garden.

My veggie garden is still going strong, although we're supposed to have a cold snap over the weekend, so far it looks to be relatively mild, and I will be able to get through by covering what I want to save.

Chinese Cabbage

My chinese cabbage is starting to head out now. I've been thinning out the patch and adding the thinnings to whatever salad I'm making. I guess this stuff is now called Napa cabbage in the stores, but as a kid growing up in Ohio I learned to call it chinese cabbage. It is going to be nip and tuck as to whether it gets all the way headed out before I eat it all.

Pastel Yarrow

This plant and a couple more like it have bloomed consistently since I started planting this bed last spring. It is in a sheltered south facing nook of my back yard, surrounded by concrete block walls on 3 sides. It is doing very well with only a little bit of water.