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Garden of Delights Blog

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Chickens in the Garden in Chickens Magazine

22 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by ninagarden in chickens

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chicken garden, chickens

I’m so grateful to writer Sheri McGregor for interviewing me for her article “Chickens in the Garden” in the March/April issue of Chickens Magazine.

If you have a chance, check it out. The magazine is beautiful and very helpful. Sheri’s article is full of great information and also the article called “Coming Home to Roost” also has some great information (and answers some questions I had.)

I mentioned rosemary and nandina grow in the chicken garden. Also now growing in the chicken yard: society garlic and bottle brush shrub. At first the chickens dug up the society garlic–I think they were going after the worms below it–but I replanted it and now it is growing. They don’t eat it–I suspect because it smells so garlicky!

If I can post a link to the article, I will, but for now, you have to buy the magazine to get it! Thanks for reading this blog! Happy Gardening!

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Weekend Gardening

15 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by ninagarden in mail order gardens, Uncategorized, weeds

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mail order gardens, weeds

My wonderful box of Annie’s Annuals arrived. I can’t wait to spend the weekend planting. unfortunately, I will be weeding a lot too. It’s a jungle of weeds right now!

20140314-173052.jpg

Here’s what I will be planting:
–Clarkia concinna “Pink ribbons” — this was an annual. I know it will die fast. This was pure indulgence. I was looking back at my blog from two years ago and I saw the Clarkias I planted. They were so pretty that I had to order them again.

–Alstroemeria ligtu — I have big hopes for this. Let’s see if it thrives on the hill.

–Cynoglossum amabile “Blue Showers Tall Chinese Forget-me-Not”: with a name like that, they have to grow! I think this is an annual too but is should re-seed (I keep telling myself. The Clarkias were supposed to reseed but never did.).

–Mimulus Pamela: This should do really well in the clay soil, shade and dry conditions. It is a pretty yellow.

–Heuchera maxima: Channel Island Coral Bells–this is supposed to be a BIG coral bell plant. I am disgusted with all the coral bells I have planted that seem to get smaller and smaller every year instead of spreading. Plus, Channel Islands native should grow here, right?

Let’s see what lives. I know that doesn’t sound very hopeful, but I am becoming more of a realist every day (except for the Clarkias) 🙂

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Poor Henny: Rest In Peace

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by ninagarden in chickens

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chickens

Henny died last weekend. We are all very sad. She had a form of avian gout and could not be saved. We took her to the vet and did all we could for her.

She was always a topic of conversation in our household. She always kept us guessing and speculating on what she would do next. She was quite a character and we will miss her.

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photo (110)

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Rainy Day Gardening/Dreaming

04 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by ninagarden in California native plants, drought-tolerant, gardening, geranium, high-desert, planning

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mail order gardens

This past weekend we were stuck inside because of the rain. This never happens here so I went a little stir crazy . I know we needed the rain, but it seemed to last forever. One day I went out in it and scatter snail bait just so I could be outside.

Like gardeners everywhere who have to endure winter weather, I turned to gardening catalogs. How handy they arrived right when the rain did.

High Country Gardens had some really interesting plants and pre-planned designer gardens you can order. They sold me on Russian Sage. It sounds good for the hill because it is low water and likes clay soil, plus it is blue in color. I am going to order some.

I also really like the “garden in a box” packages they sell and I’m really tempted to get one. I’m thinking about Habitat Hero Birdwatcher pre-planned garden by designer Lauren Springer Ogden. All the plants are for sun, low water and clay soil. I’ve never ordered from them so I’m thinking of testing out a few plants first. Since they are based in New Mexico, the plants also withstand cold weather but I don’t know if they will take humidity. Also, they will have to travel from New Mexico here so there is a possibility they won’t last through the mail.

The mail order plants I highly recommend–like a broken record–are from Annie’s and this catalog is full of wonderful temptations.

I know Annie’s plants arrive healthy and ready to grow. My upper hill is full of Annie’s wonderful Bill Wallis geraniums. They flower almost all year and are reseeding. My verbena bonarensis are also amazing and pretty well adapted to the hill, although the ones with full sun have done better than the others. A few things died from the dog trampling them like a tiny fragile cigar plant (which I should not have ordered!) and a heleborous or two. Oh ya, I also killed my beautiful Geranium Maderense when I over pruned it, but it is reseeding too and I still have one big one left, which I hope blooms this spring. (My post called “Easter Greetings” from March 2013 shows both Geraniums.) And my post here, shows another geranium that I bought from Annie’s–it is a more typical geranium with a heart shaped flower. You can also see the verbena boneriensis behind the alstromeria on the hill but it isn’t blooming yet so it looks a little stick-like. It definitely needs to be planted with lower-level plants growing in front of it. But once it blooms, it will bloom all summer.

Anyway, I know you can’t go wrong with Annie’s recommendations. She grows her plants in the Bay Area so they don’t have to travel far in the mail.

I am looking at her “indestructibles” collection and the orange alstroemerias on her web site. She sells out fast so create your wish list on the site and you will get an email telling you when they are in stock and you can order! Then plants arrive in the mail. How great is that! (Just make sure you are home when they get here so you can unpack them and plant them in 24 hours. They usually arrive within two days, I think, but check their website to make sure.)

Here’s a close up of the verbena bonariensis–they make great bouquets:
CIMG2601

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