Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Cabbage patch update

Hey there!

I thought it was about time I did a quick update on my cabbage patch.  Things are really moving with this unusually nice warm weather here.   Sauerkraut is on the top of my list for these babies.  Also you will notice big artichoke plants in there. Believe it or not these were from a 6 pack only a few months ago. I will doubtless have a bumper crop in the first year! Oh and of course more of that Nero Toscano kale that is so good.

Enjoy!




Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Luculia sp. aff. pinceana

Happy 2012!

Instead of staying home in summery weather, I went Back East to enjoy the New Years festivities.  When I got home today I was surprised by the amount of growth that had occurred over a five day period.  My peas grew at least a foot and are now in bloom.  The kale expanded. The cabbage unfurled. And the dill is suddenly looking geriatric.

But the nicest surprise from being away was the full bloom of my Luculia.  Summer before last I went to Far Reaches Farm in Port Townsend WA to see what kinds of great rarities they had. They experiment with all sorts of plants there and are always looking to push the boundaries of zone.  Fortunately they had some plants that were not going to be hardy... and what could they do but give this frost free gardener a little gift.  On top of that the plant came from seed that a friend collected.  I have known Josh of Phyto Photo for many years now, and even though he no longer works as a propagator extraordinaire, he does botanize while out in the field taking photos. And a recent trip yielded this beautiful shrub, Luculia.

At the end of my trip to the Pacific Northwest I crammed my plants in my suitcase and lugged them home.  I proceeded to neglect the poor plant for a year and a half until recently when I finally plunked it down along the fence line in a momentary act of kindness.

I'm not certain which Luculia it is, but I believe it to be L. pinceana.  Not only does it have attractive foliage and lovely pale pink flowers, it's also jasmine-ly fragrant and on top of all that, it blooms in the fall and winter seasons.

Guess who's taking cuttings in spring??!!