We got a tree!

So I've been looking to buy a tree. We have lots of short, wide pots of flowers and veggies on the deck, but I wanted something vertical. We also have an empty corner that's been looking pretty sad... which made today's random walk past a flower shop particularly tempting.

You guys, I bought a Gardenia!

To be fair, I didn't know what it was and I was first looking at the Hibiscus tree (crazy pink flowers and pretty tall). But suddenly I caught a whiff of something delicious. Like someone sprayed some perfume, except better. And so I turned my head and caught sight of these bad boys:



After a lengthy conversation with a local gardener who happened to be passing by, I was sold. I carried it home and made the doorman smell the flowers on my way upstairs. When Chris opened the door, there I stood, holding a tree in my arms and grinning like a kid on Christmas. He laughed for ten minutes about that. He buys PS3 games, I buy trees.

Here's the new inhabitant of our deck! I wish you could smell it across the Internets, but you'll have to trust me. It smells crazy good.

Where sunflowers come from.

Images from the garden

Chris' dad and step-mom arrive today to visit us for the weekend and as I watered the garden this morning, I thought about how far the deck has come in terms of decoration and becoming guest-ready. Last night at dusk I lay out on one of the lounge chairs, the air finally cool enough to breathe, and had the familiar feeling of loving where we live. The moon was full and Oscar was happy to lay under the chair, swishing his tail.

It was a nice night.

Herb garden update

The herbs are thriving outside- all except the basil growing alongside the tomatoes. It's so windy up on our deck that the poor guys look war-torn. Here are the herbs, holding their ground:

Cilantro: this screams out salsa. Must do that this weekend.



What exactly does one do with oregano?



Even the tomato plants have trouble with the wind:



Basil nursery in toilet paper rolls...



The only thriving basil left; could be because it's been protected by the big sunflowers.

Sneaky Peas.

Attention lovers of Where's Waldo?: feast your eyes on the following pictures and try to find some sugar peas.




Did you see them? Cause I water these plants everyday and I never saw them until yesterday. Sugar Peas would make good chameleons... here's a closer look:




Now it's not enough for dinner yet, but I think I will be taking a couple of these guys off the vine tonight to stimulate more pea production. Exciting news for the little garden that could...

Cucumber spotting!

The cucumber crop has seen better days. I haven't yet planted them in their new outdoor homes, but they've been living on the picnic table for the last week or so. Here they are, looked ragged:



But last night I noticed something happening on one of the plants. Holy moly, it's a spiky cucumber!



So this looks a little too much like a pickle for my tastes (yes, I am a pickle hater), so I am hoping it keeps growing. Grow, little one, grow!


Either way, veggies are on their way!

Cat grass goes to seed

Here's what's interesting about plants like cat grass: just as it starts going to seed at the top, new shoots start again at the bottom. I like that symmetry.






Also, this could be the only cat grass that ever made it that far since SOMEONE is still uninterested as hell.

They're pink! And happy-looking!

Now that the garden is up and running, it's time to start investigating flowers for the other part of our deck. We have so much outdoor space (I know, I sound like I deserve a punch in the face) that it looks empty even with the non-trivial-sized garden.

Courtney and I talked through the flower plan the other week; she suggested a few plants that hang off the wooden fence on the deck and several groupings of potted flowers around the area where we hang out and read.

I found this Calibracoa at the farmer's market this weekend and I love it so much. It's bright and big and I think it will be a great hanging plant for the fence. Attempts to attach brackets to said fence this weekend were futile; more on that in another post. For now, here's the pink goodness!

Cucumber Advice Requested!

My cucumber plants have been fairly wussy so far. I've tried bringing them outside for a few hours at a time and they freak out, brown their leaves and hold the grudge. Even now - 3 weeks since their last outdoor adventure! - they're still holding back growing new leaves. Their fuzzy-flower-messes, however... now those are growing like crazy.




I'm curious to hear from other cucumber growers... is this normal? Doesn't a plant need LEAVES to grow? Evidence below shows a little bit of leaf action, but nothing like the squash. Help!

Growing baby violets

You know what's the best thing ever? Making baby plants from your adult plants. It's so easy and so inexpensive and so perfect for gifts. Who doesn't want a baby violet for their birthday? No one. That's who.

To make a baby violet cutting, you'll need four items: an already existing violet plant, an empty pot, a container that the pot fits nicely into, and some dirt (here I'm using African violet mix, though I think you can also try plain soil).


First, fill the pot with dirt. Try to fill it up almost all the way.


Next, take a look at your healthy, adult plant. You're going to want to select a couple of leaves that look large and healthy.



Here's one that looks good. (By the way, how cute is the little fur that grows on violets? Adorable.)



I typically cut 2 or 3 leaves PER baby plant. Sometimes one of the leaves rots or doesn't grow new roots. I'd advise against cutting just one leaf. And don't worry about the mama plant- it will take the extra energy it was using to grow those big leaves and turn it into many more smaller leaves (and maybe, if you're lucky, blooms!).



Shove the leaves into the soil so that the soil is covering at least the part where the base meets the stem. Pack the soil firmly against the leaf so that it seems wedged in there.




You're basically done! All that's left is to water your violet. PAY ATTENTION. Violets do NOT like to be watered from the top. It's important to water your violet from the BOTTOM. How do you do that? Pour some water into the bottom container (this one has no holes, though your baby violet container should have some). Water will be sucked up into the soil and help the roots grow from there. This is how you should water your violet for the rest of its life, not just at the beginning!



So what's gonna happen? Put the violet in a warm spot (but not too sunny... partial sun is perfect). Baby plants could take a while to appear. Before we moved to our current apartment and its perfect light, I had leaves in a pot for 6 months. They never died, but I didn't get baby plants either. In our current place, the babies appeared in 2 months or so. Look at these little guys!




So that's it! You don't need to water your violet everyday (in fact, I'd suggest 2 or 3 times per week, max). If you need to go away for a week, your violet will be totally fine if you water it just before you leave. No need to get a plant sitter.

Also, violets don't like having water on their leaves. Often they'll develop brown spots if they get wet. It won't harm the plant, but it's not as nice looking as dark green leaves! For this reason, be sure to water it from the bottom. On a side note, Gloxinia works almost exactly the same. I've used the same process with leaves and soil and watering from the bottom for that plant. No success with babies so far, but I keep trying.

One last thing- it took me years to get flowers on my violets. Don't discourage if you don't have blooms for a while... you still have a lovely little fuzzy plant and I'd guess that a warmer and sunnier spot is the only magic solution to drawing out flowers. Good luck!