Majestic Tree Roots

If you read my blog, you know I love the trees. This is a tree from Mt. Vernon. So amazing.

Mt. Vernon--Father of our Country also a Great Gardener/Farmer

Our recent trip included some time in Washington, D.C. With some time our our hands for sightseeing, we decided to visit Mr. Vernon, the home of George Washington. Thanks to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, a private, non-profit organization founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunningham, we have the honor of visiting the estate, gardens and farm of our first president. All are impressive, but of course, I enjoyed the gardens and farm the most. George was considered quite an innovative farmer. He practiced crop rotation, mulching. He was definitely ahead of his time on the buy local concept. His farm was able to supply all the needs of the estate!

Lucky Lady Bug

The garden has been undergoing a renovation for the past months. Trying to keep a happy face on the whole thing, I haven't really revealed the living nightmare the whole project has become. For a clue about the scale of the problem, I will reveal that they entire driveway has been relaid, as well as major portions of patios. We are waiting for city approval for the 35 foot wall to be rebuilt because it was installed incorrectly.

So today when I was in my garden I found something very special--a lucky ladybug. So maybe she is a sign of good things to come...or maybe she is there because much of the new plantings are infested with aphids. Glass half empty or half full?

Anyway, I hope she enjoys her meals and has brought a lot of friends with her!

Artichokes On the Way

The artichokes got a late planting this year and I wasn't sure it they were going to produce anything. The plant is large and you can tell it is a member of the thistle family when you see its leaves. We were gone for ten days and when we came home--artichokes! I'm going to let these get a little bit bigger and then grill them on the barbecue.

Note on Size: The spread of the plant in the top picture is about 3.5 feet!

Wine Tasting in Lodi, CA

Wine tasting was the purpose of our weekend trip to Lodi, California. Well, for most of the group it was wine tasting. I enjoyed the gardens at the different boutique wineries we visited.

Our trip started at the Lodi Wine & Visitor Center. We were lucky to have several of the center's directors speak to us. The gardener and environmentalist in my loved what I heard. Lodi's wine growing community is working hard to create the Lodi Rules. These are practices involving IPM (integrated pest management) as well as sustainable standards. Through peer review of scientists, academics and environmentalists, participating growers can get their vineyards certified as producing sustainably-grown wine grapes. A certified grower can display the Lodi Rules seal on their labels.

Some things you will see in the vineyards are a cover crop is grown in between the rows of vines (the grassy area between vines in the second photo above). This helps dry out soil from the winter rains. This allows the growers to control the water the vines receive from a drip irrigation system. Additionally, the cover crop holds the soil in place to keep the dust in the area under control. You'll also see a single rose bush growing at the head of the row. We were told that some people think the rose bush is there as in indicator of the onset of powdery mildew. However, if the powdery mildew is appearing on the rosebush, you are too late; it is already going to be a problem for the vines. Finally, growers like owls (pest control) and keep owl boxes in the vineyards.

Giant Redwoods in Murphy, California

We had the opportunity to travel to Northern California this past weekend. We ended up spending the afternoon in the town of Murphy and lunching at an outdoor spot. The trees under which we ate our lunch were wonderful giant redwoods. I loved the bark and the way the canopy filtered the sunlight.

Loropetalum Razzle

Loropetalum Razzle is a new plant in my garden. I love the showy flowers which almost look like pom poms. The foliage is also striking.