Monthly Archives: September 2006

Sticky Monkey Flower

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As I was walking to the carpool from work on Monday, I noticed a low growing plant with yellow flowers in a landscaped area near a park. At first glance, I thought it was an Orchid, but that would be silly… so I took a closer look and had to take a photo.

Last night, I posted the photo on Flickr and someone identified it as a Sticky Monkey Flower.

Sticky Monkey Flower   Sticky Monkey Flower Cutting

I got curious about the plant, especially the name… So I took zip-lock in hand with a moist paper towel and set out to take a cutting on my way to the carpool from work.

Now, I know why this plant has “sticky” in it’s name… It’s leaves are sticky!!!… but I took a small cutting and brought it home… and potted it up.

I hope it survives.

Happy Birthday Nanay!!!… Let’s Garden…

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Today is my Mother’s birthday, so I took the day off to do anything she wants to.

We started the day by going to DMV to getting her ID card renewed. When they gave us forms to fill out, I noticed that out of all the clipboard they had, they gave us one that had yellow flowers drawn on it.

DMV Clipboard

Afterwards, we went to the dollar store (I found out it’s actually a 99¢ store) to see if they had new garden stuff. I bought some bulbs ( photo ) , and terra cotta pot and an Elephant Garlic bulb (from the grocery area). I’m actually going to plant the Elephant Garlic and see if they grow. Not bad for 99¢.

When we got home, we just worked on the garden. The Sunflowers ( photo ) in the front yard are dying, so I chopped them down. I had four piles: stalks, seeds for the bird to eat, seeds for next year and stems and leaves for the compost pile.

Four Piles

My brother then came home with two new plants for my Mom. A variegated Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea and a dual colored Thai Delight Bougainvillea.

Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea   Thai Delight Bougainvillea

I sowed some seed:
– Sweet Peas ‘Streamer Mix’
– Mighty Red Oak Lettuce
– Bloomsdale Savoy Spinach

I planted the Snap Peas seedling from the six pack to veggie bed #1, using the Sunflower stalks that I chopped down earlier as support for these.

I also pulled out the dead Sikkim Cucumbers plants and cut the bottom dead leaves off of the Lemon Cucumber and Tomatoes.

Tomatoes

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Someone at work brought in some homegrown Cherry Tomatoes… and they were yummy.

I wish I had grown some this year. I decided not to plant any, which was a mistake, because I miss having little Cherry Tomatoes to snack on when I’m in the garden.

Things I learnt:

– I have to plant them in the ground earlier.

– One thing I noticed this year was that the cutting from one of my tomato plants grew a lot bigger and healthier than the mother plant. I wonder if I should just plant one plant and take cuttings from it next year… hmmm?

– I won’t plant Great White Tomato next year, because I didn’t like it that much. I’ll concentrate on Brandywine, a cherry tomato and Roma.

Sunday Gardening…

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I took more Coleus (and Plectranthus) cuttings today… As I was tagging the photos on Flickr, I noticed that I missed some plants, so I probably will have to have a Part 3.

Coleus Cuttings Part 2

I actually didn’t do much… because I napped a lot today…

I happened to check the Columbine seedlings ( sown seeds photo ) which I thought were either dead or would never grow, but surprisingly, there where a couple that sprouted and grew… though small and thin. I took them out of the vermiculite and planted each one in a pot. I hope they will continue to grow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeysplanting/252171815/

Cukes and Cuttings…

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Today, I was finally able to do some gardening. (It’s been getting dark outside when I get home from work)

I started the day by getting the oil changed in my car. While I was waiting, I found a whole bunch of cactus and succulents at the dollar store. I ended up buying three. ( photo )

The Snow Peas that I planted last week are doing well. I’m glad the pincher bugs or slugs didn’t get to them.

I planted more Snap Peas, because not all of the ones I planted last week germinated. I was going to plant these where the Lemon Cucumbers are, but they are still fruiting, so I need to find another place for them.

Speaking of Lemon Cucumbers, I harvest a lot today. I didn’t see a lot of them because they were hiding the leaves.

A Basket of Lemon Cucumber   Lemon Cucumber

As I was looking through the veggie beds, I decided to pull up the Gold Rush Zucchini since it was dying down and I didn’t really like the fruits. In its place, I set up some trellises and added some compost. I’ll plant the Snap Peas here once they get bigger.

Gold Rush Zucchini Texture   Coleus Cuttings

I then had the urge to plant… So I took a few Coleus cuttings, which I will overwinter for next year… Then I took more and more and ended up taking more than 30 cuttings.

Coleus Salad?

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Bel Air Coleus

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On Sunday, my friend Darwin and I went to his relatives in Roseville, CA for his niece’s birthday party. They ran out of soda, so we drove to a nearby Bel Air market to get some. Right when we get in, I saw some Coleus that they were selling as house plants. The label read “Topical Foliage”… How generic can you get! Darwin graciously bought it for me :)

Unknown Coleus from Bel Air

Peas

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I haven’t been gardening lately, but I needed to plant the Peas that I sowed about a week and a half ago, before they start getting all tangled up in their six pack containers… so I started digging up part of the soil in my third veggie bed and amended it with potting mix and manure.

Planting Snow Peas

I was planning to build up the walls to this third bed, but haven’t had the chance to, so I temporarily place two layers of scalloped bricks until I can mortar the walls… which won’t be until maybe next spring.

As I was digging up the soil, I found some Garlic that I planted in the Fall of 2004. I thought they all rotted and died because they hardly had any foliage. I recorded this on June 15, 2005. Apparently, they survived.

Found Garlic

Since they are small, I think I will replant them.