Purple sweet asparagus: beautiful, deep burgundy colored spears (turn green when cooked), 20% higher sugar content so very tasty when eaten raw, this variety is larger and more tender than other types. Pick in the evening for the most tender stalks as plants grow rapidly on warm days. $5.99 for a bundle of 5 crowns. Far West Nursery and Garden Center. If you don’t have a big vegetable garden and a lot of space for an asparagus trench, dig your deep holes and plant the crowns amongst your perennials. The feather green foliage is gorgeous in the ornamental border. And as my beloved grandmother often admonished me: you might as well make yourself useful as well as ornamental.

photo PerdueHort.edu

Gardening 365 – Day 69 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Dear Friends and Gardeners, especial Dee alynd Carol -

Ladies, the salad bar is in, and getting rained on today, snow forecast for tomorrow. As I’ve said before, no good deed goes unpunished.

I a few of the climbing roses yesterday and have the wounds to show for it. Cane blight on both of them and as much as I hate to admit it, it may be time for a little bath of Bayer at their feet. And after cleaning my pruners, I went to work on some of the raspberry canes. Time to whack those back into submission as well.

I planted my poppies, tossed all the seeds in the triangle shaped bed where, if all goes as planned, they would put on a big show in May and June and then their ugly foliage would be hidden by the agastaches and penstemons as the season progresses. That’s the plan. We shall see if it pans out.

In the bloom department, I am happy to say my darling hellebores are going full blast, and the small purple iris are a happy vision. Crocus up everywhere. Tulips on their way.

Today, I must content myself by interviewing other gardeners for our local garden tour (which will be held June 13th). Just talking to other people about their gardens is a great exercise and uplifting experience. For a half hour, on a cold, gray March day, I am transported to another place. Gabrielle’s “bohemian paradise” beckons, if only in my mind’s eye. She had me so excited about blueberries I ran right over to this keyboard and ordered up the varieties she recommended. I will get some locally as well, but she swears by Ivanhoe and Herbert.

Ordered myself a new copy of Edward Abbey’s treatise on the American West, the classic Desert Solitaire. Also dipping (again) into Patricia Limerick’s Something in the Soil, Legacies and Reckonings in the New West.

Here’s hoping your gardening week goes well, the snow storms miss you entirely, and that Spring gets here soon. If all else fails, go hang out in your favorite nursery. I did today. Always good to see the girls at Edwards, stick my face in some big fat hyacinths, and breathe in the freshness of the gorgeous tulips and daffodils.

Your pal,
The Head Gardener at Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Gardening 365 – Day 68, Dear Friends and Gardeners is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Big day today at Ranch du Bois. It was about 60 in the warm afternoon sun, so I took advantage of that solar loveliness and pruned my climbing roses on the northwest side of the ranchette. While I was at it, I cleaned out the narrow side beds under the roses. In so doing, I discovered a neglected plastic box full of soggy plant material: about 10 1 gallon and 4 inch perennials that did not get planted in ‘09. Bad MA. BAAAAAAAD. Actually not all that bad since in years past the “holding nursery” has had as many as 3 dozen specimens. I used to call it my dirty little secret. Which is now, not so dirty and definitely not a secret anymore. You know what they say, confession is good for the soul. I don’t know about you, but I feel better already.

Gardening 365 – Day 67 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Excellent developments at Ranch du Bois today: the salad bar has been planted. In went the black kale, the baby bok choy, and the spicy greens mix. Planted several packets of heirloom poppy seeds. Plus, planted an additional big pot of baby bok choy. At the grocery store today, I saw the bok at $2.98 per pound. Now, I know you can go to the Asian market for a better deal, but hey, I am all about growing my own.

Gardening 365 – Day 66 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

A few seats left for the Idaho Horticulture Society’s Annual Spring Hort lineup: Dan Heims is one of the speakers. Dan is one of the world’s top plant breeders and created the gorgeous wild new echinaceas: Mac and Cheese, Tomato Soup and a gazillion brilliant heucheras (coral bells).

Tickets are $45 at the door, be there at 8:15am for registration. Boise Center on the Grove. Parking across the street.

Gardening 365 – Day 65: Spring Hort Symposium TOMORROW!! is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Just spent an hour researching the available varieties of blueberries in Boise. All are the hardy, high bush type. I am tucking in several this year, in some of the damper (hahaha! if you can call any soil in Boise, on a hill, damp) areas of my garden. They make nice ornamental shrubs, the blossoms attract butterflies, you may have to fight the birds and wildlife for the berries, and they have a hot pink fall foliage if you get the soil just right.

More tomorrow on the best for the high desert. Meanwhile, look at this and drool.

Gardening 365 – Day 62 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Get your bad self over to one of the “green” garden design classes at Green Works Idaho: here.

Gardening 365 – Day 61 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Today was another wild day in the wild west at Ranch du Bois. Meetings meetings meetings, nice sushi lunch, hair do, movie, work work work.

In between I had a big ol’ computer shopping day, clickety click style. Looking for species lilies I discovered some beauties at Klehm’s Song Sparrow nursery. Now, mind you, I was shopping for the rennovation of a bed in the English Garden at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. Came across this beauty:

Lilium martagon ‘Claude Schride’. So, 15 for them, and of course, 6 for me.

I am thinking we will plant these lilies under a big collection of peonies, which originally came from Klehms. The lilies grow to 4 feet tall, and I think they will be a nice look, popping candelabra-like up through the peony foliage.

Then, I called a local nursery and had them hold nine ‘PeeWee’ hydrangeas, the gorgeous oakleaf, or hydrangea quercifolia. The flowers a like small creamy thunder clouds and the autumn foliage is about the color of those species lilies.

Next, I ordered some seeds for salad greens, and red and gray/black: a mix from Renee’s that inclueded Splashy Troutback, some Seasoning Celery (whatEVER that is) and some lacinato or Black Palm Tree Kale. When they get here, I will gift a couple of those packets to some garden geeky pals. And that will make us all happy.

Gardening 365- Day 60 is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Dear Friends and Gardeners,

Especially for my good garden friends, Carol of May Dreams Gardens and Dee of Red Dirt Ramblings, I wish you a Happy First Day of March. Finally. Good bye February.

Just in the nick of time, we had a lovely 60 degree sunny afternoon here. I am pretty tired of cold and windy days. Just tired of it. Time for a change.

The perennials beds are getting spiffed up so the bulbs can see the light of day. The eremurus planted in October of 2008 are now double in size, and up 6 inches already. We put tomato cages around them to keep Cash the Wonder Dog from tearing through the beds, or digging as he was known to do last year. Tulips are poking up everywhere, and the ones I planted and lost the tags for, well, soon enough we’ll know if I got the combos right or if they are going to look better as cut flowers, separated in different vases.

I’ve decided tomorrow will be a great day to sow some mixed micro greens in what I am calling “The Salad Bar ” which in a former life, was an indoor planter from my 1959 dining room (groovy thigh-high room divider, you know, the ugly type from that era). I’ve had this planter liner stashed for almost 11 years. Time to put it to good use.

And today, today the Availability list arrived from one of the valley’s best wholesalers. I went through the 18 pages and almost wept with joy. Eleven varieties of achilleas and 21 astilbes on the first page. Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! Oh the possibilities!

Yes, time to MARCH forward in the garden. There will be false starts, snow storms, hail, and frost to contend with for a couple more months, but longer warmer days are upon us.

I am waiting to hear your good garden news from Indiana and Oklahoma.

Always,
Mary Ann

Dear Friends and Gardeners, our second season together is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West

Greenhouse Workshop & Tour
presented by the Banbury Institute and Idaho’s Bounty

EcologyPears

Saturday March 6th & Sunday March 7th

With Dale Bates of Living Architecture
& James Reed of Onsen Farm: Winter Gardens

Workshop: Saturday March 6th – 9:30am to 5:00pm
Dale and James will facilitate this two day Greenhouse Workshop and Tour. Bring your projects or ideas and share them with others in the group. You will be exploring a variety of greenhouse concepts, along with looking at several existing working greenhouses in the area.
The workshop will be located at Steve and Kathleen Wilson’s home in Bellevue Farms (South of Bellevue) at 122 Quarter Horse Dr.

Tour: Sunday March 7th – 12:30pm to 4:00 pm
We will meet at Arden Schmit’s farm in Gooding at 12:30 to explore his greenhouse, then we will drive to Onsen Farm: Winter Gardens, from where we will start a walking greenhouse tour.

Cost:
$35 for the whole weekend or $25 for Saturday’s workshop only, payable to James Reed. Please call James to register at 208.543.9987 or 208.720.0673 or email jamescreed@mindspring.com

$10 for Sunday’s tour only, payable to Idaho’s Bounty Co-op.
Please call Julia Augustus to register at 208.721.1412 or email jaugustus@idahosbounty.org

Carpooling to the tour will take place from the Wood River Valley and Treasure Valley. Please bring water, a sack lunch or snacks if needed, and wear appropriate outdoor clothing.

EcologyPears

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Julia Augustus
Idaho’s Bounty
208.721.1412
jaugustus@idahosbounty.org

Announcenment from Idaho’s Bounty is a post from: Gardens of the Wild Wild West