Cobblers, critters and rose rustling

The first cobbler of 2009 has been baked and consumed! It was made from the wild trailing blackberries, aka dewberries. The dewberries produce in the time between the strawberries and the "tame" blackberries. The upright (not trailing) wild blackberries are also producing, but they are... ummmm.... less than desirable. We have dubbed them vomitberries, if that gives you an idea of their flavor.

Dewberry cobbler

The "tame" blackberries are absolutely loaded with green berries, just beginning to turn pink. I use quotes around tame because for the most part they are huge plants covered with wicked thorns and they send up baby plants in every direction, 12+ feet away from the mother plants. Some of them are also sending out more blooms. I'm not sure if these will make berries, since they are so late, but you won't hear me complain if they do.

Chickasaw blackberry bloom

The raspberries are also covered in baby berries. The raspberries are interesting because they produce twice on each cane. Here in Texas they produce on the tips of the new canes in the fall, then again the following spring lower on the canes (the tip is dead by then). My understanding is that up north the canes don't produce in the fall on the first year, but instead produce twice in the second year - tips of the canes in the spring, followed by the lower branch berries in the fall. Either way we get two harvests of raspberries a year and that is a very good thing.

Baby raspberries

Once again we are sharing the stuga with a wide assortment of lizards, skinks, snakes and frogs. We have many green anoles, including this guy, who guards the water hose. He does not approve of my use of the hose, as evidenced by his liberal use of the stink-eye.

Green anole

This little guy was hiding in my compost container (aka, plastic Folgers coffee can) when I brought it in. When I set the container on the counter, he jumped out and it was an exciting few minutes while I battled Lucy and Daisy for his capture. Fortunately for the frog, I won the battle and he regained his freedom.

Green tree frog

I have been wanting to try rose rustling for a while, so I was happy when I noticed a rose growing from a mound of unkempt shrubs in front of an abandoned gas station. The rose had sent up large arching canes dripping with dark purplish/maroon flowers right through the center of the shrubs. I was so excited to find one I could rustle, that I planned for a week exactly when I would do it. Then when we got there, I chickened out at the last minute and Spork had to run over and do the clipping! He was very cool about it. I think he has a future in stealth crimes, as long as he doesn't have a plan that involves following whispered instructions.

Unknown purple/maroon rose "liberated" from the abandoned gas station

It is most likely Dr. Huey, which is commonly used as a root stock for grafted roses, but is also a pretty climbing rose in its own right. I won't know for sure until this one takes off (if the rooting is successful, that is).

Liberated rose in its fancy mouthwash bottle greenhouse

Finally, I received a surprise delivery of gardenia cuttings last night. Yay! I've been wanting to try gardenias and growing your own from cuttings or seeds is the most fun way. It's funny because the best part of gardening to me is fussing over the baby plants up to the point they really take off and grow on their own. Once they become part of the landscape, I'm pretty ho-hum on them and usually I have more babies in the queue or at least added to my list of plants to try.

Gardenia cuttings soon to be added to the nursery/plant ghetto

Some things to like about August

For August, the weather has been fairly pleasant so far. We've had a few really hot days, but today for instance, it's just after noon and a chilly (by Texas summer standards) 73F. I could get used to this. Unfortunately, it is August and I'm in Texas, so I know it won't last.

There are a few good things about August in Texas, however. First, the hummingbirds that will migrate further south for the winter are gathering here to fatten up for the trip. Right now we have about a dozen fighting over our two feeders. I have put out between four to eight cups of sugar water a day for the last few weeks. I love these little monsters. They are the terriers of the sky!



Second, the raspberry plants are putting out their fall crop. Honestly, I'm a little confused by this, since technically seven of the nine original plants are supposed to be spring-bearing only. I'm eating a few raspberries every day, though, so you won't hear me complain. About the raspberries, at least.



Third, since we have had rain recently, some of my roses are blooming again. This is Flutterbye, which is a relatively recent introduction that never shows up for sale in nurseries. I really don't understand that because it is a cast iron rose, very disease-resistant and drought-tolerant. The blooms start out yellow and turns an orangey-pink. In the spring it is absolutely covered with blooms for weeks on end. Mine is still young, but I'm hoping that it puts on an equally impressive fall show.



And fourth... Well, it may be stretching a bit to say I count this in my "good things about August" list, but it did amuse me. I found this green lynx spider in the blooms when trying to photograph Flutterbye. He became really irritated with my attempts to get a good macro focus on him. This wasn't the best shot to showcase his hairy legs, but it does show his green color better than the others.

Time for some whine: it's hot!

The temperature has reached 100F here the last few days, which forced me to make ice cream. Originally, I was thinking coconut, but I happened to mention an Irish coffee ice cream recipe to Spork and that pretty much ended the discussion. It turned out pretty darned good, too.




Usually when it gets this hot, the roses take a siesta and save up energy for a fall bloom. However, this pretty guy surprised me with a bloom yesterday. I guess his name is appropriate, considering how well he has adapted to the heat. Here, let me introduce you to Charles Darwin, aka Chuck. :-) It's a nice Austin rose with a wonderful scent and pretty, cupped apricot blooms.



Are there any hummingbird experts out there? This one, a female ruby-throated showed up last summer. She will perch to drink, then go limp, with her wings and tail splayed. Her head will loll to the side or sometimes will flop all the way back, bill open and tongue hanging out. Other hummingbirds will buzz her, trying to get her off the feeder, but she is oblivious. After a few minutes, she shakes herself off and flies away. I was amazed when she showed up again this year. I was sure she wouldn't survive the migration.





Any theories?

Bye-bye blackberries, hello salsa! (And other miscellaneous ramblings)

We've gone from harvesting berries to harvesting peppers and tomatoes, here at the stuga. This was our first batch, a nice pico de gallo. I also made a batch of roasted tomatillo salsa, but didn't think to take a picture until after it was all consumed (there might have been some beer involved). You'll just have to take my word on its awesomeness. And oh, it was awesome.



There was a group birthday party on my side of the fam over the weekend. Since there are so many of us, we batch them to keep from going insane(r). My birthday was included, but us old folks let the youngsters, Kyle and Emily, do the candle extinguishing.



Earlier this spring, I bought an unlabeled rose (a pity purchase - who else would take it?) and have been admiring its unnamed blooms all season. I finally ID'ed it last week after spending a ridiculous amount of time on the gardenweb rose forums.

Insert silvery trumpets: Dum da da dum! I present to thee the hybrid tea, First Prize!



We are still seeing our foxes fairly regularly. We know now that there are two (mother and baby), but the only pictures we got of them together are pretty grainy. Baby is big enough that we can't tell them apart unless they are together (and baby is being chastised). So here is one of 'em, chowing on some birdseed.




And since you asked so nicely... Yes, that is the bottom of my palm tree bird feeder pole, prominently featured in an issue of Birds & Blooms this year. Thank you for noticing!

Oooh, pretty!

Believe it or not, earlier this spring I found a rose that I just had to have. The two humongous blooms on it, which lured me in like a siren's call, were promptly knocked off in a thunderstorm later that afternoon and nary an orange petal has been seen since.

Yesterday, however, Tropicana finally showed Spork why she came home with me.

The garden keeps growing

Growing in size, anyway. I happened to catch a new shipment of roses being unloaded last week at one of the big box stores, and pretty little Europeana caught my eye, then found its way my cart. I'm amazed at how far a potted plant can jump in an effort to go home with me.


Europeana

I also took a trip to a local rose grower this week with my sister, Terri, and my mom. I did great sticking to my plan of only buying a Charles Darwin and a Duchesse de Brabant, until I got to the checkout and noticed the clearance section. Stupid clearance sales, they get me every time! I picked what I am hoping is an Ebb Tide. It had no tag, except for the $5 price marker, so it's a little like buying a lottery ticket. Maybe a slightly higher chance of winning, though.

The climbing Don Juan I planted last month is putting out some whopper blooms already. Isn't he pretty? I like to imagine him speaking to me with Antonio Banderas's voice. "Hello, my darling. You look so lovely today. Come a leetle closer and give me a kees."


Don Juan

The edible garden plants are doing great, too. Spork dug up the first potatoes of the year Monday (because I had already had enough fun with nature that day). We ate 'em boiled with lots and lots of butter.



Other goodies from the garden this week include dill, broccoli, onions, snow peas, strawberries and blackberries. The blackberries are just trickling in, but I sense a cobbler in my future.

Yankee Invasion

Last weekend we had some relatives from the North Country visiting. The two aunties, Jean and Dolly, plus Jean's husband, Uncle Carl (Uncley just doesn't work!) came and stayed for a few days. Overall it was a fairly low-key visit, but there was a lot of fun visiting and catching up.

Here is a picture of Jean and Jeff. Jeff is supposed to be about 5 years old, by the way. How did he get so big?



In gardening news, my transplanted passionflower is starting to bloom. I love these silly flowers. I originally planted them purely as a larval host plant for the gulf fritillary butterfly, but the blooms are just fascinating. This particular one is Passiflora caerulea.



I'm also getting quite a few blooms on my baby Flutterbye rose. I'm not sure why it's not more popular. It grows quickly into a large shrub with glossy foliage and pretty color-changing blooms all summer long. What's not to like?

Irises and roses

A couple years ago, one of my neighbors asked if I would like some bearded irises that someone had given her. I said sure, because I rarely turn down a free plant. When we moved, I dug some of the irises and replanted them without ever marking down any of the colors. They are finally blooming again and putting on a much better show than ever before. The yellow one was a surprise to me, which makes me think they didn't bloom well in the clay soil at our previous home.











And yes, I ended up buying a Double Delight rose ($8 - what a bargain!) and it has already put out a bloom for me. The flower itself is really pretty, but the best part is the scent - it's the rosiest smelling rose I've ever met.

Someone stop me, please

I have become addicted to roses. So far this year I've planted 6 new ones, in addition to the 5 I planted last year. I have one more in a pot, waiting to be planted. And now some rose fanciers are telling me that I absolutely, positively cannot live without adding a Double Delight and a local store has roses 20% off this week. Did I mention that I'm also rooting some cuttings from a couple antique roses? Aaiigh, I'm hopeless!

If anyone wants to join me in my madness, the varieties I currently have are:

Old Blush, I have 3 of these planted to (eventually) screen the backyard of the house next door
Mutabilis
Climbing Don Juan
Climbing Fourth of July (my favorite)
Flutterbye
Chrysler Imperial
Tropicana
Lady X
Kordes Perfecta
an unmarked pink hybrid tea, that forced itself on me in a moment of weakness


Here's a picture of a Fourth of July rose in bloom. Don't you want one, too?