Below, climbing miniature roses Jeanne Lajoie rose and Hesperis matronalis. 10 May 2008.

Below, pink impatiens, coleus and lobelia.

Climber Cecile Brunner.

The ubiquitous climber Dr. Huey and variegated euonymus.




Oriental poppy and ninebark.

HELP MYANMAR



http://www.jewishkansascity.com/
" NEW YORK, May 5, 2008 — The UJC/Jewish Federation overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), has opened an emergency mailbox to collect funds for relief efforts following May 3rd’s Cyclone Nargis, which devastated portions of Myanmar. Funds are being collected on a non-sectarian basis to aid the estimated several hundred thousand cyclone victims without shelter and safe drinking water. The efforts are part of JDC’s International Development Program (IDP) which responds to natural and manmade disasters, providing immediate relief and long term assistance....
JDC, which is funded in part through the UJC/Federation system, has launched non-sectarian efforts to aid those affected by the cyclone in Bangladesh; the earthquake in Peru; the Tsunami in South Asia; the floods in Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the victims of terror in Turkey; the earthquakes in El Salvador, India, Morocco, and Turkey; the displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the eruption of the Mt. Nyiragongo volcano; and the war-torn communities in Kosovo.
Donations may be made directly to the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, with a note earmarking the donation for JDC's relief efforts in Myanmar. Click here to donate to Myanmar via the Jewish Federation, or send a check, payable to the Jewish Federation, to 5801 W. 115th Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211."

Mannerly Pixwell gooseberry is suitable for container gardening.

Terapene carolina carolina, aka Common Box Turtle, is a frequent visitor to our garden. Today's guest was way too early for a fish in the lily pool. It can wait. Its lifespan can stretch out to a century.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Hesperis matronalis, sweet rocket, The Rogue's Gilliflower. a an edible, scented member of the brassica family blooms alongside Aquilegia coerulea.

The wisteria puts on its annual show.



Above, Tatarian honeysuckle after a rain shower.





Tricksy viola odorata confuses the nose with ketones. I challenge you to describe its scent.




Rosa rugosa Sir Thomas Lipton never disappoints.

Sir Thomas Lipton up close.

ZONE 6 GARDENING

8 MAY 2008

Clematis Guernsey Cream will entwine with red climning rose Dublin later in the season. Note the dreaded Creeping Charlie leaf and blossom in the background.

Spirea underplanted With Dicentra spectabilis alba, Lilium Casablanca and Rosa rugosa alba.
Rosa chinensis Pompon des Princes with pink Dicentra spectabilis in the background.





The glorious blue of Aquilegia coerulea on a cloudy day.

Correction, this is "Hensol Harebell."

Above, three shots of Yoshino Gawa tree peony in its glory.
Correction, this is actually Shima-Nishiki.

Syringa patula Miss Kim is a great show off.

WIPS Oregano, chives, lemon sage, thyme and lavender in spice barrel.

Passiflora incarnata Maypop, an American native rumored to withstand Zone 6 winters.

Ficus carica Marseille.

Musa basjoo, a hardy banana tree produces no edible fruit, but its leaves are essential for some Mesoamerican dishes. The Boss lurks in the background.

Pak choy, Jericho lettuce, garlic chives, nasturtiums and calendulas grow in old wheelbarrow.

Snow peas, tomatoes and edible flowers--calendulas and marigolds in the foreground, potato bin to the right of hay bale. On the left, the raised bed where asparagus and strawberries grow.

OK, so this is a blog about arts and crafts, right? Not quite. Crafts are all very well, but life does intervene and the restless artisan must tend to life sustaining endeavours, such as gardening. Artisans must eat and these days it costs a considerable amount to put food on the table. According to a Ha'aretz columnist, we earthlings are actually "eating oil."
That is, oil production has passed its peak; our demand for it has not. Consequently, oil rich countries can up the prices to unprecedented highs and we will continue to ask for more, more, more. Obviously this affects the cost of energy needed to produce and transport food and it makes a grocery shopping expedition very painful indeed.
What does a sensible artisan do in these circumstances? First, she invests in a rain barrel, a compost maker and repositions the cold frame. Then she enlists the help a friend who will dig the weedy patch that once the vegetable garden. She lavishes soil amendments on the tilled space and plants edible flowers, a row of snow peas, a four store bought tomato plants, and row Red Dragon carrots interspersed with radishes. She plants herbs in a half barrel, pak choi and kale in an old wheelbarrow, salad greens in capacious plastic pots. She she weeds the edges of the veggie garden, checking on the health of three gooseberry bushes, two raspberries, half a dozen Nanking cherries, an enormous quince tree. Miraculously the asparagus that had been repeatedly uprooted by an echo-terrorist of sorts, reappears in quantities large enough for a two quiche-like pies.
Encouraged, the restless artisan tucks seventy five strawberry plants into a raised bed among recently planted Purple Passion asparagus. She pots a Marseille fig tree, a Maypop passion fruit vine and banana tree and dreams of feasts to come. Oil, shmoil. This is good. This is very good.