Cycled between two concrete planters near our home, as I often do. Presumably they’re placed here by the city to deter drivers from crossing this pedestrian bridge. Some neighbors have taken it upon themselves to keep them looking good with plants that change with the seasons. A couple weeks ago, someone tagged one of the…… Continue reading A Sense of Ownership
Category: City Gardening
Sunday Roast
Tonight: wild salmon from Alaska on a cedar plank on the barbecue. Snap peas and new potatoes from the local farmers market. Parsley to go with the potatoes, ultra-local, from our balcony.
Pampered Plants
School’s back next week, but today I played. Still, our Thursday tradition is to walk out for dinner, this time Zen Box Izakaya. Over dinner I learned about Dwight’s day lugging 200 foot hoses, watering hundreds of plants. Each plant has a color-coded label for watering instructions. Water comes in three flavors: city water at…… Continue reading Pampered Plants
Happy Grass, Smart Watering
Relaxed day: walking, reading, troubleshooting, …. Here I’m troubleshooting a plant watering schedule on a Hubitat home automation hub. I finally set up schedules for a water pump that irrigates the long line of grasses on our balcony. Back in the day, a plug-in mechanical timer would’ve done the job.
Bringing a Prairie Home
It was Dwight’s fourth visit to Gertens this week, my first. Now we have 72 pots of native grasses, plus various herbs and tomato plants. We spent the afternoon putting the grasses in grow bags then placing the grow bags in long planters. When the grasses have recovered from the ordeal, I’ll make the big…… Continue reading Bringing a Prairie Home
Prepping for Native Grasses
Today’s theme was irrigation. This morning, I tackled some watering issues with a couple planters on a community deck downstairs. This afternoon, I prepped our balcony for native grasses (in planters, of course) by setting up 48 drippers. One of my goals for this year is to focus on improving soil moisture sensing.
Husband’s Plant Husbandry
Early Sunday mornings, plants take priority in the shower. Here, Dwight is plucking dead bits and checking for pests. Dusty foliage receives a gentle shower from the spray head. There’s a link to his City Gardener blog in the Friends and Family section at the foot of this page.
Rude or Rooty?
On Thursdays we compare notes about our day at our local, Maxwell’s. This photo from Dwight’s day at the university greenhouse caught my eye with its unusual bulbous tuberous stem that looks like it should be covered in polite company. Apparently it’s Sinningia helleri (gloxinia) from South America, which leaves me none the wiser.
Defeating Dreary
On Sunday mornings Dwight does indoor gardening: watering, pruning, cleaning, pest control, adjusting for light, and so on. A 180-degree rotation of this plant rack will ensure even light distribution. Outside, the weather may be dreary, but inside these plants bring warmth and a pop of color.
Plant Parenthood from Afar
Packed bags, checked-in flights for tomorrow, and corralled plants await our departure. Dwight has consolidated the houseplants and hooked them up to the watering system. While he insists on manual control, albeit remotely via the Internet, cameras offer visual and auditory (pumps whirring) assurance of their well-being.