Spring Garden - part 2

Jackie is very proud of her peony and iris border.

 

'Krinkled White' peony

In 2011 we attended the annual American Peony Society Convention in Wilsonville, Oregon. We saw many peony plants and photographed many blooms submitted by growers all over the country.

Spring Garden - part 1

Many of our peony plants have now been in the ground two years. Jackie the Bernese Mountain dog has been very careful not to trample them.

 

 

These photos were all taken in early April - when the tree peonies bloom first.

Bernese Mountain Dogs found in the garden

April 18 was the long awaited day that we received our new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy - Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Robinson - known as "Jackie". Her breeder from Oregon was taking Jackie's sister to a family in Hollywood, so was able to bring Jackie to us and stay over night in Napa. Along for the ride were two of Jackie's half-siblings. They are puppies themselves, but the size difference is enormous.

We have been house training, crate training, getting up in the night like parents of a new infant, and struggling with sleep deprivation. There's a reason young people have children and grandparents get to go home at a reasonable hour.

Juliana and Jackie the Bernese puppy

John is so happy to have another dog "talking" in the family again.

John and Jackie the Bernese Mountain Dog

Along with the new puppy in the garden, we had a splendid but brief iris/peony/rose season. A heat wave in April taught us that even Bernese Mountain Dog puppies are very sensitive to the heat. Jackie enjoys "spritz baths" with a small sprayer to cool off on those 90+ degree days. Unfortunately, the flowers all bloomed out in record time.

Anna at the Fox Cottage

Anna came by to visit the puppy and see some of the roses. Spring was short, now summer is here!

garden tour

After another long afternoon in the garden, it seems an opportune time to share the early fruits of John's labor over the past few months. Along with John's cutting up and milling of a 70 year old redwood tree, we have been tending the peonies, bulbs, irises, roses and fruit trees in the yard. John is a collector. Now we even have a collection of Michelia - members of the Magnolia family.

Michelia sp.

We encountered a Michelia on our wedding trip. The large creamy flowers masked the possible "off odors" of a bathroom building at an arboretum. We were both captivated by the tree.

tree peony

Along with the Michelia, we have been planting herbaceous, Itoh hybrid and tree peonies. Our concerns about lack of sufficient winter chilling to support peonies may be unfounded. All the newly planted (fall) plants have sprouted, and almost all have buds. These three tree peonies have been in our yard for several years, and seem to be thriving.

tree peony

 

tree peony

We planted blueberries in wine barrels so that we could control the acidity of the soil. It looks like fruit is setting.

blueberries

Also in wine barrels are herbs.

variegated sage

basil in the herb garden

old camelia

tulips and lilacs

quince

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early rose, Joseph's coat

sour cherries in bloom

Queen Elizabeth

John feeding the peonies

John feeds the plants weird concoctions such as fish emulsion and epsom salts. It appears to be working.

Tales from the trail

I've been busy. Walking a lot of miles, knocking on about 3,500 doors, wearing out three pairs of shoes. All in the service of running for local office. There have been neighborhood meetings, debates, a direct mail campaign, and the task of raising money to send the mail that one hopes does not go into the recycle bin unread.

From walking in the wind and rain of January to the scorching heat of late May, there have been many lovely interludes on the campaign trail. I'm convinced that most people really put a lot of effort into making a lovely entrance to their homes. I'm posting some photos to show what I mean. We have vineyards in the City of Napa - and photos of vines before bud break.

Campaign events for other candidates such as for Congressman Mike Thompson:

Talking to a group of neighbors about the evils of urban sprawl:

 I found an old "head pruned" vine in north Napa, serving as a landscape feature:

A celebration of 100 years of Girl Scouts, complete with uniforms I remember from my own childhood:

Crabapple trees in bloom, in the rain:

A clever "Burma Shave" sign campaign against that same "Urban Sprawl" project:
 

Pink dogwoods in bloom, reminding me of the "old home place":

California poppies and bearded iris in a vibrant clash in a front dooryard:

 A front yard garden in a forgotten and often overlooked neighborhood:

 

And by the end of the campaign, the bare branches and dripping spring flowering trees have yielded their front yard bounty:

 

My backyard persimmon tree is loaded with tiny green fruits in little frilled and pleated cups. Our cherry trees have jays and mockingbirds yacking over who will eat the first fruits. They test the sweetness then complain that the cherries are not yet ripe. The weeds in our garden are knee high and the peonies are begging to be relieved of the strangling tentacles of blackberries that seem to think the deeply dug flower beds are their own. We missed the iris bloom in our own yard, and the artichokes will be sending out their blue flowers any day. Certainly they are past their tender and youthful stage.

The elections office calls the election "too close to call". So we wait patiently, realizing that we are 87 votes behind, and not likely to surpass the other challenger to the incumbent.