Arthur in the Garden!

June 21, 2014 · 10:30 AM

Corn, hanging wall plantings and more Hydrangeas!

Its corn season here in the Piedmont of North Carolina! And that’s a good thing! I love corn. Cooking the ears in boiling water is the simplest but when the temps are in the 90sf as it has been for the past week I try not to cook inside and instead use the natural gas grill on the patio. The grill is tapped into the natural gas line for the furnace so there are no tanks to refill! Its easy! And with the total cost of $3.00 for 12 ears you cannot go wrong!

The simplest way to grill is to place corn directly on the grill. You can leave the husk on which creates a steamy environment for those kernels to cook! I had removed the husk here. You also could add spices or herbs or flavor them with herb butters. I like to taste the sweetness of the corn so just a little butter is fine by me!

In Cameron Village Shopping Center they have installed these beautiful hanging plantings. They seem to be appearing all around town.

There are about a dozen different shapes and designs through out the shopping center.

The Basjoo banana bloom continues to develop! I am still surprised that it decided to bloom at only 5 feet tall.

And several lilies are blooming. In the past, voles would have eaten the lilies before they bloomed but thanks to a black snake I have seen often my vole issue seems to be under control! This is an unusual color which was included in a mixed bag.

The hydrangeas continue to delight me! I think they are my favorite blooming shrub? Thank you Mother Nature for the rain! This is an Incrediball Hydrangea which is a cultivar of the Smooth Hydrangea ( Hydrangea arborescens). I love its sister Annabelle, too, but I have not found a location for a few of those……yet!

So little room!! I really need to buy that house next door…………

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Filed under cooking, Food, Vegetables

Tagged as Cameron Village Shopping Center, corn, Hydrangea

June 14, 2014 · 9:00 AM

When old becomes new…

Isn’t if funny when something which has been around for quite some suddenly become new and hip to the in crowd?

Pabst Blue Ribbon is one of those things. The hipsters have brought it back into vogue and everyone is drinking it. They have renamed it PBR for short and a favorite way to drink it is called a PomBR which is pomegranate juice and PBR. First thought is eww but it actually works out !

A PomBR and a How do you Q? are enjoying the patio at The Borough (Raleigh, NC) on the corner of Dawson and Morgan Street!

Meanwhile, in the garden the daylilies are still going strong with the wild, orange blooms everywhere! I have a ton of these in the garden.

And Black-eyed Susans

And more daylilies.

With temps around 90 I would say Summer is in full swing!!

atb

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Filed under General Gardening

Tagged as daylily, PBR, PomBR

June 5, 2014 · 10:38 PM

Hydrangeas!

I was a slacker last Fall and didn’t removed the old stems on the old-fashioned hydrangeas. All the plants I have came from one which was behind the garden shed when I purchased the house. These are the old-fashioned type (Hydrangea macrophylla) which blooms on two year old wood.

Therefore, each Fall I remove the old limbs which have bloomed to allow room for the current season’s growth which will bloom the following season.

The exceptions in my hydrangea collection would be the pinkish Blushing Bride near the front porch, which is a rebloomer in the Endless Summer strain, and the Increadiball (Hydrangea arborescens) which blooms on new wood and has large white flowers. It is of the species known as smooth leaved hydrangea.

I also have a Tardiva which is a paniculata species (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’) which is commonly called tree hydrangea or panicle hydrangea because of the large size of the plant and the shape of the flower. It blooms late in the season near Fall.

Today, I removed the many dead branches and the flowers from last season with help from Gus.

I will take cuttings to fill five or six pots which should be well rooted by the Fall.

The plants are now cleaner looking and will be loaded with blooms in a few weeks!

The hedge along the North side of the house is between the parking area and the chimney in part-shade. The red brick makes the perfect backdrop! Since we have acid soil here the flowers are blue. If the soil was alkaline they would pink. Neutral soil would produce a blend of pink and blue which looks purplish!