No, it's not looking good at all. This could be one of the ugliest posts I've done for quite a while...
Friday I spent most of the cold, blustery day working in the garden. I took a few minutes off from chores though to notice and enjoy a few plants that are looking particularly good right now.
I've been growing cardoon for several years now with varying degrees of success. The first year I grew a single plant and it was big and beautiful and I fell in love with it, but it didn't survive the winter. The next year I planted two and although they weren't quite as impressive as that first plant, these both overwintered and the following year I got the treat of their large, thistle-like blooms -- cardoon doesn't bloom the first year.
For those of us who live in climates where cardoon (Cynara cardunculus, one of the most fun botanical names ever) is not reliably cold-hardy, it can be a long wait to see the huge, thistle-like blooms.
There are a trio of spiky blooms in my garden this year. Usually it's just a pair of them, but this year there's a third.
I've been growing cardoon for five or six years now, hoping each year that the plants reach the size and impressive form of the ones I grew the first year. They behave as tender perennials here, or biennials -- sometimes making it through the winter, but usually not.
The volunteer tree that bloomed for the first time this year was the surprise in yesterday's post -- today I bring you several more.
I've grown cardoon on and off for about 5 years now. The first year the one plant I put into the ground flourished, becoming huge and beautiful. It didn't survive the winter though. The next year I had two pretty nice plants in the ground, and for whatever reason they both overwintered, giving me those huge, wonderful thistle-like blooms the next year.
I've got a few cardoon plants in the ground this year, but only one of them is really thriving, showing me promise of the huge silvery leaves that I fell in love with the first time I grew this plant five years ago or so. One thing I've noticed about cardoon in my yard is they attract a nice variety of insects, all of them interesting, not all of them with the best intentions.
I've been cleaning the garage recently (once every decade whether it needs it or not!) and I don't know how many times I've asked myself "why did I keep this?!" Sometimes there is a reasonable answer. Often times there is not. I've filled a few trashcans lately, but there are some things I just have a hard time throwing away.
Today's post will not be pretty. You won't see beautiful images of spring, young greens under a dusting of snow, colorful blooms announcing the end of winter. None of that. Today you'll see some of the cleanup that's required when you have a garden that goes dormant for several months of the year. It won't be very attractive, so I'll start off with a relatively nice image:
Yesterday I wrote about a plant I had forgotten about and left exposed to some freezing temperatures. I'm happy to say that I did not forget about today's plant, which is one of my favorites but is only marginally hardy in my climate:
Do you remember a few months back when I built a small raised bed using a large bottomless pot? I planted a Cardoon in it. I was hoping the plant would reach the huge proportions it did for me when I first started growing it a few years ago, and would add a bold element to this area of the yard.
It's been so hot here lately, early morning is the best time for me to get some gardening done. Yesterday morning was quite busy, so let's jump into it!
On the south side of my house is a strip of ground that needs some more plants. The trouble is, this area is tough. Heavy clay, packed hard from years of water running down the slope when the torrential rains come. Dry too, from the baking heat of the sun against the wall of the house.
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