Archive for the ‘Garden Stuff’ Category

I just love their backs, so crazy.

And when we finally get some Fuschia, I’ll know we’re really out of the cold.

For just a few weeks in spring, these pink magnolias are everywhere. Despite being about a third of the summer magnolia blooms they’re even more impressive in their way- with no leaves to hide amongst, they really pop.

For me, winter in New Orleans is bookended by Camellias. First, as things cool off, there are the white ones. They’re like popcorn- they explode out of nowhere, powerful fuzzy blooms that fall apart almost as soon as they’re out. Around Christmas, the red ones come out and they’re pretty mellow, they bloom and hang around for awhile adding a little more color to the holiday season.

But at the end of the winter my favorite comes out- the Desire Camellia. Organized petals spiral around the center bud in shades of pink. Unfortunately they start to brown fairly quickly, and every year I tell myself I have to get out and take pictures, and then suddenly it’s too late.

Well, not this year:

The last few weeks have been strange ones. There was nearly 3 weeks of jury duty for an ungodly Katrina death case. To call it exhausting and miserable would be an understatement…and after all that time, they settled. Which was a good thing, ultimately, but still.

And as we come to the one year anniversary of the business closing I’ve finally gotten rid of the last of the stuff. I feel like I NEVER stop thinking that, but every time I think I’m done I open some cubbyhole and find yet MORE stuff.

The dregs seem to be really and truly gone now- the filing cabinets that used to hold several thousand beads were picked up yesterday and dropped off to their new homes, and the huge box of leftover gift boxes that I couldn’t bring myself to throw away have found new lives.

In their Notably New Orleans lives, they would’ve looked like this:

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In their new lives they’ve found a much higher purpose:

PRC’s Education & Outreach department does a fantastic job of working with local public school kids, giving tours and setting up different long term programs with the schools. This display came at the end of several months of working with a classroom and exploring what community really means and what goes into building a livable space.

They all did an amazing job, and it’ll be on display for another couple of weeks at the Preservation Resource Center (923 Tchoupitoulas) if you want to come check it out. There are quotes from the students and all kinds of other interesting things to check out.

And then of course there was the hard freeze that went on for days- the worst New Orleans has seen in 15 years. The carnage was fairly complete- all the hibiscus are dead. Ditto the passiflora, bougainvillea,and on and on- even the ginger took a huge thwacking, and I thought that stuff was indestructible.

Well, here- let’s save some time. Allow me to point out what survived using a photo from the fall as illustration: Arrow=survivor. No arrow=fallen soldier.

So yeah, that was freaking depressing.

But a good culling is like a forest fire, leaving behind newly excavated mental and physical space that needs to be filled up with new exciting plans. Some of those are writing based, and some are photography based. Some involve shopping for new and ever more exotic plants to fill up the yard with color.

And just maybe some might even involve finally making an honest man out of poor, long suffering Charlie.

It’s been a long year of post-going-out-of-business recovery- time spent clearing deadwood both practical and metaphorical. Here’s hoping it was time well spent.

I picked this hardy hibiscus up at the Farmer’s Market last year not quite sure what I was getting, but fell in love with it once it bloomed. It comes in bright white and fades to a deep pinkish red over the course of several days- the whole bloom lasts a good 10 days, which is fantastically long for these things.

Here are two blooms on the same bush- one had been out for about four days and had gone pink, and the other had bloomed that day:

And here’s two days later, the pink’s gone much deeper, but the white’s still white:

I just love how it’s chaos at its center, much more than a tropical hibiscus:

We, like so much of the south*, had all kinds of rain here the last week or so, and if it’s not coming down, it’s thinking about it.

Charlie spotted this one over the backyard last night, and although we often have hints of rainbows, this was about the strongest one we’ve ever had.

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* You can donate to help Atlanta and their flood victims here.

I got Purple Goddess from a wonderful hibiscus company when it was shutting down- he’d intended to keep her, but his wife just didn’t like the blooms.

And I have to say, it doesn’t ever come in nearly as dark as the breeder said it would, nor does it bloom very often, so when I noticed just at dinnertime that it had actually flowered, I plucked it and put it on the table, even though it hadn’t opened fully. (It’s been ungodly hot, so I’m happy to get any blooms right now- in a month we’ll have color galore. Right now…eh.)

All of which led to getting a little arty with a flashlight, and the effect is pretty cool…even if you can’t really see the flower for itself. Above is the best idea of what it actually looks like- it’s a mid-range purple with a reddish eye.

And this is just one bunch of 3. Many many dozens of bananas this year…guess we’ll have to make cream pies and invite everybody over?

Another Dupont Cajun variety- and no, I don’t have stock in them- we have an overabundance since they’re the supplier the local chapter of the American Hibiscus Society’s chosen to use for their annual sales.

Low AHS price + gorgeous blooms = another hibiscus in the backyard.

And this one’s a doozy- it’s huge and practically florescent- what’s not to love?