I'M TINY BUT SO FRAGRANT

I ventured into the greenhouse yesterday. I just haven't had the energy or the inclination to go out there. Naturally, I was wondering what kind of horror story I would find. It is mostly overwintering cactus and succulents but a few plants which require watering, including the flat of narrow leaf zinnias I started from seed. There was a sweet fragrance on the air and I looked up to see a cactus I had planted in the spring had a tiny flower. It's a flower that needs to be at nose level to appreciate. The flowers are less fragile than the night blooming cereus.

I remember last year when the mother cactus flowered I was so disappointed in the color and size of the flowers expecting a bloom like the night blooming cereus. It does make up for that in fragrance though. The original plant was a small piece I found lying on the ground near my son's house in Arizona. I still haven't managed to identify it although I think it does belong to the cereus family. There were tiny ants on the flower feeding on the pollen or nectar.

UPDATE;Thanks to c kind reader the cactus has been identified as Myrtillocactus geometrizans.

This morning I spotted flowers on the pink jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum. 

It doesn't always have a good year because of late freezes. Located in a sheltered corner of the garden and protected on both sides by walls the plant can make it through light frosts of which we have had four this year but flowering so early really took me by surprise.
It's a large vine that really needs strict control. It will run along the ground sending down roots at every node. Periodic cutting down to the ground will keep it in check.
It was raining but I did just step out to get  photograph and drink in the fragrance. At least I a not missing the gene for smelling the fragrance of these two plants.
Maybe I'll get my gardening mojo back soon.

BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF GARDENING

I have been side-lined for the last couple of weeks by recovery from surgery. Something that was probably caused by all the time I have spent outdoors in the sun either gardening or hiking. I will be more cautious in future but let this be a warning. WEAR SUNSCREEN.
Even though it is February there is much to do cutting back and removing plants that didn't make it through several unexpected deep freezes.  Here is one plant that has been a star through all kinds of weather.

The large rosemary is planted out front by the side of the driveway. It has never been watered and has withstood drought, summer heat, hail and freezing temperatures. Yesterday it was blooming as it has never bloomed before and I even spotted a bee visiting one of the flowers.
On one of my non-gardening days I did the rounds of the nurseries. For a moment I thought that I might have missed spring as all were overflowing with spring bedding plants, grasses and vines. Of course I was tempted just as I was last year. Five pots of grape hyacinths at $1 a pot was easy. The patio table needs a little brightening. I still have the ones I saved from last year but they are making a slow start. Once in a while it is worth having someone else do the planting for you.

One plant I wasn't tempted to buy was a large pot of climbing jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum.

And this is why. I have had maybe 3 or 4 good years when the plant made a worthy bloom. Yes, the scent was heavenly but this is a vigorous vine forming a big tangle of finely cut leaves. This was cut to the ground last year! It roots easily and I don't doubt there will be a stray shoot somewhere that will try to make a comeback.

After cutting it back to the ground I used the pick axe to remove the root.

The question now is its replacement. Something which takes less work. I don't mind dieback in the winter if the plant performs well in the summer. Nor do I mind a bare trellis in the winter. I'm pondering on remaking the trellis so that it reaches to just above the weep screen. That way it is easier to get smaller vines started. This is a south facing exposure but sheltered from early morning and late evening sun by the wall of the house. Maybe I'll try a Mexican flame vine or even a clematis. I wish our nurseries carried better selections of clematis but I will be out looking for a summer bloomer this time.
The roses in the English garden are all pruned. It doesn't seem to make a difference how early we prune because they were already leafing out. I see a lot of weeding to be done. Last year I planted iris  around the bird bath. They seem a little slow to take.

The citrus are out of the potting shed. The Mexican lime still has fruit as do the lemons.

Some seedlings are outside to harden off. Some destined for the window box and planters others for the ground.

Brachyscome, Swan River daisy

10 week stocks

The grasses are all cut back and it will be a a waiting game to see if the ruby crystal grasses will return. If not there are plenty of Mexican feather grasses to take their place.
A cloudy, cool day is my favorite day for gardening so that is where I am heading right now. It's good to be out there again.

BRINGING FRAGRANCE INTO THE HOUSE

There are several ways to bring your garden fragrance into the house. The first is with cut flowers. Today I picked these white 'cheerfulness' jonquils. Their stems were battered down by strong winds yesterday so rather than try to prop them back up again I cut them and brought them inside. Their perfume reminds me of Easter when I was a child.

Their double white blooms with a touch of yellow in the center are intensely fragrant. Don't mix them with other cut flowers because their stems exude a substance which makes other flowers wilt.
But there is another way to bring the sweet smell of the garden into the house and that is to plant a fragrant vine by the door. This one, planted by the French door, is Jasminum polyanthum.

This vine, seen here on a trellis on a south facing wall, grows by twining itself around its own stems. It can grow as large as 25' but is easily controlled by pruning back after flowering. The flower buds are pink, hence its common name pink jasmine, opening to white. The first time I saw this vine was on the house we bought in Southern California. It was draping over the trellis outside the kitchen window. One day I came home and the whole vine was gone. The house had a zero lot line and the vine was growing on the other side of the wall in next door's garden. They had cut it down to the ground. I have done that myself before now and this year my plant will get a good pruning to bring it to a manageable size.

At my front door I grow Confederate jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, sometimes called star jasmine. It's a few days away from flowering at the moment which is probably a good thing. When the fragrance from one plant has diminished another will take its place. This evergreen vine is growing on a north facing wall with a little shelter from the porch over the front door. It has been here for 12 years. One year it was severely damaged by a late freeze when the sap was starting to rise. That resulted in split bark and die back. Nevertheless after dead tissue was removed it began new growth. The flowers on this Confederate jasmine has a slight yellow tinge. There is also a pure white-flowered variety.

April 2010

Does fragrance waft into your house when you open the door? Both these plants can be grown in pots in cooler climates and overwintered indoors.