Video: In the garden…January 30, 2013 – Potato!

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

“In the garden…” is a series for A Gardener’s Notebook highlighting what is happening in my garden, my friend’s gardens and California gardens throughout the seasons.

Today, a potato shows its leaves, snowdrops flower, daffodils are coming and the roses bloom.

Watch all the past “In the garden…” videos in this YouTube playlist.

More information on rain gathering for your garden:

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#gardenchat: What’s New for 2013? – Read the transcript

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

If you missed last night’s #gardenchat, take a moment and check out this transcript in PDF format.

#GardenChat 20130128 – What’s New for 2013?

A special Pinterest board was also created for #gardenchat-ers to share what they wanted to grow this year.

Photos: Tree failure in the neighborhood

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

I believe a actually heard this limb fall early Sunday morning, even thought I live several houses further up the street. It made a heck of a racket as it came down. Photos like these provide a good reminder why we all need to watch over our trees and make sure they are maintained properly. Luckily, this limb landed in the street, doing no damage, but it imagine it landing on a car or the roof of a house. Ouch!

In this particular case, the lower part of the branch doesn’t look that rotten, although the upper end of the branch has obviously been dead for a while. We have had bit of rain and a bit of wind in the last several days, so maybe that was enough to finally bring on failure.

Last Year in the Garden: Bewitched Roses

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

See these photos, in larger sizes, on Flickr

Photo: Frost damage on bougainvillea

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

Out on a walk with friends yesterday, I spotted this damaged bougainvillea. This is what happens to tropical plants here in Los Angeles when we get one of our, unfrequent, dips below freezing. This bougainvillea will recover, as it only damaged part of the plant, but you can see how bougainvillea is totally unprepared to deal with freezing temperatures.

While we love our tropical plants here in Los Angeles, it is important to remember that we can have these cold snaps at this time of year and need to protect tender tropicals whenever it gets too cold.

Click for larger image on Flickr

Interesting Plant: Georgia Rattlesnake Melon

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

Mentioned by @joetree415 during this week’s #gardenchat (1/14/2013)

Download Transcript of this chat

Georgia Rattlesnake Watermelon

More information on Dianthus:

Previously in the Interesting Plant series:

Video: Container Garden Update 013 – Seedlings

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

With a few days of rain lettuce seedlings, basil and peppermint returns and the spinach and kale make a reappearance.

Can’t see the video above? Watch “Container Vegetable Garden Update 013” on YouTube

Watch the “Container Vegetable Garden” Playlist for all related videos

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Music: “Whiskey on the MIssissippi” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) – Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

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Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asparagus (Aspargaus retrofractus)

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

Garden Inventory is a series where I begin an inventory of all the plants and trees in my garden. Along with some of my own pictures, I will link to various sources of information about each plant and tree so we can learn a little more together.

I would also like to highlight your special plants and tress. Pass along your favorite plants in the comments and I will use them for future Garden Inventory posts. — Douglas

Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asparagus (Aspargaus retrofractus)

“A clumping, woody perennial to 5-6′ tall, with soft, wispy foliage on open stems. Increases in height and vigor as it becomes more established. Flowers are small and white in open sprays that carry the aroma of coconut. Very decorative orange berries follow. Full sun to shade with little summer water once established in the ground.” — PlantLust.com

I am open to any assistance and direction on this identification, as I am not sure I have it exactly correct. When I first looked this up a while ago, I thought I had identified as something else, but my research online today seems to indicate that it is Aspargaus retrofractus. The photos and descriptions seem to match what I am seeing in my garden. Again, if you have any further guidance, please pass it along in the comments.

$Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 1$

$Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 7$ $Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 6$ $Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 5$ $Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 4$ $Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 3$ $Garden Inventory: Ming Fern Asaparagus (Asparagaus retrofractus) - 2$

Photos of Ming Fern Asparagus with closeups of leaves, flowers and stems

More information on Ming Fern Asparagus (Aspargaus retrofractus):

Previously on Garden Inventory:

Subscribed 022: Backyard Farmer from the University of Nebraska

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Douglas E. Welch

This is a re-post from my blog and podcast, Careers in New Media. It focuses on a site with great gardening information, so I wanted to share it here as well. — Douglas

Subscribed is my series highlighting the Podcasts, YouTube Channels and Blogs that I follow on a daily basis. Check out this entry, and past entries, for some great New Media Content — Douglas

Backyard Farmer from the University of Nebraska

I just recently discovered Backyard Farmer when I friend forwarded me this video on Cleaning Garden Tools. They are an excellent source of gardening information and you can subscribe in a number of ways. There are vides on everything from trees to ponds to drought to chainsaws to ponds. I am just starting to delve into their collection of past videos myself, but I also look forward to whatever new videos they produce.