Almost 2 months after the first post about my grapes, some of the fruit of my grape vine is already ripe. The grape is red in color and very sweet but it has some seeds in it. Other than having seeds, I am happy with the grape vine. It is sweet, juicy and has a very fruity taste.
I harvested at least 5 bunches and after removing the unripe and disfigured grapes, washed and chilled them in the refrigerator. Grapes is a very good and healthy snack.
Most nutritionist and health experts would recommend to consume more of red grapes than green grapes. Red grapes has high content of antioxidants called flavonoids. It is also low on calories and contains nutrients and vitamins like vitamin C and B, copper, manganese an potassium and also high on dietary fiber.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the most common garden fruits in the United
States and have the reputation of out-producing the needs of the gardener. Most
commercial tomatoes in California are grown under irrigation for use in canning
and processing and also for the fresh fruit market.
Basically tomatoes are considered fruit. However since it
contains very low sugar compared to most fruits, tomatoes is classified as
vegetables.
Tomatoes originated in South America and spread worldwide
after the Spanish colonization of the Americas. It is now grown worldwide often
in green houses in cooler climates.
The fruit can be harvested ripe or green. Fully ripe
tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator but they tend to lose flavor. It is
best to store ripe tomatoes at ambient temperature.
With the good climate California, tomatoes are grown
extensively. California grown tomatoes accounts for 90% of US production and
30% of world production.
Tomato varieties are divided mostly according to shape and
size. Last April I planted 2 cherry tomatoes in pots. I bought the seedlings
from a local nursery and they are thriving very well in the pot. Cherry
tomatoes are small and round and are generally added in salads and eaten whole.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Herb Garden
Fresh herbs can be very pricey and they don’t last long even
when refrigerated. Anybody can have fresh herbs all the time; you don’t have to
have a garden to plant herbs. With some sunshine and water, herbs can be
planted in pots.
If you have a garden, generally a kitchen garden where you
can plant herbs can be an area 20 feet by 4 feet. You can grow some of the most
common herbs used in the kitchen like sweet basil, rosemary and thyme. The best
area for herb gardening is a spot with a lot of sunshine and with good
drainage. Drainage is one of the most important factors in order to have a
successful herb garden. Herbs don’t want to grow in a wet soil.
The soil does not have to be fertile. A highly fertile soil
will produce excessive amounts of foliage but with very poor flavor. Adding
some compost to the soil is enough to help improve the condition of the soil.
If a plot is not available, herbs can be grown in
containers, pots and hanging baskets. Herbs planted in containers require more
care specially watering. Herbs don’t grow well in wet soil but also don’t
thrive in a dry soil.
I purchased a pot of Italian basil and rosemary from
Armstrong garden last month and planted them on the ground the next day. It has
been a few weeks and the basil is thriving very well. The rosemary though is
not as growing as good as the basil.
Basil I
harvested from the garden.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Grape Vine 1
The climate of Southern California has long been recognized
as ideal for growing grapes for making wines and for the table. Mists in the
mornings, lots of sunshine, cool summer nights, ocean breezes along the coasts
produce very good grapes which is ideal for making wines.
Wine growing in Southern California is mostly located in the
Temecula Valley, Cucamonga, Ventura and San Diego Counties.
I planted a vine spring of last year. This year it already bears
fruit. It has several long and healthy vines with dark green leaves.I am not sure what kind of grape vine I planted and hope the fruit will
be sweet and good for eating. The color of the fruit is currently green but I am not sure it
changes color when it ripens.
I hope this grape vine is suitable for eating and not for making wines.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Banana
Banana plants are often mistaken to be trees but they are
not. Bananas are the largest herbaceous flowering plant. They can grow as tall
as eight meters high and the leaves which grow at the top of the trunk can grow
as long as 9 feet.
Bananas grow fruits in hanging clusters. The hanging
clusters are called bunch or commercially known as “banana stem”. Most ripe
banana fruit turns yellow in color.
The tropics is where most bananas grow in commercial
quantity. In regions where it is colder, bananas are cultivated as an ornament.
Last year, I planted a sapling I bought from a local
nursery. I wasn’t sure that it will survive. The weather in Southern California
is drier than the tropics but with constant watering it not only survived but
thrived and is now bearing fruit.
The one I planted is not as tall as the bananas found in the
tropics and the leaves are not as long and as wide either. Other than the size,
the plant is very healthy.
I hope the fruit will be sweet.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Gertrude Jekyll Rose
Gertrude Jekyll rose is an English rose by David Austin. It is a deep pink English rose with a very fragrant sweet old English rose scent. Like atypical English rose, the flower is very double with lots of petals. The scent of the blooms are so strong a vase of of it's flowers will perfume an entire room.
In Southern California, the rose will continue to bloom from early spring until late summer. The bush is tall and strong, the foliage are healthy and I never have any problem.
This rose is named after Gertrude Jekyll, a famous English gardener and writer. She is remembered for her subtle approach to the arrangement of plants in the gardens she created.She arranged the plants by colors that look like Impressionistic paintings. She arranged plants for color effect.Some suggested that she arranges plants according to color because of her deteriorating eyesight. In a border, lighter colored plants are planted in front and darker colored plants are planted at the back.
I have planted three of this roses and I have not pruned one of them last spring. I was surprised that it had lateral shoots although the blooms from the lateral shoots are not as big. Gertrude Jekyll is a perfect climbing rose for small gardens.
In Southern California, the rose will continue to bloom from early spring until late summer. The bush is tall and strong, the foliage are healthy and I never have any problem.
This rose is named after Gertrude Jekyll, a famous English gardener and writer. She is remembered for her subtle approach to the arrangement of plants in the gardens she created.She arranged the plants by colors that look like Impressionistic paintings. She arranged plants for color effect.Some suggested that she arranges plants according to color because of her deteriorating eyesight. In a border, lighter colored plants are planted in front and darker colored plants are planted at the back.
I have planted three of this roses and I have not pruned one of them last spring. I was surprised that it had lateral shoots although the blooms from the lateral shoots are not as big. Gertrude Jekyll is a perfect climbing rose for small gardens.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Peony, May 23, 2012
I bought and planted 3 herbaceous peonies almost 8 years
ago. One of them survived and grows back every spring but it never bloomed.
This spring it finally bloomed. The flower is huge, almost 5 inches across when
it fully opened after a few days.
The flower is off-white with a streak of pale salmon pink
towards the center. It is fully double with lots of petals. Peony flower is not
usually available in flower shops in Southern California. Trader Joe’s
sometimes sell the flower in spring but they are rather tiny with only a few
petals. Not the one that I planted.
The leaves are dark green with reddish veins and they look
very healthy. The flower stem is about a foot long.
I usually keep the label of plants I plant but I have
somehow misplaced the label for this peony since I bought it almost eight years
ago. In fact I almost dug it out as it was bearing no flower. Tried to look it
up in the internet but I couldn’t find a similar one; so I don’t know what
variety is this peony.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Roses
Garden roses are
the most popular and widely planted flowering plants especially in mild and
temperate climates like Southern California.
It is believed that roses have been cultivated since 5,000
years ago. Records exist of roses being grown in ancient Chinese and Greek
gardens, including gardens in ancient Babylon. Paintings of roses have also
been discovered in Egyptian pyramids.
The modern rose as we know it today was bred from wild roses
hybridized with cultivars of the China rose. Hybridizing started in Europe with
Empress Josephine of France patronizing the development of rose breeding in her
Malmaison garden.
There are three main group classifications of roses namely
wild rose, old garden and modern garden. Wild roses also known as species roses
are low maintenance and have one flush of bloom per year. Old garden roses are
roses that existed before the introduction of modern roses; they are also known
as heritage roses. Modern roses are hybrids of wild and old garden roses.
Modern roses are further classified into hybrid tea,
grandiflora, floribunda, polyantha, miniature, climbers, pillars, English,
shrub and rugosas.
Hybrid Teas are the most popular class with their
characteristic high centered blooms. Most Hybrid Teas produce large high centered
blooms on long stems. Many are fragrant and are disease resistant. Although
most Hybrid Teas sold at nurseries are no longer fragrant. They need hard
pruning every spring in order to produce large and healthy blooms. In Southern
California, hard pruning can be done almost any time of the year.
Another popular modern rose are the Floribunda roses. They
produce clusters of blooms that are smaller than Hybrid Tea blooms. In Southern
California they tend to bloom continuously. They are shorter and are great when
planted in groups. The Iceberg rose is a
Floribunda.
English rose is a hybrid of Hybrid Tea and Old Rose. English
roses are very fragrant and hundreds of petals. This type of rose is hybridized
by David Austen.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens is a botanic garden dedicated to California native plants. If you love nature, gardening and plants, this is a must see garden for native California plants. The garden contains thousands of native species and cultivars.
The garden is located in Claremont, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is about 60 from downtown Los Angeles, take the 10 or 210 freeways going east.
At 84 acres, this is a smaller garden compared the other Southern California gardens like the Descanso Gardens, Huntington Gardens and the and LA County Arboretm. Although it is smaller in size, the amount of native California plants are enormous. The garden is dedicated to preserving native plants. It has an active research department which specializes in systemic botany and floristic. Combined with the herbarium of the neighboring Pomona College, it has millions of specimens.
The landscaping is done to showcase the natural habitat of the native plants. Plants are categorized according to the plant's ecosystem. Unlike typical gardens, it has no big areas with lawns and landscaping. It has very minimal human influence, it doesn't look artificial like most gardens. The plants are the attractions, not the view. Hardscapes including administrative buildings are few.
To the untrained gardener, the botanic garden may look like a jungle of unmaintained plants and trees. Trees are not pruned and are made to grow naturally. Palm trees are allowed to keep their skirt of brown and dried fronds.
Although it is a non-profit organization, the garden requires a modest entrance fee. Like most gardens, it is best to visit in the spring and fall.
This garden is definitely worth seeing for gardeners, nature and plant lovers.
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