Archive for May 31st, 2009

Pole Beans and Pink Rose

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Our pole beans have now completely covered the 5-foot tall wire fence I erected for them last March. I love this fence structure, because it is strong enough to support the weight of the beans. I made the fence using two wooden posts and a steel wire frame that is used for supporting concrete in construction. But perhaps I should have made it taller. The vines are already 8-9 feet long.

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This photograph is a pink climbing rose called America that I planted as a bare root a few years ago. I love this climbing rose. I have planted several climbing roses including Cecil Brunner and Blaze, but this one is my favorite. It has done really well in our yard. It produces lots of beautiful pink flowers, and it has not gotten any black spot or mildew diseases. It grows a moderate amount, but it’s not too vigorous like Cecil Brunner. I got so tried of pruning the numerous long thorny vines of Cecil Brunner, that today I pruned two of ours to the ground, and I plan on uprooting them next weekend.

May 31 2009 | Beans and Roses | Comments Off on Pole Beans and Pink Rose

Jasmine Fence

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The star jasmine growing up one of our side fences is in full bloom right now. The fragrance of its white star-shaped flowers is exquisite. The flowers have a wonderful sweet smell that pervades the air. We often open the windows near the jasmine fence so we can smell the fragrance from inside the house. The jasmine growing along this fence has 2-inch thick trunks that must be decades old.

Jasmine is a great plant to grow along a fence. However, once jasmine gets established, it grows very fast, like ivy. When we replaced this fence 3 years ago, I cut about 2/3 of the vines off to make way for the new fence. Within two years, it had grown back completely.

Jasmine really needs to be pruned severely every year to keep it in check. Our Jasmine grows quickly up the branches of our nearby cherry tree. After a few years without pruning, it almost completely covered the tree with vines, blocking out most of the light to the tree’s leaves. Now, I cut off most its new growth each fall.

May 31 2009 | Jasmine | Comments Off on Jasmine Fence

Pink Peonies

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This is a picture of peonies that were picked from a garden in front of the house we were staying in during our visit to western Kentucky last week. I have never seen peonies growing where we live in California. Now that I have seen how pretty they are, I am interested in trying to grow them in our yard. The bushes are smaller than I thought they would be. These flowers were from bushes that were only about 2 feet tall.

May 31 2009 | Peonies | Comments Off on Pink Peonies