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Travels with George and Marta

Journeys in the Botanical World

Travels with George and Marta
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Colour My Garden: Pink & Fuchia

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 21, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Rosa glauca
Rosa glauca

Our streak of rain-free days has come to an end. It rained Thursday bringing the streak to an end. We matched the previous record of 29 consecutive dry days in May-June. It was nice to hear the rain again. Fortunately it continues to be warm and we have partial sun.

Our garden is mainly a Mediterranean drought tolerant garden. We do not water it much in the summer. Some plants don’t do as well and eventually they are moved out or die. There is also not a lot of order. G often plants things just to get them out of containers and into the ground. But there is usually something in bloom.

The blues and yellow continue but we have streak of pink to fuchia to purple blooms now.

Delphinium "Millenium"
Delphinium “Millenium”

Phlomis tuberosa
Phlomis tuberosa

Lavandula stoechas
Lavandula stoechas

Geranium maderense
Geranium maderense

Bletilla striata
Blettilla striata

Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara'
Salvia leucantha ‘Santa Barbara’

Salvia verticillata "Purple Rain"
Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’

Salvia semiatrata
Salvia semiatrata

Teucrium cossonii
Teucrium cossonii

Hummingbird on Salvia
Anna Hummingbird visiting a Salvia

Related Posts:

  • Colour My Garden: Yellow
  • Colour My Garden: Blue
Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening | 1 Reply

PhotoHunt: Creamy

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 20, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Strawberry Chianti
Strawberries in Chianti

It is Saturday – That means it is time to hunt photos again. This week’s theme is Creamy. I dug around through some of my cooking photos for a few items I’ve made the past year or so highlighting creamy items.


Strawberries in Chianti
Whipped Cream

Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie

Poached Pears
Poached Pears with Mascarpone

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged Photohunt | 19 Replies

Colour My Garden: Blue & Purple

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 16, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Cerinthe major 'Purpurascens'>
Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’

I don’t have any particular color scheme in our garden. Our garden is totally a plantsman garden. No design. No rhyme. No scheme. There are plants scattered through the area. I love to walk the garden and see the different colors and patterns.

Last week, Yellow was dominant color. Lots of interesting plants. This week the blue and fuchsia are coming on. Let’s look at a few of the blues in bloom right now.


Anchusa capensis
Anchusa capensis

Campanula garganica
Campanula garganica

Salvia sp. (Rome Forum)
Salvia sp (seeds collected at the Rome Forum)

Geranium maculatum
A wild geranium – possibly Geranium maculatum

Geranium splish-splash
Geranium splish-splash

Scutellaria alpina
Scutellaria alpina

Salvia sp. (Verona)
Salvia sp. (from Verona)

Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

Garden Kitty
Garden Kitty – oops this one isn’t blue or purple. 🙂


Related Posts:

  • Colour My Garden: Yellow
  • Colour My Spring Garden: Blue
  • Colour My Spring Garden: Chartreuse
Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening | 7 Replies

Vegetable Garden 2009 #4

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 14, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Our first tomato

Yes, we have tomatoes! Three of the tomatoes on the driveway and one in the greenhouse have fruit. The first one to fruit is a new variety for us, Oregon Star. The plant looks a little funky. The leaves are skinny and the plant is a little limp but we think that is the way it is supposed to look. The Oregon Star in greenhouse also has tomatoes. Siletz and Stupice, both early varieties, also have fruit.

And the weather continues to be great. It has been over 25 days without rain. If it doesn’t rain before Wednesday, it will be a record! Temperatures have also been around 70 degrees in the day and 50 at night. If this continues, we will have tomatoes before the end of July. Fingers are crossed.

And I’m turning into a rabbit. The lettuce is going gang-busters and we have a salad every day. Can you tell I’m getting a little tired of green salads? Any other ideas of what to do with lettuce?

We also had snap peas last week. The Sugar Sprints produced enough for a vegetable for dinner. They were yummy. And the rest of the veggies are doing great.

Garden0614-001

Lots of Lettuce
Lots of lettuce

Bush Beans
Bush Green Beans

Lookin' good

Sungold May 17th
Sungold May 17th
Sungold 06/14
Sungold June 14th

Related Posts:

  • Vegetable Garden #3 – June 5th
  • Vegetable Garden #2 – May 18
  • Vegetable Garden #1 – May 7
Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening | 4 Replies

PhotoHunt: Lock

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 13, 2009 by MartaJune 13, 2009

Ballard Locks
The Ballard Locks

Lock has a wide variety of meanings – a lock of hair, enlocked arms, a means to secure something. But I couldn’t pass by the meaning that has local significance:

Lock: an enclosure (as in a canal) with gates at each end used in raising or lowering boats as they pass from level to level.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks known locally as the Ballard Locks are are part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, connecting the fresh water Lake Washington to the salty Puget Sound. These were built between 1911 and 1917. Today they continue under the control of the Army Corp of Engineers transporting both pleasure boats and commercial boats. For more on Locks – here is the Wikipedia entry.

It is always fun to watch the boats enter the lock. It takes a while until boats are secured along the sides and the door close. Then water will fill or empty from the lock to raise or lower the boats depending upon whether they are going to or from the Sound. You can walk along narrow walkways above the massive doors which gives you an excellent view down on the boats. The Locks are a favorite of both locals and tourists.

There is also an excellent garden on the Locks property. The area is very temperate since it is close to the water and it is a good place to see plants exotic to Seattle such as palm trees and Princess Tree. There is also a large terraced grass hillside overlooking the locks which is a favorite place to picnic or just watch the boat traffic.

Here are a few more photos of the Locks.

Ballard Locks
Grassy slopes – favorite place to boat watch

Ballard Locks
Railroad Tressle – normally up to for tall or large boats to pass under

Ballard Locks
Boats heading into the lock from the Puget Sound

Ballard Locks
Interesting sculpture at the Locks

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged Photohunt, SeattleGardens | 20 Replies

Colour My Garden: Yellow

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 9, 2009 by MartaNovember 2, 2014

Fremontodendron 'California Glory'
Fremontodendron ‘California Glory‘

I love this time of the year in the garden. The garden just erupts in color. Yesterday I took the opportunity to walk around and take some pictures. I noticed right off that yellow was the predominant color right now. Let me share them with you.


Halimiocistus - 'Merrist Wood Cream'
Halimiocistus – ‘Merrist Wood Cream’

Halimium lasianthum
Halimium lasianthum

Cytisus battandieri - Pineapple Broom
Cytisus battandieri

Corydalis lutea
Corydalis lutea

Phlomis fruticosa bud
Phlomis fruticosa bud

Phlomis russeliana
Phlomis russeliana< Phlomis russeliana
Close up of Phlomis russeliana

Phlomis russeliana bud
Closeup of top flower of Phlomis russeliana – I love the chambered design

Cornus sericea ‘Hedgerows Gold’
Cornus sericea “Hedgerows Gold”

Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening, Spring | 6 Replies

Arum Dioscoridis

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 7, 2009 by MartaNovember 2, 2014


Arum Dioscoridis var dioscoridis

G loves unusual plants. Can you tell from our travels? We have orchids and loads of salvias. Arums and the related genus like Arisaema is another plant family he loves. He worked many years at Seattle Garden Center in the Pike Place Market. The store always had a wonderful selection of bulbs and tubers. One unusual bulb that they sold was Voodoo Lily – Sauromatum guttatum. Of course, with a name like Voodoo Lily – he couldn’t resist it. Not only did it have an unusual name but it also had a unusual smell. Like so many other plants that are maroon to dark brown, it is pollinated by flies and has the smell of rotting meat. He knew about the smell because sometimes they would bloom in the boxes without being planted in soil and stink up the store. He became curious and it led to him investigating the arum family.

Arums are a Mediterranean plant native of Greece, Cyprus, the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East. They are tubers. The flower is a hood like spathe which wraps around an erect spadix. A cob of seeds are produced after pollination which turn red in the fall. The leaves can also be very attractive. They are dark green triangular heart shaped leaves. Some have white marbling which gives an exotic accent to the garden.

He has collected several different species over the years. One which has a large maroon spathe is
Dragon Lily – Dracunculus Vulgaris (aka Arum dracunculus). We lost it a couple of years ago but it does do well in Seattle. It has become wild in parts of Ballard.

One Arum that has come back reliably is Arum Dioscoridis. It has a beautiful mottled hood but a disgusting odor. G and I were working in the yard today. The weather has been dry and warm for the past couple of weeks. Today was no different. I was weeding and I kept smelling this odor like steer manure. Our mulch has some in it but it doesn’t smell. We finally realized it was the Arum. Man, did it stink! Peter Boyce who wrote the monograph on the genus described the fragrance as “a mixture of dung and rotting flesh”. Exactly!

Here are a few more pictures:


Arum Dioscoridis var dioscoridis

Arum Dioscoridis var dioscoridis

Arum Dioscoridis var dioscoridis

Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening | 2 Replies

PhotoHunt: Advertisement

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 6, 2009 by MartaJune 6, 2009

Tambang or water taxi on Sarawak River
Tambang or water taxi on Sarawak River

This week’s photohunt theme is Advertisement. I decided to go through a few of my travel photos looking for any interesting photos of advertisements. We were intrigued with these water taxis in Kuching. We didn’t get a chance to take one across the river. It would have been fun. They had various different ads on their roofs. This is an advertisement for pre-paid cell phone card that also could be used to purchase music, ring tones and games for your cell. I think it was popular with youth. They sold these cards in vending machines in some restaurants and other small stores.

I also loved this billboard for another cell phone company – Celcom. I think it was saying it was number 1 in Sarawak. The woman is holding an image of the cat statue in Kuching.


Billboard in Kuching

Kuching Cat statue

Last, I’m going to include an advertisement for a traiteur (caterer or take out) and charcuterie, (deli specializing in sausage and meats) located in the town of Moustiers Sainte Marin in Southern France. I just love the little pink pigs. I suspect they don’t know where they are headed!

Advertisment in Moustiers - Sainte Marie France

Have a great weekend everyone.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged Photohunt | 11 Replies

Vegetable Garden 2009 #3

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 5, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Our first of the season harvest
First harvest – lettuce

Wow! What a different three warm weeks will make. We have been having gorgeous weather here in Seattle. It has been up in the 80’s this week. You can almost see the garden growing.

I did my first harvest today. The lettuce is ready and I picked an assortment of leaves. We are growing 4 different varieties; Nevada: a slow to bolt green leaf lettuce, Merlot: a deep purple red leaf lettuce; Red Sails: a typical red green leaf lettuce; Mascara: a red oak leaf lettuce. I also have a spicy Mesculin mix. I picked an assortment of the leaves. Aren’t they pretty.

Everything else has leafed out well. The pole beans are starting to twine up the rebars. The bush peas are starting to bloom and pod. The tall snap peas are a little sparse but well see, they may fill out. They are starting to bloom although they are only about 5 ft tall. Seems a little early to me.

Tomatoes are doing well. They are flowering but still no fruit. The nights have been warm enough – low 50’s so hopefully we will have some fruit setting soon.

Garden - first week in June
Garden
Bush Haricot Vert
Bush Beans
Lettuce - ready for harvest
Ready to Harvest
Flowers of dwarf grey sugar pod peas
Dwarf Grey Sugar Pod Peas
Sugar Sprint Peas
Sugar Sprint Peas
Greenhouse Tomato
Greenhouse Tomato
Tomato blossoms
Tomato Blossom
Tomatoes
Outside Tomatoes
Mesculin Mix
Mesculin Mix
Vegetable Garden 2009
Peas – Lettuce – May 18
Peas and Lettuce
June 5
Vegetable Garden 2009
Pole Beans – May 18
Pole Beans
June 5
Vegetable Garden 2009
Squash May 18
Zucchini
June 5

Related Posts:

  • Vegetable Garden #1 – May 7
  • Vegetable Garden #2 – May 18
Posted in Gardening | Tagged Gardening | 3 Replies

Little Si

Travels with George and Marta Posted on June 1, 2009 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

View of Mt Si from top of Little Si

The weather has been gorgeous. We have had one of the best month of May in a long time. June is starting out well also. Yesterday it got to almost 80 degrees. Today in the mid-70’s.

Our friend wanted to go for a hike. I have really gotten out of shape this winter. Yeah… too much time on the computer! I’m starting to walk and go back to an exercise. My knees and lower back are not in great shape. I’m hoping as I start to move it will get better. But I was a little worried about doing a hike today. So I choose Little Si.

Little Si is a small mountain right next to Mt. Si. Mt Si towers over the small town of North Bend in the Cascade foothills just about 40 minutes from downtown Seattle. Do you remember the series “Twin Peaks”? It was filmed in the town. Today it has become a suburb of Seattle with many developments. But you can still find wilderness next door.

The trail is 2.2 miles one way with an elevation gain of 1,200 and high point of 1,576. The Mountain to Sound Greenway Trust has been working on the trail and it is in great shape.

The hike was lovely. The alder and big leaf maple trees have recently leafed out and were fresh and light green. The sword ferns had just finished unfurling. The day was warm. On the way up we saw a couple of rock climbers on the rock wall below the summit. I took my time and it wasn’t too hard. It took almost 2 hours which is really really slow. There were a few other hikers at the top. It was brilliant at the top. You could see across to Rattlesnake Ledge and up to Mailbox Peak. Of course, the bigger Mt. Si towered over us.

The way down was fast. We stopped and had a late lunch. An enjoyable day in the forest and sun .

Come take a Photo Hike with me:

Little Si Trail

Trailhead sign

Little Si Trail

Little Si Trail

Little Si Trail
Lovely chartreuse treetops

Little Si Trail
Sword Ferns

Little Si Trail

Little Si Trail

Little Si Trail
Oyster Mushrooms

Little Si Trail

Little Si Trail
Rockclimber

Little Si Trail
At the summit

View of North Bend from Little Si
North Bend with Rattlesnake Ledge and Mountain in the distance

View of Mt Si from top of Little Si
Haystack summit of Mt Si from top of Little Si

Related Posts and Links:

  • Rattlesnake Ledge Hike
  • Snoqualmie Falls – near North Bend
Posted in Hiking | Tagged Hiking, Washington | 5 Replies

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