Monday, July 17, 2017

Black Satin Thornless Blackberry....Dinter Nursery comes through again.

 
I moved a lovely phlox from next door today. In the hot sun. I shaded it and poured on the water. Where it was, no matter how often I watered, it wilted every day. During the move a couple of pieces fell off with bits of root attached so I took them inside and put them in water to try to stimulate more roots. Then I picked a stem, so it would just look prettier. This is an old Mason jar I painted.
 
Look, blackberries already!
 
I spent a couple days on Gabriola Island this past weekend. It was wonderful. If you ever get a chance to visit the island, do it. I visited the garden of my friend Patti. She has a beautiful Black Satin Thornless Blackberry in her garden. It is four years old now. What I loved about it, is, not only is it delicious according to Patti, but there were NO RUNNERS. I once tried a thornless blackberry but it started 'running' right away. I dug it out. When I went to Dinter on the way home, I found one!!! I removed my Niagara Grape vine and planted the Blackberry in its place. Neighbour Judy took the grape vine. I cannot wait to get blackberries. Oh, and the flowers have a violet tint to them. They are really pretty.

 
Review: The Black Satin Thornless Blackberry is superior to any other varieties we have seen. Hardy in the Midwest and south -- even recommended for northern climate if you are careful to cover with a mulch to protect it during the winter. Thornless Blackberries are extremely vigorous and disease free. Plants will not sucker. Consistently produce a heavy crop. You'll pick 35-40 berries on each thornless stem! Berries are large, attractive and have a luscious flavor. Ripen in early August.

I also picked up another Cascade Delight that I am going to replace the Tulameens with. I don't think I really needed another as Raspberries spread so quickly, but it can't hurt.
 
 
I found a really pretty Phlox in pinks. It was an impulse buy. Impulse buys are how I usually find my prettiest flowers.
 

Sunday, July 16, 2017

I used to have a Feng Shui store...


 
I used to have a Feng Shui store. It was called Dragon Horse. We had a lot of beautiful furniture, cloisonné, art, Martha Sturdy, fountains and of course....Feng Shui things. It was a breathtakingly beautiful store. This fountain was in the store the whole time. We all loved it. The recession hit my Chinese Suppliers hard. I lost 16 of them in under two years, out of the 18 we started with. So we closed Dragon Horse and opened Pitt & Hobbs. I have had a lot of precious things from Dragon Horse put away. This fountain was one of those things. This week I just HAD to set it up and see if I could get it working again. Everything has to be perfectly level. It took all afternoon, but I got it working. I thought to myself, if this gives me this much joy, I should take it home. So I've set it up and look how cute it looks. Strategically placed for Feng Shui of course. I have two more....I am dying to see if I can get them to work too.
 

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

I know Root Rot when I see it...Tulameen succumbed yet again.

I had high hopes for my Raspberry patch of Tulameens...but the one thing I'm an expert at, is spotting root rot. This is the third planting of Tulameen Raspberries that I have had succumb to Root Rot. As soon as the Raspberry fruiting begins, the plants starts to turn brown and dry out, then the whole cane dies. Growth with no berries will look healthy. Don't be fooled. They may even make it to next year...then they begin to set fruit and the plant dying commences. So you might as well get rid of them and try something else. How sad are these pictures.

 
 
 
 
 
I have done some research into Root Rot Resistant Raspberries with the flavour and size of Tulameen Raspberries. I've come up with Cascade Delight. They should do much better. Allan picked up a Cascade Delight today at Dinter in Duncan today. It is already transplanted into a huge pot to be fed and spoiled to encourage lots of underground runners. It is even in the greenhouse for now. This is what the berries look like. Aren't they beautiful.