Blog by Tina Saravia
The last 3 afternoons, I’ve been sitting in a spot in the front garden between the tree collard and the pomegranate (Punica granatum), giving me enough shade so I can hang out with Adeli and Maggie May, our two happy chickens, digging for bugs, a.k.a. pest control. While I watch them work, I get to put my feet up and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
I realized that this is an excellent way to observe the garden closely.
To my right is the rhubarb (Rheum × hybridum) plant; It finally got the summer afternoon shade it needs now that the pomegranate has grown over it. The rhubarb does not look as fresh as it did in the spring, but the leaves are still alive, unlike in past years when they start to droop from the summer sun and heat. I also noticed that the surrounding soil is very dry, yet it is doing fine. It is getting enough water in its root system. (The chickens were digging around to find a comfortable spot to take their dust bath, thereby exposing the dry soil.)
To my left is the overgrown tree collard that I have neglected to prune for so long. It is growing like it owns the whole planting bed. It is also heavily infested with harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica), a stink bug that sucks the juice out, leaving white blotches on the leaves. I have been squishing them right on the leaves or picking them and dropping them off into a bucket of soapy water.
Above and behind me is the sturdier cousin of artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), the mighty Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) with its beautiful purple flowers. Unlike the coastal artichokes, this plant is hardier in warmer weather. The buds are also hardier and are not eaten, so I let them go to full bloom.
I learned that they need to be deadheaded (remove the spent flowers as soon as possible, because they can re-seed in another part of the garden). I have one volunteer plant that I have kept because it is in a desirable part of the garden. I pulled out the rest.
Perhaps I will move my chair to a different part of the garden tomorrow. Who knows what I will find there?