Oh Happy Day!!!

There's nothing like the bright and happy face of the first -- glorious SUNFLOWER to put a smile on any gardener's face!!!

Cue: Sesame Street...

This is actually a "volunteer" in the Bird Family Garden this year. Because -- after all - once you plant sunflower seeds for the first time? You're ALWAYS going to have sunflowers -- whether you like sunflowers or not. Think of sunflowers as the "gift that keeps on giving."

You'll never eradicate them all -- so put down the blowtorch son.

I must admit -- they do tend to brighten up the yard on a sunny afternoon. There's nothing quite like a morning or get-home-from-work greeting from a sunflower in the backyard. They are always there.

Check that: Most of the time -- they are always there.

You see -- gardeners might have a hard time eradicating the many "volunteer" sunflowers that pop up here and there in the yard. But Mother Nature? She can be quite cruel. One day after blessing the backyard with a bright display of sunflower color and cheer -- the winds kicked up.

Since we live in the Natomas Basin -- aka "wind alley" -- with little in the way of a natural windbreak -- the winds get quite ferocious out here.

Not even a sunflower can stand up to one of nature's sneezing fits -- and we've got a whopper of a windstorm today.

Wind and sunflowers don't mix...

Cue: Funeral March

This is the first sight that greeted the wife and I as we headed out into the Bird Back 40 today. Our shining sunflower? Gone. No -- the wind didn't bend it down. It was a lot worse than that. A sunflower can pop right back up after getting knocked flat by a strong gust.

Unless that strong gust turns into a sustained gust of 30+ MPH -- which is just about enough to snap a sunflower in two.

Unfortunately -- our sunflower -- which was just starting to open wide for the summer -- snapped at the base of the plant.

No more sunflowers for us. Not off this plant anyway.

I have to say -- this will have to go down as one of the strangest growing seasons on record. We didn't get much in the way of a spring in the Sacramento Valley. And just when you think that summer is going to bust out in the month of June? We get the kind of ferocious wind that is normally reserved for March.

I just hope the June Pride peach tree -- which is straight in the path of this blowtorch of a day -- can take it. It would be a shame to lose that harvest -- and would also bring tears to the eyes of a certain gardener in North Natomas...

Color Me Fall

Fall colors normally aren't as vibrant as those you will find in the spring and summer -- but the backyard is still spitting out some beautiful scenes. Oh sure -- those summer flower arrangements are starting to look a little tired (I'm partial to the Rainbow of Color design myself) -- but if you look hard enough -- you'll find some things are still going strong.

I didn't get everything done in the Back 40 that I wanted to get done this summer. I never do. The main section of the lawn that I was hoping to plant? Unplanted. The thirty-plus yards of garden soil I wanted to move in? I'm at five and counting. The greenhouse? Still a long ways off.

I suppose that's the way it works with us Weekend Warrior types. There's never enough time in the day. Weekends just seem to fly by. There's always that one "project" that must be accomplished first before moving onto backyard landscaping pleasures.

But I did get at least one project finished. Venus has her tree rose. Not just any tree rose mind you -- the one special tree rose that my wife has wanted since we were first married. I finally got around to locating the one remaining Saint Patrick tree rose left in the Sacramento area this summer.

This rose holds a special meaning for my wife. It was her mother's favorite rose. In every house her mother and father purchased during a ten-year span of home-flipping in Auburn, Rocklin and finally Sacramento -- you will find the Saint Patrick tree rose. And -- beside that special rose -- is the Celtic Cross of St. Patrick.

When Venus' mother passed away quite unexpectedly four years ago following a long battle with cancer -- I knew she longed for the Saint Patrick tree rose and the Celtic Cross. It is, quite simply, her favorite spot in the yard.

Unfortunately, the recent rain and windstorm that hit the Sacramento area (and the rest of California I might add) -- did some rather wicked damage to the wife's special rose. Not only did it lose blooms -- it's no longer standing straight as an arrow. I suppose I have learned the "curse" of tree roses. I don't care how well you have it staked. If Mother Nature throws a vicious curveball of sustained rain and winds -- that perfectly placed tree rose is no longer standing at attention.

Yet another project for me to take care of this weekend. The companion tree rose took at even worse hit.

One of the most pleasant surprises in the backyard has to be the Pomegranate tree that Venus and I stumbled upon last summer at Lowe's in West Sacramento. It wasn't the variety I wanted -- but it looked nice and the price was more than right. So -- I didn't get the pomegranate variety of Wonderful. I purchased the variety of "Sweet" instead. Or -- so I thought. As it turns out -- I may have purchased a mislabled variety. This tree is churning out fruit that look strangely like a Wonderful.

This picture simply doesn't do justice. The fruits were starting to color to a deep red when I took this two weeks ago. They are all now a deep -- candy-apple red in color. It wasn't ready to harvest two weeks ago when I was disappointed to find white kernals inside of a "test harvest" fruit. I'm not sure what it will look like now -- although I'm willing to give it a little more time.

I am somewhat surprised by this tree -- the rate of growth -- and fruit production. What had been a small starter tree last summer has blossomed into one of the fastest-growing, most prolific fruit trees in the backyard. It was covered with red and yellow blossoms earlier this spring -- and has tripled in size. I can only imagine what will happen next spring.

If you are looking for a beautiful landscape tree that produces more than just flowers and blooms -- I highly reccommend the Pomegranate. The spring-time blooms are staggering in color and a highly favored source of pollen for honeybees and Carpenter bees alike.

Plus -- I'll admit -- I love a splash of fresh pomegranate juice in my margarita! And I also ran across an interesting recipe for pomegranate syrup here, courtesty of Jenn's Cooking Garden.

Sadly -- the display of color located to your immediate right no longer exists. It was one of the last sunflower displays out of the summer garden -- and a big display of color at that. The flowers from this variety of sunflower were perfect for vase cuttings (combined with the Saint Patrick tree rose, of course).

I'm not exactly sure where I received the seeds for this one variety. They may have been sent to us through a bee research project at San Francisco State University. Seeds from this variety may have been collected from a wild plant growing on the side of Elkhorn Blvd., a hop, skip and a jump away from our North Natomas compound.

I know this much: Despite the landscaping headaches that sunflowers can pose, they are a welcome addition to our "Edible Garden" landscape. While not necessarily edible for humans, they are a favorite place to forage for our "Hello Kitty" beehive.

And they do put on a mighty fine show of color.