Of Gothic Moonlit Gardens~~~~

Dear Darklings,

What is it with the weather???   Yesterday it was overcast and chilly cold that even the dogs decided to snuggle in their doggie beds together, which is something they rarely do.   And I had to wear a sweater (black of course), it was so nippy.

Now it’s overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon but barely above 70.  And this is supposed to be the Dog Days of Summer, you know like Hot August Nights and all that stuff. 

Not that I want to get overheated, there is a limit. 

I’ve been talking to my gardener and I said I’d like to do a Gothic moon garden considering that the overabundance of rain rotted out my blubs and other plants so I’ve been letting things sort of even out and rest. 

He suggested that I plant white plants that is blubs and flowers that are white, and soft grey foliage and replace those roses that have died with roses that produce white blooms, as well as night blooming jasmine, and moonflowers, evening primrose, night phlox,  and 4 o’clock.

I found out that other night blooming plants (depending upon what zone you live in) include  Queen of the Night which is a type of catus with  exotic white flowers with undulating petals that open only at night, it looks a little like a water lily set upon upright green fronds.

Now there are some that are dangerous even toxic if eaten by pets and children such as  Night Blooming Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum), Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia) the scent is intoxicating on warm summer evenings

 Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana)  it smells like jasmine but you need to use Caution because all parts of flowering tobacco are toxic if ingested so if you have children and pets that like to nibble plants you might want to avoid this one.

There’s also  Evening Stock (Matthiola longipetala)  A wildflower originating in Portugal and Spain, they release their heady perfume, described as a mix of vanilla, rose, spice, and cloves.

 Ever-Flowering Gladiolus (Gladiolus tristis) this has buttery cream petalled flowers perched atop a twisty stalk. They release a strong almond fragrance after dusk.  Of course one has to have  Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), even if it’s blooming period is short.

Summer Snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia), because its long-blooming upright 8-inch spikes resemble those of the popular dragon flower it’s available in several hues, the “serena white” variety is the best choice for a moonlight garden.  It has apple-scented foliage, this will stay in bloom from June to September.

Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri) is lovely but you need to prune frequently but great for ground cover.

And you’ll need plants that have a silvery sheen to them to pick up the rays of the moon like  Silvermound (Artemisia schmidtiana), Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’), Jack Frost (Brunnera macrophylla) White Trillium,  and Lamb’s Ear.

And we also have Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris)and  Alba Plena Camellia (Camellia japonica ‘Alba Plena’) it has exquisite overlapping petals in snowy white, the alba plena camellia is commonly referred to as the rose of winter since it blooms from late fall until early spring.

It is recommended that along with night-blooming and night-fragrant flowers, adding plants that will shine under the stars is the crowning touch of the moonlight garden. You’ll want to select showy flowers in white or other cool colors like light blue, soft yellow, and lavender and be sure to include reflective non-flowering plants to create a diverse range of textures, shapes, and sizes.

Of course this is helpful if you have a garden even a tiny patio if you have a ground floor apartment, but if you don’t find out from your nurseryman which plants will grow well it pots to have on your apartment balcony to enjoy on those warm summer evenings to engage in your Gothic moon viewing as you read “Dracula” or one of the “Twilight” novels by candle light.

My artist friends directed me to someone who can do small concrete skulls for me with slightly different “grins” on their faces, and with metal armature do skeletal hands breaking out of the ground.  He recommended not too many, it would be better that they are a sudden surprise but not where anyone could trip over them,  and with my outdoor pond I’ve been stocking it with mosquito fish and having the water circulating to prevent mosquito's from hatching, and floating white waterlilies, at least with those fish if they get eaten by the cats I can replace them for free.   

My gardener suggested that maybe the evening stock and the poppy be used where I have my pet cemetery as ground cover,  so I have a lot of planning for my Moon garden and hope to have it fully in place by next summer  so we shall see.

Later Darklings.

Of the Poison Garden of Alnwick Castle~~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I love gardening idea's, especially for Gothic Gardening with dark flowers accented by pure white flowers or those plantings that look like bizarre growths, and decorating it with unusual garden decorations, but if there is one thing I'm very careful about is plants that are extremely dangerous to human life.

However there is one garden in England that does take that chance and I've copied an article for your reading pleasure and information about "The Poison Garden Of Alnwick Castle".

Read on my Darklings~~~~

The Poison Garden of Alnwick Castle

 By Stacy Conradt

You can’t say the people behind the Poison Garden didn’t warn you. The only way into the noxious nursery is through gates emblazoned with skulls, crossbones, and a warning: “These plants can kill.”

It’s just a small portion of the 42-acre gardens at Alnwick Castle in Alnwick, Northumberland, England—but it packs a big punch. From ricin and strychnine to coca (used to make cocaine), the Poison Garden is full of things people shouldn’t even smell, let alone touch or eat. And they’re deadly serious about the warnings: Guests have fainted from inhaling fumes as they merely walked through the garden. Many of the plants, such as the ricin, are grown in cages, to keep curious guests from getting too close. Most of the flora grown inside the gates required special government permission to grow.

The Poison Garden is the brainchild of Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, whose husband encouraged her to renovate the gardens when they moved into the castle in 1996. (We assume he was probably a little surprised when his wife began enthusiastically planting poison hemlock and belladonna.) She was inspired, in part, by the Medici poison garden in Padua, Italy.

One of Percy’s goals is to educate kids about botany and science in a way that actually interests them. "Children don't care how a plant cures," she has said. "They think that's boring. They want to know how it kills—and how agonizing the death is! ... More seriously, it is a place for visitors to learn about the dangerous side of plants. Drugs are a major concern across the country and an emotive issue. Here we offer a new avenue to get people talking about the misuse of drugs—most of which grow in nature."

If the crazy plants at Alnwick Castle seem like something straight out of Harry Potter, well, you’re not the only one who thinks so. Alnwick has been used for both interior and exterior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. But even Professor Snape would hesitate before making any potions with plants picked from this garden.

~~~~~~~

Well My Darklings you have been warned even Agatha Christie knew her poisons and used them in her novels such as "Sparkling Cyanide" .  But to thing that Alnwick has been used in the Harry Potter films as  a location is very interesting.   

I hope to find other interesting tid-bits for your Gothicly Bizarre information.

Later Darklings  

Of Gardening ideas~~~~~

Hello Darklings!

Just a few Gardening ideas that you can do during the winter months,  The top picture is from the poison Garden in England, it is so dangerous that they have to keep it locked, and only a limited number of tours of it.

I'll try to find out more about it.  I'm not sure how they did the cement skulls, possibly a reusable mold like latex or something but it would make a wonderful border, don't you think Darklings?

Later!

Of Cutting tree branches, and things not going so smoothly~~~~

Well Darklings,

We did get a bit of a very light shower, just enough to dampen the air, which is nice.  All kinds of fresh smells for the dogs, "Oooo Mummy what's dis?"  is their attitude.

I had my gardener over to cut some tree branches that were too close to the house, one good wind storm and smash windows and removed asphalt shingles leading to roof leaks, don't need that.

But I think with the first serious rains we'll go into the attic to see if there is any kind of leakage.

One of the trees is a walnut tree which of course the squirrels have been having fun with, but my gardener, trimmed the large branches down and is going to take them to a friend of his who works in wood, see if his friend can make use of it.  Waste not, Want not, sounds good to me.

Well Doyle went to his two sonogram appointments, well I think one was radiology, oh now I'm confused, anyway the Doctor in the radiology lab was concerned because it's still showing some inflammation in that area.

The radiology doctor called both Doyle's regular doctor and the urologists, they had a conference and then the urologist wants Doyle to come to his office this Friday and was told if he should re-develop fever and chills to head to the ER right away. 

THAT was thrilling to hear.   So now everything looks to be up in the air, we are not going to plan that vacation trip until Doyle is completely well.  And we don't know what they may do, either increase the dosage or keep him on it longer or possibly something else.  We won't know until after Friday's examination.

Doyle is worried and he has a right to be worried.  So am I, but we do know that the antibiotic did reduce everything rather quickly its just this last little bit that is very stubborn.

There is the possibility that there could be some sort of blockage as well which could be causing this.

Doyle is now wishing he did kick the other guy "in the nuts".  

But I'm thinking, what did they do in "the old days" when something like this happened?   A man must of died from something like this, with a high fever and chills it must have been horrible and painful. 

Thank goodness we have antibiotics, and all these machines and tests. 

And Doyle feels so frustrated, he really can't do anything, he tires easily because of the antibiotics,  this is a blow to his pride, and we can't really go anywhere because of this. 

We can only persevere and deal with it.  There is a solution, it just will take time.

At least he's over the hump from the dental extraction. 

Sis is home now from her various clients, and writing up her reports, she said to me as she kicked off her shoes in the living room "This hasn't been much of a summer for you has it?"  and I told her "Well things like this happen, we'll just make the best of it"

Like this morning, before my gardener came I was sitting on the back porch with my coffee and toast just enjoying the freshness of the air and that slight tingling dampness, listening to my neighbors banging pots and pans, coffee scent floating in the air, with a hint of bacon, then after awhile voices floating back saying "See you tonight"  "Be safe" "Don't forget to pick up...."  and an occasional dog barking.

And seeing Brown Towhee's and Robins in the trees, picking at whatever they can find, sometimes quickly grubbing on the ground for the odd bug or something, I know about now many of them are starting their second nesting, with the first batch of fledging's now on their own, their childhood is very short, now they are on their own and it's eat or be eaten.

And being delighted with an occasional butterfly or white moth, I've seen a few honey bees, which makes my heart glad.  I've heard that breeders are developing a breed of honey bee that is resistant to the parasite that causes hive collapse.  There is hope yet.

So Sis has made the mental nudge about contacting my contractor about enclosing the back porch with screening, like that which is shown in some old photographs of the house, it would make it for a nice semi-outdoor dinning minus much of the bugs, as well as a sleeping porch for those extremely hot days.  I've called him and he'll be out here Saturday to take a look and give me a quote.  And we'll go from there.

Sis said to not worry about dinner, she'll tackle it, she already bought some shrimp and spinach from Trader Joe's so it will be shrimp spinach salad tonight, I like that and lime sherbet for dessert.  That's good something light yet filling.

And maybe we'll play Scrabble tonight, invite Brian over to join us for dinner and a game.

I know Darklings, it does sound so boring but it really is a good Summers evening fare, no demands, no blaring T.V. just relaxing and enjoying each others company.

Later Darklings

Of killing a Sage plant~~~~

I know Darklings,

How does one kill a Sage plant?

Well it is a perennial herb, and I had this one in a pot for over a year, but I think either I over watered it or someone did.

Anyway it is curled up, withered, it just gave up the ghost.  I'll keep it and monitor it, after all it might revive, I can hope.

But I went to the nursery today and bought another sage plant, variegated purple sage, lovely and a Thai Basil, it has a wonderful liquorice scent and a little spicy as well.  With a nice dark purple top.

Now it is an annual, but I may go back and buy some more purple sage for this one area and a couple of more Thai Basil, the scent is just so wonderful.

I keep a few herbs on the back porch and then more in the garden, and it seems I've been attracting honey bees, and lady bugs, I hardly use any pesticides, except for snails and slugs they go around sounding like a bad "Bela Lugosi" saying "I vah to Bite yur tomahtos".

Sorry ---snails and slugs go home. 

My sister will be home soon and she and I are going to our neighbors house, we've been invited to pick their apricots, plums and a sort of cherry plum, it has a cherry pit and skin but is smooth like a plum, our neighbor thinks somehow the cherry and plum tree cross pollinated. 

But Sis keeps saying to me "Pie, cobbler, jam, apricot jam, apricot crumble, need to can and put up", I think I know what we are going to be doing this weekend.

I love old fashioned things and speaking of old fashion, we are going to the County Fair, this week.  I am so looking forward to doing something old fashion, I don't worry about the concert, I like the free shows and watching the demos, the livestock and such.  You just never know.

Well I'm dressed in my jeans, tennis shoes and long sleeve tee-shirt and a cloth hat to keep bugs out of my hair, just waiting for Sis.

Well Brain just came in through the back door and told me that Weiner Dog watered the old Sage plant  Alright, I guess I'll have to put them up higher. 

Later Darklings

Of the Sunny Sunday Aftermath~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Yes Undergroundfortea, it did turn out to be a very fun and exhausting day.  But as they say many hands make light work.

The brunch food was mostly for everyone who didn't have a chance for breakfast and were going to skip a late lunch,  as a matter of fact, everyone had indulged so much on the bagels, donuts and fruit that lunch was un-necessary.

But in a matter of a few hours the weeds and brambles were cleared out and dumped into the dumpster and its full, full, full!  It's a good thing we were able to close the lid, well the boys helped by jumping up an down on it, we put a tarp over everything and that way it avoided getting brambles in their clothes and it packed down nicely.

Hidden under all of that we found a dozen head stones for various pets, and it seems that my Great Aunt had a very low stone boundary wall marking the area, standing about 18 inches high, but it couldn't be seen very well, and with some dirt removed we've found a couple of steps that led to the area,  so we now have a clearly defined area, and my brother and Doyle are thinking of going in the next few weeks to Urban Ore or another salvage place to find old style metal fencing and re-making the area, the boys are now into it as well, but from their point of view as a goulish delight.  Oh well, whatever it takes.

It's a good thing my brother knows something about concret work and such since he handled a lot of the remodeling on his house, he's hoping to use that as a way of absolution towards Coralline and it will be a good thing for the boys to learn.

Once the hard work was done we all retired into the greenhouse where it was warm to relax and talk, the children enjoying the Koi, everyone else enjoying a beer or wine and what was left of the food,  then bit by bit my friends had to leave, I did give them standing invitations to come to my Halloween party.

Then Monica shoved the boys into the down stairs shower to get cleaned up, with their Father monitoring them and us "girls" upstairs getting cleaned up,  the idea of dinner seemed too much for everyone so we decided to see if there was going to be food at the Haunted House instead.  If not then we'd find a late night burger place like "In n' Out" for dinner.

I know Darklings, how mundane!  But do you know how hard it is to find a late night fast food place around here, that is not a night club?  

When I was much younger locations of such places were spread by word of mouth for the "Nighthawks" those who 'fly by night', some locations were pretty dicey, and finding an all night grocery store or drug store was even rarer,  very hard for those who live the vampire lifestyle, oh in San Francisco there were places but on the East Bay side much harder.

Now there are places that are almost 24/7  but you still need a directory for some services.  I have a friend who has a skin condition which forces her to practically be a vampire, she has to take vitamin D because she has to avoid the sun as much as possible.  The very early morning hours and at twilight she's fine, but full sun is a problem.   When she had a doctor or dental appointment she had to wear special clothing to shield her, now she has a dentist who has evening hours, can have her pills delivered by mail, she can go as early as possible for blood tests, but scheduling a doctor's appointment sometimes can be hard, but if she can be the last paticent of the day it works. 

Now there are many stores open late or 24/7 and she can find evening entertainment.  She works part-time at night and is also on disablity because her condition limits her to the types of jobs and work she can do.  Sometimes a government agency tries to kick her off their rolls but she has a lawyer and two doctors plus photos that show how horribly she can burn.  But for the last 5 years they've stopped trying to do that, it seems that other people have shown up with that condition. 

One would not think so, given how flawless her complexion is but I've seen her have accidents.

The Pirates of Emerson Haunted Houses were soooo much FUN!  and so very crowded but the boys were in their element and Coralline and her parents were enjoying themselves,  Doyle, Sis and I had a hard time keeping up, so we made arrangements to meet periodically.  I cannot tell you what we saw only to say that if you are in Pleasanton, Calif.  go and see, checkout their web site for hours and days and cost.

I can only say it was like a 6 ring circus.   Everyone came home exhausted, and slept like rocks,  the boys (aka the three stoogies) slept in their sleeping bags on padded mats on the floor of the maids room while their Dad slept in the twin size bed (his perogative), Coralline and her Mom shared Coralline's double bed, and we all slept the sleep of the just,  and we had breakfast out, Sis and I were not going to cook for that young ravenous crew.  But everyone had a wonderful time.

And we saw them off and came home to sleep some more.  It's a good thing we put stew in the crock pot, such a handy item. 

I woke up from my nap to find Doyle had left the house, but left a message that he'd be back soon, and he did with Creme de Violete and Bulldog gin, plus lemons, saying he was going to make all of us "Aviator' cocktails---time for a dash of the 1920's said he.   I think I'll have to get into my silk lounge pajama's after dinner to sip this.   I'll give you my opinion of it in another post.

Later Darklings