A DIABOLICAL HALLOWEEN PLAN

I'm spending this Halloween in my lab, genetically morphing haunted tiki idols and tropical plant cells to create a race of lounge music loving, fire-breathing monster plants that feed on human flesh and mai tais.

 

Happy Halloween from Dr. Ron and Backyard Exotica!

A TIKI SOIREE

I've been busy at work making the garden an ideal setting for end-of-summer evening tiki cocktail parties. Never mind that the evenings are getting cooler. The setting is warm and inviting. Check out some photos of the end result.

MANTIS INVASION: PART 2

I am constantly on the look out for mantises, both in my apartment garden and also while strolling the landscaped grounds at my work. During this past spring and summer I had endless mantis sightings (see my August 27th "Mantis Invasion" entry for some nice photos). But for the last month, they seemed to have vanished. Then, out of the blue, in a two day period, I saw two of the largest and most impressive mantises. Definitely a good omen. Check out the gorgeous beasts.

HALLOWEEN AT ROGER'S GARDENS - BLACKSTONE THEATER

Deep in "The OC" there lies a garden nursery that takes its holiday seasons very seriously and creates stunning festive displays. But unlike most retail businesses, who merely gleam over the Halloween season, Roger's Gardens in Corona del Mar takes it to near impossible extremes, creating yearly themed displays of untold horror and ghoulish delight. This year's theme is Blackstone Theater, a haunted back-alley theater house. I went to Roger's Garden recently to check it out and was, as with previous years, very impressed. Blackstone Theater is a real scream. A big thanks goes out to my significant other, Francoise at Curiosites Esthetiques who provided several of these photos.

ROGER'S GARDENS

2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd.

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625 

949-640-5800 

Open Daily 9am to 6pm

  

MIDNIGHT GARDENING: BAMBOO

Once again, I find myself hanging out in the garden late at night, this time to plant some new Phyllostachys aureus, better known as Golden Bamboo. About a year ago, I attempted to grow some black bamboo but no luck. It quickly died. I later learned that black bamboo prefers a cooler climate so maybe it's just as well. But since a huge tree growing next door has just been cut down, (see previous entry for the gory details) we've now got a plain view of some not-so-visually-pleasing playground equipment in the pre-school next door.  So I thought I'd give it another try. I ordered Golden Bamboo rhizomes (underground stem) from a great plant seller on eBay. Here goes Bamboo Scene, Take Two!

 Always excited to see a package in the mail. Trust me, I didn't fake my look of giddy delight. 

I couldn't wait to open my package of 10 bamboo rhizomes and get them in the ground.

Inside the package was a bagged tangle mess of bamboo goodness. Since I don't have 

any experience with bamboo I was a bit clueless as to where to begin.

I read somewhere that rhizomes should be soaked in water before planting and on top 

of that, these smelled like death, being in a sealed, moist package for several days 

so I figured a good soak could only help.

Here's an up-close and personal view of one of the root-riddled rhizomes. It looks healthy 

enough, I guess. Again, I really don't know anything about bamboo so I'm winging it.

I don't have much unpaved garden space left so I planted the bamboo in pots. These ones
are probably way too small for bamboo so I'll pot them up once they start growing a bit.
For now, I trimmed the excessive roots off to make them fit in the pots.

Bamboo loves lots of water so I gave these a good soaking.

Some of the rhizomes already have shoots so I got a preview of future attractions. 

Golden bamboo grows up to around 30 feet and is supposed to be one of the best 

bamboos for creating a beautiful, lush barrier wall. I can't wait!