Dragon fruit or pitaya have some of the more stunning and dramatic blooms. Their massive blooms last but a day. The display begins at dusk and ends mid day (the following day).

Turning a brick planter under the patio to grow a special plant that is on order. The plant will be revealed at a later time.

With Fall about a month away the weather is starting to get a little wonky. The days are hot and the nights are cooler. Too hot to start most of the fall crops and too short of time to continue summer crops. As a result, some of the planting space is now in limbo; waiting for the weather to smooth out.

There plants are continuing to do their thing. On the tea bush (camellia sinensis), seeds are forming and you won’t believe how big one of the pods are!

Here’s what the garden looks like.

In the Permaculture / Resort Garden, the dragon fruit or pitaya is starting to turn color and before long we will be able to enjoy it. Here’s a look.

Also, to our disappointment, the Russian Comfrey Bocking #4 root cutting did not sprout and it looks like they rotted away.

A dish two years in the making and many hours of research. A very popular Thai stir fry of chicken and basil is commonly made with Thai basil. However, the origins of the dish is made with a different type of basil. In a quest for authenticity, the Thai holy basil was sought out. There are many different spellings for the Thai pronunciation of basil (kra prao, gapow, gra prao, etc). This basil is also sacred in Indian culture. It is also know in Hindi as Rama Tulsi. If you will like to learn more about Holy Basil or Tulsi, be sure to check out this video: https://youtu.be/bHEkaTv9OXg

This Panache fig aka Tiger fig tree was purchased at the beginning of the year. It made two figs and it feels like it is taking a very long time to ripen. Getting especially antsy, we are going to pick one and find out if its ripe or not.

The panache fig is a very elegant plant. Its leaves are subtlety variegated. While its fruit is not so subtle. The strips on the fruit shows us why it is also known as a Tiger fig. Furthermore, the fruit is uniquely variegated.

Garden tour of my brother’s backyard orchard and garden. Ontario, CA USDA Zone 10a

Tropical fruit trees and plants: Logan, guava, passion fruit, pineapple, sapote, banana.
Fruit plants: Blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, pricky pear, dragon fruit.
Fruit trees: Lamb Haas & Reed avocado, figs, white mulberry, loquat
Citrus: Moro blood orange, Washington Navel orange, Cara Cara orange, Eureka lemon, Bearss lime, Kumquat, Honey Mandarin orange
Stone fruit: Red Baron peach, Royal Blenhiem apricot, Santa Rosa & Italian plum
Vegetables and herbs: East Indian lemon grass, elephant ear (bac ha), California Wonder bellpepper, shishito & bird eye pepper, purple shiso, Vietnamese coriander (rau ma), penny wort, mint, piper lolot, winter melon, dwarf blue kale, green onion

and more…

With red potatoes from a recent harvest, we turn them into a delicious potato salad with skin on. This recipe is a little special. It came by way of our Instagram friend, @lola_hoya.

Red potatoes have a low starch content. This quality in turn helps cooked potato hold their form better. As such, they are perfect for making potato salad with because the mixing in the preparation can sometimes turn many other types of potato into mush.

Recipe by @lola_hoya (IG)
6 regular medium size of your favorite potatoes, boiled and cubed. 8 boiled eggs, chopped.
1/2 cup diced Maui or sweet onions.
1 heaping teaspoon wasabi. (More if you prefer it hot)
1 cup mayonnaise (adjust the volume according to your liking) salt and pepper to taste.
Optional: a hint of whole grain mustard.
Mix together, chill and Bon appetite!!!

The right tool for the job can mean the difference between a chore or an activity. There are many tools available to fit every need and personality. These 3 tools are what I would recommend to my younger self and others new to gardening.

If I were to buy online, here are the links:

Tiller mattock: https://www.amazon.com/Flexrake-CLA105-Classic-Flower-Vegetable/dp/B001IKYV7Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471671763&sr=8-2&keywords=tiller+mattock

Spade shovel with D-handle: http://amzn.to/2bB0UxX

Bypass pruner: http://amzn.to/2b6QGnn

In the Permaculture / Resort Garden, the early setting dragon fruit or pitaya is fruiting along nicely. What looked like a bad dragon fruit year has turned into a pretty good one with the showing of additional fruit buds. This and a few other updates…