Flower Island – Episode 12
Please watch me struggle to grow flowers on the 6.5′ x 14′ strip of parkway between the street and the sidewalk in “My Flower Island – Episode 12” of “Late Bloomer.” Buckwheat saved the day.
For anyone curious about how we are making “Late Bloomer,” this episode was shot over the course of two months. You have no idea how difficult it is to get a few lines recorded with non-stop air traffic (from 7:30AM till 7:30PM on sunny days), occasional street traffic, neighbors dropping by (always a good thing – many neighbors have appeared in my episodes), construction noise, gardeners, and the occasional ring of the telephone. That’s urban gardening for you!
The beginning of the episode was shot on an April weekday afternoon soon after I started filming “Late Bloomer,” and I was chasing a sliver of reflected light trying to record all the dialogue. But, by June, I had settled into shooting me talking to camera only on Sunday mornings before 8AM, and it’s often June Gloom till noon, which means, no sun, and it’s quiet. Guess what, you need quiet to record dialogue! Who knew?
After I collect all relevant footage and photos to an episode, I create a script and send it to my cheerful, talented and efficient editors, and motion graphics artist, which you can read about from the Late Bloomer Team tab, above.
Before the day is out, I will be posting information about Los Angeles Horticulturist Hugh Evans, mentioned in this episode. Be sure to check back to learn about this influential Californian. But, right now, I must go water my garden!
Today, the flower island looks like this. Buckwheat cut and melting into the soil, enriching it for the next crop, which will likely be peas and oats. You can barely discern the burgundy row of Amaranth which was stunted by the fast-growing buckwheat. Now, the Amaranth will take off, and hopefully reach a height of eight feet!
Thanks for watching and reading! – Kaye
Category: Curbside Gardening, Flowers, Late Bloomer Episodes
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Great episode as usual 🙂 I think the buckwheat is really pretty and so natural looking! By the way… when I was watching the outtakes at the end, and you sneezed, it scared the living bajeebers out of me bc I wasn’t expecting it hahaha. Definitely caught my attention quickly!
PS Bless you! :-p
Haha! Thanks for writing and watching! Much appreciated! Blessings back! – Kaye
Bless you, too!
I learned a few things from this episode! I have never heard of the princess flower…I love it and am wondering if it will grow where I live. I also never thought of buckwheat as a soil builder. Thanks for sharing, it gave me some things to google today!
Google Princess Flower, as there are different ones. Mine is the Tibouchina urvilleana, and you see how stunning it is. Does not require a lot of water, and produces blooms all year. You need a Mediterranean climate, I think, which is what we have in So. Cal.Thanks for watching!! Yes,cover crops, here’s where to order the seeds. Buckwheat: http://www.botanicalinterests.com/products/view/7606/Cover-Crop-Common-Buckwheat-Organic-HEIRLOOM-Seeds/srch:Buckwheat
Peas and Oats: http://www.botanicalinterests.com/products/view/7609/Cover-Crop-Soil-Builder-Peas-Oats-Organic-HEIRLOOM-Seeds/srch:Peas%20and%20Oats
Apparently it will not tolerate the cold at all. BUT…I did find a smaller variety that I could plant in a large pot and bring indoors in the winter. Thanks for the cover crop info!
Beautifully done Kaye! Building the soil is the key to good gardening. Read the book “Dirt” ecstatic skin of the earth for a beautiful look into ‘dirt’.
*anna
I’ve got “Dirt” in my Amazon cart. Thanks for the recommendation! And thanks for the great comment! New episode tomorrow, I hope!