Monthly Archives: June 2020

Colors in the Garden

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Last week, I was looking at my “blue” plants and thinking that really, they’re more like purple. Then a few days later, a gardening podcast I enjoy listening to, called Let’s Argue About Plants, released an episode called “True Blue Beauties.” Of course, even on the podcast, there was some argument about whether some of these plants weren’t in fact purple. Overall, I think they did a good job, and I might have to add some of these plants to my “Someday” list.

  • Salvia Blue Hill
  • Phlox Swizzle Blue
Plants that are supposed to be blue, but aren’t really.

My not-actually-blue (but I still love them plants) include Salvia Blue Hill and Phlox Swizzzle Blue. Salvia Blue Hill looks more purple to me, though apparently it’s more blue than some of the other mounding salvias. Phlox Swizzle Blue is more of a lavender color with some pink in the center. Meanwhile, my purple coneflowers are more on the pink side, if you ask me.

My purple coneflowers, which look pink.

Meanwhile, in another part of the color wheel, there’s the red/orange issue. This year, I planted painted lady runner beans, which are now flowering. The blossoms are lovely, but I was expecting something red and white. Instead, in my garden, they look more like orange and a lighter color ranging from white to creamsicle.

My painted lady runner beans are orange and creamsicle colored.

This is just the spring and summer flowers. I have two asters that won’t bloom until autumn: Crimson Brocade and Bluebird. They got a bit burned last summer, though, so I’m not really sure what color the flowers will actually end up being. Maybe red and blue? Maybe pink and purple? I’m looking forward to finding out, but I suspect it won’t be quite what I expected.

Local Politics

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I have to confess, it’s the Black Lives Matter and the Defund the Police movements that have really gotten me to pay attention to my local government. I’ve voted in local elections and had a general idea about who I wanted to support, but I didn’t pay much attention aside from primary and general election times.

And then I learned how much of the city’s budget goes to the police force vs other services. The proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year would have increased the police department’s budget by $14 million, but cut funding for healthcare, social services, libraries, and education.

Philly Police Funding

Last week, 14 out of the 17 city council members signed a letter saying they couldn’t accept the proposed increase to the police budget. I’m pleased about that, but I wanted to know more about the 3 who didn’t oppose the police budget increase and when they could be voted out.

The members who didn’t sign the letter opposing the police budget are David Oh, Brian O’Neill and Bobby Henon.

  • David Oh is a Republican member at large. He was the first Asian American elected to the city council. 
  • Brian O’Neill is a Republican and represents the 10th district. He’s been on the city council since 1980, which means he’s been on the city council longer than I’ve been alive. 
  • Bobby Henon is a Democrat and represents the 6th district. He was indicted in January 2019 for embezzlement and theft by federal officials.

Basics about the Philadelphia City Council

The Philadelphia City Council has 1 member for each of its 10 districts plus 7 members at large. They have 4 year terms, and there are no term limits. Elections for city council members happen in odd years, (when there’s no major national elections). The next one will be 2023 (assuming the world doesn’t end before then).

The party breakdown of the members is:

  • 14 Democrats: 9 districts plus 5 members at large
  • 2 Republicans: 1 district plus 1 member at large
  • 1 Working Families Party: 1 member at large

A map showing all 10 districts is available on the city council website. The Committee of 70 has more detailed maps for each of the 10 districts. Interestingly, districts 6 and 10 are right next to each other. The numbering doesn’t appear to make much sense, but I suspect there are historical reasons behind it.

For the Future

I’ve still got a lot to learn about what my local government does and doesn’t do, but it’s clearly long past time I started.

What about you? How closely do you follow your local politics?

Nira supports Black Lives Matter and thinks you should, too.

Gardening Failures, Part 1

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When it comes to gardening, I have failed a lot. Over time, I’ve come to accept that this is all part of learning how to garden in general, and in my garden in particular.

First, I should define failure. It’s different for everyone, but in my cases, it’s been one of the following:

  • Seeds never germinating
  • Seedlings never becoming full grown plants
  • Plants making it to ‘adulthood’ but not surviving as long as might be expected
  • Plants surviving and living out their expected lifespan, but not thriving.

I’ve had failures in each of the above categories.

My most recent failure was a bunch of lavender seedlings, which germinated on my windowsill and then flopped over within a few days of emerging from the soil. I have no idea what went wrong.

These lavender seedlings probably never stood a chance.

The saddest failures, for me, have been my clematis and pink coreopsis. The clematis did well for a few years, but it seems that last summer simply was too hot and dry for it. It also probably got a bit root bound in the container it was in. It was a gorgeous plant, though, and I suspect I will try again with the same or a different clematis variety eventually.

  • Clematis HF Young
  • Pink Coreopsis

Coreopsis is a plant that loves hot summers, which my concrete oven definitely provides. Unfortunately, it seems to be winter that did my coreopsis in. We had an especially mild winter this year, so I suspect that it was the damp, rather than the cold, that was the problem.

Nasturtiums are a plant that is supposedly easy to grow from seed, but I found them difficult to get started. I managed on my third try, but I’m not really sure why it worked—just that it did. That said, I am sure I will eventually try again, especially now that I’ve stumbled across a few pink cultivars. (Plant and seed catalogs are dangerous.)

Nasturtium. This was my 3rd attempt, and the plants still don’t look so great.

Cosmos and cornflowers are also supposed to be nice, easy annuals. The ones I planted last year did all right, but the the plants just weren’t that nice looking. I’m trying the cosmos again this year, though. The seedlings are looking pretty good so far, but they’re only about two inches tall, so we’ll see.

A droopy cornflower plant with one flower.

I have also, believe it or not, had trouble with hyacinth bean vines in the past—at least until last year, when suddenly, I seemed to have gotten the hang of them. Suddenly, hyacinth bean vines became one of my best garden successes, and I happily gave seeds to almost every gardener I knew.

This was take 2 with the hyacinth beans. The patio chair was eventually rescued.

You may have noticed that I titled this post “Gardening Failures, Part 1.” I’m not sure when I’ll post Part 2, but I know I will eventually. I’m always tempted to try (and retry) things, and I’m sure I will have other failures. I just don’t know what they are yet.