07 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted in roses, Southern California Rain
Latte Rose blooming in November.
Rainwater captured in the fountain.
Last week, we had two days of rain and it was wonderful. The plants all look revived and some of my roses went into their last blooms before dormancy.
My vegetable garden perked up a bit, too.
Best of all, everything was clean and fresh looking.
It could have rained for the rest of the week and wouldn’t have complained!
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25 Tuesday Nov 2014
Posted in eggplant, gardening, Uncategorized, vegetables
After our summer vegetable garden burnt up, I am afraid to plant my winter veggies. But I did a few weekends ago. Mostly radishes are up and some peas. The lettuce and carrots aren’t up and they should be. I am not sure what I did to the soil — maybe the urea and straw I put two years ago? Or is it too sunny or do I need to water twice a day?
Anyway, my daughter’s eggplant is still huge and we are still harvesting eggplants. She planted carrots and lettuce under it and they were up within days. My carrots did not come up!
Any ideas on what’s going on here? I need help!
14 Friday Nov 2014
Posted in Arizona, cowboy, Flagstaff, high-desert, horse, horses, ranch, Uncategorized
25 Saturday Oct 2014
Posted in Australian shepherd, Uncategorized
08 Wednesday Oct 2014
Posted in summer, Uncategorized, vegetables
We had one good eggplant in our summer garden this year. I just ate it last week! Breaded it and fried it up! We had lots of tomatoes too but the eggplant only started to grow at the end of August and then it took off. I hope we get some more eggplants from it. There are more blooms.
It was so hot this summer that everything in our regular vegetable garden died. This eggplant grew in my daughter’s fairy garden and was shaded by a peach tree.
01 Tuesday Apr 2014
Note: of course, I started writing this last week and now that I have time to finish, it is raining :-0
I heard the governor on the radio the other day, and it made me realize my yard might not get much water this summer.
This is serious stuff. And it is likely to continue into the future. I might as well face the facts.
I have decided to delay planting our front yard. Why plant, if I can’t water or shouldn’t water? I am going to wait until the fall when it is cooler.
That said, I am also going to plant even more drought-tolerant plants. This poses a problem for my style of gardening — I love cottage gardens. I am not a fan of a cactus or succulent garden; I have seen enough of those growing up in the desert!
I am going to search for cottage plants that don’t take water. The one that comes to mind is lavender. My lavender on the “hell strip” by the street never gets water. I spray it for a second or two once in a while to wash off the salts. I think the morning mist waters it.
I could plant my whole fountain area in lavender and have a few of those succulents that have the hot pink flowers–Calandrinia spectabilis. It is supposed to be indestructible, which is good.
Sage (the herb), salvia, alstoemeria, moonshine yarrow and a native verbena like De La Mina also might be good. I rarely water my alstoemeria once established and it still blooms. I also think artichokes would be nice–of course, they will likely need a little more water. That is one thing I have learned that can be difficult about mixing low water plants with ones that need more water–if you water too much, you kill the drought tolerant ones and if you water too little, well you know. I think you have to pretty much go whole hog with drought tolerant! At least zone your plantings to match your sprinklers so you can have a low water area, and if you need it, an area that needs more sprinkling. Usually the plants will live without water but they just won’t bloom. I have found this true with day lillies. They like water to flower.
Of course, grass falls into this category. We have a tiny figure eight of grass, which is ugly anyway due to other grasses mixing in and compacting of the dirt (and holes the dog dug). We could brick it over or try a native grass–no more mowing. Another option is to make the grass even smaller and edge each border with a gravel or river stone then have the grass. I have seen this in larger yards and it looks beautiful.
In the shade, I like drought-tolerant ferns: here is the article I have been searching for in Sunset Magazine on ferns that like it dry. And this article has some other ideas for “wild and romantic” drought tolerant designs. Some of those look pretty.
Better Homes And Gardens has some other good garden ideas for drought-tolerant plantings. This page for Intermountain Nursery has a lot of the plants I like. You can see moonshine yarrow, mimulus, and other plants here, including Carpenteria Californica, which is planted on my hill and is about to bloom for the first time. (Maybe it needed a really dry year to bloom.) I am really excited to see it and will post a photo.
Looks like I will have time to plan this new drought-proof garden all through the hot, long summer.
15 Saturday Mar 2014
Posted in mail order gardens, Uncategorized, weeds
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My wonderful box of Annie’s Annuals arrived. I can’t wait to spend the weekend planting. unfortunately, I will be weeding a lot too. It’s a jungle of weeds right now!
Here’s what I will be planting:
–Clarkia concinna “Pink ribbons” — this was an annual. I know it will die fast. This was pure indulgence. I was looking back at my blog from two years ago and I saw the Clarkias I planted. They were so pretty that I had to order them again.
–Alstroemeria ligtu — I have big hopes for this. Let’s see if it thrives on the hill.
–Cynoglossum amabile “Blue Showers Tall Chinese Forget-me-Not”: with a name like that, they have to grow! I think this is an annual too but is should re-seed (I keep telling myself. The Clarkias were supposed to reseed but never did.).
–Mimulus Pamela: This should do really well in the clay soil, shade and dry conditions. It is a pretty yellow.
–Heuchera maxima: Channel Island Coral Bells–this is supposed to be a BIG coral bell plant. I am disgusted with all the coral bells I have planted that seem to get smaller and smaller every year instead of spreading. Plus, Channel Islands native should grow here, right?
Let’s see what lives. I know that doesn’t sound very hopeful, but I am becoming more of a realist every day (except for the Clarkias) 🙂
27 Thursday Feb 2014
Posted in Southern California Rain, tomatoes
It’s finally raining her in Southern California!
My garden has been waiting. The rain washes away the salts that accumulate in the soil from months of watering with hose water (which was probably piped here from miles away). That’s one reason plants look so much better after a rain. Rain water is also high in nitrogen to help make plants green (okay this is a super simplified chemistry lesson or is it biology?–don’t ask me for technical details! I am a writer!). Rain brings the dust back down to earth to bring other nutrients to the plants.
It’s good timing too. I went to Armstrong Gardens yesterday with my coupons (LOL). I subscribe to Armstrong’s email newsletter. I bought three $1.99 tomatoes and $3.99 New Guinea Impatiens. Sign up for the newsletter at at http://www.armstronggarden.com and you will get great deals, too.
Enjoy the rain!
28 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Late October and November have been wonderful for gardening. Our weather is perfect and now is the time to plant perennials, vegetables, annuals and just about anything. I have accomplished a lot in the garden, which has been wonderful: a new watering system for the veggies, courtesy of my husband; pansies planted; new perennials on my blasted hill.
These two photos above are my front yard….I’m posting them for a reason, which I will explain soon…
These are pansies (above) that I dug up one fun Saturday at Weidners Garden Store in Encinitas. The first of November, they open up their pansy fields and you go and dig your own. My kids love it and it is our tradition. Last year, deer and rabbits ate the pansies so the crop wasn’t very good, but this year it was great.
My only problem was I have to share my pansies with my budding gardeners–a fact I forgot when we brought our wagon full of pansies home and I planted them all in the front yard. My little one came outside and had a fit that I took her pansies. Really, I didn’t realized I had to share! Okay, bad mom. I know. So I dug up what I planted in the front yard to give to my youngest daughter for her fairy garden. I really didn’t realize she was counting on them like that. She knew exactly which ones she dug up at the pansy farm! Here is part of her garden…
Here she is at pansy field; and there’s more of her garden below:
Here is my new watering system:
Unfortunately, just as you accomplish something in one area of your garden (or life), the other parts of it can take a dive. Early November, just after I planted all the pansies, just when my first sweet pea seeds came up, we learned our main plumbing line was busted up heading across my front yard to the street! (I am waiting for the plumber as I write this on Thanksgiving Eve–long story.)
Well, that was three weeks ago. We spent a painstaking weekend digging up all the plants in the front yard and moving them to the back yard — to the hill and the fairy gardens, pots, and anywhere.
Now my front yard looks like this!
So sad. But you know what? I had a lot of overgrown plants in there! Plants growing on top of plants, giant hills of society garlic and Santa Barbara daisies that were dry and brown. Day lillies with monstrous tubers. For days, the yard smelled of sticky, odorous garlic from hacking those plants in half. My dirt, I was happy to re-discover, is fantastic–like rich coffee grounds.
My hill looks better and I know I will enjoy re-planting and re-designing my front yard when I can. Right now, I just hope the plumber comes to fix things up temporarily before I host Thanksgiving feast for 15 friends and family members tomorrow!
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Here’s what Cleo ate today: one pair of American Girl doll snowman slippers (mauled but not ruined)
Here’s what Cleo ate yesterday: 1) Christmas Fairy (destroyed, plastic, belonged to older daughter)
2) one squinky (destroyed, belonged to younger daughter)
3) a tiny baby doll from the 80’s (destroyed, no one claimed it) — no one liked it anyway.
I am going to start documenting what she chews up every day to see if I can learn anything from it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
27 Friday Sep 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
While this post may be a few months late, today I had a reminder that taking time to do the little things can result in something very special. I was in my daughter’s 2nd class for the first time this year to volunteer and the teacher brought her up the front to read her “Best Birthday Ever” writing. It was all about her birthday party last April and how much she loved it.
We had a Little House on the Prairie theme, and while it took a lot of planning and research, sewing, baking and running around, it really was one of the best kids’ parties we’ve had, and one that I think will be the most memorable for all of us.
With grandmas helping me sew 13 bonnets and aprons, and my sister, Auntie Robin, to help the kids bake bread and make butter, I was lucky and thankful for the help. When the kids arrived, they got to “go shopping” for an apron and bonnet to dress up in. We gave them each a few coins to buy penny candy at Aunt Robin’s candy store. (In retrospect, we should have done this last!)
They made corn cob dolls and strung button necklaces. The dolls were a big hit and they spent more time than I expected dressing them and styling their corn tassel hair. Then they formed loaves of bread from dough we had made ahead. We let them add cheese, cinnamon sugar and jam to the loaves to let them participate. We shook mason jars full of cream to make butter.
Instead of goodie bags of plastic junk, they took home loaves of bread, jars of sweet cream butter, corn cob dolls and penny candy.
The chickens behaved amicably and participated, and everyone took a photo with one. Big sister and her friend were chicken wranglers and photographer (and later, cattle rustlers).
Pa made a covered wagon to sit in and climb on, and Ma (me) and the girls made a giant ice cream wagon cake that was a memory making event of its own!
It was a birthday we will never forget!
Covered Wagon Cake
Prairie Girls with Chicken
Cattle rustlers take our calf! Oh no!
Aunt Robin helps make bread and butter.
Cleo has to participate in everything.
Doll making fun!
Thanks for sewing my costume, Grandma!
Happy day!
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