by Lorraine on August 22, 2008
May 19th. And you’re thinking, “okay”, what’s up with the title? Nothing, actually other than the darn (I’m being polite, here) Holly bush has sent up sprouts right near the stream bed, which means that I’ve to move some of the rocks to get to it and dig it up.
I hate this plant and I can’t believe how impervious it is to RoundUp (yes, I said “RoundUp). Nothing seems to kill it and it will be an on going worry that I will have if it continues to re sprout and take over the garden. The good news is that there is absolutely no sign of the Bermuda lawn anywhere and that was my biggest concern since it’s very difficult to get rid of and can keep coming back for years.
The lizards are out on the rocks when the morning is sunny. Typically the weather for May in southern CA is overcast and quite gloomy or as we call it here, the “May Grays”. Junes generally isn’t much better and sometimes this gray, gloomy stuff will continue into the first part of July.
Then at last! SUMMER IN CALIFORNIA ARRIVES with all of its heat and smog. Well, we don’t have smog all the time. But yeah, it can get pretty hot here and fortunately the area that I live in, is considered to be a coastal valley so it’s a bit cooler than the inland areas. I’m just 45 minutes from the beach and the summers can be quite lovely here, especially in the evenings.
So, back to the lizards…on the mornings when the sun is out, so are they. I generally see the same pair all the time and the reason that I know this, is because one of them is missing part of his tail. Okay, okay, I don’t know that he’s a “dude”, but does it matter?
Anyway, the two of them are just hanging out on some of the rocks, warming themselves up for a day of eating bugs and avoiding things that eat them. Of course, part of their morning procedure is doing lizard calisthenics.
In other words, push ups!
by Lorraine on August 21, 2008
It’s now April 18th. and a single male Quail stood facing the front steps leading to my front door and stared at the garden. He was there early this morning and alone, no other birds were with him. He seemed lonely as it’s certainly unusual for a Quail not be be in a flock.
But there he was, looking quite jaunty in his feathers and his little cute “helmet” a top of his head. He didn’t move, but just stood there, looking to the right and left and right and left…as though he couldn’t believe what his little eyes saw. It was as though he was thinking, “Wow! Look at this!”
I think that he really liked what he saw as he trotted up the steps to be closer to the garden and check it out. After taking in the view of the amenities, he flew up on to the roof and disappeared. I sure hope that he returns with his family!.
Now that so many things are blooming, my front yard has become an airfield of amusement for the Hummingbirds. They are beside themselves with gluttony and drinking up as much nectar has they can. I finally picked up a book on bird identification and found out that they are Anna’s Hummingbirds with the males having a bit of red on their heads and the females have a red spot on their neck.
So, they are fighting it out with one another as to who gets to be in control of this new territory and it’s pretty funny because sometimes they fly right up to me, inches from my face as if to tell me I’m in their garden and I’m in the way.
My neighbor, Sally was saying that inspite of the fact that she has several feeders in her yard, she never sees them anymore. I laughed and said that, that’s because they’re all in my garden.
They are certainly agressive little dudes and Chico and Biscuit would love to catch them, but that will never happen. Especially since I’m always there when I do let them out into the garden.
by Lorraine on August 15, 2008
I can’t believe how quickly the time flew since we completed the garden and it’s already March! The plants are really starting to take off and seem to be doing very well with the exception of some of the Sticky Monkey Flowers. I bought several of these plants but some of them weren’t much more than sticks at the time and now they don’t seem to be doing too well. But the other varieties of Monkey Flowers have thrived.
One of the Douglas Iris’ died too but essentially, that’s been the total mortality rate. I was quite concerned that more plants would die, as the soil is rather heavy and doesn’t drain very well. The other concern would be gophers and rabbits but they haven’t been a problem, either.
The Bermuda lawn has not re-appeared but what is surprising is the Holly bush. There were two large ones under the windows and they have been very persistent in growing back. I have to constantly watch for new shoots coming up and then, they have to be dug up.
Many plants are blooming right now. Bush Daisies, Pentensoms, Blue-Eyed Grass, Santa Cruz Island Poppy, Wooly Blue Curls, Mallows, Mock Orange, Desert 4 O’Clock and of course, CA Poppies. Most of them are orange and spread over a section of the garden but there is also a hi
Iris douglasiana
-bred variety, that is pinkish to blueish. Oh! I almost forgot!!! Coyote Mint and I love that fragrance….it’s wonderful!
by Lorraine on August 9, 2008
Placing the plants in their purposed locations.
The installation for the garden started in November 2007 and after hours and hours of labor during November and December, with trying to lie out the design, placing plants, making “gopher cages” adnausm, working in the rain and blowing Santa Ana winds….it was complete.
And just before Christmas. It was madness with tying to get everything done before the Holidays as both Deena and I were traveling out of town to see our families. My gardner, Rigo, helped us and I know that he thought that we were insane! What in the heck was “she doing”, he thought, but he was too polite to say anything. He just went along with it and helped with a number of things.
On a particularly rainy day and well after sunset, the three of us moved a huge mound of shredded bark and placed it around all of the plants. Mind you, it was raining pretty hard and it was very messy work. But it had to be done, as we were running out of time before we both left town.
Somehow we managed to complete just about everything and Rigo took care of the rest while I was gone, which consisted of planting the Seaside Daisies. He told me recently that he really didn’t understand my plan and wondered just how this garden was going to look! Now he tells me how much he loves it and he’s really surprised at how it turned out.
I am “double-spacing” between three paragraphs, so that it’s not one longggggggg post. But obviously I’m doing something wrong as you can see. I’ll learn….
by Lorraine on August 7, 2008
I am quite passionate about native plants,hiking and nature and I’m totally new to blogging and creating a web site…needless to say, I have a great deal to learn but I’m quite excited about sharing my love of plants and how to create your own garden wherever you are. This site is under construction, so right now it’s a bit basic but I will be adding many resources for information and links as well.
Some will be native plant nurserys and botanical gardens, sources of information regarding irrigation, planting and many, many other topics covering things that I find to be of interest and hopefully, of interest to others. And most of all, what’s going on in my garden!
