Today has turned out to be a much beautiful day than I anticipated. I spent a few hours this morning tending to my plants. The weather has been so beautiful and I’ve been enjoying working in the garden. I took a moment to walk around the house and noticed that the weeds in the backyard are starting to grow rather rapidly. The amount of rain that fell these past couple of months was enough to keep the cycle going; the soil is still the same and no matter what I do, they keep on coming. I smiled. Weeding has been therapeutically beneficial for me.
On a much more positive note, my Antique Wood Carved Horse Figurine (with Brass Copper embellishments) finally arrived in the mail this afternoon. Old and gorgeous! It is made of carved wood, hammered brass, copper and bone inlays. This piece was hand carved from a block of wood and the brass chain bridle can connect to the saddle. The age of the horse is probably mid to late 1950’s.
Antique Wood Carved Horse Figurine.
I just added a rare piece to my Antique Horses collection.
This is the first year I have raked leaves in January. Usually by mid-December, the leaves from every tree in our property are completely gone. Fall went by so fast that the leaves from certain trees didn’t get a chance to completely change colors and fall off. Thanks to the erratic weather we’ve had the last couple of weeks, the last of the leaves from our Sweet Almond tree finally fell off. Many people are also experiencing Fall rather than Winter as their trees are barely losing their leaves. Thanks to a warm and lovely weather this morning, I was outside raking up the fallen leaves and working on a few projects. When Nature surprises me, I seize the moment.
Last month I wrote a post on Rabbits and the damages they cause in the garden. The picture below is one of the four barrel planters they ate from. Today we build four plant stands for the barrel planters using dismantled pieces of wood and slabs we kept from the demolition of an old Stall a couple of years ago. I was not interested in anything fancy, just a simple plant stand, high enough to prevent the Rabbits (and possibly squirrels) from eating the plants. All you need is three pieces of wood, cut same size (the height is up to you) as well as a square piece of wood. You gather your three pieces standing up, making sure they form a triangle and then you place the square piece at the top of your triangle and screw them in (each screw must go into your individual pieces).
Once you’re done, you can decide to paint your finish product or leave it as is.
Primitive 3 Legged Plant Stand.
The final task of the day was to lay Chicken Wire around our Daffodils, Stella D’Oro Daylily and Hyacinth beds (we used tie-down stake to anchor the wire into the ground).
In just a few days, the month of January will come to an end and a few more days after that, the month of February too, will come to past. We will then be in March. I don’t know about some of you, but I am very excited and looking forward to Spring (when Nature looks lively and plants start to grow). After purchasing and planting my Bulbs last November, I made my Garden to do list. I got new plants for my huge planters and as soon as the weather warms up, the Weed Eater and other gardening tools will receive a good tune-up.
Last month, I compiled a list of Toxic Plants and today I am sharing a list of Safe/Non-Toxic Plants (this is just a few). Please, do remember that even though most of this plants are safe to Humans, they can be dangerous to pets, some livestock and they can also cause skin irritations to some individuals. Be cautious.
For the past couple of weeks, I noticed a reduction in the amount of leaves in my barrel planters. At first I placed the blame on the Grasshoppers, then early this week, we moved all the barrels in the garden storage shed after discovering that some of the plants in the barrels were completely gone and the others were half ways gone. The rabbits ate the early Daffodils sprouts, some of my Anigozanthos and a few of my Stella D’Oro Daylily. Though heartbreaking, I couldn’t do much about it then because of the freezing temperatures.
This morning, however, I was able to step out in the backyard all thanks to the warm weather. Since the barrels were gone, these little bunnies decided to eat all of my Aptenia Cordifolia (two out of four pots) and started working on my Brooms. We took a trip to Lowe’s and bought some Chicken Wire. Prior to that, I cut a few stems from my other two ‘untouched’ pots and I propagated them. This time, I placed the pots in my Vintage Planter Stands. Like most succulents, Aptenias are easy to propagate as they sprout new growth at their base when put into contact with moist soil. They are beautiful in rock gardens and make beautiful flowering ground cover.
Aptenia Cordifolia Propagation.
Steps to Propagate Aptenia Cordifolia
Using a pruning tool or a sharp knife, cut some stems.
Dig a few holes in the potting mix with your finger or with a weeder.
Plant the end of the cut stems in the holes and press the soil around their base to set them in place.
Place the pot in direct or indirect sunlight.
Water the soil (do not over water).
Rabbits are cute little creatures and some people enjoy petting them. To gardeners however, these adorable creatures are one of their worst nightmares. They are voracious eaters as they would eat pretty much everything tender and they have a very rapid reproductive rate. How can we keep them away from our gardens?
We’ve had a very productive day today. The fruitless Mulberry Tree in the backyard has shed its last leaves and the Grasshoppers have somehow disappeared after nearly eating all of my Stella D’Oro Daylilies (surprisingly, these are the only plants they have been interested in). Most of bulbs I planted last month are sprouting including the Ice King Double Daffodil, Grape Hyacinth, Belladonna Amaryllis and the Pink Impression Tulips. I have also noticed a few sprouting from my Garden Huckleberry (Solanum scabrum). I am grateful for the warm weather.
Yesterday we went to Lowe’s and purchased a few Stainless Steel Cabinet Pulls/Handles, some electrical components as well as some wood for an upcoming project. We replaced the rest of the Switches and plates in the house as well as the cabinets pulls and the electrical outlets (using Pass & Seymour/Legrand 15-Amp Nickel Decorator Duplex Electrical Outlet).
Switches and Outlets.Cabinet Pulls/Handles.
These are all little updates that will give your home a great lift.
By JM Perez
