Finding Contentment in Every Situation
Finding Contentment in Every Situation
By JM PerezThe amazing Pride Of Barbados is one beautiful flowering evergreen shrub that compliment every garden and I am so lucky to have four growing in my backyard. The highly showy flowers are a mixture of bright red, orange and yellow petals with long red stamens. The plant is a favorite to hummingbirds and butterflies.
Happy Gardening!
By JM Perez By JM PerezToday has been a productive day as we were blessed with good weather unlike what the Weather Channel predicted for the day. We finished putting in the last of the Privacy Fence Slats and we dug up and disposed of the rest of the Oleanders (except for the only hybrid “Peach Blossom” I owned). As soon as my husband builds a large planter, I will dig up the toxic beauty and move it toward the end of the fence, where I can still admire it without it being at close proximity to our living area. We are proud of ourselves for the progress we’ve made and we are relieved that everything’s coming together, one project at a time.
While out and about in Downtown Pomona yesterday, we stopped at the Pomona Indoor Swap Meet and bought three 24 inch whitewall Classic Cruiser Bike Tires for my tree wheeler. My dear husband changed the tires only to find out that I have two flat tubes. We might get lucky and buy them at our local Walmart or Target stores tomorrow. It would be nice to ride around with the kids before the Winter sets in.
For the past three days a murder of crows has been gathering on a tall pine tree across from my home. On the first day which was Thursday, they made so much noise that the tenants came out to see what the commotion was all about. They were at least thirty crows. Today, while working in the backyard, I couldn’t help but take a picture after my children noticed the flock flying around in circles above that same pine tree.
We had a wonderful time with the family as the kids enjoyed every single minute of their time outdoors. Tomorrow will be a new day with another opportunity to create memories.
May your weekend be bright and filled with cheer.
By JM Perez By JM PerezFor over a month now, I have noticed random holes in some of my Rose bush buds. I blamed the ants and other tiny insects. This afternoon I found a pinkish worm burrowing and eating its way into a bud (using the petals as food source). Due to their size and the color of the buds, the larvae can be hard to notice too.
When next you’re working around your Garden and you see a bunch of holes on your Rose buds (or any other bud), simply hand pick the worm and dispose of it.
I found an interesting blog post which talks more about the life history of this Glistening Caerulean. Click here.
By JM Perez By JM PerezTending to the garden and backyard today was productive and fun. We achieved so much and will be moving forward with our design. I dug out one of my young Yucca Pendula from the backyard and moved it to the front yard. I dug out most of my Gladiola from the front garden and move them to the back, relocated my Star Jasmine and I was pleasantly surprise to find out that one of my mini Rose bush is blooming for the first time in at least 4 years! It has been growing in the front yard all this time until last month, when I moved it to the backyard. It has surprised me with beautiful white rose flowers. I guess it just needed a breath of fresh air.
I spotted a few interesting insects, one of which the Seaside Grasshopper below.
Four years ago, we harvested a couple of Mint Plants from a family friend. We brought them home and they took off as soon as we planted them. We knew little about growing this plant and we were so overwhelmed when they invaded pretty much everything around them. We thought we had removed all of it until last month when they began growing from the roots. I dug up one new shoot and planted it next to a mini rose bush. It has grown so much that I asked my husband to build a planter just for it. Growing up, my Mom used Mint in the kitchen all the time and I loved the smell. So, growing it not only remind me of the good times, but it also gives me an opportunity to introduce it to my children. Click here to learn about Mint benefits and here to find recipes.
I found a Tan Brown Widow Spider on one of the birdhouses we built. It seemed to have appropriated the birdhouse. According to the Center for Invasive Species Research, University of California Riverside, the Brown Widow Spider, Latrodectus Geometricus, became established in Southern California in early 2000 and has become well entrenched as part of the local spider fauna in urban Los Angeles and San Diego. The brown widow spider is continuing its expansion in Southern California and could possibly move northward into Central California. Click here to read the complete article and click here to learn to identify this spider.
Happy Gardening and enjoy your weekend.
By JM Perez By JM PerezI spent part of my morning hard pruning more roses, cutting off the low hanging branches of Desert Willow trees growing along my fence and relocating some bricks for a future project. Everything was going well until I took a closer look at the last of my Crimson Glory Tea Tree. I knew I had lost it and I knew the cause: Curl Grubs, around fifteen to twenty of them! I pulled out the dried up shrub and made sure I removed every single larvae I could find from the hole and to my surprise, I found an adult. I read that as the Scarab Beetle emerges from the ground, it lays more eggs in the soil. It sounds to me that there is little to no hope to the plant since it’s a never ending cycle until the plant itself is destroyed and the main source of food is gone.
Crimson Glory Tea Tree is a plant I really like. I lost the first two after four years and decided to give it another try. Now I know that the plant is also a favorite of Scarab Beetles; therefore, I will not purchase another plant. At least not until I find a way to protect it from Beetles and other insects. It’s just unfortunate.
On a much happier note, my Pendula Yucca has been propagating like crazy from rhizomes. Just last month, I noticed three more sprouts and they are growing fast. I seems that for every plant I loose around the garden, I gain two from my Pendula Yucca. Like the saying goes, you lose some and you win some.
We finally dug out the last Oleanders along one side of the backyard fence (Whoo-hoo!). It would be awesome to get rid of the ones on the other side by the end of the year; though it can wait.
By JM Perez
