Spring break was wonderful. I slept a lot, ate a lot, and gardened a lot, just as I wished I would. My backyard looks amazing, it really does and I love how everything turned out.
We are redesigning parts of it, but as of now, we are working around the gazebo. I have been training a different set of climbing roses to make their way up the second set of garden arches by the side gate.
On Friday we saw a sun dog, (a little late as it was fading away). It was bright and quite a sight.
Sun Dog.
The Spanish Lavender I thought I had lost last Fall came back strong this Spring. It did poorly in a planter, so I planted it in ground, in a well drained soil and it’s thriving. I love the pleasing scent and vibrant flowers.
Spanish Lavender.
The Julia Rose Itoh Peony has tripled in size since last week and the delicate leaves will soon turn green.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony shoots.
A lone California Poppy plant.
California Poppy (young plant).
Today was such a wonderful day and I decided to reward myself with a simple pleasure. For dinner I had a barbecue chicken pizza, a glass of beer (I hardly drink beer, if at all. But when I do, the only one I can handle is Stella Artois). I also enjoyed a delightful read (Didn’t My Skin Used to Fit?: Living, Laughing, Loving Life After Forty!) by Martha Bolton.
BBQ Chicken. Stella Artois. Martha Bolton.
I feel blessed in my garden after all the work we have been putting into it these past years.
It’s been a very busy weekend for us. We helped two neighbors get rid of weeds around their property. Although we are a little sore, it felt good and it brightened their day. We offer such physical labor once in a blue moon to neighbors who need it the most.
We were gifted a 3 year old, 8 and a half foot Elm Tree, which we transplanted on Saturday. The seed from the mother tree landed on my neighbor’s backyard, on the side of a sprinkler line and grew. We carefully dug it out and transplanted it in our backyard. We hope and pray that it survives and thrives.
The weather has been wonderful since the beginning of the week and even though the ground is getting stiffer, it is still a good time to pull out those weeds before they start shooting their seeds (which remain viable for many years). It took me a few years of dedication and hard labor to eradicate those seeds and my yard is weed free today because I never gave those weeds a chance to sprout to begin with.
My Gaura plants as well as my Scotch and French Broom shrubs have spread their seeds all over my property. It’s insane, I could start a nursery with all the seedlings. Since it was a little gloomy in the morning, I spent over an hour digging out, transplanting and relocating the seedlings. I also transplanted a few Dwarf Cup Flower seedlings.
The Purple-Leaf Cherry Plum trees are now in full bloom. The Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry is starting to bud and flower.
Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry Blossoms.
I haven’t done much this Winter but read, drink tea and read some more. With the weather getting warmer, I am ready to redesign and expand parts of my backyard garden.
As Spring is nearing, bulbs are emerging out of the ground and buds are appearing on trees. The night seems to be getting a lot colder and we’ve had quite a bit of rain lately.
Purple Gem WaxFlower.
A lone Grape Hyacinth …
Grape Hyacinth.
Purple-Leaf Cherry Plum trees have began flowering and leafing out.
Purple-Leaf Cherry Plum (flowers and buds).
Navajo Globe Willow are leafing out.
Navajo Globe Willow leaf buds.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony is sprouting and looking healthy.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony sprouting.
Butterflies and moths are out …
I found a Painted Lady Butterfly (also known as the cosmopolitan) resting on the driveway. I love its orange-brown wings with black and white spots on forewing. I didn’t get to see its undersides, which has a black, brown, and gray pattern with four tiny eyespots.
The kids are out of school for Winter break and I am so happy to finally get some personal time to tend to my plants. Yes, it’s cold outside, but I have a few unfinished projects. The mountains are once again covered in snow, and the view from my backyard is breathtaking. All I need is a cup of coffee and a nice spot where I can soak up some (limited) afternoon sun.
So far the days of the week have been brighter than the previous week as we went through a few days without seeing any sunlight. We have beautiful sunrises and sunsets. For the first time in 12 years, the intensity of raindrops from the heavy, non-stop rain we had a couple of weeks ago created soil erosion here and there, and the ground in some areas is still soft.
Rain (double rainbow), Fog and Frosty Roof.
Heavenly Bamboo also known as Nandina, is a beautiful evergreen shrub, drought tolerant and a toxic plant too. This plant as well as Dwarf Nandina ‘Nana’, add dimension and color to the landscape as their foliage make them a great accent to the yard as they brighten and light up the grey, dreary days by becoming the focal points in Winter.
Heavenly Bamboo.
This summer we redid our 44 years old driveway and in doing so, we had to remove three of our mature Photinia Fraseri ‘Red Robin shrubs. There is still a gap next to the gate and as you can see, the ugly stumps in the landscape. The good news is that new growths are forming at the base of the stumps and they will continue to fill their place in the landscape as they regrow.
Photinia Fraseri ‘Red Robin.’
My Agave Ovatifolia has gotten really big. Five pups can be seen coming up from the larger mother plant (the 5th one is still breaking through). There is another pup that is not in the photo because it’s growing on my neighbor’s yard.
Agave Ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’. Mother plant and pups.
I went to Lowe’s last week to get a couple of fuses for the Christmas lights and I ended up buying a few Asparagus plants, including Plumosus, as seen below.
I am still collecting Antique cast iron patio sets. The arm chair is one of the new additions I got this year (the matching bench/settee can be seen in the first picture). I am searching for the extremely hard to find planter.
Asparagus Plumosus.
I am grateful that my yard is still weed free. I did well, the weekly maintenance if paying off. This is also a good time get outside and pull out those weeds, while the ground is soft and the weather is not too cold.
Weed Free Yard.
It has been a wonderful year with no set backs:
We are safe, happy and healthy
Our families and friends are doing great
We completed two major projects
We were given so much and we gave as much in return
It’s Saturday and Saturdays have become the day we rake leaves and clean up the front yard. We no longer have trees in the front yard. Strangely however, with a little help from the wind, these falling leaves from neighboring trees tend to find solace in our yard.
Fallen Leaves.
I noticed a while back that one of my Photinia Fraseri in the front yard wasn’t as tall as the rest and I suspected that it wasn’t getting enough water. Sure enough, while inspecting the plant I realized that not only was it not getting water, the irrigation tubing was damaged. Somehow roots found their way into the tubing and clogged it. We checked how far the damage went, cut out the damaged section and replaced it.
Damage Irrigation Tubing by Plant Roots.
I planted two Dwarf Myrtle shrubs a few years back, only one survived. This drought tolerant, deer resistant and evergreen shrub with delicate creamy-white flowers is one of my favorite shrubs in the garden. The foliage and stems exude a pleasant scent when crushed. I usually don’t pay much attention to the plant once its done flowering. I recently and accidentally realized it was covered with dark blue berries.
The leaves, flowers and berries are edible. The berries are used to make essential oil, jam, alcoholic beverage and tea. I heard it’s a plant that represents love and death (get more interesting facts about the plant here). The plant attracts many pollinating insects, such as honey bees and butterflies. It will also attract birds.
Dwarf Myrtle stems with dark blue berries.Dwarf Myrtle flowers (June, 2014).
The evergreen Asparagus Fern is a beautiful ornamental plant, ideal for hanging baskets. It is said that the stems of the plant are safe to eat. The fruits however are toxic to humans as well as dogs and cats; causing symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting and skin irritation. Birds are highly attracted to the fruits.
Asparagus Fern green and red berries.
The cold weather has given the bulbs I transplanted a head start.
Allium Drumstick shoots.
New buds emerging at the crown of Julia Rose Itoh Peony plant.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony Buds.
Happy gardening as you get yourselves into the holiday spirit.
By JM Perez
