Snapshots and Thoughts

Here is a long overdue update of the garden. This is what the garden looks like from my patio. These snapshots of the different vantage points will help to show what changes have been made since my last posts.

Here is the bevel bed planted with winter vegetables consisting mostly of lettuce, broccoli and purple cabbage. The eucalyptus had shaded this bed so it is in sun until the apricot tree leaves out again.

Two new kumquat trees have been added flanking either side of the walkway to the hot tub. The circular retainer brick seen in the foreground will be added around the base of the new kumquat tree repeating the pattern. I am searching for something to line the pathway (shown on the left) that will hold back the rock. I previously had lined the path with medium sized cobalt black rock but they would eventually topple into the pathway as someone stepped over them, or by dragging the hose around, so I either have to replace them with something else, or pour a small concrete curb and embed the black rock into the curbing and that seems soooo daunting that for right now I am just stepping over the whole thing waiting for an epiphany.

Here is my little somewhat secluded corner. I have been looking for some type of vine, preferably evergreen to plant against the trellis. Grapes are out, roses are out (maybe...), annuals are out, so the search continues.....

Here is the view of the garden from the back patio. I really like the black rock....it just doesn't stay put!

From this perspective you can see the garden without the eucalyptus! I am going to be searching for ways to cover the walls this summer!

Thanks for visiting! Garden on!

Iris and Right Now

This post is really about Iris, but I have to live in the now, and now I am also blanching peas to freeze.

With each new bloom that appears in the garden, the Iris they just keep getting better and better. Puccini is blooming and it is Michael's favorite.

This is our first spring with strawberries. Definately a nice garden addition.

And this Red Delicious Apple is not supposed to do well in our region (although they did sell it at the nursery which is where I picked it up, go figure....) So time will tell. Hopefully we will get some apples. There are a rediculous amount of blossoms and bees. Isn't that a good sign?

Can I just smudge this color onto my face? California Poppy eye, check and lip color, with flowers behind the ears and I'll be ready to go. Oh yeah, Iris....

This was a gift from Julie my neighbor although I'm still thinking about eye color.

This is from Leslie (lip color) I have taken photos of these to take to the Iris Sale so hopefully the photos that they have available, will help me be able to identify this one. The previous Iris is an old-timey one so it's name is forever lost with the people that planted it up at Mount Charleston. You can tell by it's appearance that it is an older variety because of it's narrow falls.

This one is called White Fox and I purchased it from the Iris sale last June.

And this is an unknow Space Age variety because of it's horns (the beards that have an unusual flair) and you can see how they lift in the photo (the beard is the catepillar). I am still trying to identify the name of this one.

I feel like donning some dramatic eye color changing my name....

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

New Bed 7

I removed all of the rock that had been accumulating for 3 years from the back corner and filled in the next new bed with Tomato Lady Soil. This will be called Bed Seven.

The Burgandy Plum is flowering and to the right is the location for the Medicinal Herbs bed. So far it contains Echinacea and Lemon Grass.

Here is the vantage from the same location and you can see the new bed with plantings of Catnip and Echinacea and Mexican Primrose on the lower right. There is also Catnip and Corriander in the barrel. Far in the distance you can make out the new compost tumbler that I purchased from Lowes. It was $88 on sale and is really a nice design.

The wall of Peas are just touching the 6 foot mark.

There are Lettuces at their feet.

Penstemmon are flowering all over the garden.

I've been busy planting seeds and transplanting seedlings.

This is the photo for the archives of the Seasonal Changes of the Main Bed in Spring 2010.

And here is the update of the Poppies that were broadcast in the half abandoned walkway.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Mind Paper

Buckets of rain, buckets of tears, I got all them buckets coming out of my ears, buckets of moonbeams in my hand, you got all the love, honey baby I can stand. Ahhh, a little Bob in the morning! Can you see all of the rain that pooled atop the greenhouse!

The peas have taking over. Pea flowers would be nice.

Here you can see that I have now started gardening in the walkways. This is a plum planted in the corner of the property which is an indication that I have run out of room for fruit trees. I have already reduced the width of the walkway if not abandoned part of the walkway completely on mind paper.

This will be the next area with a raised bed and it will be constructed with 2 rows of 6 inch redwood. Something to ponder is that there are whiskey barrels in the design area, so they need to be relocated.

You can see the Rose of Sharon Hybiscus that is planted in this abandoned walkway. I am interested in seeing what will happen to this area. I have placed bird netting on the ground held by bbq sticks to control the antics of Cat. I have scattered poppies here and I wish that I had some leaves to toss on the ground to help with moisture retention. Ahhh, to want the simple things like pea flowers and leaves!

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

It's a Toss Up

Here is the inside of the greenhouse. The lettuce and peas against the wall like the increased heat. I'll bring the tomato back into the house at night if there is sign that it will freeze. I haven't been in the greenhouse at night yet with a flashlight to check the thermometer, but my guess is that it may only be a few degrees difference from outside. No room inside here for black 55 gal. water barrels as a source of heat storage.

The starter pots sit on the raised tubs, and they contain the Asian Greens. Seems like all I do is talk about Asian Greens.

The temperature can get to a balmy 88 degrees with 60 percent humidity. I rather like it and the plants do too.

Outside their are signs of how windy it can get up here on Black Mountain. The wind blew over the wheelbarrow, and blew the marbles off of the bamboo poles and so I gathered them up into a little pile until I re-glue them. Just seeing them clustered together is a nice surprise in the garden walk about.

This is what hungry birds think is delightful to happen upon. These are Lantana berries.

A California Poppy seedling has appeared after the rain, and I wonder if this is early or if they just stagger their sprouting, sprouting here and there for a big show in February-March. I have more seed to scatter, and I thought I would wait until early January so that the rains would water them in, and they could get settled, so I find this curious that a few have started already.

Finding this Garlic Chive sprayed out and showing it's color of orange and yellow is a curious site, too.

I chopped down the Eucalyptus and this will be the home of a new fruit tree. I can't decide if it will be an apple, apricot or the next changing whim, but I have a few weeks until I have to decide. This will also be the location of a new vegetable bed, too. It will be triangular shaped, so I am excited to see how this will evolve. I am tossing around triangular shaped wooden bed frames in addition to circular fruit.

The greenhouse changes the dynamics of the sunning bed. Before it was quiet, and now it is screaming for attention. Toss that up as well. The air is full around here.

Thanks for visiting. To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!