The light, the air, the texture of this morning in the garden...

 

 

September 9, 2010

Fall has arrived.
  
There are nasturtiums in the hedge.

and Japanese Beetles in the roses.
























I have one ripe tomato
and several green marbles on the bush. Not at all like last year's
tomato tree. This is more of a 
tomato bonsai in comparison.

August 23, 2010     

 

It's 81 degrees here tonight, the hottest it's been all summer and Tearful is away for the night. Lu and I went to the lair to cool off and the light made everything stand up and say hello.


 

Lilies

Geranium

Flowering Oregano

Cheju Island rock man.

So lovely to have one summer night!

August 18, 2010

There has been no time in the garden lately.

The plums are all gone, eaten by the critters mostly and the rest in Rustic Plum Cake, the last of which I ate last night with a spoonful of caramel ice cream, can I get an Amen!

The tomatoes are still little green marbles. They too are waiting, hopeful.

The sun is here now, arrived a couple days ago so maybe...

Last weekend we visited the LA Arboretum where I saw the most amazing things.

I don't recall the names of any of these. I was too dazzled to care. 

August 3, 2010

The time has come to dig up and move this Agapanthus that has lived by our front door since we moved here thousands of years ago.
The front yard isn't what it used to be, a picket fenced, sun filled flower basket. It's a secret shady
green room and an Agapanthus
has no business there. As with the
Mutabilis, I couldn't imagine any
human being capable of actually digging it up and moving it but since witnessing that event, I 
now know anything can and will be
moved if I so decree it.
I've got the power. Not on
me, but near me. Living in the same house. 

No matter how many times I yank out this Nasturtium, without my  noticing, it creeps back in and depending on how you look at it, 
can seem either threatening to strangle that poor Buddha who is losing it's head,or gently
embracing him.  

I'm not a hater. I like the
Nasturtium. I like that it
does it's thing with no effort on 
my part other than yanking it out
when it gets too crazy. That's my kind of plant.

The newly planted bed in front of Buff Beauty is doing...not much.
The Lychnis hasn't put on one
centimeter of growth and neither have the Scabiosa or the Peruvian Lily. I'm just happy they're 
alive. Behind them, to the right
is a Pineapple Sage which has yet to flower this year, but since it's real charm is the fragrance of pineapple in the leaves, the flowers are not that big a deal.

As always, the critters come to the yard to loll about or hide as is the case with the critter above. After a romp in the ocean, it's always best to hide as soon as one gets home or to look 
really threatening.

July 19, 2010

Monday

The Mojo has returned.

We hit the nursery this weekend and tackled big projects. Projects that seemed too daunting to imagine are now crossed off the list, but there are always more.

The biggest one was cutting back and digging up the Mutabalis rose outside Em's bedroom window.

I didn't think it could be done without bloodshed as that rose doesn't have thorns, it has talons and it will do you damage. Enter Tearful with chain saw.

Mutabalis has now been relocated

to the wine barrel in the back and though it has been severely cut back, I know it will recover.

In it's place are apricot colored Foxgloves and pink Penstemmon with Santa Barbara Daisies. It has lightened and opened up that space and will be beautiful once it fills in.

Meanwhile...

Santa Barbara Daisies and Nasturtiums gone native in the back.

Sweet Peas...

 

Oregano...

Pots under the Maple disguising the gopher's game of Dig up the Tulip bulbs.

Peruvian Lilys, Lychnis and Scabiosa.

Buddha at the pond.

Abutilon and succulent shoes.

Grilla relocated.

Gnome relocated.

New Geranium.

New and favorite score

Ballerina Purple

Angel's Trumpet. 

The Alien.

July 12, 2010

I broke the spell. 

A little.

I went to the nursery in town and bought mulch for the front yard, as the earth has been scorched up there and the bare dirt was more than I could stand.  

The nursery in town, though beautiful and well stocked is over priced. I think almost $50 is too much for a couple bags of mulch and a couple plants even if they do carry it out to your truck. 

Also that's just too much money to spend on gopher food.

The two bags only covered the front bed, I'll have to get more, mulch, at the evil Home Despot to do the rest. 












I decided to go ahead and run my little planting in pots experiment on the one bed the gophers have not invaded, so I pulled out the deformed cauliflower but left the pretty purple Sweet Peas and added a Purple Pentstemon, not in it's pot, (it's the one being sacrificed like the guest actor in Star Trek) and some Calibrachoa and a Gaura with variegated leaves, all in pots.  We'll see how that turns out.

Tearful slashed the sides and bottoms of the pots without losing any fingers. I'll need mulch for this bed too.  















I took some pictures of gardens in town on our walk this morning.

The Ollalieberry Inn's garden is looking great these days, and so is the Dentist's house...

Always looks neat and beautiful, and I've never seen anyone tending it. They must have night gnomes.

The roses manage to bloom under the shade of the trees, though they are a bit rangy. Still, no black spot or rust.






I remain hopeful the ennui has passed and that I will plant something again...