An Old Friend Takes a Tumble

 Way down at the bottom of the Laguna garden is a grove of eucalyptus trees, two of which are silver dollar eucalyptus, one of my favorite trees. This is a picture taken eight years ago and you can see the one in the center of the photo has a definite "lean" to it. it has been this way since we moved in and it gives it a lot of character and makes for a good tree to climb and sit on. Hawks, peregrines, and many other birds frequent these branches. These trees have held up many hammocks over the years, still hold up odd little bird houses that were occupied again this spring, and ten years ago I had a stage build between them where a blues band played in the afternoon while the audience sat on the grassy knoll for my DH's birthday party.

It had been a few years since I had the tree trimmers over to do any maintenance on them and when I went down to check the trees out before I had them come to do the trimming, the large silver dollar eucalyptus had grown and reached way up, covering most of the hillside! I was shocked at how large it was. It rained that weekend and unfortunately by the time the tree trimmers came later that week the large tree had fallen over, pulling up some of the roots out of the ground. If only I had been a few weeks earlier getting my act together!

 It really broke my heart because I love this tree so much, so we decided to trim it back and just kind of leave it and see what happens. It really can't go anywhere and it isn't hurting anything, having landed on the open space on the hillside. So if it lives it will make an interesting tree sculpture and a good place for kids to climb next summer. If it doesn't make it, we'll have firewood for many winters to come, but I will really miss it.

And so will the birds I suspect.

Down in the Laguna Garden

 Most of the time I am overwhelmed and months behind (if not years) as far as projects go in my homes and gardens. I guess I have learned to live with the feeling that there is always more to do and to embrace the beauty of imperfection. The past few years I have focused on bringing the grounds of our house in SJC up to the vision I had for them when we moved in here eight years ago. With the drought getting worse and the water restrictions there is still more work to do.

 I admit that I do not spend any time in my Laguna garden these days after putting 20 years into it while we lived there full time. My garden helper is there on a weekly basis to keep it from turning into a wild jungle, but just barely. I am always so busy with trying to keep up with the house maintenance (old wood houses near the ocean are a lot to keep up!) there so that the garden takes a back seat and my expectations are very low whenever I wander through the garden. But a couple weeks ago we were over there and spent the afternoon down the hill in the garden enjoying an afternoon of sunshine, birdsong and beautiful spring blooms.

 I have to admit I was kind of blown away by the wild beauty that is still there, albeit, among the chaos of neglect. I do miss this garden and hope to get back there soon to spend time among the plants that I put in the ground years ago. I do appreciate her patience with me.

Roses in the Rain

Buff Beauty

Golden Celebration

Eden

Gertrude Jekyll

The weather has been typical for this time of year, a bit overcast and dreary, but warm. It actually was raining a bit when I was in Laguna this week, but the roses don't seem to mind. They thrive on neglect and are just happy to bloom, come rain or shine.

Options

I like a garden with lots of options.

Steps to climb or descend.

Paths to follow.

Bends to explore.

And trails to take me away.

What Grows Under Eucalyptus

Well, in our garden, almost anything grows down in the eucalyptus grove. I have been told that nothing grows under these trees due to their pungent oils that supposedly infiltrate the soil when the leaves fall and decompose, but I think that is just a myth. If it is difficult to get things to grow there it is more likely the same issues that all big trees have, meaning that the deep shade and extensive roots that suck up all the water and nutrients are more likely to blame. We have a number of beautiful eucalyptus that we inherited in Laguna and when I ran out of space to grow things in the rest of the yard I started putting things in around them too. We used to spend a lot of time in hammocks during the summer down there and I looked forward to some ornament plants to spruce the place up. When I divided some clivias I put in a couple down there and they have been quite happy as you can see. I started sprinkling tall red fescue grass seed around once a year until it filled in and now it gets "mowed" with the weed whacker a few times a year and left to do it's own thing the rest of the time. The rains have been a welcome relief to this area and it shows with the deep colors in the shade. It is also the home to the whimsical Douglas Fey Gargler Birdhouses that we and the birds adore!

The Silver Lining

Yesterday I wrote about the changes in the Laguna garden after the myoporum tree died and had to be removed. There was one upside - about a cord of firewood!

More Rain and Cold

Is it ever going to warm up? Would someone please let Mother Nature know that today is the first day of Spring and we are waiting for the warm sunny weather that typically accompanies this season! According to the weather report the temperature is barely going to get out of 50's for the next ten days and that includes five days of rain! Okay, I'm done whining.

The Gloom

Laguna Beach
.

San Juan Capistrano
.

There is a lot of whining going on around here about the weather we have been having. The overcast skies, drizzle and cool temperatures is not what everyone wants to see in July. It is typical for our area, but that doesn't make anyone more accepting of it. In SJC the sun occasionally comes out in the late afternoon, but not this week. Laguna hasn't seen a glimpse of the sun in ages. Our visitors coming this weekend from other states are going to freeze in this cool, damp weather, and fireworks will be obscured by clouds. As far as the gardens go, mildew is setting in on some susceptible plants and growth has slowed. But it is good weather for working in the garden, if you can motivate yourself to get out of bed!

Sweet Surprises

Tucked in a corner under an avocado tree in Laguna I stumbled across an old plastic pot that was filled with the loveliest lilies in perfect bloom. It was probably a gift or something I picked up to brighten the house at a holiday many years ago that never made it to be planted in the garden proper, so it just lives on with little care or notice year after year. It is sweet surprises like this that I cherish from my garden.

Ghosts of Gardens Past

'Love in a Mist' (nigella) is one of my favorite annuals to grow from seed. It is close to a true blue flower that comes up readily and the lacey foliage adds interest on its own. But I must confess, it has been many, many years since I have sown any annuals from seeds in my Laguna garden. It is pretty packed full of plants and my focus has been elsewhere. The ones that reseed easily have even faded away it seems. So you can imagine my amazement when I spotted this little flower growing in a crack in the steps in the garden. It has been at least five if not ten years since I have seen my lovely 'Love in a Mist' and it was a wonderful surprise!

Memories

A few years ago my husband turned 50 and I threw a big party for him with friends and family from all over the country. On the invitation I asked that instead of a present, guest bring a rock with a message for him that we could place in the garden (the theme was 'Rock On'). We got a lot of rocks! Five years later some of the messages have faded, others have disappeared all together, a few were chiseled into the stone and will last forever. It is a joy to walk through the garden with all the messages of love tucked into the landscape!

Shedding

When I first started my Laguna garden many years ago I put in this little shed to store my tools. Over the years it has been replaced by a large potting area under the deck where most of my tools are kept now. Perhaps more practical, not not quite as charming.

Losing a Tree

There are many things in life that are more important than trees in our yards, but losing one is so sad. It comes somewhere in line after losing loved ones and pets, at least for a gardener. This year we lost an old myoporum tree that was one of the original 'scrap' trees in the vacant lot that eventually became our garden. It was a large shrub that I limbed-up into a tree to provide a much needed break from the summer sun while we worked in the garden. It wasn't a good looking tree shape-wise, but it had lovely spring flowers that were very fragrant and it cast a huge shadow of shady relief. I couldn't even find one picture of it in my archives, it was just an old standard that we took for granted. Last year most of the myoporums in our area were hard hit with thrips. I have about five more at the bottom of the garden that look like they are going to pull through, but this one was old in what is a relatively short life for a tree and eventually succumbed and had to be taken down. Where there once a shady retreat is now flooded with sun, to the delight of some of the ground covers and plants that struggled for light and nutrients under the tree. My heart aches a bit when I walk down the east steps into the garden past the stump, but gardening, like life, goes on.

Results of Rain

Although this is not technically my garden in Laguna, it is the open field next door as seen from our deck. It is totally wild and is only green in the spring from all the rainfall we have been having. One of the lovely silver linings to all this wet!

What Was That Name Again

I have long forgotten what kind of bush this is with the coral-pink flowers, but I bought it because its color complemented the tile obelisk in the Laguna garden.

Grape Hyacinth

I love these charming little blue grape hyacinths that have naturalized along the steps in Laguna. Because it is on a hillside, small details like this are closer to the eye and add charm that can be lost in a large, flat garden.

Naturalized Daffodils

Years ago I planted daffodils in the Laguna garden and they have continued to naturalize and multiply every year. There are a number of different kinds that bloom late winter all the way through to early summer. They are one of my favorite plants because they are like a surprise every year.

Bare Pomegranate

This is what the pomegranate bush looks like in Laguna this time of year. It is starting to break dormancy and will fill in flush in a couple weeks. Pomegranates will be ready to eat in the fall. I have tried and tried to prune it into a tree, but it insists on being a shrub!

Fallen Angel

This mischievous looking little man with wings in entitled 'Fallen Angel' and was a gift from my husband a number of years ago. He overlooks the back deck in Laguna where he keeps an eye on everything.

A Lot O' Compost

The compost pile in Laguna has grown so big that you can't even see the structure of the bin anymore! The source of all this wonderful debris? We had the trees trimmed last fall and all the cuttings were chipped and added to the bin. With all the rain we've been having it won't be long until this is reduced to every gardeners dream, 'black gold'!