Fall Refurbishing

With a large property and lots of areas in need of some gardening attention this fall, it is a bit overwhelming trying to figure out what to focus on first. Then I remember my own advice to other people and break the task down into smaller areas. I tell others to start with a spot that they see every day, preferably right when they enter the property. Focusing on one small area and making it a lovely setting that brings you joy every day, a few times a day, will be encouraging to continue on to the next area. A lot of the projects I did last spring had to been done and are not exactly the highlight of the garden, and in fact can hardly be seen and will not look the way I imagined for a few years (the back fence for example) so I need to indulge in a little eye candy for a change. This area was first done about six years ago (hardscaping was already there, instead of dealing with the leaky fountain, I turned it into a planter) when we first moved in and is need for a face lift. The lavenders are scraggly, the iris need dividing and the roses have never done well, probably not enough sun. I will have fun picking out some new perennials and groundcovers and give some thought to new vines. Time to get busy!

The Grass is Greener

Although the play lawn is not a major concern of mine, I must admit, compared to the rest of the SJC property, it is looking pretty good! If you look closely it is really just a conglomerate of mowed grasses and weeds, but they are well fed with chicken manure and they seem to be getting enough water, in spite of all my sprinkler woes, to stay pretty green, at least for now. Some of the grass is warm weather grass which will turn brown when the weather cools down. There have been lots of activities with baseball games, a bounce castle, picnics, sprinkler running and lots of games of fetch with the dogs this summer, not to mention some very hot weather, but it holds up well. I wish I could say as much for the rest of the gardens!

Fall Is In The Air

Even though the temperatures are in the eighties this weekend, it is starting to feel like fall to me. The cool temperatures in the morning and the early sunset are stirring those gardening hormones in me that say it is time to get busy with the autumn chores. September and October is such a wonderful time in the garden that it always wakes up those feelings of a need to visit the nursery and load up on new perennials, winter annuals and bulbs, not to mention pumpkins and gourds for decoration. I love the ornamental grasses that are peaking this season and it inspires me to add more. But this year I am going to be very disciplined and go through the gardens and take note of what I actually need to avoid impulse buying. I will do that right after I get back from a well deserved impulse-only trip to a few local nurseries. And some out of town nurseries.

The End of Summer

After a very busy summer, filled with lots of house guests, travel and just overall fun, it is time to focus on the gardens again. Tree trimming and sprinkler fixing top the list of priorities, but there is a lot to do in the coming months as far as refurbishing the plants. We came back from vacation to a major heat wave that makes me thankful that the lush backyard has filled in with lots of shade in SJC. The California pepper trees are as tall as the house and make a big difference in the temperature in that part of the yard. Of course this means that all the colorful perennials, bulbs and shrubs that require full sun are suffering, but they can be moved. There is also a big problem with the rabbits eating many of my favorite perennials that are herbaceous and that is not so easy a problem to fix. But for today I am appreciating the serenity that a shady, mostly green garden offers in the way of a calm retreat from all this heat as summer winds down!

A Favorite Summer Perennial

The other day I was admiring a garden I was walking by and noticed the pretty, summery orange flowers. At first, being somewhat brain-dead from too much fun this summer, I wondered what they were. Suddenly it dawned on me that they were coreopsis, one of my favorite perennials! Of course I went home and went out to the back garden and sure enough, there were my coreopsis blooming away without a care, just as they have been for the past few years since I planted them. They are such a care-free perennial that blooms all summer and returns every year. They have those tall stems that I love because they bob around in the slightest breeze. I really need to spend more time in the garden and less time, well, not in the garden.

Shady Grapes

We've had a busy few weeks with lots of house guests including grandchildren, both ours and others', visiting. The weather has been mild, but the grapevine tunnel in the Moonlight Garden became a shady retreat for them on days when they were left to their imagination to entertain themselves. I grow the grapes for ornamental purposes since the birds get to them before we do, but the kids had a great time harvesting any that had turned red everyday. Baskets were filled with fruit everyday as they scoured the gardens for something to pick. They thought it was great that they could actually go outside and find something to eat instead of the kitchen!

Jacaranda Blooms, Finally

So if you look closely at the picture above you can see some purple blooms near the upper right. Those are my Jacaranda tree blooms in the SJC garden. I planted a Jacaranda in Laguna when I first started working on the garden there many years ago even though I was told it wouldn't bloom well because it didn't get hot enough. As it turned out "they" were wrong and I did get lovely blooms for a few years. Unfortunately I planted it where as it grew it blocked a neighbor's view. For many years the people that lived in the house whose view was blocked didn't complain and we all were happy, but once the house sold, neighbors started asking us to trim it. I eventually cut it down because it was always an issue and the constant trimming meant it never bloomed anyway.

When we moved into the SJC house and the view wasn't an issue I planted lots of trees for shade and the Jacaranda was one of them. It hasn't grown much yet and I was rather disappointed that it didn't bloom much when many other trees in the area are putting on quite a show. But finally this year we started getting some blooms. Not a lot, but it is a start.

The Sumemr Harvest

I am not a huge food-grower in my gardens. Mainly because of all the wildlife that seems to get to most of the vegetables before I do. But I do grow a lot of fruit. It is the perfect activity for the grandkids to explore the gardens looking for goodies on the trees. Peaches, oranges, apples and lemons where all harvested this week with the four oldest ones spending the week with us. Oh, and we have a strawberry patch that yielded enough sweet berries to decorate the youngest's birthday cake!

The Whites of Summer

White daylilies are hard to find because they have a tendency to revert to yellow. This one seems to be holding on to it's "whiteness" nicely this year.

I have lots of Shasta daisies, some tall and some shorter ones.

I like really tall, big white agapanthus and these don't disappoint.

I love the airiness of gaura in the gardens in the summer. Many white ones have a tendency to turn pink, but I finally found a true white one.

White buddleia is my least favorite color of this shrubby perennial, but I have lots of room to fill in the Moonlight Garden and so there is always room for one more plant that is easy and attracts butterflies.

The Moonlight Garden is sparkling with lots of white flowers in bloom this time of year. Here are a few of my favorites and one not-so-favorite!

Big Blues (And Whites)

Five and a half years ago when we first moved into the SJC house, it was in the middle of winter. There were lots of agapanthus that looked like they had just been divided and planted. When June rolled around it was evident that they were not established yet because there were few blooms, much to my disappointment. Agapanthus do better when their roots are somewhat restricted. I do love those big blue or white blooms that signal the start of summer. They are considered a rather pedestrian plant in Southern California, but they are drought tolerant, disease and pest free and they have crazy big blooms for weeks at a time. The only thing that I have found that bothers them are voles. They seem to love those big, fleshy roots, but other than that they are care free. I don't even fertilize them. I love them and I am so happy they have finally started to settle in and put on a show!