Till Next Time

The last bouquet of roses will be gathered this week as they are cut back to force them into dormancy. See you on the other side of winter my botanical friends!

The Good, The Bad....

I must admit that this is not the prime time of year for my gardens, especially after all the rain we have had. The perennials and shrubs are cut back and the grass is dormant in some spots. What were overflowing flower beds in the warmer months are now just muddy patches. That overhanging limb on the California Pepper tree has to be cut off because it is so low to the ground that you can't even walk under it anymore. The grassy paths are too muddy to walk on without boots. (Sigh)


But I must admit that the one part of the garden that looks good all the time is the gravel garden! After all the rain there was a lot of debris from the overhanging trees but it all kind of just worked its way down through the gravel. Even though the row of hydrangeas are dormant, there is enough other foliage to keep the area from looking bare. I am growing more and more fond of this place all the time!

Very California

Some days it is impossible to imagine being anywhere else but here in California. The cold and damp weather has taken a reprieve and the sun is warming everything up. The citrus are particularly happy with their wet roots and warm foliage creating the ideal situation for sweet, juicy fruit! Very iconic California!

The Big Camillias

Although camellia blooms do not like rain (they turn brown at the slightest dampness), apparently they do like it when it soaks the ground before they bloom because this year my white camellias are bigger than I have ever seen them! It is hard to tell from this photo, but I would say they are about a third bigger than the previous years on the same plant. I do fertilize them with organic acidic fertilizer once a year after they bloom, but the only thing that would be different in their care is the heavy rains we have had all fall and winter while the buds were forming. They do make great cut flowers for this time of year when the pickings are sparse and I usually float them in low bowls of water. This is the time of year to plant them and the weather is lovely this week so I may just add one or two new shrubs to the garden!

Wicked Weeding

Q: How do you weed a bed of blue agaves?
A: With a very long-handled hoe!

The Thanksgiving Tree

See that scraggly looking liquidamber tree in the middle of the window? That is my Thanksgiving tree. I love these trees, also called sweet gum, for many reasons. They have beautiful bright green leaves all summer, gorgeous color in the fall and lose all their leaves to let the sun in during the winter months. They do have spiky seed armatures that can be a nuisance if they are planted near sitting areas or places where kids run barefoot, but they have never been a problem for the three trees that I have planted in the Laguna garden. I chose this spot to plant it so that during the Thanksgiving holiday when you look out that large dining room window you will see the fall colors. There are quite a few of these trees in our SJC neighborhood and a lot on our street giving the whole area a distinct "fall" feeling as the leaves turn various colors based on the hybrid that is planted. Some are yellow, some red, some orange and there is even one a few blocks away that I swear must be grafted three different hybrids on one tree because it has different colored sections. And yes, it does drop its leaves which I am looking forward to for some good old leaf mulch!

The First Grapefruit

I have a lot of fruit trees in my gardens, but I must confess that they are pretty much on their own. Other than fertilizing them I do little else to pamper them as I probably should. There is no fancy pruning or dormant sprays. They grow and I must confess that most of the fruit goes to the wildlife which is fine with me. We do harvest lots of citrus though (they seem to tolerate my neglect better than most fruit trees) and I planted my first grapefruit tree last year. There are a few grapefruits growing on it already although it is still small and I am keeping my eye on them because I am looking forward to my own garden grown grapefruits in the summer!

Happy (Damp) Campers

So what is loving all this wet weather?

Ferns!



Mosses!


Ligularia!

Cold Weather Means More Color...

...at least as far as these 'flapjack' succulents go! They are normally green with a touch of red around the edges but with the chilly nights we have been having they have taken on a distinctive red hue. Funny thing is last summer I saw some at a nursery that were much more red than mine and I almost got them because of the color. Now I wonder if they had just been in a chilly greenhouse!

On The Green Side of Things

What are the advantages of a year's worth of rain in two weeks? The hills around us are a beautiful shade of green and will likely stay that way until spring when they turn into yellow fields of wild mustard and then dry up in the summer.