Fort Bragg

In My Garden – April 2023
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In My Garden – April 2023

Spring is finally here, weather-wise. It has been (and continues to be) an unusually cold winter and spring. Temperatures still drop into the high 30s to low 40s F at night, we’ve even had frost warnings. But, during the day the sun is shining and we are up into the low 60s F. This morning I walked around the garden, examining dead stalks of plants to see what has survived.

Last fall I planted three Cuphea micorpetalas (candy corn plants also sometimes called cigar plants) in the pollinator garden. Only dry branches have been showing for months. I feared that they were victims of the wet and cold as they are not particularly hardy. But small shoots are starting to burst from the root area. Joy! Signs of life and spring. On researching their hardiness I read that they are evergreen to 25 or 30 degrees F, but root hardy to 0 degrees.

Take a look at this plant…

Centaurea Montana

Centaurea Montana

Aren’t the flowers striking? Centaurea Montana is a species of cornflower. They are also in the pollinator garden.

Poppies

Poppies

Also poppies in the pollinator garden, and…

Geranium purenaicum Bill Wallis

Geranium purenaicum Bill Wallis

Geranium Bill Wallis, which self-sows itself all over the garden.

There are lovely pops of color within all that green.

The first rhododendron has a few blooms.

Everything is late this year.

Polemonium carneum - also called Royal Jacob's Ladder

Polemonium corneum – also called Royal Jacob’s Ladder

I planted several Jacob’s ladders last spring and this is the first time they have bloomed. They are doing well both in a half barrel and in the ground. The foliage is very ferny-like and I didn’t think they would be very hardy. But they have thrived. The flowers are sweet, pink with yellow centers. They look fabulous mixed with hellebores.

These trout lilies are blooming in partial shade under the tan oaks and Ceanothus ‘Julia Phelps’.

Yellow Trout Lily

Yellow Trout Lily

 

Ceanothus 'Julia Phelps',

Ceanothus ‘Julia Phelps’

The bumblebees are happy with the flowers.

Last year’s (at least I think) tree swallows have claimed their same birdhouse, and chickadees are hovering around another. I saw the first Rufous hummingbird at the feeder this morning. Signs of an actual spring!

Here is an update on our decks. The supports for the back deck are going in after 6 days of work and the pilings for the side have been placed.

Supports for deck off the kitchen
Pilings for the connector, back to front deck

I have a question for the gardeners who are reading this. There was a lemon tree in a half wine barrel on the old deck off the kitchen. It has been in that barrel for around 10 years and has been unhappy for the last year (at least). When we moved it off the deck the barrel partially disintegrated. You can see the tree under the bottle brush in the picture on the right, and below.

 

There is a spot for it at the corner of the new deck (near where it is right now) for it to be planted in the ground. Should I try and save it? Or should I bite the bullet and purchase a new one? It’s a Meyer Lemon and strawberry plants have seeded (seemingly out of thin air) themselves under it.

What do you think? I would appreciate your thoughts.

 

In My Garden – April 2023
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In My Garden – April 2023

I am not sure where to start…there is so much going on in the garden. While we were away for almost four weeks, spring sprung.

The tulips are up with their cheerful blossoms.

 

There are wildflowers as well, some volunteers and some planted.

Forget-me-nots
Trillium
Trillium
Baby Blue Eyes

The sweet peas in a half wine barrel are starting to twine up their supports. I plant them each year in memory of my English grandmother. She had a long row of them along a trellis in her garden in Teddington. She put a sweet-smelling vase full of them next to my bed whenever I visited. It’s one of my favorite memories of her.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas

I don’t expect blooms until late May or June.

This is Silene,  I planted them last year after seeing them at the Botanical Gardens. I love their pink flowers and they bloom continuously for several months.

Silene dioica

Silene dioica

Much to the pleasure of the hummingbirds, the salvia is finally blooming.

But the rhododendrons are not blooming. It’s been an unusually cold winter, but in the past, at least one has been blooming by now. I hope to have some pictures to share next month.

One of my favorite flowers is the hellebores. They don’t seem to be bothered by redwood roots, bugs, or drought. The clumps get bigger and more glorious every year. Even better, they bloom in partial shade in winter and early spring, a time when their blooms are especially appreciated. I only regret that their flowers are downward facing.

 

The kale and arugula in the vegetable garden went to seed during our long absence. The good news is that the native bumble bees love the flowers.

Gone to seed

Gone to seed

I did plant a few lettuce starts this past weekend in one bed. I am delaying planting more until we have completed a total revamp of the raised beds.

I am tired of digging the redwood roots out of the raised beds. Additionally, any remaining rootlets make the soil acidic, not good for vegetables. We intend to raise the beds at least a foot off the ground and replace the soil. It’s a job that will have to wait until we have the time, or rather my husband has the time as he takes care of any hardscaping. We have a bunch of cinder blocks that were under the old hot tub, and we will also have a lot of lumber left over from the replacement of the deck.

This brings me to the big news from the garden. We finally started the project of replacing our old fifty-year-old deck. We spent Easter weekend clearing it off and removing plants from around the perimeter. Here are some ‘before’ pictures. Since Covid we have spent a lot more time entertaining outside, making that space very valuable. As it goes almost three-quarters of the way around the house, it dramatically expands our living space.

Front door deck, side.
Front deck
Deck off the kitchen

The back patio is piled with deck furniture.

The old hot tub was at the end of the deck off the kitchen. Eventually, we will purchase a new one that will go on top of the deck at the end.

You can see the circle on the left of the deck picture below where the lemon tree was located in a half barrel. It hasn’t been doing very well and I intend to plant it into the ground once I know where the final location of the deck. Hopefully it will do better there. The front and back decks will be connected with a new walkway.

lemon tree in its temporary location

lemon tree in its temporary location

When we moved it we discovered that the barrel containing the lemon tree was rotting. It was time to do something.

Workers removing the dock, Shanna enjoys the company

Workers removing the dock, Shanna enjoys the company

Since the workers bring their dog with them, ours have a new playmate.

Quinn, Shanna and friend

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for updates from the garden and deck. And I love comments of all sorts and will reply,  I love reading them.

I hope you are all well and enjoying your spring or fall weather. The shoulder seasons are my very favorite times of year.

 

In My Garden – March 2023
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In My Garden – March 2023

I have to admit that I haven’t been in my garden much this past month. It’s been too cold and wet. I did get around to fertilizing the rhododendrons on Valentine’s Day, just before the rain started again. The ideal days for fertilizing them are easy to remember, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day. That’s before they bloom and afterward.

It’s been an unusually cold winter with a lot of rain, hail, frost, and snow (the last time it snowed was in 1989). We can’t complain too much about the rain as we certainly need it…the cold I will complain about.

Frost

Frost

The dogs slip and slide on the deck on their way to do their morning potty.

As I go out between storms to check the garden, I see a lot of sad (read dead?) looking plants. We are zoned 9B and snow is not a happy place for many of them. April 15th is our last frost-free (fingers crossed) day. I will wait to cut anything back until then.

And then there was snow…

Shanna is fascinated by all the strange weather outside, just as long as she is snug and warm inside. She’s allowed on the bed during the day but sleeps in her crate at night.

Shanna

Shanna

We are having problems with our well, it seems to be contaminated with the salt that was used to clean the filter. So we are drinking bottled water at the moment. We’ve had to purge it several times, which breaks my heart as water is precious. We will meet with the well and pump folks in a few weeks to seek a solution but may need a home desalination system in addition to the filter. It’s been depressing and a worry.

The bulbs are my happy place.

We leave for a three-week trip to New Zealand in a week. This trip was supposed to happen in March of 2020 and is long delayed. Three year’s ago the Prime Minister of New Zealand close their borders 3 days before our flight to New Zealand.

The trip includes a two-week hiking tour of the south island organized by New Zealand Trails. I promise to take pictures and give you all an account of the trip when we return.

Meanwhile, thank you for visiting, and I love your comments.

 

In My Garden – February 2023
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In My Garden – February 2023

We’ve had an unusually cold and wet winter so far this season. The rain is welcome (although maybe not so much at one time). The combination of weather plus travel has kept me out of the garden for the past couple of months. Consequently, the weeds have taken over and it’s time to get out there between storms.

Frost damage

Most things have been cut back in preparation for spring.

Pollinator garden looking sad and weedy

The pollinator garden looks sad and weedy

Cut back in preparation for spring weather

Cut back in preparation for spring weather

I planted several kinds of bulbs in pots this year. Once they start blooming I will place them around the front door.

Daffodils
Crocus
Paper-whites

Wildflowers were also planted in pots to welcome spring. In pots, I will have better control over watering.

Wildflowers

There are flowers in the garden, just not so many. The hellebores are in bloom, and cuphea plants seem to bloom non-stop for all 12 months of the year.

hellebores

hellebores

Arrangement of hellebores and paperwhites.

I usually plant sweet peas in late November, I was late this year.

Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas

They are one of my favorite flowers and remind me of my grandmother in England. She always had a long row of them on a trellis at the side of her garden.

The salvia (Mole Poblano) is late blooming this year but I see the first signs. It’s an amazing bright red and the hummingbirds love it. It will grow up to 6 feet tall although it can be trimmed back to a shorter height.

Salvia gesneriiflora "Mole Poblano"

Salvia gesneriiflora “Mole Poblano”

The freesias are coming up.

Freesias

I am not going to show pictures of the vegetable garden this month. Give me some time to dig out the redwood roots and do some seeding. I’ve been harvesting the last of the kale and the arugula but need to spend some serious hours getting it ready for spring planting.

 

 

In My Garden – October 2022
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In My Garden – October 2022

We’ve been busy cutting things back this past month. The redwoods and tan oaks needed limbing up for fire safety reasons. Instructions say the lower branches of the trees surrounding the house need to be removed until they are at least 10 feet off the ground. Normally the branches reach the ground, looking like skirts. (See the picture below.) The trunks look quite sculptural with them removed. Before the house was built in the ’70s the area was logged. All the redwood trees on our property are second-growth, the daughters (they are clones) surrounding the mother tree.

I love the redwoods on our property, their roots stretch and intertwine under the entire acreage. I imagine them talking and giggling along their root ‘telephone’ lines, laughing at the antics of our dogs as they chase their balls into the threshold of the forest, under their skirts, tickling them. And carrying away needles in their fur, the footprints of the trees.

Where did that ball go?
Redwood trees

Our property looks quite different without the branches reaching the ground. We plan to leave the skirts on the trees that are on the outer edges. A puzzle for the dogs to find their balls.

back of the garden
agility field

I am currently followed throughout the garden by the chirping of hummingbirds. At a time when most of the garden is starting to sleep, the salvias are blooming like crazy. I can watch the hummingbirds sipping nector from the ‘honey melon’ “Pineapple Sage” that is throughout the garden. This is a smaller version of the much better known Salvia elegans “Pineapple Sage'” which can reach 4-6 feet in height.

Salvia elegans 'Honey Melon' "Pineapple Sage"

Salvia elegans ‘Honey Melon’ “Pineapple Sage” and Shanna

Salvia elegans "Pineapple Sage"

Salvia elegans “Pineapple Sage”

Both plants, in my garden, have bloomed nonstop since May and usually continue through to late November.

This one is Salvia purpurea ‘Lavender Lace’. It’s just starting to bloom but continues till spring. A great source for nector during the winter months. This salvia can also get quite large, you can see the sunflower bending over it. I have left it so the birds can eat the seeds. 

Salvia purpurea 'Lavender Lace'

Salvia purpurea ‘Lavender Lace’

The hummingbirds also love the cupheas and they bloom year round in my garden. This one is very happy in a half barrel. Cuphea ignea x C. angustifolia is also sometimes called bee plant as they love it. The fall chill has dramatically reduced the numbers of bees so I haven’t seen many lately.

Cuphea hybrid ‘Starfire Pink’ (C. ignea x C. angustifolia)

Cuphea hybrid
‘Starfire Pink’
(C. ignea x C. angustifolia)

The Allen’s hummingbirds have the garden to themselves since the other two species we see in the spring and summer have migrated to warmer climates. I expect them back around March of 2023. It’s comforting in this small world of my garden to have trust in some things when so many things seem to have gone crazy and are out of my control. I try to concentrate on this when I feel dread for our larger planet and nation.

The Rudbeckia in the pollinator garden are still going strong. They have been blooming nonstop. I hope they reseed new plants for next year.

Pollinator Garden

Pollinator Garden – October 2022 Rudbeckia triloba

The patch is looking quite messy right now but I leave the grasses so the birds can eat the seed.

Only a quick tour through the vegetable garden is left. I have seeded arugula and some winter salad greens which are said to be cold tolerant. We will see if they actually come up. But the carrots have sprouted, also radishes. I have hope.

Arugula and Radishes
Carrots

That’s not fungus you see but Sluggo. We have slugs, giant slugs right now!

I love comments. Thank you for joining my on this little walk through my piece of the world. What’s up in your own garden?

P.S. I know arugula is misspelled but can’t seem to correct it!